10497 Galaxy Explorer 90th anniversary set

[jodawill]

I've been mulling this set over for quite a while before sharing my thoughts. I've been looking forward to this set not just since it was rumored, but ever since they brought back the helmets in Benny's Space Squad. I knew this would be coming at some point. I'm really excited to have a legitimate classic space set again for the first time in my entire life.

On one hand, I love this set because it's a refreshing new take on the original without being wacky like Benny's Spaceship. It looks pretty much as I would expect a modern version to look. But I buy classic space primarily for the parts, not really for the sets. My son and I love to build spaceships together. In this regard, I'm disappointed by a couple things.

First is that the space logo piece is just a tile, not a slope. That will make it harder to incorporate into my own smaller builds. This is also the case for the computer screens. I really would have liked to have gotten new computer screens in bley, but they're also printed tiles. The second is that I'm really not a fan of this windshield piece. I much prefer the boxy look of the originals. I wish they had produced a square-cornered piece for this set. It also seems to be lacking the metal detectors and I only see one walkie talkie (who's he going to talk to?). I think the use of paint buckets here is really clever alternative to the original tri-cone piece (whatever that's called), but from a parts perspective, I would prefer to get the actual piece.

Thankfully, these are pretty minor complaints when you consider how affordable Benny's Space Squad and 70821 are. Those sets are much better classic space parts packs in my opinion. I have several of each of these that I share with my son, but I think I'll stock up on some more of them soon to keep for myself.

I'm really glad to finally get the red space minifigures. I have several of the originals in excellent condition, but I'm excited to be able to have some new ones to give to my son. Red is his favorite color, and he loves classic space. I hope we also get blue and black in the near future. Having a proper green one would also be cool. I always liked the green torso, but I could never enjoy them with the modern helmets.

I really can't buy enough of these. I'm going to be be using all of my personal money in the budget to alternate between buying these and buying multiple copies of the new castle for as long as they're available. Despite missing some of the crucial pieces I was hoping for, I think it will still be a great parts pack otherwise, and I can never have too many red space minifigures.

[technicfanatic]

@jodawill Benny's space squad looks pricey at $15-20 for 68 pieces.

I too like to build my own, though I'm ok building with whatever is at hand. My first set was the white and gray one, so I didn't imprint on the blue and gray scheme.

Have you published any MOCs?

Edited July 7, 2022 by technicfanatic

[jodawill]

11 hours ago, technicfanatic said:

@jodawill Benny's space squad looks pricey at $15-20 for 68 pieces.

I too like to build my own, though I'm ok building with whatever is at hand. My first set was the white and gray one, so I didn't imprint on the blue and gray scheme.

Have you published any MOCs?

Honestly, even though it was half that price a couple years ago, I still think that set is worth $15-$20. The other one is great also, and still sells for less than retail price. It's not a lot of pieces, but it includes four minifigures and some really terrific pieces. You could probably buy the minifigures and parts in bulk for much cheaper though. I think the yellow space guy is only $3.

I haven't posted any MOCs in a long time, and I actually deleted my Flickr a while back. I used to have a Wild West display at Brickworld. I mainly just build with my son for fun these days. He's six years old.

When he saw pictures of the new Galaxy Explorer, he asked me to make him one. This is what I came up up with (album). Except for the trans yellow plate and the baseplates, these parts are all from his modern sets.

Here's some more space stuff we made together, some non-space stuff we built (castle, pirates, etc.), some Duplo stuff, and some Playmobil/Brio too.

I liked these too a lot:

[NoOneOfImportance]

@jodawill Those look really good! They definitely feel very "classic space" despite being mostly modern parts. 

And I would agree that the Space Squad is a great set. I have two (one still sealed), and I'm really glad to have them even more now that the GE is rereleasing. 

[jodawill]

25 minutes ago, NoOneOfImportance said:

@jodawill Those look really good! They definitely feel very "classic space" despite being mostly modern parts. 

And I would agree that the Space Squad is a great set. I have two (one still sealed), and I'm really glad to have them even more now that the GE is rereleasing. 

Thanks! That's definitely what I was going for, and that's why I love those two Lego Movie 2 sets so much. I'll have to buy some more at some point for myself because I've basically given all of my copies to my son.

