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10497 Galaxy Explorer 90th anniversary set

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My first Galaxy Explorers were delivered today! These boxes have gotten me excited even more! :excited:

I'm really looking forward to the build. Designed by Mike Psiaki, it's guaranteed to be amazing! Those alternative builds are wonderful too!

I'm quite surprised the cardboard box has punch tabs instead of tape, as I had expected. Opening the boxes without too much damage will be my first mission! :laugh:

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3 hours ago, danth said:

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:

Modern Lego models usually include an assortment of bright colored bricks in the internals. It make it easier to build when you're not having to distinguish bricks that are the same color. Usually those bricks are colors like orange, teal, or pink, among others. But for this set, they deliberately kept the colors limited to red, yellow, blue, etc. as a nod to the original color palette available at the time the original set was released.

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Would anyone else prefer for the internals to match the exterior color scheme? It would add up a lot more possibilities for MOCs without having to incorporate parts from different sets.

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In addition to the requests for a parts list for what you'd need to build both alternate models with one set, I'd be interested to see a list of what parts end up left over if you DO buy three sets and build all three ships—would be helpful for knowing what kinds of spares you'd have left over for MOCing. Of course, I don't think I'm likely to get three myself—I'm a casual space fan but I don't really have the budget or display space to make the most of a full fleet of ships, especially with so many other sets I'm looking forward to getting this year.

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Woohoo! I can load the parts list into BrickLink stud.io now directly from the official sets dialog. I get import fails for the following parts

  1. 973p90new2 (Torso Space Classic Moon Logo High on Torso Pattern, Inside with Ribs (second reissue)) White x 2, Red x 2
  2. 40687 (Plate, Modified 2x 4 with Pins and Thick Reinforced Supports) Light Bluish Gray x 2

I suppose I can live with that for designing MOCs :pir-classic:!

 

 

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I'm going to build it one bag per day in the evenings. I did bag 1 today.

Spoiler

My favorite moment was assembling the red Space man. I enjoyed the techniques used to make the frame, but I did scratch my head as to _why_ such techniques were needed. The frame looks sturdy enough, but I would have just gone for a series of the Technic beams held together conventionally.

 

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The frame is built the way it is to accommodate the moving landing gear and ramp, the angled build of the cockpit and windscreens, the cutout for the lower seating area, and the raised part for the radar dish takeoff thrustors on the underside. They also had to provide support all the way to the edges without interfering with the angled pieces that provide attachment points for the angled sections at the very edge. Plus they had to provide connection points for the plates and wedges that cover the top and bottom surfaces. Overall there's a ton of really clever engineering going into it that is unseen once it's all put together.

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@Warbinator I'm not talking about the shape of the frame, but rather the use of the technic pins to hold it together. Some of the pins are needed for the gear and the ramp, but not all of them. I peeked ahead to bag two and I see that the beams are now held by the plates, which is how I would have done it to begin with. Anyhoo, a fun build so far. 

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Just received mine this morning, 'tis a thing of beauty!  Unfortunately I've had to order another two to complete the set.  Looking forward to building the alt models now!

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On 8/3/2022 at 1:53 PM, 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 👍 

 

The files are ready.  https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-119187/BigJudge/1-galaxy-explorer-10497-2-alternate-models-additional-parts/#parts

When you use 1 set to build both alt models you will need to get 340 parts additionally and 261 parts would be left over. Some of these leftovers are the same pieces as some of the rare missing pieces, just in different colors.

 

19 hours ago, Lyichir said:

In addition to the requests for a parts list for what you'd need to build both alternate models with one set, I'd be interested to see a list of what parts end up left over if you DO buy three sets and build all three ships—would be helpful for knowing what kinds of spares you'd have left over for MOCing. Of course, I don't think I'm likely to get three myself—I'm a casual space fan but I don't really have the budget or display space to make the most of a full fleet of ships, especially with so many other sets I'm looking forward to getting this year.

A file for that is in there, too, but I didn't account for extra parts of small 1x1 plates and such in any of the xml files because those are not always in every copy of a set.

