10497 Galaxy Explorer 90th anniversary set

[icm]

Spaceship! Spaceship! Spaceship!

 

[TeriXeri]

Nice scale comparison.

I just built the main model, there's so much potential in the parts beyond just spaceships, with the amount of technic involved, and things like big round wheels etc.

A big wheeled rocket launcher or mobile communication base (with the computer screens) is definately possible in some wacky ways of multi directional building with technic and plates.

Edited August 5, 2022 by TeriXeri

[Warbinator]

16 minutes ago, icm said:

Spaceship! Spaceship! Spaceship!

I just noticed that the number of engines for each build corresponds directly to the number of astronauts. That's a pretty straightforward but clever way to scale up the ships.

[Murdoch17]

@icm I am super jealous of your CS space fleets - both old and new!

[icm]

@Murdoch17 You've got a pretty good Nexus Force fleet yourself, and your rail yard is totally loco too! (Pardon the pun, I couldn't help it :)

[jodawill]

Does the new set really not have red lights on the wings, or are they hidden in the photo?

[icm]

They're hidden in the photo. I also left off some lights and antennas from the original sets.

Edited August 5, 2022 by icm

[jodawill]

1 minute ago, icm said:

They're hidden in the photo. I also left off some lights and antennas from the original sets.

Good. I do see them now looking at the instructions. It would have been a major oversight if they hadn't included them.

[Corellian Corvette]

1 minute ago, jodawill said:

Good. I do see them now looking at the instructions. It would have been a major oversight if they hadn't included them.

Funny note on that - they mention in the instructions that the color of lights are in the wrong place in the original model (red for front/green for back instead of red for port, green for starboard) but they decided to keep the lights in the original configuration. So not only are they there, but they make a point about how they are used. The manual for the ship is full of interesting trivia.

 

[TeriXeri]

I remember the 3-in-1 pirate ship build, they took that port/starboard coloring really serious in that one with the green/red being on their sides inside the main build (not even visible), later to re-use those colors in the alt builds.

For this set, I think sticking to the original is the right choice, in space there aren't really fixed directions either so the colors of the lights relative to wing position are not a big deal to me

Edited August 5, 2022 by TeriXeri

[Murdoch17]

56 minutes ago, icm said:

@Murdoch17 You've got a pretty good Nexus Force fleet yourself, and your rail yard is totally loco too! (Pardon the pun, I couldn't help it :)

Thank you for the compliment @icm... and don't worry, I won't pull the emergency brake on your pun-making. 

I've got my copy of 10497, and now comes the hard part - deciding which model to make!

Edited August 5, 2022 by Murdoch17

[Lyichir]

2 hours ago, icm said:

Spaceship! Spaceship! Spaceship!

Very neat to see all three versions (both old and new) alongside each other! Thanks for the great comparison!

Caz Mockett from New Elementary came up with a simple landing gear build for the smallest ship using leftover parts from the two alt builds. They don't retract but nonetheless I think they seem like a good option for folks building all three ships!

 

[danth]

7 hours ago, icm said:

Spaceship! Spaceship! Spaceship!

Nice, you got the pilot & his steering wheel in the smallest ship sitting up straight! I also see some sort of landing gear.

This pic may have convinced me to get a few more copies of this set...

[icm]

The seating position in the 918 is really easy to modify using the remaining parts. Landing gear and an improved antenna module are harder and really need extra parts to do well. Even so, the 918 is much better than most 3-in-1 B models, and the 924 is as good as any A model.

[Elephant Knight]

Received my copy and built it last night. I am very pleased with it, but I do have to say, that bottom is very flat...

EKnight

[technicfanatic]

I did bag 2 today.

On 8/4/2022 at 3:47 PM, Lyichir said:

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). 

Thanks for that explanation. Indeed it works.

Spoiler

I enjoyed all of the build and seeing how it's coming together, but the most exciting part are the angled sides.

 

[Khargeust]

Sorry if my question will certainly appear as redundant because already answered sooner here but can someone tell me if model B and model C can be built with only one box or if it needs takes two to do so ? Thank you in advance.

[RichardGoring]

1 hour ago, Khargeust said:

Sorry if my question will certainly appear as redundant because already answered sooner here but can someone tell me if model B and model C can be built with only one box or if it needs takes two to do so ? Thank you in advance.

It needs two boxes - one per variant. There is a list a page or so back that gives you all the parts needed to build all three models. With two boxes, it's about $50 of parts (if you need to order all of them) to make all three. If you have your own parts, it might be worth ordering a few more. If not, it's probably worth buying three boxes.

[technicfanatic]

I did bag 3 today

Spoiler

Bag three was deceptively small. I got my first white spaceman! Very cool.

As I followed the instructions I thought: OK, we're building part of a wing. Looks like we'll only be building that part for the left side. Odd. I thought bags always ended with a symmetrical model. I guess this bag will be over soon. Then, of course, I finished both sides, and there was still more.  

Next came the most exciting part of the build. Amazing technique used to hold the rear slope of the wing! I had so much fun with it. More than once I thought: OMG I'm missing pieces. There's no way I have enough sloped tiles! But LEGO did not make a mistake, and I in fact I had a few surplus pieces left over.

 

 

[Seasider]

I picked up 2 copies yesterday in a store. Hope to start building some time this week. 

[Khargeust]

12 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

It needs two boxes - one per variant. There is a list a page or so back that gives you all the parts needed to build all three models. With two boxes, it's about $50 of parts (if you need to order all of them) to make all three. If you have your own parts, it might be worth ordering a few more. If not, it's probably worth buying three boxes.

Nice ! Thank you for you answer.

[mostlytechnic]

Built it over the weekend and love it (have an original 497 here as well to display with it). However, WHY oh WHY did they use a 1x2 yellow plate in the nose? It's the only one in the whole set and it's visible under the 2x6 grey tile. Grey or black would have been much less ugly when they peek out there. 

[bondp99]

Finished the 10497 today. I noticed the black airtank in step 105, is this an easter egg for an upcoming black spaceman? 

[Operacion Saturno]

The extra black airtank on set 10497 shuold be Dark Purple!

 

[Time77]

46 minutes ago, bondp99 said:

 I noticed the black airtank in step 105, is this an easter egg for an upcoming black spaceman? 

A man can dream