Comparing LEGO Ideas Tintin Moon Rocket to original fan design
LEGO Ideas 21367 Tintin Moon Rocket has gone through a lot of changes since the first fan-designed project from Alexis Dos Santos.
There are some pretty obvious changes to 21367 Tintin Moon Rocket (goodbye launchpad, hello minifigures), but also some smaller tweaks when you look closer. Every fan-designed project goes through some changes when being turned into an official Ideas LEGO set, and the upcoming release is no different.
We’ve broken down all the changes we’ve spotted so far below, starting with…
The big change
Naturally, the most immediate change you’ll notice is the lack of a launchpad. Speaking to media at a recent LEGO Fan Media roundtable, the Ideas team explained that they wanted to focus more on the rocket itself and put the bricks to work where they would work best.
“We wanted to focus on the icon that is, of course, the rocket,” said LEGO Ideas Design Manager Jordan Scott. “It’s where you see it in pop culture, in stores – all you see is that rocket.
“Focusing on that also allowed us to have it at a much more reasonable size, so that more people could get it. As soon as you add that tower, it’s adding around 1,000 pieces, and it’s maybe not as relevant as just having the icon of the rocket. We wanted to focus all of our attention on that, and then be able to add the minifigures, which, as we saw in the comments, people were hoping for as well.”
The most exciting change
That leads us neatly onto perhaps the most exciting change in 21367 Tintin Moon Rocket: the addition of five minifigures: Tintin, Captain Haddock, Thomson and Thompson, and Professor Calculus, as well an all-new element for Snowy, of course.
The minifigures are all kitted out in spacesuits, in keeping with the setting of the moon rocket. Thomson and Thompson even have green hair, as the duo had a specific reaction to space travel that led to the vivid colour.
The essence of the original comics carries into the expressions of the minifigures too, helping them quintessentially Tintin, even though they’re in line with the usual LEGO character style.
The details
Looking closer at the rocket itself, you can also find some changes in the build itself – largely all to help it appear smoother and more curved. Where the tip of the rocket and the legs had gaps and angles in Alexis’ design, the final version includes flush panels and little to no visible studs.
The hull of the rocket has also been adapted to have six clear sides, meaning the red and white chequered panels appear to be slightly wider than in the fan-designer project. The base of the rocket also doesn’t taper off in the same way, leaning into a blockier shape, while still maintaining that iconic curve.
LEGO Ideas 21367 Tintin Moon Rocket is available to pre-order right now for £139.99 in the UK, $159.99 in the US, and from €159.99 in Europe.
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