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12 hours ago, technicfanatic said:

@Warbinator I'm not talking about the shape of the frame, but rather the use of the technic pins to hold it together. Some of the pins are needed for the gear and the ramp, but not all of them. I peeked ahead to bag two and I see that the beams are now held by the plates, which is how I would have done it to begin with. Anyhoo, a fun build so far. 

I’m confused. Why wouldn’t technic pins be used to hold the technic beams together? This is a style of building that is common, if not universal, in modern Lego set design. 

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13 hours ago, technicfanatic said:

I'm going to build it one bag per day in the evenings. I did bag 1 today.

  Hide contents

My favorite moment was assembling the red Space man. I enjoyed the techniques used to make the frame, but I did scratch my head as to _why_ such techniques were needed. The frame looks sturdy enough, but I would have just gone for a series of the Technic beams held together conventionally.

 

Well, I went for the gusto and built mine in 3 hours, haha. 

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48 minutes ago, Navy Trooper Fenson said:

The files are ready.  https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-119187/BigJudge/1-galaxy-explorer-10497-2-alternate-models-additional-parts/#parts

When you use 1 set to build both alt models you will need to get 340 parts additionally and 261 parts would be left over. Some of these leftovers are the same pieces as some of the rare missing pieces, just in different colors.

 

A file for that is in there, too, but I didn't account for extra parts of small 1x1 plates and such in any of the xml files because those are not always in every copy of a set.

Great work, thanks!

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59 minutes ago, Warbinator said:

I’m confused. Why wouldn’t technic pins be used to hold the technic beams together? This is a style of building that is common, if not universal, in modern Lego set design. 

There are a bunch of blue 3x friction pins used to hold the studded technic beams that I think are redundant. Perhaps they give additional strength. I don't get the use of the white 2x axle pins. It's really not a big deal and I enjoyed the build.

dJrw18h.jpg

The yellow arrows indicate parts that I think are odd choices given how the joined parts are secured in place later on.

 

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The round bricks are used because they have holes for technic pins and a large surface area to affix the plates that get attached above and below. Some of the 3L blue pins are used to span a gap that is 3 bricks wide. There are multiples because it adds strength and prevents the bricks from rotating in place.

The white pin/axle doesn't seem to have a particular use that a 3L blue pin wouldn't do, but maybe it's being used to get more of a relatively new piece into production. It still provides the needed strength length-wise even if it doesn't have the clutch power width-wise.

Edited by Warbinator

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I'm almost certain Lego has software that iterates over designs and offers suggestions for either reducing cost or improving structural integrity or both. That internal structure looks like it was optimized by an AI.

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2 hours ago, technicfanatic said:

There are a bunch of blue 3x friction pins used to hold the studded technic beams that I think are redundant. Perhaps they give additional strength. I don't get the use of the white 2x axle pins. It's really not a big deal and I enjoyed the build.

dJrw18h.jpg

The yellow arrows indicate parts that I think are odd choices given how the joined parts are secured in place later on.

 

The doubled grey pins near the back of the image you posted reinforce the beam structure so it doesn't flex (and help to strengthen the connection to the frames for the wings later on). The white and blue pins near the middle both help serve to keep the angled cockpit structure angled properly while it's under construction (before it's anchored securely in the back and middle, the two angled "arms" connected to the front rest comfortably on those pins). The white and grey round bricks with Technic holes are simply there for added structural support (connecting the Technic sections in two to three directions and having ample studs and anti-studs for the top and bottom wedge plates to attach to). The use of a 4x4 round brick instead of a square frame also provides extra room for the SNOT bricks that help to anchor the wing edge.

13 minutes ago, danth said:

I'm almost certain Lego has software that iterates over designs and offers suggestions for either reducing cost or improving structural integrity or both. That internal structure looks like it was optimized by an AI.

I WISH an AI existed that could optimize a complex construction this well. You can automate something like a basic brick sculpture or mosaic fairly well (and I do expect Lego has digital tools for quickly estimating price and suggesting alternatives in some cases), but for a complex, sturdy, and fairly compact build with angled sections like this, I don't doubt that most iterations were built by hand and physically tested for rigidity (including with drop tests to test how the builds withstand light physical impact and heat tests to simulate the toll gravity takes on a model over longer periods). That's one of the reasons I really respect the work Lego designers do—it involves not just creativity but also an impressive amount of work (including many stages of revisions and testing) to bring something like this from concept to completion!

