The Launch Umbilical Tower Model for the LEGO Saturn V

Everyone keeps asking about the Saturn V model and launch tower in the background of some of my videos.
Many of you know that the Saturn V is an official LEGO set which was hugely popular and is still available for purchase ( amzn.to/3ony2yL) despite being retired earlier this year. (EDIT: I found out it's being reissued under a new model number)
The Tower and platform are based on a fan designs by Valerie Roche and Emmanuel Urquiet which made it through the LEGO ideas voting process but was rejected after human review. The plans were made available but building the set would require tracking down the pieces on Bricklink or other lego markets.
This set is a kit made of compatible elements, not legitimate LEGO, and this makes it hard to build, the pieces are unsorted, the fit is poor with some things falling apart or requiring excessive force. You'll need to make modifications to strengthen the structure, thankfully there are guides online on how to do that.
I'm not including a link to the purchase, because you can google it and I want you to be really sure you want to embark on this task.

[@jcjuxojn]

I built my Saturn V with my son when he was 4. We thought it neat because they were practically the same height. Now we use it as a benchmark to show him his growth. He's 5 now and 1.1 Saturn V's tall!

[@jenniferreyes2865]

That's one massive child

[@mikakorhonen5715]

@@jenniferreyes2865 Solid child.

[@isaquest134]

Dang your son is 122.1 meters tall! That’s very large.

[@jenniferreyes2865]

@@isaquest134 growing boy

[@paulbennett4548]

Welcome to the future, I am 5'8" my sons are 6'3" and 6"1" tall There friends say "who's the Hobbit" he's my dad lol

[@macdjord]

Scott, could you do a whole historical video on the launch tower? It sounds like it would be fascinating. I've seen many on the Saturn V, and even a couple on the crawler, but none about the tower specifically.

[@bobblum5973]

I remember back in the early to mid '70s during my model rocket flying days, there were competitions to make scale models of real rockets that could still fly. Points were awarded for accuracy, documentation, flight and recovery. People built scale models of the launch facilities to go with them, and if I recall there were documents on the umbilical tower. Of course it helped that it was only a few years after the Apollo missions tapered off. I'm not sure if the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) Web site would have anything on it, or links to publications.

[@fridaycaliforniaa236]

I voted for your idea =)

[@philh9421]

It’s worth taking a look at the book “Abandoned in place” by Roland Miller, which has a lot of pictures of now-defunct NASA installations from the late 50’s onwards. There’s a bit of history in it. I‘ve also bought Apollo: VII - XVII but that focuses on the missions themselves.

[@VALERIEROCHEwhatsuptoday1]

@@bobblum5973 When I designed the Launch Umbilical Tower, I used NASA archives documents ;-)

[@bobblum5973]

@@VALERIEROCHEwhatsuptoday1 Oh, so to make it accurate, you used The Right Stuff! ;-) (Well done!)

[@beeblebug]

it was actually 1969 pieces :)

[@lauritsfriis6256]

nice

[@poisonouzapple2467]

Really? Because the last time I checked it was 1967....

[@jamlessdoughnut]

I got it and it was 1969 pieces and I also thought that was very cool

[@mikemanning7851]

I think they added a few random parts to get to 1969. It is a nice coincidence.

[@1Dropboys]

Super neat

[@weeeeems]

I have built the tower using real lego, via bricklink it ended up costing about $700 to buy all the pieces as some are super rare. Maybe I should have got the fake lego one...

[@alanholck7995]

The fake one cost $200 & shipped from Hong Kong

[@entropiated9020]

If I had paid $700 for it and it, I would've been more upset with all the extra work needed to get it completed. But since i "only" paid $250 including shipping, I won't complain too much

[@Noone-jn3jp]

@@alanholck7995 I’ve heard actually getting it is questionable

[@alanholck7995]

I ordered it Jan 20; got here mid-March. But the thought did cross my mind

[@almightyarjen]

I knew it would cost a lot, but that much, wow...

[@matthewbrost5560]

When I was a wee lad I always wondered why Lego sets were so expensive. Now as an adult with a full understanding of the engineering and manufacturing process. I'm now amazed at the precision and quality of Lego bricks and sets. You definitely get what you pay for.

[@bindingcurve]

Patents, the no longer exist, help too

[@midship_nc]

@@bindingcurve yeah but their process on injection molding is one of the most carefully guarded secrets in the world....only second to the coca cola recipe. They literally have armed guards at their production facilities.

[@zim_the_vixen]

Their quality is astounding. I recently built the rocket and dropped / threw the upper stages by accident. Nothing broke or bent or deformed and I was able to piece everything together without issue.

[@midship_nc]

@@zim_the_vixen hah yeah my son knocked mine over, no big deal....had to get the book out for reference lol, some crazy build mechanics in there

[@hoej]

@@midship_nc guards, yes. Armed, no. I mean, the process is displayed for everyone to see in Lego House in Billund.

