LEGO Sci-Fi Ongoing - Rumors, Speculation, and Discussion

[Lyichir]

Very cute! As was probably to be expected for a GWP, there's no "new" parts (apart from the reissue of the torso and the sticker sheet). But I'll be pleased to get that windscreen for the first time, having not gotten any of the Lightyear sets.

[icm]

Do we know when that GWP is releasing?

[Khargeust]

18 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

Very cute! As was probably to be expected for a GWP, there's no "new" parts (apart from the reissue of the torso and the sticker sheet). But I'll be pleased to get that windscreen for the first time, having not gotten any of the Lightyear sets.

Sticker sheet ? 

I hope everything is printed.

[Lyichir]

13 minutes ago, Khargeust said:

Sticker sheet ? 

I hope everything is printed.

It definitely looks like stickers in the images that I saw. Which is a little unfortunate, but unlike the Forestman's Hideout from this year there isn't any larger/more widely produced Blacktron set to budget prints from.

On the plus side, stickers probably mean crisper colors than we might've gotten with yellow printing on black anyway...

[Classic_Spaceman]

This looks good, but it is just a little underwhelming for me. The canopy is tapered while the body is not (and the cockpit is too large when compared to the original set - this part would have been better), the rear wings are the same size as those on the original, despite the ship being scaled-up, and are just translucent tiles over a solid plate (instead of being fully translucent). Additionally, the stickers (rather than prints) and unaltered Minifig are similarly not up to my (admittedly very high) expectations; I was hoping for a 'Blacktron I 2.0' Minifig, like the Space Police I CMF. 😕

Also, does anyone else think that the stickers look suspiciously like customs? LEGO usually renders stickers as the same colour as the part that they are on, while these are obviously a different colour. 
 

[RichardGoring]

On 11/29/2022 at 1:30 PM, Killian said:

For any UK based Earthlings, just found this in WHSmiths in Leeds for a great price today.

That's impressive, thanks! It's also online, so I ordered two.

[danth]

12 hours ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

This looks good, but it is just a little underwhelming for me. The canopy is tapered while the body is not (and the cockpit is too large when compared to the original set - this part would have been better), the rear wings are the same size as those on the original, despite the ship being scaled-up, and are just translucent tiles over a solid plate (instead of being fully translucent). Additionally, the stickers (rather than prints) and unaltered Minifig are similarly not up to my (admittedly very high) expectations; I was hoping for a 'Blacktron I 2.0' Minifig, like the Space Police I CMF. 😕

Also, does anyone else think that the stickers look suspiciously like customs? LEGO usually renders stickers as the same colour as the part that they are on, while these are obviously a different colour. 

This is mostly how I feel. The box is spectacular, but man those stickers are an eyesore. I mean I hate stickers generally but these are especially bad. The obvious outlines of the stickers, especially on larger parts like the side panels, it just looks really bad. I wish they had photoshopped them to look better for the sake of having a beautiful box! Although that would be arguably unethical/false advertisement.

I wasn't really expecting much, but I think the Forestman GWP was a much better update...maybe due to the lack of stickers? A single blacktron tile they could reuse in three spots might have been a better approach, even if it meant re-configuring the design a bit. And I don't really buy into the "it's to expensive" argument. Cobi does prints, Megablocks does prints, while maintaining a comparable quality of clutch power etc. I think Lego just has a higher level of avarice, to be honest. With the newly downgraded extra scratchy windscreens, it's almost like Lego is cheapening so much it's not a prestige brand anymore but a knock off of its past self.

The design is meh. No parts to be excited about besides the minifig. I dunno.

Edited December 20, 2022 by danth

[Aanchir]

For the most part I'm impressed with the new Blacktron Cruiser, but yeah, it does have some shortcomings. Unlike the updated Forest Hideout (which largely retained the original model's proportions) or Galaxy Explorer (which increased the overall height, width, and length by around 50%), this model increases the original set's length, but leaves its width and the proportions of specific details like the rear flaps/solar panels around the same. The resulting appearance still looks pretty great in my opinion — in fact, I quite like the new model's longer, sharper wings and larger tail stabilizer — but the likeness to the original model is diminished in the process.

