How successful was Galaxy Squad?

[kingodacheez]

This line was way too short-lived in my opinion.

There was a lot of competition from staple sets and new themes; which was probably what reduced its popularity.

I think the line would have done better if TLG had more sales feedback (read: too busy with other projects), but it just couldn't match all of the competition from multiple popular themes.

Had there been a couple more seasons worth of waves, maybe it could have evolved into a theme that really took off.

Personally; I really like the team colors and have purchased a huge army of the light blue minifigs from BL to field as wargaming troops.

Once that army is completed, there will be another in a different color representing a different faction.

As far as the future of non-licensed themes; NK makes a strong positive example of viability.

[The lego fan]

Meh. I never realy thought this theme was good even though I normally like classic space themes. Oh well! 

[LegoRomania]

Galaxy Squad was ok in my opinion,I wasn't interested that much in Lego in that time so I don't own space sets(just Star Wars sets).

I hope we will get a new space theme soon(even if will have just one wave like castle and pirates did).

[Dwarfispie]

I really disliked the Alien builds to the point where most of the sets felt like a waste. 

[M'Kyuun]

I liked the theme, and bought all the sets. Like a majority of smaller original themes, I felt some sets were well done and others were weak, but the overall line struck a nice sci-fi chord with me. As Firefox mentioned above, there's a certain Starship Troopers feel to the line that I enjoyed, at least among the better alien insect-styled sets. I'm still enthralled by the simple yet lovely little mech in the Vermin Vaporizer set. I was also glad that the aliens in this theme were made with minifig bodies, rather than the simple one or two piece aliens from Mars Mission.  I also liked the split vehicle mode idea for the second wave- it makes for some nice playability; the Galactic Titan was especially well done in this respect.

As an old guy who remembers the advent of Classic Space, as well as the minifigure, back in '79, I still have warm feelings towards all the old space themes of yore, and part of me wishes for a CS revival, as well as more exploration- less combat based space sets, but I'm a pragmatist, and I realize that ship has long sailed. Even Benny's Spaceship came armed with spring-loaded projectiles and a little ship upon which to fire them. Alas, combat is a forgone conclusion in any upcoming theme; I'm resigned. That said, while I do very much enjoy Star Wars and the plethora of SW related sets, I try to relish whatever enjoyment I can when LEGO releases their infrequent Space themes, as they're generally quite limited, and, IMHO, always have at least a couple decent sets in the mix. To my knowledge, LEGO still considers Space to be an evergreen theme, although the scarcity of releases leaves a void that SW can't fill.  When Galaxy Squad first came about, there seemed to be a positive reception, and I think many of us hoped that it would herald the return of a recurring Space theme- I hoped. Sadly, it wasn't to be, and so now I just wait for the next limited Space line to come and hope that it'll be cool. If nothing else, with the next LEGO Movie, we'll likely get another Classic Space inspired set via Benny- fingers crossed.

[danth]

I'm telling you, Lego needs to release some Classic Space style sets under the Creator brand. Creator appeals to us older fans: no stickers, alternate builds, classic smileys. Make Classic Space Creator sets and they'll sell like crazy.

 

The only problem is how much this would get Lego in trouble with Disney since this may be considered competition with their Star Wars stuff. Who knows what's in their licensing agreement.

[The Architect]

19 hours ago, danth said:

I'm telling you, Lego needs to release some Classic Space style sets under the Creator brand. Creator appeals to us older fans: no stickers, alternate builds, classic smileys. Make Classic Space Creator sets and they'll sell like crazy.

 

The only problem is how much this would get Lego in trouble with Disney since this may be considered competition with their Star Wars stuff. Who knows what's in their licensing agreement.

I agree. I would love for Lego to start doing 'reboots' of its classic themes, especially classic castle 

[Aanchir]

On 11/2/2016 at 4:11 PM, danth said:

I'm telling you, Lego needs to release some Classic Space style sets under the Creator brand. Creator appeals to us older fans: no stickers, alternate builds, classic smileys. Make Classic Space Creator sets and they'll sell like crazy.

