Algernon

Sir dano, Thanks for those links; I've added them to the main post. The Spyrius review will come in time. :) LegoKing, thanks. Yeah it took a few days. XD

Thanks for those quotes, I'll put them in. I've also added a poll so feel free to weigh in on your opinion of Ice Planet. I'm very interested in seeing what the general consensus for this theme is. I know a lot of people don't like orange, but I think Ice Planet felt more thought-out in terms of colors- the orange works, somehow, and I'm not really sure why (orange and white doesn't work so well on Mars Mission). Thanks for the post. :)

I agree with you on all accounts, except that I thought UFO worked pretty well as a "theme". The only problem was it didn't seem to tie in very closely with the rest of LEGO Space, which is what made the SP/BT/MT lines so collectible. Otherwise I think it had some of the best minifigs in LEGO Space as well as one of the best medium-sized starships, the Warp Wing Fighter. I like Ice Planet because it was really unique, but in such away that tied in nicely with the rest of Space (not like Insectoids or Robo-Force). Spyrius and Ice Planet make awesome opponents.

Theme Review Well, I was inspired by BerndDasBrot’s excellent M-Tron theme review to do a review of one of my favorite Space subthemes- Ice Planet 2002. My review is even more text-heavy than his, so be warned! Apologies in advance for the occasionally dark/blurry photos. Ice Planet 2002 seems to be one of the more controversial of the classic Space themes. Mostly, it was the color scheme that bothered people- neon orange, classic blue, and white. In my opinion this color scheme suited the theme very well. The blue and white gave the sets an appropriate “frosty” look, and the orange completes the scheme nicely as a complementary color. It seems much more thought out than the color schemes of recent years. Ice Planet 2002 was very different in a lot of ways, but it worked well, and it brought some variety to the Space sets. Table of contents: 1. Background information 2. The Ice Planet collection 3. Best set award 4. The minifigs 5. Unusual elements 6. Catalog shots 7. Ice Planet MOCs 8. Trivia 9. Sources and credits 10. Closing comments 1: BACKGROUND INFORMATION Ice Planet 2002 was released in 1993, replacing M-Tron as the “civilian” faction. However, where M-Tron seemed to be some kind of cargo transport business, Ice Planet 2002 was an exploration/reconnaissance team. Many of the sets featured satellites and rockets that were deployable by certain vehicles and the base. According to a 1994 catalog (rough translation): “In the icecold cryosphere of IcePlanet, explorers research for new technologies for interstellar communication. Unfortunately their innovative rockets and satellites get stolen continually. Maybe there's a spy from spyrius within their engineers?” Whatever their purpose, they accompanied the Unitron and Spyrius themes in the same way M-Tron accompanied Space Police II and Blacktron Next Gen. As a theme, it was released right after the end of the Space Police II/Blacktron II conflict (1991-1993), and right before the Unitron/Spyrius conflict (1994-1996), though in terms of storyline it arrives during Space Police II and Spyrius (gathered from numerous catalog shots of all three themes together). If that was confusing, here’s a chart to help clarify: After Ice Planet was discontinued in 1994, it was followed by a succession of “good guy” factions (Unitron and RoboForce), “bad guy” factions (UFO and Insectoids) and one neutral faction (Exploriens). Life On Mars was then released in 2001, a theme set rather outside of the typical LEGO Space storyline. Life on Mars marked the end of LEGO Space for a few years until the less popular Mars Mission was released in 2007. Although it wasn’t well received at first, the attempted revival of LEGO Space saw drastic improvement in 2008, and now