LEGO designer shares fun (but concerning) rationale for new Ice Planet minifigure

One of the LEGO designers behind the new Ice Planet 2002 minifigure has shared a fun (if slightly concerning) rationale for one of its accessories.

Joining the line-up in 71046 Series 26 Space in May is the Ice Planet Explorer, a clear and present nod to the fondly-remembered 1993 LEGO Space subtheme Ice Planet 2002. The new character captures the striking blue, white and orange colour scheme of the original sets, albeit without the presence of trans-neon orange – a colour that’s since retired from the LEGO portfolio.

But this isn’t a straight one-for-one remake of Ice Planet 2002’s retro astronauts. Instead, it’s a spiritual successor, intended to sit alongside the O.G. crew as they traverse the frozen world of Krysto – at least according to LEGO designer Chris Perron, who turned his hand to element design for the first time for the Ice Planet Explorer’s brand new helmet.

“My main goal when working on this helmet and figuring out the story [was] making something that isn’t replacing the old figures but rather fits alongside them as a new unit,” he explained on Instagram. “I like to imagine this heavily-armoured helmet with the narrow eye slit (compared to the original helmet) is made for more extreme cold and dangerous conditions.

“This is why there is bulky armour and a penguin companion who can help scout out small spaces and get help if needed. It’s one of the reasons we chose to go with a printed visor slit, as it would allow the penguin and minifig to match like a team.”

Another bonus of the printed visor over a physical visor element – even if Chris doesn’t explicitly mention it – is the ability to skirt around the absence of trans-neon orange. That wasn’t really practical with the chainsaw accessory, but that classic piece is so intrinsically tied to Ice Planet 2002 that it definitely needed to be included in 71046 Series 26 Space – so the team instead came up with a narrative reason for the colour swap.

“Trans-neon-orange is not currently part of our colour portfolio, and we debated how to best treat the iconic chainsaw,” Chris added. “We figured it was best to include it, as it’s still a super-cool element in trans-orange and it’s easy to swap out to neon if you’d like. I like the story that this is what the Ice Planet chainsaws look like when they are turned off, and they only go neon when on.

“Plus, this has the fun implication that up until now, all Ice Planet minifigs have been running around with live chainsaws.”

Health and safety: foreign words on Krysto.

• How many of each LEGO Series 26 Space minifigure you’re going to want
• How LEGO Series 26 Space minifigures can fit into your wider collection

71046 Series 26 Space launches May 1. The new series will once again arrive in blind boxes, but Brick Search is working hard to determine whether they’ll have scannable codes like 71045 Series 25, so make sure to download the app on iOS or Android ready for launch.

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