Schrödinger's Micromotor ~ The Quest For 6979 Interstellar Starfighter!

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

This was fun! So glad you got your hands on a working Micromotor, may it live long and prosper! also... 00:03 Is your brother ok?!? 😮

[@SoylentGreen__]

Hahaa I noticed that as well 😆

[@moostudios36]

I think it’s slowly been getting worse over the whole summer

[@toast_0h]

the heat is getting to him

[@arbitrary2868]

​@@moostudios36 In that case, I hope at summers end there's a compilation of all the intros so we can *REALLY* hear the sluggification

[@Lego-Man-shorts]

Sluggers brother - tsthsmneroslg

[@darkroom0716]

The summer of slug song is getting sloppier eith each ensluggening lol

[@MatecaCorp]

A noble slug ensluggens the smallest song

[@arbitrary2868]

It's the Summer of Slug!~ *ETH THU THUMMER OTH THLUGH* _summer of slug!~_ (BUM BUM BUM)

[@AndrewChumKaser]

We're going to progress to the point where he can only manage incoherent garbling and there's a hospital monitor beeping in the background.

[@LoganFilmStudios]

Oh good it wasn't just me lol

[@tfGalvatron1]

i thought i was going crazy

[@thatguythatdoesstuff5899]

When lego cuts corners, they make round bricks. They used to make octagonal bricks, but we don't talk about those.

[@Mr.-Squid]

Hey slugger, just want to say that you were mentioned in the bionicle day stream! They even made a galidor logo just for you!

[@RRSlugger]

No way!! That’s awesome! 😄

[@msx80]

Where can we find the video?

[@arbitrary2868]

@@msx80 At the 810nicle Day channel

[@manofmercy1500]

There a timestamp for that livestream where it points to it? Hard to comb through nearly 10 whole hours of content just to see the tribute to our residential Slimy Slug.

[@retrobrick]

It's about 1:53:24

[@bricktoadbuild]

10:05 I agree with the “too many small pieces” sentiment, as a parent. My kids required some extra motivation to complete the recent Creator 3-in-1 Castle build. I am sure a few of the old style big walls would have cut the piece count and steps in half.

[@RRSlugger]

Absolutely!!

[@tristanlee8495]

I'm getting more and more concerned for the guy in the intro song.

[@sneed890]

UFO is a shining example of 90s Lego's best and worst features: It is pure excess. A subtheme with an amount of unique pieces, prints, and gimmicks that is so experimental no Lego exec nowadays would ever greenlight it. I imagine back then Lego was losing so much money they just said to the designers "Well, we're already in the red, so what does it matter if this causes us to go a few points even lower?" It's why I think 90s subthemes like UFO have stood the test of time, nothing Lego has made pre or post-90s looks anything like that subtheme.

[@RRSlugger]

Pure excess, absolutely! In this case, LEGO's loss is our gain! 😊

[@CappnRob]

UFO was truly ahead of its time in ways. Printed legs for almost every figure, as well as extremely complex prints on the torsos and helmets and beads, trans neon head elements, really makes me wish I took better care of the sets I had as a kid lol. As for those stickers they do likely get weaker with age, the ones I had as a kid would glow pretty brightly when pressed on.

[@SuperSecretBricks]

As a kid, I really liked the flying sauced groove the theme had, and I especially wanted the minifig with the Alienesque headgear. But the overall blockiness, colour scheme, and new big printed specialised part kinda put me off

[@NIRDIAN1]

The heat-sensitive stickers also need a lot of Heat-Difference! When I lived in Norway they worked flawlessly, back in the Netherlands, with several heatwaves back-to-back, less so...

[@moostudios36]

UFO is one of my favorite space themes, glad to see it get some coverage!

[@RRSlugger]

It’ll be getting a lot more here soon enough! 😊

[@mudwire1]

@@RRSluggergetting to hear more about UFO as soon as my alien avenger arrived is good news

[@catfish552]

I can absolutely believe that micromotors were expensive to manufacture. If I compare them to RC servos (which is not *entirely* fair since servos need to have a control board and potentiometer as well, but still), they're still pretty tiny by today's standards - let alone what was around in the late 90s. It's honestly pretty amazing what they managed to squeeze in there.

