The designer of LEGO Icons 11389 Project Hail Mary needed to brush up on a new type of building to pull off the set's main feature.
To pull off the cinematic spinning function required, 11389 Project Hail Mary relies on a Technic function, despite otherwise being built out of System parts and belonging to the Icons theme.
"We do treat the Technic models quite differently than System models," explained the set's designer Nathan Heigert. "There are dedicated designers for the Technic models, and you can make the jump from one to the other, but it is so technically different that it's really just easier for a designer to focus on one or the other."
Naturally, that wasn't the case in 11389 Project Hail Mary, with Nathan having his background in System models, specifically City sets. While he had built and played with Technic builds while growing up, this LEGO Icons set is his first foray into designing a Technic model.
"There were things about the way that the drive train works that meant it was necessary to learn basic mechanical principles," he added.
After both learning and seeking advice from his Technic colleagues, Nathan also pulled on his City background to include suitable functions for 11389 Project Hail Mary.
"I like to work with functions," he said. "Even though this is different, I know from experience that the principle is to keep it simple. It needs to be able to work right every time, without jamming, without skipping."
In this set, the main function is the spinning movement that simulates the centrifugal gravity system from the movie. It's operated using a Technic crank on the side of the display stand.
"When I demonstrate it, it's unclear at first how it does that," Nathan noted. "But when you see what goes into it, it's quite easy to understand. I'm glad that we were able to make use of a simple mechanism to drive this complex motion, and that it worked so well. It was just serendipity for the way that the ship is depicted in the film."
LEGO Icons 11389 Project Hail Mary is available to pre-order now for £99.99 / $99.99 / €109.99 ahead of its launch on March 1.
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