LEGO Technic NASA Mars Rover Perseverance Advanced Building Kit 42158

The set brought a lot of positive emotions: it’s larger than it looks; it looks great on a shelf; the suspension design is brilliant and stays true to the original; the wheels look like they were taken straight off a real rover; the build is interesting and the functions are engaging… But when it comes to the functions, it turns out they are mostly demonstrative. Perseverance can’t overcome obstacles on its own without assistance, it has noticeable play in the mechanisms, and its handling strongly depends on the surface it moves on. Its robotic arm wobbles heavily due to its weight and also has a lot of slack. - On top of that, Lego continues to refuse to produce Technic connector parts in different colors, which hurts the appearance of any set. I understand that this can be explained by the high requirements for simplified building aimed at the 10+ category, but the same situation is observed in sets aimed at 18+ as well. Set 42158 turned out to be ambiguous: it feels as if the designers wanted to make a fully functional working replica of Perseverance, but once they found out the set would be rated 10+, they still tried to cram in as many parts as possible, neglecting the functions or their actual performance. As an adult, I’m very happy with this approach, but as a child I wouldn’t be sure that I’d enjoy the functions of this set. However, the virtual reality feature adds some advantages—though it’s a pity that you interact with it not through the rover itself, but only via a phone. Stickers can also be explained by the low entry threshold and the requirement to allow rebuilding the model into something else, but this issue is also present in “display-only” 18+ sets, so it’s not really an excuse. In the photos, I tried to fix the issue with inappropriate part colors wherever I could, and also added a couple of tweaks, like other fans did, while trying to stick to Lego’s standards in terms of structural strength. I really liked the set for its price, but I can’t ignore the obvious issues—it has plenty of shortcomings.

I have been a huge space enthusiast since I was a child. I have started collecting all the Lego sets that are related to our space program. I was so excited to see Perseverance was included.

Lots of interactive features and amazing price. Definitely recommended for kids.

Fun to build and play with when finished! Has loads of interesting features.

Let’s start off with the basics. My first Technic build so a new experience for me. Just 4 bags for 1000+ pieces meant you had to spend quite a bit of time searching for parts (especially given the limited colour range). Having said that the instructions were pretty clear and I had no real problem with the build. However, I simply cannot get the wheels to point in the right direction and I’ve given up for the moment. The arm works fine, rotates in/out and up/down. It looks pretty good but I was just left a bit unsatisfied. I did find that I had to take a couple of parts from extras from earlier bags, nothing was missing overall. I’d already bought a couple of other Technics boxes, let’s see how those go, not sure I’ll buy any more

at first, the set seem really hard to build, be we started and finished it a few hours later, I really like all the functions and it was worth it.

My son received this as a Christmas gift. He loves any and all lego sets. This set took him about hours to build, and he only asked for my help 2 times. If you have a kiddo who also loves lego sets, I highly recommend this one.

Amazing build and my brother built it and he loves it! Bought the light kit for it as well ! It was an easy build for him but it’s definitely amazing to see! Love it and recommend this for everyone !

I purchased this set for my 9yr old son who currently has a love of all things to do with Lego and Space! This was also his first Technics set. Having read the reviews I was a little bit unsure if this would be a little bit too difficult for him but I needn’t worry. He received this Christmas Day, started building that afternoon and by the following afternoon it was complete. He loved building it and didn’t seem to face any difficulties that others had mentioned. It’s also bigger than I expected. It’s such a great set with lots of moving parts and the AR app is a great addition, he particularly liked flying the drone and completing all the missions. I can see this being a much loved set.

This was a nice build!

This set is pretty much everything you want in a set. It actually looks like what it represents (unusual for Technic). It's actually a pleasant build and not repetitive. The movable parts are just want you'd come to expect from Technic. The only issue is the wheels. Mainly, how loosely they are attached. Keep this thing on the surface and you're fine. As soon as you lift it up though, those wheels are coming off.

This set was extremely satisfying to build! I enjoyed every step of building this set.

Easily my favorite set I’ve ever built. I’m really into space and this rover has so many functions. Would recommend to anybody who enjoys space or moving parts.

a little challenging but extremely enjoyable to build, it works quite well after it’s built. just pay close attention to the steps with this one or it won’t be as mobile!

This is a truly great set perfect for people wanting to display their models. While this set is great, it isn’t perfect. It feels serious like most other sets in the line and is definitely made for adults not kids wanting a toy to play with. It has functionality and is a very fun build. These features seem like they are meant to have not to use. The value for money is amazing as you get a cool looking set that is an awesome display model.

This was my first Technic build and I throughly enjoyed the experience. Great design and clear instructions. Plus, 3D & Build Together features both worked with the set, making it even more fun.

Excellent piece....well made and fun to construct. Typical lego quality.

The LEGO set is awesome. The problem is it was shipped with UPS who crushed the box that this and another expensive set was in, then dumped it on the porch with a single piece of tape holding the entire thing closed. Large gaps, glad nothing fell out.

It was very fun to build, with the engineering aspect of it to seeing how all the gears worked with it It was overall a great experience

I built my first lego set 2 years ago, I chose The Titanic ! I honestly think the Mars Rover is a harder build technically, but I'm hooked now. We didn't have Legos when I was young, I guess I'm making up for lost time !!