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Review: LEGO 70841 Benny’s Space Squad

January 7, 2019 By Jay 32 Comments

Welcome to my first review of 2019! I decided to ease in to 2019 with one of the smallest sets this year, but don’t let its size fool you, it’s already a very strong contender for Set of the Year.

It’s one of the most anticipated sets so far, so without further ado, let’s jump into a short review of 70481 Benny’s Space Squad – featuring Lenny, the new Pink Classic Space minifigure!

Name: Benny’s Space Squad
Set Number: 70841
Pieces: 68
Price: AU$15.99 | US$9.99 | £8.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [US] [AU] [UK][Amazon]
Exclusive to: N/A
Theme: LEGO Movie 2
Release Date: 1 January 2019

It took a couple of years, but LEGO finally cracked the secret to printing money – start selling what is essentially a Classic Space battle pack.

When the LEGO Movie 2 sets were revealed, Benny’s Space Squad stood out for reasons that drive any seasoned LEGO fan into a frenzy, the re-release of two classic Space Minifigures AND perhaps the biggest surprise of all, the introduction of a new Pink Classic Space minifigure into the LEGO canon.

The Pink Classic Space Minifigure has been christened Lenny and joins Kenny, Benny (who we all know and love) and Jenny to form Benny’s Space Squad.

Like many LEGO fans, this set caught me quite off guard, especially the inclusion of Lenny, the pink Classic Space minifigure.

Classic Space is one, if not, the most beloved LEGO themes and is universally revered by fans old and new.

They’re very protective of the ‘theme’ and only rarely bring it back out for remixes/re-releases.

That said, I did sort of predict that LEGO would re-release Classic Space this year (see screenshot from a group chat with my mates in November 2018) and I have a feeling that this won’t be the last we see of Classic Space in 2019.

Note: Yes, I know these sets were technically released in late December 2018, but they’re still considered a 2019 set.

As this set pretty much revolves around these 4 minifigures, I’m going to flip things around slightly, and check out the builds before doing a deep-ish dive into the minifigures.

The set comes with a small spaceship, which is a great homage to the forms and aesthetics of Spaceships from the Classic Space Era with its triangular shape.

It seamlessly blends blue with grey in the timeless style of Classic Space. You can tell that the designers absolutely paid attention to all the little details such as bringing back the Space Seat which evokes so much nostalgia.

Fans of Classic Space will also welcome the blue slope with the Classic Space logo printed on it. Thank God, it’s not a sticker.

The second build is another familiar sight for fans of Classic Space – a simple two-seater Lunar Buggy.

Like the mini-spaceship, it’s another common fixture in Classic Space sets, which did most of their exploring on alien crater-filled planetscapes, which often required a hardy buggy to traverse the rocky terrain.

The buggy is super simple, and it has two clips at the back to hold tools such as the metal detector and wrench.

Here’s a comparison with the Lunar Buggy from 928 Galaxy Explorer (one of my favourite sets of all time). I wish they had managed to incorporate the red wheels, but it’s a close enough homage.

Lastly, Classic Space was also filled with all sorts of Robots, and you piece together a small but charming little Spacebot. I really love the use of the trans-yellow cheese slope on its body.

Here’s a look at the Yellow and White Classic Space Minifigures, named Kenny and Jenny respectively.

They’re both near-identical to the OG Yellow and White Classic Space minifigures, even down to the old-style helmets.

Of course, being new minifigures, their golden moons on the torsos are in pristine condition, which is the main reason why Classic Fans are so excited about this set – the prospect of brand new, original-style Classic Space torsos, oxygen tanks and even old-style helmets.

Here’s a comparison between an actual Classic Space Yellow space minifigure from my personal collection who is on the left, and Kenny who is on the right.

As you can see, it’s such a good re-issued minifigure that you can’t essentially tell them apart.

That said, there is one major difference – the helmet moulds. To my memory, there were two different types of old-style helmets – you can see one variation on the left, which has a bit of a botch on the bottom chin, and the other which is more smooth.

Other than that, they’re almost 1:1 versions of beloved Classic Space minifigures.

