Favourite Sets #1 : Rocket Base

OK, so this is the first posting in what could turn out to be a very long list...... In no particular order, a selection of my favourite LEGO sets of all time.

For your delectation today let me present Set 358 Rocket Base from 1973. I love this set so much that I can even remember the set number off by heart. How sad is that ?

This was one of the first sets I can remember owning as a child, and it's always stuck with me. Firstly, there's something about the box art that I just adore. No doubt that's partly because it evokes so many happy childhood memories, but I think it's also fantastic in its own right. I just love the colours, and the background brings to mind a spectacular sunset.

Then there's the astonishing level of playability - a rocket to swoosh around, a ground support vehicle, a rotating radar dish, even a rudimentary system for allowing the rocket to slide sideways up against the gantry on a couple of rail tracks. Playability-wise I think this set was way ahead of it's time.

The set also contains some great pieces - the big red baseplate, tons of white, black and yellow macaroni pieces, a nice selection of different coloured "milk bottles" as I used to call them, the transparent plates that make up the radar, and two TV aerials.

When I emerged from my LEGO Dark Ages one of the first things I did was to try and pick out all the pieces that made up this set from an enormous suitcase full of my old LEGO that my parents had, with significant foresight, stored for me in the loft. I eventually managed to find all the pieces (except one of the TV aerials which I eventually replaced via Bricklink), and the two pictures of the completed set above are the result. Some of the pieces are seriously battered and discoloured - look at the picture of the ground support vehicle above for evidence of that - but they're my old, battered and discoloured pieces which makes them special !