Review: 10774 Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse's Space Rocket
Posted by benbacardi,
It's no secret that LEGO loves space, and space-related sets have made it into many of LEGO's themes over the years. The new five-set Mickey and Friends subtheme is no exception, with the second smallest of the sets taking everybody's favourite mouse couple into alien territory.
As the theme is aimed at LEGO's youngest builders (excluding Duplo) I handed the set off to my five-year-old daughter to build, along with the other sets in the theme I was provided to review. She built it with ease, and I eventually managed to persuade her to hand it back to me for a while in order to actually write the review!
Minifigures
Two minifigures are included in the set, the eponymous Mickey and Minnie Mouse. As is the case with every set in this subtheme, they're wearing an outfit that's unique to the set; every element, barring Minnie's bow, is new.
Both mice are dressed identically in white spacesuits, with simple but effective prints detailing the various life support systems and instruments you'd expect to find. The detail is predominately black line drawings with pale blue highlights, and continues onto the rear of the torso, where you'll find an oxygen tank and additional buttons and vents.
The legs are also printed in a similar style. I like the uncomplicated look of the spacesuits, and there's nothing overtly Disney about them, with the exception of a pale blue Mickey silhouette on the rear oxygen tank. They wouldn't look too out of place in another space-related theme or diorama, however.
As mentioned, both the head pieces are also new. The traditional Mickey and Minnie face prints are the same as previous versions of the characters, but the rest of the head is printed with a white space helmet with silver edging, through which pokes the mice's ears and Minnie's red bow (which is new in red.) I suspect a more substantial helmet would actually be required for survival in space, but these are effective nonetheless, and Minnie's large bow makes it clear from a distance who is who!
The Model
The main attraction of the set is undoubtedly the large blue rocket ship. Aimed as it is as preschool-aged children, the ship is predominantly constructed of two large hull pieces; one of these is printed with a window through which some dials are visible, and a stowaway alien!
Although juniorised, the two large hull pieces are new moulds.
Three red fins and a printed tile depicting an access hatch complete the exterior of the ship, along with a couple of trans-orange 2x2 bricks representing engines connected at the base. Another Mickey silhouette makes an appearance on the access hatch.
The rocket is able to either stand upright, resting on its fins (although this only really works on a very flat surface; it wasn't successful on the carpet) or lie flat on its back. With the front of the rocket removed, the interior is exposed. Inside, there's a seat for each of the minifigures, a couple of control panels, a small storage area, and some sustenance!
There's room for both minifigures to sit in a reclined position, and for the rocket to be closed with them both inside, although they will not stay in place as they're swooshed around the room.
To accompany the rocket, there's a small monitoring station built on a 18x16 plate with curves and cutouts, new to this set in sand blue. The station consists primarily of a large printed display, depicting some panels and dials below a video feed currently watching a trio of aliens scurrying around. Above the display is the new Mickey silhouette-shaped tile, and a radar sits atop a scaffold with 360 degrees of rotation.
To the other side of the display we find an instrument that is presumably for monitoring the geology of the alien planet; a trans-bright-green rock crystal sits beneath a transparent dome. The dome is hinged, and can be lifted to extract the rock.
Another of the rocks can be found by breaking open a large boulder of the same colour, inside which you can also find one of the cute aliens depicted on the screen (and shown hiding behind the rocket's window!) The rather goofy single-eyed alien is a new print on a 2x2 domed brick, which is also new in bright yellowish green. The alien's six legs are made up of two 2x2 plates with three teeth.
Finally, the set is rounded out with a simple blue flag on a pole. What space exploration would be complete without marking the territory you've discovered, even if alien lifeforms were there before you! It would have been nice to see it printed with some form of Mickey Mouse or Disney related emblem, though.
Conclusion
There's a lot to like about this set. Mickey and Minnie look fantastic, and I love the simple but effective spacesuit prints. Although only 88 parts, the resulting build is still fairly substantial. A lot of that is down to the use of large single parts, and the fact that the models are very juniorised. However, they are aimed at a much younger target audience than us, and both my daughter and son think the set is a lot of fun.
There's a fair amount of play potential, although I would have liked to have seen more than just the lone alien.
My daughter did have one complaint though, which I think will be the reverse of many opinions on here: "ohhhh, I wish they wouldn't print the pictures... I want to put stickers on!" She is genuinely quite disappointed every time there's a set without a sticker sheet.
