LEGO® Technic Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit 42179 (10+ Yrs)

l love the Space themed Lego so when l saw this set l had to have it. The price is a little high but once you start building it's worth it! The mechanism is very complicated but straightforward if you follow the instructions carefully. Once completed the model operates well and is great to turn the handle and watch it all working. A few have commented that it isn't to scale. Of course it isn't, it would be impossible. But the timings are correct including the moon phase, which is amazing. And someone commented that the model is incorrect because in reality the "sun doesn't rotate in relation to the Earth" Yes it does. The sun rotates once every 27 days. And the model is again accurate in this respect.

This was super fun to build and the after look was great. I loved all the little detail Lego made and they did a great job. Highly recommend.

It was really fun, but a little hard to build. I’d suggest this for people who are maybe 13 and up.

I’d been on the lookout for a set like this for a while (space, mechanical, Technic) and was so happy when this was announced - even happier putting it together! I put it together once myself and then had my students assemble it shortly after to coincide with a total solar eclipse that occurred in our area. I’ve put together many sets with my classes over the years (Haunted House, Crane Truck, ISS to name a few), but this was the first that really captured the engineering spirit I try to reinforce in many of my lessons. It was straight up too hard for quite a few students who couldn’t follow directions or recognize one gear instead of another. In my opinion though, that was perfect as it afforded those who did understand the opportunity to tear it down and problem solve with their classmates. I’ll never forget the look of accomplishment on the student who finished it when they turned the crank and it worked - truly magical. Anyways, thank you for making this set - would love to see something mechanical for other branches of science!

I really liked this set…but…unless you are in the southern hemisphere, the moon phase stickers are wrong (e.g. waxing should be lit up on the right, not the left). I had to peel them back off and cut them to get them accurate, and now they don’t look great…maybe Lego could make accurate stickers and send them out if requested?

As much as I dislike Technic Lego, the outcome is always super cool and workable, I recommend this to Technic fans.

This is a fun build that does not take to long to finish. It looks great and is quite enjoyable watching the Earth spin and go around the sun.

The build is great. I personally would have liked more arrows on the direction model when multiple pieces are being added during a single step but that’s not a huge issue. My biggest frustration with this set is with the moon phase stickers provided. The set is only correct for those who live in the southern hemisphere. As an educator I was excited to have this as decor in my classroom but since I live in the northern hemisphere I can’t. Because of the inaccuracy of the model I don’t feel like it was worth the money I paid for it. I hope in the future there are stickers for both hemispheres.

Details are incredible. Grandson did project right away. He absolutely loved the project

This is one of the best Technic models that I have built. I love the complexity and the reality of the, hummm, planetary drive train. The box says 10+ but I think it would be very challenging for a 10-year old without assistance, especially in the later steps with the sun, earth and moon need to be lined up. The action is not exactly accurate but does illustrate the position of the three bodies in orbit. I have made one hack to it by replacing the yellow orb with a 3" LED light. Next step is to motorize the drive train with a heavily reduced gearing to simluate the days and moon phases.

Excellent model, not just for the building experience but for the educational value. My grandson couldn't wait to check whwen the next eclipse would fall :)

It’s an excellent product and was a joy to build. And looks brilliant as well as being educational

Was building this set and got to the top layer to assemble second orange ring and that piece is missing. Now we have a lego set sitting here unfinished as we can not complete it.

I've always been fascinated by astrolabes and planetaria so when Lego released this kit, I *KNEW* I needed to build it! The build itself wasn't overly challenging but was still technical enough to keep my attention. OK Lego - now you need to up-the-game and expand this into our entire 8/9 planet solar system!