Seriously, how did this happen?

[JintaiZ]

19 hours ago, danth said:

Yes, nostalgia is dangerous. People who want new, non-licensed, sci-fi Space sets are just suffering from a serious case of nostalgia.

Instead, let's just keep buying the same sets from a 40-year old movie, over and over again, forever...

But hey, we're at least getting some modern space sets. Refers to accuracy*

 

48 minutes ago, MAB said:

If Classic Space fans are so much more imaginative than kids today, then why do they need new sets? Their imagination should allow them to design new ones based on today's parts and there have been numerous Classic Space print figures to populate them recently.

Liking Star Wars is no more lazy than liking Classic Space.

 

Not really. Classic Space is about imagination, and so is Star Wars.

 

5 hours ago, astral brick said:

Until when? There is no more generational turnover for Space.

I don't think Star Wars caused the decline of Classic Space. We don't yet know the real reason, but I think it may be because that the quality of the sets just didn't live up to the quality of sets nowadays...

[JintaiZ]

On ‎9‎/‎17‎/‎2020 at 7:35 AM, NathanR said:

I think the problem is that nostalgia is a dangerous thing. The original space themes were great (ok, I was born too late for classic space but I have a huge soft spot for Exploriens), but they were of their time. An exact reproduction of the old sets would feature too many basic bricks to look good next to the rest of Lego's current lineup, and be criticised for lacking advanced building techniques.  And if one of the vintage space themes was rebooted with all modern techniques, it would be criticised for not staying true to the spirit of the original. So Lego can't really win.

70816 Benny's spaceship was a great love letter to the fans, the Exo-Suit Ideas set was stunning, and the classic space logo does keep popping up on minifigures, so I don't think the old sets are completely forgotten yet.

I would also point out something that I think a lot of people lose sight of these days - Lego isn't a plastic model kit like you get from Airfix or Revell. Lego isn't something where you have to follow the instructions and build what's pictured on the box (though it's perfectly fine to do that if that's what you want). Lego is about bricks that can be assembled in any way you want to build whatever you want. If Lego doesn't make the set you want, then design it yourself. It's entirely possible. That's the magic of Lego!

But then it's questionable whether we will get classic space sets like 70816 in the future...

My 599th post, one post away from 600

Edited September 18, 2020 by JintaiZ

[TeriXeri]

7 hours ago, astral brick said:

Yes, apparently people need a "story", thought by others obviously, or a cartoon or a movie, they are too lazy to use their own imagination. 

All gone unfortunately.

 

Classic Space needed a movie twice to appear again as well in 2014 and 2019, and the Exo Suit was made via IDEAS.

LEGO knows that Space is still somewhat relevant, see 2019 City Space and 2020 3-in-1 Rover sets, and those were much closer to Classic Space then Star Wars.

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by TeriXeri

[danth]

On 9/17/2020 at 12:57 PM, Lyichir said:

I always find this sort of criticism a little odd because it simultaneously complains about mass cultural nostalgia, while longing for a far more niche, less widespread but no more valid form of nostalgia.

You managed to get that exactly backwards.

In this very thread, the first two mentions of "nostalgia" are used to argue against bringing back a space theme. And in every discussion I've ever seen on the topic, it's been that way. Wanting unlicensed space themes = nostalgia, wanting more sets from a 40-year old movie = the bleeding edge of unbiased modernity.

The irony here is that Star Wars fandom is pure nostalgia. There's no problem with that. Nostalgia sells. It feels good. But it's only considered a bad thing when you want something fresh and different, like unlicensed space sets.

On 9/17/2020 at 12:57 PM, Lyichir said:

The number of kids who enjoyed Classic Space in the 80s are a fraction of the number of kids who enjoyed Star Wars when it came out

I wouldn't say that. I mean, I lived through it. After RotJ, kids were onto the next thing. GI Joe, He Man, Transformers, etc. And every kid I knew had Lego Space sets. Lego Space went strong into the late '90s, way after people moved on from Star Wars.

Obviously that changed after the special editions and prequels.

On 9/17/2020 at 12:57 PM, Lyichir said:

Now, you might argue that Classic Space deserves special treatment because it's a key part of Lego's own history. But at this point, Star Wars is an even bigger part. Lego Star Wars has been around for twenty years at this point, through bad times and good alike. Classic Space is practically a blip in Lego's history compared to that. So while it'll always occupy a special role as Lego's FIRST space theme, today Star Wars has done much, much more to shape Lego's position in the toy industry at present.