The only problem is how much this would get Lego in trouble with Disney since this may be considered competition with their Star Wars stuff. Who knows what's in their licensing agreement.

Most Creator sets don't use generic smiley faces — that's pretty much just the Modular Buildings.

I don't think the idea of Space-themed Creator sets is outrageous. Creator has had plenty of robots so they're clearly not afraid of sci-fi subject matter. But Classic Space specifically? Hard to say. The basic unmanned rockets, arrowhead-shaped space cruisers, and boxy moonbases that are iconic to the Classic Space era don't really line up with popular visions of the future the way they once did. LEGO Space, moreso than many other themes, tends to be a product of its time.

I almost think that the Classic Space aesthetic might be more fitting for Juniors sets than Creator sets. Juniors sets certainly would not deliver the kind of building experience AFOLs crave, but four-year-olds don't tend to demand the same level of sheer novelty in design that seven-year-olds do. And existing Juniors parts like wall panels would be a good fit for bases in the style of 926, 6901, and 6927.

[danth]

On 11/4/2016 at 8:24 AM, Aanchir said:

The basic unmanned rockets, arrowhead-shaped space cruisers, and boxy moonbases that are iconic to the Classic Space era don't really line up with popular visions of the future the way they once did.

I have no idea. People say things like this...but then you have things like Star Wars that are just as popular as ever and people still love the original designs and buy Lego sets of them. 

On the other hand, Star Wars is Star Wars and incredibly popular whereas Classic Space isn't.

Most Creator sets don't use generic smiley faces — that's pretty much just the Modular Buildings.

Oh yeah you're right. Huh.

Edited November 22, 2016 by danth

[MattGee]

I have a display of classic space Lego that I've taken to a few shows in the UK and I'm amazed how the memory of it resonates with the adults, mostly guys but a few gals too. I doubt a big profit for Lego but a couple of reissues would I am sure be worth investigating. Just depends which sets! The most talked about in my experience is the 928 Galaxy Explorer. 

[JoeyB]

Old thread... I personally loved Galaxy Squad. To be fair, I'm an early 2000's kid, the only Space themes I knew about (and really cared) about were Mars Mission, Space Police (3), Alien Conquest, and the obvious. I'm not sure why I enjoyed it so much. Maybe I'm just a sucker for Sci-Fi conflicts, or maybe it was because I had just read Ender's Game and the though of alien insects invading Earth was still on my mind. The vehicles were really cool to me, I don't see why people disliked the clear windscreens.Together with the colored accents, the vehicles felt clean and futuristic, gritty enough that I could see them being used in an alien conflict but colorful enough that the ships aren't boring. The Swarm Interceptor is one of my favorites, with the swiveling cockpit making the ship feel much more dynamic and alive alongside the folding wings. The gimmick of the Squadie's vehicles splitting into two or more extra vehicles was really nifty, I especially have a soft spot for the Mech in the Vermin Vaporizer, it was almost the sole reason I got the set! The bugs also had a cool color palette, the lime green and dark red looking bright, sickly, and poisonous; but I don't think their sets were nearly as good, if only because they could barely be posed and didn't have a killer function like the heroes. The one exception to the bugs mediocrity was the Hive Crawler, which is still one my favorite sets to date, it actually crawls and can fling eggs at people! I'd love to see one with Power Functions, now that I think about it....

I think part of the problem with the theme not doing well was the marketing and supplementary material. Sure, not every theme has to be as in-depth as BIONICLE or Ninjago, but something more would have been cool. Online comics, more info behind the Galaxy Squad and the bugs, even character bios! "William 'Billy' Starbeam: The hot-headed leader of the speedy Red Team, Billy will take on Bugs and make a show out of it. In addition to being a sharp shot with his dual-wielded blasters, Billy is the best pilot in the fleet, and will gladly remind you of it. Speeders, fighters, shuttles, you name it, Billy can weave them through the air as smoothly as an artist's brush. Billy's rarely faltered in battle, but when he has it's been when but his android sidekick Scarlet has noted these only occur in the presence of Ashlee..." things like that, ya know? There was such little additional material for people to get invested in, not like with Nexo Knights or Chima.   

