It is not uncommon that the largest set in a LEGO® CITY wave is some form of ‘omnibus set’ – containing a ‘best of ‘ of the range. The largest set in the January 2024 range of LEGO City certainly gives us this: a truck, a crane, an airplane and air traffic control tower, a laboratory and a cafeteria. Along with plenty of minifigures and pets, and a bit of scenery for good measure. Just not where you may have traditionally found them: it’s not downtown or the outer suburbs, but rather outer space.

This year’s trans-theme Space branding has generated a significant amount of interest between AFOLs of a certain age, particularly those who might have grown up with themes from the 80s or 90s. The sets appearing in LEGO City have been suitably impressive, offering some great value, not to mention play experiences at the lower end of the range. This set has lots of minifigures, a planet based rover, a building with a laboratory, as well as roof top crane, and command tower. The shuttle features a detachable module which can be used to transport scientific specimens from point A to point C. These were all integral features of Space Base sets that were available ‘back in the day’.

So, how does the largest set available at present shape up? Let’s take a look at 60434 Space Base and Rocket launchpad, the largest set in the current wave of CITY Space. At $AUD249.99/$USD134.99/£124.99/€139.99, this set has 1422 parts- close to the fantastical ideal of 10US cents/part.  The set sits well and truly in the realms of the omnibus grandparent set: at the top end of the range – typically reserved for special presents from grandparents, containing multiple different play scenarios.