[@Lego4life2107]

my father actually had the 6483 set (coastal patrol) and we found it in my grandmothers house last week, i was looking for something to watch while i build it and i see this video, what a nice coincidence :)

[@RRSlugger]

Perfect timing!!

[@bizarrou]

Slugger basically can somehow predict if someone's gonna be doing this or that at a exact moment. When I bought my first bionicle, he made a video on bionicles. Same with you. Crazy, right?

[@minerman60101]

@@bizarrou sane left

[@empatheticrambo4890]

That old lighting rig is amazing!! I’m surprised there isn’t a third party alternative, but that is incredibly niche

[@rebricks]

I feel like surely there is enough of a market for smaller Lego-brand electronics like this one, but what do I know about economics! Great video like always! Your production is something I aspire to.

[@Lordodragonss]

I really wish Lego still had this "electric bricks" system. Its such good and intuitive system

[@CarsSimplified]

It was absurdly well-designed! The stud contacts were a seamless integration that modern connections just don't have. The 1x4 double light piece that lights up solid one way and flashes back and forth (handy for police car or construction vehicle warning lights) when you turn them around (reverse the polarity) is some amazing system design work that would be amazing to see brought back. I'll stop here but I could go on for a while.

[@Lordodragonss]

Indeed! I'm trying to collect as much as I can of them as I show them to kids on my workshops and they find it so easy to use! @@CarsSimplified

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

The 9v system will always be my favorite. The Power Functions system was ok, but I did miss the ability to turn the connectors and reverse the polarity.

[@ubervocal8777]

The saucer shaped piece was created back in the 80s and not specifically for UFOs. There are photos of it being used in a number of prototypes for the never produced Seatron theme.

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

Another commenter on this video pointed that out. I can't believe we never saw it in the Seatron prototype pics, Hiding in plain sight!

[@ubervocal8777]

@@BatteryPoweredBricks I look at those photos every once in a while as I would love Lego to produce the theme or at least give us the parts in those colors. It's not going to happen, but it's a nice dream!

[@AminalCreacher]

I've always adored the micromotor. It's the perfect size for minifig-scale motorization, and TLG haven't made anything like it since.

[@Alfwin]

The UFO theme is as old as I am! I never had the theme as a kid, but my dad had a 6915 Warp Wing Fighter which I always thought was really cool. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to find an Interstellar Starfighter sealed in its box for just $120 USD at a second-hand LEGO store. I built it up - luckily, the micromotor still works fine - and it's currently displayed in my living room. With all the detailed printing, the fiber-optics, and just the sheer size of the thing, it really feels like one of the most opulent LEGO sets ever (and I say this while sat a meter away from a 10305 Lion Knights' Castle)!

[@RRSlugger]

Nice!! Hopefully that Micromotor has years and years of life left! 😊

[@SoylentGreen__]

I found your channel a couple months ago and have thoroughly enjoyed the Summer of Slug have started my journey of watching all of your videos as well as recently purchasing my first Rock Raiders Set 4910 Hover Scout! Thank you again for taking the time to make such an amazing video! 😊

[@RRSlugger]

That’s awesome! The Hover Scout is such a great little set - I’m glad you’re enjoying it! ❤️

[@SuperSecretBricks]

The Hover Scout is brilliant, one of my favourite set as a kid. I also had a great companion for it: Rock Raiders Crew, which contains most minifig from the theme!

[@minerman60101]

Those fiber optic cables were used to great effect in Eliminator, a moc from Bionicle's Dark Hunter contest. They provide him with trans clear eyes, something never found in an official Bionicle set. I was first wowed by this motor in JK Brickworks' video "LEGO Motorized Mini Golf Maze", and I'm glad to have this historical exploration.

[@ryz8]

what an interesting video! that UFO is crazy looking, if I had that as a kid I wouldn't go anywhere without it haha.

