My LEGO® haul posts usually come at the end of the month. But, this time around, I’m going to share the info a little early. I just got my LEGO® Ambassador Network (LAN) shipment, and I can’t contain my excitement until the end of the month. I am also trying something new with this haul… I’m posting the un-boxing on YouTube… I’m a little nervous about making that leap, but sometimes it’s good to break out of your comfort zone and see where the road takes you. You can check it out by clicking here.
This LAN shipment arrived in three separate boxes. I can’t tell you how excited I get when these boxes show up at my door. It quite literally feels like Christmas did when I was a little kid, even though I already know what is in the boxes. I get to pick the sets that are sent to me for review in most cases, so this time around I decided to go for a whole slew of City sets.
Every year, the LEGO® Group releases a science related subset of the City theme. This is probably one of the highlights of the year for me in terms of sets. My educational background is in the sciences, so these sets always really speak to me. I also get pretty excited by the latest advances in space exploration, so the LEGO® Group’s return to space this year was really awesome. I think it’s even better that these sets were actually loosely based on plans that NASA has for actual space research.
In addition to sharing this haul, I thought we would take a look at some of my preliminary thoughts on these sets. First up, the People Pack. I am not really sure how much I needed to get this set since the other sets in the theme come with a plethora of space-related characters. But, the Minifigures in this kit really look fun, and my City 2019 space collection wouldn’t be complete without it.
Rover Testing Drive was inspired by the rovers that NASA actually tests for use on Mars. However, this is probably the set that least excites me in this collection. Don’t get me wrong, it still looks neat, but compared to the other kits, it looks like it lacks a little substance. Who knows, maybe it will surprise me.
I really like the design of the shuttle. It looks very sleek. However, from a realistic perspective, I don’t see a shuttle like this around Mars anytime soon. This looks more like a shuttle that would transport astronauts to the International Space Station. The box says that this set is based on NASA’s Mars exploration program, but it seems to me like the smaller builds are more accurate in their depictions of work on Mars. All the same, it is a cool looking set.
When this space collection was announced, this is the set that caught my eye first. I am really excited about getting to build this one. It is based on NASA’s plan to build a space station that orbits the moon as a pit stop on the way to Mars. Right now, I only have one, but I imagine that combining a few of these could make a really awesome space station. We’ll see how easy that is to do when I get around to reviewing this.
This is one of the bigger sets in the collection. I love the look of this rocket, it seems like the LEGO® has tried to make it fairly true to an actual design. It also looks like there is a pretty cool control center, I can’t wait to see that closer up. You also get some of the new-ish roller coaster pieces to transport astronauts from the control center to the rocket.
This is the largest set in the collection, and it was inspired by NASA’s ground systems. It features another rocket. There are a lot of rockets in this series. It is a space theme, so you should expect rockets, but there are five if you count the little one that comes with the Lunar Space Station (there is another one in a kit that I did not get yet as well). I feel like we could have done with one or two less rockets. The inclusion of something like a space telescope, or a ground based observatory would have been nice. With that said, this rocket still looks amazing. I think the other builds in the kit can also be used to expand on the mission control in 60228 as well.
The last set in my haul breaks from the space theme. This is a slightly older set, but one that I have wanted for some time. I really like these city building sets, and we normally get one from the LEGO® Group every few years. As an adult fan, I find that these sets generally need a lot of modification in order to fit in my city layout, but customizing them is a lot of fun. I also love the signage that comes with these. I have been dreaming about building a MOC museum for a long time, and this set comes with the signs. You also get a hotel and a food stand. This set looks like a good time.
Well, there you have it, my latest LAN haul. As always, I welcome your thoughts in the comments below. Also, be sure to swing on over to YouTube to watch my inaugural video sharing the un-boxing of this haul (click here to go see it).
Until next time,
-Tom
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