Maroc - 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - 04/Apr 04:54

LEGO Ideas Tintin Moon Rocket – Review

Having attended the launch event for LEGO Ideas 21367 Tintin Moon Rocket, we of course had to take an in-depth look at the set itself. If you haven’t read our interview with fan designer Alexis Dos Santos and LEGO designer Ellen Bowley, then we do recommend you do so first. We’ve discussed everything from how Hergé’s ligne claire translated to the model to how the final product differed from the original Ideas submission and even the cane pieces carried by Thomson and Thompson. So, let’s crack open that gorgeous box and prepare our very own Moon Rocket for takeoff! With a piece count of 1283 bricks, the Moon Rocket is a sizable LEGO set, and a fairly challenging build. This is an 18+ set after all. A single booklet guides you through the eleven-bag building process. A variety of building techniques is utilised to achieve the right look. Beneath the white-and-red checkered is a clever mix of SNOT (studs not on top) building and TECHNIC elements. Since the internal parts aren’t visible once the model itself is assembled, the designers were able to utilise a wide variety of colours. This in turn made for a more accessible building experience, as the parts are literally colour-coded for your convenience. Seasoned fans probably won’t have any issues with this set, but we can imagine that the Tintin license speaks enough to the imagination of people less experienced with LEGO, so anything to reduce friction in the building process is welcomed. The end result is a stunning model of Hergé’s iconic retro-futuristic spaceship. It’s a remarkably smooth build. There are barely any exposed studs on the exterior of the model. The circumference of the body isn’t perfectly round, but within the limitations of LEGO bricks, it’s definitely close enough. We were particularly impressed with the subtle curve where the body of the ship transitions into the nose cone. The Moon Rocket is also sizable, measuring 49 centimetres tall and around 23 centimeters in diameter when taking the ship’s “fins” into account. The ship doesn’t come with a stand, which means that if you’re going to display it, (and you absolutely should), it’ll simply sit on those fins. It’s stable enough as is, but with no included ways to pose the Moon Rocket at alternate angles, you’ll probably need to put it on your top shelf, given its height. That’s a small price to pay, because a stand would have detracted from the overall design, which is brilliant in its apparent simplicity. In turn, the building process is much more varied than what you’d expect for a set with a deceptively simple exterior. There definitely is some repetition going on here, particularly when it comes to the three “fins”, but overall, seeing the set come together is a satisfying process. We particularly enjoyed the zen-like experience of creating the red-and-white checkered patterns. It took us around four hours of leisurely building to complete the Moon Rocket, and we can definitely think of worse ways to spend an afternoon! Our only gripe with the building process is that there were a handful of stickers that needed to be applied. No matter how you slice it, this is a premium product, so prints would have been preferred here. Most of these stickers go on the inside of the rocket, so you could technically leave them out, although some are applied to minifigure accessories. The ones that go in the ship represent monitor screens, as there is a small cockpit hidden inside the Moon Rocket’s nose cone, with just enough room to hold a single minifigure. It’s a simple design made up of a few bricks, almost an easter egg in and by itself. The cockpit isn’t even visible under normal circumstances, and you’re unlikely to ever put a minifigure in there when you’re just displaying the set. Speaking of minifigures, the set boasts the expected line-up. We get Tintin himself, of course, as well as Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, the bumbling detective duo Thomson and Thompson and even Snowy, with a new, set-exclusive mould! This is one of the three new moulds in the set, next to the rocket’s nose cone and Tintin’s hair piece. The minifigures are very specific to the comic, with Thomson and Thompson boasting green hair and the entirety of the cast wearing their orange space suits and space helmets, although poor Snowy seems to have forgotten his headwear. The comic-specific suits are a choice that makes sense for this set, although it only makes us want these same characters in their iconic regular outfits all the more. Prints are clear but detailed, and all figures except Calculus sport double facial expressions. A particularly nice detail is that Thomson and Thomson have different moustaches, which is comic-accurate. Given that you can only fit one minifigure inside the cockpit, the set comes with a simple but necessary display stand for all six characters. It’s just a black strip in essence, but it does add a lot of perceived value, adding to the premium feel of the set as a whole, while also helping the figures to stand upright as their oxygen tanks make them prone to falling over backwards. The figures definitely look best displayed together, standing next to the ship. Because yes, this is a display set, rather than a play set. We’re happy to say that it looks great on a shelf. With its imposing size and instantly recognisable colours, it demands attention and makes for a great conversation piece. If you already have some of LEGO’s larger and more scientifically accurate spaceship builds, the Moon Rocket will display fantastically among those, and it will still stand out thanks to that striking colour scheme. The set displays well by itself too though, and since it’s a fully rounded out build, there are no unsightly viewing angles, something that is often the case with sets that are more play-oriented. With an RRP of €159.99, the Moon Rocket falls outside of the “impulse purchase” range, but at a price-per-piece ratio of roughly €0.12, it sits in the average price range for licensed sets. Looking at the sheer size of the Moon Rocket, the price does feel right, particularly if you compare it to non-LEGO versions of the same ship. No matter how you slice it, we can’t exactly ignore those, as this version of the Moon Rocket isn’t just a LEGO set but a Tintin collectible as well. Fortunately, this is one set that is worthy of the attention of adult LEGO fans and Tintin fans alike. The timeless design of the Moon Rocket itself is nothing short of iconic, and even people not too familiar with the Tintin comics will instantly recognise it. You don’t have to be a die-hard comic nerd to appreciate this specific set! Conclusion If there was ever going to be a single, definitive Tintin LEGO set, it had to be the Moon Rocket, and it had to be good. Fortunately, LEGO knocked this one out of the park. The Moon Rocket looks fantastic, both as a LEGO set and as a replica of the spaceship itself. Being an Ideas set, this is likely going to be a one-off, although here’s to hoping that sets like Red Rackham’s Unicorn ship or the Shark Submarine will make it into LEGO as well, if only as an excuse to get “regular” minifigures of the characters.