Honestly, there's a lot of things I don't like about this new set. I'm not a fan of the use of barrels and buckets. It's too much like a Creator set, or even the Lego Movie. And, as I mentioned before, the use of tiles instead of slopes and that weird windshield are very unfortunate. Those parts should have been the highlight of the set other than the minifigures. This set just doesn't include a lot of classic space parts, even ones that showed up in the Lego Movie 2 sets.

I'll still buy multiple copies though. The gray slopes and wings will be useful, and I want to get a lot of the red space minifigures. But honestly, the more I look at the details of this set, the less I like it. I would much prefer something that's just a straight up classic space set.

Edit: With all this criticism I'm giving the set, that's not to say I don't like the way it looks. The set looks great for what it is (for the most part). But it definitely doesn't include the parts I wanted it to.

Edit 2: I also wish they had gone with the smaller wheels on the vehicle. It makes sense because this set is 150% scale of the original, but those big fat tires don't look like classic space to me.

Edited July 7, 2022 by jodawill

[technicfanatic]

@jodawill Very nice MOCs.

I didn't look up the prices on brick link/brickowl but they must be high to make those sets worth it. 

My 1970s 1980s space sets (no galaxy explorer) are largely intact, except for some canopy pieces which cracked.

Grown up me is not super fond of the lifting body design of the space ships and I will moc this perhaps with my old space parts and technic.

It'll be fabulous.

[EamonnMR]

Whelp, time to put my money where my mouth is. Lego done did a spaceship, and now I suppose I need to pony up and preorder it. Ok Lego. Ya got me.

[jodawill]

Just now, EamonnMR said:

Whelp, time to put my money where my mouth is. Lego done did a spaceship, and now I suppose I need to pony up and preorder it. Ok Lego. Ya got me.

You might want to wait until the Forest Hideout GWP is available again in August.

[EamonnMR]

14 minutes ago, jodawill said:

 You might want to wait until the Forest Hideout GWP is available again in August.

Too late. Sometimes the only way to make an irresponsible decision is instantly and irrevocably.

[jodawill]

1 hour ago, EamonnMR said:

Too late. Sometimes the only way to make an irresponsible decision is instantly and irrevocably.

Well, the only thing you can do now is order two more of them in August.

[Merlo]

On 6/27/2022 at 2:55 PM, lowlead said:

 @Merlo I would be genuinely interested in seeing what you imagine as the ideal GE remake, as you have a puzzling take on this new set.  Like others, I can't wait to see what you come up with!

...and for the record, I would love to have both the Gigahorse and a resto-mod '59 Coupe DeVille in my garage side-by-side.  Both epic vehicles. 

How would I do what Lego designers couldn't?
And what part of my take is puzzling?
It seems like you think I have a specific image of a GE remake in my mind that I wanted to have realized and I really don't.
I'd be perfectly fine with whatever GE Lego put out as long as it had that "weird but wonderful" vibe the original CS had.
Instead this has the new Lego vibe of "pretty but boring".
This is why I'm fine with most of the GE remake MOC's out there. I don't have super high criteria. Just make it somewhat interesting and not completely plain.

Same deal with the new castle. Looks great, very little imagination.

This is where the car comparison fails. If you had a resto-mod '59 Coupe DeVille, heck if you just had the original, you'd have a car that's easily more weird and interesting than the majority of the vehicles on the road today.
If you have the new GE, you're in the opposite situation. The majority of SW ships, the Monkie Kid ship, etc. all look more interesting to start with.

Lego used to be in a situation where they had to fight for our attention. Luckily for them, they're now in a situation that might best be described with "whatever, they'll all buy it".
And they're right, of course, but the "whatever" part really shows.

 

[TeriXeri]

Seeing a movie, playing a game , LEGO releasing a galaxy explorer before, etc, a remake/replay/rewatch will never have the same new feeling as it's subconsciously stored in the brain somewhere, especially in a time of internet.

LEGO would need to do something entirely new to get less "boring" , however, the opposite is mostly going on, LEGO drawing more and more to existing designs, real life movies/cars, licensed cartoon/game characters.

I see this set had to abide to some rules like appealing to enough people, new and old, stay within a budget, and be classic, yet different from a complete 100% remake.

I don't think a Neo classic version or completely studless variant would sell better, but I can 100% understand people like the many MOC variants of the 928/497.

Especially Space currently for 2022 is heavily saturated across many themes with City, Monkie Kid, Friends playsets, IDEAS Saturn V, ISS still on the market, Creator Expert, and 3-in-1 , Shuttle, and this Icons remake, even Classic has a Space-themed brick box this year.

