LEGO Technic 42179 Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit detailed building review

[@RacingBrick]

Check out the local prices and availability in the LEGO Online Shop - racingbrick.com/product/42179-2/

[@Fastmotion228]

RacingBrick Which set from the space tech series is the coolest and most interesting??

[@RacingBrick]

Didn't build all of them yet so I cannot tell

[@R0Sch88]

This is hands down the best LEGO Technic set this year, if not in a long time. And thanks for the shout-out on EB. The earth actually spins 365.5 times around the sun as the extra 1 revolution gets added to the total. So even more impressive considering there are no differentials and worm gears involved. Too bad it looks less display worthy compared to the CaDA orrery designed by JK Brickworks.

[@linkofdoom24]

I thought it was closer to 365.3 Or 365.24? Never heard the .5

[@R0Sch88]

@@linkofdoom24 I meant in the LEGO set not irl.

[@matthewwriter9539]

I like that it is at least 365.5, yes 365.25 would have been a lot better, however we are limited by the materials (in this case LEGO) that we are using. Obviously if we could have one that is accurate to within 400 years, that would have been SUPER AMAZING...however this seems like a great set. ...also wait a month or so and someone will probably post a video on how to use just a few small pieces to modify this set to make the rotation even more accurate.

[@mrdrums007]

You’re joking right? This set has got to be the ugliest most pointless set ever put out. Also overpriced to high hell. Lego should be ashamed releasing this trash

[@dannybrezelhorner2715]

I looked up the Brickworks model and it looks way better tbh

[@mioszantas4462]

It's so nice to get something other than a vehicle in the Technic lineup! I hope the theme continues in the upcoming years. I do wish they made an extra effort to get the Earth right, such a bummer that the prints don't align that well

[@DCcopter]

2:26 it's nice they used the yellow friction less pins there, nice touch

[@sitsia3808]

ye

[@R0Sch88]

The question still remains why the pin holes are not simply hidden on the inside of the hemispheres to have a smooth sphere on the outside. In fact the Star Wars planet hemispheres could have been re-used and recolored in Bright Light Yellow, as those had no such beauty defects and a much more versatile studded and pin hole attachment.

[@CATel_]

Idk might be easier to separate them like this? ​@@R0Sch88

[@christianletzerich6523]

@@R0Sch88possibly, but it’s more than likely that Lego has long since retired the mould. Also, a studless connection like that is: A. Less stable B. Less in the spirit of the technic line’s construction style

[@christianletzerich6523]

And, as to why the new hemisphere mold has exposed pin holes: it accounts for the possibility of a broken pin or half-pin stuck inside

[@lulul]

you should compare this one with the jkBrickworks cada version.

[@denisdzd5487]

It's weird, but Cada made it much better.

[@fabiannomada2724]

@@denisdzd5487I really like cada but I think this one is beautiful as well.

[@markusweinreich199]

Cada is more standard bricks, not these massive new ones here.

[@fabiannomada2724]

@@markusweinreich199 the boring part of the cada one was the earth and sun, IMHO. Also lego had to provide something novel :)

[@justimorris]

Yes I’d love to see this video. It seems TLG were clearly “inspired” by JMBricklayer’s MOC

[@therandomnarwhal]

This is such a unique set for Technic and I hope we see more out of the box ideas from the team

[@AbsolutelyJason]

Very cool!

[@rolkabolka]

Even six month later sadly I can't find any...

[@spacegirlproduction9506]

This is real technic set! The all Cars can hide compare to this. Im glad technic finally Bring something full of gears focusing only on work rather than license / look.

[@joevictor53]

This might be the first Technic set I've bought as an adult because of this

[@yurenchu]

You must've missed LEGO Technic 8860, which illustrates the workings of essential car mechanics (such piston action, gear train, differential, steering, wheel suspension) without caring too much about looks (and certainly not licence).

[@frikiman]

Will be awesome with the inclusion of a motor and gears for moving the set in a real 24 hour time rotation, then with the addition of a lamp instead of the sun... wow!

[@Gzilla313]

Too bad the sun wasn’t trans yellow so you could put a light inside for the real effect

[@pybricks]

Amazing! Idea for follow up video: small Technic vehicles driving around this along the orbits of Mars, Jupiter, and so on. They could follow lines along the orbit...

[@aaronbrown9998]

Just finished building mine last night and I loved it. I often build Creator or City sets with my son, so getting a Technic set all for myself was a treat. A couple times I could pick it up to fix a mistake and a gear would fall out the bottom, but it was usually pretty easy to get it back in place. I need to find a motor to connect now...

