Lego’s original spaceship, the Galaxy Explorer, is back and better than ever

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The company agreed to revive one of its classic Lego themes, such as Space, Castle, and Pirates, with a new, adult-grade Lego set.

The company is bringing back classic Space and classic Castle at the same time. The Lego version of the original Lego spaceship will be available for pre-order today. The Lion Knights' Castle is the most intricate and impressive castle playset the company's ever produced.

Since there is a lot of high-res images and such, I decided to split the story into two parts, so you can read about the newGalaxy Explorer spaceship or the Lion Knights' Castle.

I have been looking over the high-resolution photos of each set for days, marveling over the details. I didn't have to do it by myself, but I did have to speak to their lead designers. The Black Knight's Castle is one of the most famous forts in the world, and it was designed by the man who co-created Lego Pirates and Forestmen.

Photo: Back of the Box Builds

The goal was to build the ship you think you remember, not the actual one. The original 1979 set is the only thing that most people have ever seen. He told me what he said.

We’ve noticed adults generally remember the Lego kits of their childhood to be much more impressive and immersive than they really, truly are — and our big bet that we’re taking with this model, the hypothesis that we’ve come up with is it’s about how big they are. So like when you’re a kid, you’re a lot smaller. Now, you’re just physically larger and take up much more space. Seeing that same set through the eyes of an adult, it doesn’t command as much of your field of view, essentially, right?

How big is it? The reference point was when Psiaki realized he was taller than his son. The width of the wings is wider, the thickness of the plate is larger, and the engines that are two modules around are 50 percent larger.

The airframe was mostly made of grey plates when it was built in 1979. The new one is about the same length as the old one.

We are almost imagining that we are looking at a high-definition camera when we look at theGalaxy Explorer. They kept it sharp and straight. It looks great side by side with the original.

Photo: Lego

Photo: Andrew Gould (Wikimedia Commons)

It wasn't always going to be like that. How do we update the galaxy explorer was the route we originally went down. How would this work as a vehicle? The approach was abandoned after they found themselves building another Space Shuttle Discovery and throwing out modernized designs for the space men.

There were a few places where the set could be modernized. Some of the original Lego computer bricks have come back, but as flat tiles instead of sloped monitors, making them look less like CRTs and allowing more of them to fit in the cockpit. A newer version of the Lego space helmet has a less likely to break feature. The Lego Movie had a joke about a broken helmet and how everyone remembers it.

Image: Lego

Photo: Lego

The original set only had a few stationary columns that could be used as landing gear, but the new set has more. The first Lego Millennium Falcon that the struts were all just attached was a disappointment to me. Those are supposed to fold up. Lego, please allow him to work on the Ultimate Millennium Falcon.

Image: Lego

In the picture below, you can see a nod to the original landing pad, as well as a pair of alternate builds, but it's not clear if they're official parts of the original. The new cockpit doesn't have the retro feel of the original's flat top lifter.

Image: Lego

The creator of Lego Space and the original Lego minifigure died in 2020 and I was unable to speak to him about the new build. If you want to learn more about Jens and his work on Lego Space, I recommend this profile by their colleague Mark Stafford.

Most of the early days of Lego Space were without guns. Even though Jens fully realized the kids would use them as laser guns, we were not allowed to make weapons of any kind. The space camera was the first Lego part that he created. It's called the space bazooka. He says that it is not allowed to be called that.

The Lego.com store will have the new Galaxy Explorer for pre-order today, and it will go on sale on August 1st. I'll buy one.