Excellent. This is topic for me! Thank you very much and I am looking forward to read more.

^agreed, great feature Huw look forward to more of the same.

Great article and look forward to reading more in the future

Ah yeah, Blacktron! I bought 3 of the Invaders back in the day so I could make an extra long one with 3 cargo modules. :)
I have a pair of Nike Shox basketball shoes that are black with yellow trim, and I call them my Blacktron Nikes. :)

The degree of movement and articulation in the Message Intercept Base is amazing. Go look at the instructions to see what Space and City sets have been missing for the past 20 odd years.

Great article. I love Blacktron, have them all apart from the Renegade. Didn't realise it was US only, explains why I have trouble getting one. Will be keeping my eye out for it more now as I enjoy trying to find the rarer sets. Space police I next?

When I emerged from my dark ages years ago, acquiring all Blacktron 1 was a top priority. Proud to say I have one base, 2 Battrax, 5 Invaders, 2 Renegades, 2 monitors (1 I modified to yellow instead of white) and 7 Alienators!... and now my kids have them :-)

Really looking forward to the next article in this series ;-D

The Alienator was one of my favourite sets when I was young, so I bought one of them MISB some years ago. Great article! Apart from the Space sets, the Castle sets are also very nice to continue... ;-)

The Blacktron Message Intercept base looks rather good for an '87 set. But probably not my idea of an evil Space HQ.

I look forward to more of these. :)

I don't see the attraction of that base. All I see when I look at it are those enormous panels that always felt like cheating - even when I was a kid. I suspect what people consider "the golden age" of space Lego depends on their age. Being born in '72, I'd already grown out of Lego to some degree by the time Blacktron came out so these were the sets played with by my younger brother born in 1980. I suspect if I asked him, he'd think these sets were as great as I thought the original blue/grey/trans yellow ones were.

I fully endorse 6876, 6941, 6987 as the models to get in this theme.

Good article! I remember been the page boy at a wedding and getting bought the Invader as a thank you. Delighted I was!

I had 1875 when I was a kid, but never had the other two sets you indicate were bundled with it. I loved that little set, and the Blacktron pilot was always being arrested by my 6886 Galactic Peace Keeper till I got other Blacktrons. :)

Brainslugged has a point - being born in 1970 I feel the same way, although what's indisputable is that black / yellow / trans. yellow remains the best colour scheme ever. Much better looking than Blacktron II sets.

I had 6894 as a kid, but totally forgot about it until now! Thank you for a bit of nostalgia during an otherwise tedious workday.

Nice job!

I don't necessarily agree with the statement about the golden age, I'm a 90's kid, but I hated the "new" town sets like 6332 (the horrible green windowed blocky monstrosity), but I loved all the old sets! getting out of my dark ages (thanks to LOTR), I started collecting classic space, and the invader was high on my list to collect! I do have it now, and love it, so will be trying to get my hands on the big base :) (also to use the trans yellow panels for my love of classic space moccing) Hope to read more!

Love, love, love this article Huw, fantastic idea. I love looking through the collector's guide and seeing all the old set pictures but this tales it to a whole new level. 6894 was one of the first sets I actually remember getting. Very much looking forward to the other articles.

I'm surprised that with all the Blacktron fans, there's still to be a Blacktron CUUSOO project. I may break the ice soon...

Great article Huw! I've been looking into buying some of the older sets, and this is definitely a helpful guide . . .

Blacktron-sets were the last ones I got in my golden Lego-age back in the day. A friend of mine had the Blacktron space station, I got the Alienator and the Invader. We played a whole afternoon together and he did lend me the station for another week or so. I was so excited! Blacktron brought so much suspense to the Legoverse back then: Space Police had someone to catch and those peaceful Exploriens had someone to fear at last. *harharhar*

Really interesting article indeed! Being a TFOL I never really get to see older sets like these too much (unless I go browse through the database here :-) ). Looking forward to more posts like this!

Classic Space yeahhhhh! Great stuff Huw!

I got into Lego as a child in around 1989, so I missed most of these great sets. However, I was forced to see them in catalogs that came with some sets that were still around at that time, so it was painful not being able to buy them. I made sure to add them to my collection when I came out of my dark ages, and I agree that they are among the best Lego Space (or Lego anything) sets ever conceived. Looking forward to what you review next! It's refreshing to read about, after being bombarded by licensed sets the last 10-15 years.

Zrath brings up one of the best aspects of the Blacktron sets! You can make a great family of spaceships out of them. :)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sastrei87/9660766558/in/set-72157635333730180

While not a fan of LEGO space, it is a great article and can't wait for more. It would be interesting to see a poll over if you got a set MISB would you open it? When I'm looking for an old set that has stickers, cloth, or string pieces I like to find new. I have no problem opening a set that I paid over $500 for and building it.

Very interesting! -Thanks!