You're artificially limiting this discussion to Classic Space. The original post was about Space in general. Lego Space went on uninterrupted for 22 years. I think Star Wars is tied with that now. Unless you count Space Police 3, Mars Mission, Galaxy Squad, etc, in which case there have been more years with unlicensed Space sets.

Anyway, I've said it before and I'll say it again.

CLASSIC. THEMED. CREATOR. SETS.

The pirate ship is a perfect example of how to do it right. The space rover set was weak; it needed exciting colors, not motor-home stripes. And it should have been bigger. We would ideally get a $100 creator set for Space each year. There would be no reason not to alternate through old themes (Ice Planet, Futuron, Blacktron, etc); those color schemes are still awesome so kids would like them, and of course AFOLs would love to see those themes again.

[icm]

Just now, danth said:

Anyway, I've said it before and I'll say it again.

CLASSIC. THEMED. CREATOR. SETS.

The pirate ship is a perfect example of how to do it right. The space rover set was weak; it needed exciting colors, not motor-home stripes. And it should have been bigger. We would ideally get a $100 creator set for Space each year. There would be no reason not to alternate through old themes (Ice Planet, Futuron, Blacktron, etc); those color schemes are still awesome so kids would like them, and of course AFOLs would love to see those themes again.

You can say that again .... a $100 Creator 3-in-1 set with the A model as an homage to 928 (Galaxy Explorer), the B model an homage to 926 (Command Center), and the C model an homage to 483 (Alpha-1 Rocket Base) would closely parallel the $100 Creator 3-in-1 set with the A model as a traditional two-masted, two-gun-broadside pirate ship, the B model a medium-sized tavern, and the C model a small island.  That would be pretty great.

[danth]

10 hours ago, JintaiZ said:

I don't think Star Wars caused the decline of Classic Space.

Hey, it's time for my favorite topic!

To anyone who doubts Star Wars gets in the way of non-licensed Space sets, here are the facts, mostly copied from a past post of mine:

The first year ever, after 20+ steady years, that there were no Lego Space sets was 2000. This was immediately after the first ever Star Wars sets in 1999. Then, in 2001 when Space sets returned, they were on Mars. A real world in our very own solar system. Not deep space, not out in the galaxy. Not anything that could be confused with Star Wars. Then nothing for six years while Star Wars movies were in theaters.

Finally, in 2007 we got Lego Space sets again. On Mars...again. And just in time not to compete with the Revenge of the Sith sets.

Then we get pretty steady Lego Space on the shelves until 2014. Guess what happens the year after? The Force Awakens. 

All evidence points to some non-competition strategy to keep in-house Space sets off the shelves when there are Star Wars movies being made. 

10 hours ago, JintaiZ said:

We don't yet know the real reason, but I think it may be because that the quality of the sets just didn't live up to the quality of sets nowadays... 

Huh? Why wouldn't modern unlicensed space sets be just as high quality as other modern sets? Have you seen Galaxy Squad and Benny's Spaceship Spaceship Spaceship? Those were awesome. 

Edited September 19, 2020 by danth

[Merlo]

1 hour ago, danth said:

The pirate ship is a perfect example of how to do it right. The space rover set was weak; it needed exciting colors, not motor-home stripes. And it should have been bigger. We would ideally get a $100 creator set for Space each year. There would be no reason not to alternate through old themes (Ice Planet, Futuron, Blacktron, etc); those color schemes are still awesome so kids would like them, and of course AFOLs would love to see those themes again.

Except space rover was a much better designed set :)

Other than that it would've been awesome if it had more interesting colors or was a throwback to any of the old space themes. I want to say they went with motor-home stripes for realism, but then again an alien is not adding to that. Or maybe it is? What do Lego knows that we don't know?

[danth]

12 hours ago, Merlo said:

Except space rover was a much better designed set

How so? I don't have an opinion on this. Just want to hear your comparison.

[Vindicare]

On 9/16/2020 at 8:23 PM, astral brick said:

A tan shack with low roofs, a four-legged toy, a small flying car, an unbelievable price in relation to the number of pieces. But I forgot, there are the minifigures. People in denial who justify everything, while they should be the first ones to be outraged to have their money taken out of their pockets, forgetting that if you really love something you should be the fiercest critic of it, rather than turning a blind eye.

There are adults (set labelled 18+) happy to pay a good amount of money in order to play with tiny sci-fi figurines that maybe shot first or perhaps not, but apparently there isn't a market willing to buy new editions of the original design Space models that contributed to make the history of the company.