Here we have Lenny, the brand new Pink Classic Space minifigure, and Benny, the Spaceship-crazed astronaut who debuted in the first LEGO Movie who is best known for this iconic scene.

Benny comes with a walkie talkie, and his design hasn’t really changed much from the LEGO Movie 1 version.

In many of the new LEGO Movie 2 sets, Benny is sporting some sort of robotic arm, but he looks pretty intact in this version.

Benny comes with an alternate face, with a dismayed expression – he’s the only one with an alternate face in this set.

Obviously, as Classic Space minifigures all only had the default OG smiley face.

Benny’s design, features a cracked helmet, and a faded and scuffed Classic Space logo on his torso.

If you’re new to LEGO, this is a nod to the fact that chins of Classic Space LEGO minifigures often snapped due to a design flaw (and mostly heavy play) and for a lot of fans, their minifigures often had the gold on their torsos wear away, get scratched or have it turn white from age/play.

See above for a comparison of an original Classic Space blue minifigure in very good condition, one that has lots of wear on it (notice the white moon), Benny from The LEGO Movie 1 and lastly, Benny from The LEGO Movie 2.

Of course, the main draw of this set is Lenny, the Pink Classic Space minifigure.

You can debate where he’s the first Pink Space minifigure (that claimis owned by the Intergalactic Girl from Series 6 who also sports a small Classic Space logo on her torso). I reckon they’d make a good colour

Huge, and I mean huge kudos to LEGO for introducing a brand new Classic Space minifigure colour.

According to Matthew Aston, one of the producers for the movie, Lenny’s design drew inspiration from Kylie Minogue, specifically her pink space suit from the Put Yourself In My Place music video. His name Lenny is also a nod to “Charlene Robinson“, the character she played in the Aussie soap opera, Neighbours.

So there you have it, 2 old favourites, Benny and a brand new entrant into Classic Space, making this quite the momentous set.

The introduction of Lenny now brings us to a total of 8 official LEGO Classic Space minifigure colours. Technically 7 as the Grey isn’t official per se – I just repurposed Series 17’s Rocket Boy’s torso to create a grey version, but it’s official in my eyes.

Seeing all of them come together is like a rainbow of nostalgia.

I arranged them from oldest to newest – red and white debuted at about the same time, followed by yellow, black and blue. These were from the original Classic Space era.

The Green Classic Space minifigure was introduced with 2014’s Exo Suit, Rocket Boy was from 2017 and now in 2019 we have a brand new Pink entrant.

For those that are unaware, each Classic Space minifigure colour denotes a specific role that each Spaceman specialises in:

  • White – Pilots
  • Red – Soldiers
  • Yellow – Scientists
  • Blue – Commanders
  • Black – Spies
  • Green – Mech Pilots
  • Grey – doesn’t exist, but I’m going to pretend that they’re Communications

I hope we learn from the movie what role Pink Classic Space minifigs play – I hope it’s something cool. Maybe Engineering?

To close of this review, did anyone notice this on the box? LEGO have been hiding teasers in plain sight on the box art of recent sets (Roller Coaster, UCS Millennium Falcon etc) and this collection of Classic Spaceships in the background of Benny’s Space Squad box art sure seems out of place.

There are 5 spaceships in total, perhaps one for each Classic Space minifigure plus an extra? Maybe for a Red or Black Spaceman/woman?

I’m quite confident that is a teaser for an unannounced Classic Space-themed LEGO Movie 2 set.

It would also make sense to have a successor to Benny’s Spaceship, Spaceship SPACESHIP which was one of THE standout sets of the 1st LEGO Movie.

What I liked:

  • It’s a Classic Space Battle Pack
  • Brand new Classic Space torsos and prints
  • Lenny
  • Mini builds are a great homage to vintage Classic Space designs
  • Super affordable

What I didn’t like: 

  • Absolutely nothing at all
  • I’m probably going to spend a lot of money on multiples of this set

Final thoughts: If I could distill this review into one sentence, it would be “This is a freakin’ Classic Space Battle Pack” and I think I’d have done a decent job in convincing you to part with a tiny chunk of your disposable income on this outstanding set.

