LEGO 6494 Mystic Mountain Time Lab ~ R.R. Slugger's Time Cruisers Retrospective! 

I'm... honestly really glad you made this. All I'd ever heard was Time Cruisers/Twisters were "the worst" or "a mess" and now I'm aware... the mess is the point. To conglomerate from all eras in a hodgepodge machine, not always to look good but to get it done.

Mom mom !!! R.R slugger just posted a new video !!!!!

The doctor just keeps changing Timmy's surname because he's paying attention to something else and they keep accidentally screwing with Timmy's ancestors.

I can't believe it's the end of the series! I've honestly loved every second of it!

imo Burps, Murps, etc. all have a place in lego building. They make large sets more affordable, and if you don't like the aesthetic, they still make a great base to build larger, more substantial rock formations upon without sacrificing the interior space.

It’s finally here!! 😄 It took a few extra days to wrap this one up, but I’m excited to finally be able to share the final retail set in the Time Cruisers series! My next video is definitely going to be something a little bit different, but I’m looking forward to that as well. 😊 I hope everyone had a great weekend! Welcome to all the new folks as well - hopefully you’re finding this super nerdy niche channel entertaining! EDIT: Forgot to add that I will be uploading the Time Cruiser song tracks between now and the new video. I’m not going to ping everyone’s sub boxes, but they will be public just like last time. 😊 ~ Slugger

As a kid I always wanted to have this set because of all the Big Useful Rock Pieces, Little Useful Rock Pieces and baseplates.

One of my favorite childhood sets. I had a full headcannon for what everything did. The red rocks in the barrel was a special mineral that powered time gravel. The helmets weren't disgusesses, they were relics that you needed to point the machines towards the era that they originated from. The telescope was a laser blaster that zapped you into the past (had no idea it was a telescope until I saw this description). Finally, taking a cue from the box art,, the entire lab itself could lift off the mountain and travel through time (but only for an emergency situation, such as being under siege by the Time Twisters). Also the set had a starring role in one of my old Brickfilms, "The Machine".

Totally agree about older trees being better, it’s so hard to make ones that look good with new pieces

I grew up in the 2000s playing with legos from garage sales, so It's enlightening to see where the pieces may have come from. We didn't have any instructions, and certainly not all of the pieces, but thanks to your videos I've recognized elements from time cruisers, rock raiders, and adventure. The easiest to pick out are the minifig heads, who we developed our own stories an personalities for. Dr. Cyber was always one of my favorites, though I never knew him by that name.

It’s mind boggling how many elements were exclusive to this theme. These sets would have been an absolute gold mine for a MOC maker at the time. The hodgepodge aesthetic isn’t really my thing but I can respect the fact that it was 100% a design choice, rather than a bug in the system.

The Lego palm tree has always been an iconic element in my opinion, almost as much as the classic dragon and t-rex. In the 80s-90s, there were so many tropical sets (Paradisa, Bionicle's island, Lego Island, the adventurer's, Pirates) that I associated Lego with the tropics. I would love to see the return of the Palm Tree, maybe a a new mold that has the look of the old pieces but uses mixel ball joints. I'm sure the palm tree trunk pieces could be reused in other sets to justify their return

Robbi the Robot or similar androids in 90s Space sets inspired me to use those 1x2 hinge bricks as the "legs" of child and dwarf characters, before Lego introduced non-posable short legs as a piece themselves. The way they hinge at a "hip" joint similar to minifigure legs and can be made of mismatched colors to line up with minifigures whose legs and hips are different colors just felt like it made for a good profile, even if they couldn't sit down on studs and couldn't pose their "legs" individually.

Cool throne build O_O

Slugger! Thanks so much for the AMAZING retrospective. Every episode was produced expertly, the music was exceptional, and your opinions (and hot takes) have been welcome!

Unapologetically my new favorite youtuber! I hope some day you cover Aquanauts, the space-but-not-in-space theme!

As someone who owned one single time cruisers set as a child, this was an incredible look into a theme that was truly truly excellent and really underrated. It was one of my favorite sets as a kid and I didn't really even know what it was at the time haha

I played with Legos so much as a kid. I may have been born too late to appreciate the 90s sets but I still remember always admiring the aesthetic of the sets through Lego books, cd rom games, and through eBay. I thought I knew of all of Legos themes through these means but found out about time twisters through your channel and I must admit I think it is an amazing idea to have one theme that ties all the pre-existing themes together. Not to mention that the sets have some excellent play features. Thank you so much for your videos, your excitement and creativity is infectious.

