Excellent set, but the hump in front of the vertical stabilizers looked a bit heavy handed to me......The medium sized alternate build offers a much flatter and more streamlined solution to locking the two rear halves together.

I added a sink, toilet and shower at the request of my son also.....

 

 

Edited December 30, 20222 yr by Spacechampions17
Edited to include picture thumbnails

Great mod!  Trying to get the right code to embed a thumbnail for your photo....

...so, scroll all the way down on the ibb page and just copy the last BBCode linked image for Thumbnail.  Repeat for each photo - simple as that!

Edited September 6, 20222 yr by lowlead
attempting linked image

3 hours ago, lowlead said:

Great mod!  Trying to get the right code to embed a thumbnail for your photo....

...so, scroll all the way down on the ibb page and just copy the last BBCode linked image for Thumbnail.  Repeat for each photo - simple as that!

Thanks Lowlead, done! Edited my original post to include thumbnails

I forgot to point out the lengthening of the fuselage with inverted slopes at the rear, more in keeping with the original 928 and 924, and a more flush, pointier nose.

Edited September 7, 20222 yr by Spacechampions17

5 hours ago, Spacechampions17 said:

Thanks Lowlead, done! Edited my original post to include thumbnails

I forgot to point out the lengthening of the fuselage with inverted slopes at the rear, more in keeping with the original 928 and 924, and a more flush, pointier nose.

No problemo!  I did a similar mod using inverted slopes as well - opted for the 2x3s on mine.  Now when I see the original design it just looks off!  

I built the medium 924 sized alternate as well, smoothed out the nose, underside and some of the greebling with exposed clips.

This alternate build lacks the vertical thrusters of the larger model (and of the originals); I added 3 smaller ones.

Here together with its modded big brother:

Finally: Some may have noticed that the landing skids don't sit perfectly flush on this alternate build, this is because the instructions omitted the pin stops needed for a flush fit as on the regular 10497, note the added black pins in each well:

Edited September 9, 20222 yr by Spacechampions17
Added picture

Nice work on the mods. I have added a landing gear on the smallest build. Lego didn't include one, I saw one on a Dutch forum, but I thought I could improve on that. The skids don't sit completely flush like on the bigger models, but this is the best I could do. I had to alter the connection of the thruster as well as I used all the 1x4 technic bricks in the landing gear. I ordered extra parts to make the model a per instructions, but this works as well.

 

 

From here the Lego instructions can be followed again.

 

Toilet, sink and show are essential!

Update: It took a while to decide what to do with the leftover parts after completing the 924-sized alternate build, and I chose this excellent retro WWII style MOC with free instructions as a starting point:

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-124992/piotrusb/twin-engine-space-scamper-alternative-with-galaxy-cruiser-from-10497-galaxy-explorer/#details

I modified it quite a bit (with non 10497 parts) for a thinner, simpler and sleeker overall shape, a nicer cockpit, better seating position, a vertical thruster like the bigger ships, and I added detachable armament pods under the wings, allowing this little fighter to carry the large cannons of the 928 and 924.

I also made it dockable on the 928, to hitch a piggyback ride to far destinations (think Dornier and Short WWII piggybacked seaplanes), with 2 simple 1x1 round studs that attach it easily to the nose of the bigger ship, and in such a way that the combo is still mildly swooshable. 

 

 

Edited December 30, 20222 yr by Spacechampions17

On 10/1/2022 at 3:47 PM, zonoskar said:

I have added a landing gear on the smallest build. Lego didn't include one, I saw one on a Dutch forum, but I thought I could improve on that. The skids don't sit completely flush like on the bigger models, but this is the best I could do. I had to alter the connection of the thruster as well as I used all the 1x4 technic bricks in the landing gear. I ordered extra parts to make the model a per instructions, but this works as well.

Hi there! Late reply. But does your mod require extra pieces, or can it be done with just the pieces in the set?

16 hours ago, danth said:

Hi there! Late reply. But does your mod require extra pieces, or can it be done with just the pieces in the set?

It requires for sure extra pieces, at the least the blue reversed slopes.
I modded the end of 10497 bit myself with a sloped end just below the tails besides the reverse slopes at the bottom, and was lucky enough to have the necessary pieces from the Emmett's Dream House set (70831).

 

Edited December 31, 20222 yr by GeoBrick

Great mods in this thread - I'd never thought of most of them. They look great!

I decided to build all three ships from only two sets, so I had to use some parts from my inventory, and order some more, to complete the 918. Along the way I decided to mod it in a few areas, and the main mod was adding retractable landing gear. The landing pads are 3x3 round tiles, as they were easier to accommodate and I thought the 4x4 rounded-square tiles that come with the 10497 set look a little big on the 918 model. I had to rework the entire inner structure, but I was able to make the retractable gear sit flush when retracted.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 21, 20232 yr by tmtomh

Looks like a workable solution for the landing gear.
Is that the classic 3x6 printed slope you used on the front of the fuselage?

1 hour ago, GeoBrick said:

Looks like a workable solution for the landing gear.
Is that the classic 3x6 printed slope you used on the front of the fuselage?

 

Thanks! By making the required holes in the underside a little smaller - and requiring only one "leg" instead of two for each landing pad - it resolves the dilemma of making retractible landing gear for the 918 model: you can use the original 4x4 landing feet, but they won't retract fully, or the two rear feet will touch each other, with no left-right space between them, or you will undermine the structural rigidity of the ship. So this started out as a structural solution but became an aesthetic one too when I decided I preferred the look of this ship with the slightly smaller landing feet.

As for the front of the fuselage, that's actually the newer 2x4 printed slope. I had a couple lying around (along with the unprinted 2x4 slopes), and I didn't feel like paying through the nose for the 2x4 printed tile from this set (which was brand new on Bricklink at the time). So I used the 2x4 slope bricks instead, and I ended up preferring the gentler slope of the 4-long slope bricks anyway, as they more nearly match the slope of he windscreen. Also makes the construction of that area a lot simpler, eliminates the visible studs in front of the windscreen, and allowed for a simplification and streamlining of the steering/front-cockpit section too. Here's a pic:

 

 

 

Edited January 21, 20232 yr by tmtomh

Ah, thanks. How you managed it is a lot clearer now.
 

Edited January 21, 20232 yr by GeoBrick

I got a 3rd 10497 set, and built a 4th craft (with some of my own MODs), based on these purchasable instructions on Rebrickable:

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-130651/BrentWaller/10497-planetary-explorer-galaxy-explorer-alternate-build/#details.

This is a 1000 piece heavy lift craft with detachable modular lab (for which an elevated base can also be built), a very inventive design with very menacing proportions, and challenging building techniques, much more so than all 3 of the official LEGO builds.

Highly recommended now that the 10497 set can be had new for around 65$, if one shops wisely.

On 12/30/2022 at 6:42 PM, danth said:

Hi there! Late reply. But does your mod require extra pieces, or can it be done with just the pieces in the set?

Late reply as well :) I used only parts from the set, but I like the MOD of @tmtomh much more to be honest. Great work.

Thanks!