[@eliyasne9695]

I love the fact your content is so diversified, from worm hole rendering techniques, to airothermodinamics, basic computer science, nuclear power history, rocket Lego sets and of course KSP. Most people would say you have something for everyone, but i would say you have everything for someone.

[@spaulagain]

The Saturn V is officially being re-released as set number 92176. It's otherwise identical to the previous set number. Amazon has actually already sold some under the old set number product page.

[@jacoblyman9441]

Yes let's get this bumped. The Saturn V along with I think the Ship in a Bottle are the first two Ideas sets to ever be re-released. There are no apparent changes to the set (still has 1969 pieces!). I kind of am tempted to get the re-release, swipe the third stage for a Saturn IB, and replace it with the Skylab launch configuration on the Saturn V. Its really tempting, leave the original set as built and use the re-release for a Skylab display.

[@originalmin]

@Ho Lam YIU it’s Lego. Put it back together.

[@fridaycaliforniaa236]

@@originalmin lol

[@Archgeek0]

@@originalmin Pieces can be irreparably damaged when separated in a violence, though. Repair would involve a near-to-full tear-down, examination of suspect pieces, acquisition of new ones (LEGO can be tough to get a-la-carte, especially when you need certain colours), *then* the final rebuild.

[@naidanac1]

@@Archgeek0 I'd recommend Bricklink for replacement parts. This set is popular enough, and with the re-release, bulk resellers will have the needed parts!

[@ericlotze7724]

8:50 DEFINETLY always support original creators, even if you have to buy a clone. Don't let OS projects dissapear into to the Alibaba Void

[@tissuepaper9962]

Not really open source if they tried to pull the plans from the internet when people started using them in ways they didn't approve of. OS is all or nothing, no in-between. Hundreds of thousands of OS projects are used in ways their original creators don't approve of every single day, that's part of why OS is so great. Getting pissy because your "intellectual property" is being "stolen" is ridiculous if you're the one who released it to be used freely in the first place. I might throw them a few bucks if I ever buy one of their designs, but I refuse to entertain the notion that I am in any way obligated to do so. Intellectual property is a tool for making profit, not a moral imperative.

[@Chris_Cross]

@@tissuepaper9962 What's insane is that it costs $40 just for the instructions.

[@kevinlahey]

@@tissuepaper9962 Open source licenses can be amazingly specific about the uses to which the code can be put. The GPL, for instance, requires that anybody who gets the compiled code be able to get the source code. So, for instance, if a company modifies the Linux kernel to make a product, they'd have to provide the source (you can create a kernel module with a different license, so there are some workarounds). There are even licenses like Affero that try to restrict using the licensed software to provide a service without providing code. (That is, if you are running the code on your own systems, but providing a service to others, you still have to provide the code. My apologies if I've mangled the details here, but I just wanted to point out that licenses can be complex.) IANAL. I have no idea what the Lego Ideas licenses are like. It's a shame that people's work is taken without compensation (or attribution?).

[@P8nda]

Summary: This was hard as hell to build and not recommended.

[@peterknutsen3070]

But for a specific reason.

[@richardstewart4135]

I gotta tell you, Scot. I saw the first Saturns launch on TV when I was a teenager and I gotta say, owning a model like this, gantry and all would have been the dream of every kid back then, and even now we look on your wonderful model with a lot of admiration and even a bit of envy. Well done indeed.

[@shadowgolem9158]

I've always wondered why LEGO can't just have this sort of project available for order. The whole factory is automated. Why not let folks order an ideas kit in a plain box with no special instructions beyond what gets posted on ideas site? I can think of a pile of them I would get. If the get enough orders they can make a proper kit out of it. They can even have a Month delay on the turn around time. Still easier than a month of work and uncertainty on brick link.

[@randomnickify]

Because licenses exist, nasa might be angry some one is earning money on their stuff.

[@shadowgolem9158]

@@randomnickify I have no problem with NASA getting a cut of the loot. NASA is publicly funded though so there should not be an issue other than a pr image review.

[@shadowgolem9158]

SpaceX would be a different story of course.

[@GrubbyZebra]

@@randomnickify NASA's IP is generally public domain (there are specific things technology-wise that are export controlled, but that is a different matter, and doesn't apply here, anywhere), so no issues there.

[@richardmillhousenixon]

@@shadowgolem9158 AFAIK, none of the blueprints/technical documents for the Apollo program are still classified, save for a select few that could still be utilized today, such as the documents on the guidance computer. So the structural design of the Saturn V as well as the launch tower are AFAIK public record as well as being in the public domain

[@bobbytrap2554]

The timing for this vid could not have been better. I just got the Saturn V this week and it’s so insanely big. Lego’s are awesome, it’s a really good quarantine time spender!

