LEGO 1787 Crater Cruiser Review: A 1995 Unitron Carrier

We're staying in the Unitron corner of Classic Space today with the LEGO 1787 Crater Cruiser. If you've been following along, this is the fourth stop on our tour through the whole subtheme — we've already covered the Space Station Zenon base, the Star Hawk II spaceship, and the Crater Critters robots, with the fabled Unitron Transport Base monorail review still to come.

As always, we'll admit up front that we're biased — Unitron holds a special place in our hearts. The lineup was short (only about 4.5 sets, depending on how you count Crater Critters), the trans-neon-green and trans-dark-blue color scheme is an instant classic, and unlike some of its siblings, the Crater Cruiser is one you can actually track down without emptying your wallet. Released in 1995 and originally priced at just $18, it's the second-smallest set in the whole subtheme.

What you get in the box

The Crater Cruiser is a two-in-one: a wheeled ground vehicle carrier and a small detachable starship that lands on the back of it. The carrier has forward-mounted lasers up front, an elevating satellite dish with radio antennas, and rear thrusters, while the little ship rides along on top with its own booster and twin lasers. Two Unitron minifigs — a standard Unitron astronaut and the Unitron Chief — round it out. It's a compact set, but there's more play value packed in than the piece count suggests.

• Set number: 1787
• Theme: LEGO Space (Unitron subtheme)
• Pieces: 183
• Minifigures: 2 (Unitron Astronaut and Unitron Chief)
• Age: 7–12
• Released: 1995
• Original price: $18.00 USD
• Build time: ~45 minutes
• Motor / lights: None

The build

This one comes together in about 45 minutes, which makes it a great quick-hit build or a good starting point if you're easing into vintage LEGO Space. Like most sets from this era, it does a lot with a modest parts count — nothing here feels like filler. The wheeled carrier goes together first and gives the set its footprint, with the wheelbase and thrusters doing the heavy lifting on the "cruiser" look.

The star of the show is the little starship and its cockpit. It detaches cleanly and lands on the carrier's back, and — as with the rest of the Unitron fleet — it's designed to play nicely with the other vehicles in the subtheme. It's a satisfying bit of design for a set this size.

Box and instructions

The instruction booklet is classic mid-90s LEGO, which is both charming and a little more work than a modern manual. Older instructions like these don't call out the exact parts you need on each step — there's no per-step parts list or "add these bricks now" highlight — so you're expected to eyeball the difference between one picture and the next. It's not hard, just more attentive than today's spoon-fed builds. If you're buying used, the manual is one of the things worth confirming is included, since booklets for retired sets can be a pain to replace. That's why a 6.0 on instructions feels fair here.

Is the LEGO 1787 Crater Cruiser worth it?

Here's where the Crater Cruiser stands apart from the rest of Unitron: it's one of the few sets in the lineup that isn't wildly expensive on the secondary market. It originally retailed for $18, and used, complete copies today typically run in the $40–$80 range, with new, sealed examples climbing to around $150 and up. Compared to the Space Station Zenon (which trades well north of $180 used) or the Star Hawk II, the Crater Cruiser is a relatively affordable way to get a piece of Unitron on your shelf.

As with the rest of the theme, value here isn't about pieces-per-dollar — it's about nostalgia and completing a Classic Space collection. But if you want the cheapest realistic entry into the subtheme alongside Crater Critters, this is the one to start with. And once you're hooked, the whole set builds toward the crown jewel: keep an eye out for our upcoming review of the fabled Unitron Transport Base monorail.

There's no Amazon link for this one — it's a vintage set that's long out of production, so eBay is really your only realistic option. You can find the Crater Cruiser and the rest of the Unitron lineup on eBay here.