Space 1987

New Parts

Panel 10 x 6 x 11

Panel 10 x 10 x 12 Quarter Dome

Plate, Modified 10 x 10 without Corner

Tile, Modified 1 x 2 with Handle

Wedge, Plate 3 x 6 Cut Corners

Windscreen 6 x 6 Octagonal Canopy

Spy-Bot (1498)

Features: Brick-built robot with rotating head and movable arms and legs.

Thoughts: Dorky-looking retro sci-fi robot. Nice articulation on the arms; the legs, not so much.

Twin Starfire (1499)

Features: Smallish spaceship with canards, dual octagonal cockpits, and twin yellow astronauts.

Thoughts: First use of the new octagonal canopies. (Also first use of the new tile with handle, shown here in blue.) Nice selection of printed parts.

Galaxy Trekkor (6808)

Features: Small flyer with posable wings and a blue astronaut.

Thoughts: Handsome little ship.

XT-5 and Droid (6809)

Features: Blue astronaut in a small hover chair plus a robot companion.

Thoughts: Super cute! The black control levers used to control the chair are also new this year. I’m not sure why the hover chair’s headrest has a computer panel though…

Strata Scooter (6827)

Features: Small ground vehicle with posable wings and antennae driven by a blue astronaut.

Thoughts: Cute little rover

Satellite Patroller (6849)

Features: Articulated ground vehicle carrying a small satellite on its trailer. Comes with a yellow astronaut.

Thoughts: Another variant on the satellite launcher archetype. The new wedge plates form the octagonal shape of the trailer.

Terrestrial Rover (6883)

Features: Articulated ground vehicle with a satellite to launch plus a small drone and a white astronaut.

Thoughts: Yet another satellite launcher. Looks a little rickety. I like the drone and the tail piece printed with the Classic Space logo.

Aero Module (6884)

Features: Sleek spacecraft with astronaut, rover, and robot tightly packed beneath a large blue windscreen.

Thoughts: The rover fits so securely when the windscreen is locked in place that it doesn’t even rattle if you shake it or fly it upside down. The new large panel part forms the windscreen. Similar to the Star Defender 200 (6932) without the side pods.

Orion II Hyperspace (6893)

Features: Three-part modular vehicle: front cockpit, mid scooter, and rear trailer holding a robot-driven rover. Comes with blue and yellow Futuron astronauts and a brick-built robot.

Thoughts: I especially like the scooter and its control scheme. The new octagonal windscreens are used here in white to form the walls of the trailer.

Invader (6894)

Features: Blacktron mid-sized ship. Modular with front cockpit, mid cargo container, and rear engine sections. Comes with one astronaut and a brick-built robot.

Thoughts: 4 of the new wedge plates in transparent red form the fins at the rear. It seems like the middle cargo section could have held more than just the robot and a few tools.

Stardefender 200 (6932)

Features: The Futuron flagship comes with large central windscreen, twin side pods, two yellow astronauts, and a small rover.

Thoughts: The center section looks sleek and fierce but the side pods are a little blocky. The new large panel (printed with 200) forms the central windscreen while the new octagonal canopies are used for the side pods. Inexplicably the pilots sit in the side pods and not the central craft.

Battrax (6941)

Features: Modular ground vehicle that splits into three parts. Comes with one astronaut.

Thoughts: A space hot rod / dragster! Kudos to whoever dreamed up this one. A canopy extender (also new this year) in transparent yellow is used to elongate the cockpit’s canopy and give it that dragster feel. (Another canopy extender in transparent blue is used on the train in Monorail Transport System.) I like the big wheels and the heavily armed tail section.

Cosmic Laser Launcher (6953)

Features: Futuron base features walls that open up to launch a rocket. Includes three astronauts and a truck to transport the rocket.

Thoughts: The rocket is chunky, but I love how the walls open while the rocket is raised up. The clever moving function is enabled by a Technic rack winder.

Renegade (6954)

Features: Asymmetrical large spaceship that separates into nine components! Comes with two astronauts.

Thoughts: The Blacktron flagship does not disappoint. I love the hyper-modularity and unusual appearance. 2 of the new 10 x 10 plate without corner in black help form the shape of the ship.

Polaris I Space Lab (6972)

Features: Rocket-launching base featuring twin monorails leading to scooter launch pads. Comes with three blue astronauts.

Thoughts: I the diagonal bilateral symmetry. This could easily have been a Futuron set.

Monorail Transport System (6990)

Features: Two bases, a monorail with vertical ramps, cargo crates, loader vehicle, five astronauts, a small scooter, etc.

Thoughts: A working electric cogwheel monorail! There’s so much going on here. I love the larger base with the two transparent blue quarter domes that move.

Freight elevator function implemented using a Technic rack winder.

Sliding/rotating loading dock, implemented via another Technic rack winder. The loading dock uses two of the new quarter dome panels in transparent blue. (The quarter dome’s footprint perfectly matches the new 10 x 10 plate without corner.)

Wrap-Up

At sixteen sets, this is once again the largest year yet (for the third year in a row). This was the final year for new Classic Space sets. Two new Space themes were introduced as replacements for Classic Space. Futuron seem to be the successors to Classic Space with the first redesign to the astronaut minifig since its debut in 1978. Blacktron was something new altogether: alien and menacing in their black suits and opaque black visors.

This was not the strongest year for Classic Space (8 sets) although Polaris I Space Lab was a highlight. There certainly were a lot of blue astronauts used in this year’s Classic Space sets.

Futuron (5 sets) made a strong debut. Of course the monorail was the crowning achievement of LEGO Space for 1987. It’s hard to top a working electric monorail, and it was also the largest Space set for the 20 year span I’m covering. Aero-Module is also quite good for a small set.

Blacktron (3 sets) also made an excellent debut. These sets were visually and stylistically different from all previous space sets.

My favorite feature of the early Blacktron sets was their modularity. Parts from the three different sets could be recombined to form new vehicles.

Next stop: Space 1988, beyond Classic Space!