New York's American International Toy Fair February 21, 2011
Aliens Kidnap Farmers and Reporters! New space themes from LEGO are generally pretty exciting, in particular is this Alien Conquest range which feels almost more at home in the 1990s. A bit of a throwback to UFOlogists of the day, this set has humans in containment vans and special blue helicopters fighting against aliens that aren't of any decade in particular. The retro UFO Abduction set is easily my favorite and the one I'm going to buy first when the line hits in or around August. A human with some anti-aircraft weaponry is attempting to stop a UFO from abducting a farmer, and the UFO itself can "capture" a figure through a hatch on the bottom and fly off with it. Seriously, how can you not love these?
Also exciting is the Alien Mothership as it features a reporter to capture, and the ship sports sound effects. A nifty accessory in the box is the "alien pet," which is essentially an extra-large alien shaped helmet which can fit over a figure's head, helmet, or hair to annoy them. Or you could pretend it's like the brain slugs from Futurama, I suppose.
The only set in the line that seems like kind of a drag is the human-centric Earth Defense HQ which is a giant mobile truck with a bunch of people in it. It has some great figures, like the Alien Pirate, plus a tiny flying saucer (which I wish I could just buy on its own), and a really awesome Vic Viper-esque fighter for the people of Earth. The problem? All this stuff comes with a giant $90-$100 truck. I love the blue coloring and knobby wheels, but the darned thing is pretty expensive and lacking in aliens overall. On sale, I could see picking up this set, no question.
I'm told this line is being marketed primarily to kids, but it seems there's a lot to like here for the adult fan of LEGO. It's the first new theme in ages that I really want to get my mitts on, and I hope it does well enough that LEGO will experiment with other, similar themes like this one. You could add these to any City or Town setup, menacing the locals, so it's a nice idea. (Heck, for years I always wished they did a set of LEGO Ghostbusters so I could clean up the fire station and various buildings around the town.)
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