10497 Galaxy Explorer 90th anniversary set

[AmperZand]

3 hours ago, jonwil said:

Bought the set today from the LEGO store, really happy with the build so far, its great fun.

 

I also bought the set today from a LEGO store. Looking forwards to assembling/modding it in the next few day.

[Mandalorianknight]

Stayed up until midnight (set released at 11am in my time zone, but it took FOREVER to get into the site, despite my hitting the refresh button the second the clock struck eleven) to get this set, and now it's on it's way! I am very excited, might take a day off to build it and some of my other recent purchases.

[jodawill]

7 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

Stayed up until midnight (set released at 11am in my time zone, but it took FOREVER to get into the site, despite my hitting the refresh button the second the clock struck eleven) to get this set, and now it's on it's way! I am very excited, might take a day off to build it and some of my other recent purchases.

How long was "forever?" I actually loaded the page at 11:59pm, and I was sent into the queue even before midnight. I had to wait about five minutes. I wasn't afraid of missing out on this set since it was given a wide release, but if this had been the castle, I would have had a panic attack watching that queue screen for five minutes. Seeing the GWP sell out so quickly, I'm definitely not taking any chances. Tomorrow night, I'm going to keep reloading the page for 10305 until it says it's available, then I'll submit my order immediately. I'm afraid that set might be sold out for months.

[Mandalorianknight]

2 hours ago, jodawill said:

How long was "forever?" I actually loaded the page at 11:59pm, and I was sent into the queue even before midnight. I had to wait about five minutes. I wasn't afraid of missing out on this set since it was given a wide release, but if this had been the castle, I would have had a panic attack watching that queue screen for five minutes. Seeing the GWP sell out so quickly, I'm definitely not taking any chances. Tomorrow night, I'm going to keep reloading the page for 10305 until it says it's available, then I'll submit my order immediately. I'm afraid that set might be sold out for months.

Ok, only around 25 minutes, but it felt like forever.

[jodawill]

4 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

Ok, only around 25 minutes, but it felt like forever.

Honestly, that's a long time to wait just to enter the site, especially at midnight. I think they actually opened it up one minute earlier. So tomorrow night, I'm definitely going to be refreshing every minute at least ten minutes before midnight.

[danth]

Mine is supposed to arrive tomorrow.

I was checking out the instructions for the One Man Space Ship alt build, and I think it should be really easy to mod it to get the pilot sitting up straight. In step 81 you basically build a booster seat for the pilot so he's not sitting in a well. You could just leave out the red plates, and maybe even the white bullion pieces too, and the pilot could sit down deep in the ship. I think you can also remove the white brick behind them (it doesn't appear to be structurally necessary) and have the pilot sit another stud or two rearward to get him under the highest point of the canopy.

I'm not sure how deep he can sit without his arms/air tank hitting other stuff but I see how one could rearrange things. I'll probably have the steering wheel upright too. 

 

[Willsy]

Just finished building this and wow what a fantastic set  The build was super enjoyable with some very creative and interesting techniques, and the number of features and details is considerable. The rear bay for the buggy is admittedly a lot of fun to play with! The retractable gear is masterfully implemented as well, the underside of the ship looks pristine. I think the Explorer itself is perfect, I just wish an extra astronaut or two were included (perhaps a blue or black one?).

Overall I think this is my favourite set this year, which I really was not expecting. £90 for this is very good value for money. I grabbed a second Benny's Space Squad from eBay to fill out my classic astronaut ranks a bit more. 

Edited August 2, 2022 by Willsy

[Lord Insanity]

Luckily I got my pre-order delivery today.  Now that I have built the 928 I can answer the most important question that none of the early reviews answered.  An astronaut can in fact just barely wiggle through the opening from the back compartment into the cockpit.  The chest will rub against the underside of a plate so I don't really recommend doing it with an actual classic space logo torso.  A visor helmet will not fit through only a classic space helmet (and probably a few basic hair wigs) can fit through. 