Overall, both myself and my target age chief reviewer are pretty impressed with this new range of 4+ sets, from the redesigned instructions to the fun builds, and the fairly reasonable price points, especially factoring in the branding licence. This particular set is the same price as the slightly larger 100-piece 10773 Minnie Mouse's Ice Cream Shop, at $19.99 / £17.99 / 19.99€, but comes with both Mickey and Minnie in a unique design. If you or somebody you know is into Disney, I wouldn't hesitate to pick one up.
Thanks to LEGO for providing this set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
94 likes
52 comments on this article
Good review! Personally, I've never liked stickers in Lego sets since I was a wee child. But hey, that's a personal preference. Those hull pieces surely have potential. This whole rocket could be turned into a moderate submarine.
That rocket is a disgrace. Even duplo one is better.
@lordofdragonss said:
"That rocket is a disgrace. Even duplo one is better."
Funny you say that I have always thought the Duplo one looked better too. Although I suppose with the figures fitting inside this one the play value for some at least would be better with this set.
I think this minifig is very cute, including the hidden Mickey on the back.
But, I'm disappointed that this rocket isn't cylindrical.
https://legokei.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/LEGO10774_11.jpg
https://legokei.com/article/review10774.html
And thats the dividing line between the generations... AFOLs hate sticks and children love them... go figure.
That's a surprisingly sweet set, there's a lot of stuff to like about this one.
As someone who loathes having to put stickers on, I'll take all the printed pieces I can get.
It’s funny that the random set of the day was a Juniors set today… nearly 20 years apart but very similar. If you remove the Mickey Mouse brick from this set and swap the minifigures with their Juniors counterparts, you would get a perfect Juniors set…
Finally I can recreate the plot of SPECIES II with everyone’s favorite cartoon mouse!
@kingalbino said:
"And thats the dividing line between the generations... AFOLs hate sticks and children love them... go figure."
Debatable. When I was a kid I hated to apply stickers to toys because I never ever got them right. Askew, off-center, torn after re-try etc. That wasn't a LEGO-exclusive problem. Stickers anywhere else were fun, except on furniture, where they were strictly forbidden ;)
I commend the inclusion of specialist advisors in reviews. I think some Brickset readers could benefit from the perspective given by target age builders!
Rocket piece is pretty cool for sure, of course it's 4+ but it works well as a boat as well.
Wouldn't be possible to brick build that rocket easily in this case.
Normally I don't like City airplanes with large prefab parts but in this target category for this small rocket build it's great.
This theme is pretty good so far, except the super overpriced fire set (€55)
@Lego_max said:
"It’s funny that the random set of the day was a Juniors set today… nearly 20 years apart but very similar. If you remove the Mickey Mouse brick from this set and swap the minifigures with their Juniors counterparts, you would get a perfect Juniors set…"
This set involves waaay more building than the 4-juniors set that is now the RSOTD could ever hope to provide. Just look at the parts on the inside of the rocket. The 4-juniors set barely has any interior. Not to mention that you can actually build the figures here.
That said, the new Mickey and Friends theme is basically a continuation of the +4 line. Which was lego's newer attempt to access the same demographic as 4-juniors, Jack Stone, 4+ Pirates and Town Junior, so you're not too far off.
But lego has learnt to not use specialized large parts for every single detail for this age range anymore. Now it's just a handful of 'base' parts such as a car chassis. Or in this case the rocket parts. But the detailing is sometimes fiddlier than sets were in 2004!
The open shuttle base piece looks like one of the rocket train cars from Space Mountain at Walt Disney World.
I never liked stickers as well even from a young age (lining them up properly was hard, got messy around the edge, etc). Back in the days, we had even better than printed, we had embossed Lego crest on 1x2 brick.
This set looks fair and I guess very good for young kid. As mentioned by someone else, too bad the rocket is not a perfect cylinder - could be reused for other things - none of which I can think of right now. The bottom part seems to be compatible with existing 6x8x2(45412) part though.
@DavidBrick said:
"Your daughter is a weirdo. haha"
I think you'll find her opinion of stickers to be entirely consistent with the vast majority of children her age.
My favourite set in this range, thanks for the great review, I really like how you convey both you opinion as an adult Lego builder and your kids as the target audience
The main reason I often prefer 4+ sets is because they don't have stickers !!
This series of reviews that you and and your daughter is delightful. Very enjoyable. Thank you!
Lego has made hundreds of spaceships and quite a few rockets for Town and City astronauts, but very few classic rocketships like this one. I may get it for that reason.
Sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep....
I'm not a huge fan of the rocket. I'm also a bit disappointed the aliens aren't the Toy Story aliens. That said, I may pick this up just for the two minifigures, which are really neat to me.
The rocket is the big draw for me. A great color (sky blue) and a very 'retro' look. Mickey and Minnie are suited up in style, too. We all know that hot dogs are the choice of astronauts. Thanks to all the reviewers in your family.
@lordofdragonss said:
"That rocket is a disgrace. Even Duplo one is better."
A disgrace? Really? The Duplo one is a shuttle-like model, whereas this is a cartoony retro rocket. I don't really think you can compare them . . . and personally I like them both.
Among Us
I'm definitely getting this set so Mickey and Minnie can join Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia in some space adventures. Really fun set.
Thanks for another great review!
NGL, I may pick-up some of those torsos and legs. The mouse logo could easily be part of the suit design, or covered by oxygen tanks.
@Mister_Jonny said:
"As someone who loathes having to put stickers on, I'll take all the printed pieces I can get."
Absolutely!
"ohhh, I wish they wouldn't print the pictures...I wanna put the stickers on!"
That's so adorable! I can't believe some people are actually ranting about a little girl's personal preference!
Re stickers, see this article from TBB:
https://www.brothers-brick.com/2021/07/05/why-do-lego-sets-have-stickers-instead-of-printed-parts-feature/
*Unpopular Opinion Alert!*
I actually kind of like stickers too.
As long as it’s a reasonable number. The sticker-to-piece ratio is important. Speed Champions might be a bit over my threshold, but otherwise, I think they can be kinda fun.
I don’t think I ever need more stickers in a set, but I never mind them either. It’s part of the process.
Hmmm...Mickey Mouse...with a Brain-Slug...Thoughts, while you have them:D ("It's a small World, after all...")
The funniest thing about this rocket is: it looks like the original one that sent Superman/Kal-El to Earth.
The saddest thing about is: that print portal/windscreen...I know; printing over a 'clear' piece would have been costly, but maybe a combo of dual-molding and printing, and...GREAT GALLOPING GOOSE GRAVY, THE SLUG'S ONBOARD...ORDER A 'SHOOT DOWN' IF IT APPROCHES EARTH...Kidding:D
About the stickers: if people like them there's no need to think that opinion is wrong. As with all things in life everything has pros and cons.
With stickers:
Pros:
- The process of putting them on can be considered part of building with (new) lego. Or heck, perhaps even fun!
- It makes getting a new set feel nice because you can be sure they are all present and can be put on straight
- In some cases you can put the stickers closer to each other than if they were printed that would otherwise leave a gap between them because prints aren't that precise. This is the case if you have a design in two halves on two parts.
- With a plier the vast majority of stickers are relatively easy to align or readjust if need be.
- Stickers can be LEFT OFF. Don't like them? You don't have to apply them. Useless or overly specific prints are harder to use in MOCs. And you get to choose if you want to keep the parts for MOCs.
- If you're into parting out new sets: sticker sheets allow you to disregard the set-specific details and sell the parts in bulk now that you can leave off specific images.
- Since the widespread adoption of stickers the amount of designs has increased extensively. Now there is a pattern for everything you could think of. The sheer variety of 'screen' designs alone could be great for MOCs.
- Each set can have its own little details that would only make sense in that set. With prints that would take too much of the parts budget.
- Lego can now provide a far greater variety compared to when every print had to be reusable and appear in multiple sets.
- Set detailing has improved since stickers have become more commonplace than prints.
- The last few years key details to sets are provided with prints anyway. This is most notable in the printed eyes of dragons. So stickers are now always optional.
Cons
- The process of putting them on can be stressful. In some cases applying them wrong can look dreadful even after correcting the mistake.
- Clear-backed stickers on clear surfaces have to be done well immediately or you'll forever see the mistake.
- They take some time from actually building with bricks.
- Older opaque stickers were prone to dry out and become brittle. This can ruin sets from between about 1998 to 2010.
- The ease of having stickers provided with a set can increase the amount of decals needed in one set. See: Racers and Speed Champions.
- Some stickers have the wrong colour match with the background and the part they are applied on. (Printing isn't always up to snuff nowadays either, though. E.g.: the 'white' cockpit printing on the City Mars space subtheme from 2019)
- Some stickers are just plain difficult to apply. Especially the inside of curved surfaces or very large stickers.
