Lost In Space

Having recently wallowed in Classic Space nostalgia with my review of Set 918 One Man Space Ship and in the process touched on the Neo Classic Space movement, I figured it'd be the perfect time to run the rule over what could conceivably be described as the Neo Classic Space handbook, A.K.A. LEGO Space - Building the Future. This book has been out for a while now, but as there were a glut of reviews upon its initial release I decided to hold fire and let the dust settle before diving in and sharing my thoughts on it. The timing's actually perfect right now, given the recent reveal of Set 21109 Exo-Suit, but more of that later.... Before I get started, I need to declare an interest - I know the guys responsible for putting this book together, so bias is possible.... That having been said, as you'll hopefully have seen from previous reviews on Gimme LEGO, good or bad I'll call it as I see it, so let's begin.

First impressions are extremely positive. My hardback copy of the book is a surprisingly weighty tome and looks gorgeous. The 24 cm x 28 cm front cover (above) has a predominantly matt finish, but the image of the spaceship is glossy and therefore 'pops' impressively, giving the impression that the ship is literally flying out of the cover. The back cover (below) uses a similar trick to highlight six panels which provide a sneak peak of a selection of images that you'll find within. Opening the book reveals 218 thick, glossy pages, and overall the book feels like it's been expertly put together and with laudable attention to detail, all of which bodes well for the actual content.

Authors Peter "Legoloverman" Reid and Tim "Rogue Bantha" Goddard are stalwarts of the Neo Classic Space scene and accomplished and renowned LEGO builders to boot, so levels of anticipation were high when news of this book started to leak out. I've frequently featured their creations on the pages of Gimme LEGO over the past few years, for instance here and here, and I was one of those eagerly awaiting the book's release. I was particularly intrigued to discover what form the book would take; my best guess was that it'd contain pictures of Pete and Tim's Neo Classic Space MOCs together with the original LEGO sets that inspired them, plus maybe the Neo Classic Space 'building rules'. I was partly right, but as it turned out the book goes well beyond what I'd imagined.

Rather than just being a showcase for Pete and Tim's superb space-related MOCs, the book tells a story. This begins with a brief history of space exploration to date before venturing into one possible future taken straight from the fertile imaginations of the authors. The journey is illustrated by way of a large number of exquisite photographs provided by Ian Greig and Chris Salt, the latter perhaps better known for his excellent stop motion LEGO animation. What particularly stands out for me about the photographs are the glorious backdrops; as you'll see from some of the sample images I've included here, such as the picture of Voyager 2 above, it's easy at times to forget that you're looking at LEGO such is the quality of the builds, and the superb backdrops really help to reinforce the illusion.

As previously stated, the first few pages of LEGO Space set the scene for what's to come by providing a factual if highly selective potted history of space exploration to date. The launch of Sputnik (above) in October 1957 is the starting point, followed by the Apollo landings, then Voyager 1 and Voyager 2's tours of the solar system and beyond in the late 1970's, and most recently the exploration, mapping and analysis of the surface of Mars by Opportunity and Curiosity (below).

With the scene appropriately set, we quickly move from reality into fantasy, whereupon the authors can really let their creative juices flow.... A possible Neo Classic Space vision of mankind's future is laid out for us, starting with the birth of the Federation in the middle of the 21st century and the establishment of a permanent lunar colony in the Sea of Tranquility. Profits arising from robotic lunar mining then help to finance the establishment of a permanent base in the Cydonia region of Mars. Construction of a frontier space station in orbit around Jupiter follows soon after with a view to outer-system expansion and exploration, and it's from here that the Federation's Inhospitable Climate Engineering (ICE) teams set out to explore Jupiter's moons and unwittingly set in motion a train of events that will threaten humanity's very existence....

While the Sci-fi story within the pages of LEGO Space is admittedly somewhat basic, what it does do is provide the book with a unique and welcome personality, something sorely lacking from many other LEGO-related titles. It would have been all too easy for LEGO Space to have ended up as a slick, sterile volume of photographs of cool MOCs and nothing else, but the inclusion of the backstory lifts it to another level, providing welcome context to the featured models and drawing the reader in. A nice touch is the naming of certain characters in the story after longstanding members of the AFOL community; they must be pleased as punch to get an affectionate name check !

Whole chapters of the book focus on spaceships, such as those above, and other vehicles germane to the story. This of course provides the perfect opportunity to showcase some of Pete and Tim's superb Neo Classic Space designs including a couple of my all-time favourites - LL-497 Explorer and LL-605 Marauder - not to mention Peter Reid's celebrated Exo Suit (below). This model, as many of you will know, provides the basis for the imminently available LEGO Ideas Set 21109 Exo-Suit having secured 10,000 votes on the LEGO Ideas platform and subsequently been given the green light by LEGO to go into production.

At various points within LEGO Space there are brief interludes in the form of building instructions for micro-build models with relevance to the story, such as Sputnik. There are some great-looking little builds included, although some readers may struggle to find the necessary elements in their collections to build the models as there are some fairly specialised parts used. Even so, it's a nice touch which adds further value to the book.

Overall, I really can't recommend this book enough, and trust me when I say that I'd be raving about it regardless of whether or not I knew the authors. It's beautifully presented, it's packed with inspiring MOCs and fabulous photographs, and everything is held together and given welcome context by an interesting Sci-fi backstory. Regardless of whether you're a child of the 1960's or 1970's and fondly remember LEGO's Classic Space sets from when you were a youngster, or whether you're a younger LEGO fan with an interest in space, you'll love this book.

At time of writing, UK-based readers can purchase LEGO Space here for the bargain price of £12.24 (an absolute steal I reckon) including shipping while folks in the US can get it here for $15.78. Although I didn't have to pay for my copy - thank-you to LEGO Space publisher No Starch Press for sending me a review copy - this is one book that I'd have had no hesitation in shelling out for myself. Epic !