I've been enjoying these vids a lot! They came out when I was too young for Lego (and admittedly it was seen more as a thing for boys back in the day), but for some reason I have a huge nostalgia factor for 80's - early 2000's themes, mostly pirates, space and castle, and I just love the references to them that pop up in the Time Cruisers line! Edit: ooooh Ice Planet 2002 is definitely one of my favorite ofthe space subthemes. Will be looking forward to that! ^_^

You made a Nasty Space Boat into a Classy Space Boat with that MOC. A work of art!

8:03, wow I wouldn’t have guessed that dungeon door came from Fabuland of all places, such a dark piece, that _Zoo_ video is starting to make more sense.

YOU'RE 100% CORRECT about the palm trees! I feel like I'm going crazy that no one ever mentions it. The technic-based brick built trees look awful and the old segmented trunks were way better looking. I'd take better looking trees over less than a dozen slightly more useful parts any day. You've convinced me on Time Cruisers by the way. From the outside it seemed like a mess of extra parts but I had no idea that the play features were so intricate and well designed.

The brown medieval cowl also came in two sets (6024 and 6079) from the "Dark Forest" faction of Castle during 1996, and appeared in one set (6087) from the "Fright Knights" faction in '97. It would make two final appearances in a "Studios" set (1381) and a "Castle Accessories" pack (10066) in mid-2002 before it was phased out in that color. The element as a whole continued to be used until 2016 when it made its final appearance in the later shade of "dark brown" in two sets (70314 and 70334) from the Nexo Knights theme. Between then, this part made its final appearance in black in a "Kingdoms" set (6918) in 2011.

13:03 Ah a man of good taste!

Fun fact! The diving mask you cited for last appearing in a water theme actually reappeared on a Darth Vader minifigure as a neck attachment. I had the figure as a little kid, he was one of those minifigure magnet thingies (I adore these videos by the way!)

I'm really looking forward to the whatever you do with the Orient Expedition, the Adventurers theme is (in my opinion) the apex of classic Lego, I've delved far too deeply into the lore of the series, and I'm exited to see more videos on O. E, probably the least known subtheme of the line (Actualy that's probably tie with Dino Island)

Off topic, but seeing that Freestyle bucket was like a slap in the face of nostalgia, unlocking a memory deep in my brain. I think that bucket was my first ever lego set! Well, “set”. I even remember using that weird hinge piece. I remember using it to allow a roof to open up on a house build. It’s a cool little piece I probably still have somewhere lol!

16:26 I had that exact Freestyle Table! It was my first ever Lego set when I was just 4 years old!!! Though as a kid I kinda disliked the look of freestyle Timmy and the T Timmy and never used them. I never had much lego as a kid. But this set was always at the core of my childhood.

Nice to see Timmy on a train vacation with uncle Bob!

I wouldn't be surprised to see you cause the "dankpods effect" with Time Cruisers and other themes you'll cover in the future. Just like how he started when nobody wanted iPods and they were dirt cheap then exploded in popularity, the coverage you're giving these themes will probably make a ton of people reconsider these themes

Time cruisers especially with the whirling time Warper is still one of my favorite set themes of all time.

Love seeing how you combine old & new pieces. Particulary with the minifigues

I have just now realised I probably have most pieces to build this. I probably bought a bin of random pieces at one point and the previous owner had this set. Exciting! Also you are totally right about the modern trees. Bring back the old Palm tree ;_;

That pantsahat reference at the beginning was a nice touch

I'm so glad you gave the world this series as a way to show it off in the most flattering light possible (literally and figuratively!) It's been a pleasure to go on this journey with you, and even though I don't intend to pick up these sets myself, watching your reviews has given me more enjoyment and fun than I probably could have had if I did! I'll dig out my one Time Cruiser set sometime (whichever one it was) and put it together in your honor. Thanks Slugger! Looking forward to more videos as always! :)

This might be part of the source of my love of anachronistic aesthetics, i really like the time twisters batwing time/space craft look it makes me think of the castle sets but sci fi. For whatever reason this whole theme always stuck with me, even though i probably played with adventures more.

What a delightful series! I really don't get the hate this theme gets. It is such a kickstart to the imagination to have a theme that ties together all other rather isolated themes. Don't think you can really do something like this nowadays where probably half of the product lineup (if not more) is trademarked now lol. Managed to pick up the timeship and the tunnelator this year, planning to nab the cruiser and the other medium bad guy vehicle this year. This series may or may not have been a motivator to those ambitions...

