Admittedly, I like space, especially space science. I was prepared to be disappointed by this set, mostly because of the wheels. Initial photos showed that LEGO had decided to create these wheels as regular rubber tyres, whereas the real original wheels are made from really nifty mesh with metal strips.

I expected a somewhat shallow display model that missed most of the key elements that made the Lunar Roving Vehicle such a special machine. This is a battery electric vehicle (like a Tesla EV) with four individually driven wheels providing about 0.25hp each (much unlike a Tesla). This vehicle was used on Apollo 15, 16 and 17 in the early 1970’s to traverse the moon scape.

Despite my trepidation I was delighted by this set; it does not just provide a surprising accurate model of the LRV; but it also demonstrates how it was packed to travel to the moon, and highlights a lot of the components that are mounted on it. (yes; the rovers should still be sitting there, on the moon, waiting for someone to take it for another spin).

Seeing the back of the box I initially thought there would be 4 alternate models in the box, but no; there are two ways of presenting the final build; in packed configuration or in assembled form. There are heaps of details that stimulated me into reading up on the vehicle a bit more and the finished builds makes for a striking (and LARGE) model.

The set contains 1913 pieces, which is not a historic reference as far as I can tell, and has a recommended price of $AUD349.99/£189.99/US$219.99/€219.99. I am very grateful to the LEGO Group for providing this set to review ; I might have passed it by otherwise, much to my loss! All opinions are my own.

I suspect that by expecting to be disappointed, I set myself up to be delighted by the lack of disappointing aspects and the inclusion of delightful details.

Are you confused about this rambling about delight and disappointment yet? Read on to see why this set is one of the best demonstrations of what a Technic model should be, learn a few things about space travel more than half a century ago, and convince yourself to give this set good consideration in your budget.

Box and contents

This review set came in one of the new style boxes with mostly paper bags, three stickers sheets (with 4 very large stickers for the display stands) and 4 wheels and wheel covers loose in the box. With the Tuxedo cat I had noticed that most reviews online mentioned this new style box, whereas stores in Australia all seem to be selling old style boxes for that set. It remains to be seen what kind of box will be common on the shelves in your area; why don’t you let us know in the comments. For science, obviously.

It immediately strikes how large the wheels are. I’m still a little sad we didn’t get a thin metal mesh wheel, but the large tyres do accurately capture the pattern of metal bands on the wheels, and I understand that people slicing their fingers open is going to be a bit problematic for the LEGO support team.

There are a few parts that stood out to me, suggesting they may be new or at least unusual:

BEAM U-FRAME, 2X3, NO. 1, 4.85 BUSH 3 M, FRICTION, W/ 5.9 BALL, CROSS HOLES W/ DOUBLE, DIA. 3.2 SHAFT

and one part that I am really starting to hate, because I always struggle to put them in. The pins require quite a lot of force, the shape of the ring is such that it doesn’t provide good grip; invariably when I see this part I know I’m going to get annoyed. Tip; if you are like me; have a Technic axle handy, it can help to stabilize and angle the pin.
SINGLE BUSH 2 MODULE, DIA. 4,9

Apologies I did not have access to a master-knoller during this review.

The Build

The build commences with building a solid sturdy frame that will *not* come apart, it is a lesson in bracing, cross-bracing and then some more bracing.

As soon as bag 2 arrives the mounts for the wheels are created and immediately there is a hint that this is more than just some wheel axles with suspension; as soon as they are mounted you can see that they can fold up as suggested on the back of the box.

At this point I noticed a distinct lack of text in the instruction book apart from a bit of an introduction at the start. This is quite normal for LEGO sets but I somehow expected, nay hoped, to get a bit more background information while building, as is quite common with Architecture and some Ideas sets.

Next the central control hub for the vehicle is built; adding the first stickers and the steering handle for the rover. This vehicle was not controlled by a steering wheel but rather by a handle in the middle of the vehicle that controlled steering for all four (!) wheels!

Luckily the wheels and (fold-able!) seats are added soon after completing the base vehicle, so we can try out the steering.

