2024 Space sets

[Space78]

36 minutes ago, Stereo said:

When it came out, the original Aquazone felt like space to me.  I think Lego was more vague on lore back then, so there's nothing actually tying it to Earth, unlike Atlantis.  But I do have a pretty narrow window of Lego Space as a kid, 1993-1995, after that I was all in on Technic, I probably still glanced through the catalogs but I was saving my money.  So they'd have to get pretty specific to hit my nostalgia (Space Police 2, Ice Planet 2002, the neon yellow Blacktron), hasn't happened yet.

I'd say that's where I'm at too.  For me the Classic Space theme is so cool and nostalgic, that I can't get excited about anything outside CS.  I don't even care for Blacktron, M-Tron, Space police, etc.  So, the recent Galaxy Explorer was super cool and why I ended up with 7 sets.  But, beyond that, I'm not really buying anything new.  I did buy a couple of the new Space sets, more out of curiosity.  I was very impressed by the Interstellar Spaceship (60430), but have no plans to buy anything else.

[Murdoch17]

2 hours ago, Stereo said:

When it came out, the original Aquazone felt like space to me.  I think Lego was more vague on lore back then, so there's nothing actually tying it to Earth, unlike Atlantis.  But I do have a pretty narrow window of Lego Space as a kid, 1993-1995, after that I was all in on Technic, I probably still glanced through the catalogs but I was saving my money.  So they'd have to get pretty specific to hit my nostalgia (Space Police 2, Ice Planet 2002, the neon yellow Blacktron), hasn't happened yet.

Aquazone originally WAS a space theme with it's own molded-head aliens and a monorail expansion. (prototypes / pictures exist of these) It was called Seatron before being refurbished into Aquazone. So you were correct in it feeling vaguely space @Stereo!

[Artanis I]

And we have Aquazone to thank for the trans-green 1/4 domes for building the absent Space Police 2 base

[Lion King]

After returning home from two-week-long vacation in Asia, I saw some blackship info. It got me excited so I read description and it got me infused there. As I caught up further, my confusion is cleared by Pharrell Williams stuff…

 

[JesseNight]

Well we don't have a detailed idea yet what the movie is gonna be about... so the spaceship could still be anything!
I'm generally not really interested in IP stuff but if it looks good and fits with my space themes (or can be made to fit without crazy cost or losing unique parts), I might still go for it. Time will tell.

[Classic_Spaceman]

On 3/20/2024 at 7:33 PM, danth said:

I can't speak for everyone, but for me, it's not that hard to make something feel like Space. You just need "colored" windscreens, like trans purple for example (but not trans light blue which is city, or black/brown), some sort of minifig with a helmet and airtank/backpack, a space setting that isn't obviously the Solar system, and spaceships/bases/walkers etc.

To clarify, this means that you do not consider Life on Mars, Mars Mission, Space Police III (Earth can be seen on the box art), Alien Conquest, or Galaxy Squad to be true Space themes? 
I personally do not consider LoM to be a fully Space theme (more of an offshoot of Space Port), and Alien Conquest is in an odd position where there are spaceships but the setting is Earth (Rock Raiders is in the same category for me, since though it technically takes place in space, nothing in the sets indicates that). Mars Mission, SP3, and Galaxy Squad are Space to me, though. 
 

[JesseNight]

I made a difference between realistic and fantasy space for myself.
Realistic being space shuttles, rocket launches (on earth), Mars missions, stuff like that (sorry I'm not too familiar with these).
Fantasy being the space ships and bases from factions like Futuron, Blacktron, Space Police, and everything that came after it in the 90s.
I always had mostly interest in the latter.

[Khargeust]

So, no set inspired by the golden age (80'-90') of the Space theme planned for this year?

[SpacePolice89]

On 3/18/2024 at 4:13 AM, Classic_Spaceman said:

Finally some new information on the mythical black spaceship. Bad news - It sounds terrible! 

