Galaxy Explorer (1979) (#497) 
Reviewed February 25, 2009
Theme: Space
# of pieces: ?
# of minifigs: 4
Pros: Clever design, landing craft, unique pieces, 2 large base plates.
Part of history.
Cons: None
Review: This was my absolute favorite LEGO(R) set as a child. To me, this was the first "cool" set - instead of the mundane buildings and cars, here was a space battleship! It was huge, with lots of minifigures and unique pieces.
The large conical "thrusters" are my favorite pieces. The colored transparent windshield pieces, and the slanted triangular flat pieces were also an innovation at the time. The flat transparent yellow top on the cockpit flips up for the pilot to enter and evacuate, and the rear of the ship actually folds out to reveal a small moon buggy.
The set also comes with two flat base plates - one a helicopter-style landing circle, and the other has raised moon craters in a half-perimeter. As you can see from the picture, there is a very large satellite dish piece that I used over and over again on different LEGO(R) projects. As soon as I can find my collection that's buried in the attic somewhere, I'm going to rebuild this baby and keep it as a display piece.
Fort Legorado (1996) (#6769)
Reviewed March 11, 2009
Theme: Western
# of pieces: ?
# of minifigs: 10
Pros: Fun theme, 10 minifigures + 3 horses, great playset.
Cons: None
Review: Fort Legorado is a "castle" set with a western theme. It is a fun playset with a ton of minifigures, including soldiers, bandits, a bad guy with a top hat and moustache (required by the Evil League of Evil), three horses, a wagon, a cannon, and lots of guns and sabres.
Patrol Craft (1980) (#6861)
Reviewed February 25, 2009
Theme: Space
# of pieces: less than 50
# of minifigs: 1
Pros: Sleek design. Unique pieces. Fun small set.
Cons: None
Review: My absolute favorite LEGOs from my mis-spent youth in the late 70's was their line of Space sets. I hear that these are now considered "classics" and I understand why. The new StarWars sets have their own style and personality, but there is something very simple yet elegant and cool about these older designs. At the time, these unusually-shaped pieces were groundbreaking and they still have a high fun factor.
I picked up a used Patrol Craft set for a reasonable bid on eBay.com. It's a very small set -- less than 50 pieces. My favorite pieces are the large conical engine-thrusters at the rear of the ship, remniscent of a Star Wars Star Destroyer. There are also some other neat pieces such as one that resembles a three-horn loudspeaker, used here as some kind of mini-thrusters, and cylindrical pieces to accentuate the look of the engines.
I recommend this small set as both a fun toy to play with as well as a worthwhile collectible.
Hovercraft (1988) (#6875) 
Reviewed March 6, 2009
Theme: Space
# of pieces: less than 50
# of minifigs: 1
Pros: Some neat pieces.
Cons: None
Review: This is another vintage model I picked up for a bargain on eBay.com (used). There are some unique pieces - note the triangular pieces on the wings, and on the bottom of the ship are these thruster-like pieces I haven't seen anywhere else so far. Overall a fun toy and collectible.
See full review and photos by clicking here: Hovercraft
Temple of Mount Everest (2003) (#7417)
Reviewed March 11, 2009
Theme: Orient Expedition
# of pieces: ?
# of minifigs: 4
Pros: Medium-sized "castle-like" playset. Cool minifigures. Unusual theme.
Cons: A few more bricks could be added to complete this model.
Review: This was another pleasant surprise I picked up at auction on eBay. I had expected a quick, small build, but was happy to find this set has nearly as much playability as some of the larger "castle" models.