[@FritiFirecaster]

Yes! I've been looking for what set or such you used! Thank you!

[@bobblum5973]

"Some assembly required." And reassembly, and glue, and sanding, and reinforcing... And lots and lots of time. Oh, and patience. 😉

[@aristhought]

Love the lego! Wish I could afford a ton more space lego to build during the pandemic.

[@oldandconfusedinflorida1802]

The Saturn V is my favorite Lego build I have ever done. I got it as a "hurricane supply" in case the power went out for days (I live in Florida). I would also like to acknowledge the Ninkasi tap in this video. They have fantastic beers and are from my hometown in Oregon! Love the vids and how thorough you are

[@dominiclobue]

Thanks for making this Scott!

[@ShadowZone]

Thanks for the warning about the "not Lego" tower. I am definitely NOT getting it for my Saturn V :D

[@cumguzzler8537]

If you have basic skills in modelling and access to a 3d printer, you can print it for cheaper (Probably, i made mine for about the same price as the fake lego one) Also please build a 3d printer in ksp, i would do it but im bad with the mechanical parts.

[@TheOwenMajor]

@@cumguzzler8537 There are plenty of cheap injection molded models out there. The novelty is no painting and assembling it brick by brick.

[@cumguzzler8537]

@@TheOwenMajor because its so big, you'd have to asseble it from smaller pieces, which i did, and it was just like lego but instead of studs it had slits and no manual

[@marvelousrex2866]

Just finished my legit tower last week. Over 8k pieces. No issues at all with sturdiness. It's definitely expensive (depending on the model, probably $700-$1500) but this fake crap pisses me off because they flat out stole the designs from other people and then crapped out inferior copies with knock offs. I saw one site was selling a kit and they had literally stole pics from 4 different designs off facebook from legit lego designers and passed them off as the same set. One designer actually found a pic of HIMSELF on one of these sites. How fucking creepy is that!?!

[@MidKnightriderR6]

Finally. The video I've been waiting for!

[@jimmyjames2022]

I hear lots of enthusiasm when people find they can buy a "not-lego" launch tower, but I never hear what a grueling chore assembling one is, so thanks for this!

[@chrisafitz78]

Thanks Scott! You just saved me $200. I was close to pulling the trigger on one but I'll stick with the horizontal display it came with.

[@philipkudrna5643]

Thanks for the honest review. I totally agree, the Saturn V is a great model and is totally recommendable and was very good value for money!

[@IndrasilDesignStudio]

Vonado used to steal instructions from the original creators and they sell bootleg lego-like bricks. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!

[@scottmanley]

Yes, this is why I’m sending money directly to the designers.

[@IndrasilDesignStudio]

@@scottmanley Thank you for being thoughtful!

[@matthewdavies2057]

So for people who want an LUT don't want to send money to Vonado with their poor fitting parts who else sells one?

[@matthewdavies2057]

@@f900ex5 I see people own LUT's. They had to get them somewhere!

[@f900ex5]

Surely someone can work with the designers, get one built and everyone is happy...... IF its not possible then I don't any other choice IF you want the tower. Lego will not make one for the reason's Scott pointed out. I'm happy to support the designers, but my fear is just like the Lego SV rocket it will be discontinued and a tower will never be built

[@printedprops8730]

When i built my lego saturn v a couple years ago i thought of making a launch tower. But i never got around to it. I saw it in your other video thanks for showcasing it!

[@cocoabutt1711]

Having built model airplanes as a lad, I found myself watching the stacking of SN8 yesterday and thinking that it would make an awesome kit (SN8 in final stages of stacking with cranes and the tank farm).

[@rcgusto2427]

I have the same set...I loved the frustration of the build, and I think it looks pretty good when it’s all said and done. Glue on critical parts was helpful, especially the white room arm. The pipe connectors had to be pinched to hold. I used about 250 2x4 stacks in the base. Definitely needs some extra support to stop the sag. The red straw crossmembers were the most frustrating part of the whole build.

[@snookerkingexe]

I've waited so hard for this video!!

[@incargeek]

The upper five access arms (from the service module level downwards) were called “inflight arms” and wouldnt disconnect until lift-off. The connection was designed to follow the ascent of the vehicle for a few inches before they disconnected and swung clear.

[@KevinT3141]

I wondered if it was the Vonado 'set' and was digging through your Twitter a week or two back to see if you'd mentioned it. This video was excellent, thank you!