- STAMPS in old sets.
- Buying second-hand sets can become more bothersome if a part with a specific sticker is missing that few sellers have in stock because it only appears in one set.
- Identifying specific parts with stickers can be difficult if you don't know what set they came from.
Am I actually the only one here who thinks the mice are the real threat in this set? They're the villains, so save the aliens!
This rocket looks… kinda sus
@brick_r said:
"Hmmm...Mickey Mouse...with a Brain-Slug...Thoughts, while you have them:D ("It's a small World, after all...")
The funniest thing about this rocket is: it looks like the original one that sent Superman/Kal-El to Earth.
The saddest thing about is: that print portal/windscreen...I know; printing over a 'clear' piece would have been costly, but maybe a combo of dual-molding and printing, and...GREAT GALLOPING GOOSE GRAVY, THE SLUG'S ONBOARD...ORDER A 'SHOOT DOWN' IF IT APPROCHES EARTH...Kidding:D"
The set does include some Kryptonite ;)
I don't even want to talk about stickers for a while. I just assembled a pair of Bandai capsule toy defibrillators that are about 1/6 scale for use as action figure accessories (since they're close enough; and there aren't any true 1/6 AED's out there). While there is some printing, most of it has to be stickered. Some of these stickers are just a few millimeters long; and are VERY difficult to apply. Tomica is about the same with their stuff.
The buildings in this theme are really crude and clunky. But, the rocket ship and biplane look great; even if the canopy is not transparent.
I’m a fan of stickers.
I’m a fan of printed pieces.
It’s good to be a fan.
BTW, love the review. When the kids get involved, it’s NEXT LEVEL. :)
I really hope that’s a vegi-dog! Am I the only one who is disturbed by the thought of mice eating a meat hotdog? :~O
Stickers are tolerable as long as they're on a transparent background so they can be applied to any brick color.
One of my very first sets 456 Spirit of St. Louis the stickers for that set are transparent backing, and I could swear when I was recently cataloguing my vintage sets that the 2x3 brick was printed (two similar stylized text stickers applied to opposite sides)! I didn't recall applying them and always thought the part was printed until I inspected it more closely after checking the set inventory on bricklink. That set got a lot of rough play, but the sticker quality was exceptional to hold up that well to this day.
Oh look, Mickey and Minnie found some kryptonite.
Not sure about the practicality of having your ears poking out of a space helmet, but, okay.
@benbacardi said:
" @DavidBrick said:
"Your daughter is a weirdo. haha"
I think you'll find her opinion of stickers to be entirely consistent with the vast majority of children her age."
Don't know. My kids hate stickers, both on LEGO sets as well as Playmobil. They want to build and play, not fiddle with stickers.
I made a quick unboxing and review video of the LEGO 4+ Mickey And Friends Summer 2021 Sets, plus ALL Disney – Pixar – Loony Tunes+ CMFs. https://youtu.be/9foRBWUJQFE
@benbacardi said:
" @DavidBrick said:
"Your daughter is a weirdo. haha"
I think you'll find her opinion of stickers to be entirely consistent with the vast majority of children her age."
I guess it depends on the context in which and process through which the stickers are applied. When it comes to precise sticker applications on LEGO elements, I never liked it as a kid (my Arctic, Alpha Team and Sports sets come to mind — though almost all the stickers on them still hold up extremely well today after 18–21 years, far better than the ones on my 60150 Pizza Van after just 1 year), and I don't know anyone else who did. It wasn't a nightmare for me by any means, and for a while I did treat sticker applications as a natural part of the LEGO building process and thus saw reason to look forward to it, but it certainly got wearisome quickly. However, not all kids care as much about precision, so I can see why some would not mind at all.
On the other hand, when it comes to freeform sticker applications on any sort of canvas (flat like sticker books, rounded, cylindrical or otherwise), I think that's what gets most kids, including myself, excited!
I still don't mind stickers on LEGO sets all that much to this day, all it takes is some patience, which I'm amply equipped with. But it's still annoying when I realize I've misaligned one and it's too late to fix.
^ I hated stickers, as a kid. I was OCD, and I could just never get them on right (and watching my cousins apply them, and then peel them off to reposition them, but leaving the sticker permanently warped or half-peeling? That was a nightmare).
That crystal in the boulder is giving me Rock Raiders flashbacks. I know the boulder's a different color, but still.
