This year is officially celebrating all things LEGO® Space. Across several different LEGO themes, space has featured heavily and that includes the upcoming new series of LEGO Minifigures. Before I go on and there are the usual comments of ‘this isn’t LEGO Space’, Classic Space and general Space-themed sets are two different things. These minifigures and other sets bearing the 2024 Space branding are not trying to replicate sets released in the 70s. Although they do take inspiration from iconic Classic Space factions, such as Blacktron and Ice Planet. They also introduce a host of new parts. Here’s a closer look at the 26th series of LEGO Minifigures.
Product Details
Set Name: Series 26 Space | Set Number: 71046 | Pieces: Various | Theme: LEGO Minifigures
RRP: £349.99/$4.99/4.99€/5.99AUD/5.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & general retail from May 1st (June 1st APAC)
Last year, the LEGO Group moved away from supplying the individual minifigures in foil packets, in favour of more sustainable cardboard boxes. Although the move is better for the environment and makes the packaging recyclable, it also makes feeling the content impossible. Although this series continues to use cardboard boxes, efforts have been made to help you get the characters you are looking for. Firstly, there is an outer box featuring 12 individual boxes. These should contain a full set of minifigures. The last two series I’ve had for review have been in these boxes and have resulted in a full set. There is also a new mention of codes found next to the barcode. There are several methods of identifying the codes including smartphone apps.
Onto the minifigures, as mentioned there’s a running theme of Space-inspired sets being released throughout 2024. The 26th series of LEGO Minifigures are also joining in on the celebrations with an entire line-up of characters having a space theme. Some of these new characters take inspiration from old LEGO Space sets, classic sci-fi tropes or just have general ‘spacey’ vibes. One special difference for this series is the base plate. It’s the same element used in every previous series but this one has a starry pattern on it. It’s quite subtle but nice to give the overall series a special feel.
Blacktron Mutant
Blacktron was introduced into the LEGO Space lexicon in the late 80’s. It was one of the first sub-themes and this space-faring fraction would eventually wear white, black and green outfits along with the iconic ‘B’ logo. This is replicated in the Blacktron Mutant, although this particular chap appears to have had a run-in with an alien virus causing partial mutations. These are represented by a double arm and ‘faun’ leg on the minifigure’s right-hand side. The gruesome changes are also shown on the head. The character is finished off with a pair of ‘Overwatch’ blaster pistols and a mohawk hairstyle.
Ice Planet Explorer
Another returning LEGO Space faction is an Ice Planet Explorer. This sub-theme was introduced in the early 90’s and similar to other classic Space characters featured in this series, they are easily identified by colour scheme. Ice Planet characters were kitted out in white, blue and day-glow orange outfits. The Ice Planet Explorer. The overall style of this minifigure is similar to the classic versions but the appearance is very different. The transparent visor and helmet combo is replaced with a unique helmet, which is paired with shoulder armour. You can also swap out the helmet for a red hairpiece. There is a nod to the transparent elements of the original characters in the ice saw accessory. Just to add a little more coolness to the characters, she’s joined by a robotic penguin.
Imposter
On the surface, this appears to be just your average minifigure. But upon closer inspection, it’s a minifigure-shaped vessel for a tiny alien race. The literal little green men are microfigs featuring a single eye. They are similar in appearance to the various aliens featured in other recent LEGO Space sets. There’s also an alien piloting the minifigure vessel on the alternate print detail on the head. Although it’s a simple character, I like the play on scale to transform a minifigure into an alien-controlled character.
Robot Butler
The collectable Minifigures often introduce new elements and the Robot Butler features a brand new set of legs. Well, I say legs, it’s a robotic wheeled base. This new piece is similar in size to standard legs but doesn’t include an articulation. It gives the robot an almost 60’s vibe, which is applied to the rest of the character. The torso features retro dials and buttons, and even the head has retro vibes thanks to the pale yellow colouring. This is ‘hidden’ underneath a transparent green dome piece, which is the same element used for the Mysterio minifigure from the Spider-Man sets. The Robot Butler wouldn’t look out of place in The Jetsons.
Alien Beetlezoid
Although most of the characters in this series are human or humanoid, there is one character unashamed to offer their true self. The Alien Beetlezoid is a pretty impressive minifigure, thanks to the various unique elements used to create it. To help capture the character’s big-like appearance, standard legs are replaced with the ‘faun’ legs and the shell wings previously Ladybird Suit Girl minifigure have been repurposed and recoloured to suit the Beetlezoid’s colouring. The head is a brand new element, it doesn’t sit on top of a standard minifigure head. Instead is a single new piece, which is surprisingly long. This is a great example of how some official product imagery doesn’t showcase LEGO elements in the best way. This is one of the series’ best characters.
