Search the Community

An unnamed planet, unless the Swarm gives names to their worlds. Either way, the remains of Galaxy Patrol Troop 783 do not know the name of the world on which they will earn their Grand-Admirals' Stars. Their ranks thinned by the Swarm until there were only three left, The 783 staged their last stand behind the meager barricades provided by the airfoils of their downed dropship. The 783 attribute their survival entirely to the presence of an experimental Galactic-Class Combat Exo-Suit on their mission. Trooper Phillips, who piloted the suit, attributed his record-setting number of combat kills to its agility and incredibly aggressive weapon loadout. "The railgun was a lifesaver. Those plasma pellets could slam through a bug's carapace like it was a wet piece of toilet paper. When I took down the Queen who attacked us near the end, it was emptying the railgun between her eyes that finally got her to stop crawling for good," Phillips recounted. "And that B.R.O.A.D. Sword! They need to start shipping those out to every exo-suit across the galaxy, stat," Phillips continued. "It thinned out troops like nobody's business." (The Sword in question is an experimental weapon. An iron ball is anchored to a super-thin carbon nanotube filament, and then suspended in midair by the projection of super-strong magnetic fields from the Sword's bulky hilt. This draws the nanotube filament incredibly taut, allowing it to slice through most materials with easy. When in use, the Sword tends to glow orange due to the inductive heat generated by the magnetic fields.) "Of course, Luiz played a critical role as air support. He was my eye in the sky. And Kovacs picked up any strays that got by me so that our distress beacon wouldn't get destroyed before help arrived." The three survivors will be commended at a ceremony on Terra next week. Some more pictures of the suit: It can directly hold a Patrol figure! Troopers, meanwhile, have to already be wearing a Gunpack (standard equipment for the Heavy in most squads) in order to slot into the exo-suit. The attachment point on the rear of the Exo-suit can have a variety of additional hardware mounted on it. Engineers are currently trying to give it a jetpack, but for now the standard module is an S-14 Survival Pack. The pack holds two holdout guns should the suit ever run out of power or ammo, along with a buzzsaw for cutting teammates out of wreckage, an antenna to maintain connection with orbiting ships, and a tempered titanium sword as a weapon of last resort. The box on the bottom of the pack further holds a number of tools for suit repair, a water purifier, and enough nutrient bricks to sustain a troop of five for two weeks while waiting for help to arrive. After this great success, be on the lookout for the Galactic-Class exo-suit coming to an active front near your planet! (Notes on the model: it has 12 points of articulation with 18 degrees of freedom (14 of those in the legs!) and is ~140 pieces. Not counting the antenna, it stands around 10 cm tall)

Hello fellow AOFL, I recently noticed a local online store has several, discontinued, Galaxy Squad sets and I was wondering if they are worth to buy. I was away from the hobby when they were first released so I'd like to know if you think they are good quality sets. I'm a huge Science Fiction fan and if they are nice sets I'd hate to lose the chance to grab few of them before they are gone from that store. Thank you very much for your help

Hi everyone, You can already see this creation in the scene presented in another Galaxy Squad topic here but this one comes with a little story :) When I bought 1st wave of GS line, I had to admit something : seems that there was not much budget left for the red team's vehicles : With only this small one, life against the aliens wasn't easy at all : So they hired the best mechanics ... ... and then was built the red battle mech ! Again, I wanted it to keep a good playability so torso can rotate And it has a canon to fight ... ... and seems that roles are switched now, isn't it ? ^^ But it can also fight without his gun : High Kick ! Mission accomplished :) Hope you'll like it, I had as much fun building it than imagine the little story for its presentation ^^ As always, C&C are welcome

Hi everyone, After another Galaxy Squad topic here let me show you a small creation I made to honor the blue team - the Space Splitter : But why "Splitter" ? Well, most official GS sets had the characteristic to split into separate vehicles and that's what I wanted to enhance here. The main structure can split into different parts : And assemble to have as a result a mini-spaceship, armed mech and a maintenance robot : Everything connected with the use of technic pins and holes like this So we keep a good playability as you can clip/un-clip each part as you want :) Below the 2 mini vehicles in details, starting by the mini-spaceship : And the mech with heavy guns : Do not forget the tiny robot here to assist the blue team ^^ An overall picture to finish : Note - Shape and functionality inspired by the legendary set : Ice Planet 6973 Deep Freeze Defender :) Hope you'll like it, C&C are as always welcome

Hi everyone, Galaxy Squad line is maybe not the most popular one, but I really liked this line, so I created a little battle scene in honor of it for an exposition in France this year (Fanabriques) Poor red team, despite having two mechs the battle is not so easy due to the big larva alien that just appeared from its crater ^^ Some details : And as it was displayed in Fanabriques : I really tried to create a dynamic scene, with flying mosquito aliens and some laser shoots, I hope you'll like it. C&C are as always welcome.

Hey there! After looking at some images of the prototype model of the Space Police III Raid VPR, I decided to build it up and adapt it for the Galaxy Squad theme. I started off with a single Viper, but ended up making a unique fighter for each of the four Galaxy Squad teams. Each team's Star VPR has a little gimmick feature exclusive to their craft. Green Team's fighter emphasizes their squad's role of artillery. This unit features detachable missiles: two high maneuverability missiles and two heavy warheads. In addition to the standard GS rifles, the green fighter's other weapons (inward to outward) are two high-penetration railguns, two high-explosive autocannons, and two rapid-fire vulcan machinecannons at the wing roots. The blue fighter most closely resembles the legendary Vic Viper and is the most technologically sophisticated, reflecting Blue Team's specialty. In addition to flick-fire missiles and the standard GS rifles, the blue fighter is capable of absorbing energy from destroyed Bugoid craft to power itself up with various laser weaponry (fired from the two long forward prongs), shields, and other "optional" features. Red Team's fighter focuses on raw speed and maneuverability. Its supercharged engine and triple thrusters more than make up for its lack of raw firepower. Further, by flipping the wings up, this craft becomes stable enough to perform as a high speed ground attack unit. It features twin laser cannons, while the rear of the craft stows one standard GS handgun and energy blade for the pilot. Last but not least is Orange Team. Sheer firepower is their game, and their fighter reflects this with no less than six plasma cannons with variable modes of fire. Charged energy blasts, concentrated beams, or rapid-fire attacks. A subreactor feeding power directly into the four front cannons ensures that the pilot can keep his fingers right on the trigger. If the plasma isn't enough, the orange fighter comes packing with the same fusion bomblet equipped on the Eradicator Mech, certain to obliterate any Bugoid installation. Hope you guys like these! Feedback always appreciated.

Here is my first Space MOC to be posted to EuroBricks. Introducing the Pest Annihilator a.k.a. The Cootie Crusher. This modular ship consits of three sections which can be separated into their individual components. The version in the photos represent version 2.5 of the creation as it has undergone some changes to make the vehicle more stable and kid friendly in the last 10 months. The drive section that contain all the Power Functions features is built on an odd Technic beam basis while the structure around the chassis is an even styled system build. The Pest Annihilator/Cootie Crusher

Lo, and behold. (I've also added the LDD-files, in case someone wanted it.) GS red 001.lxf

I posted this on MOC pages a few months back so it's kinda old but I'd figure I'd post it here anyway. I am eventually going to do a rebuild of this using better SNOT techniques and wanted to get some constructive criticism on it before beginning. http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/390012

UPDATE: See real-life photos of this model in the next post. I have been looking at the insectoid forces in sets 70700, 70701, and 70707 for a long time, imagining what it would be like if they were all combined into one large bug. Before building the Cosmic Winger in real life, I decided to design it in LDD. I ended up using every single piece of each insectoid vehicle/creature in my combo model. Click any picture for a larger picture. { ^ Extra-large pic ^ } { ^ Extra-large pic ^ } { ^ Extra-large pic ^ } { ^ Extra-large pic ^ } { ^ Extra-large pic ^ } { ^ Extra-large pic ^ } { ^ Extra-large pic ^ } { ^ Extra-large pic ^ } { LXF File } { Brickshelf Gallery } The Cosmic Winger has 4 eyes, 4 mandibles, 2 guns beneath those mandibles, 4 wings, 12 legs, a buggoid pilot, and a crazy mosquitoid gunner wielding two blaster pistols. In addition, I have made a "stinger bomb" out of the pieces left over after building the Cosmic Winger itself (I hope to get got the jackhammer to fit more tightly in real life). When I have time to build, I'll post pictures of the real thing, but if you have any suggestions for the digital model, I can make any necessary modifications before I build it. Bugging Out, -Toa Of Justice EDIT: That big green thing in the back of the Cosmic Winger isn't a cocoon prison. Although it's shaped like one (and could technically fit a minifigure), it's actually the hyperdrive engine, with a thruster at the very end. EDIT 2: See the next post for the real thing!