[@bizarrou]

The intro changing is so funny

[@PhobosDDeimos]

The UFO series was one of my absolute favorites, growing up. Glad to see so much love for them. I was fortunate enough to be friends with a kid, that through some miracle had almost all sets of sets, including the Interstellar Starfighter. We are talking, open a page in the catalogue and he had them all. Amazing. So at least I witnessed this set in all its glory back then. I'm very thankful for that.

[@ZukusScaenicus]

Those big quarter-circular pieces were a staple of my early LEGO experience, as 4 very nicely printed ones (as well as 4 equally unique underside pieces) came with the original Millennium Falcon set, one of my largest and most prized sets at the time. They were so different than all my other pieces, I wanted to include them in all my MOCs. They also briefly showed up in Insectoids, Aquazone, and Alpha Team, and I guess haven't been used since

[@BoardGamesBricksHobbies]

Mars Mission and Alien Conquest introduced 1/4 round pieces that aren't exactly the same but are similar enough that they feel like spiritual successors.

[@DraconisN0x]

Interstellar Starfighter my beloved! 😊

[@lysander4084]

I love those motors and fiber lights so much!With Lego being a "premium" product now they sure could bring such things back

[@n00b1n8R]

It's really shocking to think that a company as big as lego in the 90s was so incredibly mismanaged 😅

[@RRSlugger]

Totally! Even a modern juggernaut like Disney fared rather poorly during this era! 😮

[@thewanderer7307]

@@RRSlugger This era being last week? rofl

[@RRSlugger]

@@thewanderer7307 Haha, we might not *like* what Disney is pumping out these days, but financially they're doing just fine. 👍

[@thewanderer7307]

@@RRSlugger Have you been reading the news about them? I would not be so sure...

[@RRSlugger]

@@thewanderer7307 Every single monetary metric of theirs is measured in *billions* of dollars, not millions. It's fun to ruminate about their downfall, but the reality is that they're doing just fine. 👌

[@Pacca64]

The lego motor I had the most experience with was the MASSIVE servo motors the Mindstorms NXT line used. It's crazy to see a mindstorms compatible motor so small! Definitely could've been useful for silly small scale things.

[@Al.Sulikas]

I agree, properly utilising all those large specialty pieces is indeed challenging. Not just these UFO dish quarters, but also the legs from Insectoids to give another example.

[@RRSlugger]

Those ones perhaps even moreso! Haha, soooo hyper specialized. 😅

[@markofbrick]

Based on where the micromotors were created (and generally how the now vintage parts were distributed) I'd bet a Euro BL seller would be more likely to have an original high quality one. On the topic of sets costing more to produce than their retail price, an infamous theme is the "Inventor" line. Of the 4, the biggest 3 all had expensive motors, gear boxes, and even a mindstorm-like hub. One of the set's main models is also a drink mixer??? That is absolutely wild to me.

[@loreescape47]

This was the only UFO set I never had! Love getting to see how it works up close!

[@darkroom0716]

Wow, guess you arent alone with the TC/TT love! Make sure to use the proper rites, rituals, and cantrips to keep that little micromotor running.

[@oakydoke6202]

i love that the summer of slug intro gets sillier each episode

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

It was pretty silly to begin with 😂

[@NIRDIAN1]

There she is! In all her glory! This ship was absolutely mind-blowing to teen-me. What an amazing video on it, as well as the one thing that both made it stand out, as well as leaves it in a sorry lost state... And I am so glad there is now decent footage of the fiber optics as mine... sadly died last time I packed her up...

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

It took a lot of restraint to not go buy a bunch of UFO sets when Slugger approached me about this video 😅. I just don't have shelf space to display sets so it would probably just sit in a box 🤷‍♂

[@NIRDIAN1]

​@@BatteryPoweredBricksMaybe one day...! The series is definitely worth it to put together and toy with electronics on...!

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

Great video and thanks for mentioning that big elements are not default bad it's how you build with them that does or does not make them bad.

[@WronaBros.]