Retro Space Heroine
After 6 years, the Retro Spaceman finally has someone to partner with thanks to the Retro Space Heroine. Similar to her Series 17 counterpart, the Retro Space Heroine has a similar style as 60’s space folk would often have. Her pink and purple space ‘suit’ is trimmed with gold and even includes an era-inspired mini skirt. Her helmet, although impractical for space exploration, looks great and finishes off her stylish appearance. You can be truly retro without a ray gun and for absolutely no reason whatsoever, the character is joined by a robotic French bulldog. It has no reason for being included but I think it’s amazingly nonetheless.
Nurse Android
The LEGO baby element has gone through several variations but the one which has stuck is the version which includes a micro variant of a minifigure head. This formed the basis of what is now known as Space Babies. This unusual twist of the Classic Space characters began with a blue Space Baby in the 24th LEGO Minifigures series. A white version joined the line-up when the recent Classic Space-themed GWP set now there’s also a pink version. Which is being supervised by a robotic nurse. I love the simple print detail on this minifigure and I especially like the use of transparent arms. These give the Android a suitably synthetic appearance.
Flying Saucer Costume Fan
This is another character which sort of players with scale. In essence, it’s a head in a UFO with the body designed to be the vastness of space. But I think it’s merely an eager customer, either way, it’s a simple character but executed extremely well. The UFO part of the character used a new disc element which sits on the shoulder of the torso. This is then topped with a clear dome piece, perfectly encasing the head. The body features a field of stars, which spread across the torso and legs. On the back of the torso is a familiar planet. The only thing lacking on the minifigure is print detail on the arms and sides of the legs, otherwise, this is another great character.
M-Tron Powerlifter
Along with Blacktron and Ice Planet, another classic Space sub-theme introduced us to the M-Tron faction. Similar to Blacktron, M-Tron could also be easily deciphered by their red, white and black outfits and M logo shirts. The basic minifigure is wearing a similar outfit, although it’s been modernised to include far more detail mainly on the legs. It has a modern-style helmet, which lacks the classic vivid green visor, but it is alluded to with the alternate face print. But what it lacks in terms of the iconic visor is made up for with the extra accessories. The minifigure is wearing a bulky backpack featuring an extended arm and a device which slots over the hand of the the minifigure. This result is an elaborate minifigure and another nice modernised nod to beloved classic themes.
Alien Tourist
Why bother constructing an elaborate human-like vessel when you can pop on a hat, and a Hawaiian shirt and to truly deflect your otherworldly origins, an ‘I ♥ Earth’ t-shirt? The Alien Tourist is more concerned with sightseeing than world domination. This minifigure makes great use of the dual moulded arms and short legs. It’s just a fun little character, which, apart from having grey skin, is your classic tourist complete with backpack and camera.
Orion
As minifigures go this is pretty amazing. Almost all of the minifigure is made up of transparent material. The clear purple colour pieces have flecks of silver glitter in them, adding the cosmic feel of the character. Orion was a Greek demigod and a prolific hunter. This inspired the naming of a constellation of stars to be named Orion. This is represented on the minifigure’s oval shield and also ties into the character’s galactic resting place. The torso is similar in design to the body armour worn by Greek soldiers and is the only part of the minifigure not to use transparent pieces. Due to the speckled material used for much of the minifigure, the face print becomes lost against the base colouring. This is a shame as this is one of the series’ best characters and a pretty impressive minifigure.
Spacewalking Astronaut
Of all the characters featured in the series, the Spacewalking Astronaut is the most grounded in reality. Inspired by NASA astronauts, the character is wearing a classic ‘real world’ space suit, complete with the golden coloured visored helmet. But is made a little more elaborate thanks to the large backpack it’s wearing. This slots over the neck of the torso and has various connection points to add extended control arms and visual aids such as a searchlight and camera. Although inspired by modern-day astronauts, the Classic Space logo is featured on patches and the 2×3 plate of the backpack. It’s an impressive minifigure thanks to all these extra bits but does feel a little out of place amongst the characters.
With so many LEGO themes celebrating LEGO Space this year, it’s only fitting that we got a series of minifigures doing the same. I know some people don’t like it when the original series of LEGO Minifigures is focused on a core theme. But Series 26 is varied enough and features some great new elements to warrant being tied to a singular theme. Of course, some characters are better than others but there aren’t any truly awful inclusions in the line-up of characters. Nor do any of the unique elements warrant any particular character being hoarded. The LEGO Minifigures Space Series characters will be available from May 1st in all the usual places. – I’ll add the codes for each character from my box shortly.
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These were provided to BricksFanz by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