A glorious past purposely allowed to be forgotten instead of being celebrated.    

Huh? Why should people be outraged...nobody is taking money out of anyone’s pockets. Unless they’re late getting to my door. That tan shack is an accurate portrayal of what many, many millions of people across the globe love...Star Wars. It’s certainly the best of that location we’ve ever seen & dismissing the interior & other details...is weird. 

I guess you’re really unaware of SW action figure collectors...adults are more than willing to pay good money for things they won’t even take out of the packages. 

[JintaiZ]

Perhaps LEGO just wants people's wallets to hurt less...

[Lord Insanity]

I'm confused.  Lego already made a modern updated Galaxy Explorer.  It was called Benny's spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP.  It was even in the number sequence of those first classic spaceships.  We even got a follow up crew pack for it.

Early classic space was clearly a romanticized version of near future Moon exploration.  Near future space exploration was covered quite well by the most recent City Space theme. (Albeit far less romanticized.)  Late classic space and the "tron" era was clearly more sci-fi futuristic.  (That is my favorite Lego Space era)  The current Quin Jet says hello.  It doesn't take much MODding to make that a sweet spaceship.  Seriously dark blue and trans-orange makes a really slick color scheme worthy of modern take on the "tron" era.

I would love a new sci-fi futuristic space theme too but Lego is definitely throwing us some massive bones here.  I mean look at those awesome trans-yellow windows and windscreens they have been sneaking in sets where they can.  We even got a sweet new classic logo-ed torso print in that Space Creator set.  I mean really when the last castle theme provided a better parts assortment for spaceships than actual castles, I don't think space fans have much room to complain.

[Merlo]

I get that Lego won't make more interesting and engaging sets because Star Wars sells, but you can hardly fault them for that. They're a company and exist to make money.

And the new cantina looks perfectly fine from a Lego stand point, it's not their point it was not particularly interesting in the movie.

I guess it's because of that that I find 75052 more appropriate size-wise. You know what it is and can have all the recognizable elements without a sea of monotonous bricks that add not much but size.

 

[Merlo]

13 hours ago, danth said:

How so? I don't have an opinion on this. Just want to hear your comparison.

I don't have an eloquent answer but they're different enough in their execution that the end results are easily different enough to be unequally pleasing aesthetically, as if they were made by differently skilled designers.

My "Space Rover" association was the city set, albeit more detailed. What we got was closer to the imagination of classic space, even if the colors are a bit of a let down.

My "Pirate Ship" association right after Barracuda Bay was something more striking or unique in it's own way, or hell.. a small version of that painted differently. What we got was worse in almost every way.

This is also seen in the alternate models. The B model of 31107, which I don't care for on account of it being a small completely open structure showcases a tasteful and imaginative use of elements that evokes the feeling of another world, the way Lego often did with classic space. (for example the amazing look or those sliding doors or looking out into "space" through

those windscreen greenhouses)

The 31107 C model, which I care for even less, I must admit looks rather good except for the thick rear fin, perhaps just a tad too plain.

The 31109 C and B model (which is theoretically right up my alley!) sadly suffer from the same problems that plague the A model.

The shaping is good! These do not look dull. The ship's hull, the design of the shark and the menacing looking skull on the island are just some of the highlights.

The choice of colors, number of colors and color composition in general are way off. I can usually understand why that is the case in 3-in-1 sets (31052 pulls this off with great skill), but in this case the chosen ship colors are not ideal even in B and C models.

The execution of B and C models is simply inadequate, showcasing a suboptimal use of colors and elements very familiar to anyone who's ever had an idea for a MOC without having access to bricks of right shapes and colors.

Even the A model itself looks half-finished because of this. It looks like they've nailed the shape and now they have to choose the right color scheme and improve the decorations, by a lot.

The whole part in the attached image is an atrocity and can easily be fixed without requiring much skill, just a little bit more taste. The blocky and messy transitions, the weird splotches of colors... even the decorative stripe that suddenly jumps by 1 plate height closer to the bow.

As i said before, some proven approaches that work with Lego are to keep the colors simple and go crazy with the shape or to balance them where the end result still looks elegant. There is also the MOC approach of using all the colors and shapes you can think of, but compensating with sheer brick count and allowing the exquisite details to shine.

You can still do both, use all the colors and try to hint at details despite the limited brick count but this is by far the most difficult approach of all of them and where sets like Ninjago City do a good job of it, this fails hard.