Space Patrol is poised to continue Space in 2009. Hopefully these new sets will live up to the biggest theme in LEGO history! (Accuracy note: The moral standings of RoboForce, UFO, and Insectoids isn't abundantly clear, but given how those themes are generally protrayed I think it's safe to make a few assumptions. Also, this image seems to imply a conflict between RoboForce and UFO.) 2: THE ICE PLANET COLLECTION Ice Planet 2002 consisted of 10 sets, including the polybag and boxed versions of the Snow Scooter as well as it’s re-release as the Space Diver in 1998. This list also includes an unnamed snow plow that was released in the USA as part of a value pack. You could feasibly ignore these throwaways and say that Ice Planet had six main sets. (click the images to go to the corresponding Brickset page) 6973 Deep Freeze Defender [1] [2] [3] [4] There are few who can deny that this set is a beast. Any great LEGO Space faction has to have a massive starship, and not only does Ice Planet have one, it has one of the most acclaimed starships in LEGO history! A huge part of this ship’s success is it’s excellent modularity. The two frontal cockpits detach from the body, which can detach from the rear cargo bay. You can also re-attach one cockpit to the center of the body and the other cockpit to the cargo bay to make two more medium-sized cruisers! These cruisers are good enough to be sets themselves. As an interesting note, this is the only Space set to include a garage door from the Town theme. The garage door can open to launch a small scooter, as well! This is one of the best starships in LEGO history, arguably as good as the Galactic Mediator. Includes three minifigs. Score: 9.4/10 Outstanding 6983 Ice Station Odyssey [sorry, no out-of-box photos] The Ice Station Odyssey isn’t the best of the bases LEGO Space has brought us, but it’s still very good. It comes with a small sled and a truck that can transport satellites around the base. It also included a nice crane mechanism that can move satellites to the launch pad, docking bay, transport truck, or wherever else you want to put it. The “open” construction of the base may turn some people off, but it’s undeniably detailed and functional. This is one of the better bases! Includes three minfigs. Score: 7.5/10 Decent 6898 Ice-Sat V [1] [2] [3] [4] In terms of ground vehicles, the Ice-Sat V isn’t quite as good as other legends such as the Mega-Core Magnetizer or the Solar Snooper, but it’s still a decent small-to-medium size set. It has a crane that can be used to load/unload satellites from the cargo hold that makes up the body of the truck. That’s about it, really- this set is more fun when you have the base to go with it. It includes one minifig. Score: 8/10 Excellent 6879 Blizzard Baron [1] [2] [3] [4] The Blizzard Baron is an excellent small stunt fighter with good construction and great parts. Not exactly the stuff of legend, but it’s still a fantastic little set with a good array of features. The biggest flaw with the set is that the open cockpit provides little protection for the pilot. Includes one minifig. Score: 8.5/10 Excellent 6898 Celestial Sled [1] [2] [3] Generally speaking, LEGO Space seems to be at it’s best with big bulky sets like the Galactic Mediator, and the smaller sets seem a little lacking. Not so here! The Celestial Sled is a wonderful little set with a surprising amount of detail. Check out that sonar array in the back! This consistent level of quality is what makes Ice Planet 2002 such a great theme. Includes one minifig. Score: 9/10 Outstanding 6814 Ice Tunnelator [1] [2] [3] Your typical throw-away ground vehicle. Nothing exactly wrong with this set, but there’s nothing special about it either. At least it’s an easy way to collect the wonderful Ice Planet minifigs. Includes one minifig. Score: 6/10 Good 1731 Snow Scooter [sorry, no out-of-box photos] There’s nothing about