Where is Space 2012?

[Si-MOCs]

Sadly I suspect that space was superseded not so much by Star Wars this year as by Monster Hunters. Which is filling the role that is not so much as "space" as it is "scifi genre / horror".

Except that the Monsters isn't Sci-Fi ... it's Adventures

Ah well. I'm getting SPACE MARINES, I'm pretty happy - small steps!

[Algernon]

Except that the Monsters isn't Sci-Fi ... it's Adventures

Ah well. I'm getting SPACE MARINES, I'm pretty happy - small steps!

The Space Marines are almost enough honestly, what an awesome minifig design!

[Commander Adama]

The AC line is actually on sale right now!

Which means it's done I really liked the AC line... I'm sad to see it go...

One little silver lining for 2012 is the Series 7 Space Marine:

You can read all about him, and his friends in WhiteFang's awesome reivew

(though you can make a good argument that a lot of the Ninjago stuff can be classified as Sci-Fi spaces-ish... )

Don't know if it's intentional but it looks like a HALO type of marine..

[Laura Beinbrech]

Don't know if it's intentional but it looks like a HALO type of marine..

I thought he looks more like a Warhammer 40K/Starcraft Space Marine....

[meyerc13]

It isn't the Monster Fighters theme that is filling the sci fi slot... monsters are horror not sci fi. It's the Dino theme. Dinosaurs and Jeeps together... sounds like Jurassic Park which is science fiction.

[lightningtiger]

It isn't the Monster Fighters theme that is filling the sci fi slot... monsters are horror not sci fi. It's the Dino theme. Dinosaurs and Jeeps together... sounds like Jurassic Park which is science fiction.

I feel that this forum title is incorrect, it should be just space based science fiction, because even Ninjago is sci-fi and so was Power Miners, Agents, Atlantis, I can go on....they live in the action forum under the watchful eye of 'Peppermint_M'.

[Tacker]

I don’t know if any things ever been done like this. Sort of new to Lego. But id like to see an Aliens theme. With space marines. A drop ship and APC like from the Aliens film. Or now you can get Daleks a Marines v Daleks wars theme

Off to buy some Darlek packs at Tescos

[Commander Adama]

I don’t know if any things ever been done like this. Sort of new to Lego. But id like to see an Aliens theme. With space marines. A drop ship and APC like from the Aliens film. Or now you can get Daleks a Marines v Daleks wars theme

Off to buy some Darlek packs at Tescos

Lego would need to get the licensing to do so, which could be hard, Aliens? From ALIEN? I don't kow all of the movies are 18 and over, I doubt LEGO would create them...

A bit Off topic but I would love to see a LEGO Angy Birds

Edited April 21, 2012 by Commander Adama

[LEGOman273]

I don’t know if any things ever been done like this. Sort of new to Lego. But id like to see an Aliens theme. With space marines. A drop ship and APC like from the Aliens film. Or now you can get Daleks a Marines v Daleks wars theme

Off to buy some Dalek packs at Tescos

Daleks would be licensed, though.

[hjmediastudios]

I don't mean to excessively plug my own ideas here, but it sounds like a lot of what you guys think should be the next Space theme sounds like my Space Marines theme...

Captain by HJ Media Studios, on Flickr

Space Marines Strike Fighter by HJ Media Studios, on Flickr

The diamond flats of Alquiri by HJ Media Studios, on Flickr

Just a thought.

[Algernon]

Ran into this on LEGO CUUSOO...

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/11619

EVE Online LEGO ships! Already over 8,000 supporters and apparently they caught the attention of the EVE Online officials... mean that this could actually happen.

I strongly encourage everybody to support this!

[Tacker]

Well we dont realy need Lego to do the Dalek's as Character Building do them in a Lego format. Just got 20 of them for £30 at Argos

Edited April 21, 2012 by Tacker

[Faefrost]

Lego would need to get the licensing to do so, which could be hard, Aliens? From ALIEN? I don't kow all of the movies are 18 and over, I doubt LEGO would create them...

A bit Off topic but I would love to see a LEGO Angy Birds

One of their competitors (Kreo I think) has an Grumpy Sparrows license they showed off at Toy Fair.

That Space Marine fig is interesting. I am almost wondering. If we will not see. A short SM series in early 2013, in large part as a TLC "big kid in the room" counter to their competitions Halo ans Starcraft licenses. And if so it is something they would be playing very. Close to the vest right now.

[Si-MOCs]

EVE Online LEGO ships! Already over 8,000 supporters and apparently they caught the attention of the EVE Online officials... mean that this could actually happen.

Very cool.

Though I've never played EVE

More space stuff is always good in my books!

That Space Marine fig is interesting. I am almost wondering. If we will not see. A short SM series in early 2013, in large part as a TLC "big kid in the room" counter to their competitions Halo ans Starcraft licenses. And if so it is something they would be playing very. Close to the vest right now.

Well it's plausible... I would think that LEGO has a strong enough brand ATM that they really don't need to compete with every brick based toy out there on every theme... they have enough themes going at the moment, and there isn't really a need to put out something right now to compete...

