Random set of the day: USS Constellation
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 398 USS Constellation, released in 1978. It was the only Hobby Set set released that year. It contains 973 pieces.
It's owned by 114 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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One of America's most legendary fighting ships--in Lego form? Really, it should be reissued.
At 978 pieces, it had to be the biggest set for a long time. Today we have surpassed that many times, especially with the Millenium Falcon.
It's hard to believe that it's a 40-year-old set, uses incredibly basic parts, and still looks as good as a wooden ship replica.
@cody6268 It was reissued, in 2003. https://brickset.com/sets/10021-1/USS-Constellation
I actually got to sign a piece of copper used on the bottom on the ship during a retrofit in 2015. Super awesome ship and this model doesn't do it justice.
The 398 was the largest of the Hobby Sets (390-398). For its' time it was one of the crown jewels of LEGO models. When you consider that it was only made of regular bricks (before the advent of all the specialty parts that TLG introduced in the last 30 years)... it really is a cool model.
It (like all the other Hobby Sets of the 1970s) was never sold in North America. It was once worth many hundreds of dollars in used condition, and well over $1000 in mint. But once the 2003 re-issue was released, the original never recovered from the value loss.
Among the pieces that the original had that were no longer available for the reissue were 16 1x1x1 yellow classic windows (replaced with the back of yellow headlight bricks for the reissue), and 1x1 solid stud round gray bricks (replaced by hollow stud round gray bricks on the reissue).
Was this the first UCS? ;-)
I dreamed of owning this when I was a boy. Every time i opened a catalogue it was there but out of reach
Yes - I'm one of the 114 who have this - I got this when I was a Lego mad 10 year old - rebuilt it a couple of years for my son as he wanted a "pirate ship" to play with...
Great set to build and some lovely (now illegal) joins. The way the sails were held on with 1x4 fences with studs locking into the gaps in the fence, and the cannons held in place with tiles jammed between plates... and one of the earliest (if not first) uses of technic as a support structure within a system model {that secured the masts}.
The only thing I'm missing is the strings which went missing years ago...
I think my mate must have had this when we were young. I remember a ship with string rigging anyway. As to re-releases, it's probably time for an updated version, as since the restoration this doesn't look much like the Constellation. All the cabin windows are now white, as are the masts, and the hull is aqua (Light turquoise) from the plimsol line down.
I've got this one as well, great set, only gripe would be sticker over multiple bricks
Yes - I agree LegoFan1970 - they are the bit that I'm missing from this set - and also the Thatcher Perkins set which also did the same thing... SNOT build and large tiles - would solve in this case - and larger panels would solve the issues with the TP...
Such elegent craftmanship, I really need to get a LEGO Pirate Ship at some point.