10391 [Moments Space] / $109.99 / 966 Pieces / September 20 release 
Description: "The set includes a black spaceship with a long trail for it to hang on to and keep it from falling off. The ship is almost all black, with a few gray parts and a gold cockpit in the front. On its wings are two symbols that represent exactly this spaceship and something that looks like a rainbow. The writing on the ship is "Atlantis Apts". The spaceship's trail (which is bigger than the ship itself) consists mostly of green, orange, blue, and pink colours, with white parts at the end. The set also includes a frame with 49 headpieces with different skin colors and many new face prints. The frame says "My Phriends" and has two black and gold space helmets. The set includes two minifigures (with torso and leg prints); male and female. They wear gray suits and the space helmets seem to be for them." 
 

This is really bad news. Why do the Space theme always get mistreated like this when nice sets like the Eldorado Fortress and the Medieval Village get released for other themes. Why base a spaceship on the apartment of some rapper? I don't give a rat's megablocks about 549 different skintones or whatever Hollywood crap they try to push these days. We need proper Space sets!

[danth]

15 hours ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

true Space themes

I very intentionally did not say those words actually. I don't want to get swatted by the opinion police.

More like: you either have all the elements that the first 20 years of Space had, or you don't. The more you have, the more it feels like Space to me.

Edited March 24 by danth

[danth]

15 hours ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

Alien Conquest

Yeah it definitely has the least elements of 80s/90s space. I mean it's not in space. No colored windscreens, no backpack/airtanks. Doesn't mean it wasn't cool. Doesn't mean it wasn't sci-fi. Doesn't mean it didn't have a walker and a space ship. Also the jetpack polybag had the classic jetpack armor piece. But it doesn't feel much like Space to me. 

What's funny is that Alien Conquest could have totally been set within the City theme. It's more City than 2024 City Space because it actually takes place on earth.

And yet Space fans get lambasted on this forum for dare saying Alien Conquest felt more like a City theme. Well...looks like Lego agrees with us since the 2024 Space sets are in City!

But then we also get lambasted for wishing for a non-City space theme.

"SpAcE FaNs aRe ImPoSsIbLe To pLeAsE"

[Lyichir]

2 hours ago, SpacePolice89 said:

This is really bad news. Why do the Space theme always get mistreated like this when nice sets like the Eldorado Fortress and the Medieval Village get released for other themes. Why base a spaceship on the apartment of some rapper? I don't give a rat's megablocks about 549 different skintones or whatever Hollywood crap they try to push these days. We need proper Space sets!

"Always" get mistreated like this? The Galaxy Explorer set was just two years ago. The existence of things that aren't tailored specifically toward you shouldn't bother you this much.

[danth]

43 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

"Always" get mistreated like this? The Galaxy Explorer set was just two years ago. The existence of things that aren't tailored specifically toward you shouldn't bother you this much.

Policing emotions now?

The Lion Knights Castle was also two years ago and there's already a follow up set. You know this, so it's kinda like you're just arguing in bad faith to purposely antagonize @SpacePolice89.

It's obvious that the upset is not about something else existing, its about Space not getting the same follow up as Castle or Pirates.

Edited March 24 by danth

[icm]

Dude, there's not a follow up set to the Galaxy Explorer, there's a whole follow up cross theme extravaganza.

It's just not directly in the same style is all, but rather doing something new and fresh and different.

[Bob De Quatre]

Guys please stay polite and respectful to other's opinions, thanks.

[danth]

19 minutes ago, icm said:

Dude, there's not a follow up set to the Galaxy Explorer, there's a whole follow up cross theme extravaganza.

It's just not directly in the same style is all, but rather doing something new and fresh and different.

Yeah, but that's actually a valid argument.

I even almost made that argument.

But those sets obviously don't scratch the itch that @SpacePolice89 has, so we should maybe not tell him his feelings are wrong.

For me, the 2024 Space sets are a big consolation. Not exactly what I wanted, but still pretty cool. If the City sets had trans-purple canopies like the Friends sets, it would basically have been the Second Coming for me. Man, that would have been so cool!

Plus I think we all have to admit, it's pretty funny that the much touted YEAR OF SPACE doesn't have an actual retro Space themed set other than the baby GWP.

 

Edited March 24 by danth

[icm]

8 minutes ago, danth said:

Plus I think we all have to admit, it's pretty funny that the much touted YEAR OF SPACE doesn't have an actual retro Space themed set other than the baby GWP.

