Algernon

Something just seems incredibly awesome about an Insectoids VS Space Police line. Even though it'll never happen... that's my vote.

After giving them a better lookover, here are my thoughts: In regards to the color scheme, I actually LIKE the sand green, but you'd have to be colorblind not to dislike the bright red paired with it. It should have been gray, or even black. I sent LEGO an E-mail about that. However, I can let go of the color scheme if the designs are good. In terms of design... meh. It varies wildly. Some of them look like bad city sets, while others- in particular, the smaller drill set and the big mining platform- look intriguing. In order for me to consider ANY others they will have to be drastically revised. More detail on the arms of the cart thing would be good... and that DUPLO-ish cockpit needs to be removed ASAP. LEGO could make some changes to make this line much, much better... but if they don't... I doubt I'll be buying more than one or two sets from this new and disappointing theme. I sure hope Space Police is good.

MM is discontinued. I'm glad, because that will make room for another space line, but I'll miss it at the same time.

All I can say is... these had better be preliminary. At first glance, I thought I was looking at a DUPLO line.

Insectoids and UFO had some of my favorite minifigs ever.

Do you understand the definition of a sub-theme..? The Clone Wars sets have droids and clones. Both are different factions under the same theme... AKA, sub-themes. Yet... they are still the same theme: Star Wars. How is it worthless? My point is that the sets are selling. Sure, it's not the most popular theme LEGO's come out with, and I wouldn't be surprised that sales are low. But that doesn't make it a worthless theme. It just makes it unpopular, which is completely different. Popularity is not equated to quality... at all. Advertising budgets, compatibility with the target audience, prices... all of this factors into how well a theme sells. That doesn't make it bad. And you neglected to reply to my point that the vast majority of EBers responded positively to the announcement of Power Miners, because a lot of people LIKED Rock Raiders. You're selectively picking apart my arguments to give yourself an edge. That won't work, because I'm just going to keep repeating myself until you notice it. If LEGO threw morality and imagination out the window and focused on making money, LEGO would be much different than it is today. MEGABLOKs has always been a little smarter financially... but we all hate them. Why? Because there's no imagination involved. There's a reason why people stay LEGO fans into their adult years, and it's because LEGO doesn't forget them. What exactly is your argument here? That LEGO is or isn't predominantly concerned with making money? If they WERE a money machine we wouldn't see Power Miners and Space Police on the list for 09... we'd see more Star Wars sets, which are bound to sell more. You're not very clear on your point and it seems like you're more interested in contradicting me than making yourself clear. That's your imagination, not mine. I'm saying that LEGO does have some degree of morality and faith in terms of imagination. Not companies in general. And I haven't... even once, I think... mentioned war. I don't know why you're bringing that up.

"History" generally refers to human exploits that involve dates, battles, etc. In prehistory there are no dates, battles, or even certainty. It's just estimations, skeletons, and assumptions, whereas history is more concrete.

Aqua-Raiders 07 was a rival a-la Mars Mission and I wouldn't include it in the theme. But why don't you see the rest of it as a huge theme? It's a variety of underwater-themed warring factions. They all take place in the same world and they're clearly meant to be played with together. Also notice that Aquazone, Stingrays, and Hydronauts were all released the same year. If they're classified as different themes, LEGO wouldn't have released three incredibly similar underwater themes in the same year. :P Go to BrickLink and see how much the Rock Raider's HQ is going for. Also, have a look through this topic. More people are positive about the return of Rock Raiders than otherwise. Making profit is what a company needs to do in order to remain competitive- but it is NOT the purpose of a company. Most companies begin because the founder has a belief or talent that inspires him to begin a business in whatever it is he feels so strongly about. In LEGO's case, it's all about imagination. That's why you can break your models and rebuild them into something else. It's the core foundation of the LEGO company and it's a rarity to find such an old foundation that still values that. Another important point: if all LEGO was concerned with was making a profit, they'd go the same direction as Mega Bloks. Because most kids don't care about rebuilding their sets into something else and LEGO would probably make more profit is they simplified their sets into cool-looking action figures and playsets that can kind of come apart. I bet you wouldn't want that. And the reason why that isn't the case is because LEGO has remained true to the core fanbase and their deep set mission statement. Also, please don't generalize every short-lived theme into "ugly sets, useless parts" because it's simply not the case. A lot of people thought Rock Raiders were cool, and they had plenty of useful parts. If you don't know what to do with them then I'm not surprised you seem to undervalue imagination.

I just hope it doesn't go the same direction as Mars Mission and end up with an ugly color scheme, unrealized enemies, and stupid "tube" gimmicks that don't make it into the second wave. On the other hand, Mars Mission had some token sets that really justifies the rest of it.

Personally I hate this set. Still, that's an excellent, very informative review you've put together.

