10497 Galaxy Explorer 90th anniversary set

[Bornin1980something]

On 9/2/2022 at 9:47 PM, Lyichir said:

Really loving your bag-by-bag updates on the build! The low-angle "minifig's-eye-view" photos of the interior are great!

 

On 9/2/2022 at 10:07 PM, GeoBrick said:

Those are marvelous shots here.
I think that, once I start building the set for myself, will switch the radar -and asteroids tiles. With that the habitation section has a dedicated entertainment console.

Thanks. I know I have been a while, but I will cover the last two very soon (I'm in the UK, a lot has happened). 

Minifig's eye view is not easy, even with a phone. I had to do some dismantling to get the cockpit shot. 

[jodawill]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Blacktron GWP here yet. There was some discussion here a while back about the part showing Blacktron on the radar. It turns out that was correct. There's going to be a remake of 6894 coming out first quarter 2023.

[Elephant Knight]

1 hour ago, jodawill said:

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Blacktron GWP here yet. There was some discussion here a while back about the part showing Blacktron on the radar. It turns out that was correct. There's going to be a remake of 6894 coming out first quarter 2023.

How confirmed is this rumor?

Eknight

[jodawill]

49 minutes ago, Elephant Knight said:

How confirmed is this rumor?

Eknight

Someone on YouTube said it, so it has to be true.

Seriously though, I have no idea. But it seems very likely to be legit given the specificity. The rumored set number was given. I have no idea what the original source was. 

[Elephant Knight]

3 hours ago, jodawill said:

Someone on YouTube said it, so it has to be true.

Seriously though, I have no idea. But it seems very likely to be legit given the specificity. The rumored set number was given. I have no idea what the original source was. 

Well I've also heard rumors of a Bionicle GWP for January. we'll just have to wait and see, I guess.

EKnight

[Classic_Spaceman]

22 hours ago, Elephant Knight said:

How confirmed is this rumor?

Eknight

@Falconfan1414 confirmed it on Instagram! 
 

[Bornin1980something]

Sorry I'm late, but, bag 8!

This bag completes the ship's central fuselage with the hinged cargo doors above the rear ramp (the ramp mechanism was started as long ago as bag one!).

Effectively a double 'swingtail' layout, there are no fewer than 10 tailfins at the rear. This is as many as the total number of tailfins in the 1970s model. On the outside, two of the model's most famous features are added; the enlarged reaction control thrusters, which are buckets, complete with small hinges for the handles, and the brick built arrow symbol. The latter is quite a complex construct, and actually strikes me as a little strange, since you would assume that, if this were real, such a logo would be painted on and not visible from the inside. The trivia notes in the instruction book state that the main piece for the arrow symbol is actually a shield from the Nexo Knights range, a short lived range which appears to have supplied an abundance of useful parts for other themes. The notes also state that the wrench and walkie-talkie are the original Classic Space tools. In truth, while they have the right look, I believe both mouldings have been modified. It is, however, interesting that the wrench design has out lived an attempt to replace it with a larger toolkit including a smaller wrench in the mid-90s.

The cargo doors are built separately, then added. Then, the rear sidewall ahead of the cargo doors is completed, though there is a noticeable gap around the top of the rear cabin which, if real, would be a major leak. I found it possible to fill in the gap, without compromising the interior, with a blue 1x1 plate on each side, one from my collection, one spare from an earlier bag.

Once the sidewall is complete, an upper beam construct is added, sealing the roof and including the latches for the doors. This means that, unlike the original, no elements have to be removed to open the doors. However, I personally feel that this system is a bit weak considering the size of the model. In particular, the doors have a bit of slack, meaning the long tail wing never looks quite as straight as it should.

In any case, the fuselage is now complete and airtight (at least, with my added 1x1 plates). All it needs now is some actual cargo for the rear section, and some engines.

In other news, the crew recently made the mistake of playing an alien game called 'Latchkum'.

 

[RichardGoring]

For anyone in the US, Walmart is currently selling this for $50. It was already $75 for a long time, but $50 is crazy.

