LEGO City Space Explorer Rover And Alien Life (60431) Review

Space is most certainly the theme of 2024 with a plethora of LEGO sets having at least one set dedicated to it. City, Friends, Technic and DUPLO, yes you read that correctly, DUPLO also has got in on the act too.

Having an interest in Space generally, it’s logical that it translate to LEGO, so I had to grab at least one set, build it and review it. I decided to build this during our weekly livestream, which happens every Thursday at 8pm (GMT) over on Instagram, as I wanted to share the experience with you. I also follow-up a build with a review here on the website so make sure to bookmark us.

The Box & Contents:

As you can see from the images of the box, it’s bright and colourful, with City branding in the top left corner as usual. You can also tell it apart from other City sets as there is clear Space branding running down the right-hand side, with the classic logo we all know and love.

On the front is the Explorer Rover, side build and 2 Minifigures, all set in front of a purple/dark Space back. I like the use of more realistic surroundings, it highlights the set more and that it’s obviously LEGO. The back is similar in design but focuses more on the playability features which include front spring-loaded wheels, individual wheel axis as the back and how the roof and tail sections lift off and pull down.

You’ll find 4 numbered bags inside along with 6 wheels and 2 instruction manuals. At first, when shaking the box, it feels heavy and that a lot of parts inside, but the wheels themselves weigh a lot surprisingly. The bags themselves don’t have too much inside them, making the build flyby. Also there aren’t any stickers, it’s all printed, get in! Granted there are only a few parts with designs on them but still, it’s a win.

One instruction manual is very thin and covers the side build portion of the set. The other manual included bags 3, 4 and 5, making it somewhat unfair if building with family or a friend.

The Build:

Being broken up into 4 bags that don’t really contain many parts, the steps are simple, with some having just the one part being added at a time. This means the build process is quick, don’t get me wrong, the build is enjoyable and with the use of a few Technic parts is interesting.

Bag 1 is the small side build and the two little Aliens. It’s simple but works as a portion of the Planets terrain, with craters for the Aliens to loosely stand in. More on those oddly cute creature later in the review.

Bag 2 makes a start on the Explorer Rover by first creating the base complete with Technic bars, pins and more to help make it sturdy. Bag 3 builds up the sides and you start to see a shape forming. The bag, 4, finishes the set off and we have our completed Rover, with the canopy, separated cargo compartments and cockpit for the Minifigure Astronauts.

The spring loaded front axis makes the vehicle fun to push down and play with, traversing uneven flooring beit on the table you’re building on or the floor. With the back wheels also being on different axis, they too can rotate individually, combine these and you have a satisfyingly clever LEGO Space Rover!

There’s enough room inside the cargo bay for the small brick-built robot and the crews’ accessories. The tail lift/door swings down giving you easy access to the back. Added details all over the vehicle really finish it off with a communications mast, lights, handles and more, we even get 2 printed Space logo tiles, one on top and one on the tail door.

You’ll find there’s plenty of room inside the cockpit as both Minifigures fit inside. Read more about the Minifigures below.

The Minifigures:

Included in the set are two Astronaut Minifigures, one has green accents whilst the other has blue. Not entirely sure what the colours mean, perhaps it’s a sign of rank or job, let me know in the comments if you know why.

Apart from the accent colours, gender and visor, the Mini are identical, their torso and leg prints are the same and features a shiny/metallic design and the Space logo. The helmets are slightly different moulds which I’m guessing helps to hold the different visors.

Each Minifigure has a backpack, again different in mould. The Green one has a printed tile and a 1×2 stud/clip piece attached to it whilst the Blue one has just a bare stud, for attaching an accessory too later.

You also get two little alien creatures that sit in the craters on the side build. They are identical in design and look surprisingly cute, with their three eyes and upside down plant element bodies. They’re quite simple in build, with a hollow 1×1 stud holding them together. They do complete the set nicely though and gives the set its Alien Life name.

Overall the set is great and for the Cost, £24.99, it certainly is affordable for the 311 parts you get. Some of the cost is in the 6 wheels and it shows as the build itself is a little on the skimpy side. The 2 Aliens and 2 Minifigures do make up for that, just.

Do you have this set? What do you think of it? Let us know via the comments section below. Thank you for reading this review, we really appreciate your time and support.