The stop motion in these vids is incredible, especially since a slug is is responsible for them

0:20 is this a reference to pantsahat's brickfilm about time cruisers? I love it! Great video by the way as always!

6:40 I like to think that while this area is residential and grounded, it gives me a Pirates feel like one of the imperial forts. The iron door was also used in that theme as well.

Yay, another video! Really like your channel, found the Life on Mars video recently in my recommended playlist, and it really brought me back to my childhood! The only negative thing I can say is that you need way more videos, I already binge-watched them all, they are very entertaining! Oh well, time to rewatch everything again I guess!

The builder robots in mars mission on Lego Battles had that robot head too! I was excited to get that set with the modern face print as a big battles fan

Amazing, this video was quite the experience. I was always fond of Time Cruisers, but over the course of this series, I really came to appreciate all the fun that can be had in any story with these sets. Also it should be noted that this series probably kept some rare pieces from exploding in price due to their inclusion in these models. Also another fantastic video in a fantastic video series!

This set spent less time assembled, yet had a bigger impact, than any other set in my life. Because it was so jam packed with useful pieces for different types of builds and play.

Damn. It's incredible. Finishing one of your series of retrospective feels like when u watch the final episode of a good tv show. Same sense of emptiness (smth like "Oh no! I'll never see anything like this again) and nostalgia. These videos are top stuff, there so much love and passion put into. Well done! Also, you deserve much more viewers!

This set is incredible; like most, I've heard the whole "cash grab" and didn't really look into it so seeing you debunk that whole thing is fantastic. I'm so happy I found your channel and was shown how wonderful this theme was. Also what a wonderful set for these retiring pieces it genuinely feels like a really nice goodbye for them. Also I kinda agree with your Hot take, I love me some spicy takes!~ And with that I have now finished watching your entire backlog of episodes! This was an absolute blast and can't wait to see more from you!

I received my mystic mountain time lab today. I have never owned any Time Cruiser sets but your series and the homework has convinced me that Time Cruisers is great and Mystic Mountain Timelab has the best aesthetics of any Lego set even if the inside is flooded.

Another great series over, I’ve been looking forward to this finale! You made a theme that I thought was weird and stupid into one of my favourites as I learnt so much more about it than the boxes conveyed. You really are the best LEGO reviewer around now, all your pictures are so endearing. This set is a great send off to all the themes it took elements from, with all the final appearances of pieces, especially Ice Planet. Also, 100% agree with the tree rant. I sadly got into LEGO after the old palm trees, and I’ve always loved the look of them compared to the more dull ones we get now. I look forward to see where the next series adventures(😉) to next. Hopefully you check out the associated board game too that came with the larger sets as no one’s really covered those. But please don’t feel like you need to get the next series out soon, we all know well by now that the quality of your videos is well worth the wait.

The whole Time Cruisers theme really needs to be seen with the mind of a child. As an adult, the sets look like a chaotic mashup and designed by a 5-year old. But then you start realizing this was the goal. The whole theme was designed as a connection point between all the other Lego themes of that time, which also explains, why it used parts from "everywhere". …and now I've just found a yellow airplane yet engine. If that's not a sign to build the Hypno Cruiser!

I love time cruisers! Was super confused when I found out collectors hated it. To me, it’s the perfect combo of everything lego signifies: all that zany 90s energy, and the combination of themes like space and castle.

I really love the Pantashant reference dude! I'm sad he has gone the way he has, but I'm glad he made such great Brickfilms while he did.

I'm so sad that this is the end of the series, excited for the new retrospectives tho. Always happy when RR Slugger Uploads.

The time cruisers board game RULES! Such a blast from the past. Can’t wait for your vid on it

That government watch list joke is greatly underrated lol. I really like this retro-recap! It's actually garnered some interest in the theme for me! This theme is just peak 90s, and I even have Freestyle Tim from when I was a wee lad!

Lego, hire this man! But don't actually, because I want to keep watching these videos.

Thank you so much for finishing another 90's theme! I'm very nostalgic for all LEGO in thia deacde. I remember seeing this in the toy store yet a decade later my little brother and I got all Time Cruiser sets and more in a massive yard sale find!

I have recommended you to all of my friends with interest in content creation, your passion for your subject goes hand in hand with the skill and dedication you show to this channel, I found you from solar sands and have binged your videos since, I love your channel. continue being amazing. (also I love your animations and the slugometer so much)

Totally agree about the palm trees, I'm glad I still have some pieces from back in the day.