[@Thinginator]

I LOVE orreries! I can't describe how much this set excites me. I've built several orreries with LEGO myself, but only of fantasy solar systems where my goal was to get as many planets and moons as possible orbiting one axis. At first I was a bit underwhelmed that this set only has one planet and moon, but to know that it's a mathematically accurate depiction of months and lunar cycles makes it seriously one of the most impressive Technic models of all time IMO. Well worth $75 and I hope to see it on shelves in my area soon.

[@incinerati]

Finally, a proper review with all relevant details!

[@sanmarino_cs1698]

Love the look of this set! Going to do it with my daughter together

[@szegedigergely]

To be precise (and a smart@ss) the total number of rotation of the mini Earth is 355.55 (no. of sidereal days), and the number of solar days is 355,26. While one complete year indeed takes 121.5 crank revolutions, and the gear that drives the globe's rotation indeed turns 3 times the speed, the whole upper structure turns with a slow rate, causing a relative speed drop in the drive mechanism (2.92397:1 instead of 3:1). Not much of a difference in the end, but I've just rigged the whole thing in 3ds max, and thought it would be interesting to share... 😅

[@carsandclimbing]

would you be willing to make a video on this? I am planning to create a gear reduction set so that this can be accomplished with a technic motor

[@aronbagamery1367]

The 15x15 orange ring (6482822) at 01:08 is a perfect piece for the external fuel tank in the Space Shuttle Discovery set (10283)

[@Homer2q]

Thanks! You helped me with page 35 because I couldn’t see the picture of where to put the gears!

[@GatorD42]

My favorite detail is that this accurately shows perihelion and ahelion, the earth is closest to the sun in January and furthest in July, if you set it up correctly based on the instructions.

[@treelonmusk7906]

"Big Black Curved" He had me in the first half.

[@SimonLaudati]

This is the most interesting Technic set in years

[@JimmyDuckworth]

Great review! I really respect your effort to find all possible details and tell us honestly about the mistakes, and the plus points! That’s why you will remain the BEST Lego reviewer forever!!😊😊😊

[@flavioriva1285]

My favourite new space era set so far!

[@n00b1n8R]

Now this is the kind of set I want out of technic!

[@Drecasi]

Omg, I need that sun sphere piece in red! For a Swordfish II build!

[@pivorsc]

I expected a word about how CaDa released exactly same set few years ago as license MOC

[@RacingBrick]

Exactly the same set? C'mon, in light of that, I should have mentioned that CaDA also released a car in each of my car review videos... CaDA didn't invent the orrery, neither did JK Brickworks. He built one that became famous several years ago, and at some point CaDA released it. But it was definitely not the first brick-built orrery MOC ever, people have been building these for decades.

[@hamsterproductionsofficial]

What a brilliant set 🤩It will be interesting to see if the community can mod this and add more planets! Also 16 videos in the last 3 weeks.... how do you do this??? 🤯

[@VEDAMSHVISHNUBHOTLADPSN-STD]

i am a space fan and lego fan,this is the best of the two combined

[@pivello]

I got it Sunday evening, is a very cool set and I'm programming adding a 12v light in the sun to make him bright in the dark and do a video about it maybe!

[@Bricks.Master.Builders]

This set is so cool 👍

[@davidziemkiewicz1350]

Woo, I'm in the video at 5:24 XD Very nice review, I agree that not giving the gear ratios in the manual is a big miss.

[@ProWierdchamp]

This is the next technic set I’m getting after the Kawasaki Bike. It looks really educational and cool. it is so easy to motorize, just remove the crank and place a motor and battery on it Only con- the prints. It was so obvious that LEGO lacked a proper printing job on planet earth. But anyways it’s nice to see Lego technic go beyond their limits. All they did was transportation. Now they do Space sets, how cool is that?

[@mkprofessionalism]

This set is incredibly unique! I love it! 😊

[@coffeeinhandproductions3238]

While I don't find it being the most aesthetically displayable set good point made about being able to see the mechanics at work. Technically this is very impressive, and great seeing the motorized option. Was hoping for the labels to be printed on the rings but guess it wouldn't be a Technic set with at least a handful of stickers.

[@mikeaninger7388]

Excellent review! So the rotations are off by 3/4 of a day for the year, but another reviewer said it turned 27 times per month. Seems a little off.

[@aaronp51mustang]

I just bought the same set and am currently assembling it. I think thay when I get to the moon in going to turn the gold bionicle pointy part sideways instead of pointing down, to immulate a comet

[@kjerins]

I was so excited about something other than a vehicle in Technic that I bought two of these! One for myself, one for a relative. This is a good direction to be going in, so I'm voting with my wallet here.

