hagridshut

I never watched a lot of television growing up, probably because I was too busy building Lego , so I never saw this TV ad, which I stumbled upon on YouTube: Lego Space - Spyrius 1994 - Commercial Spyrius is portrayed as a bunch of ham-fisted thieves. Instead of using their saucers to "spy" on Unitron, they send their gigantic robots in a flagrant, ham-fisted attempt to steal a Unitron monorail vehicle. This is completely opposite of what I would expect from a faction whose name implies a spy agency. The attempt fails, with the first giant Spyrius robot falling down after clumsy attempts to snatch the Unitron vehicle, and the Spyrian android agent/commander accidentally being grabbed by his own robots as the Unitrons slip through their cybernetic manipulators. Total defeat and embarrassment for Spyrius This is very different than their role in my childhood Lego MOC civilization. In the universe I created, Spyrians (both the biological/cyborgs and android minifigs) were capital ship and battlespace commanders, Unitron minifigs were fighter pilots and marines, and Classic/Futuron/M:Tron/Ice Planet were a mix of explorers, scientists, and resource prospectors. Space Police were still cops, but Blacktron II (trans neon-green guys) operated a legitimate spaceport and ship construction business. Spyrians were the best at my house, not bumbling idiots!

I've used small pieces of precisely cut Scotch Magic Tape to flatten stickers with corners or edges that are curling up. Because the tape is very thin, it does not tend to curl back up like a thicker sticker would. From most angles, the tape is invisible to the eye unless one looks closely. This is not a perfect solution. As you mentioned, it is very labor intensive. Scotch Magic Tape is delicate, so cutting it to the correct shape and size to remedy a curling sticker area can be tedious. I agree with this. Stickers are frustrating to align and apply properly. Many stickers also bother me from a visual standpoint. In all my sets with white background stickers being applied to white bricks or plates, the colors do not match! An example are the top surface wing detail stickers on the U-Wing. The end result is surfaces where the bricks/plates are an off-white or even ivory, contrasting with stickers that are bright white. It looks terrible. Black stickers applied to black bricks or plates have a different problem. The stickers are printed on white layers of paper/film/adhesive. This leaves a thin but visible white border when the black sticker is applied to a black surface. This also looks terrible. A final problem with stickers is dust. the edges of the stickers leave exposed adhesive, which can pick up dust that is floating around in the air. This is hard to clean off. Wiping with a microfiber often doesn't work, because the particles (generally from fabrics, napkins, and other items that shed) get stuck to the adhesive. Using a solvent like rubbing alcohol to detach stubborn dust weakens the adhesive around the edges and damages the paper backing of the sticker, which can result in peeling or curling. While I understand the advantages of stickers (low cost, more flexibility for people to use pieces in MOCs because they don't have very specific printing), they just do not feel premium, have poor storage/maintenance characteristics, and don't hold up to play very well if the set is being used by a child. As a hobbyist, I think stickers are one of the worst features of modern Lego.

When referring to "Classic Space", do people mean the mostly gray, blue, and trans-yellow sets from roughly 1976-1986 with original astronaut figures, or do people also include the follow on space themes that followed for roughly the next 10-15 years (Futuron, Blactron, Space Police, M:Tron, Ice Planet, etc.)? Some of the 1976-1986 space sets are ugly, but there are many sleek and timeless designs. The Type 918 Space Transport and its larger family members, the 924 and 928, still look great to me. Larger sets like the Cosmic Fleet Voyager and Intergalactic Command Base hold up well too. Several years ago, I managed to re-assemble some of my old Blacktron, M:Tron and Ice Planet sets out of my containers of loose bricks. There's still a magical quality to the details and creative features in these builds. For example, the M:Tron Particle Ionizer manages to fit a nifty magnetic crane, central cargo compartment with droid, and rotating sensor/antennae assembly into a relatively compact but swooshable build. My all time favorite from the Ice Planet series, the Blizzard Baron, is even smaller, but still has modular components and cool items, like a detachable sensor dish section, and skis and orange chainsaw for the minifigure to use. The torso printing and helmet visor with antenna are charming. A younger Lego fan whom I showed some of these sets to, thought they were actually better than many of the themed sets from the past 15 years. An X-Wing is pretty much an X-Wing in terms of general looks and functionality. There aren't a lot of surprises in a TIE fighter. While I don't actually know if the old style of space sets (1976-2001) would sell well today, I think the magic is still there. I think that for some kids, the fun, unexpected features and ability to create their own stories mostly free of preexisting narrative, is a plus.

I am able to squeeze 4 minifigures with weapons into the troop carrier section, but this requires a slight modification. The two Part: 2432, Tile, Modified 1 x 2 with Handle which form seatbacks, need to either be moved to the center of the section and turned 90 degrees, or taken out of the section entirely (depending on equipment minifigs are wearing). I had to experiment a bit to get it to work.