The current way LEGO is going, it just feels nearly impossible imagining LEGO going back to the 80s-2010s original lines of sets , 2015 Pirates was the last time there was a theme simply called that, Pirates, no extras like apps or tv shows.

Now, this effect of bigger bigger bigger isn't always true, as seen in a few "iconic" Star Wars vehicles gotten a bit smaller (going from €90 x-wings to €50) , I do think LEGO needs to realise that small things can be appreciated as well. (see benny's space squad).

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by TeriXeri

[icm]

I'm just linking here all the reviews I've read of 10497 so far:

https://www.brickfanatics.com/lego-icons-10497-galaxy-explorer-review/

 

https://brickset.com/article/79236/review-10497-galaxy-explorer

https://www.brothers-brick.com/2022/07/13/lego-icons-10497-galaxy-explorer-classic-space-has-never-looked-so-good-review/

https://ramblingbrick.com/2022/07/14/10497-galaxy-explorer-an-icon-reimagined-rambling-review/

https://www.newelementary.com/2022/07/lego-icons-review-10497-galaxy-explorer.html

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by icm

[technicfanatic]

Thank you @icm! I need something to tide me over till Aug 3rd (or beyond, if shipping is delayed)!

[TeriXeri]

Reviews, and parts pictures, certainly make this one of my favorite sets in a long time.

Rebuilding the original one with old original era worn,discolored and played with parts in 2015 did play a role in my return to LEGO after 16 years, and this set has a lot I wished for if they'd update it, it keeps the plate-built wings, but at double-thickness, there's retractable landing gear, an airlock, and a lot of space, great new computer tiles and other prints, but still really remains very reasonably priced at such a big size.

Also after seeing the parts individually laid out, really shows it has huge potential as parts pack as well, so many grey wedges, instead of just big wings, the tail section is the only section that could've been a bit more sophisticated instead of just dropping those blue big railway crossing ramps there, but I can understand the more modern studless, slightly sloped look it gives to the set

I know grey angled plates likely aren't exciting, there are dozens of star destroyer and falcon sets, but as someone who does not collect Star Wars I do still look forward to the parts.

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by TeriXeri

[danth]

Sigh, August needs to get here now!

 

[Lion King]

Does Galaxy Explorer have ny stickers? Lion Knights’ Castle seems to not have stickers. 

[jodawill]

Just now, DBlegonerd7 said:

Does Galaxy Explorer have ny stickers? Lion Knights’ Castle seems to not have stickers. 

Neither of them do.

[Lion King]

18 minutes ago, jodawill said:

Neither of them do.

Thats a great news!

[technicfanatic]

On 7/13/2022 at 11:21 AM, icm said:

I'm just linking here all the reviews I've read of 10497 so far:

https://www.brickfanatics.com/lego-icons-10497-galaxy-explorer-review/

 

https://brickset.com/article/79236/review-10497-galaxy-explorer

https://www.brothers-brick.com/2022/07/13/lego-icons-10497-galaxy-explorer-classic-space-has-never-looked-so-good-review/

https://ramblingbrick.com/2022/07/14/10497-galaxy-explorer-an-icon-reimagined-rambling-review/

https://www.newelementary.com/2022/07/lego-icons-review-10497-galaxy-explorer.html

 

Adding a few more I found

https://en.hothbricks.com/review-lego-icons-10497-galaxy-explorer/  (Slight negative tone in the review)

http://bricksfanz.com/10497-galaxy-explorer-set-review/

https://www.brickbanter.com/post/lego-10497-galaxy-explorer-full-review

 

[Japanbuilder]

On 7/8/2022 at 3:09 AM, NoOneOfImportance said:

@jodawill Those look really good! They definitely feel very "classic space" despite being mostly modern parts. 

And I would agree that the Space Squad is a great set. I have two (one still sealed), and I'm really glad to have them even more now that the GE is rereleasing. 

Same I also got 2 but I opened both lol. Just can't pass up these little guys. Love them. But one thing I can't find an answer on though is what "role" does the pink one get? I know informally or perhaps formally the blues were Security, the reds were Pilots, the guys in white were Explorers, the guys in Black were Spies and I think the all yellow were scientists. Is pink like a mechanic or maybe geologist? Perhaps even medical? I think folk prefer the green ones to be commanders and the orange one? What is the orange one do?