[@alanholck7995]

Grandson (6 yr old) & I are building and having a lot of the same problems. We are about to resort to glue as well. And we added some addition structural support under the base as well

[@cumguzzler8537]

You should get someone to 3d print you a base you can build it on

[@donaldvincent]

I have the Estes flying model of Saturn V the same size 1/100 scale. About 4 feet tall. For my tower I went really old school and built it using a couple of "Erector" sets that I had. It is not scale, but close, it is more impressionistic, but the arms move, the crane and elevator work, and when not in use I can lock the arms in place. Then and using some small strings with hooks I can discretely strap it in so it is much harder to knock over. If it did fall it is well protected. Yes, I can also launch off of this same tower and have done so a couple of times. It is a nice flying rocket and my tower always gets equal attention from any guys around.

[@PeterHamiltonz]

So excited I'll be getting one of these in about a week.

[@ericlotze7724]

10:04 Now i want a desk setup overview...

[@elijahwills7331]

Woohoo! Lego Saturn V launch tower. wish i had it

[@CrackedCandy]

Thank you. I was drooling over this

[@SRFriso94]

And now you're gonna get a bunch of questions about that Falcon Heavy Mars poster.

[@DPImageCapturing]

THX SCOTT! This was really informative!!

[@ict89007]

my wife bought me this tower set for Christmas last year and my experience was exactly as he describes... I was almost mad at my wife for getting it for me when I was done building it because it was so stressful!!! you also actually get to build some parts of it 5 or 6 times because it will keep falling apart, and then you will get to rebuild it several times trying to get it strong enough to hold together longterm. in the end, I ended up getting rid of the tower and just putting my Saturn V model on a shelf by itself. this was partially because the tower just never looked right, and partially because I couldn't look at the tower without getting flashbacks to the torture that it was to build.

[@TXHusker05]

Dude, this was exactly my experience (which I just commented in detail on this video as well). I got it as a birthday gift from my wife and I spent quite literally 40 hours of a weekend losing my mind trying to get this thing to work to the point where SHE was pissed. I built, disassembled, rebuilt, disassembled, rebuilt parts of this tower a half dozen times and most of the parts refused to fit anyway. By the time I got to the third/fourth level, I knew it wasn't going to work but I powered through and I honest to god finished it except for the crane (it refused to stay on top and just collapsed every time I put it up there) and the white room walkway. The entire tower was wobbling all over the place just putting the last few bits on, I would never have put my Saturn V on it so I just quit. Then, of course, when I tried to move it from my desk to a table it completely collapsed at the 3rd level. I was so angry I picked the few remaining pieces and slammed them on the floor, which it turns out I actually *needed* to do because the elevator was jammed inside the tower and I couldn't even get to the mangled wreckage to disassemble it properly. My rapid disassembly process was more pleasing considering the physical thumb pain and mental pain I went through. I put it in a nondescript cardboard box and shoved it in the garage. I may try it again, with more reinforcements and glue like Scott did, but I am so pissed by this thing that I may not be able to deal with the PTSD. Just watching this video made me angry about the time I wasted on this thing.

[@gregwarner3753]

Imagine trying to build that tower from scratch using wood plastic and metal. That would really drive ypu nuts.

[@beapbass]

@Scott Manley: I got my LUT from Jeremy. It was hard to build as well (mostly by design, sometimes because of brick quality), but the problems weren't as bad as yours. No need to glue anything, the tower stands straight on its own, I got printed instructions and parts were sorted by building steps. But I fully support the statement that this is a set for experienced builders only.

[@peterbondy]

This Lego set was so fun to build. Highly recommended. The internals are so cleverly designed.

[@marcelinecosmos9030]

Definitely worth clarifying that Valerie doesn’t approve of the clone sets as they never asked for any permission to do so. This is also the reason we never released instructions for any of our later designs

[@TheHeroPercy]

@· except in this medium it would be their intellectual property. Just like if you take a photo of the Falcon 9 launching it would be your intellectual property not SpaceX’s

[@JamesF0790]

That's a pity but I entirely understand that.

[@VALERIEROCHEwhatsuptoday1]

@· Yes, we did ask SpaceX for permission to build their Starship in LEGO, and I think you don't know, Lego Group buy a license to sell their I P sets! ha ha, you seem to be stupid and villain! :-(

[@JamesF0790]

@@MidwestFarmToys I don't know, I think you might be a problem.

[@JamesF0790]

@@MidwestFarmToys I mean that is my opinion. No need to make a big deal about it

[@malcolmthomas817]

Hi Scott and thanks for your interesting and entertaining presentations. Re the Saturn V, I bought the Lego one for my grandson for Xmas and he loved it, but was even more impressed by my original AIRFIX model from 1969 that I still have including the box! Living through the Mercury, Gemini and Saturn programmes was wonderful all topped off by visiting the Cape and seeing the real Smithsonian Saturn V there. Great to see that can-do spirt has been taken up by Elon and inspite of the delays to his programmes, he consistantly achieves what the nay sayers state is impossible. Keep up the good work Scott, from a Welshman living in Germany.

