Wondering who that mutant-looking fellow is in LEGO Minifigures 71046 Series 26 Space? Here’s everything you need to know about Blacktron II…
The next series of LEGO Collectible Minifigures consists of 12 new and original characters anchored entirely around space, building on the LEGO Group’s voyage beyond our atmosphere across City, Friends, Technic and more in 2024. Several of those minifigures tip their hat either directly or indirectly to classic LEGO Space themes, banking on nostalgia to shift blind boxes on shelves.
Among those retro references sits the Blacktron Mutant, which reimagines a minifigure familiar to LEGO fans of a certain vintage. This particular character is inspired specifically by Blacktron II, or Blacktron Future Generation, which succeeded the original Blacktron theme – one of the first two LEGO Space factions – in 1991. If this is all sounding like a foreign language to you, don’t worry: here’s everything you need to know about this esteemed piece of LEGO Space history…
The O.G. Blacktron
For Blacktron II to exist, there must first have been Blacktron I. Often considered among LEGO fans as the bad guys to Futuron’s goodies, the original Blacktron theme debuted in 1987 as one of the first two named Classic Space factions. But where Futuron adapted and tweaked the aesthetic of the original Classic Space sets, Blacktron diverged with a fresh colour scheme: black, yellow, trans-red and trans-yellow were the order of the day.
The original Blacktron line only ran for two years, and in that time debuted just five unique sets. A sixth, 1875 Meteor Monitor, dropped in 1990 – but anyone eager to continue building their Blacktron collection will have found that the 29-piece glider didn’t quite gel with 6894 Blacktron Cruiser, 6941 Blacktron Prowler and so on. Gone were the yellow highlights of those sets, replaced by a bold white.
As it turned out, 1875 Meteor Monitor was only a sign of things to come. Twelve months later, Blacktron returned to shelves in full force, revamped and reimagined with a dramatic new colour scheme: white replaced yellow, while trans-neon green replaced trans-red and trans-yellow. The change has prompted heated debates among LEGO Space fans for time eternal, but from the LEGO Group’s perspective it provided a clear point of delineation between the two generations of Blacktron.
Bigger, better, Blacktron-er?
A total of 11 unique Blacktron II sets arrived on shelves during the subtheme’s short run from 1991 to 1992, assuming the mantle of the most ambitious LEGO Blacktron line-up through sheer numbers alone. The largest of those was 6988 Alpha Centauri Outpost, known in some territories as 6988 Blacktron Spy Base, at 406 pieces. Classic LEGO DNA runs through its trans-neon veins, from the enormous panel elements to the 3D baseplate and separate printed 32x32-stud baseplate that give it more heft than its piece count would suggest.
The gloriously neon aesthetic pulls through the entire run of Blacktron II sets, from the soaring 6981 Aerial Intruder (or Blacktron Intruder Force) to the tiny 6851 Tri-Wheeled Tyrax (or Blacktron Cruncher, which is probably the coolest Blacktron set name). As you’d expect, many of these sets command eye-watering prices on the aftermarket – especially new in box – but you can pick up some of the smaller craft pretty cheap if you’re willing to buy used.
White is the new black
Accompanying Blacktron II’s sets were equally-revamped astronaut minifigures, which swapped out the all-black spacesuits of the original subtheme for white torsos and legs (though retaining black arms, hips and helmets). Trans-neon green visors and a lime green ‘B’ print on the torsos folded in the final element of the new line’s colour scheme, rounding out a design that feels completely distinct from Blacktron I.
While some corners of the internet have criticised Blacktron II’s minifigures for losing the original subtheme’s ‘bad guy’ motif, these characters remain iconic in 2024 – enough that the LEGO Group has revisited them for 71046 Series 26, though perhaps not in the way you’d expect. Especially with one eye on the lore surrounding Blacktron II...
Blacktron backstory
Classic Space came into being in a time before the LEGO Group attached predefined narratives and backstories to its original themes, leaving almost everything to kids’ imagination. But that doesn’t mean Blacktron lore doesn’t exist: some diehard fans have done enough digging into the history of LEGO Space to conjure up entire YouTube videos explaining the theme’s backstory.
There’s a lot to dive into in that unique 17-minute clip alone, which is presented as a report by subsequent faction Space Police and is well worth a watch, but the long and short of it is that the Blacktron fleet masqueraded as powerful peacekeepers while secretly doing nefarious things like stealing technology and spying on Futuron operations.
What these clippings from classic LEGO magazines and instruction manuals don’t reveal is exactly what has happened to the newest Blacktron II minifigure in 71046 Series 26 Space, which avoids the trap of simply giving us another identikit astronaut, and instead imagines a character who’s fallen victim to some unfortunate incident…
Blacktron… III?
While 71046 Series 26 Space’s Blacktron Mutant is very clearly and specifically inspired by the black, white and trans-neon green outfits of the Blacktron II astronauts, it is very much not a straight redux of those ‘90s minifigures. Instead, this is a Blacktron II minifigure in the process of mutating into some otherworldly creature, with a misshapen, green right leg and a right arm that’s split into two different limbs.
The effect is topped off by a face print that further suggests a run-in with some kind of alien goo (or maybe a virus), delivering something that might not quite work for Blacktron II purists, but which definitely injects some fun into what could otherwise have been a relatively plain minifigure. Swapping out their helmet for a mouthpiece and hair is also a clever way to skirt around the absence of trans-neon green in the current LEGO portfolio, given the LEGO Group retired that colour from its palette several years ago.
And even if we don’t know the definitive lore behind this particular character… do we need it? It’s not difficult to imagine what might have happened to the plucky astronaut, and leaving it up to our imagination – rather than directly referencing something from the original Blacktron sets – feels much more in keeping with the vibes of Classic Space. Especially given most of us probably didn’t spend the early ‘90s collecting pockets of lore distributed across magazines. (But more power to you if you did.)
You’ll be able to get your hands on the new Blacktron Mutant minifigure when
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