Putting a stud in a technic hole is not an illegal technique. The technic holes were designed to accept studs in order for Technic to fit within the Lego System.
Well, that is something of a relief. I think I was getting mixed up with the offset it creates if you would put a plate underneath/above the connection, but since there's none of that, it's probably just fine!
I really like these "revisiting " videos of yours! They're very thorough and entertaining 🙂 I actually never had any deep freeze or underwater Alpha Team set because they seemed quite "unLEGO like" to me at the time. I did have a few Alpha Team sets from the first wave though: 6773 the helicopter, x2 6772 cruisers and 6774 ATV. I think I might have been a bit harsh on this theme though, there's clearly some good designs (and parts!) that can be found in it!
I'm glad you're enjoying this series of sorts! They're definitely the most high-effort of the content I create. I find these more interesting than pumping out 8 individual set reviews. It's fun to see everything together and how they all tell the theme's story. I do think you're right in that the two later AT subthemes may have been a bit ahead of their time. All the specialized parts and colors certainly made them stand out from other themes at the time.
Such a good theme, I have that HQ. I hope you get the chance to acquire some Rock Raider sets. I think they’re quite charming. Of course the reason the theme is so beloved is for the PC game, Rock Raiders, which was an RTS with more emphasis on resource gathering and base building over the typical army building and conquering the enemy which you see in the genre.
I'm always on the lookout for some! I know I have a few scattered parts laying around from bulk lots - I should see if I may have unknowingly picked up a set
@@cryssanieIf you count fan projects, Manic Miners is really good! Gives Rock Raiders a major graphical overhaul, some new mechanics, and even a reimagined set of campaign missions as well as the originals.
Sadly I never had any set from Mission: Deep Freeze. However, Alpha Team was my most favorite series and I had almost all the sets for Mission 1 and Deep Sea and I loved them more than any other Lego. Thank you for the great video! It gave me a great nostalgia trip! Even though I never had any of the Mission: Deep Freeze sets, one of my closest friends did and I got to play a lot with him when I was a kid. Together we covered all three missions and that made for countless hours of fun!
At 9:10 you were talking about an "illegal" building technique. Based on that old powerpoint presentation by jamie berard this technique is legal as seen on slide 4. Since nothing is connecting between the two (for example a plate connecting both sides) this is legal. It of course offsets the side-build slightly upwards, but since the build isn't placed on a baseplate this can technically be considered legal.
@@generalg12 The Lego group considers certain building techniques to be "illegal", meaning that they cause too much stress on parts, impossible to remove pieces, or misalignments that spread throughout a build.
I just recently found your channel and I can’t begin to explain the amount of nostalgia I get watching these theme revisits. I’ve watched Vikings & Pharaoh’s Quest so far and each one has been a trip down memory lane. I was to young for the early 90’s themes like Pirates or Ninja and missed out on those sets but themes like Alpha Team or Life on Mars are my classics. I’d love if you eventually got around to doing a Monster Fighters theme revisit in the future. That’s another theme that has a special place in my heart lol
Really glad you're enjoying these! It is my dream to eventually get to Monster Fighters, but I don't have a single set at the moment 🤣 One day though...
These themes defiantly don't get enough content done on them. And although this era of lego is new to me, thank you for showcasing them! One cool thing about these sets is how creative the features are. Not just the transformations of the vehicles, but sometimes what those vehicles do!
I love highlighting these things. Everyone knows about the big themes of the time - Bionicle, Star Wars, Harry Potter - but things like Mission Deep Freeze definitely fell under the radar, and from what I saw, the content that does exist about this theme in particular isn't... great lol. It's not a perfect theme, but I mean as someone who played with this when I was 6-7, it was incredibly enjoyable, and I certainly have a great deal of respect for much of the design work here. And of course those wonderful wonderful colors!
Maybe Lego was still trying to get the hang on making stories (as oppesed to template backstories like classic space). but it didn't feel fleshed out for what they were doing, especially with that non-ending.
Even though I prefer agents and ultra agents, mission deep freeze was definitely a really cool (pun not intended) theme to me I even have the last two 2005 sets That I describe as the final boss fight sets Great video only confused why you didn’t mention the transformation for the scorpion launcher because that’s what its main distinction was, it was the only Ogel vehicle to have the transformation which looked really cool even if it isn’t that stable Still great video hope you do more wave retrospectives
I agree that alpha team is overlooked. It had lots of good pieces, great figures, and cool builds. It is personally one of my favorite themes because of its uniqueness, and that makes me sad that it's so overlooked. I really enjoyed this video, and I think the jacket is very cool!
23:30 the ice orbs have 2 sides on the head inside of them, and I believe the comics in the instruction manual illustrate that the side with a blue beetle showing, when scanned, is an active ice orb capable of freezing. The other side would therefore be inactive. Maybe in the purpose of the mountain fortress, Ogel is using the magnifying glass to test if they're activated as he manufactures them.
The flash game series for this was so fun, I remember playing that back in 2006 and being so impressed by the sets portrayed there and yet sad that I missed out on the theme. Now I've obtained the helicopter and it is just so good, that transformation is ingenious.
You forgot one of the main features of the Scorpion Orb Launcher: it can also transform! Also, thank you for these reviews. It's great to see them with the modern production quality
I love that you really liked the Ice Blade as well! I could not get enough of transforming that thing into a helicopter as a kid! I think the best part is the rotation of the cockpit which feels super deluxe. I also agree that the mobile command center was underwhelming, but dang, it had great parts. Thanks for the in-depth review of this theme.
Ice Blade definitely makes the list of one of the top ten sets of all time. So much goodness in such a small package. Glad you enjoyed the video! These "Revisiting" ones are so fun to make.
