legomac

Good point - I had forgotten the dates from the teaser image and booklet. Of course those should take priority. It could work out though if the original model featured in the book was Exo Suit Mk 1 or 2. I don't see any mention of Star Justice in the book, though I may have missed it. The book doesn't stick strictly to the LEGO color schemes or factions, but I see minifigs and ships from NCS, Blacktron, Ice Planet, Futuron and Space Police. And Jim Spaceborn right at the end!

Looking through my copy of LEGO Space: Building the Future, the text is light on dates other than nonfictional missions such as Apollo and Curiosity. The authors ignore Life on Mars/Mars Mission, and anything else that happens before the advent of Classic Space. The last date I found in the text (pg 11) is 2069, when Federation (Classic) ships are sent to the moon to establish the permanent Tranquility Base. 2079 fits well, not as the date when Classic Space began, but as the date when those particular missions represented in early sets were taking place. The book's back cover of the book shows 3 far-future dates: - 2139: Tranquility Base is established. (Must have taken some time to build!) - 2525: First contact with alien life on Ganymede (Loosely based on Ice Planet 2002, but much earlier in the timeline and within the solar system.) - 2527: Alien worms destroy Exo Suits on a space station orbiting Jupiter. At that point, Exo Suits are apparently common in the Federation. Since Peter's Exo Suit is now an official set, I propose we use his dates for the Exo Suit, placing its invention sometime between 2069 and 2527. Probably around 2400 since the Arcadia would have to crash long before Pete and Yve arrive. That doesn't significantly change the timeline above, and I think we can disregard the other inconsistencies like putting Ice Planet on Ganymede and ignoring the other themes taking place in the late 20th and early 21st centuries since Peter's book is his own story, not LEGO's.

Thanks for the replies! It sounds like smoke is often a factor, which isn't the case here. I guess my bricks just ran out of time in the last year. I'd be very interested if anyone knows the actual chemical reactions that are going on with the fire retardant and ABS. I've never tried retr0brite, but I have heard that the yellow color tends to return over time. Have you found that to be the case, and have you noticed any weakness or structural changes in the plastic from repeated whitening? I may not whiten them if the color will just randomly come back over and over.

I have a question for all the experienced collectors here about the pesky problem of brick yellowing. Last March I purchased a 6973 Deep Freeze Defender that showed no yellowing whatsoever and placed it in a closet until I could display it somewhere. Yesterday I brought it out and found that every single '90s vintage white brick had yellowed drastically. Modern white bricks next to it showed no discoloration. This closet has no windows and is lit with a ceiling-mounted fluorescent bulb. Being a closet, this light is only on for brief periods when someone needs clothes or I want to access some LEGO. This set was even under an overhang and shielded from direct fluorescent light! Other old white bricks in the same closet, such as Blacktron 2 minifigs and an Ice Planet 1704 that were directly under the bulb on an upper shelf remain pristine. I don't think it was UV because the closet is so dark and these bricks are almost uniformly yellowed, even under other bricks. The only difference I can think of is that I placed my 6973 on top of a plastic LEGO advent calendar tray that I use for sorting. Might this cheap plastic have released some chemical to yellow the ABS? The jets and skis on the underside might be a little more yellow than the rest. On the other hand, modern white bricks in the tray didn't show any problems. Has anyone else noticed yellowing from a storage container? This makes me very concerned about using plastic bins to store LEGO, but I can't think of anything else that could have caused it. Any ideas?

Wow, that pdf is pretty cool! I love seeing the large Classic Space station and the other models. This clearly states that Classic Space is the "First Expedition from Earth" which would fit with the antiquated technology and lack of other spacefaring societies until Futuron many years later. However, their stated goal is "to search for and, if possible, contact intelligent life and probe the mysteries of the universe" which conflicts with the fact that humanity has supposedly already seen alien life in Life on Mars, Mars Mission, and Alien Conquest. Maybe they just wanted to find more, which makes it even sadder somehow since the first visible instance of alien contact post-classic space (UFO) happened over a millennium later and long after Classic Space ceased to exist. Space is a big empty place. Perhaps the First Expedition was a contemporary parallel expedition with Mars Mission, with one focusing on nearby planets and the other focusing on long range exploration. Then it might be conceivable that Classic Space never learned about the Mars Mission discoveries.