[jodawill]

31 minutes ago, Japanbuilder said:

Same I also got 2 but I opened both lol. Just can't pass up these little guys. Love them. But one thing I can't find an answer on though is what "role" does the pink one get? I know informally or perhaps formally the blues were Security, the reds were Pilots, the guys in white were Explorers, the guys in Black were Spies and I think the all yellow were scientists. Is pink like a mechanic or maybe geologist? Perhaps even medical? I think folk prefer the green ones to be commanders and the orange one? What is the orange one do?

I haven't seen the movie, but I inferred it's a white suit that got washed with a red one.

 

Since I gave all of my Benny's Space Squad sets to my son, I ordered a bunch of parts from Bricklink today. Unfortunately, the price of that set has gone up a lot recently, probably due to 10497. But I was able to get 8 of the yellow space men for $5 each, and I bought most of the parts from that set in bulk. I'll get more of the white minifigures with this set, so I feel like I'm pretty well set on my modern classic space parts now.

Well, except I also want to buy more copies of 70821 for myself, but fortunately, that one is still less than retail price on Bricklink. Most AFOLs probably scoff at that set, but it has some really great parts. Even that giant base piece works really well. You can arrange multiples of them in a lot of ways. It looks really good if you connect two of them back to back, then add one on each side of the back for wings. And it has the transparent yellow windshield, which in my opinion, is WAY better than the one that comes with 10497.

I have a decent sized tub of original classic space parts and minifigures, but we use the modern stuff way more. When I use the old parts, I feel kind of stressed out about losing or breaking pieces. So I'm actually enjoying this reboot of classic space a lot more.

[Mandalorianknight]

On 7/7/2022 at 1:09 PM, NoOneOfImportance said:

@jodawill Those look really good! They definitely feel very "classic space" despite being mostly modern parts. 

And I would agree that the Space Squad is a great set. I have two (one still sealed), and I'm really glad to have them even more now that the GE is rereleasing. 

I'm so upset with myself that I sold off most of my space squads. All I have left are one each of white and yellow spacemen. I think I'm gonna have to get myself another couple eventually.

 

This set is going to be the first big non-star wars set I've bought since I was... twelve, maybe? I think it was the airport fight from marvel. So clearly I was too young to really get into classic space, but I had my dad's old stuff, including many of the parts of the original galaxy explorer (I checked, not enough to rebuild). I've always liked the classic space idea, and the lack of set lore really gets my storytelling gears turning. (I have this whole setup ready where red is security, white are pilots, yellow are comm officers, blue are mechanics, pink are specialists in resource/land surveyeing. Then rarer colors like orange and black are captains and base commanders.

[technicfanatic]

On 7/15/2022 at 9:30 PM, technicfanatic said:

Adding a few more I found

https://en.hothbricks.com/review-lego-icons-10497-galaxy-explorer/  (Slight negative tone in the review)

http://bricksfanz.com/10497-galaxy-explorer-set-review/

https://www.brickbanter.com/post/lego-10497-galaxy-explorer-full-review

 

https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-10497-galaxy-explorer-2022/

[jodawill]

I've been surprised by how little discussion there is around this set compared to the Lion Knights Castle. I would have thought there would be about the same amount of love for classic space as there is for castle, but apparently not? Personally, I just can't stop thinking about both of these sets. It's all I've been able to think about ever since they were rumored.

What does everyone think of the part selection in this set, particularly the use of the 2x4 tile instead of a slope for the logo? Do people like this choice? Do people like the use of wacky parts like the buckets and barrels for the thrusters, or would you have preferred a more traditional build? Some transparent yellow plates would have been a great choice over that rear windshield. The walkie talkies and metal detectors aren't hard to find, but the glaring lack of them here seems a bit odd.

The funny thing about those new printed 1x2 tiles is that they used to be generic, commonplace elements. Seeing them here as special parts unique to this set feels very ironic, although I'm happy to see them included here.

The 2x4 tile does provide some flexibility we wouldn't have with a slope. It could be used on the side of a wall, as part of a floor, or a billboard. But when it comes to spaceships, it locks us into that angled brick type construction (is there a better term for this?). I wonder if there are any angled SNOT bricks that would provide an appropriate angle to construct the slope. We do have that 2x4 slope still, so I guess some variety is ok. But the printed slope was the number one thing I was looking forward to about this set besides the minifigures, so it's really hard for me to let this go. They could have used this part, as it's nearly identical to the original piece.

How does everyone else feel about this? Do you feel let down by the parts selection like me, or are there some parts here you're really looking forward to?