Though I hope you're right

[Faefrost]

Very cool.

Though I've never played EVE

More space stuff is always good in my books!

Well it's plausible... I would think that LEGO has a strong enough brand ATM that they really don't need to compete with every brick based toy out there on every theme... they have enough themes going at the moment, and there isn't really a need to put out something right now to compete...

Though I hope you're right

Well yes. But they are also the 800 pound Gorilla in the room full of toys. One remains that way by always having an answer to your competitions best line. Some combination of something that confuses brand identity with something equally desirable. So a Space Marine theme (something like Heinlein's Starship troopers would work well. armored space marines vs bugs, and it is either a cheap license or open source now. With Star Wars and LoTR up on top.

And thinking on it even more, the Heinlein STarship Troopers (classic not the ugh! movies) could work really well without to much effort for TLG. They have clear characters, with stories and story arcs and figure distinctiveness that resembles their Clone Wars work and storylines. They have a faceless giant bug foe, which they have gotten very good at how to make in recent releases (see Shelob, HP Hagrid's house, all sorts of Ninjago sets, and the transforming Pyramids sets). The only downside is the sets might trend a bit older (say 11-13) than some others.

Just my hopeful 2c

[Tazmaniac]

I for one would be very excited to see a "Games workshop" license picked up by LEGO.

Then get this guy to design the sets.

Space Marines - stage 2 by Jerac, on Flickr

I love this stuff, so true to the original!

[kboleen]

Speaking of Starship Troopers, there are rumors about that there is another movie gearing up production and is "SUPPOSED" to follow the book more.

[naf]

I don't think we can expect anything for 2012, at least that's what I think.

An add-on to the City space line would be nice, like a lunar module or something. It would be plausible considering the partnership with NASA and all. Or an expansion for the Alien Conquest line could be easily done, but depends on the sales of this line I guess.

Why was Space so much bigger in the 80's and 90's!?

Sorry for digging up an old thread, I was browsing the forum and found this discussion interesting. Maybe it should be renamed "Where is Space 2013?"

Ironically, I think Space was big in the 80's because of Star Wars. The original movies were relatively new at the time, and changed the face of what sci fi looks like. I think the Lego models of that era reflect this with their utilitarian "used future" look as opposed to the 50's and 60's round disc UFO style sci fi.

Personally, I prefer these older space sets. I liked the design of them, the look of the Classic and Futuron space figures, and the fact that they actually looked like Lego. They had that Lego blockiness to them, while still having a pretty sleek sci fi futuristic look. The Galaxy Squad line, for example, has a lot of specialty parts that make the models look like any number of generic humans vs aliens toy. They just don't look like Lego to me. The conflict aspect also doesn't appeal to me, but it seems like Lego wants to incorporate conflict into every theme. Even town/city has the whole cops and robbers thing going right now. I prefer my peaceful space explorers. Of course, my opinion might be biased since I grew up in the Classic Space era .

Edited June 7, 2013 by naf

[DraikNova]

-snip-

You do know that Galaxy Squad is a space theme, right?

[naf]

You do know that Galaxy Squad is a space theme, right?

Yes, I realize this. I just was making a comparison of Galaxy Squad vs. older space themes. I would enjoy seeing space sets along the lines what we had years ago, with space explorers as opposed to the humans vs aliens battle type theme.

Edited June 9, 2013 by naf

[M'Kyuun]

As would I, if only for a departure from what has become the norm. The Classic ships, Futuron, and Blacktron all stick out to me as some of the most striking sets, and I'd love to see a modern update. I personally wouldn't mind a Galaxy Explorer II using wedges and curved parts, so long as the overall look of the venerable original is captured. My hope is that the designers will at least put a Classic Space inspired model in the hands of some market research kids, and find that today's kids find the designs as cool as we found the originals. If the interest was there, who knows.

But, yeah, it would be nice to have one line of sets devoted to space exploration, terra-forming, colony-building...something that doesn't require weapons, but focused entirely on a more passive, yet fun and exciting, mission. Unfortunately, the toy trend manifests the apparent belief that kids have no interest in a toy unless it can shoot another. :(

[Si-MOCs]

Yeah classic space and space exploration would be great to see come back... but I think we have to also realize it's a slightly different climate back then when CS was first introduced. It was an era of space exploration, where rockets and spaceships are sexy, today we're mothballing the fleet...

And don't even get me started on current day wars

So I think the current the conflict themes are here to stay. That being said, I still thought Alien Conquest was fantastic run, and Galaxy Squad is pretty nifty too. So some sci-fi space is better than none

[1974]

It may have been a different time, but that's not a reason for the TLG not to introduce whatever (sub)theme they like

Current wars? TLG doesn't do that

AQ and GS sucks. Hard. I'm not just an old nostalgic fool, I have a young son as well. He _MUCH_ prefer CS to any of those two

It's just a bunch of not cool flying things (not even proper spaceships) and vehicles shooting up baddies .. Even kids get tired of that

[Aanchir]

As would I, if only for a departure from what has become the norm. The Classic ships, Futuron, and Blacktron all stick out to me as some of the most striking sets, and I'd love to see a modern update. I personally wouldn't mind a Galaxy Explorer II using wedges and curved parts, so long as the overall look of the venerable original is captured. My hope is that the designers will at least put a Classic Space inspired model in the hands of some market research kids, and find that today's kids find the designs as cool as we found the originals. If the interest was there, who knows.