Great article--I could take or leave the eBay aspect, but just the hilighting of such a fantastic line is lots of fun! I was fortunate enough to pick up a Renegade just a couple years ago in pristine condition ("used", but looks new out of the box) for $60. Aside from the base (never had much interest in bases), I'm happily Blacktron complete.

You made one mistake, though--opening the series of articles with Blacktron 1 leaves you nowhere to go but down ;)

Timely article. Just this past weekend I started to piece together the original space line up from 1979 and also Expert Builder from 1978. Those were good times!

Really good article. Well written and glad I read it. Look forward to more

Neat sets, the base pale is te only thing that interests me.

Was this really US exclusive? Because I have some catalogs at home featuring these sets, and I highly doubt the catalogs come from the US. They might be Austrian or German.

Anyway, it's funny that you see them as baddies I never thought about these sets like that. I guess it's good that Lego never advertised them as such, they left more for children's imagination.

I love you, Huw.

Thanks Huw, I get it now. Sorry.

I'd like to add to the discussion about favorite space subtheme. As a 90s child I found the white Blacktrons to be the coolest theme, especially the neon green parts. Pure awesomeness.

I've been watching eBay on and off for the last four years for Blacktron I, II and M-Tron sets. But I've never seen a decent deal on one with a box. :P

Also might I note how superb the new Brickset looks with Windows 8. :P

+1 to those loving the idea for the article, and particularly starting with the Blacktrons. I was just a bit too young for them, only had a couple of figures from this era (I think from minifigure packs with other space figures) and then got some of the neon sets with the half black, half white torsos with the neon B on them. I'm sure I used the vintage Blacktron torso as Darth Vader more than once too!

6876 Blacktron Alienator was one of my first Legos and one of my first memories. I got it for Christmas and my dad made a joke about how it was recommended for children way older than I was at the time. I got worried for a moment because I was too young to understand his sarcasm.

The walking feet & back hatch for weapons (and prisoner) storage made it one of my most rebuilt models and the pilot certainly was my best minifig for a while.

Thanks for the article. This is something I can get behind.

I grew up with in late 80s/early 90s, but I was just past Blacktron I. I was a huge fan of Blacktron II though and M:Tron.

I recently rebuilt my Caribbean Clipper and presented it and the BSB at a LUGshow recently and wanted to get back into my childhood sets and the sets I wanted as a kid.

I've noticed more and more there are dozens of classic sets I want, but very few new sets...odd.

The Blacktron I sets have an excellent design, and it's a shame the line didn't get a solid 15-20 sets. I much prefer the neon green accents of Blacktron II though. I would love to see a revival set through Cuusoo (or "Ideas" I guess).

Great article Huw. I look forward to reading more of these in the future. I completed my Blacktron I collection about 2 years ago with the acquisition of 6987. I'm not a huge fan of Space, but Blacktron sets were some my earliest. 6894 was my third set and received it in September of 1988. These guys weren't the bad guys until the MAN (aka Space Police I) showed up and started locking them without due process. Ok, just kidding. But I really liked these as a kid. I loved their all black space suits and the modular nature of the ships. The more you had the big (and weirder) you could build.

OK, just added Battrax and the Intercept Base to my want list.

Not a lot of new Lego sets that I am looking forward to this year; so maybe my year to get retro on ebay.

I have been waiting for this topic for SOO LONG!!! I literally was cruising eBay for Blacktron yesterday and came across a used message intercept base and Alienator for $130. I was about to buy it on the spot, but realized shipping is $80! The next day, someone had bought it :(

Very cool. Look forward to seeing more posts like this!

I want to thank you for this article Huw. I had all of these sets long ago, and much to my eternal dismay, I gave away all of my 80's sets during my dark ages in the 90's. Seeing these sets again really took me back. I remember ADORING the Invader set, it was my fave as a kid. It was great to reminisce, thanks again! Fantastic article!!

There goes my plan to pick up those sets. Watch the prices skyrocket! Great article though.

I have the 6894 Blacktron invader, unfortunately one of the panels was stepped on and damaged about 20 years ago:(

I love classic space and blacktron had a few when I was a kid don't anymore but im slowly picking up some of them And this is a great idea for a article!

Oh man, these are some of the sets that spurred me into collecting older sets. I had the first 3 Blacktron sets as a kid and had always wanted the big ship and the base. Great choices.

Love the Blacktron sets and I thought it was a great direction, style-wise, for Classic Space. I never did like the Futuron styles or designs, so Blacktron seemed to be a way back to more "realistic" models (ignoring the modular nature of course). And the uniforms are about as bad-*@ as you'll ever see in LEGO! I've had all the sets for quite some time, and still enjoy putting them together.

After coming out of the dark ages, and before I rescued all my old sets from Mom's garage, I bought another 6987 on line. When I questioned the seller about the set had some extra parts and some missing ones, he provided a copy of "alternate" instructions for the opening door hinges on the main base. The copy does appear to be from an official LEGO instruction book. So, there is apparently a variant of 6987 that I've never seen anyone talk about on line. (After I retrieved my original set from Mom's garage, I confirmed that it had the original instructions; I'd send pictures but I'm selling the house and they're all packed away at the moment...).