These sets really are even cooler than I remember them from when I first started my Lego collecting days. I 100% agree that the helicopter transformation is incredible for the size of the set! As a die hard Bionicle fan as well, it warms my heart to see those pieces used so effectively.
I was surprised to find out how well most of these aged too - a lot of the vehicles are far more interesting and better looking than some of the more recent 'agent' themes. I'm glad you appreciate the helicopter too! That there is just phenomenal design.
I've got the Mobile Control Centre in pieces that I was trying to rebuild a few years back but couldn't find a bunch of pieces. I've never thrown any away so they must be somewhere in my box o bricks. Really fun set when I was a kid and I regret originally cannibalising it. I'm quite torn on the MDF aesthetic restyle - AT1 and MDS moth had very industrial heavy styles with glowy neon lasers, and MDS is a lot more sleek. Both are really solid aesthetics, but I'm kind of a sucker for the original and MDS. Still got the Cruiser, ATV and Sub, and Chopper from the o.g. wave, wish I had the bomb squad to round them out. Maybe I should change that once I've unpacked my lego.
Putting these back together for the video was a struggle for me, too! The sets have so many rare and exclusive pieces that can be really hard to find in a sea of more common bricks.
@@CheeseyStudios Also yeah Tee Vee is unfortunate in MDF - I just assume he's instead an unfigured agent mentioned in side stuff called Gearbox who built some of the vehicles.
That Ice Blade set just happens to be the first lego set I ever owned! I was too young to understand any of the story, but the helicopter transformation and streamlined design was an excellent first impression for lego.
Man, as ive gotten back into lego over the last few months ive wondered about this ice themed set from my early childhood that i remembered as one of the first things i remember peroid, was getting the basic sled/walker from target😊
The webgame Lego made for this year was my introduction to the theme, a few years after it ended. Really fun game, really fun looking sets. I did get the Ice Blade off of ebay a few years ago--I definitely agree that it's the best transformation. The animation for it on the webgame was mind blowing to my small brain.
I'm not sure I ever got to play the web game for this one, I was probably too young at the time. LEGO always had such fun flash games back in the day though!
i grew up really poor so my mom could only afford like 2 sets per year for me. i vividly remember getting that tiny speeder and the big transforming ice blade chopper for my birthday and i'd play with them almost every day for months on end and i even took them to school with me. good times :') also does anyone remember the flash games for this theme on the lego site?? those were really good too ahah
Those were two great sets to have. I know I sure got a lot of joy out of them too! I know a few others had mentioned the game too, though I think I was a bit too young at the time and I must have missed out on that one 😪
Had one or two of these sets and for the time they felt revolutionary. Using all those newish curved elements that plagued those years' sets and the transformation features the were incredibly smooth and didn't end up tearing apart the set while playing with it (an issue even exo-force many years later still struggled with). I can't speak for the bigger sets that I didn't get (especially the evil base looks kinda empty) but the smaller ones still hold up crazy well by today standards
I remember this line very vividly, but specifically for the (surprisingly solid) browser game on the Lego website. It used the vehicle mode switching gimmick to great effect in the gameplay.
This will be a bold claim but the Lego community used to refer to Mission Deep Freeze as “Arctic Alpha Team”, and I believe I coined the name “Mission Deep Freeze”. Around 2008 I made a stopmotion animation with the sets which I called “Mission Deep Freeze”. A while later I was browsing Bricklink and to my surprise the “Arctic Alpha Team” category was re-named “Mission Deep Freeze”.
Interestingly, the Blizzard Blaster seems to also be the only set that came with a White cannon along with the unique Blue tipped projectile :D Never seen one in white before, so that exclusive detail intrigued me!
I actually found the helicopter set in my great grandmas basement it was in a toy box I got to take it home not realizing what it was from I took it apart to use it’s pieces for other stuff. But I had that exact reaction trying to figure out what it was and what it did then I realized holy cow why doesn’t LEGO do stuff like this anymore?
IIRC, the stud-in-technic-hole connection is only illegal because a technic pin hole is at a very slightly different height than a SNOT stud and thus affects connections around it (like if there were a brick going across, for example). I don't think it counts here because it's the only thing connecting those parts.
I remember when T-V was a computer screen with legs, back when Alpha Team had a pc puzzle game. "We don't know what his big, big plan is, but we know one thing: it's big."
@@theGreenChangeling That bug was only if you brought it over to modern hardware. I'm sure there's probably a mod or an emulator that would allow you to replay it properly.
So glad I found your channel! It's helping me identify all my old Lego sets and is a hell of a nostalgia blast. I also just finished watching your season on Lego Masters you and your brothers builds were incredible! :)
Agreed on the look and functions of the HQ in comparison to the other sets from this wave, though it is unique in that it was originally a magazine contest winner lego released as a set! Now imagine if they had done that with the winners for bionicle..
Glad you appreciate! It's pretty tough getting a start out on the platform these days. I started making videos again about a year ago, so I'm still pretty new. Plenty of time to grow yet!
Since almost all these sets have those big technic launchers I can't help but think Ogel's "base" was designed for instant gratification via kids storming the base and using the wall as target practice 😂😂😂
My gosh. I loved this LEGO archetype. I’m actually jealous that you have access to all the sets. I never dismantled the mobile command center. I think LEGO’s standards have gone way up, but for the time, I thought it was great. 20:02 well, now I see why the back side of the fortress was never shown in LEGO magazines. Lol Now that I think of it, a lot of these sets don’t look as great as I thought they did.
Undoubtedly LEGO has better aesthetic standards these days, but I don't think the often make models as fun as some of the things you saw here in Alpha Team. It was pretty revolutionary for its time though, and a huge step up from sets just the year before!