Overall my initial impressions were pretty much right on for what I expected.  This is easily one of the best Space ships Lego has ever made.  It is an instant classic set that any Space fan should own at least one of.  This set is a master class for anyone that is not already familiar with the geometry of modern wedge plates and tiles.  I suspect this set will usher in a new era of design for a lot of people.

I only have a few minor nitpicks.  The bottom is flat with the landing gear retracted.  I mean really flat, it looks weird because I never considered the bottom of the original Galaxy Explorer to be flat.  Ironically I find the best way to swoosh the ship around is to leave the landing gear out and grip it from the gear wells on the underside.  That is the only good way to do it one handed that I have found so far.  Unfortunately there is some obvious solid red showing in the landing gear wells.  This is really unfortunate because those parts could have easily been blue or gray.  My last nitpick is that the ship has a very small amount of interior space relative to its size.  Don't get me wrong the designer did an amazing job cramming as much space as he could inside.  The ship can easily hold 8 figures and you could probably make 10 work.  Compared to my favorite Space ship the 6985 Cosmic Fleet Voyager which can easily hold over 20 figs it was a mild let down.  To be fair the new ship does have lots of actual computers and seats and beds and such that the figures can be posed "using" while 6985 is mainly empty space with nothing inside.  It is that potential that always sparked my imagination though.

[Wonderpants]

8 hours ago, Lord Insanity said:

Luckily I got my pre-order delivery today.  Now that I have built the 928 I can answer the most important question that none of the early reviews answered.  An astronaut can in fact just barely wiggle through the opening from the back compartment into the cockpit.  The chest will rub against the underside of a plate so I don't really recommend doing it with an actual classic space logo torso.  A visor helmet will not fit through only a classic space helmet (and probably a few basic hair wigs) can fit through. 

 

This was something I wondered about too. Do you think the cockpit hinge/computer display divider can be modded to give more clearance? Just bugs me a bit that the astronauts would probably have to get out of the ship to go from the cockpit to the back compartment 

[lowlead]

13 hours ago, Lord Insanity said:

...I only have a few minor nitpicks.  The bottom is flat with the landing gear retracted.  I mean really flat, it looks weird because I never considered the bottom of the original Galaxy Explorer to be flat....

I'm planning to address the completely flat bottom with one or two layers of inversely stepped wedge plates and tiles to contour the arrowhead shape of the ship, similar to how the original GE was constructed.

^^ Also - similar to the original - I plan to make that plain, slab-sided aft section a bit more angular with inverted slopes.

[danth]

They're here! In my house!

I'm suddenly feeling a little sick and might need to call in to work...

[technicfanatic]

15 minutes ago, danth said:

They're here! In my house!

I'm suddenly feeling a little sick and might need to call in to work...

Mine arrives Thursday ........

[Corellian Corvette]

So as I'm looking at the two alternate builds, and I'm wondering how many additional pieces need to be ordered to build 918 and 924 from one 10497 set.

Let's say I want to build BOTH small ships - I don't think there are enough pieces in 1 set to build both, but it sure seems like there would be enough left over pieces to build both with some additions.

Hopefully I'm asking the question properly - It would be great to see a parts list for both the small ships TOGETHER, subtract what's in the 10497 set, then come up with a parts list to supplement so you don't have to buy 3 full sets to build all 3 ships.

Thanks!

[Lord Insanity]

 

16 hours ago, Wonderpants said:

This was something I wondered about too. Do you think the cockpit hinge/computer display divider can be modded to give more clearance? Just bugs me a bit that the astronauts would probably have to get out of the ship to go from the cockpit to the back compartment 

Well a classic space astronaut (that comes with the ship) does fit through the opening between the back compartment and the cockpit.  Now if minifigs were alive and could move themselves through and bend their limbs at certain points it would likely be much easier.  Point being if we assume this is a "real ship" then the astronauts would definitely enter the cockpit from behind.  The front window would not open at all except maybe as an emergency escape hatch.  I wouldn't expect the astronauts to go through that way anymore than I would expect Han Solo to go through the front window of the Millennium Falcon.  That is only for us "creators" to control our figures.

