Galaxy Commander > Galaxy Explorer?

[Doom2099]

Hello,

This is more of a seeking of ideas rather than a straight up statement.  But I'm curious if anyone could provide some more ideas as to why the 497/928 Galaxy Explorer is far more ubiquitous than the 6980 Galaxy Commander?

Being the first flagship of course will always make it #1 it seems, but that being put aside, is there anything else that earns it almost all the attention on neo classic space builds, the Lego Movie, etc?

It seems with Pirates, there is more of a 45-55 split in terms of the Skull's Eye Schooner vs the Black Seas Barracuda.

Of course, a Lugnet rating of 94 for the Galaxy Explorer vs 93 for the Galaxy Commander doesn't show a huge bias, but it just seems that 6980 is missing out sometimes.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

[Space Police XVIII]

928 is just the more Classic Spacey of the two.  Simple boxy shape evocative of the early sets, with plenty of room for experimenting while the basic design stays recognizably the same.  And the colors are pure Classic Space while the Commander is more futurony.  Toss in a couple orange transparent chainsaws and it'd be right at home in Ice Planet. 

6980's also not as good looking.  Just remaking it in Classic Space colors is a huge improvement.

Edited September 24, 2017 by Space Police XVIII

[Hart New Bob]

GC does not have a good place to hold it. (How am I supposed to swoosh it around when the supports keep falling off?)  it also holds less Minifigs...

Quote

Space Police XVIII said:

6980's also not as good looking.  Just remaking it in Classic Space colors is a huge improvement.

I agree.

Edited September 24, 2017 by Hart New Bob

[snefroe]

the galaxy explorer looks like a sports car, the commander looks like a van. most people prefer a sports car. that's it, really.

I don't think the color combination was off, honestly. I liked those colors, especially after several years of blue and grey, and the set introduced a great deal of new (or allmost new) parts. The design was simply not as good. Lego also did not stop the galaxy's production when the commander came out. Both were available at the same time. That probably didn't help either.

 

[danth]

Wow no love for the Commander around here. I have a soft spot for it.

It looks wintery in white and blue, and the transparent green, yellow, and red pieces almost look like Christmas lights. So if you don't like the Galaxy Commander, my question for you is: why do you hate Christmas? 

Also it's modular. It has a command base that attaches to the main craft, and the fore section can detach into a very swooshable twin-seated fighter. What's not to love? 

The Galaxy Commander, in my mind, is the set that proved that Lego Space was an institution. The first wave with the Galaxy Explorer was the introduction, and the second wave with the Starfleet Commander was a continuation, but the Galaxy Commander meant the Space was a theme that had lasting power and plenty more tricks up its sleeve. 

[Hart New Bob]

37 minutes ago, danth said:

Wow no love for the Commander around here. I have a soft spot for it.

It looks wintery in white and blue, and the transparent green, yellow, and red pieces almost look like Christmas lights. So if you don't like the Galaxy Commander, my question for you is: why do you hate Christmas? 

Also it's modular. It has a command base that attaches to the main craft, and the fore section can detach into a very swooshable twin-seated fighter. What's not to love? 

The Galaxy Commander, in my mind, is the set that proved that Lego Space was an institution. The first wave with the Galaxy Explorer was the introduction, and the second wave with the Starfleet Commander was a continuation, but the Galaxy Commander meant the Space was a theme that had lasting power and plenty more tricks up its sleeve. 

I do like the look of the Commander more, but, the explorer has a slightly better design IMO.  (I don't have the explorer but have held it in my hands before)

Edited September 26, 2017 by Hart New Bob

[sed6]

I just broke out my old space lego and built both!

 

[sed6]

Some glamor shots. Also built the Alpha 1 Rocket Base.

 

 

 

[M'Kyuun]

While both sets have a lot going for them (I just recently acquired a copy of the Commander, and I've had the Explorer for about ten years), I think the Explorer edges out the Commander for many because 1) it was first, 2) it was a visually provocative design (and still is, IMHO), 3) the wedge shapes were evocative of the Star Destroyer from Star Wars, which came out only two years prior, and 4) with its delta wing shape, it resembles space craft concepts going back to the 50's, which ultimately culminated in the Space Transport System orbiter (Space Shuttle), and said delta formation continues to inform future concepts. In a word, it looks the more plausible of the two designs, and, at least subconsciously, that appeals. Personally, it will always be among my all-time favorite LEGO designs.

As I said, I recently acquired the Commander, and it's a lovely set. The modularity is a strong point to the set's appeal, although I find it visually striking, as well. But the Galaxy Explorer still wins in the looks department for me, mostly because of the delta shaping, I think. 

[GeoBrick]

Oh man, I wish my classic space minifigs were still in such good shape...

[ReplicaOfLife]

I've never had any close-up experience with the Galaxy Commander, but just from the pictures, I vastly prefer the Galaxy Explorer.

There are several reasons for this:

- I'm no friend of twin cockpit designs
- I'm a visual person, and the Explorer just wins here. The Commander suffers from something that a lot of the big, modular spaceships suffered from: While the modularity was great for play, it diminuished the overall look of the designs. There often were bulky parts that were intended to be left behind as bases or something, that made the complete build look, well, bulky and somewhat jumbled together. Often, you'd find pieces at locations that did not make any sense in the full build. Galaxy Commander, for example, has two big rocket engines right behind the cockpits...pointing right at the weird module that holds the base, most likely scorching it to hell! Whoops!
- Speaking of that...what's that rear section of Galaxy Commander for, except fo holding the base module? When all is combined, it just looks awkward with the big supports strutting out from underneath (which also look as if they'd fall off as soon as you'd pick it up). The front section alone looks great (even though those rocket engines were still bound to scorch its own wings...), the base module itself is nice, but that sort of frame thingy that holds it when transporting it is pretty much useless otherwise.