KDog

I think I still have my Fabuland monkey around here somewhere....

BTW, do the Star Justice minifigs have skull designs on their torsos? Like the Punisher? That's weird, if they're fighting the Space Skulls.

Just seeing the small ship and base, I'm really jazzed for Space Justice. Good work, guys. I'm gonna need to see more of Space Skulls. The, whatever that is, leaves me numb. Is it a vehicle, a robot beast? It's definitely novel. I guess I wanna see the minifigs and how they relate to ships. I'm confused about something, though. Are the Space Skulls and Star Justice sets all sold together for $100, or are they sold separately for $100 each?

Over at Classic-Space.com, jaydubya wrote, "I just received the new edition of BrickJournal and there are write ups and pictures of these new sets on page 3. There are two sets, 10192 Space Skulls and 10191 Star Justice and both are priced at $99.99 USD/EUR. They will be released on April 16, 2008." Can that be right? There's only two sets at they're $100 each? Yikes! Maybe I got my hopes up, but I was expecting a bunch of sets at different price-points, like there would be for any Lego theme. Of course, that pic above shows a smaller space set, so I'm confused.

This week's second Blacktron comic is up. And it also introduces the Space Police! http://www.drunkduck.com/Lego_Space/?p=367257

I'm really excited about new Lego Space. That said, I hate to be the one to say anything negative, but I'm going to share what's on my mind. I think the pix I've seen of PCS and 3vil are of intricate sets that really are works of art. However, I don't think they feel like Lego Space sets. Legp Space designs through the years had a certain simplicity that I loved and a lot of MOCs I come across are much more detailed. While they are great creations, they aren't what I hoped for in new Lego Space sets released by Lego. A lot of people might say that Lego's set are more dumbed down for kids, but I find those sets to possess the charm that I enjoy. That said, I can't wait to see the new sets, and I'm glad Lego is finally releasing something under the name Space.

That Blacktron MO is astounding. Those towers are beautiful. And I think my favorite part might be that the guy made Blacktron versions of some Classic Space sets, like the Solar Power Transporter and the Alien Moon Stalker. It fits the idea of the building being the Blacktron Intellidence Agency, stealing tech.

I saw an interesting discussion on Wikipedia about whether or not most of themes in Lego Space were supposed to represent one species or not. Obviously, UFO, Insectoids, the Martians, and the green creatures in Mars Mission are all aliens from other worlds. But what about the human-like astronauts in all the other space themes? My feeling for it has always been that the Classic "Space Agency" was from Earth and that the themes that came after it showed the agency as it evolved and branched off. Futuron seemed obvious as "The Next Generation" of the Space Agency, and consciously or not, Lego charted this progression through a change in color schemes that had later Classic sets look like the forthcoming Futuron sets. The Space Police were obviously connected to Futuron. Blacktron seemed like a band of thieves and rebels who were pursued by the Space Police. Spyrius seemed like another group that operated on the wrong side of the law. M:Tron, Ice Planet, Unitron, and the Exploriens seemed like more specialized branches of the Space Agency. Ice Planet even had the same logo as Classic and Futuron, which I think makes the connection pretty clear. I suppose the other specialized groups could be explorers from other planets or other agencies, since they don't share the same logo, but they all look human to me. I'm not sure where Roboforce fits in, since they kind of look like cyborgs. Life on Mars with its "less-advanced" spacecraft designs seems like it might be set in an earlier time, but that might depend on whether you think all the themes that came before were exploring deep space or staying fairly close to and within our solar system. Mars Mission, to me, seems like either the next real Lego Space set, or perhaps it is set between Life on Mars and Classic Space. The Mars astronauts sport a version of the classic space logo, though, so they must be from the same group of explorers as Classic, Futuron, Space Police and Ice Planet (and by extension, Blacktron). And since the astronauts from Mars Mission are on Mars, I think it helps the arguments that these explorers are from Earth. Of course, another question is whether the aliens in Mars Mission are the Martians themselves fighting the humans they were once friends with. I prefer to think they are aliens from elsewhere attacking the under-prepared miners, but they sure do look like the general concept of "little green men" from Mars. However, a few people in the discussion I saw were, to my surprise, of the opinion that, maybe aside from astronauts sporting the Classic Space logo, many of themes in Lego Space represented groups of explorers from different planets, or at least from different space agencies. I had never thought of it that way, and it surprised me to hear that viewpoint. I'm curious to hear what your interpretations are of the "races" in Lego Space. Does it document the future of Earthen space travel, with some aliens encountered along the way, or is it a Star Trek-like universe with many different species exploring space? Part of the reason I'm interested in hearing opinions is that the storyline in my Lego: Space comic pretty much represents my views stated above, and I wonder if I'm off-base compared to many other people's thoughts on the space themes. Whatever the case, I think Lego is to be commended for not offering a whole story behind the toys, rather providing a simple premise and letting kids' imaginations fill in the blanks. I think that's part of the beauty of Lego, that it leaves a lot open-ended. That's why I'll always prefer Lego's original themes over licensed properties like Star Wars. Just about every kid knows that story. (Granted, I would like to know the intent of Lego's creators in designing the space sets.)

