Anyone collecting Alien Conquest theme?

snowcone

Just wonder how many of you are collecting AC theme? I love the 7066 Earth Defense HQ set and 7067 Jet-Copter Encounter set which are pretty cool. However, I don't care much for the rest of sets.

Do you suggest to collect every single one in the theme since I just need 5 more sets to complete the whole theme?

It doesn't seem like more AC sets will come next year. Does that mean that's all for AC?

drdavewatford

I have them all and love the theme; whether you collect them all is your choice, although if you don't like any of them apart from 7066 and 7067 then your money may be better spent elsewhere.

I don't see any sign that we'll be getting more AC sets next year which is a big shame.

Eric

Yeah, I think they are great, but like the alien side as opposed to the 'human' side. The mothership is too expensive though... I too am a bit distraught that we've seen the end of the line. :(

StuBoy

I havn't bought any but thought the theme was fantastic as soon as I saw it. Love the classic UFO-type scenarios of aliens capturing civilians for research, but unless there is a decent sale I probably won't be getting any.

drdavewatford

^ What's your definition of a decent sale ? All have been heavily discounted on Amazon at various times, and only the biggest set (7066) has yet to reach a 30% discount on Amazon in the UK (27% off is I think the best deal so far)......

LegoFanTexas

Right now AC is priced right... Or as right as it is likely to get...

$62.99 at Amazon and TRU for 7066 is not bad, considering the part count and all it does. Just picked it up for the kids, lots of play-ability it seems, truck pulls apart, two flying ships, missiles, etc.

Eric

StuBoy is in New Zealand if I remember correctly, so he'd be lucky to get 25% off. I feel his pain.
The Mothership's RRP over here in Australia, is $99, so probably even more across the ditch. Even with 25% off, it's still way over priced...

drdavewatford

Ouch - if he's in NZ then that puts a different complexion on things altogether. I can fully appreciate that folks in NZ have to pay through the nose compared with people in the US in particular.....

Bustin

My son is likes the set. We picked him up Alien Striker when he saw it and I just purchased him Alien Defender for Christmas.

I also have looked at some of the Life on Mars alien sets and bought Alien Encounter. Honestly I think both sets should have been larger as they present lots of oppurtunity for Lego to be creative with not being stuck to a theme trademark.

dimefield

I have em all except Earth Defence HQ (waiting for the next bogo at TRU) and love them all. My kids think the Alien Mothership is the coolest thing Lego has ever done,

LegoFanTexas

Does TRU ever do true BOGO rather than BOGO 50%?

If not, the current 30% off is a better deal than BOGO 50%, is it not?

dimefield

Im in Canada, different deals at different times. Id take the 30% in a heartbeat! We get a few bogo at 50% deals a year. States seems to get one every other week.

brickupdate

I keep considering buying these, they look really wonderful. But there are SO MANY other great themes out there right now. I hesitate to start with yet another.

snowcone

TRU just had the 30% off on the 7066 Earth Defense HQ set so I grabbed one right away. :) I don't really like the mothership because it's a bit expensive. I like the "human" side than the "alien" side. However, without more alien ships, my collection is kind of meaningless...

Does TRU ever do true BOGO rather than BOGO 50%?

If not, the current 30% off is a better deal than BOGO 50%, is it not?

30% off is better deal because BOGO only gets you on 25% off max on each item. Plus, you have to buy 2 items at the same price to get most of out the deal.

I keep considering buying these, they look really wonderful. But there are SO MANY other great themes out there right now. I hesitate to start with yet another.

Totally agreed! That's why I'm hesitate to get the entire theme.... Decision, decision, decision.... :)

Maybe I just grab Alien Striker and Defender (and UFO Abduction) and call it done.

llanowarsoldier

The only ones I haven't bought are Alien Abduction, The UFO Mothership, and the Jet-Copter Encounter. They either don't interest me or are over priced. Overall though, I am happy with what I have got to date.

snowcone

I have em all except Earth Defence HQ (waiting for the next bogo at TRU) and love them all. My kids think the Alien Mothership is the coolest thing Lego has ever done,

Interesting, I heard a kid said that when I was picking the AC sets.

DunedinNZ

I'm also from NZ, I try to wait and get things on 20% where possible, so anything more than would be sweet.

