Classic

Space Mission

A big tub of space bricks with real Classic Space nostalgia baked in.

Brick Rated Score

3.9/5

Set 11022 · 2022

Pieces1,700

Minifigs3

Year2022

Set number11022

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The verdict

This is one of those sets I underrate until I actually tip the bricks out and start playing.

It's a 1,700 piece bin of parts wearing a space costume, and the retro Classic Space colors gave me a proper pang of nostalgia. Nobody buys it for a jaw-dropping display model, and that's fine, because the value and the pure open-ended fun are what carry it. If you want a clever, technique-heavy build, look elsewhere.

Best for: Parents building alongside a space-mad 5-to-10-year-old, and adults who want a cheap parts bin

The full review

What it is

Space Mission is a LEGO® set that hides its charm behind a plain box. On paper it's a 1,700 piece Classic bin, one of those buckets LEGO puts out so kids can build ten little things and then invent a hundred more of their own. But the moment you open it you notice the palette, all that blue and grey and trans-yellow, and if you grew up anywhere near the old Classic Space sets from 1978, your heart does a little flip. That's the trick of this one. It looks generic and turns out to be quietly sentimental.

The catch

The ten guided models are a launch tower, a mission control center, a rocket, a space shuttle, a sun, an Earth, a moon, an astronaut, and two technicians. Each comes with a simple pictorial guide aimed squarely at younger builders, which is exactly why the set is rated 5 and up. That accessibility is the whole point, but it's also the honest caveat. If you're an adult chasing satisfying engineering, these builds are gentle to the point of being over in minutes. There are no fiddly techniques, no big reveal, no printed showpiece to admire. The rocket and the shuttle are cute but blocky, more suggestion of a spacecraft than a scale model. Brickset builders landed on a 3.6 out of 5, and I think that's fair for what it sets out to do.

Who it's for

So who actually wins here. Parents, easily. If you've got a space-obsessed kid between about 5 and 10, this is a brilliant afternoon, and the leftover bricks turn into rovers and alien bases for weeks. Older LEGO fans win too, but for a different reason: at a part-out value near $146 against its $69.99 retail, this is one of the best cheap parts hauls going, and the space colors are a bonus you won't find in the plain Classic tubs. The people who should skip it are display collectors and anyone who wants a proper building challenge. This is a play set and a parts box, and on those terms it's genuinely lovely. It retired in March 2024 after about 21 months, so if the nostalgia is tugging at you, it's aftermarket only now.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

Building this is less a project and more a happy afternoon of little wins. You work through ten short models one at a time, and none of them takes long. The launch tower and mission control are the meatiest, with a bit of proper structure to them, while the sun, Earth, and moon are quick studded spheres that even a nervous first-timer can finish and feel proud of. There's no sub-assembly drama, no advanced SNOT wizardry, just clean, confidence-building steps. The real magic starts when the guides run out and you're left staring at a generous mountain of spare bricks, which is where kids (and let's be honest, plenty of adults) start freelancing their own rovers and space stations.

On the pieces themselves, don't come looking for new molds, because there aren't any, and the parts are everyday elements rather than rare gems. What you get instead is quantity and color. That blue, light grey, and trans-yellow mix is the Classic Space palette, and having 1,700 of those in one affordable box is the actual draw. Three minifigures round it out, an astronaut and two technicians, with the visored space helmet doing a lot of nostalgic heavy lifting. The headline number for LEGO fans is the value: a BrickLink part-out sitting around $146 against a $69.99 sticker means you're basically buying useful bricks at a discount and getting the space theming thrown in free.

Fun facts

01The set was designed by Nick Vas and its blue, grey, and trans-yellow color scheme is a deliberate wink at the original 1978 Classic Space line that many longtime fans grew up with.
02Its BrickLink part-out value sits near $146, more than double the $69.99 retail price, making it one of the better-value parts boxes LEGO has ever sold under the Classic banner.
03Space Mission retired in March 2024 after a roughly 21-month run and new sealed copies have already climbed to around $80, up about 14 percent from retail.
04For 1,700 pieces you get ten separate guided models plus three minifigures, an unusually generous spread of small builds for a single Classic box.