Today, we are going to talk about a theme that didn’t do much for me as a kid—but does appeal to me now (even more when seeing what can be done with it when building MOCs based on it). I’m talking about Rock Raiders. You know, the miners on a remote planet who are looking for crystals that may or may not have been a space theme? They are usually accompanied with vehicles that are easily recognizable from their teal and yellow accents.

Well, they are recognizable if you know your stuff! LegoMathijs aka Mathijs Bongers is someone who certainly does. He loves the theme and has a wonderful collection of stunning Rock Raider MOCs. He was also so kind to talk a bit about those MOCs with us at BrickNerd!

Rocking Out with Rock Raiders

Marco: Scrolling through your Flickr account I noticed MOCs based on a vast variety of themes. But what caught my attention was that it was mostly based on older themes like Aquazone, Alpha Team, and Adventurers. What is it that you like so much about those themes? And what is your favorite one?

Mathijs: As a kid, I thought those themes were absolutely amazing. I can use all my inspiration within those themes. LEGO made so many sets for those themes mentioned, some with specific elements for those themes. The vast amount of different sets inspired me to build on those themes in my own way.

One of my all-time favorites is Rock Raiders—always has been. As a kid, I really liked that all the Rock Raiders sets had little comics included in the specific set. I liked that as an awesome extra that completed the theme. But I also think the sets are well designed, accompanied by a special combination of colors (yellow and especially teal). The futuristic mining machines had a great tough look. And don’t forget the chromed drills, which are unique to the Rock Raiders theme. Rock Raiders also has a video game, which is quite popular, even to this day!

Marco: You’ve pointed out that you liked those mining machines and you’ve built plenty yourself, even accompanied by a large layout. How do you start when making MOCs?

Mathijs: I often just start by building a vehicle. That vehicle then needs a piece of layout. So more vehicles means that the layout is expanding as well. My big Rock Raiders layout took me about 18 months to finish. I started with a sketch, but I quickly abandoned that and just went on with building. Before I started, I already had quite a clear picture in my mind on what it needed to look like. So just building works better for me than drawing it out completely.

Marco: Which elements or requirements do MOCs need to fit within the Rock Raiders theme? And which MOC is your favorite one?

Mathijs: A vehicle needs at least tools to be able to dig for energy crystals and other materials. Also, the color combination of grey and dark grey needs to be used. Or in the case of the newer colors, light bluish grey and dark bluish grey. What absolutely can’t be forgotten is the combination of yellow and teal, which are the accents that make the theme stand out. Larger vehicles often have safety cages in the color brown.

I like the playability part of the sets. So I like to take that into consideration when creating my own vehicles. I also like to make the vehicles modular, so you can mix and match several vehicles with different parts.

One of my favorite MOCs is the complete Rock Raiders layout, Planet ONYXX-Expedition. I loved that I could put all my creativity into it to make a whole new Rock Raiders story. It was a lot of fun and of course, the layout counts as a huge MOC, but all those fun vehicles are MOCs that make it all come together as a whole. Of all those vehicles the Granite Grander v2 is one of my favorites. It has a lot of playabilities and modular functions.

Marco: With so much passion for the Rock Raiders theme, I’m wondering if you have collected all the original sets? And do you have a favorite one?

Mathijs: During the years, I was fortunate enough to complete the whole collection. As a kid, I already had every set except for the 4980 Tunnel Transport and 4990 HQ. Thanks to BrickLink, I was able to get those sets eventually. Because I like to build within the Rock Raiders theme, I also have plenty of extra sets so I can use the parts, especially the unique parts. It’s hard to say which set I like most, so I’ll go with more than one. The 4940 Granite Grinder, 4970 Chrome Crusher, and 4990 HQ are all just great sets!

Marco: What do you think of Power Miners, which is technically Rock Raiders’ successor?

Mathijs: Power Miners? What’s that? Rock Raiders rule! In my opinion, Power Miners doesn’t come close to Rock Raiders. Rock Raiders is all about the search for energy crystals on Planet U. And by chance there happen to be monsters. Power Miners is more about defeating monsters and less about digging/exploring. And the second Power Miners run is even lacking mining tools. How can you be a Power Miner without a drill?

But to be fair, I have been part of a Power Miners layout once. I was asked to join in on building a layout for LEGO World Utrecht. I thought it was worth the challenge and was even happy with the result, although it was not Rock Raiders.

Marco: I have seen multiple of your layouts in real life at several events—what makes attending events so much fun? Do you have a favorite event?

Mathijs: What I like about attending those events is that you can show others, AFOLs and visitors, how much is possible with building LEGO. I like the amount of appreciation and feedback you get from people. I also met a lot of other AFOLs at those events who I still regularly speak to. I think that’s one of the most valuable parts of the LEGO hobby.

On average, I attend four events a year. One of my favorite ones is LEGO World Utrecht. It’s a 7-day event which draws almost 10,000 visitors each day, who love to look at the MOCs that me and my fellow AFOLs put on display. I also like that it’s an annual event where it’s nice to see old AFOL friends again.

Mathijs at rock raiders layout at brickshow Baarn

Marco: Do you have new MOC plans for the next event?

Mathijs: For sure, there are always new plans for a layout. Again sci-fi, but this time based on a movie/series of books. The rest is a surprise!

Marco: That sounds promising, looking forward to seeing it at an event sometime! Thanks for your time!

Did you build with Rock Raiders in the past? Let us know in the comments below.

Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a top patron like Marc & Liz Puleo, Paige Mueller, Rob Klingberg from Brickstuff, John & Joshua Hanlon from Beyond the Brick, Megan Lum, Andy Price, Lukas Kurth from StoneWars, Wayne Tyler, Dan Church, and Roxanne Baxter to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more.