The end result is akin to a high resolution image that has been pixelized down to the point where most of the fine detailing has been lost and the remaining rough transitions and occasional splashes of contrasting colors simply look like errors.

It's almost as if the designers were 85% finished with shaping the ship when they got the news all three models must be done in 3 days time and this is the best they could do given the extreme restrictions.

It's almost as if the ship has been dropped and in part hastily reconstructed from memory without any of the lost bricks.

 

Joking aside, I still mantain the ship shape is great, meaning the difficult part is done and done rather well (easily the best ship hull we've seen?) and that it could rather easily be modded to look stunning. But until somebody does it it will remain partially hidden behind my Barracuda Bay, while the Space Rover is on my desk as I type, supposedly at work.

Unless my wife takes it home, since she like the whole scene and expressed interest in it ending up on her shelf instead :)

 

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by Merlo

[JintaiZ]

8 hours ago, Lord Insanity said:

I'm confused.  Lego already made a modern updated Galaxy Explorer.  It was called Benny's spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP.  It was even in the number sequence of those first classic spaceships.  We even got a follow up crew pack for it.

Early classic space was clearly a romanticized version of near future Moon exploration.  Near future space exploration was covered quite well by the most recent City Space theme. (Albeit far less romanticized.)  Late classic space and the "tron" era was clearly more sci-fi futuristic.  (That is my favorite Lego Space era)  The current Quin Jet says hello.  It doesn't take much MODding to make that a sweet spaceship.  Seriously dark blue and trans-orange makes a really slick color scheme worthy of modern take on the "tron" era.

I would love a new sci-fi futuristic space theme too but Lego is definitely throwing us some massive bones here.  I mean look at those awesome trans-yellow windows and windscreens they have been sneaking in sets where they can.  We even got a sweet new classic logo-ed torso print in that Space Creator set.  I mean really when the last castle theme provided a better parts assortment for spaceships than actual castles, I don't think space fans have much room to complain.

But then they're no longer making sets like that...

[astral brick]

On 9/19/2020 at 3:33 AM, danth said:

In this very thread, the first two mentions of "nostalgia" are used to argue against bringing back a space theme. And in every discussion I've ever seen on the topic, it's been that way. Wanting unlicensed space themes = nostalgia, wanting more sets from a 40-year old movie = the bleeding edge of unbiased modernity.

Not only I am in agreement with you but I am amazed by some replies in this thread, going from totally ot to wrong interpretations, lack of abstract thinking if not patronizing attitudes. No worries Sw fans, Lego will produce sets related to it forevever (or until the costs of the license will be repaid, generating a profit). I don't expect a Space comeback anytime soon because they wont overlap scifi themes and Sw is probably their golden goose.

No, I am not expecting that they will begin to produce at a loss, but exactly because they are a business they are, in my opinion, losing potential incomes. In fact I dont think they are risking to go bankrupt by producing one - not a theme, just one - Ucs version of some representative spaceship or, at least, as Danth said, a creator set.

Sw line-up will be kept untouched and maybe they will realize to have discovered a new (?) goldmine. A win-win situation.   

[Redroe]

On 9/17/2020 at 1:03 PM, MAB said:

In my view, no. I think we lost Space because of competing action based themes such as Ninjago sell better than Alien Conquest, Galaxy Squad, and so on. Kids have moved on from when Classic Space was futuristic and cool.

To pick up on this thread, I don't recall any space themes being current "when I were a lad" bugging my parents for Lego, i.e. 1996 to 2002 ish, except odd city sets that werre realistic ish. Insectoids maybe? I and my friends much preferred Ninja, Adventurers, Pirates. Were there any space themes?

44 minutes ago, astral brick said:

Not only I am in agreement with you but I am amazed by some replies in this thread, going from totally ot to wrong interpretations, lack of abstract thinking if not patronizing attitudes. No worries Sw fans, Lego will produce sets related to it forevever (or until the costs of the license will be repaid, generating a profit). I don't expect a Space comeback anytime soon because they wont overlap scifi themes and Sw is probably their golden goose.

No, I am not expecting that they will begin to produce at a loss, but exactly because they are a business they are, in my opinion, losing potential incomes. In fact I dont think they are risking to go bankrupt by producing one - not a theme, just one - Ucs version of some representative spaceship or, at least, as Danth said, a creator set.

Sw line-up will be kept untouched and maybe they will realize to have discovered a new (?) goldmine. A win-win situation.   