I do think there was room for improvement though... there were a lot of cool ideas they could have gone with that I'd have loved to see. A lot of subtlety is lost with the premise of HUMANS VS BUGS, but it doesn't have to be. Heck, with some of my spare GS Troops, I replaced the heads with various alien figures, including some from Space Police and Alien Conquest. One troop I even made a red Buggoid! Seeing other races and even a few Buggoids themselves taking place in this conflict would have really helped diversify the figure lineup, rather than having Jack Fireblade and Solomon Blaze repeated in 3 sets. The idea of other races fighting with the teams would also be a tiny bit of world building, like all these people were affected by the bugs and are coming in to help. Having a few Buggoids on the team could be cool too, maybe an evil overlord put other members of their race under the spell of a hive-mind and they were lucky enough to escape the clutches of the Queen. The bugs were also lacking with their sets, and all the villain's vehicles were outmatched by the Squad. I always hate when themes do this, the villains should be powerful and oppressing, a force for the underdogs to overcome, not some cannon fodder for the "good guys".

I also feel like there was so much potential for future sets. The Red Team was pretty infamous for getting the short hand of the stick, as they were only in two sets and the vehicles they had were nothing more than speederbikes. The Green Team had it better, but the Blue and Orange teams easily took the spotlight. I'd have loved to see more sets with them, perhaps a battlepack featuring 4 squadies from each of the teams (perhaps some or all being alien themselves) with a Green Team barricade and turret setup to better show they were made for "Defense and Heavy Artillery". Why, I even MOCed up a prototype for it, and the barricades could be linked up in different ways or with each other if you had multiples. There'd be a bug equivalent, of course... 4 random bugs (probably 2 normal ones, a Mosquito, and either a Red one, Mantis, or an entirely new one!), but nice little $10-15 battle-pack sets. A big 50-70 dollar Red Team shuttle or starship would have been lovely, possibly alongside a $20-30 green team tank or ship, and another large bug ship like an 80 dollar Hornet gunship would have helped fill out the bug's fleet. I also desperately wanted bases for each of the sides, with the bug's preferably being larger. The bugs were always outmatched in the price and size of their sets, with the two largest sets both belonging to the Galaxy Squad, so a massive $125-150 base set would have been lovely. Something cool like "The Nest", it could have had a large, partially brick-build Queen as the main antagonist, and bio-mechanical bugs and vehicles everywhere, maybe being able to house or dock with other sets like the Hive Crawler. And a Galaxy Squad center with areas for each of the Teams would have been great, showing off the special things about each of the teams. Giant engines and a small fighter could be in the Red Team section, or sci-fi technology in the Blue section, little things like that. I'm bummed that most of the themes I really enjoy don't get too much attention. Oh well, those are just my nostalgic thoughts, you?   

[icm]

Since the thread has already been bumped and I frequently add and subtract Alien Conquest and Galaxy Squad sets from my Brickset wanted list without ever buying them, I'll chime in - 

The reasons I didn't buy any Galaxy Squad sets when they were still in stores were, first, I wasn't allowing myself to buy Lego as an adult yet, and second, I told myself that if I ever was to buy Lego as an adult, it would just be to pick up the 2012 X-wing model (9493).  The reasons I don't buy Galaxy Squad now are first, too much competition from other Star Wars and City kits I want, and second, although I think the theme is very well executed, I just...don't...really...like it.  If I want militarized spaceships, I'll go to Star Wars.  If I want airplanes, I'll go to City.  I'd much rather have an in-house Space theme where the conflict is only implied, and I'd much rather have minifigures whose heads and faces aren't encumbered by sci-fi headsets and goggles, nor the torsos by chunky armor that gets dated really fast.  I appreciate the nods to Classic Space and Futuron in the primarily white ships with separating modules and carefully chosen accent colors (primarily blue), and I think the bug alien minifigures and vehicles are much more convincing and interesting builds than those of Insectoids.  The theme has everything going for it except originality of concept, on its part, and general interest, on my part.  I just don't like people that look like cyborgs and aliens that look like bugs.  Never have, never will.  Didn't like "Men in Black" as a kid, didn't like the Borg in Star Trek, never wanted to see the buggers in Ender's Game.  I guess there's enough people like me in that way that Galaxy Squad didn't sell.

