Here we have it, the largest set of the 2024 City Space subtheme! Though it just came out about a month ago, there are already discounts as high as 30% available, at least here in Germany. This leaves us with a realistic retail price at some 100-110€ which makes a ct/piece ratio of roughly 7.5ct/piece, which is pretty good! And boy, what do you get for your money!

Parts

Borrowing from Uncle Ben: With a large number of pieces comes a great spectrum of different parts! We have a lot of plates, large, small, modified and special, tiles and bricks in all sorts of colors, such as dark orange, bright orange, brick yellow and many more. There are very special parts like a piece of hand armor, transparent leaves, orange lattice towers, a ramp (known from the Stuntz-series) and no less than eight black tinted cockpit windows! There are, once again, stickers with this set, but only seven, and four of these are rather large ones, easy to apply.

Minifigures

Six regular minifigures are included in this set, again three male and three female astronauts. Two have green gear and helmets, probably technicians/researchers, one has blue gear (pilot), one has flame yellowish orange heavy armor and one has a combination of heavy armor with a dark orange helmet and a heavy drill glove. The last minifigure is definitely unique to this set, since it is the commander of the team, wearing a black uniform with golden epaulets, and a golden helmet with a slightly older design and a black visor. He also carries a recycled magic wand as some kind of walking stick. Gear for the minifigures includes a cup, a brick-built sandwich, a metal detector, solar panel tiles, the aforementioned drill glove and a syringe.
Three more "minifigures" of sorts are the tiny brick-built robot which has indicated chain tracks, an energy cell and two manipulators and the two three-eyed aliens.

The build

Four instruction booklets cover the built of this set. First up is the patch of extraterrestrial terrain and the small transport vehicle with two minifigures. Easy stuff.
The second booklet covers the station itself. The building process starts with the tiny robot, followed by the middle section of the base of the station. After that, the left and right parts, which can be opened, are built in rather identical fashion and attached to the middle part. Next is the cylindrical part of the tower with the four supporting pillars. The top consists of flat tiles, where the crane arm is attached loosely, so it can turn 360 degrees. The string for the crane is rather thick, unlike the black strings I'm used to, and with a length of 150cm (apprx. 5 feet)(!) there's quite some winding to do. Tying the string to the crane hook will require some extra knots, because of said thickness. After that, the control room atop the tower is built, closed all around with the eight window panels and topped off with the roof that holds the large antenna and is nicely fitted in the open ceiling for easy access.
The third booklet covers the transport shuttle, starting with the cockpit section, followed by the module bay and the wings to each side. The wings are attached via clips and special plates, so they are held in a downwards sloping position. Then the module is built in the same fashion as the ones from the 60433 Modular Space Station.
Last, but not least, the fourth instruction booklet covers the ramp on which the shuttle rests. The base is built first, followed by the ramp itself and then both parts are connected via Technic beams.

The completed model

The large set consists of three main parts, which we will examine individually.
The extras (terrain and transport truck): The small patch of surface has a small pool with a trace of what seems to be water in it and some amoeba. Behind the pool is a small rock formation which holds a crystal on the inside and some alien flora on the top. The crystal is hidden by a small piece of rock, which can be flung away with a simple rotating mechanism. The truck is a simple one-person vehicle with two small knobs for steering and a cargo area, where the yellow palette can be placed.
The Base: The lower main section of the base has a large gate to the front, which can be opened upwards. Inside the central piece, right underneath the tower, is a rotating platform with three spots where the astronauts' gear (helmet and backpack) can be put. Each spot has a color marker to make sure everyone knows where to put his/her stuff. The backside has some windows. The left section, which can be opened, has the canteen, with a table, two seats and a freshwater tap. The right section, also opening, has some sort of research area with a single microscope. It also has a large hatch which fits the modules this series utilizes.
Atop the tower and underneath the control room is a large crane arm which can be turned in all directions. The winch is opposed to the hook, the string is very long, as mentioned above, the whole crane is very sturdy, yet flexible. The command room has four seats, one in each direction, and several monitors, also in each direction. At the four outside corners are small spotlights that point downwards. The roof with the rotating antenna serves as a lid and is not fixed to studs.
The shuttle and ramp: The space transporter is rather stream-lined, as are most ships from this series. Behind the cockpit, which has the standard steering knobs and transparent display, are two double-energy-cells. The hind section has two extensions to the left and right, at whose ends are the propulsion devices and which hold the wings. Between those, the module can be attached via Technic connectors, just as with the Space Station. This module has a transparent roof and holds some specimens of alien crystals and plants. The ramp has a brick-built arrow-like pattern on it, so that there are no doubts in which direction the shuttle should take off. To give it stability, a large orange 8x8 slope/ramp with semi-depleted energy cells on it is added to the lower section of the launching ramp.

Overall opinion

What I'd never expected this set was able to do: it gave me a really good throwback to the 90s and their awesome and fancy space/sci-fi bases!! I'm talking 6988, 6983, 6959, or 6195, just to mention a few. And now 60434 has it all: the fancy, yet practical design, the additional vehicles, tons of features and functions, lots of minifigures and, most importantly, a large transparent structure to look simply awesome. The new colorful space gear is another welcome addition to the usually rather bleak white or black space uniforms, as are the cute aliens and the whole concept of peaceful sci-fi space exploration, as I already mentioned in another review. The distribution of pieces to each part of the set is well done; the truck and the shuttle don't take away too many parts from the main attraction, the base. With only a small number of stickers, intuitive build and super-high playability, this is indeed a worthy centerpiece to an awesome series!
Those who've read some of my reviews before know that I always look for negative points, but, once again, there aren't really any. OK, there are tiny gaps between the pillars that hold the four "feet" and the main wall of the base, but these are inevitable since round meets straight at that point. But that doesn't subtract the LEAST from the overall AWESOMENESS of this set! Get it!

Thank you for bearing with me in this extensive review!