LEGO 92176 Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V

Product Information

This MOC is not suitable for Lego Technic beginners. There are sometimes difficult steps that require a certain amount of experience. However, anyone who has already built a "big" model like 42055 or 42082 should also be able to handle this! ;-) Favourite set is more difficult to say. From Ideas, the Saturn V is absolutely outstanding, from Technic, I love the 42055 and 42082 because they have a great price/part ratio, no control+ and the parts range make them perfect for a lot of great MOCs. I hope there will be released more big sets like these in the future. I am very happy about the elevator and how smooth it works. It took me a lot of time figuring out the correct setting of the wheels and pulleys, but in the end it worked really smoothly at my preferred speed. Are you buying sets with the intention of turning them into MOC’s or do you design MOC’s from your larger collection?

You see, the original LEGO Ideas set includes 26 dark grey 2×4 plates. The relaunched version, however, includes just 25. The missing piece has instead been swapped out for a 2×4 plate with Technic holes, which is put to use in the mini Lunar Lander that accompanies the main model. You can see the difference in the instructions for both sets below. I have bought most of my AFOL sets with the intention to make a cool MOC out of them. Because I first want to realize my own ideas, I have never even built the A model for several of my sets. If there is still some time after building some MOCs, I will (maybe ;-)) build the A-model. However, other changes like for example an improved transmission with less friction would mean a significant redesign for big sections of the LUT. And this is not easily done with a simple update.Concerning favourite part: I would nominate the technic panels (3x11, 5x11 and the new 3x7). On the one hand they are really robust and make structures quite stable, on the other hand they can perfectly be used as cover. As countdown begins to 92176 NASA Apollo Saturn V’s release from November 1, let’s take a look at 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V. — Set details — While the LEGO Group hasn’t called attention to the change, it appears to have been made for structural reasons. In the original model, a ‘fez’ element connects to the underside of the plate, representing the lander’s engine nozzle. The open hole of the Technic plate presumably has stronger clutch power to hold that piece in place – and, therefore, the entire lander, which is otherwise not connected to the 10×10 plate it rests on. In conclusion, I would like to say that I really like the challenge of getting the best possible result from a very limited number and variety of parts. That´s probably the reason why I solely make alternate models from existing sets, because that's what I enjoy most.

I'm a huge space fan, so this set was an automatic must-have from the moment it was announced. Now I just have to figure out how to display such a huge model :) The power functions in the tower are not perfect. Unfortunately, the small motor is a bit overwhelmed with the gear ratio, so it is very important to build all gears with as less friction as possible and to use freshly charged batteries when playing. My name is Daniel and I work as a mechanical engineer for the automotive industry. I returned to Lego in 2014, when a colleague of mine was very excited about his 42009 mobile crane. It was my wife who finally gave the 42009 to me as birthday present, not knowing what she was activating in me… ;-) A variant without Power Functions in the tower (manual operation) is being planned and will then be added to this MOC as an update.Each chapter has its own inventory. If explanations in the instructions are needed, they are written in English and German. The crane works on the edge of the motor's capacity. The raising and lowering goes very jerky. I feel it's caused by the worm-gear on the axle with the wire, but I'm not 100% sure that is the real issue, or the last straw. Although the crawler is permanently integrated, it can simply be omitted for a display model without a crawler. If the set had been released a little later, in 2019 on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, it would get a lot more attention. But I'm sure it will still be on shelves at that time, perhaps even getting a new boost in production. To be honest, it is easier to say what´s my most hated part: the 15100 “Technic Pin Connector Hub with 1 Pin”. Although it is a very important part for technic models, my fingers hurt just thinking about it. ;-) Note from reviewer: This part has seen an update in 2021 as 65487, which is a lot easier to use

The elevator is a great addition, but guiding the wire into place was not a fun experience for me. That will probably be a personal thing, but make sure you have a good supply of patience when you start here ;-). Seeing it work in the end makes it worth it. Only the parts from the Lego Technic Sets 42055, 42082 and 42098 are required to build this LUT+Crawler. (except for the additional cord for crane operation, see below) For example what I miss the most are the fuel pipes. Therefore I have recently released the update No.4 where I added the fuel pipes, and in my opinion this is the most important update. Other updates (No.1-3) improve the overall color scheme, such as more red parts on the tower.

Build - Stage 3

Three nanofigures are included to represent the three-man teams that the Saturn V transported into space from 1968 and to the moon from 1969 to 1972. Perhaps a decade ago the novelty of receiving LEGO representations of the astronauts in the form of plain white nanofigures would have been enough, but the fine prints that capture a great amount of detail from their suits is remarkable and truly elevates the quality, finish and authenticity of the entire set that much further. That´s also the reason why I didn´t focus on the details of the original LUT, but on the general concept. If you want to support us with our fight against Chinese MOC-thieves, join the FB group from Stefano Mapelli: Facebook group link I started with sorting the parts and making some concept studies in early April 2020. Due to family & job obligations, I was unable to work on it continuously. So it took until December 2020 until the instructions were ready.

This Lego Technic " Launch Umbilical Tower" for the Saturn V (21309 or 92176) was designed with the focus to have a cheap build. So I decided to make a Triple-Alternate: How did you get the idea of combining these 3 sets into this MOC? Did you see the sets first? Or the real life model? And since the finally selected Technic sets also contain a lot of gears and two motors, I got the idea to motorize as much functions as possible. Originally, I didn't really want to do that.Though, I´m not satisfied with the winch. It was a last minute decision to operate it motorized. Due to the concept of my transmission, I was forced to gear down the motor speed first, then travel all the way up into the crane, and gear up the speed again. This causes a lot of friction, and the result is a not perfect running winch. I struggled with myself a lot about removing the function, but decided to keep it because I thought an imperfect function was better than no function. I don´t have a large collection of parts such as a parts bank, I try to keep all sets strictly separated - either in assembled state or as individual parts. Since I bought the 21309 Saturn V, I thought about building a LUT for it. My first LUT MOC was completely without red parts, however I wasn't happy with the result. So I thought about how to get a relatively cheap LUT that looks as close as possible to the original. And since I didn´t want to buy hundreds of red fences which I couldn´t use for anything else, it was obvious to me to design the whole thing as an alternate MOC. After counting the red parts in a few Technic sets, it turned out that one needs at least three sets to get a reasonably red painted tower. Yes, there are some things which I could have done differently. Some of them I have added as optional updates to the LUT instructions. Overall: I'm happy with the result, and had a ton of fun and challenge getting there. TLG: please take notes. This is so much more entertaining than another car.