2013 Galaxy Squad

[8BrickMario]

Interesting that they would only have one set on the S@H. I would think they would release them at the same time!

[DraikNova]

I've been wondering: Do you think we'll get an exclusive for the summer wave? Some sort of scorpion-like creature would be interesting.

[Only Sinner]

I'd like to see the Galaxy Squad reviews indexed. It would be so nice and handy to have them all in the same place.

[Sid Sidious]

I think if there was a summer exclusive, we would have at least heard rumors of it. I think a dragonfly would be cool.

[Lyichir]

Having built what I could figure out of the Hive Crawler on LDD, it continues to amaze me. I love a model packed with detail AND functions, and like many sets in the Agents theme, the Hive Crawler has that in spades. It's also amazing how the alien sets in Galaxy Squad manage to use so many colors in their color schemes while still looking fantastic. Bright Yellowish Green, Dark Red, Sand Yellow, Olive Green, Warm Gold, Titanium Metallic, Trans. Red, Trans. Medium Reddish Violet, Trans. Bright Bluish Violet, Trans. Fluorescent Green and all the assorted neutral colors manage somehow to work harmoniously. And if the color scheme ends up looking the slightest bit gross; well, that's okay, they're bugs, they're supposed to look gross.

I had planned to be big into Chima this year, but with the lackluster show I've lost some of that enthusiasm. I'll still probably get some of the better sets, but maybe I'll also have to make room in my budget for some Galaxy Squad!

[DraikNova]

I've had to cancel all of my planned Chima and most of my Ninjago purchases to get what I want from Galaxy Squad (ie every single set). Then again, it's my all-time favorite space theme, with the possible exception of either Rock Raiders or the original Insectoids line.

[Captain Settle]

Rock Raiders, a space theme?

[Lyichir]

Rock Raiders, a space theme?

Rock Raiders was essentially a space theme, or at the very least a comparable Sci Fi theme. In fact, I believe the initial concept had them fighting against the Insectoids before Lego decided to make the theme self-contained. But even the final story took place in deep space; specifically, the Rock Raiders had gotten stranded on a faraway planet and had to mine for materials to repair their spaceship.

A much more ambiguous example would be Aquazone; initially conceived as the Space theme SeaTron, by the time the sets ended up on shelves it simply took place in an ambiguously-situated ocean with surprisingly-earthlike fauna.

[8BrickMario]

They already have done a dragonfly, albeit a small one, in the Obliterator. What is the Hive Crawler supposed to be, insect-wise? The Crater Creeper is obviously an ant, but the Crawler? I really want those printed dome pieces used for its "eyes".

[DraikNova]

They already have done a dragonfly, albeit a small one, in the Obliterator. What is the Hive Crawler supposed to be, insect-wise? The Crater Creeper is obviously an ant, but the Crawler? I really want those printed dome pieces used for its "eyes".

It´s kind of a generic arachnid (spider)-like creature.

[Kalhiki]

They already have done a dragonfly, albeit a small one, in the Obliterator. What is the Hive Crawler supposed to be, insect-wise? The Crater Creeper is obviously an ant, but the Crawler? I really want those printed dome pieces used for its "eyes".

Crater Creeper's an ant? I got more of a cockroach vibe.

The Hive Crawler seems like some sort of giant beetle, though I guess it doesn't need to be anything since it is an alien. I'm with DraikNova; just some generic bug.

Kalhiki

[Sylvarsty]

I would like to see an exclusive from Galaxy Squad, how far in advance did we have rumors of the Monster Fighters Haunted House? I don't recall it being to early before its release.

[DraikNova]

I would like to see an exclusive from Galaxy Squad, how far in advance did we have rumors of the Monster Fighters Haunted House? I don't recall it being to early before its release.

Heh, a D2C Space set. That could be pretty great. That would be a great opportunity for a larger Insectoid set plus some more architecture.

[Artanis I]

Hopefully I'll have some Swarm Interceptors this evening, these sets have appeared in Aus this week. At last. Haven't checked the places with current sales yet.

[Tacker]

I just want a load of Galaxy Squad troops for war games

[Hrw-Amen]

Interesting I got set 70705 Bug Obliterator up on the UK site for £59.99 but there was no button to enable it to bought? But you could look at it and get all the larger pictures and everything, it was under the 'whats new' tab.

[Banjo]

Just got my five ordered sets (from Shop For Me) and loving these! The insectoid ship designs are especially neat (shades of the TV show LEXX in some designs) and I love the new robot/insectoid minifig heads.

The upcoming 2nd wave sets look even better, too, IMO; as cool as the insectoid minifigs are, I prefer the idea of brick-built larger "bugs" as the bad guys for this theme.

My only "negatives"? I really wish they'd used the Galaxy Patrol minfig or a variant of for the "good guys" here, and kept all the humans/robots the same colour scheme instead of "red team, orange team" etc. Makes them look way too random as a single "force", IMO.

A question for fellow Aussies: is the Star Slicer (70703) available over here anywhere? I can't find it in any stores, online or on Lego's Australian site... though admittedly, Shop For Me is the only place aside from Lego.com.au I've seen this theme for sale at all for this country.

Edited April 19, 2013 by Banjo

[Aanchir]

My only "negatives"? I really wish they'd used the Galaxy Patrol minfig or a variant of for the "good guys" here, and kept all the humans/robots the same colour scheme instead of "red team, orange team" etc. Makes them look way too random as a single "force", IMO.

Kind of funny you should say that... I imagine a lot of classic space fans would disagree. Originally the red and white classic space minifigures were meant to be separate groups (with the white ones representing American astronauts and the red ones representing Russian cosmonauts), but as the theme went on and more colors were introduced this premise was abandoned and the uniform colors were used for different roles, sort of like in Star Trek. According to Jens Nygaard Knudsen, a veteran LEGO Space designer, "The original two colors were explorers, yellow were scientists, blues were technicians or mechanics, and I guess the black were warriors, but we were not allowed to make a big deal out of this. We were not allowed to make war."

