This feels more like ballistic flying than airplane flying.

One of my favorite themes! I was 9, prime age, I still want to go back and collect them all again

"Lord Vader; your Second Cousin, Twice Removed is here...":D
or
"Space Adam-12, Space Adam-12; be on the look-out for a 'flyer', wanted for multiple moving violations...especially in its wings...":D

It does fly indeed!

@Miyakan said: "Cheap way to get an awesome Minifigure."

Yeah, I was going to say, this isn't exactly a well-designed spaceship, but this is about the only ever alien minifigure I managed to buy, when I was a kid, and this set was great to me, for that reason.

The only UFO set I have. Not that I got it when it came out, mind you, I just bought it on Bricklink so I could have an awesome UFO minifig.

Also, trans neon green is coolness incarnate.

@Huw, there seems to be a problem with editing comments, there is no "apply" button, at least on firefox.

Unrealistic, yes but I still love it.

I didn’t realize that the 2x1 pyramid piece had been around that long. I first saw it in the fantasy era castle sets

In the same way a paper aeroplane flies, sure. Unless he has neurological controls in that fancy tech helmet the same way Iron Man is supposed to

The flyer might be tiny. But we're dealing with alien tech here. This might just be the red alien's space wheelchair or transport to their ship. The UFO aliens are clearly so cybernetic it's hard to see what's biological and what isn't. So psychic, psychokinetic and other powers are still possible here.
And it's pretty apt for an Unidentified Flying Object besides flying, right?

I don't own this, but I found out it actually has a trans. neon green grille tile at the back between the wings. It has visible propulsion!

@Iguanaboy the pyamid piece was first used on the roofs of houses. So it's probably from the 50s or 60s, actually.

EDIT: I looked it up. The first version of the part came out in 1957-1989. But the version seen here (rough texture with a slightly different underside) was from 1984-2016. The version from Fantasy Era (smooth texture) was from 2004-2011. Finally, the current version (smooth with bottom stud holder) was from 2012-now.

The cheapest way to get Chamon, the Zotaxian hero - or in fact, any Zotaxian. That was the reason to buy. Oh, and it came with a trans-neon-green grille piece (+ 1 spare!), the first outside NA!

Strange there is space for the alien to sit one stud back to leave space for a steering wheel, but maybe aliens haven't invented the wheel yet, although they have the same arms and hands as mini-figs so evolution would probably converge to the same point.

Still have that minifigure from trading with my friend in Year 6! Honestly I don't even remember what minifigure I traded him in return, but I can't help but feel that I came out the best of that arrangement...

Then again, I'm still a (casual) Lego fan and to the best of my knowledge he jumped that ship over a decade-and-a-half ago, so I guess it all evens out somehow?

-

Also @ the above post, very much appreciate that Babylon 5 reference! :D And also yeah, now that you mention it, I can completely see what you mean there.

@Miyakan said:
"Cheap way to get an awesome Minifigure."

This was one of my last themes before the dark ages, and I loved those helmets and shoulder armor. The see-through heads were epic too. I recently acquired (and sold) a number of these sets in a haul, including the big mothership and the smaller saucer. Fun builds, those giant round printed plates, while problematic for Lego's finances, were awesome to fly around. I almost wish I'd kept the saucer, since I never had that as a kid (but did have the mothership and fighter), and I think I never had the blue alien. Ah well, it helped pay for the haul, and I guess the purchaser was going to be doing reviews on their youtube channel. Glad it went to a good home!

Which Red Bull Flugtag competition was this from?

I knew this one was going to get hate, but it's a great way for a kid to get a cool alien Minifigure and a way to swoosh them.

@rslotb said:
"These aliens always looked to me like Babylon 5's Vorlon in their encounter suits. So cool. "

"If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die" - Ambassador Kosh (of the Vorlons)

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you are not ready to know. ;-)

@RaiderOfTheLostBrick said:
"Might be the closest we get to a minifigure based on the Predator."

The Spider characters in Legends of Chima have cool helmets with a Predator-ish look

This might be the smallest Set of the 'original' Space Era...

But hey, it's kind of fun and the cheapest way to get Chamon (or any Zotax Alien).

Back then I really liked the trans-neon green grille tile, that's hidden in the Back. You got a spare too^^

@Atuin:
If you exclude baseplate packs, minifig packs (there were some early ones with just two minifigs and walkie-talkies), and anything from Life On Mars or later…yes, it is. 886 is a close second with one additional part (both minifigs use the same number of pieces).