Cosmic Minifigures Flicker! A through-the-lens review of LEGO 26th CMF series

Captain’s log, Stardate 57867.8

At the beginning of May, the latest 26th series of CMFs landed on Earth. Amid a cloud of steam, the roar of braking engines, and the hiss of compressed air, 12 visitors appeared, thematically related to space. In this case, you can successfully expand the CMF abbreviation differently than usual: Cosmic Minifigures Series, not “collectible.”

Although outer space is essentially homogeneous—dark, empty, and cold, sparsely interspersed with galaxies and stars—the cosmic CMF series is quite colorful and diverse. So we have here both references to more or less iconic LEGO space subthemes and more or less abstract figures straight from the stars.

We will traditionally review C.M.F. Crew 26 [Cosmic Mission Frigate] according to the order of the minifigures on the leaflet.

Spacewalking Astronaut

Although the 26 CMF series is full of fictional, fantastic, and funky characters, it starts with the most “realistic” minifigure in this set – a modern astronaut. So, white and technological details in prints dominate. However, what attracts the most attention is the MMU [Manned Maneuvering Unit], which consists of a ready-made mold decorated on the back with a wonderful tile printed with the iconic LEGO space series logo. There are also control elements, a camera, and light. Impressive! It will fit perfectly with other astronaut minifigures that have appeared in recent years, either in regular sets or in sachets included in LEGO magazines.

In my opinion, such a “realistic” minifig requires a “realistic” photo. Besides, whenever I take photos related to space, I cannot approach this topic in any other way than as realistically as possible. I just can’t help myself!

The inspiration for the photos came from real NASA photos of astronauts in space, but also indirectly from the movie Gravity. When taking photos “in space”, it is worth remembering that there is no “up” or “bottom” there, and I instinctively positioned the minifigure the “Earth way”. So, to get the “floating in space” effect, I simply rotated the photos during processing.

Impostor

With the second minifigure, we happily abandon any semblance of realism. It’s an impostor, an avatar for an alien race, allowing them to blend into human society. There is so much humor and tongue-in-cheek approach in this minifigure that I kept giggling while watching/photographing it. Just look at that sincere smile, rivets all over the body, and finally, the old-school hatch on the back. Great, nomen omen, work, robot! [the word ROBOT comes from the Slavic word ROBOTA, which means work/hard work]. And this ANTENNA.
This is definitely one of my favorite minifigures from this series!

The rivets were loosening from ideas for photos with this minifigure. Although, as I mentioned, Impostor is full of humor, it immediately brings to my mind a non-comedy film: They Live.

So I focused on this trope with my pictures, but I couldn’t turn such a nice minifigure(s) into ruthless conquerors, so their invasion has a completely different character.

Alien Tourist

Among the many conspiracy theories about UFO sightings is that aliens treat the Earth as a kind of reserve, and they are simply tourists. I guess we must be a funny sight to visitors from another galaxy. To be fair, the minifigure of a tourist from space is made of earthlings’ stereotypes about tourists: there is a Hawaiian shirt, a commemorative T-shirt (it’s nice that you love Earth, Mr. Alien, although, knowing the history of UFO cinema, it sounds a bit disturbing) and a hat. And, of course, the indispensable camera. What more could you want?

A friend from our community, Ang Cheng Ann, made a similar minifigures in the past and took them with him when traveling.

So I decided to show this little tourist the beauty of the Earth, but also the traces and afterimages of the traces that aliens allegedly left on our planet. One of them is located in the nearby city of Gdynia. This is a mural that commemorates a mysterious incident that took place in 1959. An unknown object fell into the port basin, causing an avalanche of guesses and speculations. Of course, UFO also appeared among them.

I suspect that this super cute alien will also become an indispensable companion of toy photographers during their near and far travels; something like the garden gnome from Amélie, and will pose for holiday photos against the background of the greatest creations of human civilization.

Hey, wait… what if he’s a spy!?

Retro Heroine

…and if he’s a spy, a heroine straight from the pages of pulp novels and comics, straight from Gernsback Continuum – Atom Girl – will come to the aid of humanity! This minifigure obviously refers to Retro Space Hero from series 17 [vide: the symbol on the shoulder]. She doesn’t have a cape [because, as we know, capes are passé], but the gold elements of the outfit and the latest ACME Ray Gun Mark VIII still give her +20 to charisma.