You know how broad-minded I am in my definition of Space, but even I agree that's pretty disappointing. Unless the Pharrell Williams spaceship really knocks my socks off, I would much rather it have been a big Blacktron 1 spaceship. Oh well.

[SpacePolice89]

2 hours ago, Lyichir said:

"Always" get mistreated like this? The Galaxy Explorer set was just two years ago. The existence of things that aren't tailored specifically toward you shouldn't bother you this much.

They had their own Space theme with a distinct design language for 20 years. Most people that are interested in buying Icons style sets grew up with that and expect something respectful to the heritage and fandom that exists. Other companies understands this. The upcoming Dodge Charger is based on the heritage and design language of the Charger. What is now happening is like if Dodge would base the design of the new Charger on something random like Harrison Ford's first bicycle.

1 hour ago, danth said:

But those sets obviously don't scratch the itch that @SpacePolice89 has, so we should maybe not tell him his feelings are wrong.

For me, the 2024 Space sets are a big consolation. Not exactly what I wanted, but still pretty cool. If the City sets had trans-purple canopies like the Friends sets, it would basically have been the Second Coming for me. Man, that would have been so cool!

Plus I think we all have to admit, it's pretty funny that the much touted YEAR OF SPACE doesn't have an actual retro Space themed set other than the baby GWP.

I was so looking forward to a huge Blacktron spaceship. It feels so frustrating to watch all other themes except Space getting "space" sets. At least I can look forward to the Blacktron 2, M-Tron and Ice Planet minifigs from the upcoming series.

[Lion King]

1 hour ago, Bob De Quatre said:

Guys please stay polite and respectful to other's opinions, thanks.

Per your “rank”, I have no idea what guys are talking about here.  But agreed, it’s best to be polite and respectful.

Edited March 24 by Lion King

[Lyichir]

32 minutes ago, SpacePolice89 said:

They had their own Space theme with a distinct design language for 20 years. Most people that are interested in buying Icons style sets grew up with that and expect something respectful to the heritage and fandom that exists. Other companies understands this. The upcoming Dodge Charger is based on the heritage and design language of the Charger. What is now happening is like if Dodge would base the design of the new Charger on something random like Harrison Ford's first bicycle.

I mean, it's weird to insist Lego's "own Space theme" had a single distinct design language when it tended to be more like a collection of different subthemes all with different aesthetics (apart from sharing certain parts, which is more a consequence of the limits of the system at that time than anything else). As a fan of many of those old space themes growing up I don't see why something like the City or Friends space sets this year are considered unworthy successors to that legacy, other than stubbornness on the part of older fans.

To be honest I think the "Space" theme is bigger now than it has been in a long time. We're getting a CMF series, subthemes across multiple different major themes, and (admittedly) weird endeavors like this supposed movie tie-in set. Compare that to a decade ago, when the Galaxy Squad theme had just ended and the ONLY space set was a GWP Classic Space minifigure. There's a lot more choices available for Space fans today, including not just nostalgic throwbacks but also other sets that push the category of Space sets in new and interesting directions. If you're going to dismiss all of those and gripe instead about wholly unrelated and imaginary issues like "549 different skin tones", I don't see why anyone (Lego included) would consider you to be worth catering to when there are plenty of other fans who are more than happy to adapt with the times and engage with new ideas.

[Black Falcon]

8 hours ago, Khargeust said:

So, no set inspired by the golden age (80'-90') of the Space theme planned for this year?

The GWP was, but it doesn´t seem like we are getting a set to buy this year. 

5 hours ago, SpacePolice89 said:

This is really bad news. Why do the Space theme always get mistreated like this when nice sets like the Eldorado Fortress and the Medieval Village get released for other themes. Why base a spaceship on the apartment of some rapper? I don't give a rat's megablocks about 549 different skintones or whatever Hollywood crap they try to push these days. We need proper Space sets!

If you are looking in the pirates-section, you will pretty much see the same complains. When Castle and Space got the Galaxy Explorer and Lion Knights Castle they got nothing. Last year the got Eldorado, which didn´t please all of them either - well this year 

2 hours ago, danth said:

The Lion Knights Castle was also two years ago and there's already a follow up set. You know this, so it's kinda like you're just arguing in bad faith to purposely antagonize @SpacePolice89.

