Yesterday our weekend shopping was done in no time. To me that meant there was some extra time. Extra time I could spend visiting a local toy store. As soon as I got there I went to check out the latest LEGO sets from the upcoming LEGO MOVIE 2.
I knew the sets for it had been on the shelves for some days already. Most everyone has long time been excited for the release of especially one little set:
70841 Benny´s Space Squad
This is a small set with four minifigures (a Benny from the first LEGO movie that I hadn´t gotten my hands on so far, a yellow and a white spaceman and…a pink one??), a robot, a space kart (Tuesdays have a tradition, don´t they?) and a glider.
Being a fan of the original, classic space theme, I knew I had to at least give it a try. After some turning of the box in my hands I went to the counter and bought it.
Happy Or Not?
All this may sound a little too unexcited and I´ll gladly tell you why:
I´m a huge fan of most all old sets of LEGO. Maybe it´s childhood memories, maybe it´s the belief that „back then everything was better“. Of course I´m aware that it wasn´t. Still I didn´t feel too much excitement for a reissue of an old theme, when so far the policy was: what´s gone is gone. No theme will come back like it was. (Fabuland will live on in our hearts forever…)
So I suspiciously opened the box and its bags.
Had the designers run out of ideas?
Had they gotten to the point where recycling ideas is a necessity?
Would LEGO have broken their promises?
Would I find long lost stocks of old, classic space parts wrapped in new boxes?
It Is True: Everything Is Awesome
Of course not!
Instead I found a legit tribute to a legendary theme. One that most every AFOL is so in love with.
It´s good to see that the design of the logo hadn´t been changed. It is printed on every spaceman´s chest and even on the glider! The helmets do have the same shape as the originals (not the clumsier ones that unfortunately appeared in the 21109 Exo Suit), only now they´re more stable. This improvement should keep them from ending up like Benny´s broken one. The space kart has been kept beautifully simple. And of course the glider still has a steering wheel.
Happy Again
All in all it seems to me that this set is a gift to all the Adult Fans Of LEGO. The content of this box at just ten Euros is everything a true spaceman at heart can dream of.
But Wait…
Only one thing I found interestingly strange:
I remember when TLG changed the minifigure´s heads to prevent suffocation (or other complications) in case one of these heads would be swallowed. Obviously production has been changed again. Just…when?
If you know it please tell me in the comments below. Until then: enjoy building and travelling to galaxies far, far away.
A Non-Belgian living in Hamburg, Germany. Curiosity-driven and mostly to be found on tiny adventures and great journeys.
I like the warm glow of the lighting.
Cheers, Kyle. Again a lighting from LightMyBricks was used for this. I just love playing with these…
Nice review Stefan, I can see what you mean about the set being a tribute as opposed to a recycle, as there are some nice updated versions of old parts (what is your favourite little updated part easter egg?).
However, now I have the set, I am not sure what I am going to do with it, I think these figures will be more fitting with the Exosuit than with my classic time-worn minifigures and original space bricks.
I also apologise for trying to monopolise the #spacekarttuesday hashtag.
No monopolising a hashtag here, you’re keeping it alive. I see a photographic potential of this set not too close to the Expo Suit, rather in a new version of my “Numbers” with seven (so far) Fabuland spacemen. Then again, eight isn’t a good number for a portrait. But to me there’s the most fun. I absolutely appreciate that TLG already named the new guys, clearly stating that pink is a male. But wait: is “Lenny” necessarily a male name?? Oh, so much space (!) for own interpretation! The more we talk about it the cleverer this set appears to… Read more »