Super fun look back at this great theme. I loved the sets as a kid, though only got the helicopter myself. My younger brother had the smallest ice speeder, and those two both had a fabulous transformation for the size! The bomb squad set from the first Alpha Team wave is one of my all time favorites. So much fun to be had with the double missile launcher setup!
I'm not sure I've ever seen it used in a MOC, but I could see all sorts of awesome uses for it. Just a fun and interesting piece. I'd be surprised if they ever made it again
I know I have that while head piece with the symbol printing on it, but I cannot for the life of me remember which set I got it in. I loved the cover piece though, stuck the heads of many other unfortunate minifigs in there.
I love how Ogel could have solved climate change and revolutionized physics (what with how his orbs violate the laws of thermodynamics) and probably become rich, famous and beloved but instead he just want to freeze the world for the evulz.
My theory is that inbetween mission deep sea and deep freeze ogel discovered his heretige with vladek and that's why his colour scheme for more dark red and become scorpions
I remember thinking alpha team was so cool. had alot of imaginary spy type adventures with them. the online game was also a really fun one I remember playing at the boys and girls club. had some nice drift physics. People can be disappointed at symple themes, but I like how dynamic they can be as templates. and this one had a nice style to boot.
This theme was so wonderfully stylized, to an extent we don't often see, even amongst LEGO's other in-house themes. I wish I had played the game - I've seen a few people comment on it
@@CheeseyStudios Tbf I havent played it for years either, it’s probably on some archive somewhere. Thanks for the response! The skull drones always stuck with me in their design, but also the sand blue of the agents too.
I have a local 2nd hand lego store and I was helping the owner sort figures, cause he got a new box in and being a cool local place he let me take a look and help him sort in trade for a discount if I found anything i wanted. Deep freeze Ogel was my big pick from there, but I also found an original jango fett which I totally would have gone for if it wasnt so damn much.
I'm so happy finally someone made a video on these sets! They were def some of my favs as a kid. Any chance you could do a video for the Orient Expedition Dragon Fortress set?
My one issue with Deep Freeze is that the change to team Ogel's color scheme makes the sets clash hideously with the OG Alpha Team and the Deep Sea Alpha Team Ogel builds. Most of my Alpha Team sets were from Deep Freeze but, aside from a couple standout designs, I always found myself more captivated by the vehicles and structures from Deep Sea than the ones from Deep Freeze. The sets have an insanely consistent and distinct aesthetic otherwise, though, which makes it incredibly unique in hindsight.
It's so weird to me that Lego never seemed to get around to offering replacement pieces, a lot of other model kits let you order singular pieces you lose or break. If Lego let you do that, there would be a lot more of these rare single-run pieces floating around
100% Ice Blade! One of the most affordable sets, and still easily the best of the lot! Only down side is you don't get an Ogel Minion. As a second choice, Blue Eagle vs. Snow Crawler. Great enemy vehicle!
I've always had a soft spot for the first Alpha Team wave of sets just because I associate it with a bunch of captivating childhood memories - pretty sure they had a few Flash games just like Adventurers... and I'm almost certain I had a set from both of those themes at around the same time; something really special about experiencing something on screen and then getting to extend that experience in a physical form :)
When I think of Lego, this is what comes to mind I know weird cause it’s been years but this has stuck with me just like bionicle and space theme. This theme though is exactly what my answer would be why I like legos. Cool mini figures and awesome models !
Watching this and getting slapped in the face with the realization that I have Ice Orbs and Tundra Tracker and Iceblade in pieces in my old childhood Lego boxes and I always had no idea what they were from and now I know!!! Crazy, had no idea I ever got anything from a theme like this
I have such nostalgia for this theme, even though I only had the cheapest option for most of it, I’ll always remember getting Blue Eagle vs Snow Crawler as a gift from my grandma right before she passed when I was little. Snow Crawler and it’s design is one of my all time favorite things I played with in my childhood
Ogel got his hook hand from a bite from one of his cybernetic, mind controlled sharks if I remember properly. This was in gen 1 lore, back when he had a cybernetic arm, which never showed up in the sets if I remember; only showing in the comics. This information is purely coming from memory, and since I was a gen 1 Alpha team-er, I might be mistaken after the 2 or 3 years it's been since gen 1 came out. I still have the comics I think...
My very first ever LEGO set was that $20 4x4. I remember distinctly dropping my set on the floor and taking it over to a caretakers home before I realized I no longer had all the pieces. Then 3 years ago I was able to manage a completed copy on bricklink and now I own the set yet again
Glad to hear it! I want to grow people's appreciate for these rather underrated themes. It's by no means perfect, and certainly not the best theme of it's time, but it still has some great stuff going on.
Might not be super interesting but I read one paper about Lego on those years and the prices for those sets were based on the design time that went into those sets rather than the pieces. Back then Lego had some serious design hubs in cities like New York, San Francisco, London and Paris where designers created pieces, play features and of course, unique pieces that Lego would then translate into actual sets. That’s why some sets had unique, useless and super expensive pieces such as the Mars theme with the air thingies to make the tubes work. So that’s what brought Lego to the brink of bankruptcy. Then they made a huge bet on Gallidor with even a live action show but in terms of sales, Bionicle was the ONLY profitable line. Sadly that wasn’t enough. Lego shut down all the design studios and hubs I mentioned and brought all design processes to an in house studio in Billund. Lego also sold Legoland back in the early 00s and recently bought them again. So Lego had to get a new CEO and reestructure the company and their operations to survive.
No way! I’ve always had a couple Lego sets my older brother had that didn’t make it into my childhood, and the helicopter set was one of the ones I never saw built! Only thing that triggered the memory was the mini figure. No way I can forget that face lol
@@CheeseyStudios They do! The most interesting thing I found about the boxes is that the second wave of Deep Freeze uses very obvious CGI for the model to the point where a lot of the pieces are contorted in ways not physically possible, especially the Scorpion orb launcher. It's a little off-putting!