Oh man, Main Street over Battrax? It' a bummer we got so close and missed out. I've always been of the impression that Lego Space has its fans, but more people are into Town and Castle. I've always figured that fans of Lego Space tend to really like sci-fi in general, and that's not the majority of the population. Maybe I'm off-base. I'm glad I picked up a Battrax from Bricklink recently, though. Awesome set! But maybe we should start contacting Lego about reviving Legends! The event in DC looks good. Do they have the requisite dealer room? I like your idea, Deinonychus, about the crystals being the Aliens' larvae. Major oops on the astronauts! But yeah, that would be like running a car on babies! :'-(

A new comic is up, and it starts a week of Blacktron! http://www.drunkduck.com/Lego_Space/?p=366252

So, Schwartz is behind this! I totally agree with you about a truly revived and updated Lego Space toyline. I'm hoping that Mars Mission is a bridge to that, getting us off of familiar ground and launching Lego back into the new frontier. The problem, I suspect, is that the Star Wars license prevents a more general space theme like in previous years, hence Mars Missions and Life on Mars having a more developed storyline and gimmicks, so they have a brand identity that is obviously different from Star Wars. At the least, Lego should reissue some of the older space sets in their Shop-at-Home catalog. I was surprised they never did that, as they reissued sets from other themes. And CP5670, the problem with Futuron's monorail always breaking down is hilarious. And I love how the Blacktron guys suddenly became angry and started on their path to the dark side. LOL I didn't realize they weren't intended as villains from the get-go. BTw, you asked me if I'm going to the Lego convention, but I didn't even know there was one.

Thanks for posting those catalog scans! It's hard to find any descriptive info about the factions, and I had never seen those. Those tidbits will help with the comic. If anyone could point me to more of these for the other space themes, I'd be most appreciative. For as little as I know about M:Tron, I'm happy that I actually hit the nail on the head by having the other characters call them "science nerds" and joke about "the power of magnets." lol

Blacktron is kinda like Space Pirates. But Futuron? Nah, there's no mistaking those goody-two-shoes.

Interesting how it was a mix of Lego bricks and toy cars. The gas station looks quite a bit like the one in the new set.

I'd like to see pictures of the original Town Plan set. Sorry if I shouldn't have created a thread; I just thought it was a cool parallel to Back to the Future. Maybe it's more a case of the original Lego set AND BTF successfully mirroring what a lot of town squares looked like in the 1950s. Even so, I'm heavily tempted to save up for this set and then build a Lego Delorean to go along with it. :)

I jumped out of my seat when I saw this on Lego Shop! The Town Plan just has to be inspired by the Hill Valley town square in the Back to the Future films, which in reality is on the backlot of Universal Studios in California. It's got the clock tower, the movie-theater, the water fountain, and a service station, all very reminiscent of the films. Lego's so sly! :) Town Plan

I'll admit that when I saw so many Futuron and Blacktron figures in bulk up for sale, I suspected something fishy, like they were somehow bootlegs. But being glued like that, I suspect it leans more toward promotional items. But why there would be so many and this seller would have them, I have no idea. Be curious to see what you find out. I didn't realize Bricklink was that old. I only came across it recently. You know what I wish existed? A site that had extensive pictures, reviews and facts about all Lego (especially Space) sets. There are some good sites that come close, like the reviews on Brickset and the set details on Peeron. I really like that Adequate site, but unfortunately it has only a small number of reviews and does not appear to be updated anymore.