I was torn on the Alien Conquest sets, but after seeing the "capture" facility in 7052 with the red X pattern, and then finding out theres a sound brick in the mothership I was definately tempted. I have 7051 and 7052, the Tripod Invader is very sweet, and whilst I was initially against the tripod it makes it very handy to save space, by standing it over my minifigs.

Will probably collect the rest but wont be too heartbroken if I miss out.
More sets in the series would be nice though.

kor

I bought two 7066, one for the bricklink store and one to keep. I was so impressed with the set I kept them both :)

ThisIsMyCup

i just the the Earth Defense HQ and the polys. i love this theme, hope it continues!!

StuBoy

@drdavewatford @Eric @DunedinNZ Yeah I'm in NZ, so we very rarely get 30%. 20% sales pop up frequently at a couple of the big chains, and rarer still is a 50% off selected sets (ones that aren't moving I presume). Atlantis was half price for a while at one retailer. I guess if I see one of the sets at more than 20% off I'll probably grab it.

I think we're a little more expensive over here than in Oz, and a lot more expensive than US and UK.

MinifigsMe

I really like the alien side of it, the humans are ok. I love having the tripods invading my city. Its great that they can fit in with the city theme for displays. Where as the atlantis (which I also like) kind of needs to be on it's own.

century

Alien Conquest and the upcoming SuperHeroes line are what got me back in. I love the 50's flying saucer look of the aliens. I'm not a huge fan of the Humans, but the Earth Defense HQ is one of the best sets I've ever built. Now to decide how many tripods is too many...

drdavewatford

^ I'll save you the effort - you can never have too many.

:-)

And Earth Defense (sic) HQ - perhaps a sneaky contender for set of the year ?

@Huw, here's a suggestion for something new this year - the Brickset Awards, voted for by the members. Best Set, Best Theme, Biggest Disappointment, Biggest Pleasant Surprise, Worst Set etc. etc.. And if you can squeeze some prizes out of LEGO then a couple of voters could even win a prize....

LostInTranslation

@DrDaveWatford: I love that idea! +1!

Eric

^^ Yes!

trax_3

^^^ nice idea @DrDaveWatford

princedraven

^^^^ great idea! Be very interesting to see what the winners would be, so many to choose from!

Galidorneveragain

I have a whim to buy some Alien Conquest sets, can any one tell me what their like?

Yellowcastle

@drdavewatford - Great Idea!

dougts

it is a great idea, though for stuff like "best set of the year" I think you need categories, or else it would just go to a UCS or Exclusive ever year. I think 3 main categories should suffice for this award: "UCS/Exclusives", "Licensed", "Non-Licensed". You could then of course have the winners of each "compete" for overall set of the year as well.

llanowarsoldier

I just got done building the Earth Defense HQ set. I was surprised how solid it was. This thing is a BEAST. It is definitely one of the best sets to come out this year. My only gripe about the set is the "crank" for the jet launch. I'll probably swap out the technic rod for a shorter one. It was also a fun build and I like the way the windshield opens up...well done Lego.

I give it a 10/10

dougts

the HQ is definitely a top notch set. it feels substantial, quite complete, and has a ton of play features: roof mounted jet with launcher, the flick fire missile launchers, complete with gunner position. alien study pod, medic minifig, injured ADU stretcher, mini-vehicle with trailer that hold stretcher or study pod, research bay, detachable trailer, etc. it's quite awesome.

Probably my only complaint is that the flickfire launcher doesn't elevate. I'll probably customize that into place.

dougts

back to the original question. I have the entire lineup of AC sets. Here's my thoughts:

The theme as a whole is quite fun. A definite throwback to 50's style alien attack movies. the little alien head-sucker things are a great touch, along with farmer and reporter, etc. The alien sets provide some nice variety with the mother ship, the walker, and the abduction saucer. even the smaller alien ships have some neat feature - the two that join together for example.

But to me the real prize are the two primary ADU sets. As discussed, the HQ is probably the best LEGO set this year - certainly of the non-exclusive lineup. This thing has it all, and even at the RRP is a great value. Amazing value at the recent prices we've seen. The Jet Copter is a very nice set too IMHO. It just looks fantastic, the design is really well thought out. The swoosh factor is there, it has lots of little features too, like missile launchers, movable jet engines/landing gear, rotating guns, detachable alien stasis pod.

Probably the biggest downside to the theme is one of re-usability of parts. Especially for the alien ships. There's just a lot of very specific parts that can't on their own form much of anything else that isn't very similar in design. And of course the stickers are a big part of making the sets look complete, and there are a good amount of them. without the stickers, the finished models just don't pop nearly as well.