The Assassin Bug (a.k.a. Wheel Bug) most commonly have an elongated head with a distinct narrowed neck, long legs, and a prominent, segmented tube (rostrum) for feeding and defending itself. These predators use the long rostrum to inject a lethal saliva that liquefies the insides of the prey, which are then sucked out. The saliva contains enzymes that predigest the tissues they swallow. This process is generally referred to as extra-oral digestion. The saliva is commonly effective at killing prey substantially larger than the bug itself. Galaxy Squad Assassin Bug Inspiration by mink66, on Flickr This is a nasty bug! And the perfect model for another Lego Galaxy Squad Alien Bugoid creation! A powerful Bug that strikes absolute fear into any Galaxy Squad Team member especially if caught alone out on the battle field. The Assassin Bug can make a quick meal out of any unsuspecting human, or store it in its purplue coccoon for later consumption or to bring back to the hive. Good luck humans...they will need it! Galaxy Squad Assassin Bug by mink66, on Flickr Galaxy Squad Assassin Bug by mink66, on Flickr Galaxy Squad Assassin Bug by mink66, on Flickr Galaxy Squad Assassin Bug by mink66, on Flickr Galaxy Squad Assassin Bug by mink66, on Flickr Galaxy Squad Assassin Bug by mink66, on Flickr Galaxy Squad Assassin Bug by mink66, on Flickr Galaxy Squad Assassin Bug by mink66, on Flickr Galaxy Squad Assassin Bug by mink66, on Flickr Galaxy Squad Assassin Bug by mink66, on Flickr

Hey, This is my first MOC I've ever shared. It's made completely from pieces from the Bug Obliterator (70705), which was a fun challenge. It does use a little bit of the Bug Obliterator's build in the wings and the long beams up top. I'm calling it the Exterminator Eye, "eye" for the double-sided bubble windscreens enclosing the pilot, and "exterminator" because... bugs. I also tried to name it using an alliteration like a lot of the GS sets. I think of it more as a type of support/utility ship for the orange team. Exterminator Eye by Nimaloo, on Flickr Exterminator Eye by Nimaloo, on Flickr The eye even tilts a bit: Exterminator Eye by Nimaloo, on Flickr

I'm trying to make some insectoids following the Galaxy Squad color scheme and using some bionicle parts. Here are my first two (click for bigger pics if necessary): And this one, a little inspired by an Exo-Force model: The eyes aren't where you'd think they are.

Hi all, I would like to introduce my first MOC. Billy's new Sidewinder Fighter. Comments and criticism welcome

After the Silicon War it was nearly impossible to live on earth anymore. But the European Defence Alliance (EDA) already started searching for new habitats in the year 2093. Finally they discovered something in the Andromeda System. There was a planet, triple siezed the earth, that's surface was completely covered with rocks and a black liquid. The first chemical analysis revealed, that the black liquid had huge percentage of water in it and that the atmosphere was nearly full of carbondioxide. The EDA started the first settlement in 2099 on the planet, which was now hopefully called "Terranova". But if living on this planet could be possible was not proofed yet. First they experimented with growing trees and plants, these experiments where complicated but promising. They have not seen any alien lifeform yet, but they also did not know what may live on the nearby planets. So there was stationed a small starfighter of the Hunter Class at every research lab, to be aware of any foreign attack. Greets Disco86

More fire power for the Galaxy squad orange team. Splits into jet. Galaxy Gunship by NunoRast, on Flickr Galaxy Gunship by NunoRast, on Flickr Galaxy Gunship by NunoRast, on Flickr Galaxy Gunship by NunoRast, on Flickr Galaxy Gunship by NunoRast, on Flickr Galaxy Gunship by NunoRast, on Flickr Thanks for looking.

Eurobricks member GRogall brings us exclusive pictures of the Summer 2013 LEGO Galaxy Squad sets! Head to the Sci-Fi forum to see the whole set of pictures and comment!

Hey Everyone, It's still a WIP but at least I've got it brick built. Originally I thought that I'd have this one knocked off my 'to do' list with just a couple quick Bricklink orders. However, 4 Bricklink orders later as well as two local orders made here in Taiwan and still I'm lacking parts. I might just give up brick building for the much easier digital building... yeah, right. The final color should be a Neon-Green and Dark Purple scheme. Not the Red that you see here. I think one of the ideas I wanted to explore with this model and which would explain the inclusion of the Galaxy Squad member in the cockpit is that it is a craft designed to mimic the Insectoid vehicles which would allow GS to covertly infiltrate Insectoid base camps... or something like that. Or... maybe not. Anyway, critiques are very welcome. I'm looking forward to finalizing this guy. (UPDATE!) Now in Purple... [short-Tailed Version] [below] - New Longer Tail [Previous Posts] The LDD version of the purple Helo Thanks, rongYIREN

I made a few mod's to set 70500.

