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Guide SP-5: Ice Planet 2002 (1994)

 -Guide 3: Ice Planet 2002 (1993)-

In 1993 LEGO Space introduced us to the frozen surface of the planet Krysto. The mustached Captain Cold led the inhabitants of this “Ice Planet” in their advancements in the study of rockets and rocket fuel. Alongside him, the first female Space character, Doctor Kelvin, worked to keep their satellite and rocket technology out of the hands of the villainous “Blacktron” agents. The “Ice Planet” faction took the place of M:Tron as the resident civilian faction in LEGO Space lore, working alongside the officers of the second “Space Police” generation to foil the plans of the “Blacktron Future Generation”. The theme was released just after the discontinuation of “Space Police 2” and “Blacktron Future Generation”, and just before the outbreak of the “Spyrius” and “Unitron” conflict. This put them in the position to be featured alongside both sets of warring factions, and though a small force and civilian-based, the “Ice Planet” astronauts proved to be able to hold their own. They initially aided “Space Police 2” in facing down “Blacktron” when the antagonistic faction tried to invade Krysto. And in the year that followed they were seen giving the equally unsavory “Spyrius” faction a run for their money as well.


Ice Planet only featured 3 characters, Captain Cold, Doctor Kelvin, and an unnamed male astronaut. Captain Cold (called Commander Bear in the UK and parts of Asia) was noted for his white mustache and uniquely printed torso. Doctor Kelvin featured red hair, feminine lips, and hoop earrings. Though he remained unidentified, even the male astronaut who accompanied them was unique, with his scruffy white hair setting him apart from other LEGO Space characters. All three characters featured white air tanks and helmets, as well as new translucent-orange visors with extended optics and antennae. Other new elements the theme brought with it was the addition of translucent-orange snowshoes and trans-orange chainsaw elements.


The vehicles Captain Cold and his crew piloted also featured a unique color scheme similar to the character’s. Most of the LEGO Space themes used a similar motif, complimentary solid colors covering and accenting the bodies of their vehicles, and translucent elements accenting their cockpits and other features. “Ice Planet” ships and vehicles mainly were a primary-blue color, accented by simple white and the now-iconic translucent-orange. Following the other recurring theme of modular elements started by the original “Space Police” theme, “Ice Planet” vehicles often had detachable modules they could use for setting up satellite outposts or surveying the icy tundra of the planet Krysto.


Though it was discontinued in 1994 after only 10 sets released, “Ice Planet 2002” has definitely left its mark on subsequent LEGO themes. Solid-versions of the iconic chainsaw elements first introduced in the theme can be found in every theme from “Star Wars” to “CITY”. The slitted visor with antenna was seen again on the Red Scorpion Driver in the “Race” subtheme in 2000. The theme itself was referenced in the 1996 “Time Cruisers” and “Time Twisters” themes. And anyone who picked up the “Lunar New Year Ice Festival” set from 2022 may recognize a familiar insignia on two of the torsos in the set, as well as a familiar-looking white mustache on an elderly-looking minifigure.


Where have you seen Ice Planet 2002 references?

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