I got this set new when it came out, in 1976 when I was seven years old. I actually didn't love it then, for two reasons:

• Lego had just introduced minifigures - albeit the original armless, faceless kind - and those felt like the future, while this set uses the older, larger people, which I never really liked; and
• As noted in another review here, the instructions were very tough for a little kid because the pieces are all the same color and back in those days each step of the instructions combined what would today be 3-5 separate steps.

But I recently revisited this set, and as an adult I really appreciate it. The details of the lander's proportions are a bit off, mainly because the body is too narrow and the landing gear is too tall and wide. But the model's overall width, height, and massing are remarkably similar to the very accurate 2019 Apollo Lander model:

I'm still not a fan of the "maxi-fig" astronauts, and they are laughably out of scale with the lander (although it should also be noted that the 2019 set, for all its wonders, looks to be about 10-20% too large for minifig scale - so even today the scaling isn't entirely right).

But as an adult I found the building process challenging in a really enjoyable way that most 1970s sets are not. It's not a Technic-level build of course, but the way the ascent stage comes together is really satisfying with some nice techniques given the extremely limited range of parts.

The model is of course blocky and not terribly accurate, but the ascent stage detaches easily, connected by a couple of 1x2 plates surrounded by tiles - a technique way ahead of its time given that it's basically identical to how modular building floors are connected today.

The one aspect that's pretty much indefensible even for the time is the lunar rover (which makes this a set that is meant to represent a later mission than Apollo 11). The awkward TV antenna can be forgiven since Lego didn't have the more streamlined space antenna part yet. But the front headlight brick, the spoked wheels and the full-on fenders all make this thing look like a partially-built family sedan where the top hasn't yet been added. It's dreadful.

All in all, I wouldn't recommend paying a premium price for this set - but I would very much recommend getting the inexpensive and common parts necessary to build the lander. Skip the rover, pose some minifig astronauts with the lander (since they're arguably slightly less out of scale with it than the original large astronauts are), and you'll have a nice, vintage display piece.

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.

That’s when I came up with a new idea to build based on the images from the original LEM. There was no wikipedia at the time, I looked at the pictures from a children's encyclopedia. It was then that I was confronted that the 565 set did not look at all like the original LEM module.

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. 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.

During the pandemic, I bought the parts for it on bricklink. When I started assembling the model, I saw that it was full of weird and illegal solutions and many unnecessarily parts. This set is the total opposite of the 6366 set, I also wrote there that lego saved a lot on parts. However, with this set, a nicer or more realistic model can be built from fewer components. This is true even if we know there were no inverted slope bricks at the time, nor 1x3 bricks.

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.

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. I'd rather print an antenna, it sure won't be broken. Unfortunately, the TV camera was not placed on it.

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. I even like the color! 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.

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.

First, I put the window in a place where you can see through the window.

I replaced the hinge plate with blue so the ladder is prettier. Then I put 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 to keep it from turning, I found a simpler solution. I put 2x2 macaroni bricks on two 2x4 plates. So the connection is strong enough, but the macaroni bricks 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 hatch on top, which is a 2x2 gray plate. I put the radar antennas in the right place and direction.

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 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 used a brick built camera of black bricks instead. The jet engine piece is too big for an 8mm handheld camera.

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.

I got this set as a birthday present when I was 6 or 7; there is a photo of the lunar lander assembled and sitting on top of my birthday cake!

Of course it's blue and blocky and the figures were funny blocky things but with very expressive hinged arms. (Or if you changed the heads, you got funny globe-like heads).

It's primitive but back in its day (before minifigs and Classic Space) it was a massive set!

There were endless bricks and slopes and with this set as a starting point, you could (and I did) build almost anything, as long as it was blue....!

I bought this set while searching for second hand lego sets from the classic lego space theme.

The seller said it was an attic find, he wasn't sure if the set was complete. He therefore only charged 10 € for it, including box, no instructions...

Happy to notice that the old style ladder was in the kit, but the yellow hinge was missing. Fortunately i had a blue spare one, which matches the colours of the kit (blue).

Overall build is OK. It's like building the newer minecraft sets, but with a more spartan instruction set.

Why did i buy this set: well: i'm going to put it next to my new apollo 11 lander (minifig scale) from Lego. Old meets new...

It's blue. Almost ALL blue. Now imagine trying to look at the vintage-style instructions (with no lists of parts to be added at each step) and figure out what they added where.

Box/Instructions

Box was ok. Instructions were evil.

Parts

Lander: Lots of 2x2 45 deg blue roof pieces. A ladder. Not much else.

Rover: Arches, wheels and tires, and some basic blue parts to hold it all together.

Figures: I miss the arms in modern figures. They could move and pose. The legs weren't useful, though. And the heads (it came with heads and also with replacement block-based-space-helmets, IIRC) didn't have removable helmets - you just had to take off the head and slap on a helmet.

Other: A TV arial antenna and an american flag.

Minifigures

These figures are not mini. They're big.

The build

Did you add 8 roof pieces or 9 to that leg? Better count again because you're short 3 and it doesn't seem to stand straight...

The completed model

This is a basic block model. The astronauts are blocky, the lander is blocky, and there really aren't very many parts that move. The astronauts don't even come within an order of magnitude of fitting inside the lander. Contrast this with what the LEGO part inventory can do today, and there's not much reason to seek out this set.

The rover wasn't so bad for its time, but still blocky and basic.

A modern design could have a removable lander base (just like the real thing), a thruster engine, foldable legs, a realistic cockpit with space for the crew, and a more-impressive rover... all in more realistic and more interesting colors than plain blue.

Overall opinion

I remember vividly being frustrated trying to count lander leg parts in the instructions, and then count them on the model, and doing that for each leg repeatedly. It was challenging, but not fun.