[@AbsolutelyJason]

Great video! This looks really cool!

[@HeroesBots]

I know you are a Lego guy, but you can check out a similar model that CaDa did a few years back..... Very impressive, imo compared to the Lego one

[@RacingBrick]

I could do a lot of things, but I make all these videos alone so I don't have the capacity to explore every related build from other brands. Did that with the CaDA Formula 1 car, but not this time.

[@gingerjoe4759]

What an oddly aggressive response 😂

[@Ziffer5]

I like the Idea and i ´ll buy this set in the days.❤

[@CraigH999]

I never use the included manuals any more I go straight to downloading the digital version. Much easier to use because you can rotate the view to more easily see part placement. I know that this will make some people mad, but I would like to see Lego drop printed manuals totally. The savings for all the design, printing, and added weight (adds to shipping costs) could be applied to lower set prices for Lego fans. Honestly to see a Speed Champion go from around CAD25.00 to nearly CAD40.00 is just insane, and I have severely curbed my set purchases already this year. In 2022 and 2023 I bought nearly 75 sets total - to day in 2024 I have not purchased a single one. Anyway, it's just a thought.

[@utrzenaklika5197]

cool set, I still feel like the end with Earth is too heavy, but I understand it. I hope someone puts Death star in the middle. Keep it spinning ! 😁

[@ogrejd]

I wonder how long until someone builds a LEGO orrery with at least the four inner planets and their oribts, with everything properly scaled? :)

[@yurenchu]

If you have a ball with a diameter of 1 millimeter representing the Moon, then the balls representing Earth and the Sun must have diameters of respectively about 4 millimeter and 40 centimeter, while the distance between Earth and the Sun in the model has to be about 44 meters, and the distance between Mars and the Sun in the model varies between 60 meters and 75 meters (due to Mars' _elliptical_ orbit). I doubt those accurate proportions can/will ever be realized in a LEGO orrery.

[@Anastasis-c9h]

Nice review 😊

[@jonathandgibson8]

Thank you very much for the review! In my view it is a brilliant set, and will be buying it! I agree entirely about the absence of an official motor! I am not proficient in motors, and would appreciate it if you could advise which parts are required to produce the effect in the video. Are all parts available on the Lego web site? It would be best if there was a motor that has settings to have the rotations at, say 2 speeds, one the approximates to the actual speeds of the planet rotations and one than runs a little quicker!! Again many thanks, am Really looking to getting this set!!

[@sitsia3808]

Shouldve tried do it in dark maybe with a flashlight towards the earth to try kinda make the moon shadow or something?

[@erenyeager1547]

Love the video's man

[@GameMageVideos]

I love this set mechanically, I'm just unsure about the presentation. This looks like a set out of the 90s. I know that garnishing it with system pieces would have probably jacked the price up, but I just don't know

[@grominwithgreg1401]

I really love this model. I am surprised it took this long. I agree the Earth printing could have been better (no great lakes in Canada for example), but my only real nit picking gripe is there is a missed graphic design opportunity. I came up with a modification to change the white elements to black and then you could have printed stickers of star constellations. Still a knock out of a set.

[@iFish12]

I’m hoping to find this set in a couple of weeks at Costco for cheap

[@Matej1473]

I will want see comparison with CaDA Solar System C71004W by JK Brickworks. Similar style, only different look(technic vs brick build + technic). I like more CaDA version, because I like JK Brickworks sets and look better like display model.

[@zakum2007]

Can't help but wonder if there's a way to add a mototr that will turn it in a speed that is equal to real time, essentially making it a motorized calendar

[@RonnyNussbaum]

Great review and set. I had to look it up myself, and it’s pronounced “aw·rr·ee”. Learned something new!

[@danross6101]

Can you send links to what you used to motorize it? Great video!

[@AHYL88]

It's very impressive and nice to see something very different; it's very rare for a Technic set to not be vehicle based besides the Slizers and Bionicles from way way back. Price is iffy but it's a lot bigger than I expected. It does feel incredibly overengineered but that's the beauty of Technic sets and at the very least, you can actually see it all working, which is why I'm not bothered about the rough look of it. It won't be my first pick though, that would be the VTOL Spaceship; it's only £20 more at retail and it's a vastly bigger more function packed set and feels like the best overall value of the large Space subthemed Technic sets (as long as you have the room for them!). But maybe when there's discounts, I may go for the Earth and Moon in Orbit set; the same also applies to the VTOL as while it is already decent value and it has the higher priority for me, I know Technic often gets massively discounted in the UK so that's when I'll go for it.