Edited by Lyichir

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Looking forward what people come up with for alternate builds for this in terms of the more unusual, exotic type of builds, beyond the scope of more 918/924 shaped models

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Galaxy Explorer is done! 

Now to try and find a suitable moon base MOC or build my own, and wait for a sale on this so I can get a second copy and build the B and C models. image.gif.3e46fe783c5f8ae315809ef785fc2e4d.gif

Although I’m a little disappointed in Lego’s QC. I had a grey Technic pin that is meant to hold parts of the cabin together missing, and appear to have ended up with a grey 1x4 plate instead of a blue one, which means the tail fin isn’t quite finished. Plus both canopies had some scratches on them. 😬  Will have to get replacement pieces sent out.

And finally, they really should have included 1x6 bricks with LL918 and LL924 prints for the B & C builds. A couple of small bricks with the Classic Space logo would have been nice too.

image.gif

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6 minutes ago, Wonderpants said:

Galaxy Explorer is done! 

Now to try and find a suitable moon base MOC or build my own, and wait for a sale on this so I can get a second copy and build the B and C models. image.gif.3e46fe783c5f8ae315809ef785fc2e4d.gif

Although I’m a little disappointed in Lego’s QC. I had a grey Technic pin that is meant to hold parts of the cabin together missing, and appear to have ended up with a grey 1x4 plate instead of a blue one, which means the tail fin isn’t quite finished. Plus both canopies had some scratches on them. 😬  Will have to get replacement pieces sent out.

And finally, they really should have included 1x6 bricks with LL918 and LL924 prints for the B & C builds. A couple of small bricks with the Classic Space logo would have been nice too.

image.gif

Many people have complained about the scratched up canopies. I haven't opened that bag yet, but I can see the scratches. I'm sure it wouldn't have cost more than a dollar to pack the canopies in their own bags.

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2 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

Looking forward what people come up with for alternate builds for this in terms of the more unusual, exotic type of builds, beyond the scope of more 918/924 shaped models

Me too. I'm hoping to work on such a MOC.

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13 hours ago, Navy Trooper Fenson said:

The files are ready.  https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-119187/BigJudge/1-galaxy-explorer-10497-2-alternate-models-additional-parts/#parts

When you use 1 set to build both alt models you will need to get 340 parts additionally and 261 parts would be left over. Some of these leftovers are the same pieces as some of the rare missing pieces, just in different colors.

Thanks for doing this! I just did a quick buy for these parts on Bricklink, and it was 3 stores. With shipping, it was about $58 in parts. So while you can save SOME money, seems like you might as well just buy another new set since you get the very cool printed space pieces which are sure to go for big $$

That said, if you have a big collection of parts, this is super useful so thanks again!

Edited by Corellian Corvette
additional info

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22 minutes ago, Corellian Corvette said:

Thanks for doing this! I just did a quick buy for these parts on Bricklink, and it was 3 stores. With shipping, it was about $58 in parts. So while you can save SOME money, seems like you might as well just buy another new set.

Thank you as well; that's good to know.

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10 hours ago, Corellian Corvette said:

Thanks for doing this! I just did a quick buy for these parts on Bricklink, and it was 3 stores. With shipping, it was about $58 in parts. So while you can save SOME money, seems like you might as well just buy another new set since you get the very cool printed space pieces which are sure to go for big $$

That said, if you have a big collection of parts, this is super useful so thanks again!

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend just going out and buying all the pieces in that list before checking ones own loose parts collection, which was the point of having that list. Changing the gray struts to blue and the transparent red round brick to yellow, all parts that are in the leftovers, saves 10 bucks. Printed parts could be replaced with custom stickers. Then you will probably already own enough technic pins, 1x1 plate extra parts, blue basic plates and bricks from old sets you have taken apart, advent calendar mini builds or just buying loose parts in general. For someone who has absolutely no Lego it is always cheaper and easier to get another copy of the set but anyone with a loose parts collection already will probably come out with a list closer to 20 bucks.

Also regarding some other comment here: white Spacemen are as low as 2,50, vintage used red spacemen are 5 bucks, even with shipping how can one come up with a figure of over 50 bucks for 4 figures as average?

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