Number – 70706 Name – Crater Creeper Theme – Galaxy Squad Year – 2013 Minifigs – 2 Pieces – 171 Price – $19.99/ €15.99?/ 12.99? Exact price not yet known. Links: Brickset, Bricklink not yet listed, Peeron not yet listed, LEGO Shop@Home not yet listed. Galaxy Squad (and I really keep wanting to say Galaxy Quest) is the brand new Space theme from TLG, which has been launched in many places to general approval. Unfortunately this is the first Galaxy Squad set I've been able to see up close, as TLG has decided to launch the Winter and Summer waves together in Summer in the UK, but the general feedback from those who got their hands on the Winter wave is that they are enjoying this new theme and liking a lot of the features of the sets. If, like me, you wish to know a little more about Galaxy Squad, then here's a little bit of the story: The Galaxy Squad consists of four colour coded sections: Red (led by Billy Starbeam), Blue (led by Solomon Blaze), Green (led by Chuck Stonebreaker) and Orange (with Jack Fireblade and Ashlee Starstrider - a girl!) and each team also have their own colour coded robot side-kick too. The Galaxy Squad fight the Alien Buggoids and Mosquitoids to stop them from doing... whatever it is they're doing or trying to do, which must be bad because they're bugs, right? So far in the theme the sets have been a mixture of monochrome with single-colour accent futuristic space vehicles, and exotically coloured insect shaped vehicles - a really intriguing combination of builds within one theme. The Green team (and so far as I can tell the teams are only called by their colours) had a large vehicle in the first wave 70704: Vermin Vaporizer, and this set has Chuck striking out in a smaller vehicle against a reasonable large Alien Insectoid vehicle. So, I'm excited for my first opportunity to build one of these sets - let's have a look at it! The Box The colour base for the box is white, reflecting the Galaxy Squad's mostly-white vehicles, but there's a lot of artwork to depict the alien world and its landscape. The Crater Creeper is crawling over the alien rockface, while Chuck zooms in to attack with his missiles. In the top right the alien Buggoid is amusingly 'bursting' out of the box and it's a great touch to bring the alien to life. In the bottom right Chuck looks cool, and confident with his gun. No Buggoids are getting away from him. The back of the box has a 'Tron' style grid overlaid on a background of stars and galaxies in space. There's a great view of the Crater Creeper itself, including lots of insets showing all the playfeatures, including the fact that the Crater Creeper can grip Chuck's pod in its pincers. There's a lot more information here, including a QR code (that I admit I haven't scanned) and in the bottom right a cheery picture of Chuck with a website that doesn't currently work for me (perhaps because I'm in the UK where Galaxy Squad hasn't been released). On the top and bottom of the box you can see better the continuing minimalist white. I think this is a great choice for a colour; it's really clean and fresh. It's unusual to have such an empty colour on such action packed sets, but it allows the actual LEGO to stand out more, and it ties in so well to the white basis of the Galaxy Squad's vehicles. Unusually, instead of using a minifigure, they've chose a raygun to denote scale. I'm not sure how much that helps, but it looks quite stylish. The sides of the box show more clean and contemporary white space. You can just make out four symbols, denoting the four different Galaxy Squad teams, and each team's set has its logo filled out in its team's colour, which is a nice design. The design of the sides are kept sleek, with just a smaller picture of the set from the front of the box. It's a shame they had to include the LEGO club promotional stuff, as it does spoil the aesthetic, but I understand that it's necessary. The Box Contents There are four polybags inside the box, two large and two small, and this is where you first get the sense of the colour scheme for the set. There is also a small sticker sheet, with four stickers, which was in remarkably good condition when I fished it out of the box. You'll see how these are applied later, but they are printed on a transparent base, which makes them slightly less obvious as stickers. The printing itself is fine and clear, so they are the next best thing to actual printed parts. The Instructions Just one instruction booklet; hardly surprising, as it isn't a very big set. The artwork here is the same as for the front of the box, but you can see a bit more of the landscape. It's been mentioned by a few that there's more than a passing "Starship Troopers" vibe to this theme, and it looks like the lime green construction in the background is actually the Buggoid city, not least because you can see the pincers of another Crater Creeper on the horizon. So that sort of implies that the Galaxy Squad have travelled to the Insectoids' world to take them on. Very Starship Troopers... So here's a random(ish) page from the instructions. Firstly, the Tron-like grid background is back, which is kinda retro in a cool way plus there are faint impressions of nebulae too. Secondly, there's a nice cheery picture of Chuck to encourage you while you build. He's also got his green team logo next to him too. Thirdly, at this stage in the build, you can see there's quite a bit of SNOT work and Technic, which we'll see a bit more of later. This isn't just a brick-on-brick build. It could be argued that one of the most useful pages in the instructions is the inventory, so here it is, and if you'd like to see it better then please click on the pic for a link to a larger version. I have spared you the torture of seeing the ignominious "Gagne" child that graces the back cover, and instead I offer you this: the page that shows the complete view of all the upcoming Galaxy Squad sets. If it looks a little pink, that's because it is. It seems that, in Galaxy Squad, pink is the colour of the laser fire from the Insectoids, so there's quite a bit of pink here, as the Galaxy Squad hide behind their set boxes to take cover from the fire. I like the little 'holes' in the scenery from the laser fire too; the artwork as a whole is fun and action-packed. The Parts There are a few parts here that are new to me. It's easy to spot the Hero Factory angled blades in black, and they have only appeared in one Hero Factory set 6228 Thornraxx, before cropping up in Galaxy Squad's 70703 Star Slicer. The light bluish grey 6x6 round plate has only appeared in a few sets before, so it's also not easy to get hold of, as is the trans red windscreen which hasn't been seen since 2003. It's unlikely you'll have many of the dark red curved 2x2 slopes, unless you own a lot of Maersk sets, specifically all four versions of the Container Ship, as those are the only sets it's ever been seen in before. The dark red 4x1 curved slope is a relatively new piece, having debuted in dark red in 2012 in the Ninjago set 9448 Samurai Mech and then appeared in only 3 other sets so far this year. Just next to them, the 2x2 air scoop tops are brand new in dark red for this set. In these bags my eye was certainly drawn to the olive green 1x2 plates. This colour version of this piece is pretty new; it's only been around since 2012, and has only appeared in this colour in 4 sets, 3 of which were pretty large. You can't ignore the only printed piece in the set; the lime green printed 2x2 round tile that's supposed to represent an open insect mouth in the Galaxy Squad sets. It's only appeared in 70700 Space Swarmer, in the sets that have been released so far, and the 1x2 lime green cheese wedge has only ever been seen in 31007 Power Mech before. The dark bluish grey 1x2 modified plate with pin hole is a brand new piece for 2013, however TLG have already made good use of the part, as it's far from rare already, and the two barrel pistol is also reasonably new (2011) but featured in a myriad of sets. Minifigures Here they are, side by side, Buggoid of unknown name, and Chuck Stonebreaker, leader of the Galaxy Squad Green Team! Mr Buggoid manages to look both serious and slightly smiley at the same time, which is really quite a feat. He's looking at you, with his four eyes, from under his heavily fortified forehead. As with any insect-like creature, he seems to have a segmented abdomen, although he also seems to be wearing a very small pair of underpants. Chuck, on the other hand, is wearing his Galaxy Squad standard issue space armour (in green, naturally) which comes with artificially enhanced pectoral and abdominal muscles, decorated with Galaxy Squad logos. Chuck's grin indicates a man used to space-swashbuckling and derring-do, and his scars mark him out as a battle hardened hero. He has a lovely matching helmet, too. The printing here is really very detailed and precise, with good colour choices too and I'm really impressed with these figures. As mentioned, Unnamed Buggoid has four eyes, but all four of these eyes are printed with detailing that really adds another level to this figure. It's only a few dark red spots, but it's such a great detail to really give the figure something extra. At the back, Buggoid has more great printing to show his segmented Insectoid body, and you can see the moulding of the back of the head, designed to fit with this segmentation. The shape of this moulded head carapace fits really well with the design of the Buggoid, and the fact that the hands match some of the printing detail is another great design feature. Chuck also has a detailed back print, that looks very Sci-Fi with an almost mechanical representation of his spine. There's another Galaxy Squad logo here, and you can also just make out the number 30; I confess, I don't know what that means. I assume Chuck's wearing a sort of spacey respirator type thing, which is nicely printed with shiney silver, but does look a bit like Hannibal Lecter's gimp mask. Chuck doesn't look too happy about it. Here you can better see the shape of the Buggoid's head. It's all one mould, not a head with a mask or helmet over it, but here you gain a better sense of the curvature of the carapace and can see the probosces at the front. The Build Having assembled the minifigures, the first thing to build is Chuck's pod. It doesn't look like your usual "spaceship", it's not enclosed (ensuring easy access for fingers) and it's not all sleek and streamlined. It looks a little like an armoured armchair on a circular rug. With guns and missiles. And I rather