LEGO Icons Galaxy Explorer Building Set for Adults who love Space 10497 - Walmart.com

And, while we're at it, there are various coupon codes that appear to work to varying degrees to take an additional $10 off - PAYPAL10, WOWFRESH, and DISCOVER

I wonder if this suggests a massive overstock by Walmart or that the set itself hasn't been popular. That would seem so odd, because it just looks cool, doesn't it? Or maybe there is something behind the lack of an IP causing issues selling toys. Sigh.

[Lyichir]

47 minutes ago, RichardGoring said:

For anyone in the US, Walmart is currently selling this for $50. It was already $75 for a long time, but $50 is crazy.

LEGO Icons Galaxy Explorer Building Set for Adults who love Space 10497 - Walmart.com

And, while we're at it, there are various coupon codes that appear to work to varying degrees to take an additional $10 off - PAYPAL10, WOWFRESH, and DISCOVER

I wonder if this suggests a massive overstock by Walmart or that the set itself hasn't been popular. That would seem so odd, because it just looks cool, doesn't it? Or maybe there is something behind the lack of an IP causing issues selling toys. Sigh.

Whatever the reason for the discount, $50 is mighty tempting—as a casual Space fan I already got one copy of the set at $75, and was planning to leave it at that, but at $50 getting additional copies to build the two alternate models is a much more attractive prospect! Went ahead and ordered some, so thanks for the tip!

[jodawill]

I may have gone a little overboard on the Galaxy Explorers. I bought two from Lego when they were first released and I got the Forest Hideout. Then I bought another one at Walmart when it was $75 and I had a $10 off coupon. Then I bought another one when it was $75 and I got $17.50 off with promos. Then I bought two more this morning when I saw they were $50. Then I bought one more after that when I realized I could use the DISCOVER promo code to get $10 off.

So I have seven Galaxy Explorers now, and I haven't opened a single one yet. I was originally planning to give one to my son for Christmas, so I was hiding them. But then Walmart ruined the surprise by delivering one without packaging and my son saw them deliver it. And he decided he's more interested in Mario anyway. So I guess there's no reason not to open one now, except I'm in the middle of moving at the moment. So once things settle down with the move, I'm going to have a lot of building to do...

[danth]

3 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

I wonder if this suggests a massive overstock by Walmart or that the set itself hasn't been popular. That would seem so odd, because it just looks cool, doesn't it? Or maybe there is something behind the lack of an IP causing issues selling toys. Sigh.

Black Friday sale? Loss leader? I've only seen these deals at Walmart, nowhere else.

2 hours ago, jodawill said:

So I have seven Galaxy Explorers now, and I haven't opened a single one yet.

I have 5, but I've opened 3 to build all the variants.

But for $50, I kinda want to buy more...I could always give them away to Toys for Tots or something.

[icm]

I, too, just bought my fifth Galaxy Explorer. For $75 I was sorely tempted, and for $50 I couldn’t pass it up. I gave one away and built the B and C models with two of them, leaving two copies of the main model for me. Dunno, maybe I’ll part this one out. Maybe not.

 Edit, canceled the order. It’s not very useful for parts for the creations I have in mind, and I have been very financially irresponsible lately.

Edited November 24, 2022 by icm

[danth]

Back to $75 now.

[WaybackLegoman]

20 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

For anyone in the US, Walmart is currently selling this for $50. It was already $75 for a long time, but $50 is crazy.

LEGO Icons Galaxy Explorer Building Set for Adults who love Space 10497 - Walmart.com

And, while we're at it, there are various coupon codes that appear to work to varying degrees to take an additional $10 off - PAYPAL10, WOWFRESH, and DISCOVER

I wonder if this suggests a massive overstock by Walmart or that the set itself hasn't been popular. That would seem so odd, because it just looks cool, doesn't it? Or maybe there is something behind the lack of an IP causing issues selling toys. Sigh.

This soon already? I think that means that the Classic Space reboot wasn't as successful as they anticipated. And therefore I fear no more Classic Space. But the faux Lego Typewriter kees on selling, doesn't it? Grrrrrr! Lego fans do buy a typewriter for 250 Euro (!) with which you can not type, and the Galaxy Explorer must be dumped for a measly 50 Dollar? Whats wrong with the world, ha ha? 

