It’s been a while since I built some Lego, which is a bit ironic considering the Lego Group is doubling down on the amount of sets they make explicitly for adults.
But while I do think most of those sets are very impressive, so far I’ve been able to largely resist temptation. I’ve said no to Voltron, the Saturn V rocket, and even Optimus Prime. And it wasn’t even hard to do! The reason is simple - as cool as these sets look, they don’t hold up to a cost/benefit analysis. Most of these adult Lego sets cost $100 minimum, with many going for double (or even more) than that.
To put it in terms relative to Gunpla, these sets are like the Lego equivalent of a Perfect Grade model kit. Except whereas Bandai releases PG’s very sparingly, Lego is cramming out adult sets multiple times a year. I simply can’t imagine buying more than one or two lifetime, despite Lego putting out at least that many or more in a single calendar year.
And after having bought this thing here, I definitely can’t imagine buying any more:
Nostalgia for Lego Space
Before I get too far into this post, I should probably explain why this set appeals to me so much that I’d actually buy it. If I could say no to Optimus Prime and a replica NES, then something special must be going on here.
And there is. I was a huge - and I mean huge - Lego fan as a child, and I attribute that fandom entirely to my fascination with the Lego Space sets of the 80’s and early 90’s.
Some of my earliest memories are of a family Christmas Party - it may have been 88 or 89? - where my older brother and some other older kids were building the Space Lego sets they got as gifts. I marveled at the instruction booklets, and the photos inside the Lego catalogs they used to include in some sets.
I also marveled at the actual sets, but from afar - none of the older kids wanted me to get too close, lest I mess with them.
There was something about the possibility of exploring the wide expanse of outer space (with all sorts of cool ships and gear, of course) that I found tantalizing even from a young age. And it wasn’t long before I was old enough to get sets of my own. From about 1993 until 1998, I don’t think a year went by without my brother or I getting at least one Lego Space set as a gift. Aside from video games, nothing was my jam more than Lego Space.
It’s part of my past that I have nothing but warm memories for. And while this new Galaxy Explorer represents an era of Lego Space that’s a bit older than me, it’s close enough to count.
About the Galaxy Explorer
Lego is celebrating its 90th year as a company, and in response they’ve put out a number of sets to commemorate the occasion. One of them is the Galaxy Explorer I just bought, which is a modern remake of the original #497 Galaxy Explorer from 1979. A lot of people consider the OG ship to be the most iconic release from the original run of “Classic Space” sets, so it makes a lot of sense as a choice to celebrate this anniversary.
Lego 90th
Looking at the complete slate of 90th anniversary releases, the effort feels sort of half-assed, but also not.There’s one release called “90 Years of Play” which is basically a bucket of bricks that you can use to create miniature replicas of classic sets. This actually seems to cover a fairly wide spread of years in the company’s history.
Then there is the Galaxy Explorer, and finally there is a new(?), modern take on an old school Lego castle:
On one hand, three sets doesn’t seem like all that many given the company’s long history - and it isn’t lost on me that two of the three are specifically focused on (what in my opinion is) the company’s Golden Era from the early 80’s through the early 90’s, when they started moving away from plain bricks and very simple sets towards what can best be described as fairly sophisticated playsets/dioramas.
On the other hand, this also makes a certain amount of sense. It’s doubtful that most currently active AFOL remember any sets prior to the late 70’s, and even if they did, those sets are so simple that it’s doubtful that anyone would have great nostalgia for them. Focusing on the Golden Era has a certain logic from a business perspective.
This new version of the ship is the Lego equivalent of a modern remaster of an old video game. Rather than be a perfect replica, the new Galaxy Explorer represents the version of the set that lingers in your memories, rather than what it was actually like1. That means that it is 1.5 times bigger than the original (since everything looks bigger to a child than it actually is), and has more elaborate versions of all the original features and gimmicks.
On top of all that, the new Galaxy Explorer can be made into two alternate craft, based on two other, smaller space ships from that original 1979 product line:
No Baseplate :(
One thing that doesn’t come with the new Galaxy Explorer is the moon themed baseplate and radar station that came with the original set. I read some interviews with Lego engineers in which they claimed that it was “too difficult” to include them.One problem is that they no longer produce the specific grey color used in the original set, and that the new grey it uses looks too similar to the color of the baseplate. They also pointed out that the plate would be too small relative to the newly sized ship.
I guess that’s fair and all, though I have to admit that the little decorations that come with larger Lego sets are always appreciated. They give you just that little bit of extra “set dressing” to help spark your imagination.
All of this sounds like a dream come true - at least until expectations collide with reality.
First off, the new Galaxy Explorer is huge. Like … really huge (I haven’t built mine yet, I’ve seen the finished product at the Lego store). While I appreciate the idea of making it as large as a kid might remember it being, the new size also makes the new set too unwieldy. I can’t imagine anyone, adult or otherwise, actually trying to play with the thing. Expect me to elaborate on this point more once I roll up my sleeves and start building.
Second, there’s the price. At $99 MSRP, it is - according to research into what AFOL are saying about it - one of the cheaper “Adult Lego sets”. And if I’m being honest with myself, that’s probably about the cost of most of the big sets I asked for every Christmas during my childhood. But having gotten used to being able to buy Gunpla for $25 or less, I still get a sense of sticker shock at that price2. It’s a lot of money to spend on a single toy or model, or at least it feels like it is.
Costs
I’m not saying this is good or bad economics, but any time a toy or model encroaches on - or surpasses - the price of a decent electronic device, it gives me pause. The idea of spending a Nintendo Switch or Xbox Series S’ worth of money on a box of plastic feels wrong. That doesn’t mean I’ll never do it. It just feels wrong.But hey, here we are. Might as well build the thing now that I have it.
Other Thoughts
It’s been a while since I wrote about a Lego build, and I’m not really sure how I’m going to approach it. The problem with these adult oriented Lego sets is that (in my limited experience) they’re kind of boring to actually build, and they’re not really easy to talk about and analyze when they’re still in progress. I’ll just have to wing it.