like that idea, and I also like that it isn't just another pointy little ship. The green team's coloured stripe is effected by an expertly () placed sticker on the front, and the basic colour here is white, with a hint of trans for that clean, futuristic Sci-Fi feel. A view from the back shows that the colour scheme also includes dark green; the curves of which add further to the armchair aesthetic. It's an eye-pleasing colour combination, and it also makes sense from a story perspective too. The control panel of the armchair is effected by another expertly applied sticker, and is also mostly in the green of the green team, and looks suitably impressive as to transform the otherwise boring 1x2 white cheese wedge. Chuck looks both excited and menacing as he chases you down in his floating armchair, and that's really quite an arsenal he's got pointed at you there, too. In fact, from the front, this looks a bit more like a souped-up mobility scooter for people who get annoyed at pedestrians walking too slowly in front of them. The glow of the trans light blue lateral thrusters work nicely with the green-and-monochrome colour scheme. Round the back you can see more of that lovely dark green, and also a flash of blue. Id' love to say this was the impulse core or something, but actually the SNOTage of the lateral thrusters is created by the use of Technic pins (in fact there's quite a bit of Technicy stuff in this set) and that's what's causing the blue. Chuck can't actually lean back in his armchair, as the angle's a little wrong, but then if you're going off to blast Insectoids to oblivion, you probably shouldn't be too relaxed about it. Either that or he needs a space-cushion. As Chuck wobbles and upends his craft, we get an opportunity to see that it does indeed hover, no doubt due to the transperambulation of pseudocosmic antimatter (with apologies to Robert Rankin). This is, however, delightfully represented by four trans blue 2x2 boat studs, and very pretty they look too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Having happily sorted Chuck's conveyance out (and happily indeed one does), it's time to move onto the main build: the Crater Creeper itself. Earlier on, in the instructions part of this review, I showed you a mid-build picture where I mentioned that there was quite a bit of SNOT work and Technic involved here. You can see that there's a few SNOT brackets already applied to the main build, and there are a lot of Technic bricks, and axles and pins and other Technicyness involved. You can understand how this goes from a bare skeleton to being a large insect-like vehicle, even at this point, thanks to the appearance of some of the Technic angle connectors. A reasonable number of interestingly coloured and shaped parts are actually lost underneath further layers of bricks, plates Technic and SNOT, and the build really does feel like a layering process. So here is our Crater Creeper, in all its red and lime green glory. It really does manage to look like part vehicle and part bug; both mechanical and organic. It looks venomous and sinister and "Creeper" really is the right name for it. The curved lime green piece at the front looks like an insect's carapace, and in armouring an insect it is armouring also an alien vehicle. The pincers at the front are snapped shut thanks to the tension of the colour-coordinated red rubber band, which is the only thing that really looks out of place. If you take the red rubber band off, though, then you can see more of the front of the vehicle. As the pincers open, they reveal the placement of that singular printed round tile, which is nicely positioned on top of four pink 1x1 round plates. The pincers in the open position looks more organic and menacing, but removing the rubber band removes a play feature. By pressing on the Technic axles that are exposed on either side of the front of the model, the pincers will open and close at will and are even able to grab things, including Chuck's pod. Round the back you can see another expertly applied sticker, and that it's been applied to a trans part. The lime green and trans red is an unusual colour combination, but for colouring an alien insect vehicle it's a combination that works well. The curved lime green pieces on the top of the body smooth nicely down onto the trans red shell, and the model looks segmented, just like an insect. Underneath the rear exoskeleton, there's a nasty surprise, though. This is where the Buggoid keeps his blaster, yet it also seems to be integrated into the vehicle as a sting in its tail. You can't even sneak up on it from behind. With Buggoid in the driving seat, the controls (thanks to the last expertly applied sticker) are at his fingertips. From this angle you can see that the model is almost exclusively black, grey, lime green and dark red. There's some nice switching between the colours, and the studs from the front lime green curved 6x2 wedges are nicely balanced by the pattern of the sticker on the rear trans red piece, effectively making the studs themselves part of the design. It would be great to be able to say that the Creeper can walk, or even creep, but unfortunately four of the six legs don't articulate at all. The middle legs are the only ones that do, and you can clearly see the joint here, but unfortunately they only move up and down, not forwards and backwards. This is a bit of a shame, as with all the Technic involved I was hoping for a more dynamic model, but it is not to be. You'll just have to raise the Creeper's middle legs in a menacing way instead. So here we have Chuck and Buggy, reunited again. Really this picture is to show the scale; Chuck looks pretty much outclassed in this encounter, and he seems quite exposed in his little flying pod. I guess, though, that what he lacks in armour is significantly made up for with manoeuvrability, especially considering he can fly and the Creeper can't even walk. At the end of building, as ever there are parts left over, but the leftovers here are quite frugal unless you like Technic pins. Really, though, these represent easily lost parts, but it's always nice to know that there are some things that are supposed to be left over. And a little look at flick-fire missiles. Love 'em or hate 'em, you get two pairs of them in this set, and this picture is to serve as a reminder for those of you who got excited and fired off your missiles never to be found again. This is what they looked like. Conclusion Design: 9/10 The whole style of Galaxy Squad has me absolutely intrigued. I really love the clean white base for the theme, with the single colour accents for the teams, but I also love the exotic colour combinations and use of trans parts for the Insectoid vehicles. There's such great contrast, and I saw that in this set. The little pod is great, and it's not a pointy starship. The larger Creeper looks just like a mechanised insect. I think the design for this theme and this set is pretty much spot-on. Parts: 8/10 There are some newly coloured parts here, and a good amount of parts I wouldn't normally have. Most of them have been used in Action and Sci-Fi sets quite a bit, though, so they may not be all that exciting to the theme's target audience. I suspect that the only printed part will be commonplace within Galaxy Squad sets, so that too is unlikely to be a great draw. There's a good collection of Technic bits and bobs though, especially if that's an area of LEGO you don't usually go for. Minifigs: 9/10 It's not a huge set, and the two minifigs are completely appropriate. They are both brand new to me, and I am very impressed with the level of detail and quality of the printing. Chuck makes a great character, and his face is a great addition to our minifig collection. The Buggoid looks very alien-insecty; who could ask for more? In this size set you only need one of each side, and that's just what you get. Build: 10/10 I had tons of fun with this build. There's very little repetition, and the few steps that are repeated are quite complicated, so they certainly aren't boring. It won't have escaped your attention that there's a load of Technic in this build, and that really isn't something I do much of, usually by choice. I've seen it crop up in some CREATOR and Friends sets before, so it doesn't bother me at all, but I was surprised to actually find it fun. Additionally there's quite a bit of SNOT building here, and layering up the SNOT, too. I enjoyed that part of the build immensely too. There was certainly no brick-on-brick element to this, and that was a pleasant change. Playability: 8/10 With one of each faction (Galaxy Squad and Insectoid) it's easy to create scenarios of fight and escape and peril. The biggest play feature is obviously the gripping pincers, which is fun, but the elastic band required for it does spoil the look of the model a little. Obviously there are flick fire missiles, which will be fun until you lose them, but there could have been an even better playfeature if the Creeper's legs had been articulated. I am aware that that would make this a far more complicated model, though, and this wouldn't be the smallish-sized set that it is. Overall 88% I'm actually surprised at how much I like this set; there's really a lot to enjoy here. The printing on the minifigs is really lovely, and Chuck is a worthy leader of the green team with his debonair smirk and battle-hardened features. The parts selection is pretty good, especially if you're drawn into this theme from others, and the build is superbly enjoyable. Both contraptions can be swooshed to great effect and having two opposing vehicles in one set allows for instant scenario play. It's clear they've thought about the play features, and they haven't just used a few flick fire missiles (although they're still there for the die hard fans), but it would have been even better still if the legs had been better articulated. The whole theme and style of Galaxy Quest is hugely appealing. The clean and modern take on the futuristic nature of the Galaxy squad compared with the bright and vibrant organic aesthetic of the Insectoids is a fabulous contrast. Judging by this set, I'll be acquiring several more of the Galaxy Squad sets when they are eventually released in the UK. Thank you for reading, comments are always very welcome. High-Res pictures can be found on my flickr account. The green team call in reinforcements from the newly-formed pink team to finish off the last Crater Creeper.... ...and with the behemoth slain, they decide to hit the space-pub together...