Neo- Neo- Classic Space ?

I've previously waxed lyrical about my love of the classic LEGO Space sets of the late 1970's and early 1980's; Set 928 Galaxy Explorer is one of my all-time favourites, and every time I see that signature combination of blue, old grey and trans yellow it gives me chills !

Set 928 Galaxy Explorer from 1979

I'm far from being the only one who has a thing for these sets, of course. A whole movement, dubbed Neo-Classic Space, has grown out of a desire to update the classic sets for a whole new generation. Some of these Neo-Classic Space creations are truly updates of previous sets, while others have sought to develop the theme in new directions while still retaining the feel and design DNA of the original sets. I've featured creations from one of the main protagonists, Pete Reid a.k.a. Legoloverman, on these pages before and I make no apology for mentioning him again and showing pics of a couple of his superb Neo-Classic Space creations below (click to enlarge).

Pete Reid's Homage to Set 928 Galaxy Explorer

Another of Legoloverman's creations

But is 2011 the year when the LEGO company finally rejoins the party ? I'm referring of course to the new Alien Conquest space-themed sets, which with their predominantly blue, grey and yellow colour scheme, albeit with neon accents and the odd flash of lime green and purple, hark back to the days of Classic Space. LEGO have of course released a multitude of space-themed sets since the late 70's, some of which have themselves become much-loved in their own right and have spawned sequels of their own (such as Space Police). For me, however, none of them have quite captured the magic of the Classic Space sets. Until now, perhaps ? Well, let's see....

Including poly bags and battle packs, ten Alien Conquest sets have been released to date, and I've been attracted to these like a moth to a flame.... Set 7050 Alien Defender was the first of the Alien Conquest sets I got my hands on, managing to grab a couple when Amazon had them on sale at around 35% off RRP a couple of months back.

I'm a big fan of the bright, colourful box art which really stands out on shop shelves, and there's a lovely retro feel to the Alien Conquest theme branding. The box itself has the same footprint as a Star Wars Battlepack, although it perhaps sits a couple of millimetres higher.

The 32-page instruction booklet (below) shares the same cover art as the box. I have an irrational hatred of folded-in-half instruction booklets as the pages always seem to turn themselves over while I'm building; this booklet was a major offender in that respect, and it took a lot of straightening out before I could photograph it. The building steps are clear and easy to follow, with part call-outs for every step and no major colour discrimination issues.

The set features 2 minifigures. The first is an Alien Defence Unit (ADU) Soldier (pics below - click to enlarge) and he's apparently unique to this set. His torso is printed both front and back, and he also has printed legs and a reversible head, to be used when he's stressed, presumably.... For me the most exciting thing about this guy is his dark azure colour. This colour, a striking blue with more than a hint of green, is to my knowledge brand new for 2011 and not widely available as yet, although it has appeared in a few 2011 sets including Sponge Bob Set 3815 Heroic Heroes of the Deep.

Front....

.....and back

The other minifig is an Alien Pilot (below) who's also available in a number of other sets. There's no back-printing on his torso, although his legs are printed and his arms are a rather nice (and unusual) magenta colour. He has an interesting rubbery head, not previously seen outside this theme I believe, on the back of which you can see his brain....

Once the minifigs have been assembled it's time to construct the Alien Pilot's ship. This isn't a major undertaking, given that it consists of only 13 pieces.... Small or not, I like it ! Most of the pieces seem to be lime green or trans neon green, and both the design and colours complement the Alien Pilot perfectly. Lime green barbs sticking out of the back add a nice finishing touch.

Next up is the ADU Soldier's vehicle, a heavily-armed buggy of sorts. Again, I love the colours, which are an agreeable mix of blue, yellow and light and dark greys with trans neon orange accents. As well as being deliciously zoom-able, it also features flick fire missiles and a rotating dorsal gun turret. There's also a neat use of dark grey guns as front suspension struts (purely for show, obviously...). Downside is the lack of printed parts; instead we're supposed to apply 5 fiddly little stickers.

And that's it - we're done. This is a cracking little set. At £8.99 for 105 pieces it's hardly a steal, but having picked it up for £6 it felt like a bargain.  I mean, what's not to like ? The minifigs are good (the ADU Soldier's slightly lack-lustre body armour is more than made up for by his dark azure colour) and the vehicles are great, if a little small. There are even 8 extra parts, which must be close to being a record for a set of barely 100 pieces in total. Overall, it's an excellent taster for the theme, and I can't wait to get to work on some of the larger Alien Conquest sets, particularly Set 7066 Earth Defence HQ, which are waiting patiently in the wings until I have some uninterrupted building time.

So is Alien Conquest really the second coming of Classic Space ? Well, it's clearly impossible to tell for sure on the basis of building one small set and just seeing pictures of the rest of the theme..... What I can say for sure, however, is that no other space-themed sets (with the obvious exception of Star Wars) have grabbed me to quite the same extent for a long time. Interesting designs, some great minifigures and an evocative colour scheme are all part of the successful recipe. All that's currently missing is at least one good-sized standalone ADU spacecraft - the Earth Defence HQ set features an extremely nifty Interceptor Shuttle, but this just makes me yearn for more.... LEGO could of course remedy this omission by releasing more Alien Conquest sets in 2011, but the meagre shelf-space being dedicated to the theme in the LEGO brand stores that I've visited suggests to me that we might not get any more sets, which would be a crying shame IMHO.

Classic Space is special to me for more than just the superb designs and colour scheme - it's part of my childhood and thus brings back some great memories. Alien Conquest clearly can't compete with the latter, but it nevertheless seems to be a worthy addition to LEGO's space heritage.

"They came from outer space...."