Soviet Moonshot

     "1 May 1969. Medved I, with its lone cosmonaut, Aleksei Leonov onboard, lands in the Ocean of Storms. After half a day's of system checks and a little rest, Leonov opens the hatch to the tiny LK lander. Climbing down the ladder he ponders the significance of it all as he proclaims man's first words on another world: 'Yeshche odin triumf sotsializma.' Leonov then spends two hours on the surface, deploying instruments, saluting the Soviet flag, taking pictures and rock samples, and visiting a Lunokhod rover that was sent to scout the landing zone months beforehand. Upon finishing up he uncovers a golden plaque commemorating the U.S.S.R.'s achievement of landing a man on the Moon before the United States. Climbing back into the LK lander, Leonov returns to his crewmate, Oleg Makarov, 100 miles above the surface. A spacewalk later, and Leonov is safely aboard the mothership Soyuz and returns home with Makarov to world fame. After this humiliating defeat NASA decides to change the Apollo 10 mission from a dress rehearsal to the first American Moon landing on May 22, and begs Congress to pay for a manned mission to Mars."

     This is what history could have looked like if the Soviet's N-1 rocket had been a success. But fortunatly for Neil Armstrong, it wasn't. But that doesn't mean that a Soviet Moonshot should be forgotten! This LEGO set is complete with a Soyuz LOK, an LK lander, a N-1 stage five rocket and Lunokhod rover, this set is a must have for spacecraft enthusiasts and LEGO collectors alike! Heavily detailed, this set is 27 inches long and contains over 1700 pieces! The spacecraft can be easily taken apart into six seperate pieces: orbital module, crew return capsule, service module, LK ascent stage, LK descent stage, and N-1 rocket fifth stage. Orbital module and crew return capsule are hinged can be opened with ease, revealing a fully furnished interior with seating for the cosmonauts, instrument panels, and equipment. LK lander is also fully furnished and capable of housing the cosmonaut's pack and helmet with ease. The LK also includes movable landing legs and antennas, an instrument pack, a red flag and camera, and the rather odd "hoola-hoop" mechanism for preventing the cosmonaut from falling over (since he's by himself, nobody can give him a hand if he falls and can't get up). Orbital module and LK lander hatches are both completely usable, and the hatch between the orbital and crew return modules is removable. Minor details include working windows on the Soyuz, heat shield for a return to Earth on the crew return capsule, instrument array on the tip of the orbital module, and a liftoff exhaust deflector on the LK descent stage. Contains two cosmonauts minifigures: Aleksei Leonov and Oleg Makarov.