Hello everyone, I am very pleased to be given such a wonderful opportunity to review this new LEGO Space theme known as the Galaxy Squad. First of all, a very special thanks you to TLG (The LEGO Group) and Eurobricks Staff for providing me and my fellow staffers an excellent chance to do up this lovely coverage for our Eurobricks Community as well as for the entire LEGO Community. Without further ado, let me share with you the wonderful mechanics within this building set. Name: 70709 Galactic Titan Theme: LEGO System / Space / Galaxy Squad Year: 2013 Pieces: 1012 Minifigs: 5 minifigures Price: USD $99.99, GBP N.A, EURO N.A, SGD N.A Resources: Brickset, BrickLink An original box image of the 70709 Galactic Titan Back view of the original box image of the 70709 Galactic Titan The massive powerful Galactic Titan is here to crush the destructive bugs As the name reckons, the Galactic Titan is the main highlight and the crown jewel of the Galaxy Squad which is a command maneuvering asset for the Blue Squad. The Galactic Titan is the largest set among the Galaxy Squad product range. It is certainly capable of annihilate any impending bug threats by utilizing the state-of-the-art space technology. The TLG product designers have used their creative imagination to conceptualize, design and build to construct this set together. Initially, when the news and rumours of Galaxy Squad releasing in 2013, the community are speculating a saga between the struggle of survival between mankind and the bugs. The first thing that came across my mind is the blockbuster movie, Starship Troopers. Seriously, I am wishing for that similar settings, but still the overall appeal based on what I have seen on the real set images didn't disappoint me much either and more importantly, it still continue to remains relevant as it evolves itself in the long LEGO Space history. So let's focus on TODAY's agenda! Does Galactic Titan really live up to its remarkable name? Let’s find out together. The content of the sealed box Within the sealed box, it comes with seven mint numbered packages, an additional mint package, a sticker sheet and an instruction manual to build up the set. After the building is completed, these are the remaining spare parts in packet 1, packet 2, packet 3, packet 4, packet 5, packet 6 and packet 7. These are the respective parts list located in part 1 and part 2. I must first apologise that in this review, there will be no application of stickers as the amount of stickers is quite taunting and I will prefer the beauty of this set to last longer without the decay of the glued stickers on the LEGO parts. Therefore, this review is only much relevant for non-stickered builders. Sorry guys that I am not able to provide this detailed portion. LEGO Galaxy Squad 2013 At the end of the instruction manual, you will find a total of ten LEGO Galaxy Squad sets which are released in 2013 and four of them are the recent new addition for the second release which can now be found in the Eurobricks Sci-Fi Forum, where my fellow staffers/reviewers had just shared. Upcoming new LEGO Themes In the second half of the year, there will be a treat for the LEGO Lord of the Rings fans, where new sets will be released to further strengthen the license and playability of the Lord of the Rings. In addition, it appears that the LEGO Ninjago is not going to intend to cease after been through a strong three years of being one of the most successful LEGO home-grown product range and your favourite Ninjago characters will certainly be back for another brand new exciting adventure. Blue Galaxy Squad Logo This is the official logo of the Blue Galaxy Squad that sworn to rid of the destructive bugs. There are a total of four squads which are being identified through their primary colour codes such as 'Blue', 'Green', 'Orange' and 'Red'. Each of the colour squad is specialised in their battling warfare. In the official description, the Blue team are the navigators, engineers, and strategic specialists. All teams are equal, but when they tell you to "go", just trust that they know what they're doing, and go! (Pretty interesting to know this fun fact!) Watch out for the strong Blue Galaxy Squad Isn't this box art looks cool with the stunning pose of the Blue Galaxy Squad? The official illustrated box art of the Galaxy Squad minifigures Introducing the new Galaxy Squad Space minifigures Each time a new set is released, lots of attention is dedicated to the LEGO minifigures section. This is no exception. In this set, there are a total of five LEGO minifigures which comprised of two blue squad members, one blue robot sidekick and two alien mosquitoids. This is the only set in the entire Galaxy Squad theme that comes with the highest amount of LEGO minifigures in a single released set. Based on the illustrated box art, I must applaud that the design of this space fellows still continue to remain relevant and sleek especially after I have assembled the actual minifigures that remain to be pretty impressive in its own rights. The elite Blue Galaxy Squad The above is the elite ‘Blue Galaxy Squad’ which is made up of two-man operative cell and a single robot sidekick. As I do not have the background information of these minifigures, I have to look into the recent released sets and view the Shop@Home descriptions which lead me to discover an interesting fact. It didn’t occur to me that each of the minifigure actually come with a name. The left minifigure is known as the Blue Team Leader and his name is Solomon Blaze. I strongly believe that the right minifigure is the new addition to the Blue Squad since there are only two sets that contain them and both sets are the same Solomon Blaze. The minifigures are extremely detailed with fine printing. The azure blue colour scheme for the squad members is very similar to the previous Alien Conquest theme. The minifigures come with back printing. You can see a much detailed back view of the squad members without their helmets on. The squad members also pretty impressive in the front without their helmets on. Changed into their battle mode features Is this the future of the ADU? Introducing the new Blue Robot sidekick for the Blue Galaxy Squad The Blue Robot sidekick is new interesting features where it play an active role in determine the success of the mission in areas where men have limited ability to accomplish the objective. Therefore, this Blue Robot sidekick is meant to complement the human members where some executions such as computer processing or close combat are not quite ideal for our human counterparts to be exposed to such risk. The term 'sidekick' also suggest that the these robots are not just mere machines but involve in many greater roles to ensure various key factors and components to aid the squad mission. You can see from the back view of the Blue Robot sidekick where there is powerful jet pack to assist in their aerial ability. Through this angle, you may notice the side view of the powerful blaster that is held by the Blue Robot sidekick. While in this angle, you can observe the Blue Robot sidekick taking aim through the lens. Putting the Blue Robot sidekick together with the new Robot Mech Front view of the Alien Mosquitoids without the heads attached The fighting cause for the formation of the Galaxy Squad is all because of these dangerous Alien Mosquitoids. It is the sole reason where men and women take arms and fight to preserve peace in the universe. In this case, I choose to discern them into distinct parts. To be honest, I am not a fan of bugs and the appearance of these bugs is the exact sentiments where I will like to use the strength of Galaxy Squad and crush them into bits and pieces. Pretty nasty thought, isn't it? Nonetheless, the details on these bug-like minifigures are incredible. You can see the back view of the Alien Mosquitoids without the heads attached and the back view of the Alien Mosquitoids with the heads attached again. The material of these head pieces are soft ABS plastic rubber material and you can see a detailed closer view of the Alien Mosquitoid. Personally, I am quite fond of the new lime looking bug wings which is pretty cool, instead of re-hash the older looking wings. In addition, I am also quite sure the other new alien bug is not supposed to be known as the Mosquitoid. It does resemble a little like a mantis but I believe we will have to wait for the official naming for this new bug fellow. For easy reference, this fellow will be regarded as a Mosquitoid or bug equivalent. The new space defenders of the LEGO universe The many dangerous villains residing in LEGO universe Everyone is here for the long awaited peace treaty? The building content of Packet 1 The completed built for Packet 1 After finishing building Packet 1, you will probably notice that the remaining six packets are meant to build up the Galactic Titan. The content for Packet 1 is used to build the Alien Mosquitoid's nest and robotic centipede. Please note that there is a new orange brick separator included in this set. Alien Mosquitoid's nest The Alien Mosquitoid's nest may not be the official term for it, but I deem that it is quite possible that it is a place where the eggs are hatched and prisoners are stored. This is the overview of the Alien Mosquitoid's nest and there are two platforms leading to both sections. The one on the left is where the prisoner capsule is stored, while the one on the right is weapon storage and communication receiver. An official illustrated box art of the Alien Mosquitoid's nest Launching of the Alien Mosquitoid's egg At the back of the building, you will find a lever to launch the birth of the egg larval and allowing the egg to break apart where the spawn is born. Don't use it to launch and point onto someone. This is more of a safety message to the children who are playing with such mechanism, similar to the rest of the other firing functions in this set. The Alien Mosquitoid egg spawn In the cocoon stage, the egg larval is nurture in the bright translucent pink shelled egg. I am not sure how long does it take to reproduce but I am quite sure that at this stage, it might not take a long time for the infant to grow into a full scale adult size. After all, bugs are very quick in growing and reproduction. The new alien bug infant is a new addition to this Galaxy Squad theme by providing a better insight in the early growth stage of these alien bugs. The Alien Mosquitoid's Centipede This is a pretty long robotic centipede where the Alien Mosquitoids used it to assault the Galaxy Squad who threatens the birth place of these bugs. The robotic centipede made up of four sections and each section is able to swirl left or right. The front of the robotic centipede is where the Alien Mosquitoid controls the functional gears. The rear of the robotic centipede is the storage of the imprisonment of the Galaxy Squad members that will be placed in the dark blue looking shell capsule. Different view of the Alien Mosquitoid's Centipede We need to prepare ourselves for the impending attack The building content of Packet 2 The completed built for Packet 2 The fun and tedious part begins! Yes, this is the beginning of the Galactic Titan and the Packet 2 content forms the core of the armoured tank base which is made up of plentiful technic parts that forms the gear movement beneath it. The building content of Packet 3 The completed built for Packet 3 The content in Packet 3 is to build and expand the base of the armoured tank where the outer case is currently being formed out there. You will also notice that the built for the vehicle cockpit is now completed. You might also note that there are bricks at the side that will soon facilitate SNOT technique. The building content of Packet 4 The completed built for Packet 4 The content in Packet 4 is the finishing touch to the tough armoured tank by placing all of the tracked wheels together and this monster tank is ready for rock and roll. Judging from the size of it, I strongly believe the design of this armoured tank is well protected from all sides as there is a tough armour at all fronts without exposing any vulnerable components. An official illustrated box art of the Galaxy Squad Armoured Tank playing mechanism Lifting the missile launchers from beneath the Galaxy Squad Armoured Tank No tanks are ready without the deployment of missile or rocket launchers to take down enemies. This is certainly an offensive armoured tank where it will be ready to raid any alien base on any planets. The armoured tank encompass readiness and efficient target setting based on the infrared radar for track and kill purpose. Perhaps, I did make it up. Still, it is the boy imagination where such imaginative role playing comes about and this set is just perfect for young boys who love some sci-fiction action. The process of lifting the missile launchers playing mechanism As you can see from the image above, you may retrieve the missile launchers by pushing it upwards to the rear of the tank until it reach to its maximum length. From there, you may adjust the missile launchers in upward or downward directions. Infrared radar can be released by deploying the radar dish. The missile launchers are capable of 360 degrees targeting without compromising the combat readiness of the armoured tank. Galaxy Squad Armoured Tank Tracks I am not an engineer who could understand the mechanics behind the choice of usage of tracks. In principle, the advantages of tracked over wheeled vehicles are that they are in contact with a larger surface area than would generally be the case with a wheeled vehicle, and as a result exert a much lower force per unit area on the ground being traversed than a conventional wheeled vehicle of the same weight. This makes them suitable for use on soft, low friction and uneven ground such as mud, ice and snow. The principal disadvantage is that tracks are a more complex mechanism than a wheel, and relatively prone to failure modes such as snapped or derailed tracks. (Quoted by Wikipedia). Bottom view of the Galaxy Squad Armoured Tank Front view of the Galaxy Squad Armoured Tank Opening up the cockpit to reveal the commanding driver The building content of Packet 5 The completed built for Packet 5 The content for Packet 5 is the beginning of the building process to assemble the cockpit of the Galaxy Squad Spaceship. The building content of Packet 6 The completed built for Packet 6 The content for Packet 6 is the continuation of the assembling of the cockpit and the rocket engine to propel the spaceship. It seems almost clear that we are lacking of the aerial dynamics factor in this equation. The building content of Packet 7 The completed built for Packet 7 The content in Packet 7 is the finale and the new Galaxy Squad Spaceship is now completed with the equipped aerial wings at the side of the engine fuse. Both the pilot and weapon specialist are sitting in the cockpit to await for further instructions for their next incoming mission. An official illustrated box art of the Galaxy Squad Spaceship Adjusting the aerial wings of the spaceship I love this adjustment of the aerial wings transformation very much. It is totally brilliant. The design is very sturdy and firm. It enables the rotation of the aerial wings to be placed from stand-by position to flying position. This simply add into lots of playability for me who just enjoy some nice sleek looking spaceship. Front view of the Galaxy Squad Spaceship Opening up the cockpit to reveal the piloting crew As you can see from the image above, you will open up the gigantic cockpit single LEGO piece, where the front of the cockpit sits the pilot and the rear of the cockpit sits the weapon specialist that control the missile and firing mechanism. Galaxy Squad Spaceship firing mechanism At the side of the spaceship, there is a firing lasers on both wings and near the landing gear also contain the traditional flick-fire missile as well. Back view of the Galaxy Squad Spaceship Taking a closer look at beneath the Galaxy Squad Spaceship Bottom view of the Galaxy Squad Spaceship Breaking up the Galactic Titan into land and air battle formation This is so incredible. For the price of one, you are able to get two distinct class of combat, namely the armoured tank and the spaceship. Furthermore, to enhance the playability of this set, both of them can be combined together to form the legendary Galactic Titan of the Galaxy Squad to increase the overall appeal. Front view of the Galactic Titan The spaceship's cockpit is the front of the Galactic Titan where the spaceship will be controlling the land mode. The front view of the Galactic Titan is certainly looks impregnable and this is where the transformation will take place for the land and air attack surprise. In the Galactic Titan mode, you can reach out for this set and hold it with your hand and the set won't fall apart easily. I am surprised that the set is very sturdy and firm in its grip. This increases the playability on the endurance. Side view of the Galactic Titan Back view of the Galactic Titan Please do not be mistaken that this is the front of the Galactic Titan where it will be controlling the land mode. However, I do strongly believe that the technology for the Galactic Titan will allow both ends to command the land mode and the one at the back will certainly be assuming secondary position as back up. Bottom view of the Galactic Titan Top view of the Galactic Titan The yellow holders clutch both machines together These are the magical parts that grip both machines together to form the Galactic Titan. The grip is pretty decen and it hold them well and good. Spaceship landing gear that is seen resting on the Galactic Titan This the biggest LEGO Galaxy Squad ever! Let's take out the Alien Mosquitoids! To conclude, this is the biggest incredible looking set for the entire LEGO Galaxy Squad theme. The finishing product for this Galactic Titan has definitely lived up to its remarkable standard. The combination of both the land armoured tank and the air spaceship is one of the most powerful playing elements and the main highlight for this set. There is very high playability with plentiful room of imagination the children to play with. The Blue Squad minifigures are a nice touch and they match very well with the primary colour combinations. The Alien Mosquitoids are a nasty bunch of species in this set. These Alien Mosquitoids are now focusing more on growth and reproduction capabilities. Although the nest and the centipede are not as huge and impressive as the Galactic Titan, but the overall assembled design remain well received. Even though I am not a huge fan of LEGO Space but I remain actively collecting selective LEGO Space sets and thankfully, I had the exclusive chance to look into my favourite looking Galaxy Squad set in this entire series. Despite of the tedious and annoying building process from time to time, since I have not build a set with more than 1000 pieces for almost a few years, this is considered quite a mentally challenging and yet totally enjoyable experience which I will love to relate to you guys. Summary review Playability: 10/10 (Very fun playability with the combination of the tank and ship together plus various playing features.) Design: 8.5/10 (Design of the set and the minifigures are very good and the overall appeal is unique and attractive in its own class.) Price: 6.5/10 (It will be quite costly in other parts of the world, considering that this set is a non-licensed based on the projected USD pricing.) Overall: 8.3/10 (If there is a set to try the fun of Galaxy Squad, then your first choice will ought to be Galactic Titan.) I gave it a "5" based on my Review Score Card. What about yours? I hope every one of you enjoyed reading this simple review of mine. Comments and Criticisms are strongly welcomed. Pictures can be found in My Flickr and My Brickshelf (When moderated)

