The LEGO Interstellar Spaceship (60430) from the 2024 City line may be aimed at kids, but that sure didn’t stop it from hitting the target with yours truly…
In recent years Lego has gotten increasingly good at making sets that appeal directly to me, personally. Now, I guess these sets probably appeal to other people too, but, well, I can’t talk for them. What I can say with certainty is that in 2024 Lego really pushed my buttons.
Whether it was the M-Tron, Blacktron and Ice Planet minifigures in the CMF line or the various City and Technic Space-themed sets, it felt like Lego was tapping into the lines I grew up with and the MOC spaceships I used to make.
Of all these new Space sets, the Interstellar Spaceship is one that – whilst not perfect – totally exemplifies this feeling.
As the mid-range release for the 2024 Lego City Space line, the Interstellar Spaceship is a neat set that gives you a full play pattern without either feeling too limited or breaking the bank.
With the spaceship you get articulated aerodynamic flaps and a very cool cockpit with a fantastic translucent control panel piece. Then there’s a removable battery that activates the foldout thrusters with a smooth push-down motion.
The pilot is a nice modern riff on the Classic Space theme. The suit is a touch busy for my liking, but she’s a cool astronaut adventurer all the same. Finally there’s a small drone that doubles as the pilot’s backpack. Don’t try and find the drone in these pictures though – I completely forgot to photograph it!
With 240 pieces this is a relatively fast build, but there are still one or two small “aha” moments to keep things interesting.
The end result is a sleek, highly swoosh-able spaceship with enough features to keep even an old timer like me way too amused for a weekend – which means I would have had literally months of adventures with it as a kid.
On that note, the Interstellar Spaceship is very much the aesthetic that I used to go for with MOC spaceships back in the late ’90s, when I was starting to get into more intricate and layered designs.
Sure, I never created anything as aerodynamic as this. But the size, scale, and sense of functionality that you get with this ship was very much what I was aiming for.
Buy the LEGO Interstellar Spaceship here >>
So as you may have gathered, I’ve found the Interstellar Spaceship to be a ton of fun. Even so, between this release and adding a few new M-Tron and Ice Planet minifigures to my collection, I’m more or less OK with Lego Space for now. Sets like the Modular Galactic Spaceship look interesting, but I’d rather save money and shelf space ahead of the inevitable M-Tron revival.
That is, if there’s any shelf space left.
Y’see, Lego wasn’t my only big interest as a kid – I was also mad keen on Formula One, and remain a lifelong fan of the Williams Racing team. Which is why this seeing year’s Lego Icons Williams FW14B hit me right in the feels…
Seriously, Lego. Get out of my brain.