[Modeltrainman]

@icm I signed in just to say I agree with you. I don't like 'creepy' aliens or robots with multiple hands, bug features or whatever. I admit, I'm young enough to have missed Classic Space, (my favorite space set is 1997's 2152 Robo Raptor) I like aliens that could be friendly. My favorites are the LGMs from Toy Story.

[Digger of Bricks]

I did love the theme in its concept, but certain aspects of many of the sets just didn't quite appeal to me, such as (of course) its lack of colored canopies on the heroes' part, plus I though their spacecraft weren't quite as "swooshable" as playsets from other comparable themes (Mars Mission and Space Police III particularly).

Speaking of such, what would many of you here have changed to the theme to make it more appealing towards your own tastes? 

[Chiaroscuro]

On 11/4/2016 at 1:24 PM, Aanchir said:

Most Creator sets don't use generic smiley faces — that's pretty much just the Modular Buildings.

Not even the Modular Buildings use them anymore, Diner changed them.

[MAB]

10 minutes ago, Chiaroscuro said:

Not even the Modular Buildings use them anymore, Diner changed them.

You replied to a post that is now well over two years old and was factually correct at the time.

[Chiaroscuro]

18 minutes ago, MAB said:

You replied to a post that is now well over two years old and was factually correct at the time.

Ops, sorry. I follow the notification of new content unread and just scroll back the answers up in thread, without realizing I went through the time tunnel.

[M'Kyuun]

On ‎6‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 9:23 PM, Digger of Bricks said:

I did love the theme in its concept, but certain aspects of many of the sets just didn't quite appeal to me, such as (of course) its lack of colored canopies on the heroes' part, plus I though their spacecraft weren't quite as "swooshable" as playsets from other comparable themes (Mars Mission and Space Police III particularly).

Speaking of such, what would many of you here have changed to the theme to make it more appealing towards your own tastes? 

As I mentioned, I like Galaxy Squad, but I think the Insect vehicles were the weak elements in many of the sets. Personally, I would have liked to have seen the Insect vehicles realized closer to Zoids or the spider-inspired Think Tanks of Ghost in the Shell, with articulated legs, claws, etc, with an enclosed cockpit. If they had been more substantial as vehicles, or sentient mecha, then I think there would have been greater appeal. Insects have long been great inspiration for mecha, and by extension, mecha builders, and I feel it was a lost opportunity by LEGO. Too, I think had LEGO not been so invested in the 'conflict in the box' marketing strategy, and just concentrated on making each model as cool as possible within budget, some of those weaker models may have been improved, especially the Insect ones.That's one of the things that still resonates from Classic Space on through the 90's; the sets stood on their own merits, and it was up to the builder what they did with said sets. At the bare minimum, I think all Space sets should be minimally equipped for exploration- include a metal detector and a walkie-talkie for the figs. Beyond that, let imagination drive the action, whatever form that takes.

I can also get behind the idea of bases for both human and alien species; it'd provide an opportunity for creativity. It would also provide opportunity for integration; not everything has to be about conflict. 

[LegoDW]

On ‎6‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 12:23 AM, Digger of Bricks said:

Speaking of such, what would many of you here have changed to the theme to make it more appealing towards your own tastes? 

I was not into Lego when Galaxy Squad came out.  Currently I only own one set, Star Slicer (70703).  I am making my wish list based on comparing to my handful of Mars Mission sets and what I remember as a kid regarding classic space.  Would have like to seen the following changes in GS.

1) All human troops/explorers in one color, Blue.  Prefer a nice consistent uniform for space sets.  Able to build up a army and such.