Interesting! I'm going to have to go look at those again. The second wave is all around super bizarre. Odd set numbers, no new printed pieces, but two brand new figures? I have to wonder what happened there at the end.
@@CheeseyStudios Yeah it was odd. I believe many thought Deep Sea would've been the end due to the gap between it and Freeze. I had a few of the Agents sets growing up and as cool as they were, to me Alpha Team had the perfect balance of camp and cool.
Wow this unlocked a deep memory… I can now vividly recall building the snowmobile set and and loving the transformer aspect of it… and flex was such a cool character with that orange arm.
I got the mountain fortress set for deep deep discount at Walmart as a kid in the clearance section. It was in $20 range from what I remember. I loved the baseplate and would use the set as a James Bond villain lair
so, to compare it to the MCU... OG Alpha Team is Avengers AT Deep Sea is Age of Ultron AT Deep Freeze is End Game which makes Zed the... Captain Marvel?
I like alpha team a lot, I have one set, the truck thing with the submarine and I must say I’m surprised by how playable it is for such a small set. Also the minifigs are great, agent flex from the ATV has such a cool face print.
Putting a stud in a technic hole is not an illegal technique. The technic holes were designed to accept studs in order for Technic to fit within the Lego System.
Well, that is something of a relief. I think I was getting mixed up with the offset it creates if you would put a plate underneath/above the connection, but since there's none of that, it's probably just fine!
I really like these "revisiting " videos of yours! They're very thorough and entertaining 🙂
I actually never had any deep freeze or underwater Alpha Team set because they seemed quite "unLEGO like" to me at the time. I did have a few Alpha Team sets from the first wave though: 6773 the helicopter, x2 6772 cruisers and 6774 ATV. I think I might have been a bit harsh on this theme though, there's clearly some good designs (and parts!) that can be found in it!
I'm glad you're enjoying this series of sorts! They're definitely the most high-effort of the content I create. I find these more interesting than pumping out 8 individual set reviews. It's fun to see everything together and how they all tell the theme's story. I do think you're right in that the two later AT subthemes may have been a bit ahead of their time. All the specialized parts and colors certainly made them stand out from other themes at the time.
Such a good theme, I have that HQ. I hope you get the chance to acquire some Rock Raider sets. I think they’re quite charming. Of course the reason the theme is so beloved is for the PC game, Rock Raiders, which was an RTS with more emphasis on resource gathering and base building over the typical army building and conquering the enemy which you see in the genre.
I'm always on the lookout for some! I know I have a few scattered parts laying around from bulk lots - I should see if I may have unknowingly picked up a set
Lego Rock Raiders was such a gennuinely good game. I wish we had a modern remake.
@@cryssanieIf you count fan projects, Manic Miners is really good! Gives Rock Raiders a major graphical overhaul, some new mechanics, and even a reimagined set of campaign missions as well as the originals.
Sadly I never had any set from Mission: Deep Freeze. However, Alpha Team was my most favorite series and I had almost all the sets for Mission 1 and Deep Sea and I loved them more than any other Lego.
Thank you for the great video! It gave me a great nostalgia trip! Even though I never had any of the Mission: Deep Freeze sets, one of my closest friends did and I got to play a lot with him when I was a kid. Together we covered all three missions and that made for countless hours of fun!
I really appreciate the detail you put into this commenting on the little things. good pacing too.
Thank you! I'm glad to know it's noticed. These Revisiting videos are quite the projects to churn out, but I really enjoy making them
At 9:10 you were talking about an "illegal" building technique. Based on that old powerpoint presentation by jamie berard this technique is legal as seen on slide 4. Since nothing is connecting between the two (for example a plate connecting both sides) this is legal. It of course offsets the side-build slightly upwards, but since the build isn't placed on a baseplate this can technically be considered legal.
What a relief! I thought for a second I owned an illegal set!
what do you mean by illegal?
@@generalg12 The Lego group considers certain building techniques to be "illegal", meaning that they cause too much stress on parts, impossible to remove pieces, or misalignments that spread throughout a build.
I just recently found your channel and I can’t begin to explain the amount of nostalgia I get watching these theme revisits. I’ve watched Vikings & Pharaoh’s Quest so far and each one has been a trip down memory lane. I was to young for the early 90’s themes like Pirates or Ninja and missed out on those sets but themes like Alpha Team or Life on Mars are my classics. I’d love if you eventually got around to doing a Monster Fighters theme revisit in the future. That’s another theme that has a special place in my heart lol
Really glad you're enjoying these! It is my dream to eventually get to Monster Fighters, but I don't have a single set at the moment 🤣 One day though...
Monster Fighters is such a cool and underrated series! I wish more people talked about them.
These themes defiantly don't get enough content done on them. And although this era of lego is new to me, thank you for showcasing them!
One cool thing about these sets is how creative the features are. Not just the transformations of the vehicles, but sometimes what those vehicles do!
I love highlighting these things. Everyone knows about the big themes of the time - Bionicle, Star Wars, Harry Potter - but things like Mission Deep Freeze definitely fell under the radar, and from what I saw, the content that does exist about this theme in particular isn't... great lol. It's not a perfect theme, but I mean as someone who played with this when I was 6-7, it was incredibly enjoyable, and I certainly have a great deal of respect for much of the design work here. And of course those wonderful wonderful colors!
Maybe Lego was still trying to get the hang on making stories (as oppesed to template backstories like classic space). but it didn't feel fleshed out for what they were doing, especially with that non-ending.