70841 Benny’s Space Squad is designed very much using the same design philosophy as The LEGO Movie 1’s Double-Decker Couch: Give the fans what they want in the most inexpensive set of the theme.

And like the Double Decker Couch, LEGO have absolutely nailed this set. It’s a beautiful love letter to Classic Space aficionados, proclaiming that “no, we haven’t forgotten about you”.

The inclusion of Lenny, the new Pink Classic Spaceman is another master-stroke as it effectively expands the Classic Space universe in the same way that the Exo Suit did.

There’s just so much to love, and I am really thankful that LEGO decided to bring back Classic Space in such thoughtful fashion.

I cannot speak highly enough about this set – it nails it from every conceivable aspect and is a brilliant, brilliant homage to Classic Space.

It’s undoubtedly going to be one of the most popular sets this year, and I suspect that shops will have a difficult time keeping enough of them in stock, judging by the universal demand from LEGO fans.

I hope LEGO made enough of Benny’s Space Squad to go around as they’ll be snapped up even at full price. Even at full price, this set is an incredible steal.

70841 is everything you could ever want from a Classic Space set, outside of a 1:1 reissue of 928 Galaxy Explorer.

It’s an instant classic and easily qualifies as a 5/5 perfect set in my books.

Rating: 5/5


Thanks for reading the review! I hope you enjoyed all the photos I took of Benny’s Space Squad, and it’s always a good thing to incorporate my 928 Galaxy Explorer into shoots.

70841 Benny’s Space Squad is out in most countries except for Australia, which will get these at retail in March 2019. It’s also available from LEGO.com (currently on backorder) or Amazon.

Have you been lucky to get your hands on Benny’s Space Squad? Do you think the teaser on the box is legit? Let me know what you think in the comments section!

Don’t forget, you can find many more reviews in the Jay’s Brick Blog Review Hub. To stay up to date on the latest posts, you can follow the Jay’s Brick Blog Facebook page or subscribe to receive email alerts for new posts! I also post behind the scenes content, and teasers on my Instagram page @jayong28, so give me a follow if you’d like to see more!

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Filed Under: LEGO Movie 2, LEGO Reviews Tagged With: 2019, 5/5, benny's space squad, classic space, classic spaceman, jenny, kenny, lego, lego movie 2, lenny, review

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  1. operacion saturno says

    August 13, 2021 at 4:30 AM

    If you love Benny’s squad you should look at this one!
    Please help me get 10k supports so it will be an official Lego set.
    This Lego Ideas project includes:
    2800 pieces
    all 9 different official color astronauts released, including the elusive light gray astronaut.
    More than 15 different new trans yellow pieces.
    Cargo transport, exploration rover, hover ship, lifter MECH, crane.
    4 separated functional modules
    Great play value, MODULAR Build, modern building techniques, 80s Nostalgia.
    Ever wanted a Classic Space reboot? This is your chance to take part in it.

    https://ideas.lego.com/projects/43814e85-ead4-46d0-886c-b024d6156756?fbclid=IwAR0U-UpU8fQ3wVo0icgnT38MsFfeQf4_NSQcNQikzOMZ_CzSuJ0BJlXTFSw

    Reply
  2. operacion saturno says

    August 12, 2021 at 2:13 PM

    Classic Space is not dead!
    Please help me get 10k supports so it will be an official Lego set.
    This Lego Ideas project includes:
    2800 pieces
    all 9 different official color astronauts released, including the elusive light gray astronaut.
    More than 15 different new trans yellow pieces.
    Cargo transport, exploration rover, hover ship, lifter MECH, crane.
    4 separated functional modules
    Great play value, MODULAR Build, modern building techniques, 80s Nostalgia.
    Ever wanted a Classic Space reboot? This is your chance to take part in it.

    https://ideas.lego.com/projects/43814e85-ead4-46d0-886c-b024d6156756?fbclid=IwAR0U-UpU8fQ3wVo0icgnT38MsFfeQf4_NSQcNQikzOMZ_CzSuJ0BJlXTFSw

    Reply
  3. Joosh says

    April 22, 2021 at 1:21 AM

    I have no idea how this happened, even though I have the Razor Crest, this is stll the set I most use and toy around with. This set helped get my little brother into lego, so I guess good memories from 2 years ago.