Wow, I love your channel for all this LEGO trivia I had no clue about! Won't be surprised if the next video is "The Forgotten Gadget Bomb Brick" and Slugger will have become death. The destroyer of worlds.

[@docnecrotic]

I'm hoping the theme song goes full on noise music by the end. I'm loving its gradual descent into madness.

[@knowexit6931]

The heat activated stickers are great if you find one that hasn’t been stored in a warm environment mine still works great I recommend checking with the seller if it appears completely black it is a good sign that it works great

[@Meowvela]

80022- Spider Queen’s Arachnoid Base makes use of some satisfyingly big pieces. Maybe not quite as bulky as the UFO ones, but still :D

[@CarsSimplified]

I had that UFO set! I have no idea if my micro motor still works but I remember it working last time I used it. I can also say that the sticker in your possession has lost a lot of its color shift abilities. They turned quite a vivid green when they were new. However, I feel like that's about how dull mine was ten years ago, so perhaps they will at least always retain some level of effectiveness for a long, long time. This is my first R.R. Slugger video viewed while in the Slug homeland of Canada!

[@RRSlugger]

Hey, welcome to Canada, Steve! Enjoy your stay! ❤️️

[@EmersonacReviews]

Those Micromotors are very cool, I remember seeing someone use it on a minifigure scale golf course a while ago and being so impressed with it. Since motors are basically fancy copper coils and magnets, as long as someone knows what they're doing, it shouldn't be too hard to swap out the magnet from the interior and replace it with a stronger one with better coating. The size is the main problem here, maybe we'll leave that to a very careful surgeon... Loved seeing BatteryPoweredBricks make an appearance, always great when LEGO creators collaborate. If you need train advice, I'm your guy!

[@JBBrickman]

As much as I love the normal videos on this channel, I must say this was such a treat. I can’t wait to see if you so any more deep dives on obscure Lego topics like this, this motor and it’s history was very interesting! Also I had never heard of Lego having fiber optics before, maybe a future subject?

[@SuperSecretBricks]

Yeah, it's always fascinating to discover stories beyond the set that's presented!

[@lammyjammy]

This is exactly the kind of content I like to see. I had heard about these micromotors that they tend to break and not work. Which is indeed rare for LEGO components, which tend to have a very long lifespan even for the electronic stuff. It was cool to learn about the history of this rare motor. I was lucky to find an Interstellar Starfighter, mostly complete (I think the figures were gone), at a yard sale years and years back. Last I checked, the micromotor works. I should probably go through my parts and actually assemble the full set. I don't think I ever did that, I just started with the half-built corpse of the set and took it apart.

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

The mini-motors used in Mindstorms / Technic had a similar issue with disintegrating magnets. Beyond that and the wires breaking down Lego electronics are very robust. Very thankful for that as that's the primary focus of my channel 😅

[@lammyjammy]

@@BatteryPoweredBricks You're talking about the motors that usually come in black or grey, and are (somewhat) cube shaped right?

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

@@lammyjammy Yep, I've seen people make attempts but they are basically as un-repairable as the micromotor

[@BrickTsar]

Brian with the dacta topless house - a classic set

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

They made the right call rebranding it as the "Intelligent House" instead 😅

[@ghiojo]

Yes! 10:20 Some justice for larger bricks! I always felt like people dunk very hard on large, specialized pieces, but forget the fact that such pieces, aside from being a challenge to build with, also give a good starting point for people who aren't experts in building with Lego, and also I think does drive down the price of a set, while still allowing it to look massive. If you make large specialized pieces specifically for a set it's always gonna cost more, but reusing the same piece in several sets should drive down the prices, since you don't need 5-10 pieces to achieve the same effect. Wonderful video as always! I have never heard of micromotors before either, I was surprised to find out these even existed!

[@centurybug]

I had no idea these had reliability issues! I had one as a kid (from 6979). AFAIK it still works, it seems I got very lucky. I really wish they'd make a modern replacement. Also, I have one or two of those heat sensitive stickers, and some definitely work better than others. I'm not sure what would cause that.