And she is accompanied by a powerful ally: D.O.G. (Dynamic Obedient Guardian). The reliable sensors of this electronic sidekick will detect any galactic evil in a flash! [Flash Ah-ah!] Then our heroine steps in, either solo or in a duet with Atom Boy, and amid pompous speeches, bombastic music, and steam explosions, she deals with the evil Emperor of the Intergalactic Empire/a beast from the edge of space/an army of rebellious robots/an alien spy with evil intentions towards humanity*

_{*delete as appropriate}

M-Tron Powerlifter

One of my childhood dreams was to own any vehicle from the M-Tron series as long as it had a magnet. This dream is still unrealized, but the M-Tron Powerlifter minifigure may be a magnet to make it come true. This figure is impressive already on the leaflet, but you can’t see everything there, such as the powerpack.

This is a heavyweight competitor, as evidenced by the eye-catching prints on the legs depicting pneumatic supports similar to those used by modern cranes. On his back, this weightlifter carries a power pack connected to a mechanical arm. It allows this astronaut to lift the heavy loads that abound in cargo bays, docks, and other interstellar loading spaces. And these kinds of spaces served as inspiration for the photos of this minifigure.

Only the rubber strap connecting the backpack with the handle is a bit too stiff for my taste. This makes it difficult to pose the minifigure, but I hope that over time, this part will become more flexible.
The lack of a visor in the helmet is also noticeable. Since LEGO no longer produces trans-neon green parts, the new M-Troner has to make do with a visor printed on its head.
Or he’ll borrow an original visor from an older colleague!

Nurse Android

Imagine a robotic nurse, then look at this minifigure. Everything fits right? From the colors to the hairstyle a la Pris from Blade Runner. This nurse is a worthy successor to the medical robots from Star Wars or the caregiver from The Jetsons.

And apparently she’s so good at her job that someone put an underage astronaut in her care. All in all, it’s hardly surprising. Just look at the trans-light blue arms and great details like the vital signs chart on the right arm and the temperature display on the left arm. The cool elegance and simplicity of this nurse’s design creates an impression of calm and professionalism. And these are very desirable features when caring for every child.
Especially a cosmic one!

Flying Saucer Costume Fan

Just as many people on this planet do not accept that aliens are visiting us, I do not accept that this minifigure depicts a man dressed as a UFO. Nope and nope.
As soon as I saw this guy for the first time, he became an alien to me, who couldn’t fit into his pocket UFO. Or it’s simply a brilliantly abstract approach to the UFO itself, with the rest of the body as a necessary complement to the set. After all, the minifig must remain intact. So, the UFO is the UFO, and the figure’s body is the cosmos. Isn’t there a subtle elegance in this?

Next to the impostor, this is my next favorite figure in this series, although the ideas for its photo were not so immediate. Ultimately, the winning ideas were those with a reference to the I WANT TO BELIEVE poster from the X-Files series and a shot of a UFO traveling through the depths of space. And I was still fighting with myself to keep the photos of this minifigure from being blurry!

Ice Planet Explorer

This brave explorer is the second of three figures that refer to the iconic subthemes of the space series. In this case it’s Ice Planet. And just like in the case of the previously mentioned M-Troner and the later mentioned Balck Troner, this is a really successful reference. It is true that some fans complained; the fact that the color of the chainsaw is not the same, and the fact that the helmet’s visor is not transparent. But this is nerdosis level black hole. I’m comfortable at the level galaxy, which means I really like this figure! Like the others, it’s made sensitively and has not been overdone with modernization, although it has solid armor and a modern helmet.

And the creme de la creme is the armored penguin! Congratulations on the idea, because it’s a really great complement to this very cool minifigure.

It was obvious that this figure had to be photographed on Ice Planet. But how do you make such a planet in the middle of a very warm May? Few plastic bags, a salt lamp as the sky and a few ice cubes turned into the surface of the Ice Planet for several dozen minutes.

Robot Butler

There is no [correct me if I’m wrong] Robots vs Aliens movie yet. And in my opinion, this is the kind of duel we have in the 26th CMF series. But don’t expect epic scenes, explosions [in space!], and action rushing at the speed of light because it’s a duel to be the cutest minifigure in the set.