    Reply
    • Jay says

      April 22, 2021 at 11:34 PM

      Nice! It’s definitely stood the test of time, and I still rate this set to this day. It’s almost doubled in price on the secondary market!

      Reply
  4. Kyle says

    March 8, 2021 at 12:47 PM

    But there is no light bluish grey airtanks

    Reply
  5. Hans says

    October 18, 2020 at 6:56 PM

    There’s now an orange spaceman that comes exclusive with the Minifigures Visual History book. I’m sure you’ve grabbed that or will be getting it to add to your collection 🙂

    Reply
    • Jay says

      October 19, 2020 at 8:14 AM

      Mine’s still on the way!

      Reply
  6. Jon Breed says

    September 13, 2020 at 4:45 PM

    You just blew my mind… i just made a joke that all the other figures got to the space suit colors before Lenny did and now they all make fun of him, not even jenny wanted the pink suit oh well…

    Reply
  7. Jon Breed says

    September 13, 2020 at 4:39 PM

    This was glorious i loved the red space man showing Benny and his squad the retro ship it was dope i love the colors of all of them its amazing as soon as i found the set in 2019 (its 2020 now) i new i must have it so i bought it about three months later i scrapped the set and made a larger space squad with some other things and then total abandoned the hole thing i scrapped the figures and made Kenny into a robot Lenny became a space bandit and Benny became space police Jenny just stayed who she was i called it with tweaks in there costumes Space squad reloaded… but then today i realized i want my original figures back so i scrapped the reloading and made them new it was challenging finding the pieces my build station isent exactly organized lol but i hope they live a few more years before my idiot self breaks them again sorry for the grammar i dont realy care about it even tho i should ?

    Reply
  8. Kelvin says

    May 20, 2020 at 10:19 PM

    Hi, I think the roles might be different; from what I read from brickpedia, from Jens Nygaard Knudsen;
    Red – Pilots
    White – Explorers
    Blue – Soldiers
    Black – Spies
    Yellow – Scientist

    But I might be wrong; not sure but do let me know ! Thank you !

    Reply
  9. galatali says

    August 25, 2019 at 8:11 PM

    I did the grey figure, too. Definetly the first thing came to my mind when I saw the rocket boy. I was also lacking some minifigs in my classic space, so a got a few boxes. What can I say, great minds think alike 😉

    Reply
    • Jay says

      August 28, 2019 at 8:43 AM

      Yeah, I’ve been buying as many grey helmets as possible to build more Grey spacemen. Now all we need is for an orange and purple spaceman next!

      Reply
      • Rafael Friedlander says

        January 3, 2020 at 10:54 PM

        Well, you got your wish (at least for an orange one!

        Reply
  10. Ben says

    March 24, 2019 at 7:42 AM

    On the subject of teaser’s hidden on the box, maybe each figure except Benny has a ship and then they introduce a couple other figures. Benny already got a ship in the first movie.

    Reply
    • Eddie says

      April 14, 2019 at 3:16 PM

      I think it is from the scene of Not Evil when Benny as his squad was seen with ships going up.

      Reply
  11. Demarcation Media says

    February 27, 2019 at 10:54 AM

    I wasn’t going to buy any Lego for awhile, but then Lego released this. I told myself I would hold off for awhile and just keep tabs on the set’s popularity…and…well, the rest is history. It was flying off shelves, so I caved and got one. I was never able to get classic space sets, as I was either too young or not born XD. This was a perfect opportunity to get some spacemen!

    Reply
  12. Warmongurl says

    January 12, 2019 at 5:19 PM

    I ordered the set off Amazon and it just arrived yesterday!! Enjoyed your pics of the figures, especially the one of their backsides, superb lighting!