They've dipped a toe into other Fantasy tinged themes since LotR died out. (Elves mainly). I am sure other Sci Fi themes are always a possibility especially if, as seems to be the case, they are slowing down on the Star wars line a bit.

[JintaiZ]

6 minutes ago, Redroe said:

To pick up on this thread, I don't recall any space themes being current "when I were a lad" bugging my parents for Lego, i.e. 1996 to 2002 ish, except odd city sets that werre realistic ish. Insectoids maybe? I and my friends much preferred Ninja, Adventurers, Pirates. Were there any space themes?

They've dipped a toe into other Fantasy tinged themes since LotR died out. (Elves mainly). I am sure other Sci Fi themes are always a possibility especially if, as seems to be the case, they are slowing down on the Star wars line a bit.

But then what replaced Classic Space? Modern Space possibly?

I don't think one other theme could cause the end of another theme...

[Redroe]

4 minutes ago, JintaiZ said:

But then what replaced Classic Space? Modern Space possibly?

I don't think one other theme could cause the end of another theme...

This is true. Themes have thematic successors I guess. The only direct replacement I can think of is Bionicle/Hero Factory but that's probably a special case.

SW will end one day. Maybe in 20 years time, when Disney has killed off any hope of new films, the sequel era kids have grown up and aren't as rabidly absorbed in the hobby as adult OT and PT fans are (I could see this being the case, I just don't see the sequels as having longevity) and they have run out of remake steam. I'll be there, at 60, buying the 5th UCS Falcon and frittering away my pension on £20 clones off ebay.

[TeriXeri]

1 hour ago, Redroe said:

To pick up on this thread, I don't recall any space themes being current "when I were a lad" bugging my parents for Lego, i.e. 1996 to 2002 ish, except odd city sets that werre realistic ish. Insectoids maybe? I and my friends much preferred Ninja, Adventurers, Pirates. Were there any space themes?

Coming right after the more remembered Mtron/Blacktron2/Ice Planet lines there were still space themes during 1996-1999 , 

1996 Exploriens 

1997 UFO 

1998-1999 Insectoids

2001 Life on Mars

1995 Unitron and 1997 Roboforce were North America only.

1 hour ago, JintaiZ said:

But then what replaced Classic Space? Modern Space possibly?

I don't think one other theme could cause the end of another theme...

Star Wars certainly was way more prominent after 1999, there was no new Space theme in 2000, and 2001 Life on Mars was quite different, and there were no Space themes from 2002-2006 again. 

Star Wars prequel trilogy was way more into the spotlight from 1999-2006.

2007-2013 saw yearly Space themes again, 2014 had LEGO Movie Space sets, and 2015 had the focus on the Star Wars episode 7. 2016-2018 had Nexo Knights, 2019 had LEGO Movie 2.

 

Castle and Space both ended in their traditional ways after 2013.

Edited September 20, 2020 by TeriXeri

[TeriXeri]

2021 will continue the "Space" 3in1 sets with a Mining Mech, so there's still signs LEGO cares about non-licensed space.

[icm]

@astral brick, all your questions have already been discussed and answered in exhaustive detail many times over in the thread linked below.  I recommend you read the entire thing.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by icm

[icm]

1 hour ago, JintaiZ said:

But then what replaced Classic Space? Modern Space possibly?

I don't think one other theme could cause the end of another theme...

According to the usual definitions at Brickset, Bricklink, and other fan sites, "Classic Space" is the 1978-1986 era in which the astronaut minifigures had old-style helmets without visors and plain solid-color helmet/airtanks/hips and legs/torso combinations with the only decoration being the Space logo on the front.  According to this strict definition, "Classic Space" was replaced in 1987 by Futuron and Blacktron, which were the first named Space subthemes, the first distinct factions, and the first to have visors and more detailed torso decorations.  Speaking less strictly, nothing "replaced" Classic Space.  The Lego Space line evolved continuously through the year 1998.  When Star Wars was introduced in 1999, Space took a two-year break and came back in 2001 with Life on Mars.  It was then absent until 2007-2013, and has been absent as a continuous line since then, though there have been original Space-themed sets in other lines, including Creator, the Lego Movie, the Lego Movie 2 (which was all about spaceships!), the Lego Batman Movie, and even Star Wars itself via original content like the Freemaker Adventures.  @danth believes that there is a non-compete agreement between Lego and Lucasfilm preventing Lego from developing and marketing new original Space themes while Star Wars movies are in theaters.  I'm not privy to any inside information, but on the surface that argument seems plausible, especially when you consider the proliferation of action-adventure themes since 1999.  