[@filoteo]

Bpb collab!!! Yes!!!

[@a_dead786]

its fascinating how one set can include so many of the different odd elements lego has made

[@beltbuckleboy2885]

another amazing video from the slugger!

[@Kuchenwurst]

Oh wow. The Vakuumschmelze factory is, in fact, in my hometown. It is part of the Heraeus Company which also sits right here. I did _not_ expect to hear a connection to this ramshackle industrial town today, especially on this channel :'D this kind of made me happy and I want to say thank you for making me happy! :') You go slug! I fucking love your content and your music and you're awesome and keep on rocking please :')

[@RRSlugger]

That's really cool!! Thank you! 😊

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

That's awesome!

[@kailahmann1823]

Guess I then had luck to get this set with a working motor :) And yes, the whole theme feels like it was designed with "money doesn't matter" - so many super fancy features and rare prints…

[@Entertaininglylame]

Well done batterypowered bricks! Another great vid! Thank you both!

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

Thanks! I couldn't have done it without him 😁🤣

[@msx80]

This is the first video i see "live" after discovering the channel a couple days ago on mastodon and binging it for hours 😂 awesome content, i love all the little curiosities you put in each video 👍

[@RRSlugger]

Thank you! Welcome to the channel! 😊

[@Crazy-Drokon]

Thank you slugger for featuring my alts! Such an honor! I also own the big starship, my motor works fine (at least for now) but i dont know if set's previous owner replaced it or its the one from the set. Seems you had no luck with the heat sticker too. The proper one changes colours from brown to yellow to green and to deep blue as it is being heated the most. Brown and green have good visiability but from my expirience blue color varies, in my childhood I remember the blue stage was pretty bright, but 2 stickers in my current posession turns much darker blue.

[@RRSlugger]

Hey Michael! Great to hear from you again!! ❤ Our brief online conversation years(?) ago really stuck with me. The way you described "core" bricks and the like really impacted the way I view building LEGO today - thank you for that! I may be shouting you out again in the future should I make a video on that topic! 😊 Likewise, your alternate builds for this UFO set were a real eye opener for me. Up until that point, I had always assumed the giant saucer pieces were just "bad pieces", completely untenable. Seeing what you were able to do with them, however, absolutely changed my opinion on the matter. Again, thank you for that!

[@Crazy-Drokon]

@@RRSlugger I think our conversation was maybe one year ago? I'm still watching every new video, its a delight! Especially now, when I am on an archeological expedition for the whole summer and my network is very weak in this wilderness. Watching every new Summer of Slug video from my tent in the glorious 144p resolution! Shame I dont have much opportunity to leave a comment under each of those under this conditions. I'm deeply touched, I have never known my thoughts would make such an impact on you! It feels like the topic of how the Lego company has changed it's design approach might be an interesting idea for further discussion. Or maybe even a video essay as I see more and more people commenting how bloated the sets has become and how children dont have enough patients to even complete them, not even speaking about building mocs and alts. Ill be waiting for your future glorious videos and dreaming of a big UFO combiner ship I want to make upon returning home haha!

[@RRSlugger]

@@Crazy-Drokon Oh, that sounds awesome Michael! Enjoy your expedition! ❤️

[@sebastianbaker3532]

So interesting learning about that motor, now im worried about my light up bricks hahaha Also fascinating how the Lego group has changed in design features. Never realised how prominent printed pieces, large shapes and electronic features were!

[@Lordodragonss]

I love learning with Slug!

[@kierandesmond9799]

I had this set as a kid and adored it 😄

[@Danny-no2zp]

Fascinating! Actual suspense generated too. The magnets are also very expensive these days 😢

[@asphaltmemories4597]

Thank you for the nostalgia trip and parts history lesson, UFO was such a wacky and great space theme and its a shame it hardly gets the recognition it deserves. In fact its arguable that its lived in infamy for giving the lego world the dreaded large half dome wedge pieces. I have the starfighter taken apart somewhere in my moms place, ill have to see if the Micromotor on mine is fried...

