Tag Archives: Ice Planet 2002

You may have a massive drilling rover, but nothing beats a decent ice-scraper

What’s something seasonal to build at this time of year? It’s February, and it’s cold in the northern hemisphere… Aha! Isaac Snyder knows what to do. He’s dipped into the Ice Planet 2002 theme with a seriously cool rover for Febrovery. At least, it’s cool on the outside, as evidenced by the chunky wheels and clever cockpit construction. Hopefully it’s warm on the inside, and equipped with good de-misters. I’m speaking from experience here, not because I’ve been to Krysto, but because my old car used to fog up like crazy. In winter, it would freeze overnight when the temperature dropped low enough (and in Finland, that happens a lot). These Ice Planet folks may have all sorts of fancy neon-orange chainsaws and the like, but trust me, some de-icer fluid and an ice scraper are just as indispensable in these conditions!

Frost Driller

A bright idea to help icy explorations

What’s the biggest problem with exploring icy terrain? Ice melts. Thankfully, Andreas Lenander has devised a solution to hot lights shining on the cold terrain. This Nocturnal Ice Rover uses state of the art illumination technology (i.e glow-in-the-dark 1×2 plates) to light the way. Unfortunately, glow-in-the-dark tech only lasts so long, which keeps the exploration missions brief.

Nocturnal Ice Rover

But while you’re waiting for the lights to recharge, you can check out the video below where Andreas walks you through the full vehicle specs.

A cool car for cold planets

I always think of winter as a time for slowing down. But Spaceruner knows there’s no time for that on an Ice Planet, and constructed a rover that’s one-part supercar and one-part bobsled to get Commander Cold and his crew where they’re going in a hurry. With room for a crew of three, this mean machine muscles through the frost and snow with powerful jet engines and a set of tires that can handle the roughest and iciest terrain.

Snowskipper

Nothing’s hotter than this massive Ice Planet 2002 base.

Last September, we highlighted the Surefoot TR3 Rover by Dale Harris. And now we know where that rover was roving. Dale has just unveiled the massive Ice Station Icarus – a tribute to the Ice Planet 2002 theme that leaves us (snow)blown over. Dale has added a few new colors – and building techniques – to the Ice Planet we know and love. The result is a Krysto-set adventure that feels more real and lived in, with rusty browns and steely grays helping out the usual blues, whites, and trans-neon orange.

Ice Station Icarus

I’m particularly fond of the base’s semi-dome section, which makes use of plenty of bars and hexagonal flags. It’s the kind of detail that might not have come together if Dale had held strictly to the original colors. But, if these color changes don’t suit the purist in you, then click here to hyperspace your way over to see Dale’s similarly impressive (but more faithful to the original) Neo-Classic Space base.

Ice Station Icarus

A cool new ship for an old, icy theme

Back in the mid-90s, LEGO gave its Space theme a cool refresh with Ice Planet 2002. Now, EMazingbrix invites us back to the frozen planet of Krysto with this Frostbite Fighter. Full of clever curves and amazing angles, this sleek craft is a big upgrade to Commander Cold’s usual fleet of vehicles. The Ice Planet theme’s color scheme has been strictly adhered to, but there are plenty of parts and technique being used that weren’t available in the original line. The most incredible upgrade, from the explorer’s perspective, has got to be the fully sealed cockpit. That was a real rarity in the line back in the 90s. But I bet that inside of this pilot compartment is warm and toasty.

Frostbite Fighter - Ice Planet 2002

Neo-Classic Space is so old-hat

Classic Space has had a well-established revival among AFOLs in the form of Neo-Classic Space. Recently though, another vintage LEGO space theme has been having its own revival – Ice Planet 2002. Dale Harris has come up with an excellent idea for the story behind this resurrection! Rather than referring to it as Ice Planet 2022 (too obvious), he has coined the term Ice Planet Badlands. It’s described as a ‘post-apocalyptic Ice Planet’, which sounds frankly awesome. This Surefoot TR3 rover is part of this proposed future, with the classic blue, white and neon orange colours paired with some more utilitarian rusty metal. Perhaps the intrepid minifigure explorers got stranded on the Ice Planet, and have had to use their increasingly out-dated vehicles to try and find a way home. I cannot wait to see more!

