Space: The Comic

The Beta-1 Command Base, which came out in 1980, is one of the oldest LEGO sets I own. I purchased it a year or two ago after finding one for a reasonable price on BrickLink. It was very cool when it arrived and I discovered that it looked and felt like it had never been played with. Everything was clean and pristine. And I don’t know if this was just my imagination, but the bricks felt different than modern LEGO, like they were made from a slightly different plastic. Anyway, the base had some of the quaint little touches typical of early LEGO Space, like a short monorail, a flag and copious radar dishes, including one that looks like an old rooftop TV antenna! The set comes with two red and two white astronuats, which some believe represents Russian and U.S. cooperation in the space race. Keep in mind that this set was released during the Cold War, and LEGOLAND tends to be a hopeful place. My favorite part is the functional living quarters within the base, which even includes coffee cups and beds! Another nice touch is the viewscreen inside the base, which depicts the Alpha-1 Rocket Base that had been released the year before. The original LEGO Space sets seemed to depict the next logical step of space travel for humankind, in which we were based on the moon and beginning to explore further. Later sets would depict further expansion and conflict.

– This is not an official Lego comic. This is a tribute to old times.