Space78

I think that's wishful thinking. SW is a massive commercial property in the U.S., and I suspect in other parts of the world. Even with some short term downward trend in sales, it comes back up with the next series. Even then, it doesn't take new content to keep the franchising going when it's as large as it is now. Let's not forget that Lego licensing SW was one factor that saved the company from bankruptcy in the early 2000s. There's not doubt at this point that Lego knows what sells (unlike the late 1990's early 2000s). With just the sheer number and variety of sets, it's clear SW sells. In fact, strong SW sales will help Lego do things that are less profitable. It's probably obvious that without SW sets, Lego would be no where near the size of company it is today. Lego's financial size and health is what has let it introduce new themes and try new things like the crosscutting Space theme we are seeing this year. The only question is whether the Space theme will be multi-year, or if there will be a new crosscutting theme each year. I have no expectation that Space will come back as its own theme like 1978.

Interesting that 10497 is back in stock at U.S. Lego.com. Looks like Lego stores I checked in the upper mid-west are out of stock, so maybe this is only available through the website at this point. It was sold out on the website by the morning hours of Black Friday, so some where between then and this past week Lego U.S. found more stock. Walmart is sold out, and they were selling them at $48.50 about 1.5 weeks before Christmas. They went fast. Glad I got 3 from the local store. The only ones for sale on Walmart now are other sellers selling through Walmart's website. Now I'm curious how long U.S. Lego.com will have stock before being sold out again and ultimately retired?

Nice video and nice set. Thanks for posting that review!

Just back from target. Looked like all of the City Space sets were on the shelves, so I picked up the small spaceship. Not bad at $20. Did not see the Friends Space set on the shelf.

I'm not seeing any Lego space sets on the Target website. Are these just showing up in stores, but not yet on their website? May have to check the local Target tomorrow.

Local one here had 10497 on the shelf at full price, but if you bought online for pickup at store, it was $48.50. My daughter picked up one off the shelf then wanted a price match at the register. They reluctantly matched the website price but the worker didn't want to. A bit silly, really, but that's how they operate. Target often has "online only" prices, but I've found they always match the website price in store if you ask.

Agree. It's very likely 10497 sold very well. Lego discounted it to $80 on their website on Black Friday and it was sold out within hours, which meant they had very little stock on hand. Walmart discounted it to $48.50 last Friday, and stores were sold out within hours to a few days, which also means Walmart had no excess stock. Just selling what was in stores. If 10497 didn't sell well there would have been a lot of stock on hand. I've seen sets on Lego.com discounted for months and they still can't get rid of their stock. It took months for 21337 Table Football to sell out on Lego.com at 40% discount. On the other hand (as I said earlier in the thread), I don't think 10497 selling well means we will get more CS-themed sets in 2024. Maybe further down the line... 2025, 2026?? Who knows. I've been getting the feeling lately that Lego is functioning more and more like a company making decisions that only make business sense, and not being loyal to a particular fan base or producing what AFOLs are seeking. I'd be very curious to know what portion of Lego sales are to AFOLs vs. the traditional children's toy market. Lego is certainly looking to expand it's customer base to adults with it's "Adults welcome" category, but I'm wondering if these are just larger, more complicated and expensive sets than addressing AFOL "wants."

Right, 10497 is still on the website also, but at "sold out" status. It seems Lego just stops making a set/key parts but keeps them on the website until well after they are out of stock/sold out. At what point does Lego list a set as "retired" vs. "out of stock" or "sold out"? I think parts/sets listed on the Lego website as "out of stock" does not mean there is going to be more. I think they use "back ordered" for items the will have in stock in the future.

I've changed my opinion about new "classic space" sets from Lego going forward. Seeing what Lego is offering for space-themed sets across the line next year, I think it is just that. I'm no longer expecting any more "re-imagined" Classic Space sets. Seems we might get a Blacktron or some other re-make from the later subthemes, but I don't think we are going to get any new CS sets of any kind. Note also the complete absence of any CS minifigs in the CMF "space" series. We will get the pink space baby, but I see that as a complement to the blue one last year, so I'm not expecting any more colors in that fig either. I really thought we would get a purple CS minifig, but no indication that will happen. Makes me glad I bought all the purple parts last month to build several minifigs when the oxygen tanks were available through pick a brick.

Looks like 10497 is pretty much sold out at local Walmarts at the $48.50 price. I checked a number in a wide radius, and no stock. I ended up with 7 sets, one built and 6 in box. Still planning to open two more boxes and built the two alternate ships.

When I mentioned “CS” (classic space) I was referring to space sets from 1978 - 1987. Personally, I think this works since there is no other identifying term or phrase for that time period for space sets. When the minifigure torso and helmet/visor changed in 1987 for the “Futuron” sets, that is a clear starting point of a new theme for me. I think we use these terms for convenience. I agree some people us CS for a wider time span of space sets out of convenience (rather than typing CS/Futuron/Blacktron/etc.) if that is what’s meant, but it can get confusing.

Wow, that’s great! Where did you get it?

Just saw a pic of the "space" minifigs. Very disappointing for CS fans. The pink space baby is the only one worth getting for me. I'm not as optimistic now that we will get another re-imagined CS set next year like 10497.