Surefoot TR3 rover

From Ice Planet 2002 to the ice planet of Hoth

I’m absolutely loving the mashup of Star Wars and LEGO themes to fulfill one of the challenges in this year’s VignWeek by RebelLUG. And this scene by Jens Ådne J. Rydland utilizing a duo of 90’s space factions to highlight a pivotal scene from the Battle of Hoth. The pairing of Blacktron I and the Empire feels fitting, and justifies the outstanding insignia on the side of the walker. The AT-AT’s head is well made, looking like an all-black version of some Neo-Classic Space designs. But those legs, harkening back to 6876: Alienator, are the perfect retro touch! The tiny Ice Planet snowspeeder is adorable, and I hope Commander Cold is able to successfully stall the Imperials long enough for the Futuron transports to escape.

Taking down the Blacktron walker

A rover that can handle the harshest winters

March is here and the first day of spring is just a couple of weeks away. But Ilya T. is reminding us to prep for next winter with the Ice Shredder. With its giant rotary saw on an articulated arm, the Ice Shredder is capable of turning frozen barriers into crystal clear cubes suitable for cocktails in no time. Ilya’s use of primarily blue and white, accented by trans-neon orange, pays perfect tribute to the old Ice Planet 2002 theme. And the use of garage door sections as blades is cooler than cool.

Ice Shredder

Ice Planet Skimmer Scout skis the slippery slopes

Decades ago Spyrius and Blacktron’s attempts to steal rocket technology from Ice Planet 2002 were thwarted by the combined efforts of the civilian crew and the Space Police. The scientists tunneled deeper into the caverns to continue their work in greater safety and isolation. Now the crew of Ice Planet 2022 is emerging from Krysto’s caves. The Skimmer Scout is first out of the base to begin recon work on the surface.

Ice Planet 2022 - Skimmer Scout

I built this model in December of 2020 and briefly teased it on social media. Fast forward a year and we’ve had a couple more good dumps of the frosty stuff providing for a better photo backdrop, and now that we’re in 2022 I couldn’t resist further embracing the twenty-year thematic time jump.

Come explore the evolution of this model design with me!

Ice Penguin Mechs are go!

LEGO builder Chris Perron has delivered precisely what the world needs now. That being four Ice Planet mechs piloted by penguins that take inspiration by Dungeons and Dragons roles. Do I need to repeat that? Four Ice Planet mechs. Piloted by penguins. Inspired by D&D. What part of that don’t you understand? Our first offering totally rocks out on an icy guitar.

Ice Penguin Mechs - Support

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Ice Planet just got cooler with this life-size handheld computer

LEGO designer Chris Perron recently sat down to build a life-size replica of a LEGO element, and settled on one of his favorite themes, Ice Planet 2002 (a love I share with him). Instead of building a simple upscaled version of the theme’s iconic 1×2 tile, though, Chris reimagined it as a handheld tablet for exploring the frozen world. It’s bulky and rugged so that intrepid ice adventurers can handle it through gloves, and Chris converted all the knobs, lights, and screens to three-dimensional elements. And I couldn’t be more in love with the result. Forget about flower bouquets, this is the life-size stuff I want from LEGO.

Ice Planet Console

And Chris didn’t take the easy route and just make the back a flat, featureless expanse of white. It’s got a rugged pattern that seems exactly like what you’d see on a device made to withstand being dropped onto the ice. The 2002 in the middle is just the icing on the nostalgia cake.

Ice Planet Console

What’s cooler than being cool? Ice cold!

Dutch LEGO builder Koen Zwanenburg takes us back to 2002 (well, 1993, really) with this ice cool Mini Ice Planet 2002 diorama. All the great sets from the pivotal early nineties theme is represented here. We have the Blizzard Baron Ice-Sat V, the Deep Freeze Defender and finally Ice Station Odyssey. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any cooler, the whole shebang is built into a cohesive diorama reminiscant of the theme’s box art. It’s cooler than being cool and ice cold indeed! Here’s all the other times we were smitten by all things Ice Planet 2002.

Mini Ice Planet 2002