Interestingly varied responses! Haha, I can imagine Harry, Ron, Hermione, and all the Hogwarts kids rocking out, while Snape and Filch look on in horror.

As a Lego enthusiast, do you "follow the instructions" and build sets for collecting/display, build MOCs, or both? Question inspired by these scenes from The Lego Movie: Follow the Instructions for a happy life Escape from Bricksburg I am conflicted. As I child, I always followed the instructions, but then disassembled the sets after a few days to build MOCs or add components to existing MOCs. Decades later, I've re-built many of my old sets using the original instructions. I occasionally buy new sets because I like the designs, although I inevitably end up tinkering or tweaking the designs if I think improvements can be made. Some of my old sets are missing a lot of pieces. I integrate them with other partially complete sets or even brand new sets to form creations that are half-MOC (builds that have subsections which are recognizable from an original set or sets, but may have sections from other sets or custom builds).

DO NOT use a washing machine! Hot water can warp pieces. Prolonged agitation can add scratches or other damages to pieces. I clean used Lego by putting a few drops of un-scented, clear liquid dish soap into a glass bowl and then filling the bowl with cool or warm water (do not use hot water). I then put the pieces into bowl. Use a soft toothbrush to gently scrub pieces. I place scrubbed pieces into another bowl. Once pieces are scrubbed, I rise them with clean water several times. To dry pieces, shake water off, and place them stud-side down on a clean towel to dry overnight. A salad-spinner can also be useful for getting excess water out of bricks before placing them out to dry.

I agree that as the villain in the story, he was a clever creation and excellent opposition to the heroes. I just didn't like him, because he has the personality of a scam artist and reflects the worst aspects of "bro culture". Which was probably the intent of the movie creators!

The Rex Dangervest Spacesuit w' Jetpack minifigure is probably one of my favorites from this series. I despise the character, but the jetpack, dual-molded legs, and detailed printing all make for a very interesting and unique minifigure. Reminds me a bit of Boba Fett.

For me it was 1985-1995, but that’s because I am a Space theme fan. 1994-1995 were the years of Spyrius and Unitron, which are the last two Space themes that I found really enjoyable. The Space themes that came after, like Exploriens and Insectoids, seemed to have clunkier and less aesthetically pleasing designs. I didn’t particularly like the two Mars series, or the 2013 series with insect-like invaders. Space Police III in 2009 was good, as are many of the sets from The Lego Movie and TLM2, but there’s no consistently good space line anymore.

I began playing with Lego near the end of the Classic Space era. Twin Starfire and Intergalactic Command Base are my earliest memories of assembling Lego sets. While I was not as prolific a collector as some of my childhood friends, I did consistently buy many of the smaller space vehicles during the period spanning Futuron through Spyrius. What I miss most about the Classic Space era is that it actually required a lot of imagination and encouraged expansion. For example, look at the Intergalactic Command Base. It's a volumetrically large structure, but only a bit more than 300 pieces, and much of it is unused space. While there's a lot going on: a rocket launch facility, spaceship launcher, and hover vehicle, the builder seems to be almost enticed to add things. That's what I did. I built rooms on the empty ground level where the support pylons are located. I added more computers, places to sit, and equipment racks to the main deck and control room. When what I wanted to do outgrew the basic structure, I demolished the whole thing and re-built a new Space HQ MOC by combining pieces of the base with elements from other Classic series sets. A few years later, I was very fortunate to receive a Blacktron II Alpha Centauri Outpost as a gift. Again, this is an imposing structure that is mostly empty. This set too, turned into a sprawling, crazy MOC with a Space Traffic Control tower, starship maintenance facility (complete with gantries and catwalks for workers to bring welding equipment and replacement parts), and strategy room for plotting exploration or military campaigns in deep space. I do not mind themes like Star Wars and Ninjago. I own several Star Wars Lego sets, but they are in no way a replacement for the "classic" Space themes. Star Wars and Ninjago already have a story written for them, and the sets are often so intricate and complete, that they feel more like display models to me than imaginative toys. I watched a YouTube video review of Ninjago City, for example, and it is delightful in its detail and clever features, but I don't feel compelled to modify or expand it. The same goes for the many variations of the Millennium Falcon. It would almost feel like smudging someone else's finished painting! Sets from The Lego Movie and The Lego Movie 2 probably come closest in spirit to the sets of the classic Space era. Yes, there's a story to TLM, but it is one of continuous evolution, destruction, rebuilding, and creativity. A huge number of the vehicles and buildings in those movies are modified, blown up, cobbled together into something different, or combined across themes. The whole franchise encourages creative endeavors. That's my 2 bricks on the subject. Sometimes, less is more. Classic Space sets often had a lot fewer bricks than SciFi sets today, but the relative simplicity of classic Space encouraged the builder to put more of themselves into modding and creating.