The graphics look nice to me, and some details like the forward laser cannons, the droid, and the customizable splitting function are updated very effectively. The HUD panel/holographic display panel inside the cockpit is a clever addition that helps the interior feel very futuristic. The use of the large 3x7 banner pieces for the cargo hold are likewise a great choice, but their angle bothers me since it doesn't match the 45-degree angles used for the rest of the fuselage. That said, the angles of the aft section of the fuselage (behind the cargo hold) are much nicer than the original, tapering gently towards the tail instead of ending abruptly in a flat surface.

There are definitely portions of this set, such as the underside of the fuselage, that will be easier to judge in-hand than just in these box photos. None of the photos really show the rear engine clearly, either, so I'm eager to see what changes were made there compared to the simple grey 2x2 round brick used for the rocket engine of the original set. But as I said, my general impression so far is positive, and it's possible some of the aspects that bug me might be easy enough to remedy with a bit of modding. I suppose time will teell!

[danth]

I guess there are rumors of a "Vault" line in 2023 that may or may not be a subscription service.

I just want Lego to know that I would pay through the nose for something like that, if they really are going to make updated versions of old sets WITHOUT stickers.

[RichardGoring]

5 hours ago, danth said:

I guess there are rumors of a "Vault" line in 2023 that may or may not be a subscription service.

I just want Lego to know that I would pay through the nose for something like that, if they really are going to make updated versions of old sets WITHOUT stickers.

What did you say, sorry? You'd be happy to pay through the nose for standard bricks but in a special 'Collector's Edition' box and chrome sticker pack? Sure thing! That will be $50 per month please.

[Inspecter]

22 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

What did you say, sorry? You'd be happy to pay through the nose for standard bricks but in a special 'Collector's Edition' box and chrome sticker pack? Sure thing! That will be $50 per month please.

I knew a specialized line of set remakes was too good to be true.

[jodawill]

I've waited several days to chime in here so I could take some time to mull it over. The original Blacktron subtheme was always a bit too plain for my taste, so I was looking forward to seeing them do a modern refresh. So I was somewhat taken aback when I saw these images.

To me, when it comes to these re-releases of classic sets, there are really only two ways it could appeal to me. The first is to be a 100% reproduction of the original, like the re-releases they did in the early 2000s. That obviously wasn't going to happen here because so many of the parts are no longer in production. The other way it would appeal to me is if they improve upon the original design in some way. That's what they did with the Forest Hideout, and that was a smashing success.

This set falls into some weird gray area between those two options. It's not a faithful reproduction of the original, but it also doesn't improve upon the original in any meaningful way. What's even more confounding is that the original is only $50, and the minifigure is only $5. So if I really wanted this set, it makes more sense to me to buy the original.

There are several issues I have with this set as they're releasing it. First, the stickers are a huge turnoff to me, especially on a textured part. I wouldn't have expected them to print several parts, but they could have at the very least printed a single tile and used it in multiple locations. I'm mainly just confused by how closely they tried to stick to the original design, yet failing in such strange ways due to their limited part selection I had really been hoping they would re-release the half-octagon plate in trans red, or at least use a substitute in the same color. To me, the 1x2 tiles make it look really cheap. Actually, my overall impression is that it looks like Lepin tried to re-release the Invader -- not Lego.

If this was a set that was dearer to me, I might have a more positive impression. I also expect I'll be more excited about it once I have one in my hands. But if I had been involved in the decision for this GWP, I would have either asked them to come up with a fresh redesign. But I also would have suggested they go another route entirely. Since they already have the Galaxy Explorer in production, I would have suggested they re-release another classic space set. I would have gone with one of these:

891 Two Seater Space Scooter

I think this one would be trivial to re-design with modern parts. The tail piece isn't in production anymore, but if they increased the scale of the set by about 20%, they could use the 1x4x3 tail instead. Since the minifigure is already in production, they could have used that frame they spent on the torso on the printed gray 1x3 slope instead. Getting that part in bley would be a huge win for classic space fans.

