For the time, this was a great set. It had one of the first uses of the airplane motors in a different way, and considering the bricks were non-specialized yet, it was pretty accurate for detail. There were antenna on the LEM and it also separated so you could discover how they blasted off of the moon.

The heads of the figures could be replaced with the old style heads which was kind of interesting. Lots of unique pieces for the time. The astronauts could not fit into the LEM, though. The Discovery set 10029 is of course much much better, but in the context of the release year it is great.

My only complaint is that the pieces with the stickers eventually wore off in a nasty way. Blue lego will always remind me of the the many times I put this together.

This is the European version of the 565 set, it really only differs in the box cover photo. But it was released first. I really like the set, despite its shortcomings. These shortcomings are divided into 2 parts:

- The first is the look and similarity to the original LEM module.

- The second thing is the building technique and the use of the numbers of parts.

When I started assembling the model, I saw that it was full of weird and illegal solutions and many unnecessarily parts. The shaping is not perfect. Too bad the designer didn’t look at enough photos from contemporary newspapers and magazines. Because if we look at it as a model, it doesn’t look much like the real thing. Moreover, this is also true for LRV. It doesn't actually have a headlight or grille. But it was made for children, for educational purposes.

The only similarity was that it had 4 legs, a door, 2 antennas and a ladder. And of course it was divided into 2 parts: Ascent stage, Descent sage. Since the moon has no atmosphere, the outline of the LEM did not matter. I think, at that time as well Lego could have making more accurate enough version of the real thing using basic brick. This is true even if we know there were no inverted slope bricks at the time, nor 1x3 bricks. The set contains a lot of bricks, it is easy to rebuild or modify, which is a good thing.

LEM

So, back to building! The model is too complicated beyond some places. It is very flimsy somewhere.

Descent stage:

The legs and body frame are quite stable. But the legs are too long. If we take 2 rows of bricks out of it then it is much more realistic, the ladder does not seem small either and we save 8 slope bricks and 8 2x2x1 bricks. The connection point is too complicated.

Ascent stage:

The first thing that caught my eye was the door. I didn't put it in because it looks a lot better if it’s hollow. After landing, the door was still open. The triangle window is in the wrong place, so how do astronauts see it ?! It has a place somewhere above the door. The hatch is missing from the roof where the LEM is connected to the command module. A 2x2 black plate is good for this, and it’s included in the set anyway, like an astronaut’s belt. The antennas are in the wrong place, very flimsy, and fall off easily. The rendezvous radar should be in the front and center, and the navigation radar should be on the left. And unfortunately, the ascent motor is also missing. What could have been built with 4 pieces of 2x2 curved macaroni bricks.

LRV

A fender and a battery are a good solution. The details are not worked out. There is a lack of a T-shaped maneuvering joystick that could be built from set components such as one 1x1 rounded brick and a 1x2 tile on top. The navigation console and switchboard are also missing. Which would be symbolized by a 2x2x1 slope brick. They still used a TV antenna here, which I didn’t buy because it costs over $ 20 and Very fragile.

Astronauts

Everything is fine except for the fused legs. I would have used 1x2 bricks instead of 2x2 white bricks. I changed the black 2x3 plate symbolizing the shoe to gray because of the moon dust. The belt, which is a 2x2 black plate, I think is more beautiful in red or blue. It was a good idea to use the jet engine piece as a camera. The good thing is that the set includes maxi figure heads, so you can simulate trainings.

Equipment

The flag will have the same sticker as the Descent sage. A 2x3 plate would have been better for the base of the flag because it would fall off easily. And then it's more gray because of the moon dust. That tall white thing I don’t know what might be, maybe a shading surface to avoid the sun burning out the camera image. It never turns out. But it sure is pretty flimsy because of the illegal connection. One 1x8 white plate would have been enough for stability, a 1x2 brick at the end and a 2x3 plate behind. The other stuff, I think, could be a geological gauge. A retroreflector is very missing, say a 2x4 transparent plate, put under a white 1x2 brick.

Overall

I’m glad lego has released a set on this theme, of which this was the first. This set involved me in the space theme. I wasn’t even interested in the apollo program at the time until I saw the Apollo 13 movie. I was a kid in the 1990s, when Lego only released space shuttles. However, I found an old lego catalog that had a picture of this set in it, and as a kid I tried to rebuild it based on the picture. Of course, at the age of 7, it didn’t work out.

My mod

Due to the shortcomings mentioned above, I tried to convert it to look a bit more like the original LEM module. Which is not easy because the parts inventory in 1975 were quite minimal. But I wanted the set to stay age-appropriate. I built 2 versions, this one is simpler, the more detailed I wrote for the 565 set.

First, I put the window in a place where you can see through the window. I put a hatch on top, which is a 2x2 gray plate. I put the radar antennas in the right place and direction.

I replaced the hinge plate with blue so the ladder is prettier. Then I simplified the ascent propulsion it, at the bottom. It would have been better to have black, but it was only blue here.

To do this, I had to redesign the connector through the descent stage, I found a simpler solution. So the connection is strong enough, but the 2x4 bricks and the 1x2 plates won't fall off if I separate the two modules.

This is what it looks like from behind. I took 2 rows of bricks from my legs. So I saved eight 2x2 slopes and eight 2x2 bricks.

I put a tv camera and a maneuvering joystick on the LRV. I needed space for that, so I made the seats 1 stud farther away and changed to black.

I took off the headlights and the grille, and in the back behind the seats, the vehicle could actually be empty, because only the samples and the scientific experiments were put there. So the two pieces of 2x4 red bricks are just scientific equipment imitations.

I put a custom sticker on the slope brick, a pattern from which comes from classic space sets. This solves the switchboard and navigation.

I exchanged the astronauts' shoes for a gray 2x3 plate. And I separated the legs with 1x2 white bricks.

I also modified the equipment based on the above and added an extra retroreflector.

With these modifications, I saved 1/3 of the parts in the set. The ascentstage became more hollow inside, there was more space in it, but neither was the maxi figure scale.

This set first set me on the addiction to space lego sets, its was very course and bland, I can not remember its attraction, but it seemed to have me setting it up in so many ways, the bricks eventually melded into the BIG BOX, and I remember it was a present for my dad coming back off excersize. So its a special one in my heart, even though its was so faded in my memory.
The lunar lander top half fell off so easy so I was forever dropping it whilst flying around the room.
The wrath of the Mums Vacum was to start here !