Action-adventure themes share much of the design language of Space, with an emphasis on fantastic and whimsical vehicles that have moving parts, transformation features, and deployable small craft, but they are set on some comic-book version of Earth rather than somewhere out in the galaxy.  Action-adventure themes began in 1995 with Aquazone, which is well known to have begun development as a Space subtheme called Seatron, and to have used Space designers and Space design elements.  The next action-adventure theme was Time Cruisers, which again had a number of Space and sci-fi elements.  After the introduction of Star Wars in 1999, non-Space action-adventure themes became the rule.  For instance, Rock Raiders is, like Aquazone, a Space theme in disguise: the titular miners are on another planet, with a large spaceship in orbit.  Alpha Team, introduced in 2001, carried on the tradition of colored glass in its flying machines.  It had a rocket and an airspeeder.  Its next wave, in 2002, had a base and a capital ship and a range of smaller ships ... but they were underwater, not in space.  And so on, with the Arctic wave of Alpha Team, then Agents and Ultra Agents.  See also Ninjago, Nexo Knights, Legends of Chima, Power Miners, and Atlantis.

[JintaiZ]

20 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

2021 will continue the "Space" 3in1 sets with a Mining Mech, so there's still signs LEGO cares about non-licensed space.

Great. Hopefully it's confirmed...

[danth]

On 9/19/2020 at 7:44 PM, Lord Insanity said:

I would love a new sci-fi futuristic space theme too but Lego is definitely throwing us some massive bones here.  I mean look at those awesome trans-yellow windows and windscreens they have been sneaking in sets where they can.  We even got a sweet new classic logo-ed torso print in that Space Creator set.  I mean really when the last castle theme provided a better parts assortment for spaceships than actual castles, I don't think space fans have much room to complain.

I agree we've been pretty lucky to get some trans yellow windscreens from Bat Man sets and other colored pieces generally. It's nice for MOCers.

But "lucky" is relative. I mean, I feel lucky to get anything at all, mainly because of the desperate lack of non-licensed Space sets.

If we should feel lucky to just to get a few usable pieces every year, does this apply to Star Wars fans? Should Lego JUST produce parts packs, and then the SW people can just do MOCs, and not get to complain?

You have to admit, sometimes it just feels good to buy a set that you like, and build it from the instructions. And not have to scrounge up pieces from various themes and do a bunch of Bricklink orders.

Edited September 21, 2020 by danth

[Lord Insanity]

On 9/20/2020 at 7:21 AM, JintaiZ said:

But then they're no longer making sets like that...

Half the things I mentioned are either still available or just coming to market.

 

8 hours ago, danth said:

I agree we've been pretty lucky to get some trans yellow windscreens from Bat Man sets and other colored pieces generally. It's nice for MOCers.

But "lucky" is relative. I mean, I feel lucky to get anything at all, mainly because of the desperate lack of non-licensed Space sets.

If we should feel lucky to just to get a few usable pieces every year, does this apply to Star Wars fans? Should Lego JUST produce parts packs, and then the SW people can just do MOCs, and not get to complain?

You have to admit, sometimes it just feels good to buy a set that you like, and build it from the instructions. And not have to scrounge up pieces from various themes and do a bunch of Bricklink orders.

I agree and I would certainly prefer some new non-licensed sci-fi futuristic sets.  I also don't consider The Lego Movie to be a license even though Lego may consider it so internally.  I mean we got some seriously cool space sets from both main Lego movies.  Lets be real in the last five years we have been spoiled rotten compared to castle fans desire for some non-licensed medieval era (whether historical or fantasy) sets.

The just coming to market Creator rover can be massively improved just by replacing that red strip with blue or gray.  It's a shame it doesn't use colored windows.  Trans-dark blue would be the best matching for its current color scheme but it would have been nice to finally get that main window in trans-yellow.  That would have looked real good too.  Lets hope the rumored 2021 Creator mech is a real set and has a much more useful color scheme.

Far more importantly I hope to get a compatible figure or two.  How cool would it be to get that new space mini-fig with other colors for the arms, tank, and helmet in addition to the current white.  (Blue and green would work real good with the rest of that figure.)  In the absence of actual sets the figures are the most important thing to me.  I can always MOC a spaceship, I can't magically make new figure prints.