Why were the figures glued together in the first place? Were these the toys that were used in store displays? Was it the fault of more fathers who liked to glue together their kids' Legos? When did Bricklink come to be, anyway?

Thank you. The digital camera I use has a very good macro setting, so I have that to be thankful for. You should see how many blurry pix I take before getting a usable one, though. :) As for backdrops, I've used a few different methods thus far. In the first comic, I used a black shirt stretched out on a bulletin board! For the comic with the Android Base in it, I used the television as a backdrop, with the intro to DS9 paused on the DVD player. Mostly, I've been choosing backdrop images on the computer and using the laptop screen as a backdrop. The problem with using the TV and computer is that everything looks blue, which doesn't seem out of place with space. Still, I want to figure out out how to get around that. The other method I will use is to paint some cardboard pieces black (with white stars painted on) and use those for backgrounds, especially for scenes set in space. I have a nice collection of Lego Space sets, although it is nowhere near as complete or as large as I'm sure a lot of people's collections are. While there are a few more sets I'd like to have, I'm very satisfied with the selection I have and don't plan on buying any more for some time (aside from an auction for a Space Police set that I bid on earlier this week on eBay, if I win). If you're curious, these are the sets I own, and therefore could appear in the comic: Classic:Space Transport, Robot Command Center, Intergalactic Command Base, Gamma-V Laser Craft, FX-Star Patroller, Solar Power Transporter, Lunar Patrol Craft, Mobile Recovery Vehicle, Cosmic Fleet Voyager, Space Patrol Blacktron: Invader, Battrax Futuron: AERO-Module, Stardefender "200", Crater Crawler, Strategic Pursuer Space Police: Galactic Peace Keeper, Spy-Trak I M-Tron: Beacon Tracer, Particle Ionizer Blacktron II: Tri-Wheeled Tyrax, Allied Avenger, Spectral Starguider, Alpha Centauri Outpost Space Police II: Unnamed robot set, Galactic Chief, Sonar Security, Rebel Hunter Ice Planet 2002: Ice Tunnelator, Celestial Sled, Ice-Sat V Unitron: Crater Cruiser Spyrius: Saucer Scout, Lunar Launch Site Exploriens: Hovertron, Planetary Decoder, Nebula Outpost, Android Base, Alien Fossilizer UFO: Cyber Saucer, Alien Avenger, Warp Wing Fighter, V-Wing Fighter, Radon Rover, Cyborg Scout, Cyber Blaster Insectoids: Celestial Stinger, Sonic Stinger, Bi-Wing Blaster, Beta Buzzer Life on Mars: Recon-Mech RP Mars Mission: Mini-Robot, MX-41 Switch Fighter, Mobile Mining Unit, MX-11 Astro Fighter Various Space robot set I also have a bunch of Space minifigs outside of the sets. Since I just collect Space, I only a have a small smattering of sets from other themes. I did get a couple of the current small Knights vs. Skeleton sets, since the skeleton warriors are very cool. And who could resist getting the Indy/Henry Jones set? :) So, if anyone desperately wants to see any other space set in the comic, like the Galaxy Explorer for example, feel free to send them off to me for free. ;-)

Oh, yeah. I remember those lots of glued-together Space minifigs on eBay a few years ago. You'd get like 20 of each figure or something; I think it was explained that they were originally for some sort of promotional use. Weird. I'm glad I didn't buy any at the time (thought about it), though, 'cos I would have been miffed about the lack of airtanks!

That "not quite in Futuron colors" spaceship is an excellent design. One question: Why don't the astronauts have their airtanks on?

Thanks! And Lord of Pies. I'm digging that moonbase! I'm not very interested in making MOCs (with one exception I'll show you some time), so I guess my creative energies inspired by Lego come out in the comic.

Rolling along here with the updates. This is probably my favorite comic yet, as it details our protagonists' past misadventures in the Space Agency! Shootin' the Solar Breeze (Part 3) http://www.drunkduck.com/Lego_Space/?p=364217