this set that can’t be gathered from the box image. Just your average, run-of-the-mill impulse. Includes one minifig. Score: 5/10 Mediocre 1711 Snow Scooter (polybag) [sorry, no out-of-box photos] Same set as 1731, only it comes in a polybag. Includes one minifig. Score: 5/10 Mediocre 3014 Space Diver [sorry, no out-of-box photos] Ice Planet 2002 officially ended in 1994, but for some reason, in 1998 LEGO saw fit to re-release the worst set of the theme under a different name- the Space Diver. Why? Who knows! Includes one minifig. Score: 5/10 Mediocre 1704 (unnamed) [sorry, no out-of-box photos] Shame this set wasn’t more widely released! You’d think a winter-based theme would need a snowplow. This set is great, but good luck finding it. Includes one minifig. Score: 8.5/10 Excellent 3: BEST SET AWARD And the winner is... 6973 Deep Freeze Defender If you were to buy a single Ice Planet 2002 set, what should you get? The answer is an easy one- 6973 Deep Freeze Defender, the definitive Ice Planet set. This beauty is a hallmark of LEGO Space and it’s easily the best of it’s theme. Why? Several reasons- for one, it just looks great. The dual-cockpit design is refreshingly new, and the entire thing looks sleek and polished. The color scheme really comes through with this set, as well- the orange is nicely spaced out. And as I mentioned before- it’s modularity is unparalleled! Behold: The entire set splits into four sections… All of which can function as their own vehicle. You already have five vehicles in one set! Each cockpit/pod can attach to the cargo bay and midsection of the ship, forming two new cruisers- now you have seven vehicles in one! Don’t forget about the deployable mini-scooter. The grand total: Eight vehicles in one set! I can’t think of another Space set with that kind of modularity. And even better, each vehicle looks fantastic! But wait, that’s not all this beast of a set can do. It can also launch the trademark Ice Planet satellites from the midsection of the ship: Open up and away it goes! You get three minifigs with the set- one for each cockpit and an extra to fly the mini-scooter. Fortunately, one of these minifigs is the legendary icebabe! More on that later. Meanwhile, here's the Deep Freeze Defender in all it's glory: I’ve heard it argued that the DFD doesn’t have much frontal firepower- which is true, but there’s a reason for that. If you read my somewhat lengthy background information section, you’ll remember that Ice Planet 2002 is a “civilian” faction- more specifically, a research team whose primary goal seems to be launching satellites into the atmosphere to collect data. Considering they’re conducting their research on an inhospitable wasteland, I don’t think they’d need a whole lot of firepower out there! Final grades: Color scheme: 10/10 Functionality: 10/10 Build: 9/10 Minifigs: 10/10 Execution: 8/10 Overall: 9.4/10 Outstanding 4: THE MINIFIGS Ice Planet 2002 featured some wonderful minifigs! A nice variety of faces are included, as well as two different bodies. This is your basic Ice Planet minifig. Standard backpack and legs, but they have a nice helmet with a cool orange visor. The bodies are very nice as well, with a cool decal showing the thermal suit details as well as the Ice Planet logo. Here’s the less common “commander” minifig. The only difference is a new body and a different face. You can also equip your Ice Planet minifigs with snowshoes and saws to complete the look. Another interesting note- Ice Planet 2002 is the first Space theme to introduce female minifigs! Everything before Ice Planet was either male or gender-neutral. Behold the “icebabe”: You know you want to hit that. 5: UNUSUAL ELEMENTS A couple of unusual pieces exclusive to Ice Planet 2002. Ice Planet 2002 was the first theme to introduce trans-orange parts (and I think the only theme to utilize trans-orange successfully): A garage door piece otherwise exclusive to Town: An Ice Planet logo printed on a tile: Cool canopy with Ice Planet decals: Yes, all Ice Planet parts were printed! No DDSs here! 6: CATALOG SHOTS Here are some great shots of Ice Planet from some old LEGO catalogs! Click on the images to view the larger versions. 