In 1996 LEGO released 10 Space sets across 2 subthemes. The largest Space set from 1996 was
6982 Explorien Starship with a piece count of 662 and a retail price of $79.99. The current estimated value of all these Space sets from this year is about $2,690.36 which represents a 1287.9% growth.
The LEGO Space theme is one of the earliest and expansive themes that began in 1978 and features sets around features astronauts, spaceships, and extraterrestrial life. The first Space themes included an emphasis on space exploration with ships and basic wheeled vehicles and later consisted of more science fiction based sets which consisted of robots, small and large spaceships, and bases. The theme expanded over the years into various subthemes that included space factions and more story lines such as Futuron, Blacktron, Space Police, M:Tron, Spyrius, Unitron, Exploriens, Life on Mars, Alien Conquest and many more.
1996 LEGO Sets
In 1996, the LEGO Group continued its legacy of innovation, though it was nearing a challenging period in its history. This year saw the company's ventures into digital media, with the establishment of LEGO Media, marking its initial foray into the world of video games and multimedia. Additionally, the Technic line was rebranded to create a more coherent global brand identity. While traditional brick sets remained popular, the mid-90s marked the beginning of a time when the company recognized the need for diversification and modernization to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving toy market.