But, yeah, it would be nice to have one line of sets devoted to space exploration, terra-forming, colony-building...something that doesn't require weapons, but focused entirely on a more passive, yet fun and exciting, mission. Unfortunately, the toy trend manifests the apparent belief that kids have no interest in a toy unless it can shoot another. :(

I think part of the reason space themes tend to be combat-driven in today's sets is that the majority of sci-fi space-related media (at least, the stuff kids are exposed to) tends to involve space battles, so that's naturally what they're inclined to act out in their play. Even in Classic Space, the designers added forward-facing "radio antennas", "scanners", and "cameras" with a perfectly clear understanding that most kids would be using them as guns. They just weren't allowed to be forthright about that in the marketing materials, which portrayed a more sanitized and less controversial play experience so as not to offend parents, particularly in very sensitive markets like Germany. This trend continued well into the 90s to downright ludicrous degrees: there are some ships from 90s Space subthemes where it'd be almost impossible to recognize that the "radio antennas" were supposed to resemble guns.

Niels Milan Pedersen, one of the creators of LEGO Space, confirms this in the Summer 2009 issue of Brickjournal. In his words, "There were a lot of disagreemnets about the aerials and other elements that pointed forwards on the ships because of the 'no war' policy. We were not allowed to make weapons, and those things we built looked aggeressive, so there were a lot of 'radar dishes' and 'sensor probes', but to us they were really guns!" Jens Nygaard Knudsen, another LEGO Space creator and the inventor of the LEGO Minifigure, also confirms in that issue that the red and white classic spacemen were originally designed to be enemies (other sources suggest that the white spacemen were meant as astronauts and the red ones cosmonauts). Jens also confirms that the black classic space minifigures were imagined as warriors, even if they were not allowed to say this explicitly.

Really, if the sets are going to be designed for combat play regardless, I see no reason why TLG would benefit from going back to that older policy. A lot of kids want combat play, just as they did then, and if parents and the media aren't going to raise a huge fuss then there's no reason to try and hide what could be a strong selling point. Now, at the same time, should The LEGO Group at any point look into designing a theme that's actually non-violent? Perhaps they could. Perhaps they have. The possibility of such a theme making it any farther all depends on how focus groups react to the idea.

[naf]

Niels Milan Pedersen, one of the creators of LEGO Space, confirms this in the Summer 2009 issue of Brickjournal. In his words, "There were a lot of disagreemnets about the aerials and other elements that pointed forwards on the ships because of the 'no war' policy. We were not allowed to make weapons, and those things we built looked aggeressive, so there were a lot of 'radar dishes' and 'sensor probes', but to us they were really guns!" Jens Nygaard Knudsen, another LEGO Space creator and the inventor of the LEGO Minifigure, also confirms in that issue that the red and white classic spacemen were originally designed to be enemies (other sources suggest that the white spacemen were meant as astronauts and the red ones cosmonauts). Jens also confirms that the black classic space minifigures were imagined as warriors, even if they were not allowed to say this explicitly.

Really, if the sets are going to be designed for combat play regardless, I see no reason why TLG would benefit from going back to that older policy. A lot of kids want combat play, just as they did then, and if parents and the media aren't going to raise a huge fuss then there's no reason to try and hide what could be a strong selling point. Now, at the same time, should The LEGO Group at any point look into designing a theme that's actually non-violent? Perhaps they could. Perhaps they have. The possibility of such a theme making it any farther all depends on how focus groups react to the idea.

Yeah, I tend to agree. I always considered the forward pointing antennas to be lasers as well. I think the funniest minifigure accessory ever is this "camera" http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/4360 It's a bazooka to everyone except for the LEGO PR people!

Even with this, I never had my space people fighting each other. Even when Blacktron came out, I just thought they were cool looking spacemen from a different civilization, only after becoming an AFOL do I realize that they were supposed to be bad guys (I dropped out of LEGO right before Space Police 1 hit the market, so I missed that narrative). I assumed these ships were armed just in case they happened upon some kind of hostile creature of alien civilization.

I recently bought my stepson the 70701 Swarm Interceptor. I must admit, I like the look of the ship, and had fun building it with him. I think it's neat how they made it so the cockpit stays level while the rest of the ship rotates around. However, I'm not impressed with some of the large parts used. For example, the large wings are very limited in their use outside of the main model since they're completely flat. There are no studs or antistuds on them, so you can't customize the look, use in a MOC, etc. All you can do is throw the sticker on it and use it for it's intended purpose. I see a lot of these "unitasker" type parts used in the GS line. I would prefer that they use something like this for the wings: http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/3585 I think it's a much more useful part for general building and customizing.