Backgild

Is there enough clearance with the ramp down for an astronaut to drive the rover in?

That's a very nice interpretation of the Galaxy Explorer. I especially like the use of the curved windscreen behind the main canopy.

A 2 in 1 is a great idea that I would support 100%. All of the 2 in 1 sets come with citizen mini figures, and the most logical citizen would be a 'normal' classic space figure. I would love 1 normal fig, benny, a 2 in 1 spaceship/base, and a robot or micromanager. There is a small space base that appears briefly in the movie, but it looks a bit too dated in design to pass for a current set. Now all of this is probably wishful thinking, but the popularity of benny gives me a bit of hope.

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=12206 While the ship in the poster didn't appear in the movie, I'd love to see a ~$20-$25 Classic Space inspired set in 2015 to have an easier way of getting Benny.

I didn't quite get that same interpretation from the text. It says its their first mission since graduating, but I wouldn't consider them cadets. In my personal universe, green is going to represent engineering, specifically, starship and space station design and construction. It's a bit broader than just salvage teams, but it makes sense to me that the engineers would be tapped for a salvage mission of a mysterious craft. I'll be using them side by side with the existing colors, but it's conceivable that the construction activities occur at more established bases away from the frontier, and that is why we haven't seen green yet.

I love the classic space logo, and I was very tempted to army build this figure. The thing that has always bugged me is that they gave him a name on the suit. I know its not visible with the armor on, so this is a bit OCD, but if I had a squad, why are they all named Luiz? I'm sure that there is a very cool behind the scenes story explaining the name, but it kept me from buying an army. Luckily, the Exosuit is going to give me my classic space fix and help to build a crew for my SSS.

I love the concept of the Deep Freeze Defender as a ground effect vehicle; its a great theory that works with both the design of the ship and the theme. Well done! I knew that the Soviets had extensively explored GEVs, but I didn't know that they had armed one with missiles, that was an interesting bit of history. I think the intent was clearly for Ice Planet to play the role of a civilian theme. The only set I had as a kid was named Ice Sat V, clearly intended as satellite launch vehicle, but I still played out many scenarios that forced the peaceful citizens of Krysto to use their rocket technology as missiles to defend themselves against various Lego space factions.

Is there any chance of seeing these as a free August promo with the Exosuit?

I have to applaud Peter on the original design, Mark on the final design, and everyone involved in the reveal for this set. This is the most that I've ever been hyped for a Lego purchase. The final product is a fantastic design, and I love the inclusion of the turtle, but the highlights for me are the green classic space men (and women!). Classic space was always my favorite growing up, but my core Lego years extended from the tail end of classic space through Blackron II, so I never had a space minifig in my favorite color, until now. I am definitely going to be buying multiples of this as soon as it's available. It looks like my spaceship, spaceship, SPACESHIP! is going to be getting a few new crew members. As for the barrel arms, I think its a bit unfortunate that the initial image of the set focused on that detail. Seeing the set as a whole, they don't really stand out all that much to me. Honestly, the use of the pistols for the roll cage on the original design stands out to me more than the barrels in the final design. It was an ingenious use of parts to get the right angles, but I can't unsee two western style revolvers right in the middle of a space mech. Finally, I just want to say that the comments from Mark Stafford at reddit have been a fascinating look at the design process, and I am impressed with the number of features that we're getting in the final set given the constraints of the project.