And even though it doesn't exist anymore, Brian Darrow's Blacktron Intelligence Agency was one of the best MOC's I've ever seen (google it, kids!). I was lucky enough to see it in person at Brickworld a few years ago.

Thanks for the article, Huw, love the classic space and can't wait for more.

Great stuff Huw, I'm hoping for a castle themed article next week.

I never had the chance to get any Blacktron as a kid as I didn't have a job and my parents funds were limited. But I remember one Christmas I got 6648 and the guy was wearing a Blacktron suit! So cool :)

The Blacktron Invader is my desert island set. One of the first LEGO sets I got from eBay when I emerged from my dark age. I love how the wings swing back. A little cool feature not readily apparent from the box shots.

A very interesting article, it captures exactly where I am in the Lego hobby now!
After coming out of my dark ages last year these were all very high on my wanted list. Fortunately I got most of the sets for a very very low price via a Dutch site that is similar to ebay (marktplaats.nl).

I think I have got the entire line-up for about 100 euros, which is pretty damn awesome if I see the prices for which they are going. Some parts were missing but one order online and everything is now complete. All together the sets look pretty cool.

When these came out I was just too young but I remember my brother having the Alienator and it has always remained my favorite Blacktron model!

I Love these late 80 sets !!

Great article! Still have the Alienator and Battrax and I think Battrax is one of the best driving space vehicles they ever made. 1875 shouldn't be on the list for the first generation though (white! aargh, it burns my eyes!). Never did like the next generation with white added to the mix. 1875 is a bit of a cross over with a generation 1 minifig in a generation 2 set.

Great topic Huw! I remember getting 6987 Message Interceptor Base for Christmas as a child. It was the biggest LEGO set my parents ever bought for me. I was absolutely thrilled! The problem was I was with them when they bought it a full 4 weeks before Christmas day. It was the longest and most torturous 4 weeks of my life. I now own 2, 1 MIB and 1 bagged up.

^ I couldn't keep such a set boxed. i would just rip it open and build it just for the fun of it, regardless of it's resale value. Well, I think I can't keep any sets boxed so far...

Nice article. Love those 80's LEGO.

Thanks for the great piece. Blacktron remains my all time favorite series. Coincidentally I happened to get them out tonight. I have them all. About ten years ago I was lucky to acquire 1 each of 6894 and 6941, MISB, as well as 1 each of the whole series in good used condition. I have continued to work with the modular format in many updated MOC versions of the both Blactron and M-Tron space craft. I look forward to your future installments in on other series.

Ha, they were definitely baddies--I can't seem to find it, but I know there was a catalog where the Blacktrons were hijacking the Futuron Monorail! I thought it was the '88 catalog, promoting the Space Police. Invader is a great set--it looked so wicked with the front trans-red wings angled up like tail fins and rear ones hanging down like daggers. One mean ship.

Oh they were the baddies. In SP1 series we constantly seeing them incarcerated in their sets all the time (Guessing Huw will do SP1 next?). What is more menacing? The blacked out suits and visor? Or the 'menacing' smile on their faces, like they enjoyed being bad?

I REALLY wish I could have gotten the Message intercept base, but it as too much for me as a kid and my parents did not see it the same way I did :-). I may still go out and find one, if I can find it in a lot of parts or something. Only had the 6954 Renegade (did not realize that was only for NA, which also explains how much it goes for now) and the Space police 6895 Spy Trak I. Loved the Scheme and I am stunned that LEGO does not do Blacktron I again.. Ahh the memories. Thanks Huw!

On this very topic. I am selling some of my old sets from the late 80's to early 90's. Check ebay if you are interested:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301173329719?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649

I will end early for a fellow bricksetter if you would like to send me an offer.

Thanks
Adam_Fozz

You know, this may just change the entire scope of a MOC I had planned. It is going to use the quarter dome parts to build a complete dome. I was originally going to go with either Trans Dark Green or T-Dark blue, but now I'm thinking making it blacktron themed would be a wonderful throwback and a really neat concept of combining Blacktron with Bionicle/constraction. I checked the prices of the panels and WOW they're expensive! I suppose that's because trans yellow parts like this are very coveted, like you said. That's very unfortnate because now I really want to change the concept of this MOC over to Blacktron meets Bionicle, but now that won't happen for a long time, if ever.

Is there a way to do ebay searches on individual parts like there is on sets? I'd need four of them but no one store has more than a single one.

Now to make you all feel old. The 88 sets are literally as old as I am. I guess I was partly right. I thought these sets were early 90's. Guess it was just that small one. I was off by a few years.

Please keep doing this series Huw, its really fascinating for a youngin' like me to get a history lesson about some old Sets.

excellent! more of that please