Eric

^ I do usually dislike stickers, but these ones I don't mind too much, they really do 'make' the set.

century

Probably my only complaint is that the flickfire launcher doesn't elevate. I'll probably customize that into place.

I used a 2x5 Hinge assembly to make the whole thing elevate. It's strong enough to elevate the whole unit and keep it in place. I even had one in blue!

StuBoy

Well, after using some vouchers I had and utilizing a 25% off sale (I know, we don't get much better than that in NZ) I purchased the Earth Defense HQ after all the good things I heard about it on this thread, and I think I'm getting sucked into this theme like a farmer into an alien tractor-beam! The more I look at the pics the more I want to collect every set. Its such a fun, fresh theme, with LEGO's classic humour thrown in. Also will easily fit into any town setup. I'm not sold on the Mothership however, doesn't seem like there's a lot to it for the price.

dimefield

If youve ever "swooshed" any kind of starship you need to get the Mothership! Even my jaded teenagers think its cool!

StuBoy

^Well, I just grabbed the UFO Abduction and Tripod while still on sale, maybe next sale I'll get the Jetcopter and Mothership! Jetcopter looks quite swooshable too!

atkinsar

Finally got around to building Earth Defence HQ and it was a lot of fun. Although it has a few stickers, I can forgive them because they do finish the set off in this case.

Agree with others that the missile launcher should have been hinged and rotatable.

Overall I'm a big fan of this theme, I think the minifigs are superb, I love the colours and the only downside is that there's been no word of any new sets in 2012.

StuBoy

^Yeah, that is a disappointment if there are no sets next year. Where would they take the theme? An 'actual' Earth Defence HQ, as in a building or lab of some sort? More alien vehicles? An Alien lab or something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcAekqbKVTg&feature=related

dougts

it does appear to be a one-and-done deal. guess the shelf space will go to Dino or Friends

LegoFanTexas

Well, they do have to make room for all the Marvel and DC stuff next year, don't they?

drdavewatford

I think that the new Dino theme will be the direct replacement for Alien Conquest - looking again at some of the Hi-Res photos of the upcoming sets, there are some distinct design similarities with respect to some of the vehicles - it looks like Alien Conquest with dinosaurs instead of aliens and yellow instead of blue. I believe that at least one of the Alien Conquest designers has worked on the Dino theme, so perhaps the similarities aren't just coincidental.....

The more I see of the new Dino sets the more they're growing on me; just like Alien Conquest, in fact........

StuBoy

^ I better steer clear of the Dino theme page then, I can't get hooked on another theme, my credit card needs a breather!

Odindusk

Anyone have any specific praise for that jet-copter set? 7067.

Decent discount at Amazon US right now. Tempting.

Bosstone100

Does anyone have the Alien Conquest Walker polybag available? I have all the sets except that one, which I just found out about today.

Also, when trying to collect an entire theme, do you also include the battle packs? The one for AC kinda of turn me off when one of them was a civilian, and a dupe of the business man at that.

drdavewatford

^ :-) There are no rules except the ones you make up for yourself ! As far as I'm concerned, battle packs and poly bags count as part of the theme and are therefore necessary for the completist. I would however NOT count some obscure Comic Con giveaway or other exclusive set which was given to a few fortunate people who attended a particular event. But like I said, you can set your own rules !

PS. I do have the Alien Conquest Battle Pack and the JetPack poly but don't have the Walker. Yet....

LEGO_Nabii

Anyone have any specific praise for that jet-copter set? 7067.

Decent discount at Amazon US right now. Tempting.

I designed it. It's the closest thing to a MOC I've managed to get into a set. Good pieces for MOCing too. Take off the rotor blade though - it's far cooler as a fighter then a chopper!

Bosstone100

drdavewatford.. if I find an extra walker, I'll be sure to send it your way. I guess I'll have to pcik up that battle pack then. :-)

dougts

^^ wow, great work. I love the Jet coptor. Not as much as the HQ, but hard to compare a $40 RRP set vs. a $90 RRP set. I think the two are both excellent. Hadn't thought of takng off the rotors though - gonna do that right now

century

Just bought another HQ today ($53.97 after the 40% off coupon at B&N), I think I'm going to turn the trailer into an armory/troop transport. Not sure how I'm going to do a break away wall on the side though. The big wheels get in the way there...