Robot Butler competes with Alien Tourist. Although I can imagine that these characters are tandem and the robot accompanies the tourist from beyond, like Phileas Fogg’s butler Passe-Partout. Only the title should be changed to “80 light-years around the galaxy”*.

This machine looks like the perfect Butler. The robot’s calm and honest face and subtle elegance, highlighted by a bow-tie-shaped loudspeaker, inspire confidence. Here, the robot is presented in the “kitchen robot” version because in its mechanical hands, it holds a saucepan and an old-school egg beater. Apparently, it’s a human-owned food processor unless aliens also eat whipped cream or its alien equivalents. For this reason, I decided to present this robot in the sterile white kitchen on the deck of some star liner.

The prints on the robot, both on the chest and on the back, successfully refer to classic designs: a computer monitor screen and a video cassette.

However, what attracts the most attention is the green sphere, which distorts the robot’s head, and the brand-new form of the mini-figure’s drive: an accordion-like structure based on a trapezoidal shape with rollers. It looks great; it’s just a pity that the rollers don’t move. Robot Butler, although very subdued in color, is definitely a successful minifigure.

_{*yes, I am aware that a light year is a unit of distance, not time, but in this form the title looks much better, don’t you think?}

Alien Beetlezoid

Based on the appearance, it looks like this figure is part of the Galaxy Squad subtheme. This is suggested not only by the insect provenance of the figure but more literally – by the prints on the torso. They’re the same as those of the figures from the Galaxy Squad sets. The translucent head a la xenomorph and the wings decorated with intriguing patterns [wings is the same mold as the girl in the ladybug costume] are impressive. It’s just that I had absolutely no idea how to take a photo with it.
As has been the case before, coincidence came to the rescue.

I once took a photo with a plant that looks like an out of this world. It’s the houseleek, that grows in our rockery, which I pass every day. And one day all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Alien Beetlezoid became a gardener. Moreover, it became the main character of Isaac Asimov’s unknown novel titled “The Gardener”. I have no idea where this idea came from, but both this character and the short story that appeared during the photo session reminded me of Asimov.

Overall, this is quite a successful minifigure, although it is in a slightly more distant orbit than the others. However, this is not a significant distance, and certainly not on a cosmic scale.

Orion

Orion happens to be adjacent to the Alien Beetlezoid not only on the leaflet. He shares the same, slightly more distant orbit. And I have no idea why. Because theoretically, everything is correct: I’m a mythoman… I mean, a mythophile and a stargazer, the figure looks very nice with the predominance of translucent, glittering parts, the shield is stunning… And yet I don’t like as much as I would like to like it.
I don’t know if it’s a matter of the fact that Orion doesn’t fit in with the rest, or if astronomy is mixed with astrology here and the stars are not right…

And to think that “Orion” is one of my favorite Metallica songs!

Even the photos were a challenge because you have to light those semi-transparent elements in such a way that the face doesn’t disappear… And the entire torso, covered with an impressive silver breastplate, is not at all transparent…
But kudos for the great depiction of Orion’s Belt!

Blacktron Mutant

Blacktron Mutant. And all clear. He ruthlessly breaks into the series, and even though it’s the last minifig on the leaflet, it’s definitely not the least. The third reference to the LEGO space faction is the most arrogant, uncompromising and crazy. It’s Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde in one, the ferocity of beasts and the intellect of primates. In one word: a hit.

This figure perfectly highlights Blacktron’s deceit, villainy and cunning.
And it photographs as well as it looks. That mischievous look in reptilian-human eyes simply attracts the lens!
And apparently M-Tron is the most magnetic…

From the very beginning I knew that this mutant had to be photographed in the dark and stuffy interior of Blacktron’s leviathan space cruiser. But first a mutant must be created! So I arranged a scene in which the silhouette of this super soldier emerges from the smoke and steam in the mutagen chamber. And since, as I mentioned, the Blacktron cruiser is huge and we will be wandering around it for a long time, I think we will meet this gentleman more often.

Captain’s log, supplemental

I hope the photos above prove that C.M.F. Crew 26 is a colorful and interesting collection of creatures and robots from all over the galaxy. The references to classic subthemes, which arouse emotions for obvious reasons, are successful in my opinion. The other figures are also very good, and sometimes even more than very good.

As a space fan, I am convinced that I will invite these crew members in front of the camera many times because taking photos of these figures was great fun. And a challenge too, but what would a hobby be without challenges!

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