I don’t think they understand the physics of tail-fins on rockets.

A smashing Legoland set. The sliding rocket base was great (even if the rocket couldn't slide very far). Got for the bargain price of £24... not quite 10 times its original price!

So far, this is the only set that was already on my wanted list that I can think of before it showed up here. 456 is old enough for this feature, and on my wanted list, but it hasn't been VSotW yet, nor has its European twin, 661.

Wow. I didn't know this set. I would think it's more from the second half of the 1970s, and I din't know macaroni parts existed in that era.

@namekuji said:
"Holy Red base plate Batman!"

Right? Crazy all the exclusive baseplates there are.

Great set. I'l check if I can build a modern version of that rover with my spares.

Anyone else noticing the jarring misalignment of some pieces, especially those by the nose come interface? Is that an example of how better toleranced the parts have become or that back in those days getting everything perfectly aligned was less of an issue

The great great grandaddy of 10341 !!!

I can't get what are the parts used to make the truck roof lights? I don't find it in the part list. Got any idea ?

@Brick_t_ said:
"I can't get what are the parts used to make the truck roof lights? I don't find it in the part list. Got any idea ?"

1x1 plates.
This is an illegal building technique now, but it was very common in the 70's.

@Brick_t_ said:
"I can't get what are the parts used to make the truck roof lights? I don't find it in the part list. Got any idea ?"

Those are 3024 1x1 plates red and blue.

Had that set as a kid, loved it. TV aeriels seem pretty funny seeing it now!

One of my favourite sets as a kid. 10341 is sitting behind me.
The baseplate had studs painted white to show where parts were placed. Built it so many times I didn't need the instructions.

@HoodedOne said:
" @Brick_t_ said:
"I can't get what are the parts used to make the truck roof lights? I don't find it in the part list. Got any idea ?"

1x1 plates.
This is an illegal building technique now, but it was very common in the 70's."

In this instance, the studs of the vertical and horizontal plates aren’t aligned. The 1x1 plate is held in place by four roof plate studs. Then the projecting stud of the 1x1 plate slots nicely between two of the roof plate studs. How ‘bout that!?, I reckon it’s a legit connection.

The connection of the blue vertical stabiliser plate in the image of the plane in the secondary model in the instructions possibly isn’t legit.

https://lego.brickinstructions.com/lego_instructions/set/358/Instructions

@HOBBES said:
"My first set ever. I am in the process of recreating it with modern parts. I've built a LUT + MLP + ground base for the Saturn V ( 21309 ). Currently at roughly 25k parts - About as big as the recent Eiffel Tower ( 10307 ). Still a work in progress as some part do not exist yet in the proper colours."

What???!!!! That's %^&* insane, man!

God speed, Hobbes. We will eventually need some pics of that.

Does anyone else see the background and think “mushroom cloud”?

I got this set back in Holland in 1973 from "sinterklaas" . Still have it with 2 broken antennas.

@Wallace_Brick_Designs said:
" @namekuji said:
"Holy Red base plate Batman!"

Right? Crazy all the exclusive baseplates there are."

They’re not the same size nor design, but my LUG was able to get standard 32’s in red on LUGBulk one year, because one of the Modulars used them. There was also a tri-sided, hexagonal play table that included one each of red, blue, and yellow 48x48 baseplates. I don’t know if those were ever available on LUGBulk, because that was still early in the program when participating groups had to submit a wishlist rather than having a complete price guide to work from.

@namekuji said:
"In this instance, the studs of the vertical and horizontal plates aren’t aligned. The 1x1 plate is held in place by four roof plate studs. Then the projecting stud of the 1x1 plate slots nicely between two of the roof plate studs. How ‘bout that!?, I reckon it’s a legit connection."

Still illegal. Most tiles are just a bit thinner than plates, so there’s less compression when you insert them vertically between studs. With plates, you’re still potentially going to leave dents where the studs touch them.

@lost_scotsman said:
"Anyone else noticing the jarring misalignment of some pieces, especially those by the nose come interface? Is that an example of how better toleranced the parts have become or that back in those days getting everything perfectly aligned was less of an issue"

The nose cone part in the box and instructions photo was a prototype - the final mold/part wasn’t ready at the time the photo was taken.