It is possible to connect steering to either or both the front and rear wheels so you can drive the vehicle with 2 wheel steering or four wheel steering. The video shows how much the turning circle improves with four wheel steering, and now I want it in my own car!

Although the LRV is essentially complete, the build is far from complete. The next part is the forward chassis containing batteries, communication antenna, colour camera, antenna for communication with and navigational odometer and gyro (compass doesn’t work on the moon). Interestingly the stickers on the inside of the lid covers the holes in the reverse plates; essentially making the stickers a structural part of the build.

On the stickers several parts are labeled with ‘wax’; this was not to lubricate anything but to store heat. Since there is no air on the moon to cool anything, the heat from the sun can overheat equipment very quickly. Wax is able to absorb a lot of energy while melting, keeping the electronics cool in the process. During the lunar night the heat could then slowly be radiated away and the wax return to solid. Unfortunately this is yet another snippet of information that would have been nice to include in the instructions but is nowhere to be found.

Next we get to build the black & white camera, map and antenna for communication with earth. The map shows the trips made by the three LRVs that made it to the moon.

The stickers and gold lacquered elements on these parts look really nice; I am a bit of a sucker for shiny things. Unfortunately there is no material between the legs of the fold-able antenna so you have to imagine that yourself.

Now the front of the rover is fully loaded we turn our attention to the rear where a full rack of gear is assembled. It feels that in this section the designers have taken a bit of artistic license; I cannot find any specific reference to this fit-out, but it is not difficult to imagine that astronauts used equipment like a rake, shovel, pickaxe or drill on the moon to collect samples. It is a bit unclear what some pieces represent, such as the ‘Traverse Gravimeter‘; a decidedly cool looking contraption that could have come with a little explanation.

The whole package of tools fits on the back of the LRV, completing the build… almost

This is the end

While the rover is complete, and that is what it shows on the box; there is more (is there? yes there is, stay with me!) A significant pile of parts is used to create display stands (with plaques) to display all the part of this model that have just been built. 4 displays are created, one for the rover itself, that fits underneath the rover, in packed or unpacked state.

The other three displays stands are connected in an arch with plates explaining some of their functionality on the plaques. I would have like to have seen a little more info in the manual while building so I could show off my knowledge when visitors see this on display, but it was not to be.

This set is BIG. See the space minifig for scale; this is really quite a thing to behold, but it does not feel big just for size sake; the scale feels right and I wish I had a chinchilla to add for scale.

As a display model alone it has grown on me as I learned more about the original LRV’s that were sent to the moon 50 years ago, but the thing that really made this a winner for me is the ability to transform the rover between its packed form and the drive-ready form. The folded form is not entirely accurate to the real rover but the idea is captured well.

In addition; this build reminds me of 8860 Car chassis mentioned by Richard recently; this set embodies what I love about Technic, back in the days when all mechanics were exposed. This vehicle did not have the luxury to hide anything away, so it is the perfect object to execute in Technic form and have all the functionality clearly visible and usable, and there is quite a lot: the wheels have suspension and steering; selection between front and/or rear wheel steering, controls from central T handle, seats fold flat, wheels can be unlocked to fold up, front and rear axles unlock to fold up and the wheels turn.

Almost

Like I stated at the start, I expected to be underwhelmed before I began but I now stand corrected. I have a few gripes but they are minor:

• wheels are not metal mesh
• folding is not entirely accurate
• little background information in instruction manual

On the flip-side there is plenty to love about this set:

• BIG
• it transforms! It’s a transformer!
• detail in all components
• display stands
• 4 wheel steering
• Technic mechanism all visible and exposed

This leads to the final question: Is this set worth its price tag? The price is steep—there’s no argument there—and there are a lot of cool things you can get for the same money, but this is simply (and unexpectedly) one of the most enjoyable Technic sets I have built in a long time, and it’s hard to put a price on that.

I give this set 4 out of 5 arbitrary praise units, being well aware that I have a strong fondness of rocket science.

After this experience, perhaps someday we can get a Jeep packed in a crate. It’s unlikely, but a person can hope.

The set contains 1913pieces, and has a recommended price of $AUD349.99/£189.99/US$219.99/€219.99.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!