[@alexm-t9d]

Is there a reason for why almost zero reviewers have made any videos for any of these Space sets so far? There's only a handful of videos out there, most from much smaller channels. At the same time, they have been out for almost a week, and mine hasn't even arrived yet (but reviews are usually out well before the release date). Nice review though!

[@jahweh]

Love it! Although i can allrdy see the earth arm sagging

[@ssisk87]

Now the MOCers will have to make a motorized and geared down version so that it operates at the same speed as real time, that would be really cool...

[@AnekoF90]

80 bucks for the set is rough, even more considering they didn't add any motor for it to spin by itself

[@needmorebeans]

I wish they got the position of the equator right 😭

[@vishnu-lz9pm]

01:44 I have issues adding the turn table with the base. Could anyone help?

[@MatejVelican]

I reaaaaaally like this model!

[@davidh7865]

I built mine on Saturday. I was blown away by how accurate this is when it’s marketed as a “toy”. I’m massively into astronomy so I appreciate how good this is. - I really do feel it would be a challenge for a 10-year-old to build this so I think, like you, Lego missed a trick by not including information on the model and basic astronomy facts to highlight just how good this set is. For £70 I feel every school should have one, it’s that good! Fun for the kids/teachers to build and then to learn from. Orrery’s are expensive Instruments so £70 is a steal if you ignore the price/piece ratio. (I love your vids by the way, the best LAN influencer I follow) Thanks dude!

[@davidh7865]

….also we’ve had full solar system orrery’s on the Lego Ideas platform before, none ever taken into production. Do you think this set is paving the way for a full Orrery? I’d like to know your thoughts. Thanks buddy.

[@mrblc882]

My idea was, in case I get it on discount to mount Arduino controlled, Lego axle compatible, third party stepper motor and to make it rotate in real time, making it basically calendar.

[@EmeraldUploads]

Bro how did you get those stickers on so clean?

[@patricktambu]

It's all well and good exept...... didn't our planet turn counterclockwise both on its own axe and around the sun?

[@BrickAgogo]

Us :: you will credit JKbrickworks for this right ? Lego: ... Us : Right ???

[@iuter87]

JD 2016 Maxifigure 2013

[@Sauci55on]

The JK Brickworks version is still far superior imo.

[@aroonasn]

I wonder could the sun be transparent with a light inside which would make day and night shifts on the earth observable?

[@bami2]

The set I've been looking forward for, really excited about this. Really wanted to see Technic bring out something else than vehicles and here it is! I'm pretty sure this is a lego online store exclusive?

[@RacingBrick]

It's not exclusive, you can buy it at several retailers already

[@bami2]

@@RacingBrick Oh thank you for mentioning this, I was at a physical retailer a couple of weeks ago asking pointing at a lego catalogue asking when they would get it in stock, but they thought it was a lego site exclusive. Guess I'll just order it then :)

[@RSX0999]

42181 gonna be phenomenal , hopefully after that we have review on McLaren pullback set

[@abdelghanifakroune9020]

I like your post I buy this set and i enjoy the built

[@originalbluemonkey]

The structure seems a bit unstable when cranking the handle. Is there a way to make it more stable without major modifications?

[@Mishaoly2.0]

1:14 I’m having trouble on this they aren’t lined together

[@Mishaoly2.0]

Nvm I completed it

[@davebeard7409]

Good review. Keep up the good work. Not sure why the sun rotates... Does it I wonder?

[@RacingBrick]

It does

[@willemgroenewegen5934]

What an interesting set, thanks for reviewing it! Now I wonder: will @TiagoCatarino dare tackle it? ;)

[@ZaidenBhakta-vq9kc]

I ordered it 3 days ago!!

[@steampaul3442]

3:42 technically this is not an orrery, because its only earth, sun and moon. this is a tellurion.

[@BrickMania-BG]

Cool! Cool! Cool! I built it yesterday - it is fantastic set. I motorized it too. :)

[@SelahTheCrusader]

Question, what is that thing that was used to automatically spin the crank on this? It looks super helpful!

[@RacingBrick]

It's a Power Functions motor and a battery box, not available anymore from LEGO. You can buy a similar new combination, but without the manual speed selector option, only on/off.

[@geek9642]

I’ve built mine and I’m struggling to login up the moon in the correct orientation it’s like it’s half a tooth out… I’ve not found a way of calibrating it correctly

[@Mocsfromscratch]

Speaking of motorization and powered up, why is the Lego Technic Control+ hub labeled as retired? Is the Control+ lineup about to die?