1993: 1994: A couple of rough translations: “and again some spyrius guys abducted two satellites and one booster rocket from the explorer-team of IcePlanet to their planet Spyrius. Can the SpacePolice persist?” “In the icecold cryosphere of IcePlanet, explorers research for new technologies for interstellar communication. Unfortunately their innovative rockets and satellites get stolen continually. Maybe there's a spy from spyrius within their engineers?” “For galactic chills and thrills check out this awesome group. They live on a frozen planet and their super secret rocket technology is wanted by everyone in the universe.” 7: ICE PLANET MOCS Here are a few brickshelf links to some fantastic Ice Planet 2002 themed MOCs. "Ice Planet Protector" by RangerSnow An Ice Planet submarine by Mutant-Manfred A "mobile gun" by Mutant-Manfred An Ice Planet themed Particle Ionizer by Lego-Lord "Icepick" battle cruiser by jakethesnakeuf "Ammonia Sea Scout" pirate ship by jjardine Mega Core Magnetizer in Ice Planet theme (as well as other themes!) by bdarrow IP2K2 Walker by Don Solo Ice Planet Special Forces by Don Solo Icy Interceptor by Captain Redstorm Ice Babe's Jacuzzi by Sir Nadroj 8: TRIVIA A couple of little-known facts I mentioned earlier, but they get their own section here. - Ice Planet 2002 was the first Space theme to include a female minifig. - According to one of the boxes, Ice Planet 2002 takes place on the planet “Krysto”. Here's the quote: “The ice planet Krysto, with its vast network of frozen tunnels and caves, is the capital of a remote part of the universe known as Ice Planet 2002. It is from this snow covered planet that rocket technicians are conducting top secret research. Their findings are coveted by the Blacktron forces and even renegades within the Space Police.” - Ice Planet 2002 was the one of the last "civilian" factions in LEGO Space, and most of the themes that followed it had unclear moral standings. Exploriens could be considered the last-ever "civilian" faction. - Although Ice Planet was officially discontinued in 1994, the Snow Scooter was re-released in 1998 as the Space Diver. - Ice Planet developed a small following on 4chan. I have not looked deeper into this for fear of that website. - The commander of the Ice Planet team (the only minifig to have a different body from the rest) has a name: “Commander Cold”. - Ice Planet is the first Space theme to use a garage door piece from Town. It also used this piece in orange and white, colors it never came in otherwise. - Ice Planet introduced the first ever transparent orange LEGO elements. 9: SOURCES AND CREDITS: Many thanks to BerndDasBrot for helping with translation and providing some great photos, as well as inspiring me to do this review! Be sure to check out his reviews of M-Tron and Space Police II. Sources include Wikipedia (which has a very nice section on LEGO Space), Brickset, Peeron, the Ultimate LEGO Book, and Brickfactory. 10: CLOSING COMMENTS Ice Planet deviated from traditional LEGO Space in a lot of ways. It was the first to have a distinct elemental setting- most other Space sets are just set in… space. It also had a very intriguing color scheme, though controversial. All of the “main” sets had a very consistent level of quality- you couldn’t really point to one of them and go “yeah, that set sucks”, because none of them did. It’s true that it lacked medium-sized sets, and that LEGO was rather stingy about minifigs at the time, but few can deny that Ice Planet 2002 was one of the most memorable factions in LEGO Space! Stay tuned for my upcoming Spyrius review! ---