    I noticed the spaceship teaser on the box and was curious. I hope you are right that it is another classic space set. Would you say the UCS Falcon box art was a teaser for the Cloud City playset?

    Reply
    • Jay says

      January 14, 2019 at 10:38 AM

      Whoa awesome! I can’t wait till they hit Amazon here in Australia – it’s currently sold out online and we have to wait till March till it hits retail!

      I would be very disappointed if they didn’t have a follow-up to Benny’s Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP.

      Yes, Cloud City was featured on the UCS Falcon Box 🙂

      Reply
  13. Andrew J Loebl says

    January 11, 2019 at 3:54 AM

    The teaser on the UCS MF is clear but what is the teaser on the CE RC? I see the planet part of the space logo, but that seems more like a nod to history and typical amusement park rides rather than a teaser.

    And what other teasers have you caught that led to the etc. in the post?

    Reply
    • Jay says

      January 11, 2019 at 8:13 AM

      Here’s a look at the ride which seems to be teased. It’s also featured on the Ferris Wheel and Carousel box art, with different parts of it. It seems like some sort of ride that’s inspired by the Star Flyer.

      Featured 3 times points to more than a coincidence!

      https://jaysbrickblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/10261-LEGO-Creator-Expert-Roller-Coaster-Box-Front-1.jpg

      Reply
  14. Andy says

    January 10, 2019 at 12:11 AM

    I have picked up two sets so far – I recently rebuilt my original Beta I Command Base (6970-1) and to my surprise in the 35 years I’ve owned the set, I’ve only misplaced two parts (Part 3144, the antenna I know I broke by treading on it, the other part could be in another box).

    Looking forward to adding the minifigs to the set 🙂

    I speculate that the ships are real, and the reason Benny’s arm is intact is that it is from an early scene in the movie. The question is: will they be separate sets, or as part of one big classic space set?

    Also – do we know “Lenny” is actually male?

    Reply
    • Jon Breed says

      September 13, 2020 at 4:44 PM

      You just blew my mind… i just made a joke that all the other figures got to the space suit colors before Lenny did and now they all make fun of him, not even jenny wanted the pink suit oh well…

      Reply
  15. Jade says

    January 8, 2019 at 10:47 AM

    Do you have any idea when this set will be available on the lego Australia site?

    Reply
    • Jay says

      January 10, 2019 at 9:07 AM

      It’s currently Out of Stock, so you’ll have to keep an eye out when they restock. No idea when.

      These sets will be available at retail stores in March 🙂

      Reply
  16. Ian Hazlehurst says

    January 8, 2019 at 8:57 AM

    Yay I’m in for this one. I have many space mini figures all with broken helmet chin, both Blue & Yellow.

    Reply
    • Jay says

      January 10, 2019 at 9:07 AM

      Assemble them for a family shot with the new ones!

      Reply
  17. fish says

    January 8, 2019 at 8:02 AM

    The grey spaceman could possibly be a cadet, hence the fact it cam with a child.
    I think an engineer is a good job for the pink one.

    Reply
    • Jay says

      January 10, 2019 at 7:33 AM

      Oooh cadet sounds good! Great connection with the kid figure!

      Reply
  18. Colby says

    January 8, 2019 at 7:08 AM

    Just bought this yesterday, along with the Inferno Squad Battle Pack and Elastigirl’s Rooftop Pursuit (on sale). It’s honestly super awesome, it’ll go great with my other Classic Spacemen!

    PS: I think my grandparents have the pieces to the Galaxy Explorer from my Dad’s old bricks. I’ll have to ask for pictures soon 😉

    Reply
    • Jay says

      January 10, 2019 at 9:05 AM

      Oooh awesome pickup! You should definitely see if you can rebuild the Galaxy Explorer!

      Reply
  19. John Boxall says

    January 7, 2019 at 8:55 PM

    I. Can’t. Wait. Seriously, will just swipe the shelf of the LEGO store clean for these guys. Thanks for the excellent review.

    Reply
    • Jay says

      January 10, 2019 at 9:04 AM

      Haha you and everyone else! I suspect these will not stay on shelves!

      Reply

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