[@NiiRubra]

I had one of the UFO sets back in the day, and I can confirm that the heat-sensitive stickers were just as unreliable back then as they apparently are now (I have way too many childhood memories of obsessing over rubbing my thumb on one of those stickers to get it to change colors). Still, I entirely agree with your sentiment, looking back on this theme, it was Premium Lego, with a bold capital *P* .

[@corphish129]

I have very little familiarity with UFO, but every time I see it I'm surprised. The sheer amount of graphic detail and the alien helmets make it seem like it should have come out years later than it did. Very fancy, though as you point out, probably too expensive to produce.

[@RRSlugger]

Totally! If you compare them to Exploriens (which came out only one year prior), the difference is night and day!

[@MaksLangerd]

When i am not big fan of bigpieces from UFO - minifigures look amazing from that series. Especially helmets. One of the best Lego Design to this day

[@meteorsr2339]

7:25 I can confirm, this thing did indeed make me the coolest kid on block, albeit in 2011 rather than 1997. It also didn't last for long, as Alien Conquest came around later that year and my friends suddenly got bored by my "old" UFO.

[@ki-adimundi8695]

Thanks for the video, Slugger! I own the Interstellar Starfighter as my parents bought it for Christmas via eBay in 2010. I always liked the light-up features and the industrial noises the motor made when it was active. Interestingly my set still works, though the heat-sensitive stickers have lost almost all of their intensity. Thanks to your video I can appreciate the functions this set holds even more, I had no idea at all!

[@mattd2026]

Man this was a fun video! The motors history and information was intriguing and learning about the incredible set in itself was equally awesome.

[@theonewhowatches869]

Sorry this one took so long for me to get to. Just, had trouble getting around to it. `Drifting through the blackness of space was powerful Zotaxian starfighter, and on board there was a visitor. "Why have you come here, Earthman?" the ship's commander demanded. "To make a deal, one that benefits us both." The Spryius Chief responded with his usual degree of calm confidence, which did an excellent job hiding the fact that he was actually rather nervous. "This ship's power core is of sub-par quality, it will fail you just as you pass the moon, and you will be helpless to stop the Roboforce as they capture you and force back the Zotaxian armada." "Hm, for what reason should we believe you, and even if you speak the truth, why? What would our end of this bargain be?" The commander asked. "your end, would be sanctuary, for myself, and for all the Spyrius that I command." The Chief could hardly admit it, but he simply lacked the means to evacuate the Spyrius through time, which meant that the video revealing their secrets posed a very real risk of spelling the end for the Spyrius. "As for my part I will provide you with a better Energy Core. you see, you were short changed and the ship's current core is made of sub-par materials. I can provide one that's not only in pristine condition, but made with the original materials before the corners were cut." He then produced a red block, instantly recognizable to the ship's crew. "We will compare this energy core to our own, then we will consider your offer, Time Crosser."`

[@RRSlugger]

Haha, interweaving the real world ailments of the Micromotor into the story - very clever! 😊

[@Slobezero]

Oh yeah the heat sensitive stickers used to work a lot better, the demonstration image on the magazine is pretty accurate to how they worked.

[@RRSlugger]

Dang! I missed out then!

[@legomann4345]

Man you keep on astounding me with the depths of your lego knowledge. I got this same set in a large bin of mid to late 90s lego and could not figure out why the motor wasn’t working. Now I know, but to me ufo dosent have the appeal to shell out good money for a new motor.

[@RRSlugger]

Indeed - unfortunately, its an expensive fix for an expensive set... 😭

[@Zenlore6499]

The chaos of TSOS lives on!

[@masahige2344]

I have most of the other UFO sets, and while this one is currently for sale at my local vintage toy store (in box, not sealed), I was a little reticent to go for it. I didn't realize just how bad the micro motor problem was. I'll leave this one to my friendly neighbourhood slug!

[@yeeoof1995]

the UFO crew must've been the most fashionable lot in lego space!

[@RRSlugger]

No doubt about that! ❤️️

[@irelandpokemon9958]

It’s Fridayyyyy!