If you did want to raise the whole double window set by a plate to make more clearance inside it would probably be fairly easy to mod.  That would probably allow visor helmet astronauts to pass through as well.  Could always replace the first 1x tile in front of the 2x4 space logo with cheese wedges to offset the height difference and it would likely look perfectly fine.

 

7 hours ago, danth said:

They're here! In my house!

I'm suddenly feeling a little sick and might need to call in to work...

I literally laughed out loud reading that and my wife asked me what was so funny.  She then rolled her eyes and said it's like pouring gas on fire. 

 

3 hours ago, Corellian Corvette said:

So as I'm looking at the two alternate builds, and I'm wondering how many additional pieces need to be ordered to build 918 and 924 from one 10497 set.

Let's say I want to build BOTH small ships - I don't think there are enough pieces in 1 set to build both, but it sure seems like there would be enough left over pieces to build both with some additions.

Hopefully I'm asking the question properly - It would be great to see a parts list for both the small ships TOGETHER, subtract what's in the 10497 set, then come up with a parts list to supplement so you don't have to buy 3 full sets to build all 3 ships.

Thanks!

Looking through the instructions I think there is more overlap in parts usage than people realize.  When you factor in the value of time and effort, I would not at all be surprised if it winds up being cheaper to just buy two sets rather than trying to buy the "extras" to make both with only one set.

Then again I may be slightly biased in that I feel the set is a fantastic parts pack and worth buying if for that alone, so take my assessment with a grain of salt.

[Corellian Corvette]

1 hour ago, Lord Insanity said:

Looking through the instructions I think there is more overlap in parts usage than people realize.  When you factor in the value of time and effort, I would not at all be surprised if it winds up being cheaper to just buy two sets rather than trying to buy the "extras" to make both with only one set.

Then again I may be slightly biased in that I feel the set is a fantastic parts pack and worth buying if for that alone, so take my assessment with a grain of salt.

It's a heck of a good deal, for sure. And you may be right. Still, hopefully someone does these models in LDD then we can figure it out :)

[Seasider]

@Corellian Corvette - I want to build all 3 too. I haven’t ordered the set yet as I’ve got the chance of going to an actual store this weekend, so will pick one up then. We’ll actually I might pick up 2.

The plan I thought about is to arrange all the pieces neatly. Then put the pieces for the mid-sized in a pile. Then repeat for the small one but make 2 piles, one for parts still from the bin (not used in the mid) and a second pile for common pieces.

I think there may be quite a few parts missing in the substructure and some of the details like the parts to make the arrows. But I’m thinking a brick link order would still end up cheaper than buying 3. I guess the biggest question is how many parts that are unique to this set, so the printed parts, are common to both the mid and small ship. This would make it expensive to get the extra parts. For the ship number I was planning on using custom stickers to number them all correctly.

[Navy Trooper Fenson]

9 hours ago, Lord Insanity said:

Looking through the instructions I think there is more overlap in parts usage than people realize.  When you factor in the value of time and effort, I would not at all be surprised if it winds up being cheaper to just buy two sets rather than trying to buy the "extras" to make both with only one set.

Then again I may be slightly biased in that I feel the set is a fantastic parts pack and worth buying if for that alone, so take my assessment with a grain of salt. 

Looking at the instructions the vast majority of parts are very common. The only real outliers are all printed elements which one might substitute with different prints or blank pieces, and 2 grey tail struts of which you could just use the 2 blue tail struts which would otherwise be left over from the set. I assume everyone with a decent loose parts collection and maybe the willingness to make color changes is able to build the 2 alt models with just one set and minimal extra parts. I also remember to have heard the designer say something to that effect in the live stream Lego con event or however that was called.

I just asked Lyichir for his digital files of the 3 ships, it would take me no time to make a list of the missing pieces with those.

The official alt-instructions do not have partslists in their back pages, a huge oversight by Lego in my opinion, or a strategy to get impatient fans to buy more sets than necessary.