This is one of the few themes that got a new gimmick each wave, and each actually improved on the last.
Definitely! It's really cool to see that. Some themes weaken over time, but not Alpha Team.
Even though I prefer agents and ultra agents, mission deep freeze was definitely a really cool (pun not intended) theme to me I even have the last two 2005 sets That I describe as the final boss fight sets
Great video only confused why you didn’t mention the transformation for the scorpion launcher because that’s what its main distinction was, it was the only Ogel vehicle to have the transformation which looked really cool even if it isn’t that stable
Still great video hope you do more wave retrospectives
Oh my gosh! I feel so stupid. I had no idea it transformed. I just looked it up and that's pretty cool!
17:31 those exposed studs serve as floor studs for mini figures to stand in that area. Otherwise it would be the side of a brick and not too playable.
I agree that alpha team is overlooked. It had lots of good pieces, great figures, and cool builds. It is personally one of my favorite themes because of its uniqueness, and that makes me sad that it's so overlooked. I really enjoyed this video, and I think the jacket is very cool!
Thank you! Glad there's someone else out there who appreciates this theme. It really is something especial
23:30 the ice orbs have 2 sides on the head inside of them, and I believe the comics in the instruction manual illustrate that the side with a blue beetle showing, when scanned, is an active ice orb capable of freezing. The other side would therefore be inactive. Maybe in the purpose of the mountain fortress, Ogel is using the magnifying glass to test if they're activated as he manufactures them.
That does make a lot of sense! I'll always be obsessed with ice orbs - they just look so cool
The transforming vehicles were soooo good, and they actually like transformed too! The slider to helicopter was my favorite
The helicopter for me is one of LEGO's best sets. Love it so much!
The flash game series for this was so fun, I remember playing that back in 2006 and being so impressed by the sets portrayed there and yet sad that I missed out on the theme. Now I've obtained the helicopter and it is just so good, that transformation is ingenious.
LEGO should definitely do more transforming sets like that. It works really well
Thank you for doing this theme
This video's been in the pipeline since November I think, ha! I've been wanting to get it out for a long time.
You forgot one of the main features of the Scorpion Orb Launcher: it can also transform!
Also, thank you for these reviews. It's great to see them with the modern production quality
I completely forgot it could do that. Someone else told me a few days ago and I feel very stupid 😂
I love that you really liked the Ice Blade as well! I could not get enough of transforming that thing into a helicopter as a kid! I think the best part is the rotation of the cockpit which feels super deluxe. I also agree that the mobile command center was underwhelming, but dang, it had great parts. Thanks for the in-depth review of this theme.
Ice Blade definitely makes the list of one of the top ten sets of all time. So much goodness in such a small package. Glad you enjoyed the video! These "Revisiting" ones are so fun to make.
These sets really are even cooler than I remember them from when I first started my Lego collecting days. I 100% agree that the helicopter transformation is incredible for the size of the set! As a die hard Bionicle fan as well, it warms my heart to see those pieces used so effectively.
I was surprised to find out how well most of these aged too - a lot of the vehicles are far more interesting and better looking than some of the more recent 'agent' themes. I'm glad you appreciate the helicopter too! That there is just phenomenal design.
I've got the Mobile Control Centre in pieces that I was trying to rebuild a few years back but couldn't find a bunch of pieces. I've never thrown any away so they must be somewhere in my box o bricks. Really fun set when I was a kid and I regret originally cannibalising it.
I'm quite torn on the MDF aesthetic restyle - AT1 and MDS moth had very industrial heavy styles with glowy neon lasers, and MDS is a lot more sleek. Both are really solid aesthetics, but I'm kind of a sucker for the original and MDS. Still got the Cruiser, ATV and Sub, and Chopper from the o.g. wave, wish I had the bomb squad to round them out. Maybe I should change that once I've unpacked my lego.
Putting these back together for the video was a struggle for me, too! The sets have so many rare and exclusive pieces that can be really hard to find in a sea of more common bricks.
@@CheeseyStudios Also yeah Tee Vee is unfortunate in MDF - I just assume he's instead an unfigured agent mentioned in side stuff called Gearbox who built some of the vehicles.
That Ice Blade set just happens to be the first lego set I ever owned! I was too young to understand any of the story, but the helicopter transformation and streamlined design was an excellent first impression for lego.
What a great first set! That's peak LEGO design right there. The kind of set that creates a lifelong LEGO fan!
Man, as ive gotten back into lego over the last few months ive wondered about this ice themed set from my early childhood that i remembered as one of the first things i remember peroid, was getting the basic sled/walker from target😊
Ah, good times. This theme definitely brings back the nostalgia!
I was just going through all of the Lego I had as a kid and found a ton of Alpha Team sets. Such a great theme!
Oh dang! I didn't realize you had some of these too! That's epic
Loved this theme growing up. Would love to see Alpha Team (not Agents) return in some way. Great feature!
We could get some really cool figures nowadays. I'd love to see a 2020's Ogel!
The webgame Lego made for this year was my introduction to the theme, a few years after it ended. Really fun game, really fun looking sets. I did get the Ice Blade off of ebay a few years ago--I definitely agree that it's the best transformation. The animation for it on the webgame was mind blowing to my small brain.
I'm not sure I ever got to play the web game for this one, I was probably too young at the time. LEGO always had such fun flash games back in the day though!
I was super bummed when I realised they’d removed their old games when I was younger.
This is a theme where I actually bought every single set back in the day! Great to see them all together again!