Galaxy Squad somewhat returns to this concept, albeit in a much more military context with the teams divided according to their strategies and tactics. Additionally, I can see why you might feel that it's a bit odd to have the ships, rather than just the uniforms, color-coded by team.

[Banjo]

Heh! I personally have fond memories of the Classic Space minifigs from childhood, remembering both the "full colour" (crash helmet) figs and the "white with a diagonal zipper" guys. I suppose it says something to my comment that my favourite Lego figures as a kid (and my "army builders") were the all-black-with-white-harness (Blacktron?) guys, as I liked having my "space marines" matching. Plus, those black visors were just cool...:)

I actually don't dislike the idea of using colours to specify "techs", "medics", "gunners", etc. (it's actually quite a cool idea), though I think it works better in a more exploration-based theme than one that's combat-focused ("squash those bugs!") like Galaxy Squad. Here, I would have rather seen it done more subtly, say with matching Galaxy Patrol armour over coloured torsos, with all matching legs and helmets. OCD, I know! :)

Did I mention that I really like that Galaxy Patrol minifig? :)

The colour-coded vehicles are rather odd, though clearly a kid-friendly design choice rather than one for "big kids" like me. Everyone having their vehicles team-coloured seems rather "Voltron" to me; it makes them more like individual characters with specific mecha (Lance Firespeed in his 'Bug Zapper') than an organized force of troopers from the same army/planet/race, divided by service branches. I find it hard to see the difference between some of these vehicles that makes them, for example, "blue team only".

That said, some of these vehicle designs on both sides here are amazing, and I love the big bug Stinger! However, I am excited about the next wave even more, as it seems to have more "brick built bugs" rather than bug-shaped-ships. Starship Troopers Lego! Who'd have thought?

As a side-note, I smiled at the "we were not allowed to make war" quote... as a kid, I always kinda wanted "guns" for my Lego toys... now we have Star Wars and zombies and gangsters with tommy guns and stuff like Alien Conquest and Galaxy Squad!

(apologies for rambling, getting back into Lego again is proving quite nostalgic!)

Edited April 14, 2013 by Banjo

[Artanis I]

A question for fellow Aussies: is the Star Slicer (70703) available over here anywhere? I can't find it in any stores, online or on Lego's Australian site... though admittedly, S@H is the only place aside from Lego.com.au I've seen this theme for sale at all for this country.

The 5 sets are being rolled out currently, some of my local shops have them already, some don't. The set 70703 is not in the catalogue (no surprise) but also not available on S@H, which is a surprise. I have still heard no report as to where we will be able to get it.

[DraikNova]

Did I mention that I really like that Galaxy Patrol minifig? :)

You're not the only one. I could easily imagine LEGO using that armor as a "heavy armor" suit if this theme gets another year.

[gerkenz]

now all 6 sets on S@H in Germany....no commercial, no advertisment, no animation, no hint about they are new and cool, just placed in the shop.

Very strange....

[TheRedGuy]

Just got the Obliterator to finish off my Galaxy Squad collection, and it's much better than I had expected. A question though, did anyone else get a extra sticker sheet in the set?

[Flying Ace]

I just got the Mini Mech, Space Swarmer, Swarm Interceptor, and Vermin Vaporizer as birthday gifts yesterday. This is my first LEGO fix since getting the new Sopwith Camel last June, so I am excited to get these. And US Amazon has great prices on the two largest sets.

I have built the Mini Mech and Space Swarmer so far. These are such cool models...it's amazing to me that they are LEGO sets (yeah I have been away from LEGO for a long time). It took a little while to figure out how to make the Swarmer stand up on its legs.

The Swarmer is my favorite of the bug ships in wave 1. I really like how the cockpit tile has a silhouette of the Swarm Interceptor, as if it has one on radar, or maybe the human ship is in some kind of identification database. I also like how the scope on the robot's weapon lines up with his right eye. It's those little touches that show how much care the designers put into these sets.

I am really looking forward to building the other two sets over the weekend! I also want to try to rework my old Alpha 1 Rocket Base into some kind of GS command center...combining the oldest and newest of LEGO Space!

[Amset-Rah]

I just got the Mini Mech, Space Swarmer, Swarm Interceptor, and Vermin Vaporizer as birthday gifts yesterday. This is my first LEGO fix since getting the new Sopwith Camel last June, so I am excited to get these. And US Amazon has great prices on the two largest sets.

I have built the Mini Mech and Space Swarmer so far. These are such cool models...it's amazing to me that they are LEGO sets (yeah I have been away from LEGO for a long time). It took a little while to figure out how to make the Swarmer stand up on its legs.

The Swarmer is my favorite of the bug ships in wave 1. I really like how the cockpit tile has a silhouette of the Swarm Interceptor, as if it has one on radar, or maybe the human ship is in some kind of identification database. I also like how the scope on the robot's weapon lines up with his right eye. It's those little touches that show how much care the designers put into these sets.

I am really looking forward to building the other two sets over the weekend! I also want to try to rework my old Alpha 1 Rocket Base into some kind of GS command center...combining the oldest and newest of LEGO Space!

Good on you, man. Personally, though I like the idea of one uniform color, this multiple color faction has a classic space/Star Trek kind of vibe, since each team has a skill. However it would be nice to have a unified base/starship of some kind.

I personally have the Swarm Interceptor and Warp Stinger (The two are made for each other) and I have my sights on the Space Swarmer soon (Nice little scout vehicle for the bugs)