For such a tiny set, there's a lot to like here. I mean, sure, maybe those big hull-pieces aren't going anywhere into your cool MOC (although hey, if you want a challenge, it's there), but surely loads of the other bricks and pieces can be repurposed.
And if not, well - it's still a fun playset for the preschool-range. As it was intended to be.
Just did a B&P check on this set:....WOOOOOOOOOOOW, that top piece for the spacecraft is expensive...the bottom is like $4 CDN, and the top's like $11 CND...yesh, such an unbalance...
I don't think we have enough data to draw conclusions about the sticker business. I like them and always have, also as a kid. Maybe girls/women like stickers better?
Another great review! As with your previous Mickey Mouse set reviews, it's great to hear your daughter's feedback and some insights about her building experience.
For my part, I certainly wasn't applying stickers to sets at that age. My dad typically insisted on applying them up until my teenage years and I happily obliged. But I think in my case that was because my coordination motor skills were not very strong back then (perhaps a symptom of my autism spectrum disorder, which had not yet been diagnosed at that time. Tasks like tying knots, riding a bike, or throwing a baseball, football, or basketball have NEVER come easily to me.
As such, in 2006 or so when I finally had enough coordination and confidence to start applying stickers to sets on my own, it was a point of pride for me, and honestly I still find applying stickers a very enjoyable part of the building experience. Not only does it call on different skills than other aspects of the building experience, which provides a nice sense of variety, but it also feels very rewarding as a test of my concentration (especially now that I've gotten really good at lining stickers up neatly).
By contrast, building steps that require tying a knot in a string (such as for a crane, winch, or zip line) are not nearly as pleasant an experience for me!
The large hull components in this set are certainly extremely large and specialized, especially with this set's theme-specific printing on the top component. That said, I find it fascinating that they match not just one but TWO different families of curved parts: pointed aircraft nose/tail elements like 87611, 87613, 87615, 87616, 18907, and 67138; and cylindrical fuel tank/cockpit elements like 45410, 45411/56204, and 49949.
For me, this is another example of how much thought and care goes into the design of the "Starter Bricks" in 4+ sets, and I'm excited to see how some of these elements might be used in the future (especially considering the creative ways other parts in these curve families have been repurposed for uses other than aircraft/spacecraft). I can certainly picture the lower portion working great as a boat hull!
The 8x16x2/3 curved plate is also very stylish, and it's interesting to think of different uses for it other than as a ground surface or an upper floor of a curved building. Maybe as wings on an aircraft or space shuttle? Or perhaps as clouds in a sky-based setting like Cloud Cuckoo Land from The LEGO Movie? Or even as a spacecraft landing pad!
I do feel like curved bases tend to be somewhat more attractive than square ones for a natural landscape, since they feel a little more organic/natural and less like a slice clumsily taken out of a larger scene. The Elves theme and the Medieval Blacksmith are great examples of sets that use curved foundations to great effect at a more advanced building level. But it's great to have a simpler, sturdier alternative to piecing together numerous smaller plates like those sets do.
(continued in next comment)
(continued from previous comment)
The spacesuits for Mickey and Minnie look very cute and silly in an authentically Disney sort of way! When LEGO introduced these Disney character head molds, I never would have anticipated them finding as many creative ways to repurpose them for different sets, even if they're still fairly character-specific.
The set as a whole is also in keeping with that cartoonish sense of humor and design language. For instance, the rockets curved fins/landing legs echo the classic cartoon rocket designs in works like "The Adventures of Tintin" or "Wallace and Gromit", and the alien is brimming with character despite being constructed from just three fairly basic pieces.
I can easily picture all kinds of silly scenarios that could be acted out with this set, such as the alien hiding behind the various structures in the set any time the two inquisitive astronauts happen to look in its direction, or playfully running in circles like a cute little puppy, playing "keep-away" with the crystal that Mickey and Minnie seem to be trying to retrieve/study, or being lured onto the spaceship by the smell of a delicious hot dog!
Notably, these are all scenarios that would be right at home in an actual Disney cartoon. So even without any idea of whether the features of this set were modeled on any existing animated media, it feels very authentic to its characters and brand, as well as to the cute and comedic aspects of that brand which have given it so much enduring charm.
And honestly, while we often evaluate licensed sets on how accurately they recreate a series/brand's familiar subject matter, I feel like how true they are to the spirit of that series/brand is often just as important, if not more so!
Thanks again for the review!
@Capslock said:
"This rocket looks… kinda sus "
Yes it does I’m pretty sure it vented from electrical to medbay