Definitely rebuilding some of my Time Cruisers sets!

I loved turning those diving masks around to make robotic face masks on helmets.

That robot head was not only recreated for that creator 3-1 set but also CMF series 22, as the yellow robot welder. I didn't know he'd have that face and I was so excited when I found out he did. I'm trying to collect all the variations of that classic robot face

Oh wow, I didn't know major kartovski had a name! I just remember that minifig as a cool cool robot

That's my exact FreeStyle set I've had since the late 90s!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺 Honestly this set has STRONG FreeStyle vibes and is incredibly nostalgic as a result, I really want this one! I'm incredibly excited about the FreeStyle video to come! 👀👀👀👀

2:54 in black, the visor makes an appearance in Star Wars of all places, emanating a battle-damaged helmet for Darth Vader in 7672 Rogue Shadow. By turning the visor downward, this creates a remarkable building technique for what would otherwise be a one-off helmet element.

as someone who never knew of time cruisers, this retrospective introduced me to a theme I'm quite fond of!! Although as with all lego retro stuff, picking it up seems slightly difficult

Wow, what an interesting set, something we probably wouldn't see nowdays, although the 5006890 set kinda proves me wrong. I really enjoyed this series, and Orient Expedition is such a great next step. Even before I heard you say it, I also thought of TrikBrix when watching your videos. Keep up the great work!

I will no longer call them studs Pips! So awesome this video arrived just in time, poor Timmy, his time travel hi-jinx got him on a list, I really wanna get the Whirling Time Warper for sure

This vid just made me remind that I got this set in my collection! Used to belong to my brother and has long been disassembled. The parts included have served me very well in all sorts of mocs. Cool to remember where they all originated from!

What fun! What a goofy little theme Time Cruisers is. I don't think it's quite my taste, but it's still excellent! This period of LEGO is just something else. What a fun series this has been! I hope, like Chief, Timmy and Dr. Cyber pop up now and then! On to the next one! Hooray! Also congrats on nearly 15K! Holy cow!

The “Final Appearance” note always makes me so sad 😭

Fun series! You've sold me on this theme and I've hunted down a Hypno Cruiser of my own!

Fantastic video as always and a worthy ending to your excellent retrospective! Time Cruisers is a really fun theme and you gave it the love it deserves. I actually don't own a single Time Cruisers set but have built my own versions of the Hypno Cruiser and the Mystic Mountain Time Lab. I'l send you some fotos once I find the time to do so, if you are interested. Keep up the good work Slugger - since you mentioned Ice Planet and Orient Expedition, the future is certainly looking very bright! 😉 Chris

This has been an interesting journey to the past (or, all over time, as it were). But honestly, what I would really like to see is another Rock Raiders video game build soon. Can't wait for that Ore Refinery build!

Just want to say I love your hot take on the brick-built trees. It's been something that always baffles me. The old palm tree design seems perfectly fine to me - if somewhat limiting in that it is only really usable with palms specifically, whereas other tree types need their own design. I like looking at these reviews of old sets. It's getting me interested in them. I feel like I want to make my own personal remakes of sets like this using modern brick colours and more available parts.

This really feels like someone going through a box of soon to be retired pieces and saying “all right, how much of these can we use in a single set”

Maybe someone else already mentioned it, but the yellow plumage on the dragon helmet is not set exclusive! It was in five early nineties castle sets. Setting aside my excitement about catching an error: what a thoroughly researched and beautifully produced video. It definitely made me appreciate this wonky set more. It stretches the "no interior" and "no way for minifigs to walk/climb" characteristics of 90's LEGO to the maximum, but it has much to love as well.

I've picked up the yellow plumes before and didn't realize they were set exclusives!

Another stellar video! The hypno cruiser was my first ever bricklink order! So I totally agree!

Finally the Chair On A Pole That Is Also On Fire gets the recognition it deserves 🙌🙌

Another comfy video from R R Slugger. I never was too much into system (Bionicle 2001-03 is my thing) but watching your videos of the themes that were thing when I was young kid makes me very second hand nostalgic. I remember how people used to laugh at Time Cruisers in Lego forums.

Considering the limitations of building styles and BURPs at the time, this set does accomplish an interesting mish-mash aesthetic of themes. It strikes me that it might have been a bit ahead of it's time - it reminds me of all the multiversal travel scifi shows and movies these days, where various aesthetics get mixed and intertwined together!