6872 Xenon X-Craft

Granted, the yellow minifigure isn't currently in production. If they couldn't get the budget to put it back into production, then they could just as well use the white minifigure. They would have to make it a bit longer than the original since the canopies currently in production are larger. But I think that would be ok. They could turn this small set into something more similar to the size of the Blacktron GWP, and it would be pretty cool.

The Galaxy Explorer will still be on shelves for at least another year, I'm sure. So it's also entirely possible that they actually are planning a classic space GWP and we just don't know about it yet. Who knows. This Blacktron set is okay. I'm glad we're getting it, but I think I'm struggling to adjust after setting my expectations so high when this set was rumored. Hopefully the minifigure shows up on Pick a Brick so all of the Blacktron fans can stock up on them at a good price.

[danth]

So I noticed pretty immediately that on the box front, the tail of the Blacktron spaceship looks pretty crooked. Now I'm wondering if there's some mechanism where you can angle the tail and in turn it will make the rear fins (with the trans red pieces) move.

[jonwil]

It may not be perfect but I still want the blacktron set for my collection.

 

[GeoBrick]

21 hours ago, danth said:

So I noticed pretty immediately that on the box front, the tail of the Blacktron spaceship looks pretty crooked. Now I'm wondering if there's some mechanism where you can angle the tail and in turn it will make the rear fins (with the trans red pieces) move.

On some of the pics the tail is indeed a little bit angled. Maybe just an artifact of the camera?
Otherwise, the tail might just be attached by a clip. I don't have the impression the engine part is big enough to hide a turning mechanism on three directions.

[danth]

22 hours ago, GeoBrick said:

Otherwise, the tail might just be attached by a clip. I don't have the impression the engine part is big enough to hide a turning mechanism on three directions.

I looked at the pics again that shows how the tail is attached. Yeah, there is no mechanism there. I think they just didn't clip the tail in completely for the box pic!

[Aanchir]

2 hours ago, danth said:

I looked at the pics again that shows how the tail is attached. Yeah, there is no mechanism there. I think they just didn't clip the tail in completely for the box pic!

Oof. Well, honestly, that kind of gives me hope that maybe the cargo hold flaps can also be lined up with the fuselage better than they were in the box pic. If not, I guess there's still the possibility you can smooth them out a bit with some modding, but in any case, that's my primary frustration with the design as of right now.

I have mixed feelings about the minifigure also, to be honest (I just realized I didn't mention that in my earlier post). I'm not as bothered with new Classic Space sets reusing the original torso decoration as-is, because it's meant to represent a logo, and that sort of minimalism remains fairly timeless in that context. But the Blacktron torso decoration is meant to represent an actual flight harness rather than just a logo, and so it ends up feeling much more dated to leave it as a flat monochrome print without any color contrast or shading to give it a stronger sense of physicality or differentiate the components and materials that make up the harness.

I am still a pretty big fan of the updated Blacktron torso used for Rench from Space Police 3. It adds some additional shades of grey and silver, more elaborate contours, and even some back printing to continue the belt pattern around the figure's waist. But it still adhered closely to the original graphic's simple, angular design rather than adding any elaborate textures or curved contours like those on many modern LEGO Space torso patterns. It also works great in conjunction with the Series 3 Space Villain torso to differentiate ordinary pilots and footsoldiers from higher-ranking members of the Blacktron fleet.

I wouldn't expect LEGO to have brought back either of those patterns for a set like this, of course, but the former is a good example of the sort of updates I might've preferred over just leaving the torso pattern identical to the original Blacktron astronaut torso. The chosen torso decoration still makes plenty of sense since the point of the set is to be a throwback, and I can definitely appreciate it in that respect. But it's not my personal preference.

[Classic_Spaceman]

On 12/20/2022 at 11:58 AM, danth said:

A single blacktron tile they could reuse in three spots might have been a better approach, even if it meant re-configuring the design a bit.

Just a new slope for the nose/tail and a tile or panel for the fuselage (in addition to updated Minifig parts) would have been enough for this set, and they could easily be reused in a small Creator 3-in-1. 
 

