Random figure of the day: sp021

I preferred the TNG helmets to the trans-green ones, because the latter were too dark to really see the faces through. But clear for Mr. Freeze was just weird, because of the distinctly buggy shape.

6919 Planetary Prowler is one of my favorite sets.

Only gets the smaller sets and has that fringe up top, definitely gives him the vibe of being the baby of the bunch

@TheOtherMike said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Insectoids is kind of underrated."

I had no interest in it back in the day, but now, I wish I'd picked up 6907."

I was 13 when Insectoids was released. I had sets 6817, 6905, and 6907. I never really cared for them to much though, so I sold them on ebay years ago. They are some of very few sets and themes from my childhood that I don't have any more and I really don't miss them.

Man, Tom Cruise really let himself go after the Top Gun sequel.

@Autoboty said:
"Man, Tom Cruise really let himself go after the Top Gun sequel."

He really blue himself

Insectoids has great minifigures. This dude just looks so freaky, and I love it.

@SJPlego said:
"Ah, what perfect timing - I was just updating a few Insectoids articles on Brickipedia earlier today! Anyways... LORE TIME!

Lieutenant Maverick is one of the nomadic Zotaxians that fled their homeworld Zotax after a fight with their cruel leader (who may or may not be Alpha Draconis from UFO), now searching the galaxy for a new planet to call home. This leads to them colonizing a hollow planet called Holox or Armeron in different sources, where they disguise their spaceships as insects to avoid detection by the planet's native Bilgin Bugs while they search its Inner World for life-sustaining Voltstones.

That's all basic Insectoids lore, but what about this guy specifically? Well, Maverick really doesn't have much role in the story media, so there's not much to go off on in terms of his personality or characterization, other than being a clever scout. Given his rank of lieutenant, he presumably serves directly beneath Captain Wizer, the Insectoids' leader (at least, in the European storyline; here in the US localization, Navigator Sharp was renamed Gypsy Moth and given the title of queen, while Maverick doesn't even get a name or title)."

Interesting. Over here, they left out the nomadic part.

Two for two that I owned as a child for Random [x] of the Day today; first time that's happened for me, I believe!

Lt. Maverick here was the first, and for a time only, Insectoids minifigure I owned (at least until I traded with a schoolfriend for his Navigator Sharp / G. Moth minifigure, who I was especially happy to get since I'd started playing Lego Racers by that time and was trying to get all the Hosting Champions in plastic form). I was aware of Insectoids, and some of their lore and characters, from their couple of comics in the Lego Adventures magazine, but since they were a 1998 theme and the magazine - which was my introduction to themed Lego - didn't start running until 1999, I missed out on the sets until this guy's Mosquito Scout showed up unexpectedly in the newsagent's of the tiny little town in Scotland where my grandparents lived at the time.

(The same newsagent's where I'd got the very first issue of the Adventures magazine a couple of years earlier, come to think of it...)

As much as I liked getting the set and sampling some of the unique pieces that made the theme 'cool', I did passingly regret at the time that it was piloted by *this guy*, rather than any of the three named characters from the comics I'd had. I was definitely hoping from the picture on the box that it was Captain Wizzer piloting the craft, and being confused when it wasn't because I didn't know the theme had more than three characters...!

Additionally, not understanding how military ranks worked at that age even after I learned his name from the website (honestly still something I don't have an especially solid grasp on...!), I definitely assumed that this guy was a very junior member of the Insectoids; since he only wore airtanks, I figured he hadn't yet earned the right to wear the fancy armour that the characters in the comic all had...!

@Binnekamp said:
" @Autoboty said:
"Man, Tom Cruise really let himself go after the Top Gun sequel."

He really blue himself"

Is he the first analyst and therapist?

@ThatBionicleGuy:
Are we restricting that to only ones that we owned during childhood, or just ones we owned when they popped up in the RXotD posts? Because the former weights it pretty heavily against anyone Gen X or older (maybe even including Millennials), since the the range of sets released each year exploded sometime after 2001, meaning the percentage of potential draws from one’s childhood is pretty small compared to the overall pool of eligibility, and nonexistent for anyone who reached adulthood by 1976 (no Minifigs back then, and RSotD cuts off so only VSotW would be an option).

The theme came after my time in my youth, but I pulled a few of the minifigures, including this one, out of a bulk lot last year and I really like them - they are unique and (like the UFO Zotaxians that preceded them) look truly alien. For whatever reason I don't find the sets and vehicles themselves terribly compelling. But I think the figures are great to collect!

6817 was my third or fourth LEGO set as a kid. Loved the dark blue and bright neon green.

@SJPlego said:
"Lieutenant Maverick is one of the nomadic Zotaxians that fled their homeworld Zotax after a fight with their cruel leader (who may or may not be Alpha Draconis from UFO)"

The window for editing my post has closed, so this is a quick follow-up to correct myself. Upon double-checking my sources, it is most likely that Alpha Draconis is NOT the cruel leader described in the Insectoids lore; despite having the title of Overlord and frequently being depicted as the leader, he is merely a general of the UFO fleet who acts as a representative of Zotax's ruler.

Instead, the UFO booklet comic refers to Chamon (another Zotaxian from UFO) and his crew fleeing Zotax after a rebellion against the evil Emperor Zatam (who is not known to be depicted in any UFO or Insectoids sets). Emperor Zatam is also namedropped in Christian Faber's story bible for Insectoids, which refers to the UFO and Insectoids factions as two different rebel units escaping Zotax.

@PurpleDave said:
" @ThatBionicleGuy :
Are we restricting that to only ones that we owned during childhood, or just ones we owned when they popped up in the RXotD posts?"

The latter! I only clarified for myself because I don't own them any more, I sold both when downsizing my collection a decade or so back; but I still have owned them both even though I don't currently ^^