My favorite set growing up
One of my favorite sets as well. I am missing one of the huge black windows, so I cannot rebuild it. I might substitute a Blacktron 2 window instead. But the way the entire base opens when you turn the crank is awesome.
I also have weird memories of that set. As a kid, my father would get two bonuses a year from his job. Each time, he would take me to Toys R Us and get me one really big Lego set. So, of course I wanted the Blacktron base. The box was a bit beat up, but it was the only one they had. I got home and started to build it, and realized about ten steps in that there was a bag missing, since I could not find the pieces for the step. I was crying and all upset about it because I could not finish building it, and my parents were trying to calm me down. After some searching, we found that one of the bags had fallen out of the box and into the trunk of the car, so I was able to finish the set.
For those that never bought old school sets, the packaging was quite different. The bigger sets like this actually came in a larger box than we get now, because there was another box that slid out, and you used it for storage. This also allowed them to make the front of the box swing up to show you some choice pieces inside. Here are some pics of the packaging:
Granted, the guy who took these pics resealed the bags, but you get the idea. Basically you could cut the plastic window slightly or if it were loose, some bags could be easily removed. It is much easier to tell when things are tampered with today, but I will admit that I miss the show off window packaging of old.
This event was also the first time I realized that if I kept a separate pile for each bag, it kept the build more organized and I can tell if pieces were missing, and also find them faster while building. I have been doing that ever since.
Man the magnets for the bottom of the ISD UCS really make a person nervous. Kinda want to reinforce it. Thinking of buying more of the magnets online and just adding some more to the bottom half to make it nice and secure. Jolt moving a top part already has had some of the front bottom part to fall down off th magnet. The rear held by two magnets is fairly sturdy though. So thinking a few extra magnets will make it solid.
Oh, god. All that hollow space inside is just an accident waiting to happen. I shiver at the thought of picking that ship up to move it to a different shelf. But I do love the use of the old plastic space tires for engines.