And it's not even castle?!? Crazy!
i grew up really poor so my mom could only afford like 2 sets per year for me. i vividly remember getting that tiny speeder and the big transforming ice blade chopper for my birthday and i'd play with them almost every day for months on end and i even took them to school with me. good times :')
also does anyone remember the flash games for this theme on the lego site?? those were really good too ahah
Those were two great sets to have. I know I sure got a lot of joy out of them too! I know a few others had mentioned the game too, though I think I was a bit too young at the time and I must have missed out on that one 😪
Looking forward to the Minecraft world
It'll come eventually, I promise! I make a variety of content for all sorts of fans. My goal is to upload a Minecraft MOC video at least once a month!
Suggestion : in the desert well MOC u can add a husk minifigure which would look cool
Had one or two of these sets and for the time they felt revolutionary. Using all those newish curved elements that plagued those years' sets and the transformation features the were incredibly smooth and didn't end up tearing apart the set while playing with it (an issue even exo-force many years later still struggled with). I can't speak for the bigger sets that I didn't get (especially the evil base looks kinda empty) but the smaller ones still hold up crazy well by today standards
It really was the start of a new era for LEGO!
I remember this line very vividly, but specifically for the (surprisingly solid) browser game on the Lego website. It used the vehicle mode switching gimmick to great effect in the gameplay.
Wish I had gotten to play that one! I know a few people mentioned it
Hey again! love the alpha team sets. I just finished my Home Alone house set!
That's awesome! It looks like it would be a really enjoyable build.
loving these theme retrospectives, jumped straight from watching both your mars videos to this one. good stuff!
Thank you! These are probably some of my favorite videos to make. Hoping to do Power Miners next!
@@CheeseyStudios that's really exciting i loved power miners as a kid
This will be a bold claim but the Lego community used to refer to Mission Deep Freeze as “Arctic Alpha Team”, and I believe I coined the name “Mission Deep Freeze”.
Around 2008 I made a stopmotion animation with the sets which I called “Mission Deep Freeze”.
A while later I was browsing Bricklink and to my surprise the “Arctic Alpha Team” category was re-named “Mission Deep Freeze”.
Oh hey! That's quite interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if you did indeed kickstart the change!
Interestingly, the Blizzard Blaster seems to also be the only set that came with a White cannon along with the unique Blue tipped projectile :D Never seen one in white before, so that exclusive detail intrigued me!
That definitely caught my attention right away too!
15:26 Chew marks? WHAT?!?!
I'm pretty sure it wasn't me (I sure hope it wasn't me LOL) as this was technically my brother's set, but a big big oof nonetheless
I actually found the helicopter set in my great grandmas basement it was in a toy box I got to take it home not realizing what it was from I took it apart to use it’s pieces for other stuff. But I had that exact reaction trying to figure out what it was and what it did then I realized holy cow why doesn’t LEGO do stuff like this anymore?
What a gem to find! I miss the creativity. Everything is beautiful now, no doubt about it, but I don't think it's as fun anymore.
IIRC, the stud-in-technic-hole connection is only illegal because a technic pin hole is at a very slightly different height than a SNOT stud and thus affects connections around it (like if there were a brick going across, for example). I don't think it counts here because it's the only thing connecting those parts.
I remember when T-V was a computer screen with legs, back when Alpha Team had a pc puzzle game. "We don't know what his big, big plan is, but we know one thing: it's big."
I wish I had gotten to play the PC game! I've heard a lot about it
@@CheeseyStudios It was quite fun despite occasionally experiencing a bug on the final level that prevented you from completing it.
@@theGreenChangeling That bug was only if you brought it over to modern hardware. I'm sure there's probably a mod or an emulator that would allow you to replay it properly.
@@Crisis-Comics If I recall correctly, we got that bug on Windows 95 or something...
I'm subscribing! Your channel is so cool! Damn this is epic I am Tfol but I like these sets! Great job keep it up
Glad to have you here! Thank you very much
You should revisit Agents! I loved those sets as a kid
So glad I found your channel! It's helping me identify all my old Lego sets and is a hell of a nostalgia blast. I also just finished watching your season on Lego Masters you and your brothers builds were incredible! :)
They should do more ice themed sets cause you only see it in lego city and minecraft now
Agreed!
Agreed on the look and functions of the HQ in comparison to the other sets from this wave, though it is unique in that it was originally a magazine contest winner lego released as a set!
Now imagine if they had done that with the winners for bionicle..
Wait, really? That's really cool actually
The helicopter was also my favourite as kid. 😊 That, and the Flash game that was released alongside the series.
Great stuff indeed
These videos are really well made I’m surprised you don’t have more subs
Glad you appreciate! It's pretty tough getting a start out on the platform these days. I started making videos again about a year ago, so I'm still pretty new. Plenty of time to grow yet!
P.s love the vid (:
Honestly as disappointing as Ogels hq is the thicc handle kinda makes up for it
gotta love the thicc handles
Since almost all these sets have those big technic launchers I can't help but think Ogel's "base" was designed for instant gratification via kids storming the base and using the wall as target practice 😂😂😂
You might be on to something there lol
My gosh. I loved this LEGO archetype. I’m actually jealous that you have access to all the sets. I never dismantled the mobile command center.
I think LEGO’s standards have gone way up, but for the time, I thought it was great.
20:02 well, now I see why the back side of the fortress was never shown in LEGO magazines. Lol
Now that I think of it, a lot of these sets don’t look as great as I thought they did.
Undoubtedly LEGO has better aesthetic standards these days, but I don't think the often make models as fun as some of the things you saw here in Alpha Team. It was pretty revolutionary for its time though, and a huge step up from sets just the year before!
becuase no one has just done a video of conbining just the 2001 and reviewed interer
Super fun look back at this great theme.
I loved the sets as a kid, though only got the helicopter myself. My younger brother had the smallest ice speeder, and those two both had a fabulous transformation for the size!