@MCLegoboy said:
"Offset macaroni is such a neat feature of the older design of the bricks. Can't do that now."

Since the Y-Wing is my favorite Star Wars starfighter, I was mildly disappointed with the change. The old style allowed for smoother, less gappy engines on those.

I find the nosecone piece particularly fascinating. Didn't know this piece even existed. I only knew the Classic Space 4x4x2 cone that ended in a 2x2 arrangement, not a 1x1 like this 4x4x3 cone.
Also interesting that it only came in white, appeared in only four sets and was used as something completely different in each one.
A rocket nosecone here, a hairdryer in 230-1, part of a silo on a train wagon in 725-2 and as a lamp or part of the equipment over an operating table in the homemaker hospital 231-1.

@Rogue10 said:
"Does anyone else see the background and think “mushroom cloud”?"

yes.

@TheOtherMike said:
" @MCLegoboy said:
"Offset macaroni is such a neat feature of the older design of the bricks. Can't do that now."

Since the Y-Wing is my favorite Star Wars starfighter, I was mildly disappointed with the change. The old style allowed for smoother, less gappy engines on those."

Unless you back them with a core of 2x2 round bricks, the result is pretty unstable. Put any amount of pressure on the resulting column's sides, and it tends to squish and flatten.

@AustinPowers:
I did become aware that this piece existed sometime in the past two decades, but not when it was in production, and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one in person. Old school, it would have also been hard to use (possibly explaining why it went away so quickly), while modern set design would simply stick a bar in there to reinforce that weak single-stud connection.

This set makes me wish I was born about 10 years earlier.....

@WizardOfOss said:
"This set makes me wish I was born about 10 years earlier....."

I hear you. I too, would like death to come ten years sooner.

@Crux said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"This set makes me wish I was born about 10 years earlier....."

I hear you. I too, would like death to come ten years sooner."

Hey, but also 10 years closer to retirement, and thus much more time to play with Lego! Gotta look at it in a positive way!

@StyleCounselor said:
" @HOBBES said:
"My first set ever. I am in the process of recreating it with modern parts. I've built a LUT + MLP + ground base for the Saturn V ( 21309 ). Currently at roughly 25k parts - About as big as the recent Eiffel Tower ( 10307 ). Still a work in progress as some part do not exist yet in the proper colours."

What???!!!! That's %^&* insane, man!

God speed, Hobbes. We will eventually need some pics of that."

Thanks. I always wanted @Huw to create a place here on Brickset where people could post their MOCs (I understand this takes up a LOT of storage space) but more importantly to post official Lego model corrections - you know, when Lego does neat sets but there are just a few tidbits that are annoying/not exactly correct - moccers could post proposed corrections for official Lego sets and show everyone how to improve their model - a little bit like what @Huw did when he 'corrected' the Blacktron spaceship 10355 by removing a large swat of the yellow bits.

I suppose I could send pictures to Brick Brothers when the inside is done. By inside, I mean all the Technic bits that control the passerelles and cranes. I also need to complete the crawler (I only have the 4 bogies done - the crawler will be motorized and will most likely be also very slow to move all that weight).

I might have to add this to my list, I'm a sucker for sets that continued to evolve like this one through 483 and even 10341. They're fun to display together to show a timeline of how Lego has changed over the years. (I have a bricklist of "Yellow LEGO Trucks" that show the same pattern--Lego loves returning to that one every several years.)

@lost_scotsman said:
"Anyone else noticing the jarring misalignment of some pieces, especially those by the nose come interface? Is that an example of how better toleranced the parts have become or that back in those days getting everything perfectly aligned was less of an issue"

Its the macaroni brick, back then they had no center posts so they could move around a lot handling them, thats likely why it looks so off.

The background explosion suggests that they managed to launch their missile before you, so have a few seconds to launch before the fallout hits, which my explain why the rocket nose cone part 272 didn't survive for Lego space.

I inherited the pieces from this set from my brother in the 80s. Now my kids still use the pieces today - some 50 years after the original set was purchased!