[@everythingsshinycaptainnot7769]

I have the same Vornado set. I'll add that I had many missing pieces and the instructions supplied by them were for a different version and so were pretty useless. They did send me a few of the missing pieces but I ended up supplementing these with some from Bricklink and I replaced the grey gantries with the proper red ones. I rebuilt the bases section of this 3 or 4 times due to some of the issues you highlighted; I added extensive extra support bricks in the base to allow the top of the base to be properly supported and to allow all of the the flat panels to stay in place. I also added some to support the main structure. As you mentioned, doing the pipe sections was a nightmare and I ended up buying brickling "pipes" and cutting them to size in order to get it to work. I could not get the crane to "tense up" properly so it sags a little and the mechanism at the top only worked briefly. I haven't tried to repair it again yet. It also sags over the tower but it looks like you put a support brick under it to support it. The side swing arm also sags on mine too. I added a couple of extra single red 1 x 1 bricks in the front to stop the whole tower sagging forwards. Finally the support section at the bottom of the tower that is loose on yours (as shown in the video) is attached and secure on mine so maybe you missed a few bricks? Or possibly I adjusted the lower struts. By the way, I'd have happily paid the creators for a copy of their instructions (I'm still willing to do this) but I believe they completely withdrew them. Not sure if this is still the case?

[@Oscar_Kerkenaar]

I also bought the same one from Vonado. It has a lot of missing parts, the manual is bashed together from two other manuals making it impossible to find out how to mount the lift. Further more, I had to support the base with 60 extra bricks to keep the flatpannels from warping and the tower from leaning over to much... It's not an easy model and takes a few months to complete. But go ahead and knock yourself out. once it's done, it looks epic! Scott's comments though are absolutely spot on!

[@midship_nc]

i know you have brought this up before but thanks for providing more detail on the launch tower. Just going to mount my SV to a wall or something.

[@orrinkelso9295]

My grandson and I just finished the knockoff version of the Saturn 5 rocket. It is almost 2000 pieces with numbered bags and excellent instructions. But it does not come in a nice box, just a bag. The quality seems very high. The only problem we had was needing to search in other bags a couple of times for a part or two. Overall, very pleased with it. Wanted the launch tower to go with it but that set does not seem to be of the same quality based on what Mr. Manley has said. I recently got him a the knockoff Hogwarts castle. It is over 6000 pieces and he assembled it completely by himself ( he is 9 ). It was also a nice set with excellent instructions. Thanks for your excellent videos.

[@entropiated9020]

I got my LUT last month. It took nearly 50 hours to put together, more than it probably should have if not for the fact I found it necessary to reinforce the base with additional blocks. Putting the smooth top pieces on the top of the base was very challenging because the surface tended to bend a great deal when trying to push down on it. I used blocks from my own lego stash to accomplish this. Also, I found the tower tended to lean out of alignment in a way that was difficult to ignore. I added a few small blocks at the base of the tower to prop it into a more acceptable alignment. Still extremely pleased with the result.

[@entropiated9020]

For me the hardest part of the entire bulid was putting together the fuel lines and shaft holding on all the umbilical sections; the long pieces did not fit well into the connectors and I needed to sand them down one by one to make them slide into the connectors properly. Even still it was extremely frustrating at times. I used pliers and vice grips too, because gripping the pieces properly was a challenge

[@brywithay1]

I bought the Saturn V Rocket kit for my son last Christmas. I was able to find it at Barnes and Noble. He loved it and we both marveled at the fact the designers made sure it was exactly 1969 pieces.

[@deanfawcett2085]

It's the only kit I have bought as an adult. It has pride of place on my desktop tower :)

[@krautmaster7922]

Got mine for christmas from Mork Models for 180 € on Amazon. Many improvements! Still fragile as hell and slightly fun to build. Comes in a nice box, very nice printed instructions and parts are sorted in 6 steps in multiple bags like original Lego. I had to order 150 grey 2x4 tiles (15€)for the pad since the larger tiles from the kit were a bit off in size and would bend the surface and I added additional Supports in the base. The Level of detail and accuracy is still worth it and it looks awesome with the Saturn V. Highly recommend buying!!!

[@Slavador2393]

The lego Saturn 5 set is re released

[@ogjk]

Where? just checked official Lego web page, it states "retired product"

[@Slavador2393]

@@ogjk it will be out in November

[@catfish552]

@@ogjk Amazon is already selling it, though it might be under listings with the old set number.

[@michagrill9432]

The exact same model? Or badly redesigned as usual with LEGO?

[@Slavador2393]

@@michagrill9432 from what I understand it is the exact same model

[@AgentPepsi1]

Scott I love your videos!!! :D

[@OmegaPrime76]

I just built the Saturn V today! Great kit!