A steampunk theme would be amazing, actually.

First of all, Rock Raiders was awesome and I don't understand all of the hate. It wasn't <insert that tiresome argument>- it had inarticulate rock monsters, sure, but the remainder of the sets were difficult enough to build, and the theme itself was very original. It provided some interesting parts and great minifigs. All of the sets were constructed well, especially the main base and the tunnel transport. Second of all, I think this is brilliant if it's true. The name... sort of sounds stupid... but then, most LEGO themes sort of had crappy names. "Alpha Team"... "Exploriens"... etc. I'll withhold my opinion until pictures arrive, but in the meantime I've VERY excited. Hold on now... you need to check your facts. The Aqua themes are actually subthemes derived from one HUGE theme- Aqua Zone. That had PLENTY of sets, some of which are very interesting and well conceptualized. Alpha team had several waves as I recall. Rock Raiders was short lived but well received by the core fanbase. Why are you so positive on licensed themes? TLC is all about imagination. Lately they've just been stealing crap from George Lucas... and these themes have been the most successful. Because nowadays imagination doesn't sell. But LEGO persists anyway, coming out with fresh themes every year- and even if they don't sell all that well, I still give them massive kudos for being dedicated enough to imagination to come try something new.

Rock Raiders revisited would be a dream come true... however I wouldn't be so quick to assume that this article is legit.

Hm... maybe I should add some decorative logos or something to the wings?

I have mixed feelings about these new sets. One on hand, there's nothing retro about these at ALL. If anything they completely dispense with the Bionicle we all knew and loved back in 2001. I don't know what Greg was smoking when he said that 2009 would be a nostalgia trip for fans. On the other, these figures look very elemental, and I don't see too many silver armor pieces. My biggest gripe with the 2008 sets is how they all look more like transformers than biomechanical elemental spirits. These ones certainly do look like creatures of the wild, and I like that. Even so... I just can't shake the Megabloks vibe.

It's all black because it's supposed to be a stealth ship. Also, I had a lot of black pieces. :P I've beaten all of them, by the way. Besides FFIII. Which sucked. I've only recently gotten back into MOCing. The whole thing is pretty much SNOT, besides the wings, and adding more made it less sleek. Lol... what's that?

A work-in-progress for a few months, I'm pleased enough with the result to post it here. I may make some changes to it though. The photos are a little poorly lit, but you still get the general idea. Without further ado... the Night Python! Main shot: Side view: Side view 2: Cockpit detail: Back detail: Armor plating: Back view: Greeble detail: The Night Python is designed to be silent and powerful. It's equipped with anti-infantry repeaters, mounted on the hull of the vehicle, and two devastating artillery-grade plasma cannons attached to each wing. It is heavily armored and is best suited to engage flagships, bases, or other well protected enemy units. However, it is vulnerable to smaller and faster spacecraft, as it is not very maneuverable and isn't designed to attack light targets. The model CAN fit a minifigure inside- but I couldn't figure out how to get the cockpit to open smoothly without ruining the sleek look of the hull. So you pretty much have to take it apart to put in a minifig. Also, every kind of landing gear I tried looked clunky, so it's mounted on a stand in all of these pictures. I made a series of minifigs to go with the theme. Pilot: Aero troopers: Let me know what you think. :)

Rock Raiders was the shit back in the day. Awesome theme! I had this set as well as the Tunnel Transporter, which was amazing.

In my opinion, this theme is underrated. It had great minifigs, great vehicles, and some rare colors. The dinos aren't great, no, but who cares? The rest of the sets are fine. I wasn't a huge collector, but I got a few of the smaller sets. I wanted that helicopter.

At least they're starting to look elemental instead of robotic.

With Space Police on the list? Seems easy enough to me.

That's probably the case for Space Police as well... shame. I was really eager to see them.

No Space Police 3 pics??? Oh well... actually the new Toa are growing on me. I like how, for once, the elemental aspects of the figures are really well captured... the stone guy looks like a scorpion, and the ice guy looks like something from the background on a Roboriders can. :D (which is good) The only Star Wars sets I'm interested in is the shuttle, the battle packs, and the AAT. Indiana Jones looks kinda cool... just not much of a fan. City seems to be better than ever. Pirates are cool, but I only really like the ship... the rest just seem like playsets. In any case I'm sure glad we've gotten such an early preview, but my favorite themes have been ignored :( (castle and space)

I wish the SW shuttle thing had a better looking cockpit- it's not very accurate to the movie. Despite this, I love all the new SW sets, and I'm even liking the Indie sets... Bionicle is crap as usual. Maybe the Titans will be better. I want Space Police pics. :(

Exactly what is wrong with the new ship? It's the only set that I'm even tempted to buy at all.