Edited November 24, 2022 by WaybackLegoman

[danth]

7 hours ago, WaybackLegoman said:

This soon already? I think that means that the Classic Space reboot wasn't as successful as they anticipated. And therefore I fear no more Classic Space. But the faux Lego Typewriter kees on selling, doesn't it? Grrrrrr! Lego fans do buy a typewriter for 250 Euro (!) with which you can not type, and the Galaxy Explorer must be dumped for a measly 50 Dollar? Whats wrong with the world, ha ha? 

Nah. Don't read too much into a temporary sale. It was on sale for $50 for less than a day. We don't know why.

Also Walmart put the set on sale (for $75) almost immediately after it came out. They would have no way to know if the set would be a seller or not at that point. I think they basically chose to make the set a promotional item or something. I haven't seen it on sale anywhere else. Also, it's Walmart. They sell many sets cheaper than other stores, and I imagine they got a special deal on these from Lego.

I see Lego sets on sale all the time, even sets from popular licenses. I think people like to jump to conclusions about why, when it's really just a sale. Stores have sales.

People say the same thing about themes that end after a planned amount of time. "It must have not sold well!" No...the theme ended when it was planned to end.

[Lyichir]

Well, the Galaxy Explorers I ordered during the sale arrived... in plastic shipping bags. Luckily no dents, but the box printing got slightly torn where the sticky seal overlapped with the outer surface.

I'd been thinking about maybe building one of the alt builds and saving the other set as an investment, but I guess this is my sign to build both of them.

[Maple]

Walmart has codes where you can save $10 off of $50. So I've bought them for $65 and $42.50 after tax.

[Lyichir]

Was pretty gloomy and quiet today, so I built the mid-sized alt-build of the Galaxy Explorer. As is to be expected of an alt-build, there were some areas where it felt slightly less refined than the main model—nothing too severe, just little things like the landing gear not nesting quite as snugly into the recessed sections. And of course, not having the bags opened in numbered order made it slightly more or a challenge than the main model had been. Nevertheless it was a lot of fun and looks great complete, with the hi-tech cockpit being a particular highlight.

Since I'm probably going to build both alt-builds, I'll have to start thinking of some Classic Space MOCs that I can potentially use some of the leftover pieces for. Remind me, has anybody made a list of what parts will be left over from both builds? I know that there should be a lot to work with—two windscreens, five astronauts, and plenty of other parts (including parts that neither alt-build uses like the rover wheels). I'd like to come up with some sort of ground base to go with these, though I'll have to figure out where I'll display it all!

[Merlo]

"Galaxy Mech Miner" and "Planetary Explorer" on Rebrickable are pretty cool. Not 100-euros-cool, but still :)

[WaybackLegoman]

5 hours ago, Merlo said:

"Galaxy Mech Miner" and "Planetary Explorer" on Rebrickable are pretty cool. Not 100-euros-cool, but still :)

Wow! Forgot to check that site regularly. The little "Cosmic Cruiser" is also very nice. Has some other classic vehicles too. It's a modern take on the classic 6890 set.

[Merlo]

Indeed, it is.

This one had me chuckling:

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-125875/ao-ka/starfleet-voyager-10497-style/#details

[ukbajadave]

Anyone else notice the spacemen come in alternate bags so you don't get all the excitement in one hit? I promised myself I'd only build the first 2 bags tonight but the urge to open bag 3 just for the white astronaut was strong!

[jonwil]

Lego puts minifigs in different bags like that in part to prevent theft I believe.

 

[RichardGoring]

2 hours ago, jonwil said:

Lego puts minifigs in different bags like that in part to prevent theft I believe.

 

Interesting. I'd always assumed it was to space out the figures in the build to add variety, but that's a good point.

[Lyichir]

On 4/13/2023 at 11:16 PM, RichardGoring said:

Interesting. I'd always assumed it was to space out the figures in the build to add variety, but that's a good point.

I think it can be a mix of both. I don't think the figs in this set would really be theft magnets, for instance, but building all four similar space figs at the same time at the start of the build could feel repetitive, and spacing them out makes the experience a bit more positive.