LEGO Minifigures Series 26 Space: M-Tron explained

Don’t know your M-Tron from your Blacktron or your Futuron? Never fear, we’ve got everything you need to know right here.

LEGO Collectible Minifigures 71046 Series 26 Space is taking us back to some classic LEGO Space sub-themes, one minifigure at a time. While some of the minifigures journey into brick-built areas unknown, some, like M-Tron Powerlifter, retread familiar ground.

However, it will only be familiar to some. LEGO M-Tron ran as a LEGO Space sub-theme between 1990 and 1993, meaning only long-term LEGO fans will remember the red-and-black sets. For those who aren’t clued up on the finer details of classic Space, we’ve already dived into the legacy of Blacktron II for you here, in honour of the upcoming release of the Blacktron Mutant in 71046 Series 26 Space – and now it’s M-Tron’s turn.

M-Tron: A theme of many firsts

Despite being a relatively short-lived theme, M-Tron made a few firsts for the LEGO Group. It was the first time that magnets were introduced to the LEGO system, in a bid to encourage interactivity in sets. Magnets could be used to pick up small cargo and toolboxes using crane-like attachments. However, the boxes were not interchangeable between different sets even within the M-Tron theme. While it’s not been officially confirmed, it’s believed that this inclusion of magnets gave M-Tron its name, with ‘M’ standing for magnets and ‘Tron’ being a play on the existing Space factions of Futuron and Blacktron.

Another first from M-Tron was it being the only LEGO Space theme to not feature a brick-built base, with the entire theme of ten sets featuring largely vehicles. M-Tron minifigures were, by their very nature and purpose within LEGO Space, always on the move – but more on that later.

A consistent colour scheme

Looking at the aesthetics of LEGO M-Tron, it stuck to a very clear colour scheme of red and black, with grey details and trans-neon-green canopies and windows. Red and black carried over into the M-Tron logo and packaging on all the sets, distinguished by the red and black grid on the boxes.

The minifigures were kitted out in uniforms of similar colours: white legs topped off with a red torso with a black M logo, white arms, and a black helmet with a trans-neon green visor. Alongside the minifigures, several sets also included robot companions for the minifigures, depicted in – you guessed it – the classic red and black.

M-Tron around the world

The way that M-Tron fit into the world of LEGO Space varied around the world. For the vast majority, M-Tron were a rescue and repair faction, zipping around in space to assist Futuron spaceships. This feeds into why we only see brick-built vehicles in M-Tron, as their role in LEGO Space was centred around travel, therefore not requiring a buildable base.

The minifigures’ jobs were also represented through their accessories, with them often featured carrying hammers, spanners and fire hoses. The LEGO Idea Book 260 even takes the repair role one step further, including instructions for a M-Tron ambulance, complete with a presumably injured Futuron astronaut.

However, this status as the emergency services for LEGO Space didn’t carry through to the United States, even resulting in some LEGO sets having different names in America. There, M-Tron was introduced as a mining faction. For example, some of the most popular sets in the US included 6956 Stellar Recon Voyager, known as Rescue Star Cruiser elsewhere, and 6989 Mega Core Magnetizer, named Mobile Recovery Centre in other places around the world.

All in all, the M-Tron were a largely peaceful faction, focusing their space-based efforts on either mining or rescue – except when encountering their opposition, the Blacktron Future Generation. An example of this brick-built conflict can be seen in this 1991 catalogue picture, where the Blacktron faction aims to steal the M-Tron’s advanced technology.

A fairly limited minifigure selection – until now

As noted above, the M-Tron minifigures stuck to a fairly standard colour scheme, with white legs and red torsos emblazoned with the classic logo. However, the introduction of the M-Tron Powerlifter in 71046 Series 26 Space changes this up slightly to add more detail. While the basic colours remain the same on top, there’s more printing around the waist, as if the Powerlifter has some kind of equipment or detailing on his astronaut suit.

The legs are also not wholly white, with red boots taking up the bottom half of the leg elements, complete with printing on the sides to represent mechanical legs, just like a real spacesuit. The arms, however, remain the same, with white arms and black-gloved hands. With the trans-neon-green colour now retired, the authentic visor cannot be recreated, but the LEGO Collectible Minifigures designers have got as close as possible with a green head option that calls back to the classic visor.

Every minifigure in 71046 Series 26 Space comes with an accessory and the M-Tron Powerlifter is no different. He’s got a mighty backpack that swings the apparatus around to be held in his hand, fitted out in the classic red and black colours, of course.

This isn’t the first time that M-Tron has been called back for a LEGO Collectible Minifigures series – although this is the most blatant recreation. The M-Tron logo was featured on the Video Game Champ in 71025 Series 19 back in 2019. You can just about see the familiar red M on his blue shirt, an in-universe reference suggesting that the gamer is a fan of the classic LEGO Space theme.

While finding the Video Game Champ back in 2019 would have relied on some skillful blind bag research, it will hopefully be easier to get your hands on the new M-Tron Powerlifter minifigure when 71046 Series 26 Space arrives on shelves on May 1. The Brick Search team is working hard to verify the codes on the 71046 Series 26 Space boxes, so be sure to download Brick Search ahead of time.

The LEGO set app introduced a minifigure box scanner for 71045 Series 25 and, if the upcoming series is also scannable, you should be able to use Brick Search once again to find the minifigures you’re after.

For further information on how to identify 71046 Series 26 Space minifigures simply by scanning them with the Brick Search app, read more here.

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