The bomb squad set from the first Alpha Team wave is one of my all time favorites. So much fun to be had with the double missile launcher setup!
That does look like such a fun set. Those were the days when every other set had a big rubber missile launcher... Great stuff!
35 mins of Cheese Studios content!!!?!? What a way to spend a Saturday!
HA! I love it. Been working on this video for months lol
I never owned any of these sets but i was obsessed with its page on the website and i desperately wanted some
LEGO's website was so much fun back in the day. Good times
Upsetty spaghetti? that's a new one for me.
Probably won't be the last time you hear me say it haha
I hope it's not!
That magnifying glass would be perfect for train signals.
I'm not sure I've ever seen it used in a MOC, but I could see all sorts of awesome uses for it. Just a fun and interesting piece. I'd be surprised if they ever made it again
I know I have that while head piece with the symbol printing on it, but I cannot for the life of me remember which set I got it in. I loved the cover piece though, stuck the heads of many other unfortunate minifigs in there.
I miss those old Lego skull heads the decals on them were way better than the ones we have now
Oh, they are terrifying though!
Ogel do be pondering his orb
I love how Ogel could have solved climate change and revolutionized physics (what with how his orbs violate the laws of thermodynamics) and probably become rich, famous and beloved but instead he just want to freeze the world for the evulz.
LOL
My theory is that inbetween mission deep sea and deep freeze ogel discovered his heretige with vladek and that's why his colour scheme for more dark red and become scorpions
I remember thinking alpha team was so cool. had alot of imaginary spy type adventures with them. the online game was also a really fun one I remember playing at the boys and girls club. had some nice drift physics.
People can be disappointed at symple themes, but I like how dynamic they can be as templates. and this one had a nice style to boot.
This theme was so wonderfully stylized, to an extent we don't often see, even amongst LEGO's other in-house themes. I wish I had played the game - I've seen a few people comment on it
@@CheeseyStudios Tbf I havent played it for years either, it’s probably on some archive somewhere. Thanks for the response! The skull drones always stuck with me in their design, but also the sand blue of the agents too.
I have a local 2nd hand lego store and I was helping the owner sort figures, cause he got a new box in and being a cool local place he let me take a look and help him sort in trade for a discount if I found anything i wanted. Deep freeze Ogel was my big pick from there, but I also found an original jango fett which I totally would have gone for if it wasnt so damn much.
That's super cool! Sounds like there was a lot of great figures
If i am correct, the Alpha Team Android is TV. Check out the Lego wiki.
That's right, yup!
Ahh, 7th grade. 04-05. Alpha Team series 3. Was missing only Ogel’s Base and the Command Center.
Isn't that wild how LEGO can transport us back in time like that? Good stuff.
You should do Lego Castle fantasy era (2007-2009), which also showcases one of Ogels ancestors haha
Definitely on my to-do list! :D
I'm so happy finally someone made a video on these sets! They were def some of my favs as a kid. Any chance you could do a video for the Orient Expedition Dragon Fortress set?
That's one of my most-wanted sets. If I can ever afford it, you'll definitely be seeing it here!
@@CheeseyStudios Oh same here. It's might just be my most wanted set.
Saw a sealed one at Brickworld Milwaukee for $500. Quite tempting
My one issue with Deep Freeze is that the change to team Ogel's color scheme makes the sets clash hideously with the OG Alpha Team and the Deep Sea Alpha Team Ogel builds. Most of my Alpha Team sets were from Deep Freeze but, aside from a couple standout designs, I always found myself more captivated by the vehicles and structures from Deep Sea than the ones from Deep Freeze.
The sets have an insanely consistent and distinct aesthetic otherwise, though, which makes it incredibly unique in hindsight.
Each new wave of the theme was so drastically different, yeah! There's some really sweet Mission Deep Sea sets. Love Ogel's underwater base.
many CIS vehicles from star wars have the sand and dark blues and they're so cool
It is a really cool color scheme
It's so weird to me that Lego never seemed to get around to offering replacement pieces, a lot of other model kits let you order singular pieces you lose or break. If Lego let you do that, there would be a lot more of these rare single-run pieces floating around
You'll find that LEGO customer service will always replace something if you lose or break it - they're quite good about that!
would like some Mission Impossible sets xd
That would be interesting to see :o
My favourite wave was mission deep sea. Those creatures were so cool
I'm glad I've gotten to experience a few Deep Sea sets. I've really enjoyed the ones I've built!
I have a question. Which of these would you recommend the most?
100% Ice Blade! One of the most affordable sets, and still easily the best of the lot! Only down side is you don't get an Ogel Minion. As a second choice, Blue Eagle vs. Snow Crawler. Great enemy vehicle!
I've always had a soft spot for the first Alpha Team wave of sets just because I associate it with a bunch of captivating childhood memories - pretty sure they had a few Flash games just like Adventurers... and I'm almost certain I had a set from both of those themes at around the same time; something really special about experiencing something on screen and then getting to extend that experience in a physical form :)
I totally get what you mean! Even as I'm playing through LEGO SW right now I get that feeling.
When I think of Lego, this is what comes to mind I know weird cause it’s been years but this has stuck with me just like bionicle and space theme. This theme though is exactly what my answer would be why I like legos. Cool mini figures and awesome models !
Glad you remember this one so fondly! I think it's certainly underrated
@@CheeseyStudios yes super underrated! Idk man it the primarily black with bright colors just looks so vintage to me.