It's obvious that the upset is not about something else existing, its about Space not getting the same follow up as Castle or Pirates.

Pirates only got a follow up set if you are counting the Barracuda Bay, which surely had a similar appeal but the Eldorado Fortress isn´t really a follow up set to that one. It is more a follow up set to the Galaxy Explorer and the Lion Knights Castle, since Pirates didn´t got a Set for the 90s jubilee.

I don´t get all this this theme got this, and that theme got that anyways - in the end we should all be happy we are getting those sets at all. I could also state that Space gets a own CMF or that it gets it´s own subtheme for city - surely it isn´t classic space but it is space. If we are beeing honest, Space, Pirates and Castle all longed for getting new Sets for a long time. And if Lego would have made new Sets of any of these themes, none of that would have been like the classic sets we got decades ago.

 

[Mandalorianknight]

5 hours ago, Lyichir said:

"Always" get mistreated like this? The Galaxy Explorer set was just two years ago. The existence of things that aren't tailored specifically toward you shouldn't bother you this much.

I feel like it's pretty reasonable to be bummed that the Blacktron ship turned out to be some rapper's spaceship with a ton of heads. Less of "something exists that isn't specifically tailored to me" and more of "what we thought was a new classic space set is actually not even remotely a classic space set"

[Lyichir]

55 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

I feel like it's pretty reasonable to be bummed that the Blacktron ship turned out to be some rapper's spaceship with a ton of heads. Less of "something exists that isn't specifically tailored to me" and more of "what we thought was a new classic space set is actually not even remotely a classic space set"

My confusion was more the assertion that classic space fans were somehow uniquely mistreated compared to fans of other themes, which is not even remotely the case. Classic space is one of the most frequently referenced and homaged retro Lego themes, and one individual set not being based on it does not negate that.

[Murdoch17]

25 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

My confusion was more the assertion that classic space fans were somehow uniquely mistreated compared to fans of other themes, which is not even remotely the case. Classic space is one of the most frequently referenced and homaged retro Lego themes, and one individual set not being based on it does not negate that.

Agreed - there are themes out there that never received set revivals (I mean beyond CMF's and so on) - Adventurers comes to mind among a few others, but that's gonna change this summer! Others like Western will probably never see a revival. (Lone Ranger doesn't count!)

Edited March 25 by Murdoch17

[Space78]

Agree, I would not characterize the lack of another CS set this year as being "mistreated."  I just think the CS fan group must be much smaller, thus less demand for CS sets from Lego's perspective than some of the other "classic" themes.  "Castle" has Lion Knight's Castle (still an active set), but also got the  Creator 3 in 1 Castle, which is also current, and a nice "entry" level castle set in and of itself.  A lady falconer was also offered in the Castle style in last year's CMF series.  Then, the Majisto GWP during (the very high sales volume) pre-Black Friday Insider's weekend, and Black Friday weekend, so I suspect a lot of those sets were made.  Castle has also had at least one set in each of the four rounds of the Bricklink Designer program.  The castle in round 1 sold out in less than 24 hours.  So, I'd say Castle theme is doing very well after having been retired as a theme for some time, and clearly the demand is there.

In comparison CS got the Galaxy Explorer 10497, the Blacktron Invader GWP at two different times last year, and a brown spaceman with blue space baby as a 2024 CMF.  So far this year we had a very short lived micro-version of CS sets as a GWP, and we are seeing a pink space baby in a 2024 CMF series, but.... nothing else as far as I'm aware.  At this point, I'm not expecting anything either, unless something makes it through a future Bricklink Designer program round.  Given how fast the micro-space GWP sold out, it leads me to believe Lego does not expect much demand for CS-themed sets.

Yes, there is a new City Space sub-theme this year, and some cross-theme sets to go along with that.  It will be interesting to see is if there are new City Space sets in 2025.  It's a nice current line, but as a CS fan, it doesn't do much for me.  But that's true of most of the "modern" non-licensed Lego themes.  I believe Blocks magazine did a study of Lego sets over the past decades comparing numbers of licensed and non-licensed sets.  If I recall right, currently 80% of Lego's sets are from a licensed theme.  That does not leave much room for anything else.