Random set of the day: Alien Avenger
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6975 Alien Avenger, released in 1997. It's one of 18 Space sets produced that year. It contains 369 pieces and 4 minifigs, and its retail price was US$60.
It's owned by 1911 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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i have most of this one--bought a cheap incomplete set on ebay last year
So-called Space "purists" would have you think the Space theme died after 1995, but this set is proof that 1997 was not yet the ignoble end! U.F.O. was THE standout theme for the year. The minifigures, awash in tiny cybernetic details, were works of amazing art that don't look out of place next to minifigures today. The sets had a variety of designs all roughly revolving around the idea of a "flying saucer" with a sinister, Borg-like edge to it. Trans-neon green cockpits, holographic, heat-sensitive stickers, magnets...this set had all the great features. Plus, if you held it from the base, you could spin it just like a "real" flying saucer. I loved the giant saucer pieces. They really made the set stand out.
Story-wise, there were only a few named characters. The leader of the U.F.O.nauts was the alien in the black mask, Alpha Draconis. He was ultra hideous under the mask, but that doesn't say a whole lot considering all the masked aliens looked really ugly (but cool!) underneath their masks. There were two "droids" as well. The red one was named Andy Droid. His storyline suggested a tragic tale of sibling separation, having been built alongside the Exploriens' Ann Droid, who still held out hope for her wayward brother.
Speaking of other factions, it was implied the creatures of U.F.O. were the antagonists to the "good" guys of RoboForce, which also came out in 1997 (two new subthemes for Space in one year). As cool as RoboForce was, I was much more enamored of U.F.O. In 1997, my countdown to my birthday was solely in anticipation of these sets! My parents really made the day when I received not just the Alien Avenger, but a giant cardboard box with it, the Warp Wing Fighter, the V-wing Fighter, and the Radon Rover! Not to mention I got a t-shirt for Lego's "World Tour 1997". Man, what a great time to be a kid!
@Lego Lord Mayorca: I've always considered Insectoids (1998) to be the final Space subtheme.
We need a big UFO set! (Not another Falcon)...Are there any on Ideas at the moment?
I want space and a old western theme to return
I want space and a old western theme to return
Avengers assemble!
I always considered Exploriens (1996) to be the last spluttering of good Space before the end. But if you want to get technical, there was still, in chronological order: Roboforce, UFO, Insectoids, Life On Mars, Mars Mission, Space Police III, Alien Conquest, and Galaxy Squad. So space never -really- died. But IMO, none of those after Exploriens had that special something, though I did get a kick out of the tongue-in-cheek retro Alien Conquest. SP3 and LoM had their hilights, too.
Wait a minute you guys aren't the real Avengers. UFO Droid Blue gives it away.
I didn't buy many of them, but I liked the UFO line just because the characters were so interesting and different. And they certainly looked quite villainous, with their Predator-themed headgear.
I'm a big fan of this set and the UFO theme in general. My parents gave me as a gift (and I still have and currently have built and on display) the also excellent 6915 Warp Wing Fighter. But I always dreamed about having this one so that I could have a real flying saucer.
I get the dislike of the large saucer chunks because they can basically only be used when building these ships, but other than that there's just so much creativity in this theme. I love the alien commander helmets and these droid minifigures. To me, this theme and the Insectoids the next year are part of and culminate LEGO Space.
Actually, those enormous dishes may look like useless, but if I had some of those in my parts collection, I would be very happy! Also, we need a new UFO theme
Did the Aliens steal and modify this old Corellian freighter? It reminds me of 7190-1 Millennium Falcon!
This is a brilliant set, though the interior is a bit basic and blocky by today’s standards. That said, there’s a lot of play value; it’s got two little moon buggies, and a detachable top section held on by magnets.
It’d never get made today for a host of reasons, but I’ve got a fair few sets from this range and they’re probably some of my favourite things from that era.
My brother owned this set. We still have it, complete. I believe it's the only LEGO UFO set we own. I agree on its high play value, though I was fascinated by the magnets and shiny bits in particular.
Fabulous and outragious
Never owned this set - UFO was over just a little before I got seriously into Lego - but I did have 6900 Cyber Saucer which I picked up several years later, when I found almost all the pieces for it in a mixed lot of secondhand Lego.
I dunno about anyone else, but I always played the UFO aliens as villains, the enemies of the Insectoids who - at least in the story materials we got in the UK - were always the good guys. It, heh, it baffled me when, not so long ago, I learned that in other parts of the world the Insectoids had actually been cast as villains themselves, too.
I just cannot like either this or the Insectoids theme. Space Police 3 is the only space theme I liked since the mid-90's.
I honestly think this makes a much better flagship than the actual flagship the UFO line had
Man, I wish we could go back to these days. This set is just oozing retro space personality. Just look at that packaging artwork. And the set itself... Beautiful.
Lego really needs to go back to more original IPs.
I liked the UFO theme, I went back and found all the sets after I got back into Lego with Star Wars; lucky for me, only 2-3 years after EOL most of these sets were available, with boxes, for reasonable prices. This is the quintessential UFO design: a big flying saucer. I like the way the top saucer roof comes off to reveal all the storage, magnet arms, and ground vehicles below.
As far as those big saucer pieces are concerned, I've challenged myself to utilize those pieces in a headquarters base for the UFO faction; I'll see if I can make anything that doesn't just look like a crashed UFO on the ground...
Interesting to see when different people mark the end of the space theme. I've always thought of it as everything starting at Blacktron all the way to Insectoids. Everything from Life on Mars on seemed different to me, but I don't know why. Maybe it's because I was old enough to remember it and not the others.
Actually, I do know the difference. Up to Insectoids, each subtheme was a single faction, and you had to buy another subtheme to get their rivals. Everything afterwards was self-contained. It had both heroes and villains in a predetermined story.
It's kind of weird that this set is the only from the U.F.O. sub-theme to have more than 3 Minifigs, especially since there is only one missing out of the five in this set. But then again, vintage Space were prone to have ridiculously few figures in even the largest sets (4 in the 6991 Monorail for example).
Also U.F.O. started the short-lived trend of having many unique characters (like Insectoids, with 7 different ones, all with official names) instead of the older army-builder type line-up of the older themes like Blacktron or M:Tron.
For the names it gets very confusing, since there exist at least 3 different story versions (US, UK and Denmark). Some of them even changed whether the aliens were good or evil.
The names so far:
Grey Alien: Alpha Draconis (sometimes spelled 'Dragonis')
Blue Alien: Commander X
Red Alien: Chamon
Red Droid: Techdroid II/Andy Droid (ever noticed that he is a color swap from the Spyrius Droid?)
Blue Droid: Techdroid I
I love this set, having reconstructed it from a thrift lot. Great features and my son hasn't rotated it out. The magnets and color changing pieces from the warmth of your hand are really cool. He has a new City Space set that made first contact and to him they are just aliens who want to hang out or zap stuff.
This, plus an Interstellar Starfighter and a pair of Warp Wing Fighters make this sub-theme my second largest, after Classic, grouping. I loved the sinister masked minifigs, and the geometry of those big curves.