Watching this and getting slapped in the face with the realization that I have Ice Orbs and Tundra Tracker and Iceblade in pieces in my old childhood Lego boxes and I always had no idea what they were from and now I know!!! Crazy, had no idea I ever got anything from a theme like this
I have such nostalgia for this theme, even though I only had the cheapest option for most of it, I’ll always remember getting Blue Eagle vs Snow Crawler as a gift from my grandma right before she passed when I was little. Snow Crawler and it’s design is one of my all time favorite things I played with in my childhood
I think that set holds up really well, even today. It's quite unique, and a very fun design
I have long looked at the early sets and dreamed of owning them
They certainly don't make 'em like they used too...
Ogel got his hook hand from a bite from one of his cybernetic, mind controlled sharks if I remember properly. This was in gen 1 lore, back when he had a cybernetic arm, which never showed up in the sets if I remember; only showing in the comics.
This information is purely coming from memory, and since I was a gen 1 Alpha team-er, I might be mistaken after the 2 or 3 years it's been since gen 1 came out.
I still have the comics I think...
Hey, I believe it!
My very first ever LEGO set was that $20 4x4. I remember distinctly dropping my set on the floor and taking it over to a caretakers home before I realized I no longer had all the pieces. Then 3 years ago I was able to manage a completed copy on bricklink and now I own the set yet again
Ayy, so glad you could get it back together again!
You should do one of these videos for Pharaoh’s Quest!
I wish I had more Pharaoh's Quests sets - I think I only have two, maybe 3 :c
Such a cool bunch of weird vehicles.
Indeed. LEGO was so creative during this era
You make me appreciate what was a least favorite theme a little more
Glad to hear it! I want to grow people's appreciate for these rather underrated themes. It's by no means perfect, and certainly not the best theme of it's time, but it still has some great stuff going on.
Might not be super interesting but I read one paper about Lego on those years and the prices for those sets were based on the design time that went into those sets rather than the pieces. Back then Lego had some serious design hubs in cities like New York, San Francisco, London and Paris where designers created pieces, play features and of course, unique pieces that Lego would then translate into actual sets. That’s why some sets had unique, useless and super expensive pieces such as the Mars theme with the air thingies to make the tubes work. So that’s what brought Lego to the brink of bankruptcy.
Then they made a huge bet on Gallidor with even a live action show but in terms of sales, Bionicle was the ONLY profitable line. Sadly that wasn’t enough. Lego shut down all the design studios and hubs I mentioned and brought all design processes to an in house studio in Billund. Lego also sold Legoland back in the early 00s and recently bought them again.
So Lego had to get a new CEO and reestructure the company and their operations to survive.
No way! I’ve always had a couple Lego sets my older brother had that didn’t make it into my childhood, and the helicopter set was one of the ones I never saw built! Only thing that triggered the memory was the mini figure. No way I can forget that face lol
This stuff.. i remember all of this, i remember loving it, especially the animations lol
edit: I remember this giving me G.I. Joe vibes
Will you ever revisit Rockraiders?
Unfortunately I have no Rock Raiders sets at the moment. I will be doing Power Miners very soon - it's my all time favorite theme!
I love this theme! I actually have the complete Alpha Team collection sealed, all three waves
WHOA - that's insane! If I recall correctly, the boxes for Mission Deep Freeze had the holographic thingy to show the transformations, right?
@@CheeseyStudios They do! The most interesting thing I found about the boxes is that the second wave of Deep Freeze uses very obvious CGI for the model to the point where a lot of the pieces are contorted in ways not physically possible, especially the Scorpion orb launcher. It's a little off-putting!
Interesting! I'm going to have to go look at those again. The second wave is all around super bizarre. Odd set numbers, no new printed pieces, but two brand new figures? I have to wonder what happened there at the end.
@@CheeseyStudios Yeah it was odd. I believe many thought Deep Sea would've been the end due to the gap between it and Freeze. I had a few of the Agents sets growing up and as cool as they were, to me Alpha Team had the perfect balance of camp and cool.
Wow this unlocked a deep memory… I can now vividly recall building the snowmobile set and and loving the transformer aspect of it… and flex was such a cool character with that orange arm.
The figures did feel ahead of their time.
I got the mountain fortress set for deep deep discount at Walmart as a kid in the clearance section. It was in $20 range from what I remember. I loved the baseplate and would use the set as a James Bond villain lair
Dang do I miss the epic Wal-Mart clearance days. What a find! The baseplate is so cool, and stands out even amongst other raised plates like it.
The Walker was the first lego set I ever got as a kid.......Core memory unlocked
Please do a review of the Lego Agents 2009 theme
so, to compare it to the MCU...
OG Alpha Team is Avengers
AT Deep Sea is Age of Ultron
AT Deep Freeze is End Game
which makes Zed the... Captain Marvel?
Wow how did I miss this one and why did it just pop up today.😅
This one's right up your alley too! Glad it got to you eventually 😂
@@CheeseyStudios yeah loved it, still trying to figure how you hid it from.me thus long
More adventurers!! A revisiting would be awesome
I'd love to! Picking up all the sets might prove challenging (I have the best head start on the Jungle sub theme I think) but it would be so cool
i love the android so much, i will take him if you are displeased!
I'm so glad you like him so much! I'm afraid I'll still be hanging on to mine, chewed up head and all lol
can u do this but its the 2001 sets
Maybe one day! I only have one set from the 2001 wave at the moment though :c
I like alpha team a lot, I have one set, the truck thing with the submarine and I must say I’m surprised by how playable it is for such a small set. Also the minifigs are great, agent flex from the ATV has such a cool face print.
The art style is just so unique! I just feel like we'll never see anything quite like it again.
@@CheeseyStudios yeah, sadly we probably won’t
Ice blade was my favorite too!! The helicopter transformation was so fun as an kid
I know right? It's so good!
I had the Blue Eagle vs. Snow Crawler when i was younger and it was my most coveted set
That's one of the best of this theme. Love the bad guy vehicles!
2:08 they killed him off 0_0
O_O