If you had told me my first 2013 LEGO set I’d be purchasing and writing a review for was from the Galaxy Squad theme, I’d have thought you were deluded. We’ve had so many similar themes in the last few years that I was not at all excited for another–right up until I actually encountered the full lineup of LEGO Galaxy Quest sets on display at my local LEGO store. Something about the “insects flying giant insect spaceships to combat humans and robots” notion really struck a chord with me, and I ended up with an impulse-bought LEGO 70700 Space Swarmer set. I almost put the set back while waiting in line to checkout, but I am so very glad I held on and bought this great introductory set to the LEGO Galaxy Quest theme…

The Right:

I generally don’t expect a whole lot from the smallest LEGO sets (under $19.99), so I really didn’t think this Galaxy Squad set was going to be all that compelling once I built it. But the build itself took me about 10 minutes (I thought I’d crank it out in five), and the 70700 Space Swarmer actually turned out to be a lot more fun and interesting than I expected it was going to be. The build is straight-forward and simplistic, so even young children should have few problems enjoying this set.

First, let me talk about the set’s LEGO minifigures. The Galaxy Squad Space Swarmer 70700 includes two minifigures: an alien and a Galaxy Squad robot. Both figures have all-new head molds, and they both look ridiculously cool.

It’s unusual to get a heroic robot minifigure, but the Galaxy Squad robot’s police-like blue and silver color scheme clearly marks him as a heroic defender of mankind. Meanwhile, I feel like the alien minifigure should remind me more of the Chitauri aliens from the Avengers movie, but is actually more reminiscent of Kobra Khan of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe fame to my brain. Either way, he looks great, and is one of my very favorite minifigures I’ve gotten this year.

One thing about this set that particularly impressed me was the Galaxy Squad robot’s accessories. While the alien has the LEGO ray gun that’s become pretty standard, I love the sophisticated, multi-block builds of the robot’s technology. Usually we get one or two-piece accessories for these items, but both the jet pack and blaster cannon you outfit the robot with are 5-brick builds, and they end up looking much cooler because of it. The gun in particular intrigues me, and I feel like it must be an ultra-strong blaster like the Halo Spartan Laser.

As much as I like the set’s minifigures, I like the Space Swarmer ship itself even more. Something about an insect alien’s ship being designed to look like (or just being!) an insect itself is just awesome. The otherworldly color scheme of maroon and lime add an ethereal sci-fi edge to the ship that really makes it stand out as something utterly different from earlier alien themes.

The rear of the ship has the storage capacity for blaster gun, so you never have to worry about misplacing the alien minifigure’s weapon, which is always a pleasant feature. Additionally, the swiveling, pivoting wings of the Space Swarmer 70700 work sensationally, and allow many different posing possibilities for the ship, whether it’s in space or docked on land. The cockpit hatch also opens and closes, of course, so you can insert an alien pilot (or rider,

And of course, this alien Space Swarmer ship looks like a formidable adversary for the Galaxy Squad. The razor blade-like legs look positively lethal, and my favorite thing to do with the ship is closing the mandibles around a heroic minifigure to devour it. Yeah, I have entirely too much fun with this LEGO set.

The Wrong:

I’ve got a few minor nitpicks about this set, but for the most part I really enjoy the LEGO 70700 Space Swarmer. I was really taken aback when I completed the build and realized that the cockpit hatch on the Space Swarmer ship can’t be snapped completely shut–the hatch will always be loosely open. I’m not used to seeing hatches not lock into place on LEGO space ships, so this was a real unwelcome surprise.In addition, the octagonal shape of the base plate for the ship’s “mouth” makes it impossible to completely evenly-space the mandibles on the mouth. You can get a fairly close facsimile, but it’s just asymmetrical enough to irritate an OCD nutball like myself.

Finally, I think the $11.99 MSRP is a little bit too high for this 86-piece unlicensed LEGO set. This seems like it could easily be an army-builder set for the Galaxy Squad theme where you collect a bunch of Space Swarmers to truly “swarm” the Galaxy Squad, but the price-point seems about two dollars high for what you actually get in this set. If LEGO had to pay licensing fees I could understand, but that’s not the case here and I thus feel that the set costs slightly more than it should.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”
The LEGO Galaxy Squad Space Swarmer 70700 is available now from the online Lego Shop, as well as all the other 2013 LEGO Galaxy Squad sets. It should hit other retail stores by the end of 2012 or start of 2013.

Overall: I had a couple minor gripes about this set (the price is a little higher than I’d like, the mandibles can’t be made completely symmetrical, the cockpit hatch can’t be snapped into place), but overall I am greatly impressed with this smallest initial set in the 2013 LEGO Galaxy Squad theme. I thought the minifigures might feel stale with all of the robots and aliens LEGO minifigures we’ve gotten in the last few years, but both figures feel fresh and full of fun. I love both new heads, and the multi-block jetpack and blaster cannon are terrific accessories. The Space Swarmer itself has great articulation in the wings, and I love the poseable mandibles on the mouth of the craft. LEGO Galaxy Squad is not a theme I was excited about (at all), but the Space Swarmer 70700 has absolutely piqued my interest in purchasing future Galaxy Squad sets, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

GRADE: A-