[@lorderoks]

I'm very fortunate to have this set from a garage sale we visited when I was quite young. The motor still works last I checked, but IIRC one of the clips did get damaged. I should go find it in my basement and see what's going on with it!

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

If I had a time machine you could find me prowling garage sales in the 90's for sure 😅 I miss those days! Finding Lego was pretty rare but still there was always the prospect!

[@MrFranklitalien]

thank you for diving into powered bricks, now I have to binge through the whole system

[@KellerHands]

Did I just hear Wintergatan music on Slugger's channel?? I love it when seemingly unrelated channels intersect like that

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

That was on my section, I exclusively use Wintergatan music with the occasional Slugger song as well 😁

[@KellerHands]

Goes together really well and great job on the video!

[@cyclomorrison3620]

I got an interstellar starfighter for Christmas in ‘97 or 98 and I loved it! I reassembled it at my parents attic last year and the micro motor still works fine! I remember having played with it a lot as a kid and since it was the only Lego motor I had back then, I used it to motorise cars and tractors and a lot of stuff that was probably way to heavy for the little red motor. Yet it still works fine

[@RRSlugger]

Sounds like you might have lucked out with that motor! ❤️

[@TomKazutara]

0:46 I had . I got the 6484 and it worked well and was the best "smaller" electric set a kid could have .

[@ArjanGroe]

Slugger, this video in particular is interesting to me. Love the schrödinger micro motor, and the fact yours works!

[@RRSlugger]

Thanks Arjan! I was quite pleased with this one too! 😊

[@threesixtydegreeorbits2047]

Micromotor is my jam

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

a person of good tastes

[@DarkAtuin]

In summer 2004 I bought a sealed one still from a store. Right off the box the motor wasn't working. Lucky me, Lego customer service could still provide me with a working replacement back then^^ First time I heard about the variants, but since some (maybe all?) 9V motors had inner variants, it should not come at a surprise. I have 4 of the Micro Motors (1 of cause not working). One of them is from 6483, bought in 1998. Guess I'll have to get them out sometime and inspect them a bit more deeply... I always liked that eerie noise the ship makes with the motor running^^ Although those tiny clips on the motor plate break really easy :(. Oh, and you missed that cone in the center of the FOS unit :P

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

What is the "cone in the center of the FOS unit"? I've been trying to figure out what you meant 😅

[@mike.94]

Great Vid, I acknowleged many new pieces!!

[@_LLevi_]

It's very interesting that newer versions are the ones that will fail, didn't know that before. Another thing interesting about these motors is that they weren't only built in Hungary but designed by a Hungarian as well, Marcell Jánosi he also invented the 3inch floppy disk.

[@RRSlugger]

That's awesome! 🤯

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

I didn't know that, that is cool!

[@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647]

This is an actual surprise insanity of slug video because I was still in school while you uploaded this. Anyways THIS would be a set I would want DESPERATELY if I were a kid in the 90's, though the giant bowser set is the set i want desperately, at the moment at least... Me trying to form a comprehensible sentence but I was in a bus with a poor AC for one hour in the Texan sun: 0:03

[@marcinstrzelczyk2758]

The heat activated stickers were also introduced in at least one set in Mars mission theme. That was 7697 which also had this weird disc launcher on top. Quite an interesting set I must admit. ;D

[@darthjump]

I just got the Technic Set that has this small red and the larger motor for 30€ on a fleamarket. The Box was in pretty good shape aswell. The seller didn´t really know what he had. Whenever i see 90´s Lego in Box i have to buy it. Preserving some history. After watching the video i realized the set 8082 is from 1993 so i probably have one of the best versions of the micromotor. Lucky me. Great Video, can´t wait for this years Summer of Slug.

[@Lego-Man-shorts]

This was a fun video! And gave me something to try to get as a Lego collector (the interstellar starship)

[@CartoonyAndor]

The Starfighter is the definition of “cool”

[@For891]

I have the shuttle and my motor works great. I did have to replace all my wires though.

