LemFliggity

Hey everybody, I'm new here. My wife and I rediscovered our mutual love of Lego over New Years while building Christmas presents with our nephews. And thus a long age of darkness came to an end. I'm very excited, I just placed an order with Bricks & Pieces for the parts needed to mod Lego's Apollo 11 "Eagle" LEM into a more accurate model. I worked out the the mod in Studio and tested most of the changes out with parts temporarily cannibalized from other sets (we've... um... bought a lot of Lego in the last 8 months...). Now I'm ready to build it for real. Well, I say 'now,' but I know it can take weeks for B&P orders to arrive from Denmark, so I still have time yet. Still, I'm excited, so I thought I'd share a couple of "before and after" comparisons from Studio-- just a couple though, I want to keep some surprises for later. My hope is to not be too flaky and share build photos and a parts list with you all so you can make these mods too if you like. I'm also looking forward to feedback, knowing that many of you experts will no doubt have recommendations to improve the mod even more than I could! Thanks for indulging me. Edit: Flickr album walkthrough with descriptions of each change in the comments: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmGZJoa1

I finally got around to updating the parts list! Better late than never. Thanks again for letting me know what parts were missing. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fZ0qeCgYFDB_dMTZNtG6tWPtzKcG8BTv/view?usp=share_link

That's the best compliment! Thanks for sharing this, @scheller2! It really makes all the effort doubly worth it, way beyond the personal satisfaction of the project. I also learned a lot about the lunar module while designing the mod. So sorry, I hope that wasn't a huge inconvenience to you!! Can you be a little more specific, so that I can make sure I add those parts to a revised list? I really appreciate you calling out the mistake so that I can fix it. Is it this picture you're talking about? The text in the description reads: I forgot to add a feature in an earlier step: the storage for the decontamination bag that held the film magazines, here depicted with a 3-sided 1x2x1 panel and a white Technic pin 1/2 sitting loose within. There were four 70MM Hasselblad cameras brought to the moon on Apollo 11, and nine magazines of film. After filming, the magazines were stored in a decontamination bag in the LEM until returned to Earth for processing. The white Technic pin represents the bag. That was actually meant to be the box-shaped soil scoop, but I like your idea of adding a white Technic pin connector and turning it into the contingency sampler! I wish I'd thought of that myself! I think that the collapsible sampler handle and bags were stored in Apollo 11's LM cabin, instead of in the MESA, so that it could be used immediately. Thanks again for sharing. Means the world to me that my mod has been useful to others!

http://www.mediafire.com/file/de8zq8fi5usy8b9/Apollo_LEM.xml/file

Hm. I just tried it and it worked for me. Make sure you select everything in the spoiler box from <INVENTORY> to </INVENTORY> and copy it. Then go to the link, and click "Upload BrickLink XML format" and then paste the copied text into the box. Double check that you didn't accidentally copy anything else along with the XML, like a stray space or character at the beginning or end. If that still doesn't work, I'll upload the xml file somewhere and share the link. I didn't do that initially because I hate when I find a link in a thread from years ago and the file is long gone.

Sure! I'm sorry I didn't share it sooner, but frankly I forgot that I still needed to do so. Copy and paste the XML below into Bricklink's Wanted List uploader and it will generate a wanted list for you. I found it cheaper to order most of these parts from Lego direct through Bricks & Pieces, and then buy the handful that they didn't have in stock from Bricklink, but YMMV. Best of luck, and don't hesitate to ask for help with the mod if needed, and please share pics.

Work has been swallowing up all my time the last couple of weeks, but the good news is the lunar lander is complete! The Flickr album is updated too, barring a few descriptions still to fill out. More than just an album, it's basically a step-by-step guide to building the mod. I tried to do what I've often looked for in mods, and walk you through the process in a way that's easy to follow. I also plan to post the Studio files and a parts list in the next couple of weeks, when I have the time. It's late now, so I'm off to bed, but I'm glad to be able to share the finished model with the community. I'll post more here soon, and looking forward to any and all feedback!

Where did you get them?