[@keithwilson8267]

I am currently building that exact tower from Lepin. I started it earlier in the week and I just finished the base. It is definitely not strong enough so i had to add a bunch of internal bracing to make it work. I haven't started the tower portion yet, but i think it will take me about 20 hours in total build. I built the Lego Saturn V last year and it was awesome. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

[@nathyatta]

I had so much fun building that Saturn V. I am a school teacher, and on the way home from school, starting summer holidays, I got it!

[@samarvora7185]

"Ah, Guenther Wendt! I vonder vhere Guenther vent."

[@wyattmorin3689]

Still have this set love it to death

[@FrankRuiz66]

That's badass! I've always wondered where you got that tower from..

[@bombjack78]

I was one of those people asking about it, thank you for the video.

[@j.r.7339]

I love the antique Lego Mindstorms NXT!

[@dannysprogis8446]

Hi Scott, Great video about the Vonado launch tower. I have the same version and have had the same issues with mine exactly as you have described them. I totally agree with your suggestion not to buy it unless you are willing to suffer through the pain. 1) Missing parts - Vonado did send parts to correct their mistake without any issues so I give them credit for that. 2) Bad color matching on similar parts. - Most of this adds to the effect of a 1960's paint job so I'm not too concerned. 3) Badly fitting parts - I have replaced numerous parts with Genuine Lego pieces. 4) Very unstable - I have added numerous genuine Lego pieces inside the base to give additional support. I have also used glue to secure structural and lose fitting elements (whilst leaving the model in 4 general sections to allow for transport disassembly). I feel like a bit of a traitor to Lego but I was lucky enough to receive it as a gift in New Zealand just before the lockdown in March so it became my Lockdown project and has kept me reasonably sane (excluding the issues mentioned) and I have decided to animate my Saturn V and Launch Tower a little bit more than standard. Here are some links with a hint of what I am working on: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoDRgJSXi9R4n9U kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2S2d3qHbMaLpbc

[@orosee]

I bought the boxed set with manual here in China and it was a pain in the neck to assemble! I finished the rocket within a day, but it took me two weeks for the tower, then when I wanted to move it to it's display stand it collapsed on me! Back to square one. The reason for the collapse was that it was a design where the foundation was incredibly weak, some supports were connected only by an overlap of one knob (?), and the slanted lower part of the tower was connected with jointed beams instead of single pieces, a breaking point by design. So I ordered a 50 cm by 60 cm ground plate and (by accident or passion) a few thousand 2x2 to 8x2 bricks, made the interior of the foundation practically massive, and (shame!) used superglue on the parts that came apart by design flaw. Worked out perfectly but still took almost a week for the repairs. Months later, I emptied the drawers below my display stand, which were filled with very heavy items, and despite being an engineer and familiar with certain safety issues concerning IKEA furniture, I completely forgot about center of mass and tilting point - once the drawers were extended, the stand tipped and both tower and rocket fell onto my head, giving me a nice deep scratch in my arm and of course coming apart. Kudos to the rocket design, it mostly broke into 5 large parts and a handful of loose bricks, but the tower will nedd another few days of repair. Can't blame this on the designer (except IKEA, who had to pay a large sum of money for a similar accident involving a child) though. That tower is not designed to survice a fall from almost a meter height. All gripes apart, the Saturn V looks wonderful with the tower! Also, there are (I believe) no "illegal" LEGO bricks since the patent expired. There are illegal copies of models, of course, which means: recipes/building instructions. Let's say, the large Millenium Falcon sitting next to me. But I can't resist when a ground plate of 20 cm x 15 cm from LEGO is 16$ and I can get 4 50x60 for the same price (I don't know why those are so incredibly expensive!). Most non-LEGO bricks do have very sharp edges and long building sessions will leave you with hurting and callused fingers. The clones (fakes) appear to use identical moulds though and are much easier on the fingers.

[@mwdaniel4]

Scott, thank you for posting this video. Do you have the web site for the brink-link version? I keep running into brick walls when I look for it. Love your videos, keep them coming.

[@hyperfocal2002]

Thanks for posting this. I literally flew across the country to find one of the last of the first generation Saturn V kits.It's very disappointing to find out that the tower isn't great. I would love to have that whole thing in a more functional form.One of the great things about Lego is that they are pretty tough. My Saturn V has taken some bad falls without anything more than some damage assessments and reassembly.

[@rca168]

- Unleash the KRAGLE! - Noooooo not the KRAGLE!

[@elopeous3285]

Thanks scott for the insight

[@almightyarjen]

As a Lego KZbinr and Scott Manley fan, I totally aprove this, except for THE FAKE LEGO (I know it's a 3rd party product) ;) It's a pitty that you've encountered all those problems during the building process. This is why I stick with original Lego only, which can be expensive with structures of this size. But very cool that you got also the tower!