[@RacingBrick]

They disappear and come back to the shop randomly, not sure why LEGO is doing this. You really cannot tell if something is really retired or not.

[@dizzlery3628]

i just wanted to cheer for the yellow pins in the sun but then i saw the black ones in the earth ... and the stickers ... and the price ... and the print quality ...

[@erwincoplo6305]

They should make add ons with the other planets so you can have an entire solar system

[@For891]

Some cool parts to create alternative builds. The dates that are included are cool but Jayson’s version is better imo.

[@stephanix7024]

A great review on a great set. I built it and can agree with you: 1 that LEGO missed the chance on making it more educational. A little explanation on the solar system and mechanism would have been in place (like in the icon sets) 2 the world print of Europe is hardly recognizable, really bad by LEGO! 3 very precize gear: 120 rotations on the cranck is 1 rotation around the sun, 360 rotations of earth, 13,3 moon rotations ( yes I manually checked it) 4 there are 13,3 rotations of the sun itself which is not that precize, but also not that important. 5 tilt of the earth stays correct to show the seasons 6 right direction of sun, earth and moon It is a super set! Although a bit overpriced imo

[@chrisc1866]

What pieces did you use to mount motor to frame? Thanks!

[@RacingBrick]

4 2L pins, 2 3L beams, and a 3L axle

[@gulorful8488]

This set makes me wish they would integrate more system pieces to technic sets because how Lego-like would it be if the sun was brick built? Oh well, I guess that's what mods are for.

[@tricial7428]

Please do the vtol next

[@carmelodipasquale]

Nice video! Which model of motor do you suggest to buy in order to move the orrery?

[@RacingBrick]

The cheapest available, everything will be able to move it

[@carmelodipasquale]

@@RacingBrick thank you very much, i will let you know!

[@alanpottier]

and the other lego space sets ?

[@RacingBrick]

I can only review one at a time

[@alanpottier]

@@RacingBrick ok

[@Mark_Dee]

I like the JKBrickwork/Cada Solar System much more than this one.

[@froggerabc]

There will be a moc that meets the correct scale very soon I imagine :D haha

[@AlexS-jt3fs]

Can anyone link me to just a motor that I can plug in to this and spin it slowly over time? This is the only set I’ve gotten and I don’t want to spend a lot of time cycling through stuff to just find one motor.. all the stuff I see is either build your own kit that I don’t understand or like a bundle of 6 motors..

[@iuter87]

Does it move in elliptical orbit for the seasons?

[@davidguthary8147]

In this model, the Earth has a simplified circular orbit around the Sun. However, seasons are not caused by the Earth's orbit being elliptical. They are the result of the Earth's axial tilt relative to its orbital plane, which is represented in this model. Incidentally, the Earth is actually closest to the Sun during the month of January.

[@matthewwriter9539]

I predict that someone will post a video teaching us how to modify our models to get the Earth moon distance more accurate, the moon orbit tilt closer to accurate, and the Earth orbit around the sun closer to 365.242 days per year. When that happens, please send me the link.

[@RacingBrick]

Well, if you want a realistic Earth-Moon distance at this scale, the Moon should be 1.2m from the Earth, which won't really work...

[@livinsite1]

​@@RacingBrick beautiful answer ❤

[@arghjayem]

Yeah technically as it doesn’t have all the planets it’s not an orrery. TBH I think a Lego version of the antikythera mechanism would be cooler!

[@user-bb6nw2fr8p]

What Lego motor did you use to add power to this? Thanks

[@RacingBrick]

Power Functions L motor

[@user-bb6nw2fr8p]

Thanks!@@RacingBrick

[@user-bb6nw2fr8p]

And what about the power hub to use with the L motor?@@RacingBrick

[@RacingBrick]

@@user-bb6nw2fr8p that's the 8878 rechargeable battery box

[@user-bb6nw2fr8p]

Thank you!@@RacingBrick

[@casualcombine]

I was excited for this, but I'm not sure I can justify the price sadly. Even if it is fair.

[@MarenSchultz-ep8ne]

What motor did you use?

[@RacingBrick]

I used an old Power Functions motor, but you can use any motors available

[@bryceedmond7019]

Technic R2-D2 incoming surely

[@mirkopanzera7837]

Why not the mclaren formula e?

[@RacingBrick]

Because I reviewed the majority of the Formula cars already, and there were a lot of people waiting for the space sets as well (including myself).

[@mirkopanzera7837]

​@@RacingBrickahahah, get it, thanks