Lego instruction booklet cover depicting a large police spaceship passing over two minifigures on the ground

#6986 Mission Commander

The #6986 Mission Commander was a present given to me by my parents for my 11th birthday. The set had been released the year before, in 1989, and I’ve owned this set for exactly 30 years on the day I write this!

At 478 pieces this was the third largest set I had as a kid, just after the Mega Core Magnetizer that we already built here on the blog.

The first page of the instruction booklet, covering building minifigures, two small flyers and a 4-wheeled vehicle Two small flyers, each consisting of a seat, flat engines at the back, and handles for steering 4-wheeled vehicle with seat in front, handles for steering and a flat back for loading a container
Building the small vehicles and minifigures

The first page of instructions are for building the two small flyers that are to be placed on the wings of the big ship, as well as the 4-wheeled vehicle that later becomes a detachable part of the cockpit. Two space police minifigures and one Blacktron bad guy are also assembled.

The second page of the instruction booklet Two detachable prison containers, one of them open with a Blacktron minifigure sitting inside
Building the prison containers

Next we build two detachable prison containers for holding bad guys. These will be attachable to the sides of the bay at the back of the ship, but they can also be attached on the back of the 4-wheeled vehicle. Although the Geneva Conventions may have a thing or two to say about transporting prisoners on their backs in a cramped space—maybe it doesn't apply in space, or to LEGO minifigures…

Steps 1–5/17
Step 6/17
Steps 7–8/17
Step 9/17
Steps 10–11/17
Step 12/17
Step 13/17
Step 14/17

The base of the ship is built using different wing-plates with fixed landing-gear under the wings. The back of the wings are on hinges so they can be folded outwards, this mechanism will accommodate the detachable bay at the back of the ship. The cockpit in the front is connected to a technic rack going through a winder, so it can be pushed open by turning a knob on the port side of the ship. Trans-red panels are used both for canopies over the wings to store the flyers under, and on the sides of the ship, behind the cockpit.

Step 15/17
Step 16/17

Forward pointing weapon systems are mounted on fins at the wing-tips, and in the front and on the sides of the cockpit. The former are on hinge-bricks and thus also functions as a locking mechanism for the foldable parts of the wings at the back.

The back of the cockpit gets connected with hinges at the top. The offset from the the rack below it makes the whole cockpit swing open upwards when the rack is pushing forwards—a very satisfying mechanism.

Bay Steps 1–6/10
Bay Steps 7–10/10

The bay that’s attached at the back of the ship is built using concave and convex panels, with openings on the sides for the prison containers to slide in. There are actually no other details inside, I remember I used to put some computer screens and other equipment in there to make more use of the space. That’s the beauty of a LEGO set like this, whenever there is something you think can be improved, the only thing holding you back is the pieces you have available from other sets!

The bay detached from the back of the ship

The bay can be left behind on a planet surface when the ship performs some mission requiring speed and manoeuvrability. It’s equipped with a large antenna to act as a command central, although I think I mostly kept the bay and ship together.

Step 17/17

After attaching the bay, the final step includes mounting the narrow trans-red canopy on the cockpit, and we’re done!

The completed ship is just as swooshable as it looks, it’s sturdy but still not very heavy. There’s actually a surprising amount of empty space in the whole structure, but from most angles there are parts positioned so that it appears rather solid.

Opening the cockpit
Container mounted at the back of the 4-wheeled vehicle
One of the flyers under it’s canopy on the wing
Detachable vehicles and containers

The colour scheme is just perfect for a space police force, and the green/gray/red colours of the second LEGO space police theme (mostly released in ’92–93) are such a disappointment in comparison. I never owned any of those sets, this was the one and only for me…

This must be one of the best spaceships LEGO has produced. I’ve been so glad to have it, 30 years ago because of the playability, and today because it’s such a good build and it looks lovely.