[@ryanrising2237]

I got a fake LEGO Saturn V, tried to build it, but it didn’t quite fit together right. Most of the building process was fine, maybe a bit mushy, but on parts like the raceways stuff just wouldn’t fit. Then later I sprung for the real deal and it all fit beautifully. I don’t like advertising for companies, LEGO is big enough to do their own advertising. But their standards are quite high.

[@gajbooks]

Question. Does Lego make individual parts available for order at a reasonable price? Say, if you put together plans and could essentially order a full custom LEGO set of official parts and assemble it yourself?

[@massimookissed1023]

@@gajbooks , ·Nothing LEGO does is at a reasonable price. ·No. ·That's why Bricklink exists.

[@gajbooks]

@@massimookissed1023 Lol, I meant reasonable for Lego. I know they're not reasonable, having pestered my parents for many a Lego growing up. I just remembered that there was a page on their site years ago where you could pick individual parts, and also submit Lego Digital Designer creations and get kits for them. (Pick a Brick is what I am remembering, which still exists, but the LDD service ended in 2012 apparently)

[@-danR]

It can be fake LEGO but a legit _model_ tower and this one actually looks pretty good. I can almost see Gary Seven crawling along one of the umbilical arms...

[@pev_]

Interesting! I don't think I've ever realized what luxury genuine LEGO is, in those aspects that you told are lacking in that tower. I have every now and then admired the precision of LEGO parts (I still have a couple of Technic sets, I'm in my fifties) but have never seen fake legos.

[@Galactis1]

Yay, I merely mentioned how cool the launch tower is and BAM! a video. lol I honestly did not expect one, The new launch tower is also pretty cool.

[@malcolmwhiley1058]

I started building the LepinLand LUT last weekend and had just discovered the undersize base plates , I succumbed to super glue too lol agree about the base needing reinforcing too as some of the top seemed to be almost suspended in thin air . All that said really enjoying the challenge for the price it cost , have spent way more on Cobi kits

[@Rainer_Landes]

I bought one set off eBay in October 2020 just shortly after this youtube video was published by Scott. It was sitting in my basement for 3 years, and I am building it just now. Quality of the set that I got seems to be a bit better than the one that Scott had gotten. Bricks nicely fit together. Parts were sorted into plasic bags. But my version also leaned a lot to the front. The reason was, that the parts that form the back side of the elevator shaft were a bit too thick. So finally, I sanded down the 14 grey strips of 8*1 (one on each level of the launch tower) from a height of 3.25mm to 2.9mm. Now the tower is straight and stable. (although 3.20mm seems to be the standard height, so the real problem seems to be somewhere else. But my method at least led to a quite good solution of the problem.) Seems there is one crucial part missing, that I will order from the official Lego store. Base was quite unstable, as with Scott's version presented here. I used probably one kilogram of additional standard bricks from a large 20 year old Lego box of bricks that was still existing from the time when my son played Lego 😉. The elevator construction is somehow flaky. The instruction booklet has some additional string rollers in the base, but finally does not instruct how to use these for the elevator lines. Need to figure out... or just ignore the elevator thing.... Now I need to figure out how to give some money to the original creators.... The design and all those details are really great!

[@thunderchild2237]

I thankyou for this video Managed to secure Lego saturn v and was on verge of buying the tower INSTEAD of the Lego ISS . Not into cheap complications for expensive prices . Regards Paul

[@firefly4f4]

I asked you about this on Twitter, and I'm pretty sure I have the same set... and OMFSM is this set a PITA to build!!! What an absolute headache. I managed to get it all together, but I've since had to order additional LEGO parts to shore up certain features, mainly the absolutely hollow and impossible to move launch pad base. I managed to at least reenforce the crew access arm without ordering new pieces, but even that was a pain. I think the tower itself fell over at least 4 times after I had it all up as I was fiddling with parts to make them correct... and one of those times was after I rigged up the elevator. To put it into perspective, I can build a LEGO modular building, ~2500 pieces in under 3 hours easily. I spent about the same amount of time just getting the TECHNIC axle assembly that holds all the maintenance/fueling arms even CLOSE to being correct, and that was only 42 pieces!

[@avejst]

Interesting as always😀

[@lawrencebeeler6273]

It felt like you were talking to me I was wondering when you were going to fix that Leaning Tower of Pisa

[@GrimJerr]

I was admiring those on one your other videos. 👍

[@randyhavener1851]

Thanks for the info on why the tower was sagging over. Makes perfect sense.

[@baafilm]

Scott, thanks for doing this video been thinking about this since I found you. Perhaps also do a quick one on all the other models you have ? just a thought thanks and now to hit the subscribe button

[@robinfarman]

Thanks for the advice, I've been looking at it as a build. Fore warned is fore armed

[@robertsneddon731]

So when are you getting the Vehicle Assembly Building set? You can put two Saturn Vs in that (or a SV and a Shuttle stack, nice anachronistic pair).