Great picture, @Hod Carrier! I'll write more after work, but I had to quickly post to tell you to rotate your 2x2 backpack tile 180 degrees! The flag is in the right place, but the part with the velcro attachments and flap for the water fill and vent connectors is upside down.

Check out my Flickr, the ascent stage is almost complete! I actually took most of those photos last week... my Flickr updating has gotten behind my actual build progress. Here's where I left off on Flickr: @Hod Carrier I had more of a chance to look at your ascent stage. It looks really great, especially the cabin bulkheads. You say you didn't have the best references, but you managed to get a lot of the details in there, the ECS, the PLSS stowage, even the oxygen umbilical hoses! Nice work. And you totally stole my idea of modeling the aft equipment rack! A very necessary inclusion! I really like the way you built up the interior of the aft equipment bay. I have the oxygen and helium tanks in mine too, but I had a very tough time coming up with a sturdy means of including the tanks and the rack. Are those 3L bars? An inspired choice. I like the choice of unprinted minifig heads too. I almost went the same route but didn't have the room. My only immediate critique is that the 3x3 dishes are oversized for the S-band antennas. 2x2 dishes are much closer to the correct scale. But overall, your mod is killer!!

@Hod Carrier You and I have definitely been on the same wavelength. I can give more detailed feedback after work, but your ascent stage has many of the same characteristics as mine. Very nicely done!

Thanks, coinoperator! The choice of the Atlantis scuba gear is such an odd one, isn't it? So wrong. I know they've used it as the default space helmet for a while now, but this is meant to be a recreation of an historical artifact, not a City Space set. If they didn't want to spend their parts limit on a backpack build like I did, even this would have been a better choice: I can't claim to be keeping this mod in the same budget, though. I tried to reuse as many pieces from the set as possible, but it would have been too expensive for Lego to sell the set I'm building. Plus, my changes aren't always the same degree of sturdy and minimalist as Lego likes to be. The stock set is fantastic as is, don't get me wrong. It's a design marvel, and it was one of the most enjoyable sets I've built so far. My improvements are the kind of nit-picky things I think only a small subset of fans would care about. But if you're like me, then this mod is for you! Anyway, stick around, just wait till you see what i do to the ascent stage! That's good to know! But don't worry, I'm not disheartened, I genuinely think the ascent stage mods will be more interesting to casual fans of the lunar lander set. And for those that are "hooked" like you, fellow LM modder, I think they'll be over the moon! Nice! I really like the use of reddish brown for the fuel tanks. Makes me want to do the same color swap! It's too bad the tanks can't be easily placed where they belong, as seen below. It's why I ended up leaving them the way they are. That, laziness, and pushing the limits of my wife's Lego budget tolerance! I managed to unearth a schematic and a couple pictures of the tanks, which were manufactured for Grumman by Allison Engine Company out of Indianapolis. You can see they're really more of an egg shape, which was a surprise. I had thought they were more cylindrical. Very nice job on the underside! I love that you included the landing radar antenna and heat shield! Your landing radar is more accurately designed than mine, if a little oversized. I like your approach because it shows the different ways we have to make compromises when making real world objects out of Lego. Here is a zoomed-in shot of the underside of the descent stage from a photograph Michael Collins took before Eagle descended to the moon: And another looking up at the unused LM-9 hanging in Kennedy Space Center: I hope those help!

The finished descent stage is up on Flickr. It includes a new descent engine to bring the nozzle to the correct height, and a proper front porch, among other modifications. Next up, the ascent stage. Maybe that will spark more people's interest.

It took a lot of research across a dozen or more sites to piece together the details. It was a fun scavenger hunt, but the mod would be done already if I could've found clear pictures, diagrams, and descriptions all in one place. But maybe it wouldn't have been as fun... You had to open two doors to access the EASEP/ALSEP. The smaller first door swung open to the left, and then the second door folded up and out of the way like a bi-fold closet door on its side. What's most interesting is that the astronauts pulled lanyards to open the door and deploy the packages. Here's a drawing that shows the basic sequence: I tried to, but couldn't come up with a way to do both doors and include the bi-fold hinge on the second door. Some things just aren't possible with Lego at this scale. Maybe someone smarter than me could come up with a better way to do it. Here are a couple pictures of Quad II installed, closed and partially open: Compared to a picture of Quad II from Apollo 12:

My knolling leaves a lot to be desired, but it helped for confirming that I have every part I need! I created a Flickr album to chronicle the build. So far, I've got photos covering modifications up to step 71, with many more still to be added. Right at the start is a modified primary life support system. I really dislike the helmet/backpack part Lego opted to use for the astronauts. After looking at a few other people's mods, I ultimately came up with my own, which I think much more accurately approximates the size and position of the backpacks worn by Armstrong, Aldrin, and later Apollo astronauts. Dark gray hands and the helmet and chrome gold visor really improve the look, I think. I haven't yet decided if i want to swap out the Lego yellow heads for light nougat "flesh" colored heads or not... What do you guys think so far?

Liftoff! We have a liftoff...

Lego's designers did an amazing job on this set, but as soon as I finished building it, I felt like there was room for improvement. For example, I understand why they went with a wide forward hatch so that minifigs could fit, but that, maybe more than any other design decision, weakens the look of the ascent stage. As a kid, I thought the narrow "snout" and two angled windows of the forward section gave the front of the LEM a sad puppy dog look, a little like a basset hound. That look is lost in the Lego model with the wider mouth. I don't plan on taking the minifigs in and out through the hatch, so that seemed like an easy fix. And from there, the list of changes snowballed, until I had a full-blown mod on my hands! Here's a diagram from NASA's Operations Handbook for Apollo 15 (I couldn't find an accurate technical drawing of LM-5 with labeled parts to use, but the LM-10 diagram is basically identical). I've highlighted in yellow the features I wanted to improve, and in blue are the missing features I wanted to add. (Click on the thumbnail for a better view.) There are other external features on my mod that aren't listed here, like the shape of the windows, the alignment optical telescope, and the IMU "coffin," but I'll cover those in another post.

I couldn't resist posting a couple more pictures while I wait for Lego to ship my B&P order. This time it's a view of the full ascent stage... As well as a view of the sub-assembly that holds the controls, sitting right behind the white tracking light on the front of the LEM... Edit: I thought it would be fun to show an animated gif comparison of the stock ascent stage and the mod...

Hi @Hod Carrier, I think it's so cool that you reverse engineered my mod! I believe in sharing, so I don't intend for this mod to be a secret I keep to myself. I'll share the .io files and everything, but I want to wait until I get the parts, share the build process here, hopefully get some feedback that improves the design, and then put together a final version. I think your ascent stage looks very good. Just making those changes to the front and swapping some grays for blacks helps a lot! I can tell you've looked at diagrams and available photographs like I have. I respect that Lego can't fit everything into a model like this, but there are so many cool little features to add that, once incorporated, really bring the LEM to life. Even adding the EVA antenna and swapping in a more accurate-looking steerable S-band antenna makes a big difference. I'm out of town till next week, otherwise in my excitement to find a like-minded Apollo nerd, I'd violate my own embargo and share some more renders! I can't wait for you to see what I've done with the mid and the aft sections. With all due respect to an excellent build, I can tell based in your passion for the Apollo 11 LEM that you're going to want to incorporate at least some of what I've come up with into your own mod. I can tell you that I've built the complete forward section in real life exactly as you see it in my mockup, just not in the correct colors. You're not wrong that it took a silly amount of trial and error, but the design works and it's pretty dang stable too, if I do say so myself!

Thanks deraven! Don't get me wrong, Bricklink is my 2019 MVP, but for this project it would have meant ordering from 5 separate sellers, and the cost for 168 unique parts (451 total pieces) from North American stores would've come to around $60.00. If each store charged me an average of $5.00 shipping, that's more than $80.00. Instead I was able to source all but 7 unique parts (17 total pieces) from Lego for $51.00 + free shipping, and I used my VIP points to get the total down to $11.00. The remaining 17 pieces I found from a single Bricklink seller for $13.00 shipped. I'm ok with waiting longer to save $60.00, and I've earned brownie points with my wife (worth more in the long run than Lego reward points) by employing her expert-level bargain-hunting skills.