Edited August 3, 2022 by Navy Trooper Fenson

[Seasider]

@Navy Trooper Fenson if you could quickly come up with the what’s missing list for building all 3 from 2 sets that would be great 👍 

 

[LegoFjotten]

I built it yesterday as soon as it arrived, what a glorious set! Ordered a 2nd one right away so I can have a go at one of the alternative models

[lowlead]

1 hour ago, Navy Trooper Fenson said:

...The official alt-instructions do not have partslists in their back pages...or a strategy to get impatient fans to buy more sets than necessary.

GUILTYYYYYYYYY!
[/PeterGriffin]

 

Edited August 3, 2022 by lowlead

[NoOneOfImportance]

1 hour ago, Seasider said:

@Navy Trooper Fenson if you could quickly come up with the what’s missing list for building all 3 from 2 sets that would be great 👍 

 

I second this request! 

[danth]

So I built mine last night. I think it took my 5 hours!

It was glorious. I definitely had some "you can do that with Lego?" moments. The way the wing leading edges were held on with headlight bricks and these, the whole air lock (I didn't know there were rails that slide over studs, and I didn't know you could use an inverted cheese slop in the other kind of rail). The way the canopy hinges were attached was kind of surprising too. I think word I muttered to myself most while building this was "unreal". So much genius and perfection.

And the way everything fits together and all the gimmicks work flawlessly. The thing is just a masterpiece. And it feels like way more than a $100 set! The thing is an absolute steal at that price.

I think the red, white, and yellow pieces used in the internals have to be some kind of epic troll. Something about it is hilarious. Like, are those colors cheaper, so the designer used them to save budget for elsewhere? Or was it for ease of building/using the right parts in the right places? Or was it an intentional "Hey, remember when all the parts were just these primary colors?" nostalgia trip? Because it definitely felt like that! It reminded me of when I mixed my non-space colored bricks with my other space pieces, or the old Idea books that encouraged just that:

Edited August 3, 2022 by danth

[Corellian Corvette]

4 hours ago, Navy Trooper Fenson said:

I just asked Lyichir for his digital files of the 3 ships, it would take me no time to make a list of the missing pieces with those.

Awesome news! Thanks!!

[icm]

4 minutes ago, danth said:

Or was it an intentional "Hey, remember when all the parts were just these primary colors?" nostalgia trip?

I'm not going to look for the source right now, but I remember reading (or hearing) in one of the designer interviews that it's exactly that.  The primary colors inside the wing of the 10497 are chosen to be only the colors available in 1979.

[jodawill]

7 minutes ago, danth said:

So I built mine last night. I think it took my 5 hours!

It was glorious. I definitely had some "you can do that with Lego?" moments. The way the wing leading edges were held on with headlight bricks and these, the whole air lock (I didn't know there were rails that slide over studs, and I didn't know you could use an inverted cheese slop in the other kind of rail). The way the canopy hinges were attached was kind of surprising too. I think word I muttered to myself most while building this was "unreal". So much genius and perfection.

And the way everything fits together and all the gimmicks work flawlessly. The thing is just a masterpiece. And it feels like way more than a $100 set! The thing is an absolute steal at that price.

I think the red, white, and yellow pieces used in the internals have to be some kind of epic troll. Something about it is hilarious. Like, are those colors cheaper, so the designer used them to save budget for elsewhere? Or was it for ease of building/using the right parts in the right places? Or was it an intentional "Hey, remember when all the parts were just these primary colors?" nostalgia trip? Because it definitely felt like that! It reminded me of when I mixed my non-space colored bricks with my other space pieces, or the old Idea books that encouraged just that:

Reading your comment, it makes it really hard for me to wait until Christmas to build this thing. I had them shipped to my parents's house so my son won't see them. I might have to go over there by myself sometime just to build this set.

Looking at the alternate builds, I have to say, the two man spaceship (I forget what the original was) looks even better than the main model.

Now that the time has come, I can't decide if I'm more excited about this set or the castle. I've waited my entire life for these things. I've always wanted a castle and some brand new classic space sets. It feels so good that it's finally happening.