I tested for you: LEGO Ideas 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V

Today we are interested in the new set of the LEGO Ideas range, the reference 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V., its public price of 119.99 €, its 1969 coins and its micro-astronauts.

I won't make the suspense last any longer: This set is in my opinion exceptional in its quality as a LEGO product. Everything is there, from the very interesting construction techniques it offers to the truly impressive end result, including the total absence of stickers.

The set is marked 14+ (suitable for builders aged at least 14) and it is justified. Even a child who is familiar with assembling LEGO sets can quickly find himself in difficulty. Better to plan to collaborate with him or in any case to assist him in the event of a problem so as not to spoil the pleasure of seeing Saturn V growing up before his eyes.

During the assembly of the internal structure of each module, the instructions sometimes become visually a little confused and it will be necessary to be careful not to create a shift or an inversion which will prove to be fatal for the rest.

Admittedly, this is a model intended to be exhibited, but unlike other boxes with the same destiny, everyone will find something here to develop their arsenal of construction techniques.

This is the strength of this box, each page of the instruction booklet is a lesson in creativity and ingenuity. Poor builders like me will take great pleasure in discovering all these tricks that allow you to assemble the Saturn V fuselage.

We sometimes wonder where the designers are coming from before realizing that everything has been thought out so that this one meter high launcher is as solid as possible while retaining the possibility of detaching and manipulating each element (and that the symbolic figure of 1969 pieces is reached ...).

We therefore build in order the first stage S-IC and its Rocketdyne F-1 engines, the second stage S-II with its five J-2 engines, the third stage S-IVB with its J-2 engine, the LEM and the control module. Vigilance is essential, believe me, you will quickly have badly nested a part that will fall inside the structure and that you will then have to go and look for, trying not to have to dismantle everything ...

For once, "the lego experience"so vaunted by the manufacturer is very real and the public price of this box seems very reasonable to me given the pleasure of construction it provides. I often jeer at LEGO on this subject, but I also know how to recognize when a set contributes to perpetuate the "legend", sometimes a little overrated, expertly maintained and exploited by the manufacturer.

Not a sticker on the horizon. Everything is pad printed and that's good for the resistance to light, heat and dust of this model. MOCeurs will inevitably find some alternative uses to the different pad printed pieces delivered here, even if those bearing the American flags and the words "United"and"States"have too many connotations to be really versatile.

Beyond the obvious appeal of the product, it is also up to everyone to assess their interest in the history of the conquest of space. I don't really see myself exhibiting a rocket of this size at home and the historic nature of the event it commemorates is not a sufficient argument for me to willingly allocate the space necessary for its development. .

Was it necessary to put mini-prints with the pad printing developed in this set instead of the microfigs with the generic outfit? I think yes and a few differentiable minifigs would have paid tribute more strongly to the three astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission: Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins.

Diorama enthusiasts, on the other hand, will find something to furnish their space stations with these generic microfigs, and LEGO had the good idea to put four of them in this set.

Was it necessary to integrate a launching ramp, even basic, to really stage this launcher, one meter high and 17 cm in diameter, which will feel very lonely on the living room chest of drawers? I think so, even if the public price of this box would necessarily have increased by a few tens of euros. LEGO has preferred to be content with a few supports that allow a horizontal presentation. It is a logical choice, the vertical stability of the whole is effective only as long as an unfortunate gesture does not send the thing off.

As soon as the set goes on sale, the MOCeurs will obviously take up the subject and I am sure that we will quickly see some convincing examples of shooting range.

Finally, a presentation plaque in the spirit Ultimate Collector Series with some technical information on the rocket and some key dates would have been welcome to allow optimal development of the whole.

The result is a surprisingly strong, easy to move launcher. I expected it to have a bit of trouble standing upright, but it's pretty stable thanks to the half-barrel-based F-1 engine nozzles. The assembly and separation of the different elements is done almost without clashes or destruction. Sometimes a part or two will detach from the fuselage during the operation, but they will be quickly put back in place.

No one will really play with the content of this set. The rocket will make a few revolutions in orbit around the living room table and will then quickly go to the location chosen to exhibit it.

The real interest of this box is elsewhere: the educational potential of this set is enormous. The reproduction of the various elements of the launcher is sufficiently credible to make it a first choice educational tool. Each stage of the launch of Saturn V since its takeoff on July 16, 1969, of the moon landing of the LEM on July 21 and of the return to Earth on July 24 of this space mission which marked history can be explained, detailed and illustrated by the presentation of the different stages and modules of the launcher. We can also combine the command module with the LEM to explain the different phases of the mission.

You will understand, I am really very enthusiastic about this set which celebrates in a really very convincing way the very concept of the LEGO Ideas platform and all the know-how of the original creators of the project (Felix Stiessen and Valérie Roche) and LEGO designers (Carl Merriam, Mike Psiaki and Austin Carlson) who worked on its adaptation.

If you are passionate about space conquest, LEGO, and you have 120 € to spend, this set is for you. When a toy meets all the conditions to become a great product, rather than trying to find flaws in it just for the sake of quibbling, I bow.

Availability announced for June 1st on the LEGO Shop and in the LEGO Stores (The set is already online on the official LEGO store at this address.

Note: We are doing as usual, you have until May 31 at 23:59 p.m. to come forward. Bananas are not provided.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.
If I do not get a response from him to my request for contact details before June 12, a new winner will be drawn.