2) Colored canopies!  Bugs had them, humans need them too.  Don't care what color.

3) A bug factory set.  Set would allow you to custom build all sorts of bugs.  Think this would have been fun and got the kids more interested in theme.

4) Different factions of bugs.  Maybe some would fight with the  humans, say blue bugs are the good guys, green/black the bad.

5) Need some of the large technic missile shooters on the sets.  My kids love to shot those things!

 

[Aanchir]

On 7/7/2018 at 3:02 AM, M'Kyuun said:

As I mentioned, I like Galaxy Squad, but I think the Insect vehicles were the weak elements in many of the sets. Personally, I would have liked to have seen the Insect vehicles realized closer to Zoids or the spider-inspired Think Tanks of Ghost in the Shell, with articulated legs, claws, etc, with an enclosed cockpit. If they had been more substantial as vehicles, or sentient mecha, then I think there would have been greater appeal. Insects have long been great inspiration for mecha, and by extension, mecha builders, and I feel it was a lost opportunity by LEGO. Too, I think had LEGO not been so invested in the 'conflict in the box' marketing strategy, and just concentrated on making each model as cool as possible within budget, some of those weaker models may have been improved, especially the Insect ones.That's one of the things that still resonates from Classic Space on through the 90's; the sets stood on their own merits, and it was up to the builder what they did with said sets. At the bare minimum, I think all Space sets should be minimally equipped for exploration- include a metal detector and a walkie-talkie for the figs. Beyond that, let imagination drive the action, whatever form that takes.

I can also get behind the idea of bases for both human and alien species; it'd provide an opportunity for creativity. It would also provide opportunity for integration; not everything has to be about conflict. 

I didn't really buy a lot of the Galaxy Squad sets, but to be honest the one that wound up being a must-have was the Hive Crawler. I also consider the Warp Stinger one of the theme's more iconic designs, and Space Swarmer was a pretty solid design for its price point, so I'm not sure I'd agree that the insect vehicles were weaker designs than the human ones.

I think the shift away from including things like metal detectors and walkie-talkies in space themes may have less to do with any shift away from exploration and more with those things no longer seeming futuristic to kids. In this day and age, I feel like a sci-fi character with any sort of communicators or sensors/detectors tends to have them built into their suits or as an unobtrusive ear- or wrist-mounted device, not as a separate gadget they have to lug around.

[M'Kyuun]

I'll happily second you on the Hive Crawler and the Space Swarmer, as I found both to be fun designs; however, the Warp Stinger was limited to standing there or being 'flown' about, as its two legs lacked even the most basic articulation. It looks neat, but its playability is minimal. And lest I forget, plastic spheres can be shot out of its tail, a feature that may appeal to some, but really didn't do much for me. The Star Slicer preying mantis inspired mech was likewise devoid of leg articulation, had an open cockpit , and was just a very minimalistic design. As I mentioned, my ideal for these sets would have been beefier insect mecha with enclosed cockpits, articulated legs, wings, and other assorted appendages more along the lines of the Zoids models. 

You make a valid point considering the walkie-talkies, and even the metal detectors, although both still show up in most of LEGO's System themes. I agree that comms today would be integrated, but when considering the minifigs, any sort of utensil, tool, or equipment that can be put in their hands is fair game in a set. I recently got the 2018 Hospital and Arctic Supply Plane sets, and both come with walkie-talkies. So, from a play standpoint, walkie-talkies in the LEGO Universe are still relevant, along with any number of anachronistic tools, equipment, and weapons.

 

[LegoDW]

On ‎7‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 11:51 PM, LegoDW said:

I was not into Lego when Galaxy Squad came out.  Currently I only own one set, Star Slicer (70703).  I am making my wish list based on comparing to my handful of Mars Mission sets and what I remember as a kid regarding classic space.  Would have like to seen the following changes in GS.

1) All human troops/explorers in one color, Blue.  Prefer a nice consistent uniform for space sets.  Able to build up a army and such.