Stoked to hear your take on The Orient Expedition sets. I loved those as a kid.

I've been excited for this one!

The visor shows up at least one more time! It’s used for Darth Vaders damaged helmet in a magnet set and the Rouge Shadow from 2008! They got creative with it and flipped it so that the torso peg goes through the visor eye hole!

I had this set and the giant flying ship, but now they're all scattered across different mocs, like the flying ship is a sunken pirate ship and the mountain bricks are part of my rock raiders terrain. It's nice to see them in their original form again. Ps. 3:25 so that dragon helmet in my 'timeline' belongs to the main villain from the time twisters Professor Millennium, but he has the same headpiece as one of the villains from fright knights (blanking on the name) but I see both those characters as one in the same because of time travel shenanigans. The yellow helmet pieces match his yellow shoulder piece well. 12:22 I consider that a Rock Raiders device, and use it in my RR build as a mini relay station. I'm mid progress on a full on communications tower, as well as a light tower, a dive base and refining base. But there's just so many lose pieces to sort @.@ P.s.s I have Tim and the Doc as part of my RR and Adventures setups, going backwards and forward in time. I hope you do a series dedicated to aquazone and adventurers next, as I have about half of the sets for each but I'm missing a couple, including entire waves for the adventures (dino island and orient expedition). It sucks but it's a consequence of having to manage prices.

Man, these videos are just so incredibly good. Thank you for gracing the world with this! As someone who grew up owning the Whirling Time Warper it's nice to see so much appreciation for the theme :)

Once again it comes to a close, this was quite a trip and my most anticipated, terrain sets are the best type of lego set in my opinion.

You are legit the best RU-vidr (in my opinion)

Now I'm anticipating you'll review the Time Twisters board game to keep the theme reviews going 😉 ⏰️

Hi Slugger! Love the channel. Brings back a lot of nostalgia for me. Thanks for mentioning the freestyle bucket. I remembered the Timmy and Dr. Cyber face prints from my childhood as well as the iconic spiral disc but none of the Time Cruiser sets were ringing a bell. Realized that I must have had the 4055 freestyle bucket. What an awesome nod to the theme! I like to think Timmy and Dr. Cyber somehow found their way into the whacky bucket from their travels... Keep the videos coming!

Just wanted to say that the common black dragon helmet appears with yellow dragon ornamentation in the 6056 Dragon Wagon set. Love your videos, looking forward to the next one!

I've got a preformed palm tree base from its' final appearance in 2009 and it's one of my favorite pieces in my collection!

Thanks for this retrospective, which definitely changed my mind on Time Cruisers / Twisters! I might not start collecting them all, but I now do think they deserve a shot.

I just found your channel and I have to say that I hate you for making me want to buy all of these retro sets… but honestly one of my favorite channels already ❤️

I'm hype for the foreshadowed orient expedition series. Also congrats bro, you're kinda blowing up. I knew it would happen eventually, you've brought a consistent quality and have been very unique and interesting

I have to say this set always looked off to me when I would see it, thought I was hallucinating😅 I loved hearing your experience with Timmy’s name! And loved hearing the the story of Robby’s face print!. As for the set, I think the most mundane structures are my favourite!😮 the gray roofs with white walls with red highlights is just…perfect for me!, I think the inside isn’t all that great but I think some gray plates for a floor, a carpet and small lab will fix that right up! Speaking of which I was surprised you didn’t make a single mod to the lab itself, but I suppose that meant the set was near perfect?🙂 though I will say I love the mods to the ship!, as someone who loves flowers I was ecstatic to see those classic flower pieces. honestly love the exterior of the lab, even if it’s a little messy at parts haha, I love how you slipped in the alternative versions of Cyber and Timmy ( maybe we need a hall of Timmy video 🙃 ) always love hearing these brief histories or prints and pieces:D for the flaws this set dose have I still think this set ended this first wave, but this series in a high note! Have a great day Slugger😊

Thank you for covering this theme the way that you have, Slugger! Having grown up with FreeStyle 2907, I've always had a soft spot for hodgepodge builds and Timmy.. It's been great learning about his roots and gaining a new appreciation for such an inventive range of sets.

Timmy on some government watchlist made me lose it XD THEY'RE ON TO HIM!

At 2:52 the visor appeared later in black one last time in the Rogue Shadow set from Star Wars in 2008. Bizarrely it was used as a neck attachment for a battle damaged Darth Vader. Edit: maybe you were only talking about the trans. dark blue one

This made my day, thank you for existing