That's a very detailed history TalonCard! I like your order and dates based off Exploriens. Personally I would discard a lot of the magazine crossovers and conflicting information. I also strongly dislike the idea of Classic Space figs being aliens from Zonia. (Although that would help LEGO's alien discrimination problem. If everyone is an alien, then it doesn't seem so bad when all the "weird looking" aliens are evil. As far as I'm concerned though, canon should be limited to the sets themselves as much as possible. Fugazi's idea about LL-2079 is compelling. Perhaps Classic Space exploration started that early, but progressed very slowly over the next thousand years. Also, both those images show present-day technology in the form of a rocket gantry and satellite, so they could possibly be displaying historical broadcasts of humanity's first steps. In the same vein, the crowded factions in mid-90's space would then be spread out over several hundred years instead of all being lumped in the decade around 3200 AD. My only concern here is that Classic Space in 2079 would require quite a bit of technological development from the present day. Then again, the Mars Mission set only a few decades earlier would suggest very rapid progress from the City Space days. I agree that the Seatron prototypes place the Aquanauts/Aquasharks as rough contemporaries to Unitron or Exploriens. The Hydronauts and Stingrays would then be closer to Insectoids. Perhaps they take place on a futuristic earth that still had some present-day aquatic creatures? I could definitely see the Aquasharks transporting Earth sharks to an alien ocean though. This whole timeline fails to account for the statue inscription in 5974 Galactic Enforcer - "In thirty years we built to the infinite sky." But I think we can safely discount that as an homage to LEGO's own history rather than the fictional society!

I've been getting into LEGO Space recently, and I'm trying to construct a definitive timeline for all the various subthemes through the years. The original Space line is pretty straightforward, but it gets into trouble after 1998 or so. Here's what I've come up with, but I'm sure other people have their own opinions! 1. City Space? (2011) - Does this even count as Space? I say yes, due to the classic logo. Clearly the most primitive technology. 2. Space Port? (1999) - Again, an iffy theme to include in Space. But it's tied to Life on Mars, which certainly counts. 3. Life on Mars (2001) - Fairly primitive ships stay close to earth. First contact with aliens, who surprisingly turn out to be peaceful. 4. Alien Conquest (2011) - More advanced Earth vehicles, but nothing too outlandish. Why would the ADU exist if humans had never encountered aliens before? 5. Mars Misson (2007) - Humans are still on Mars, now fighting aggressive aliens with better equipment. Mining materials to power interplanetary flight? 6. Classic Space (1978-1988) - Peaceful exploration and colonization of far-reaching worlds. 7. Futuron (1987) - Civilian life in the colonies continues to advance. 8. Blacktron (1987) - Pirates exploit and pillage the Futuron colonists. 9. Space Police (1989) - A law enforcement agency is formed to protect Futuron and deter Blacktron raids. 10. M-Tron (1990) - Roving miners harvest raw materials to power long-range space travel. 11. Blacktron II (1991) - The space pirates continue their dastardly work and upgrade their technology. 12. Space Police II (1992) - The Space Police redouble their efforts (strangely, by removing most of their weapons). 13. Ice Planet 2002 (1993) - Dedicated scientists study the icy world of Krysto and test experimental rockets. 14. Unitron (1994) - A more militant group that shares some similarities with Futuron. This culture did not persist for long. 15. Spyrius (1994) - The heirs apparent to Blacktron, spies seek to steal valuable data and technology from other factions. Possible downfall of Unitron. 16. Exploriens (1996) - Scientists in deep space discover and study strange alien fossils on uncharted worlds. 17. UFO (1996) - Hostile extraterrestrials pose the first significant threat to human space exploration since Mars Mission. 18. Roboforce (1997) - Rather ungainly mecha attempt to maintain ground forces against the alien threat but cannot last. 19. Insectoids (1998) - A refugee race of aliens settle on an arthropod-infested planet and mimic native life. Little evidence that this species interacted with humans. 20. Rock Raiders? (1999) - The LMS Explorer is disabled near an unknown planet. Crew members harvest energy crystals to power their derelict ship. 21. Space Police III? (2009) - I'm not sure where this one fits. Apparently set 30 years after humans traveled beyond Mars. Futuron colors, with diverse (criminal) alien life. 22. Galaxy Squad (2013) - Small bands of color-coded fighters squash Insectoid-like alien invasion swarms. Whew, that's a pretty detailed history. But I haven't even considered Aquazone yet! Or Exo-Force. Or whatever else people think up...