7 hours ago, Aanchir said:

I have mixed feelings about the minifigure also, to be honest (I just realized I didn't mention that in my earlier post). I'm not as bothered with new Classic Space sets reusing the original torso decoration as-is, because it's meant to represent a logo, and that sort of minimalism remains fairly timeless in that context. But the Blacktron torso decoration is meant to represent an actual flight harness rather than just a logo, and so it ends up feeling much more dated to leave it as a flat monochrome print without any color contrast or shading to give it a stronger sense of physicality or differentiate the components and materials that make up the harness.

I agree with this completely - the simplistic design of the Classic Space Minifigs is part of their charm, but the other Space subthemes absolutely need redesigns to work in modern sets. 
 

[RichardGoring]

I think the comment about the torso needing more detail applies to the entire craft, to my eyes. To be fair, I never had much classic space (it was forestmen and pirates for me), but the classic space stuff felt elegant in design, like it was sleek and super futuristic. Whereas the other space themes felt like they lacked that clean elegance in an attempt to make it look more functional and detailed. And so as a result, this set doesn't feel anything like as good as the Galaxy Explorer set, because it doesn't have the detail you'd expect, and I don't know whether the impression of detail is sufficient nowadays, at minifigure scale. Obviously it's hard at the piece count of a GWP, but this is one of those sets where clearly bigger would have been better. Although I'm generally a fan of small, efficient builds.

[Aanchir]

13 hours ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

I agree with this completely - the simplistic design of the Classic Space Minifigs is part of their charm, but the other Space subthemes absolutely need redesigns to work in modern sets.

Well, I think the M:Tron and Blacktron II torso patterns could be mostly left as-is, since they have a similar graphical quality — if you had to change anything, I suppose more colors could be added to the M:Tron logo to match the red/orange/yellow pattern the logo features on the box art and other print material, and perhaps the white octagonal border around the Blacktron 2 logo could be changed to another color like silver for the sake of contrast. You could also update the legs with dual molding for less of a Superman-style "underwear over tights" look, but that doesn't necessarily call for new printing

The main torso patterns where I think updates are more clearly called for are those featuring discrete spacesuit components or gadgets like cables/hoses, utility belts, harnesses, zippers, etc. Oftentimes some of these details were represented in a very abstract way (like, say, a dotted line for the radio cables on the Space Police II torsos) that could be improved with the addition of thinner lines and more print colors.

Edited December 25, 2022 by Aanchir

[Classic_Spaceman]

3 hours ago, Aanchir said:

Well, I think the M:Tron and Blacktron II torso patterns could be mostly left as-is, since they have a similar graphical quality — if you had to change anything, I suppose more colors could be added to the M:Tron logo to match the red/orange/yellow pattern the logo features on the box art and other print material, and perhaps the white octagonal border around the Blacktron 2 logo could be changed to another color like silver for the sake of contrast. You could also update the legs with dual molding for less of a Superman-style "underwear over tights" look, but that doesn't necessarily call for new printing

To me, leaving M;Tron and Blacktron II with just their logos would make them look like they are wearing t-shirts instead of spacesuits. I feel like Blacktron II would need some armour plating on the torso, while M;Tron needs a rugged high-visibility jumpsuit (for either mining or rescue). 
 

[Fenghuang0296]

So we know the promotion for the Blacktron GWP is going live on Jan 1, but do we know which regions it’s in? Will it be available in AUS? Sometimes they delay these GWPs in my region.

[Murdoch17]

Blacktron Cruiser GWP Revealed on Brickset!

I even see they put the sticker on the mailbox upside down... It seems it's no longer owned by Blacktron, as it holds the Triforce from Legend of Zelda! I guess Blacktron is actually secretly run by Gannon? 

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

So exciting! Hope Lego keeps giving us retro sets for all iconic space subthemes. I wonder if the vote also gave them good reason to believe in the appeal of retro sets for other subthemes.

[Khargeust]

Why using stickers LEGO, why ?!