In February, just before the film's first official trailer release, Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy earned quite a few headlines from its showcase at New York Toy Fair. There we got our first look at some of the characters, vehicles and aliens in Marvel's space-based adventure via a line of toys from Hasbro and for the more creative builders and collectors, a large LEGO set.

That first LEGO set reveal included the Milano starship, the "hero" ship of the film and personal vehicle of protagonist Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) in a battle against the Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). LEGO has since revealed a pair of additional sets, bringing the total headlining exclusive Guardians of the Galaxy collections by LEGO to three, featuring all the minifigure versions of characters from the film in sets based on key scenes in the movie.

The first features the starship of the Nova Corps, the galactic police force introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy who factor into many of Marvel Comics' cosmic stories and crossover events. The star-shaped vessel, dubbed the Starblaster, was the first teased vehicle of the movie, showing up in the background of the movie's very first official concept art, unveiled at Comic-Con 2012.

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Starblaster Showdown

LEGO Marvel Nova Starblaster Set
Starblaster Showdown

Help Star-Lord keep the priceless orb safe with the Starblaster!

Launch into battle against the Sakaaran’s Necrocraft in the awesome Starblaster and help Star-Lord to escape with the orb! Place the Nova officer in the cockpit and launch into the sky. Fold back the wings for high-speed pursuit mode and then flip them up to activate arrest mode. Use the space blasters and boot thrusters of Star-Lord to outwit the enemy and protect the priceless orb! Includes 3 minifigures with assorted weapons and accessories: Star-Lord, the Sakaaran and a Nova officer.

Now note the star-shaped objects in the background:

Guardians of the Galaxy Concept Art from Comic-Con 2012
First Guardians of the Galaxy Art by Charlie Wen

From the Guardians of the Galaxy trailers, the climactic battle of the movie seems to involve the villainous Ronan attacking the planet Xandar (the Nova Corps homeworld), launching a fleet of smaller fighters dubbed the Necrocraft which we now know are piloted by Sakaaran pilots - aliens that are led by Ronan or who are in alliance with Ronan's Kree alien race. To fight back, these Nova Starblasters take to the air alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy and their Milano ship which brings us to...

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The Milano Spaceship Rescue

LEGO Marvel Milano Spaceship Rescue Set

Join the Guardians of the Galaxy for the ultimate battle against evil Ronan!

Prepare for an epic clash between the Guardians of the Galaxy and the ultimate villain, Ronan! Ronan zooms into this epic deep-space battle in his personal Necrocraft, backed up by the Sakaaran, and holding his all-powerful Cosmi-Rod ready to strike. Luckily, Star-Lord is prepared to launch a counter-attack with the equally potent Hadron Enforcer and 2 iconic space blasters. Steer the mighty Milano Spaceship into battle with Gamora and Drax, firing the stud shooters and flick missiles to repel this evil threat to the Galaxy. Includes 5 minifigures with assorted weapons and accessories: Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Ronan and the Sakaaran.

The flagship set of the LEGO Guardians of the Galaxy line, this collection includes the Milano spaceship and three members of the Guardians roster, alongside Ronan the Accuser whose holding both the Universal Weapon (his iconic weapon from the comics) and the mysterious orb (the MacGuffin of the film and likely an Infinity Stone). Like the Starblaster Showdown, this set also includes a Necrocraft and Sakaaran soldier.

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Knowhere Escape Mission

 

LEGO Marvel Knowhere Escape Mission Set Groot
Knowhere Escape Mission

Team up with Groot and Rocket Raccoon to plot an escape from Knowhere!

They’ve discovered the rare orb in the mining fields, only to be ambushed by the bad guys. Evade shots from the huge bazooka assembled by the Sakaaran and the evil Nebula and return fire with Rocket Raccoon’s custom space blaster. Leap into action with the gigantic posable Groot to confront the sword-wielding Nebula. Launch a fierce counter-attack so Rocket Raccoon can get away in the mining pod with the precious orb in its grabbing claw! Includes 3 minifigures with assorted weapons: Rocket Raccoon, Nebula and the Sakaaran, plus Groot figure.

In the second Guardians of the Galaxy trailer we see the team flying towards a massive disembodied head, the size of moon. This place is called Knowhere, a space station and mine built inside of a being known as a Celestial. Here's where they may meet The Collector, a character played by Benicio Del Toro who collects interesting people and artifacts from around the universe. In the comics, Knowhere becomes the base of operations for the Guardians of the Galaxy. For collectors, this set comes with the lovable Groot, an alien tree-like creature voiced by Vin Diesel, and the villainous and lethal Nebua (Karen Gillan).

Here are some additional images of the LEGO minifigures of the five members of the Guardians of the Galaxy:

[gallery columns="1" link="file" ids="457799,457795,457796,457797,457798"]

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More: Guardians of the Galaxy Set Interview With Chris Pratt

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Guardians of the Galaxy is directed by James Gunn off of his script co-written by Nicole Perlman. The film stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio del Toro, John C. Reilly, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and Glenn Close.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens in theaters on August 1, 2014The Avengers: Age of Ultron on May 1, 2015, Ant-Man on July 17, 2015, Captain America 3 on May 6 2016, with unannounced films coming July 8, 2016 and May 5, 2017.

Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes for your Marvel movie news!

Source: LEGO