2) Colored canopies!  Bugs had them, humans need them too.  Don't care what color.

3) A bug factory set.  Set would allow you to custom build all sorts of bugs.  Think this would have been fun and got the kids more interested in theme.

4) Different factions of bugs.  Maybe some would fight with the  humans, say blue bugs are the good guys, green/black the bad.

5) Need some of the large technic missile shooters on the sets.  My kids love to shot those things!

 

I was hoping this was going to spark a larger feedback.  IMO feel very starved currently for space sets from TLG not Star Wars related. 

 

[icm]

I started this post a while ago, but didn't finish it because I didn't feel like posting at the time, and I felt I'd already said what I had to say about Galaxy Squad.  But since the forum software saved it, I'll go ahead and post it.  Here's how I would change Galaxy Squad to make it more appealing to my own tastes:

1 - Split the bug aliens and the humans into two separate subthemes of Space.  Leave the bug aliens as they are - I think they're great for what they are, but I'm just not interested in bug aliens!

2 - Drastically simplify the stickers on the human ships.  Leave just a pinstripe or two and the Galaxy Squad split-spaceship logo, which I do think is pretty rad.

3 - Instead of giving the humans snarling faces with cybernetic overlays, give them a smile and a little microphone, like the heads from Exploriens.

4 - Style the human leg/torso prints as exploration spacesuits, not as body armor.

5 - Use the classic standard helmet instead of the CMF space helmet.

6 - Give the spaceships landing gear - at least fixed, if not retractable.  I'm always disappointed when a Lego flying machine just has to flop like a pancake on the ground instead.  That said, I understand how much the need to include landing gear can get in the way of other goals for structural stability or play features.

At the risk of going off-topic, though, I'll repeat an opinion I've expressed in other topics, mainly this one - I understand why a lot of AFOLs feel starved for non-Star Wars space sets.  I totally, 100%, understand, and in many ways I feel the same.  However, if I take a broader perspective and look at sets released in themes that Brickset doesn't classify as "Space," nearly everything that I would want in the sci-fi Space theme of my personal dreams has been covered pretty well in the last few years, by which I mean 2014-2018.  I can't speak for anyone else, of course, but here's what I see:

• A new Galaxy Explorer-class starship, by which I mean a really rad big wedge-shaped ship that seats two or three?  Check - that's the Arrowhead from the Star Wars line.  Sure it's Star Wars, but it's non-canon and I couldn't care less about the show it goes with, so it's just a spaceship to me.
• A new One-Man Spaceship, i.e. a little spaceship that captures the same feel of chunky 70s retrofuturistic utilitarianism as that 1978 set?  Check - that's the first Phantom from the Star Wars Rebels line.  It's from Star Wars and it's even canon, but I've seen very little of the show it goes with, so it's just a spaceship to me.
• More generally, the Marvel Avenjet and DC Javelin that have been released in the Super Heroes lines are just spaceships to me!
• A great big chunky, utilitarian rover that would fit right in at a Moonbase?  Check - that's the Arctic Mobile Exploration Base.
• A whole line about exploring dangerous, uninhabited unknown territory with spiffy, chunky, utilitarian equipment, especially one that includes scenery besides the vehicles?  Check - that's the City Jungle line.  It may not be set in Space and it may have jungle rocks instead of crater plates, but it's pretty darn close to the storyline I would want my ideal Space theme to enact - i.e, something like Lost in Space.
• More generally, since these are not sci-fi but they are definitely space sets, we've just had the most amazing Lego rocket ever released and a set with new space(wo)men in new colors (in more senses than one).