We got leaks pretty early last year, didn't we?

I love the fact that LEGO is doing this! I completed the survey. :)

I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'm setting my sights for January.

When do you think we'll get some leaks? January?

Interesting! Thanks a lot you guys. :) Wish me luck on my hunt for cheap MISBs!

Buying things off of Ebay is quite an art isn't it? XD Thanks a bunch guys. I'll keep my eyes peeled for awhile and see if I get lucky. Mis-listed items sound hard to find, but I'll take a look and see what I can find...

People said it was okay to revive this, so... Seeing as the conversation turned to UFO, I really want to speak up for this theme. It was my favorite theme as a kid. The minifigs were simply fantastic. Seriously people- trans-orange heads! TRANS-ORANGE HEADS. The helments, too, were some of the coolest I've ever seen in general... and the bodies were just so detailed. I'm always a fan of detailed figs, and UFO has some of the most detailed figs in the history of LEGO! Also I think it had the best androids, with two varieties. In terms of sets- I give it props for bringing us one of the greatest sets in Space history, the Warp Wing Fighter. No seriously- I think it ranks just below the Deep Freeze Defender. It has three primary thrusters, four secondary thrusters, it's armed to the TEETH, it's got tons of detail, some awesome printed trans parts, space for two minifigs (alien and android), six wings, and all for the incredibly fair original price of $20! LEGO, well done. This set alone justifies this theme. As for the rest... good, but not as stunning as the WWF. The big Star Trek-like ship is rather poor in my opinion. The Alien Avenger isn't bad, but it still feels a little too slapped together. The smaller sets (Warp Wing down) seem to be the highlights of this theme, which is rare for Space. As for Insectoids- I also really enjoyed that theme. Just not quite as much as UFO, because of the rather useless insect legs, slightly ugly figs, and it didn't really have one token set you could point to and go "now that is a beauty". I never owned the biggest one though.

Hi, I've been browsing Ebay looking for the 6915 Warp Wing fighter. I've heard of some people getting it MISB for $20 or less... which sounded great for this underrated gem! My question to more experienced buyers is: what's the secret to getting things super cheap off of Ebay? Just being there at the right time? Thanks in advance, Alg

My county charges 10%.

2008 didn't knock my socks off but here's a more detailed overview. SW: Mediocre. I got a few of the sets because the box art looked cool and I wasn't impressed. Horribly overpriced, sloppy construction, horrible minifigs. Glad I'm not a big fan of this theme. Indiana Jones: Not a big fan of this theme either, so there's not much I can say. Mars Mission: Excellent! This is the main reason why I had any fun in 2008. It's great to see a theme improve so drastically in one year! City: I'm not very interested in City, but the Coast Guard is amazing. Bionicle: Agents: Great new take on Alpha team and great parts. However, I really did prefer Alpha Team in general. Still, very promising new theme. Castle: I love this new direction but I didn't pick up many of these sets. Still, I very much approve. Overall: 2008 was a good year for anti-license folks like myself, especially a Space fan. However, I won't lie that it wasn't my favorite. Agents failed to capture much of my attention and I've pretty much given up on Star Wars. I give 2008 a big fat 7/10- good, nothing outstanding.

Awww, I hope not. I was gonna post a review and I wanted to add a poll to it.

Call me slow, but I can't figure out how to post a poll. I see people add polls to their reviews all the time, but I can't seem to find any "add poll" button anywhere... and I've seen polls in the forum in which I was looking. So I don't get it. Do you have to be a special status to post a poll?

Because it's a theme aimed at children. I'm curious as to how well it will sell.

Why is everybody afraid to mention the dramatic improvement in Mars Mission? :D That's my favorite part of the year. Otherwise, Castle is nice.

That's why there's bricklink my friend.

Really? Now that's interesting. And to be certain the monorail is the most popular Unitron set. This explains why Spyrius was seen tangling with Space Police and then later seemed to take issue with Unitron.

I fail to see how this "promotes" terrorism... it's not glorifying anything. And it's also not generally being sold to children. I think it's funny when parents freak out about violent toys and videogames and at the same time ignore violent movies, TV shows, and constant messages of how war is good from the modern media. IF YOUR KID SHOOTS UP HIS SCHOOL, IT'S BECAUSE OF YOUR PARENTING, NOT THE VIDEOGAMES HE PLAYED. I also think it's ridiculous that parents will drop their kid off at a bloody war film, glorifying bloody deaths and violence, but they won't take their kids to a movie with sex in it, glorifying passion and love. Shows how messed up our society is.

That's nothing- in the entire run of LEGO Space there have been a huge collection of amazing minifigs, way more than those five. Also, nice review. In my opinion, the Unitron minifig is the most interesting of those. Shame that theme was so underdeveloped.

What can I say, I stopped following it when it turned into LEGO Power Rangers. :P

I still have no idea what you're talking about, but this time it probably has something to do with my lack of interest in Bionicle lore.

What?