Ordinarily I don’t write two previews for the same upcoming LEGO set, but the set I’m discussing tonight isn’t just any LEGO set–it’s the LEGO set that has the best chance of becoming a cult classic of any set I can remember! When the LEGO Movie shattered every analyst’s expectations and cruised to over four hundred million dollars at box offices across the world, there was one set that everyone–everyone–who saw the movie demanded. Fans cried out for a certain set, and in August 2014 it will arrive–The LEGO Movie Benny’s Spaceship Spaceship SPACESHIP 70816 set!
UPDATE 6/1/2014: The 70816 LEGO Movie Benny’s Spaceship Spaceship SPACESHIP set is now available for order online with free shipping!
I am completely and unabashedly biased, and I’m not even going to try to pretend otherwise: LEGO 70816 Benny’s Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP! is the LEGO set I’m anticipating more than any LEGO set ever. It may sound like I’m laying it on a bit thick, but it’s the total truth–the LEGO Movie was like a life-changing experience for me, and I’ve been burning with anticipation ever since to own the breakout LEGO build from the movie!
At the New York Toy Fair 2014, I had my chance to get up-close and personal with the 70816 LEGO Benny’s Spaceship Spaceship SPACESHIP! set and post my photos and impressions of it, but now LEGO has published their own hi-res photos of the set, which quite frankly blow mine away!
The classic 1980’s LEGO Space style rose from the ashes in The LEGO Movie, and Benny’s Spaceship Spaceship Spaceship SPACESHIP! looks poised to become one of the most popular classic-styled LEGO Space sets ever made. The LEGO 70816 Benny’s Spaceship set perfectly captures the fun, charm, and inventiveness of the star ship that Benny is finally able to build toward the climax of The LEGO Movie, and I am absolutely in love with what LEGO has crafted for us!
The LEGO Movie Benny’s Spaceship Spaceship SPACESHIP set isn’t the best set as far as value goes–at 940 pieces for $99.99, each piece costs close to 11 cents. Even so, Benny’s Spaceship is such a spectacularly unique build filled with unique and colorful elements that I’m not going to gripe too much about “value”.
The 70816 LEGO Movie Benny SPACESHIP! set will include five minifigures, and four of them will be exclusive to this set. Oddly enough, the LEGO Benny minifigure itself is the only figure in this set that you can purchase with another set from The LEGO Movie (although not everyone wants to drop $250 on MetalBeard’s Sea Cow, so that Benny figure isn’t exactly cheap to acquire).
In addition to the LEGO Movie Benny figure, the set also includes four exclusives: the LEGO Emmet (Robot Disguise) minifigure, the LEGO Wyldstyle (Space) minifigure, a LEGO Robo Pilot minifigure, and the hotly-demanded LEGO Astro-Kitty minifigure!
Unikitty may have been the pop culture breakout hit character of The LEGO Movie, and as a result every iteration of Unikitty has been hard-to-come-by and expensive on the aftermarket. The LEGO Astro Kitty minifigure (space suit Unikitty figure) is only going to be included with LEGO 70816, and not many people who buy this set are likely to want to give up their Astro-Kitty, so this is likely to be a very valuable minifigure!
Though he’s hopelessly outmatched and overpowered, the poor LEGO Robo Pilot has a LEGO Robo Interceptor vehicle to try to (futilely) combat LEGO Benny’s Spaceship 70816 with.
Of course, Benny’s Spaceship Spaceship SPACESHIP! has an even more unfair advantage in that it has two deployable mini space ships on its wings that can launch and defend the main Benny’s Space Ship! Poor, poor Robo Pilot–he never had a chance!
The LEGO Movie 70186 Benny’s Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP! will be released in August 2014 to coincide with the DVD/Blu Ray release of The LEGO Movie. I’ll post an update here and to the Bricks and Bloks Facebook page as soon as The LEGO Movie Benny’s Space Ship set shows up in stores, and I’ll have a full review and photo gallery of the set once I finally get my hands on one.
Who (besides me) is outrageously, ridiculously psyched to fork over 100 dollars to LEGO in a few months for the Benny’s Spaceship Spaceship SPACESHIP LEGO Movie set? Am I overselling this set’s coolness, or is anyone out there just as excited to own the LEGO Benny’s Spaceship as I am?
Related Posts:
LEGO Movie Super Secret Police Dropship 70815 Photos – 2014 Toy Fair
Toy Fair 2014: LEGO Movie Benny’s Spaceship Photos Preview!
LEGO Movie Benny’s SPACESHIP! 70186 Review & Photos
Toy Fair 2014: The LEGO Movie Emmet’s Construct-o-Mech Photos!
June 2014 LEGO Store Calendar: Promos, Events, & Deals!
The LEGO Movie Blu-Ray & DVD Sets Released in Stores!
I am totally absolutely excited, it’s only comparable in terms of excitement to the MBA Invention Designer (the “Steampunk” edition)
I’m also totally absolutely excited, I am also getting the Blu Ray release of The LEGO Movie.
Nostalgia sells, baby. If you think about what Lego had going on in the 80s, Town (now City) always was and still is a rotation of mostly Police, Fire, and Cargo themes. Castle went through various periods of trying different things, but last year’s revival was pretty back-to-basics and looks much the same at it did back then. However, scifi designs have marched onward, and Lego Space of the 80s is now our Zeerust/”retro” future. Just Benny’s helmet alone recalls the pre-Futuron years of unaligned Lego astronauts.
Benny’s ship is a perfect incarnation of that old style thought a modern lens.
I wasn’t that impressed with the movie, and this ship only got like 2 seconds of screen time. Not enough to endear it to me or make it iconic, despite the classic space overtones.