Blacktron
Blacktron took to the stars in black with yellow trim, and red and yellow transparent pieces. (The odd man out was the 1875 Meteor Monitor, which was white and black with red transparents.) Blacktron minifigures (or "minifigs" for short) wore black jumpsuits akin to today's military pilots, with white trim and opaque black visors. Stylish, sleek and intimidating, Blacktron was a major step up from the rather clunky design values of Classic Space. It featured a large spacecraft, the "Renegade," which set the tone for all future big ships by splitting into a number of smaller modules, including a storage bin for a small wheeled vehicle; these modules could be recombined not just with each other, but with modules from other vehicles in the set as well, specifically the "Invader" and "Battrax." This modular interchangeability has been a staple of LEGO Space ever since. Oddly, they weren't always symmetrical. Their large base, the Message Intercept Base, featured many large transparent yellow parts unique to the set. Many of the trans yellow parts from the theme were not used outside of the theme. The Blacktron's torso also appeared on Rench.
For clarification, Blacktron is often referred to as Blacktron I, as LEGO released Blacktron II in 1991. Though Blacktron officially ended in 1988, the 1875 Meteor Monitor (1990) was released. Considering Blacktron II's slightly altered colour scheme it could be viewed as being from between the "upgrade" era of Blacktron to Blacktron II.
In 1989, LEGO made a storyline decision. Blacktron, previously operating in a moral void, were now declared the "bad guys" of LEGO Space; opposing them and defending Futuron from them were the @Space Police.
Type
Illicit, Terrorist group
Successor Organization
Comments