Review: LEGO City Space Lunar Roving Vehicle (60348)!

A long time ago, in a frontier far, far away, nobody can hear you scream, or something along those lines. Everybody likes or is fascinated by Space and the dangerous but adventurous nature of it. So when LEGO dips their toe into the subject I can’t help but be tempted and take a look at one or more sets they produce.

The new wave of the LEGO City subtheme, Space, is very exiting and captures a lot of different aspects of exploration and what does and could go on up there.

In this review I’ll be taking a look at the most affordable in the current wave, the LEGO City Space Lunar Roving Vehicle (60348) set!

The Box & Contents:

I’ll admit that it has been a while since I purchased any LEGO Space sets, the last being the small ‘battle pack’ style set that introduced Benny’s friends, Kenny, Jenny and Lenny.

The box art really does capture the whole Space vibe with a Moonscape image in the background and the Lunar Rover and characters in the foreground.

You’ll find the usual details down the left-hand-side, set no.60348, 275 piece count, suitable age, and so on. Also on the front is a small panel detailing where the inspiration came from for this particular Lunar Rover, the NASA concepts for its Artemis Lunar Rover. Its great to see LEGO basing these sets on real-life ideas and concepts from the World we live in, perfect for younger fans to really get stuck into and learn more about.

Flip the box around and you’ll see some of the playable features, from lowering & lifting the tail gate, the side airlock doors, the meteor, front pincers, and many more. Of course being made from LEGO the possibilities are endless.

Inside the box you’ll find three numbered bags, instruction manual and a small sticker sheet. 

As usual with sets of this size, stickers are inevitable unfortunately, but in this case it is fine with me, as the stickers included are the shiny foil type, with one design in particular that really grabs my attention, and the rest of the LEGO Space fanbase, the Classic Space logo!

The Build:

Cracking the first bag open and being introduced straight off the bat to the two Astronauts and Rover Pilot was a nice surprise, one I would have imagined they’d left until last. More on the Minifigures later in the review.

Getting stuck into the rest of bag 1 and the small side build, the Meteor, we start with a circular base, pop a few sloped bricks a jumper tile, a flag pole and of course the rock itself, and we’re done. Not a lot of thought has gone into this particular build but there doesn’t need to be, it’s the Moon, which is a baron, lifeless place with very little going on, so it’s actually very suitable.

There’s a nice little surprise waiting for you inside the very cool rock piece, a small gem. Apart from the rocky grey exterior the accent colour really pops, especially if you catch it in the right light. The transparent blue of the interior peeks through the gaps, really adding to the look, feel, and most importantly the imagination!

Bags 2 & 3 are purely for the Lunar Rover vehicle which is surprisingly very detailed and includes some nice techniques.

Starting off in the cockpit you’ll find two small control panels and joysticks, sitting opposite each other, perfect for the pilot to sit between and Steer the vehicle and maneuver the front pincers.

The front windscreens have been done in an interesting way, with the bottom one essentially upside-down. Both are done in the exact same way and clip onto the main body. Being clipped in place rather than connected via studs it does mean they don’t always lineup or sit correctly in relation to each other. This is the one flaw that does unfortunately bring the set as a whole down and reflected in our rating.

Opening all the doors and removing the roof section you’ll get a better look inside, although there isn’t much else to see

The back section is where the Astronauts store their equipment and the scientific finds whilst out on missions, as this area is shut off from the front by windows and solar panels.

I like the use of the large Technic pieces either side of the Lunar Rover, they look exactly how airlocks do, well I’m going off of the many Space themed movies I’ve seen over the years.

The wheels go on last and if you’re a LEGO wheel fan you’ll love the 12 there are included, with their cool looking gold rims.

They simply pop onto the underneath of the vehicle and away you do, in pretty much any direction you feel like. These wheels are so much fun, I can’t stop whizzing it about on the table!

The finished product is a fun take on a real-life concept that gets the imagination running. Grab a vintage Moon baseplate or two and setup base for a Roving good time, take an Astronaut each and start exploring. I love these sets and what they offer both young and older fans!

The Minifigures:

There are three Minifigures included, two Astronauts and a Rover Pilot.

During the Instagram live stream in which I build this set, found here if anyone is interested in seeing how it was built and listen to a LEGO fan waffle on, I always ask the viewers to name the characters. We have Tim and Dawn the Astronauts and Doug the Rover Pilot!

Up first is the man that controls the Lunar Rover itself, Doug. He is a happy chap who dresses in official LEGO Space attire which is essentially light blue overalls, a cool looking brown jacket, and a baseball cap.

Due to the baseball cap accessory there isn’t an alternative face, whice is fine, some Minifigures don’t need a second expression, Doug here has the ‘I’m very determined‘ look.

Tim and Dawn are the two fully kitted out Astronauts, in their primarily white Space suits.

What really excites me about these Minifigures are the newer style of helmet and the large gold visor, they look so cool and very futuristic, again just like in the movies.

Tim has a couple of lights attached to his suit whilst Dawn carries the equipment, a shovel and saw. Their suits are identical and feature a crisp design filled with a ton of details.

Turn them around and you’ll find printed LEGO Space logos on 2×2 sloped tiles. These are great to have in a set this size and to be printed is a nice touch too, perfect for MOCs (my own creation) and using elsewhere.

You can also see in the image below the dual-moulded Helmets, with the black trim running along the lower back section, another reason that makes these so cool.

LEGO has gone all out with Tim and Dawn the Astronauts, as they both have alternative faces and a hair piece each!

Tim’s hair looks smart and suits his beard rather well, whilst Dawn has her blonde hair up in a ponytail.

Although these aren’t based on the Classic LEGO Spaceman most of us older fans remember they’re still worth getting ahold of and adding to the collection. They bring new and exciting things to the table and I personally want to explore more in this series!

The Conclusion:

Overall the set is enjoyable to build and play with, the Lunar Rover vehicle maneuvers in a way I’ve not seen LEGO do, or at least for a while. Attaching the wheels to the body in this way makes for a very entertaining ride and had me spinning it around for quite awhile.

The Minifigures are spot on and add a lot to the set, with each of the Astronauts coming complete with their very own Space suit and accessories. The pilot is also cool in his overall, jacket, and cap.

Having foil stickers makes them rather sought-after and I might find myself ordering more from Bricklink/Brickowl soon, the shiny classic LEGO Space logo is worth the extra pennies for sure.

If you’re a LEGO Space fan, or even a City one, you’ll want to grab this set, especially if you have a Space department in your cityscape.

Another awesome aspect of this set is that it can be combined with a larger one in the same series, Lunar Research Base (60350), which makes a lot of sense and expands on the play features and scenarios you and your young fan(s) can dream up!

Thank you for taking the time to read this review, we really appreciate it.

If you’d like to leave us a comment or question then please do so below via the comments section.