LEGO: Take to the Stars With Five of The Best Classic Space Sets

Galaxy Explorer 928-1 (497-1 US Version) (1979)

One of the original lines of Space theme sets to come out, the Galaxy Explorer is iconic. While its 318 pieces are small by today’s standards, it was the biggest of the original space sets, and this was a hefty build back then. It’s also got a lot of large pieces, so it’s bigger than you might think.

This set was the first ever big LEGO spaceship, and it was super cool. The fact that it also came with a big base and some base plates is a nice plus. The minifigs are pretty basic, but you’ve got to recall that minifigs were only introduced the year before. And these ones have become iconic as the classic “space man” figs. It was iconic enough that a new version was released in 2022.

Cosmic Fleet Voyager 6985-1 (1986)

Coming out seven years after the introduction of the theme, we have the Cosmic Fleet Voyager set. With 389 parts, it’s got more than the Explorer. Though it loses the base section, that does mean that it has more parts on the ship, allowing for a bigger build. It’s also got a lot of new pieces, such as the various “engine” parts that became a staple of the theme. The addition of a little buggy is cool, and it’s got a few more parts that an imaginative child could think of as lasers on it.

FUTURON Monorail Transport System 6990-1 (1987)

The space theme really did kick off in the ’80s with a ton of cool sets. FUTURON was also one of the first sub-themes, Space, adding more depth to the setting. And of course, space wasn’t just all about ships; you also had bases. The Monorail Transport System was one of the coolest LEGO sets around, possibly the coolest space base, and just an amazing set.

First up, it’s huge compared to the other space sets. 692 parts put it almost close to twice the count of the big space ships before it. Its physical size, thanks to the large tracks, also dwarfs anything else, and it’s still large by today’s standards!

But of course, the standout and coolest thing here was the motorized working LEGO monorail. Growing up, we had one (or maybe two of these), and having working powered LEGO trains was just super cool. Nothing beats this, and there’s a reason this set can go for around $4,000 today! On top of the working bits, you also got some of the really big clear plastic dome parts, which were great for large builds. This was a set that punched way above its part count.

Blacktron Renegade 6954 -1 (1987)

The other space sub-theme that came out in 1987 was the Blacktron theme, for a bit more of an evil/enemy range. The most classic and coolest ship of this line was the Renegade, with an awesome asymmetrical look, and the super cool dark black and yellow color scheme. This thing was sleek! With 297 pieces, it was a little smaller than the other big ships of the day, but it was a renegade faction after all!

This ship was actually iconic enough to get an updated version of it released recently. The new set is a combo; you can build the Renegade spaceship and and Alienator walker. So if you want to own a bit of the classic age of LEGO space, you can! But act fast, this one is on the ICONS retirement list.

Mission Commander- 6986-1 (1989)

If you have bad guys in a setting, you’ve got to have someone to fight them, right? So in 1989, LEGO introduced a new Space sub-theme, The Space Police. These guys were out to hunt Blacktron, and they looked slick doing it. With dark black, red, and blue ships, this was a more aggressive space setting.

The early space ships had been a bit more inspired by exploration and the space age. The newer ones, like Blacktron and the Police, are clearly leaning into sci-fi and Star Wars kind of things. Kids (myself included) were using these to fight space battles.

And few ships were cooler than the Mission Commander. This thing looked rad, was big at 448 parts, and most importantly, was clearly a ship made to fight. It also had some cool play features with moving parts and a detachable prison block on the rear. To top all that off, there was an alternate way to build it as a giant mecha. This was the gold standard for space sets of the time.