[@VestedUTuber]

Interstellar Starfighter? I've got one of these... and the micromotor was borked out of the box so I modified the ship to take a regular-sized 9v motor. A gearmotor that size likely has a coreless motor inside, and those need significant amounts of cooling. Cramming one in a plastic box is a bad idea. The fact that the older units last so long is surprising.

[@RoninCatholic]

Oh hey, I actually had that set! I was pretty uninterested in the mechanical/battery operated lights aspect and I don't think I ever used the set as intended, but more just to build flying saucers and other spacecraft, treating the big battery box as just a very large brick.

[@gnomebob]

Can't wait for more on UFO! my favorite subtheme from Space

[@RRSlugger]

Awesome! We'll be looking at it all eventually! ❤️️

[@ElgrasosoSupremo777]

Unpopular opinion: for making mocs of UFO, I prefer the alien conquest color scheme(purple, ligth gray, black and trans neon green ). Now the UFO'S set or moc really pops.

[@TheNoparu662show]

10:25 I actually really enjoyed the build of this set. Although the final product is nothing crazy, I appreciate the level of detail on display here, which I find it to be more reminiscent of a modular building or an urban setting within a licensed theme. Though I do get your point that a similar effect could be achieved with a lower piece count, it didn't stand out to me as excessive, and still stands as one of my favorite Hidden Side sets, only second to The Lighthouse of Darkness.

[@RRSlugger]

That's fair! I had a different experience building it, and especially in retrospect after having built such play feature marvels as the two Western sets I looked at recently, the Shrimp Shack feels like it does very little with so much. That being said, I still think it's a fine set - not bad by any metric, just over-engineered, in my opinion.

[@M0torsagmannen]

thi is such a cool deep dive into a single piece in Lego history

[@brickotronic]

I had them as a kid. If I remember correctly, my father brought them in a little plastic bag. Must have been something like pick-a-brick stuff or spare parts for stores. He brought these bags from time to time. He was a tax accountant for Lego in our country. So, I don’t know, if they were officially sold. ----- edit ----- I was writing the comment before you showed the service pack. Exactly such a bag I was talking about 😀

[@mottmatt7844]

Love how you trolled us via subtitles at 7:12

[@RRSlugger]

Fixed it! I didn't know if the Micromotor would work or not when I wrote the script, so I prepared for the worst! 😅

[@mottmatt7844]

@@RRSlugger awww I thought you were playing with the medium on purpose. Thanks for the peak bts.

[@nautilusnotasquid]

Born too late to experience the 90 and 2000’s. I missed UFO one of the COOLESR THEMES EVER!

[@pewpewdragon4483]

The printing alone should tell you a lot about its luxury status as a toy from that era, let alone the large clear pieces, light up functions, magnets, and even motors... it's too bad that these older sets rely so heavily on specialized gimmick parts because its impossible to make replacements, updates, or modernize them; even if you can vaguely resemble the shapes, colors, and functions, you simply can't replace those prints! I wonder why Lego doesn't put much interest into system based electronics more, some reliable light up gimmicks would be nice.

[@filipw1432]

Thanks for taking on the UFO-theme - I love it! A year ago I also purchased a Interstellar Starfighter and it had a non functioning motor. I managed to disassemble the motor without breaking it, and got it spinning a bit when being partially assembled. Unfortunately it did not work after putting it back together. However, if you are interested I can send you the pictures of its internals. I've also played with the though of buying some of the shelf motor to replace it. The trick would certainly be the form factor but also the quite slow speed which you demonstrated in the video.

[@RRSlugger]

You managed to get it open, eh? That's awesome - more than I could accomplish! Yeah, I didn't realize it, but the slow speed of the Micromotor seems to be an important factor in its usage, making replacement more tricky...

[@FrejaSkousen]

Seeing the up close shots, I'm certain I had this set in 2000 No clue when I would've gotten it, as I was 1yr old in 1997, but I distinctly remember the fiberoptics, magnetically attached UFO, and the mini figs. It's possible that there's a micro motor in my cousin's Lego box to this day.

[@meowritz]

What a cool little gizmo