Insectoids: the Next Generation

[seejay]

Half spider, half firefly, the Insectoids Arachnoid Star Base (set 6977 from 1998) has to be one of the weirdest sets Lego ever produced. I found most of it in a bin of used Lego I bought. Although the original design is awkward, there are some nice printed parts and it has a goofy sort of charm, so I decided to modernize it. 

I've added suspension to the wheels, made the magnet arms retractable and more posable on ball joints, and moved the hover bike and storage compartments to the sides where they won't be blocked by the "firefly" part of the vehicle when it is docked.

 

[CrazyKreations]

I like it, its very nice. I say the creativity I see in front of me is out of this world!

[MKJoshA]

Fantastic take on this old theme!

[Lego David]

Wow, just wow. Great revamp of the Insectoids sets!

[Alexandrina]

Very nice! And always good to see the lesser-mentioned themes of yesteryear get another moment in the sun.

[Corydoras]

Ah, Insectoids! A much underrated theme, which I fondly remember from my childhood. Nice job on the remake of its flagship set. The only part I'm not too sold on is the front arms/pincers design, I liked them more how they originally were.

[seejay]

4 hours ago, Corydoras said:

. . . The only part I'm not too sold on is the front arms/pincers design, I liked them more how they originally were.

Thanks for that critique! I'm not totally sold on them either. The original didn't have much movement; they could only swing together in the horizontal plane. I wanted to improve on that aspect, but I'm not quite happy with them.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments. I'm glad you like it. I do think it was a cool theme with a non-violent backstory and play. And how often has any kind of sci-fi been brave enough to have no humans involved?

[Vaiman]

It looks really well-done! From a distance I thought it was the original, but as soon as you take a closer look it just looks so much more refined than the original version.
I do wonder though, do you have any more pictures? I wonder what the interior is like and what some of the details are up close. Such as the windows at the top, or how the cranes retract.

[seejay]

Thanks for you compliments and interest! I'll get some more photos of those details in the coming days and share them. 

[seejay]

Hopefully these will answer your questions. I did them pretty quickly. Sorry for the dust. 

Edited March 19, 2021 by seejay

[White Phoenix of the Crown]

It was a good series. It's a pity now Lego something like this will not do.

[that_lego_builder]

Lego needs to bring this theme back from the dead.

[sander1992]

Good too see an Insectoids MOC.
Thanks for sharing!