After building set 70704 i took a few photo's.

Number: 70707 Theme: Galaxy Squad Year: 2013 Parts:440 Figs: 2 Set Index: CLS-89 Eradicator Mech The bugs are pushing humanity back, it's time for Rico to get on the bounce... oh, wrong story. Very nice boxshot. I love the poses on the bottom corner that each set has. The rear of the box gives a good overview of the set, but does (deliberately?) omit shots of the rear when the mech is together. This left me a bit unsure how it all went together. So what do you get? Instructions with parts listing... ...three bags, another instruction booklet and a sticker sheet. The bags have a hidden bonus; they open! Let's do that... Bag one is pretty much the bugs and the figs, which is a nice way to have it "playable" from the start. The sorta-segmented pods are one of the highlights of this line. But now they're more egg-like... ...or you can mix and match and go for balls or classic! I do love the faceting... Interestingly TLG chose to keep both parts as anti-studs, I'm hoping that we see more of these in other sets! I also love this new-ish part. Oh the possibilities.... While still nice, the figs, Jack Fireblade and Robot Sidekick (robots don't deserve names it seems), aren't new. Even so it's really appreciated the subtle differences front... ...and back. The robot head looks so anime-ish to me. "Turn-A Gundam"? Haw, haw, haw. I'm a bit undecided on the backpacks though... ...especially how the wings attach. Even so, it's a good part for fig customising. Likewise the wings to me seem a bit odd. Why does the robot need wings anyway? Engines for hovering sure, but wings? Gliding? Why? Am I annoying? Yes? Move on? OK.... I think we'll be seeing this in Post Apoc MOCs for years! Shame the other side is so generic. Ready to stomp! This is the dregs from bag one. Not much you may think... ...but it's enough to get these guys fighting again. Honesty.... Onto bag 2! While nice part there's nothing really special there. I will however take the chance to say that I love these parts. They are so similar in concept to the classic hinge joints and, as this set highlights, they have other uses. (More on this later.)Bag two pretty much builds makes the main body... and these are the spares Bag three! IMHO nothing highly exciting, but good parts just the same. Bag 3 spares All spares ....and we're done! While they are just stickers, the bug splats are a "nice" touch. From the front I think it looks pretty good, in what I'd call the Mechwarrior style; weapon arms and no head. From the rear it looks a bit odd, with the cockpit on the side and all. So what can it do? Well for one the main cockpit is a flier... ...with classic light engine, underwing flick fires... ...and a nuke disc. Wow. These humans sure know the meaning of escalate. From what I'm heard though the only way to be sure is to do it from orbit. With the flier removed you get this, which folds down to make the secondary mech. But before you go there please note what I think is interesting; the hinge piece is actually used no as a hinge, but as a technic-to-plate adapter. A very interesting idea... With the auxiliary cockpit in place (plus the leg and arms re-aligned) you get the special feature of this set. The last thing many-a-bug sees I think. Speaking of the bugs here's the flying one... ..and the creeping one. While I do like both they do look like spare parts to me. A family gathering. Conclusions "Evergreen theme" is what TLG like to call Space and the other themes that aren't as cool. Sometimes I think "mech" should be a sub theme as they seem to turn up a lot; Life on Mars, Exo-Force, Power Miners (Life on Mars) even Ninjago (Fangpyre Mech)! Obviously they play test well. Jack tries to impress Ashlee... so was I impressed? Functions: The multi-mode gimmicks in this mech are a bit too gimmicky for me sorry to say. To me they are there for consistency with the rest of the theme and would be better off without them. But I don't really care; the mech is the real function and he is posable enough. Knee joints would have been nice though. 7/10 Parts: A few special parts and a good amount of useful parts for similar building, especially SNOT related. 8/10 Price: I'm not sure of the AUD price, but going by previous sets they have been very good value 10/10 Looks: I do think this suffers a bit due to the desire for a mode conversion (pointy cockpit, odd rear end) but I think it still looks good, 8/10 Fudge: Two bugs, one that can fly, one that can't, and a mech that has a ground mode as well as an air. Extra points for symmetry! 9/10 Overall: Buy! 9/10 Ready for anything! Higher res copies of all photos and more are on Flickr.