[@christopherclosson8296]

Thank you very much for doing this video Scott. I will have to save my pennies to get the real legos as well as find the plans.

[@diha6747]

The Lego-Saturn V is a great set, but with the LUT it's even better, but it still looked a bit incomplete. Today, I finished the third set from this series (the crawler) and now it looks perfect! To increase the stability of the LUT, I glued the bricks on the bottom of the third floor to the plate (the really wobbely part, that you showed in the video). I think it's the weakest point in the model. I also glued the four long red bars that connect the first with the second floor. They have two parts which are only connected by one grey pin. If you glue these two parts together you get a pretty good base for the tower.

[@OB357SIG]

I am currently working on this model. I however bought the LUT plans from the original designer and purchased the pieces from various sellers via Bricklink. I also built the crawler for under the platform. well over 9000 pieces.

[@billjohnson8794]

Reminds me of seeing the real pieces of the Saturn 5 launch tower rusting away next to the back road to the O&C Blg every day on my way to work.

[@stephenpecchia6493]

Scott, Are there any videos of how crawler separates from the Saturn V, or the shuttle. If you haven't do it yet, might be a good video. Thanks, Stephen

[@pegasusted2504]

I just love how there is 1969 pieces in the Saturn 5 set lol. That is awesome.

[@fam.pinkaarts3059]

Hi Scott, I encountered exactly the same problems as you are mentioning. As a fact, I put the project aside for more then a year, because the whole tower was leaning forward. Now I am trying to pick it up again. How did you manage the tower to keep the tower in a vertical position? You were about to tell that in this video, but then you got distracted by the turning knobs :-) .

[@ghrey8282]

I remember the massive Revell kit... I think it was Revell..... back when I was to young and poor to buy it.... Your setup looks great.

[@HighMXHubby]

Ha! I called out the precarious leaning in a previous video. Thanks for the history of the tower!

[@pauld6967]

Good timing with this video as I had just been pondering asking after seeing one of your recent videos. I prefer my Revell model 1:96 scale kit to falling down into the Lego rabbit hole. I wonder if anyone has made a proper model kit to pair with the Revell model. If not in 1:96 scale, perhaps for the 1:144 version?

[@TheKlabim]

About to start my 11:96 revell Saturn 5 with LM and CSM. Very much excited.

[@rickmellor]

I have both kits NIB. I want to wait for my boys to get old enough to build them together... so maybe another 5 years. I appreciate all the info so I can anticipate the difficulties.

[@GJBricks]

Man, when you wobbled that support I half expected it to all tumble down. The tower looks awesome. Would be amazing in "real" LEGO! But so expensive...

[@ReDGryffyN]

To be honest I am more interested in the Space X models ( I have the Saturn IV etc), Scott where did you get those from ?

[@FesixGermany]

Reminds me that I still have a box with the old shuttle launch pad back from 199x I got when I was a little kid...

[@jjfergie]

Yea, I just received my not Lego Lego LUT kit yesterday. I just found out I must sort everything first.... this one is going to be daunting. I love my Saturn V Rocket (have built 2) and want to display it properly. I hope I have it in me to do this thing... Thanks for the vid!

[@v1rotait23]

I was astounded when I got my piece of knock-off crap, that you have to resort everything into piles of the same piece and the 30+ bags don't allude to any particular section at all?! - How the hell do these crap-copiers package what they send you? Are their brain cells inverted? Beats me...

[@AubriGryphon]

Wow, makes me glad I got a Saturn V when they were on the website!

[@Wargon2013]

There is a famous German channel that is all about bricks. There are some high quality fake Lego manufacturers out there and Lego also has color inconsistencies sometimes. And don't get me started on the prices and sets that don't work without a smart phone...

[@Opharg]

Who doesn't like non-open-source systems that are retired two years after release? Seriously though, there are some pretty good "Klemmbaustein" manufacturers nowadays

[@Jonnyhalo96]

I see someone else who watches the Held der Steine

[@hesspet]

@@Jonnyhalo96 Or Johnny... :-)

[@nomar5spaulding]

The huge Lego model I always wanted was the Imperial class Star Destroyer. I think it came out when I was in 8th Grade. About the same time they made an awesome CR-90 corvette model.

[@koenkoe7]

Bought that set last year in the lego store, it's now sitting pretty in my background while on a call for work. Got atleast 10 comments about it from different people the first week of covid.

[@ramsesv.pinxteren252]

Scott. I also have the same launch tower. I had to use an all-purpous wrench. It saved me blisters on my hands... Thanks for the warning, I just saw it a bit late haha