LEGO Series 26 — Space (71046)

Series 26 of the LEGO Collectible Minifigures (set 71046) reached shops in May 2024, and all twelve figures share a single theme: space. Instead of the usual mix of jobs, animals and fantasy characters, the box holds a crew, a few aliens, some onboard robots and several very old friends.

It is those nods to the classics that collectors enjoy most. The M-Tron Powerlifter revives the magnetic line from 1990, the Ice Planet Explorer goes back to the white-and-orange Ice Planet 2002 of 1993, the Blacktron Mutant wears the white-and-black Blacktron II uniform, and the plain astronaut's suit brings back the old Space logo. Alongside them stand ideas that are entirely new: the Imposter, steered from the inside by an alien, the Nurse Android with its pink space baby, the insectoid Beetlezoid, and Orion, moulded in glittery transparent purple.

For parents, though, something else matters. The figures are sold in sealed boxes and nothing on the outside says what is inside. What the packaging does carry is a code that identifies the contents exactly — scan it and you will not come home with a third Robot Butler in a row instead of the one figure your child has been talking about all week.