Discussion on the latest addition to the LEGO Space universe, Galaxy Squad, started somewhere in the summer of 2012. Since then, we've gathered more and more information as time passed, from set names and numbers to photos and official release, to the LEGO Club Magazine comic (Nov-Dec 2012) that tied this theme to the Monster Fighters' one (pic from LEGO Wikia) in some strange and yet not fully explainable way (as they seem to be placed in different universes). But, as we know well, this led to the first 6 sets only; the next 4, scheduled to be released next June, where unveiled at the many Toy Fairs earlier this year. Among them are 2 Alien Bug and 2 Galaxy Squad itself sets. It would seem the GS boys and girl, together with their robot companions finally got to the Bugs' home-world, or at least their stronghold in this sector of the galaxy, and are now ready to take the battle to the fabled and dreaded Hive. So, if you got this far in my rambling introduction, without further ado, let's go on with the alien capital ship bug of the Galaxy Squad line: the 70708 Hive Crawler, brought to you in another Eurobricks Exclusive review, with thanks again to The LEGO Group! Theme: Galaxy Squad Set name: Hive Crawler Set Number: 70708 Price: 59.99 $, 49.99 £, 59.99 Euro, 69.99 CAD Pieces: 560 (+ 21 extras & 1 brick separator) Minifigures: 3 (+ 2 animals) Year of release: 2013 Note: no official description of the set seems to be available at the time of writing. Links: Peeron, Bricklink and Brickset The Box Front The box is pretty big (48 x 28 x 6 centimetres; 18.91 x 11.03 x 2.63 inches), as it's to be expected by a top-of-the-line 560-pieces set. It really makes you feel like you're getting something big and proportioned to the price. The box art is wonderful, with the blue-ish/grey background, slightly resembling a moon landscape, upon which we can spot a human colony (GS HQ, maybe?) in the far left corner, and alien looking fluo-green crystals on the right side. It would seem these crystals are connected with the Bugs in some way, as they appear to be the source of the mist crawling through the landscape and from which the Bugs spring from. In the sky at the far back, we see another couple of planets or moons infected by the alien menacing misty 'atmosphere'. Now to the starts of the set: the Hive Crawler and the diminutive (but not as diminutive as the current wave's one) Red Team vehicle/s confront each other/s while Bug Pods spew alien larvae on the battlefield. LEGO and Galaxy Squad logos, together with the set information complete the top left side, while the bottom right corner shows the action-pose shot of Billy Stabeam and his 'robot sidekick'. I'd like to spend a couple more lines on the GS logo and set info. First, I love the logo, as it hints at the ability of most human vehicles to split in two and, just like in the official game, go on two different paths to complete the common mission. Next, as you can see, this is the European version of the box, and as such it has just a minimum of set info to display; the North American version (again, the pic is from LEGO Wikia), on the contrary, sports a lot more data, including piece count and set name. Back The back shows the set on a clean and quite futuristic looking grilled starscape. I must say it is very relaxing to look at after the action-packed front. All around the Hive Crawler, small boxes show the play features, including rotating cannons, Bug Pods-shooting rear catapult, crawling action and the split option of the human vehicle. Quite strangely, only the humans get a caption explaining the details. Maybe the alien mech ones are clear enough, or maybe it's all part of the anti-Bug conspiracy! Again, LEGO logo and few set info complete the upper left corner, while a reminder of the LEGO.com/galaxysquad site address is menacingly brought to you by Billy in the lower right corner. Moreover, for those interested, a cube code in the lower left corner allows you to see the Hive Crawler in action (note: at the time of writing, I have not check to see if the video is available yet). Sides The sides of the box sport the usual miniature of the front's scene and LEGO logos and legal/safety stuff. Few details look interesting enough: the upper side shows a side-by-side 1:1 size mug-shot of all three minifigures included in the set, instead of the usual one (probably because the space was huge and LEGO box artists had to fill it up somehow); next is the left side, which sports some nice speudo-greeble printing and a line-up of the Galaxy Squad teams' badges, with the Red/Fast Team one highlighted, obviously in red. Contents Inside Inside the box, we find 4 numbered bags, two instruction booklets and a stickers' sheet. The last three were a bit bent when I took them off, but nothing tragic. New pieces New pieces are quite interesting, though most of them are strongly connected with this particular theme: Trans Red Windscreen Decorated, 6 x 6 x 3 Canopy Half Sphere with Dual 2 Fingers and composed eye, Trans Dark Pink Container, alien pod half 4x4x2, Olive Green Animal Body Part, Alien Bug Larva main body, Olive Green Slope, Curved 2 x 1 No Studs. Please notice that since most of these are not listed anywhere else at the moment, I made up their names, trying to follow the widespread Bricklink style; I hope they are clear enough, though the pic should solve any lingering doubt at what's what. For the same reason, links are not available for these parts at the time of writing. Re-coloured parts We have quite a number of re-coloured parts in this set: Tan Brick, Modified 1 x 2 with Studs on 1 Side, Lime Brick, Round Corner 3 x 3 x 2 Dome Top, Lime Brick, Round Corner 6 x 6 with Slope 33 Edge, Facet Cutout, Lime Dish 6 x 6 Inverted (Radar) - Solid Studs, Lime Cylinder Hemisphere 2 x 2 Ball Turret Socket Base, Dark Red Cylinder Hemisphere 3 x 3 Ball Turret, Dark Red Minifig, Utensil Saw with Handle and Tooth, Dark Tan Slope 30 1 x 1 x 2/3, Trans Neon Yellow Minifig, Plume Feathers with Pin, and Dark Red Bar 1L with Clip Mechanical Claw, Cut Edges and Hole on One Side. Rare parts The many rare parts in this set include: Lime Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #4 - 135 degrees, Dark Red Brick, Modified 1 x 4 with 4 Studs on 1 Side, Dark Red Cylinder 3 x 6 x 2 2/3 Horizontal, Dark Red Wedge 8 x 3 x 2 Open Left, Dark Red Wedge 8 x 3 x 2 Open Right, Trans-Clear Windscreen 6 x 2 x 2 with Handle, Lime Brick, Modified 2 x 2 x 2/3 Two Studs, Curved Slope End, Olive Green Brick 2 x 4, Lime Slope 30 1 x 2 x 2/3, Lime Slope 45 2 x 2, Dark Red Plate, Round Corner 4 x 4, Olive Green Wheel 18mm D. x 14mm with Pin Hole, Fake Bolts and Shallow Spokes, Dark Red Hinge Plate 1 x 4 Locking Dual 1 Finger, Pearl Dark Gray Hero Factory Weapon - Half Claw (seen in a non-HF set for the first time), Black Technic, Link 1 x 6 without Stoppers, Trans Light Blue Minifig, Utensil Saw with Handle and Tooth, Olive Green Plate 1 x 2, Dark Bluish Gray Tile 2 x 2 with 3 Hexagons, Spaceship and Alien Characters Pattern, and Lime Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Open Insect Mouth Pattern. Spares We get quite a lot of spares in this set (21 pieces), plus the brick separator. The parts include the usual technic bits: pins, half pins, a bush, a half bush and a straight connector; then we have some round 1x1 plates, a gear lever, horns and claws, a couple of tiles (both round and square varieties), a robot hand and a nice cheese slope in the new Dark Tan version. Minifigures Of the three minifigures in this set, only one is new: the Mosquitoid Elite. I must say I really like this alien, whereas, I did not appreciate much the lesser breeds in the winter wave sets. The rubbery head is better refined and more proportioned, in my opinion, and I love how LEGO designers rendered the multiple eyes (though they are not really bug multifaceted eyes) and the mandibles. Contrary to what happens with the flying musquitoids, this ones' antennae are part of the head mould and cannot be separated from it. The human and robot minifigures, as said, are not new and fans already know them pretty well. I like the details in the human's armour, as well as the robot's one. Moreover, the spreading use of printed legs in standard themes (as opposed to the Licensed dominance in past years) is a nice touch and adds to the overall detail level. As many have noticed already, i cannot help but think the robot's head is very reminiscent of the SW Mon Calamary species. So, since I'm tired of calling him/it 'robot' or 'robot sidekick', I'll use Squiddy for him/it from now on. All three figs have nice back printing as well. I especially like the fact that Billy and Squiddy's body armours look so much alike, except for the details in the lower section and the really nice addition of a cooling vent and access port on Squiddy's one. A better rear look at Billy and the bug without headgear, and a chance to have a look at Billy's lovely double face with facemask Same with the front view. Billy must have some very bad days out there saving the Galaxy! A side view of the three figs, for those interested. notice how nicely the bug's carapaces covers the standard minifig torso, giving this fig a more organic look, preventing the head from looking too big on the body. Where would Squiddy go without his trusted backpack? I mean, Billy often uses the vehicle in the 'complete' configuration, and Squiddy can't go around fighting hordes of invading flying bugs on foot. The design is far from innovative, but works pretty well, and nicely fills the 'gap' under the robot's elongated skull. This picture also shows one of my favourite new items from this line: the light, or plasma maybe, blades. I think any Halo fan around will easily recognise the source these must be based on (though we may never get a confirmation from LEGO designers?). Nonetheless, LEGO changed the design to make it their own, and I really like what they came up with. The jagged look and nasty points mark this as a deadly weapon, yet it must be "not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age". I decided to include the small bug larvae in the minifig category, though they are more on the animal side of the spectrum, really. My only justification is these will one day grow into humanoid shapes (or so I gather), so... The body, made of rubbery material, is very scorpion like, with a poised tail, while the head sports two pair of eyes, both above and below the mandibles. The lower part of the head also has a small hole to fit the wings' pin. Quite curiously, it is a passing hole, extending through the whole length of this part of the piece and opening between the little eyes on the front. The four legs are indeed Viking horn pieces attached into bigger holes or sockets on the sides. The overall look, except for the wings, is a bit reminiscent of the Face-huggers from the Alien films series, but with a more (if I may say so) children-friendly tone. Instructions The two instruction booklets show a more compact version of the front of the box art on their square covers. The illustration on the first page teach us how to handle properly the contents of the box, using all the bricks in bag one before opening the