Yup, I ordered 3 more from local Walmart at $48.50. Pickup tomorrow. We have two local Walmarts. One has them in stock, the other doesn't. Go figure.

Thanks for posting that link, very interesting! Actually, I think that Friends space set is more appealing than most of the City and Technic sets to me. The kitty in a space suit is adorable, and is a must have for my 6 year old. I’m sure I’ll be getting that set. Might buy one or two of the City sets, but will pass on the Technic sets.

"Back in the day"... Lego made the licensed Santa Fe and BNSF sets. I don't know how popular they were at the time, but obviously they are very desirable now. They were all $40 each as I recall, which I thought was a good price at the time. Either BNSF didn't get much for the license fee, or the fee structure has changed? In either case, not sure licensing is the issue. I suspect with some of the licensed sets Lego is hoping to tap into two markets: those that like that "brand", and those that don't care and just won't put the brand stickers on. In either case, you get the same basic model. Thinking back to the SF/BNSF sets, it does make me wonder what Lego would charge if they sold those sets today? Wow, just entered $40 into an inflation calculator, and that equates to $67 today! At that price I would think SF/BNSF sets would fly off the shelves.

Probably not getting any of those. I'm still anxiously waiting to see if Lego is going to release something in the "classic space" genre next year. I know a lot of people are expecting some type of "re-imagined" Blacktron set, but I'll be a bit disappointed if that's all we get, since I'm not really "into" Blacktron. On the other hand, if it's a Futuron set, that could be interesting for me. Mostly, I'm hoping for a re-make of one of the "command bases" to compliment 10497. When the purple oxygen tanks came back in stock at pick-a-brick, I ordered parts to make five purple spacemen and then picked up 5 of the space aliens to get the torso with space logo, so don't have a big need for Lego to make a set with the purple spaceman any more, but I'm still thinking we'll get something in the CS line in the space themed CMF series later in 2024. Speaking of CS spacemen, so far Lego has re-issued them in white, red, and yellow. Does anyone think we'll get re-issues of blue (without the scratched off space logo Benny has) or the elusive black? Theoretically, there are a lot more "new" colors they could do: purple, gray, and then all of the various shades of "standard" colors.

Interesting. Makes me curious what Walmart is going to do. If they have any stock left after Christmas, we may see a big discount in the U.S.

Interesting, thanks for posting that. If I get the OE and motorize, it will be with 9V if at all possible, so I found this particularly helpful. Looks like he did not get derailment with the motor on the tender. I think the only thing I'd change is to try putting the motor only under the leading carriage or one under each one, as that's where most of the weight will be to give good traction. However, his solution is acceptable, I'd say, for 9V train enthusiasts. Quite honestly, the main issue seems to be a lack of smooth motion in the engine drive train. Something there is too stiff. I also recall having those "stiffness" issues with the Emerald Knight when I motorized it with PF following the instructions, which the author said he discovered also. It ended up being too frustrating to me to be worth it. However, using a 9V motor caused the same issue he is illustrating. In the end, I left the EK un-motorized. Something needs to be done with that linkage on the OE engine drive wheels. For the design to work, those wheels should move freely and not stick or lock up. Hmmmm.... maybe this is the real reason Lego did not provide a motorized solution?

Looks like in your first test pushing the tender & loco, the issue might have been the connecting bar? Looks like it swings pretty far to one side when coming out of the curve creating a sideways force when the train goes back onto straight track. Could this be solved by a connection that swings less to the side, like the magnet couplers?

Very nice and thorough review @kbalage. I particularly appreciate that you went through the building process so we can see how different components are put together, and what options there might be for powering this set. You video certainly made me more excited about this set from the stand point of a nicely detailed, beautify model. However, the 8 studs wide basis for the carriages makes me pause as I only have 6 stud wide trains. While the 8 stud wide bases makes for more internal room and details of the carriage interiors, I'm a bit worried this train is going to look out of place on my 9V track layout. It also looks like 9V train motors would look ok and fit under each carriage, but it sounds like the tender is too light "as is" to handle the force of being pushed around curves. Maybe adding weights to the coal tender would solve that problem. I'm sure I'll eventually get this model, but might be waiting for some discounts.

Listed as Sold Out as of yesterday afternoon on the US Lego site. Don't think it's coming back, so this may be EOL. Should have bought at least one more on Friday when they were $79.99 on Lego.com. I'll have to wait to see if Walmart discounts these around Christmas.

@ToledoRails well done video and lots of good points. Understand that Lego tried to motorize their model and it did not meet their expectations. However, that doesn't change my disappointment at it not being "plug and play" motorization. I think the set looks fantastic. However, since it is not easily motorized, I will be waiting before purchasing this one, especially at $300. I also agree with your statement to vote with your wallet. I'll wait to decide to purchase this after the actual model is revealed and we see what people do with the set.

Well, it's not longer listed as sold out on U.S. Lego.com. It's on backorder and price is $79.99. This may be the deal I was looking for to get my 4th set!

I see as of this morning, the Galaxy Explorer is "Sold Out" at Lego.com in the U.S. It shows the set discounted 20%, but sold out.