Speaking yet more generally, I just suppose that the "space" genre of product line has been folded into the "action and adventure" class, and I'm OK with that.  Before 1995, the Space line was the only line that featured fantastic, futuristic vehicles and settings.  The "action and adventure" genre began in 1995 with Aquazone, which was in its building style and design language basically just Space with propellers and flippers instead of rocket motors and metal detectors.  Then Rock Raiders was, officially, about space miners on a distant planet, but since they were underground we only saw their mining equipment instead of their spaceship itself.  The first Alpha Team line had a Moonraker-style spaceship, and even if subsequent Alpha Team and Agents lines haven't had vehicles labeled as spaceships they've sure had a lot of fantastic zippy flying machines.  Same with Exo-Force, Nexo Knights, Ninjago...the only real difference between something like the Lightning Jet from the Ninjago Movie, or the Rumble Blade from Nexo Knights, and a SPACESHIP!!! (as Benny would say) is that the box art doesn't feature a black sky and desolate alien terrain, and there's no breathing equipment to help the pilots when they bail out.  As I see it, it's not so much that TLG has stopped making Space themes as it is that TLG has diversified its approach to sci-fi well beyond simple Star Trek-style concepts of boldly going where no one has gone before, and fighting some aliens along the way.  That doesn't necessarily mean that TLG has given up on Space, just that Space isn't the only sci-fi kind of theme it's willing to make anymore.

OK, that's enough off-topic commentary.  Better not reply to this in this thread - use the one I linked to instead.  I just don't know enough to say anything helpful about Galaxy Squad in this thread that I haven't said already, and I've already said my piece in the other thread.

[Digger of Bricks]

Here are some of the changes I would've liked to have seen done to the line:

• Make the protagonists' spacecraft a bit more "swooshable" and sleeker, more akin that is to the shape and design adopted by some of the protagonists' spacecraft for Space Police III.
• Give the protagonists' spacecraft only a single color scheme, preferably the White and Dark Azure one with Trans-Yellow canopies replacing the Trans-White ones. Also, the Dark Azure pinstripe accenting upon the White would be depicted with bricks instead of stickers as best as possible.
• Unlike their spacecraft, the Squad would have differing colors for their outfits, but they would instead designate ranks as opposed to teams. Plus, some would be outfitted with armor, much like that donned by the Series 13 Galaxy Trooper.
• The Insectoid builds would not be piloted craft for the minifigures of the theme's antagonists, but rather be bugs themselves to fight alongside the Insectoid minifigures. Also, the brick-built bugs' would be constructed in Olive Green (not Lime Green) and Dark Red with Trans-Red accenting, reflective of the color scheme of their minifigure comrades.
• Insectoid minifigures would also be given a bit more variety in their body types, some with multiple arms and/or legs or shorter and/or taller heights, with some variance in printing too.
• Lastly, there would be at least one or two Battle Pack sets done during the theme's lifespan.

Edited July 16, 2018 by Digger of Bricks

[LegoDW]

Man, there have been some great suggestion on improvements for the series.  I like most are completely starved for non SW space sets.  I have resisted the temptation to purchase any SW sets as I'm already collecting to many themes.

I'm only 2 years back into Lego, so their are a ton of space sets out there (discontinued) I am dream over, purchasing slowly.  First I got 6 Mars Mission sets, now I have 3 GS sets and planning on getting more.  

Here are a few of my thoughts for what its worth

1) Yes, the humans need a more consistent color scheme.  I favor blue like others, but could back any of the colors of the series.

2) Bug factory....YES!  That would have been awesome.  

3) Bug large builds, yes they need to be more ship like and playable.

4) Why doesn't TLG through out a set every couple of years on an old series?  Say they released GS set this year, and a Mars Mission next.  Think they would sell and bring some interest to older themes.  If a set sold particularly well, maybe they could reboot the series.  I mean really, if Walmart has a cool spaceship set sitting on the shelf next to a bunch if city sets (don't put next to SW), think kids would want it.  Also SW stuff is pretty much build and done.....cannot really modify theses sets as so specialized.  A generic space ship could be rebuilt numerous ways.

5) GS sets, the big ones, should have had official 3 in 1 builds.  Sets should have included parts and instruction on building different vehicles and bugs.  This would prompt the creative juices in builders and generated a lot of interesting mocs.

I fear the SW series is just to powerful to overcome at this point (The Empire).  Fear like others we are in for a long drought for a new original space themed series. So thankful for the reseller market (can't believe I just typed that).