second one and so on. As this bigger set includes a brick separator, the lower half of the page is devoted to instructing the viewer on how to use it, plus giving a cube code and an internet address to learn more about it. The odd pages sport a nice buddies shot of Billy and his 'robot sidekick' in action poses, probably taken at one of the GS parties. The background is a plain light blue hue with a superimposed white grill evoking a sense of virtual reality/cyber space from 1990s' TV shows. As you can see (and were expecting, undoubtedly), the steps are complimented by pieces call-outs and sub-steps for an easier building experience. When you finish building the human vehicle, a page is dedicated to make you separate the two sub models you just put together! No flick-fire missiles in this set, but don't loose hope, for we have giant Alien Bug eggs to shoot around with the built-in catapult. Beware - a giant Alien Bug egg in the eye may sting a bit! The final pages illustrate the play features of the set, like the crawl-when-moved-on-the-floor one and the battle-with-the-opposing-factions one. As this is a big set, the parts' summary coversthreepages thick with pieces' pics and numbers. Moving toward the end of booklet two, we find a Galaxy Squad line ad, showing both current year's waves: above is the summer wave, consisting of 4 sets, and below is the winter one. We have a total of 9 sets to collect, plus some polybags not depicted here. Then we have two pages of other themes' ads, namely Ninjago 2014, with a menacing "We'll be back" aimed to fans and enemies alike, and the Lord of the Rings lines. Finally, a page is dedicated to the LEGO Galaxy Squad site. Building Start The build starts with bag one, which includes all the minifigs, the bag larvae and pods and the parts needed for the human vehicle/s. Here we have the chassis, to which we'll add... ... the wings/cannons and have the... ... complete speeder. I like the sleek look, and the fact this is a quite fresh new take on the speeder design, not too reminiscent of the various Star Wars version we saw over the years. I'm not sure how Billy is supposed to pilot that thing (acceleration and steering plus pitch) and fire the cannons all by using the one control lever at his disposal, but oh well... You can find more angles following these links: left side and rear. Next up is the smaller flying platform (which reminds me of a personal underwater propulsion device of some sort). The first steps build the base, using an inverted tile to grant stability and good looks. As Squiddy will not be holding his/its energy blades while driving (clever 'bot), they are attached to a couple of clips and will be part of the offensive system/wings surfaces of the diminutive craft. The completed model is not impressive for its size, but sports a pair of frontal cannons that look almost as big as the speeder's ones. Where they will get the power to feed them is beyond me; probably some sort of hyper-miniaturized power generator or storing unit. Front, side and rear views for those interested. Squiddy takes the flyer for a spin before connecting it to the speeder to form the... ... complete vehicle. I must say I prefer this configuration to the speeder alone, as the latter looks a bit incomplete in my eyes, but it is just a question of personal taste. All in all, this is a nice little combiner model, and it could even have used a small set of its own. I'm not completely sold on the fact it can successfully contrast the Hive Crawler on its own, though. So, let's see how the alien model is built and then pitch them together! The belly of the Beast Bag two allows us to build the first portion of the gigantic Hive Crawler. I'm not sure if the alien vehicles are supposed to be just mechanical crafts, mecha-like artefacts or simply autonomous bio/mechanical units much like Japanese Zoids. Anyway, these models too have an inner core around which the rest of the structure is built, so here we go with the 'belly' of the Hive Crawler. Nothing too fancy for now, just a squared technic rim with some lateral protrusions, supposedly destined to hold the insect-like legs. Just a few more steps and we see what goes in the central hole (you did not expect that to be left empty just to spare parts, did you?): by using some cleverly assembled wheels, beams and connectors, we build the mechanism for the main play feature of this model. As we'll see in just a few more minutes, the wheels, by bearing the weight of the Crawler, gain enough traction on most surfaces, and will transmit the motion to the legs, allowing the model to perform his name-sake function: crawling. Next up is the second play feature: the egg throwing catapult. It's an easy build, with just a few technic beams and some cosmetic details. The first instruction booklet and bag 2 end with the addition of some plates to gain a new building surface on top of the chassis. Not much of an insect-like appearance to it for now, right? Is it cuticle or shell? Here we go with bag 1, building the main chassis... Oh, wait, this is bag 3! Again, we start with a clump of technic bricks and few system ones for detail, but soon enough... ... we assemble evidence of a new stage in our build: the power turbines that feed the Crawlers engines take position and the back of the model starts shaping. Granted the additional sturdiness and support this new portion adds to the structure, we can now connect the catapult arm to the main body via a couple of rubber bands and get what looks like a scorpion tail to rise menacingly, ready to strike. Since we do not want our enemies to see through our intension too easily, and we need an enclosed storage space for the munitions/eggs, we add this thick shell to the middle section of the vehicle. Of course, it is not just by chance that its shape is reminiscent of a couple of elytra; good job, LEGO designers. Now, by adding a pair of big round, lateral shields, we complete the storage and armoured area at the rear. Right now, the overall shape of the Crawler looks quite evocative of a grasshopper, more than anything else. Will this impression last? What is this big lump of bricks, and what does it have to do with the model? This is the back of the cockpit, and quite possibly the central control and processing tower of the Hive Crawler, its brain, if you will. As you can see, it covers almost two thirds of the forward deck, and its heavy shielding blends in with the overall organic and rounded shape of the carapace. We're almost there: by adding the cannons, mouth/eyes complex and legs, we get to the finished set. I must say LEGO designers did a fantastic job in building the head: the big round composed eyes and the multi-fanged mouth look terrifying, yet splendid. Moreover, the legs, extending to the sides and almost doubling the model's width, really capture the dynamic look of a crawling insect. Finished set Notice how the middle legs rest on a framework of technic beams and connectors: by pushing the Crawler on a flat surface, the wheels (you remember them, don't you?) will transmit their momentum to a series of pulleys which in turn will make the legs go up and down and simulate an insect crawling motion. Front I don't know what you'll say, but I think that, from this angle, the cannons look like a second pair of smaller eyes on the Crawler's shell. Side The heavy armour of this guy sure makes it a though customer to deal with, don't you agree? Back As it often happens with LEGO models, the rear portion is the weak point. I do think this one looks way better than may others, but it looks pretty defenceless. I'm pretty sure it will be swarmed by the catapult's servants and foot (winged?) troops to guard it and the eggs when in battle. Bird-eye The bird-eye view allows us a better look at the overall shape of the model. Where it looked quite grasshopper-like midway through the building, now it looks all the way like a big wing-less fly about to deliver destruction on the battlefield. Ready to shoot The catapult's motion is smooth, as the small stops prevent one egg to get in the way while you shoot the other. The range is not huge, but it can quite easily reach 30-40 centimetres, or 12-16 inches. The pod opens upon impact and spews its halves and the larva on the battlefield, ready to add to the mess of the scene. Bonus images Visiting the grandparents #1 - So you did manage to break out of this transparent chrysalis, in the end! Visiting the grandparents #2 Everybody agreed, Squiddy's great-grand-dad was a very clear-headed robot. Laundry day - I told you to be careful with the bleach! Talk about... ... shopping at the same store! And now, a little something for the Star Wars fans among you: - And then everybody will think you died. Instead, you'll be turned into a cyborg, and will travel to a galaxy far far away to battle humanoid bugs. - You mean I'll be fighting Geonosians again? - Well, not really... Final comments Overall, the Hive Crawler is a fantastic set, both for the small human vehicle/s and the titular alien one. As a flag-ship (or flag-bug), it really compliments the line, and adds a lot to the Galaxy Squad universe, introducing Elite warriors and larvae, as well as confirming the idea of a central hive guarded by new levels of the bug's cast system.. Design & Colour scheme – 10/10 (Very well proportioned and efficient. Both the human Red Team and the bug colour schemes are consistent with previous waves and the line's overall look. No complaints whatsoever.) Minifig – 10/10 (A couple of trusted human fighters, a great new Elite warrior and two small animals/larvae to throw in the mix make this a nice addition to anybody's LEGO space collection.) Parts – 10/10 (Great variety of useful parts, a reasonable amount of new pieces, especially the smaller curved slopes, and even a cool printed one! This set is also a treasure for rare parts and the re-coloured ones, too.) Playability – 9/10 (The movements of the crawling mechanism and the catapult are smooth and funny to play with, and the GS trademark human vehicles' separation/connection system is a good pros, too. Maybe, just maybe, the Red Team could have used something bigger against this gargantuan bug, but as they focus on speed, their craft look quite up to the task, all in all.) Build – 8/10 (Nothing too complex, but some efficient solutions are used, especially in the building of the crawling function's mechanism and the various sections of the Crawler's armour.) Price – 10/10 (60 $/€ for 560 pieces are quite good, especially considering that there are many big parts in this set. Adding to the count the new pieces, Elite warrior and bug larvae brings this up to an almost ideal price point.) Overall: 9.5/10 Excellent As always, questions, comments, and pic requests welcome! Many thanks to Kim Thomsen of The LEGO Group for providing this set for the early review. If you like my reviews, and would like to learn how it's done, please consider joining the Reviewers Academy:

Hey All! I've put together a little Insectoid fighter that should help boost their fighting capabilities against the Galaxy Squad. Critiques welcome! (The landing gear fold down) (Wallpaper 1366 x 726) Thanks for taking a look! rongYIREN