Over the Moon: Building the Pharrell LEGO Set Piece By Piece

Today’s guest article comes from Richard Dryden, a builder who has competed on LEGO Masters and helped create the Awesome Black Creativity project.

Creative Compassion

Over the Moon with Pharrell Williams (10391) is now one of the few outliers in the expansive universe of LEGO products. The set is built with the intention to serve every individual through a universal objective to encourage “curious empathy” and “creative compassion,” as stated in the opening pages of its instructions booklet.

Sure that could be what is at the heart of every product by the LEGO Group, given its longstanding, mindful approach to providing consumers with a starting point for where their imagination can take them. Yet this time, the company’s vision is etched into a mission statement where keywords such as inclusivity, potential, and play are echoed in the creative endeavors of the set’s co-designer, Pharrell Williams.

As such, I’m honored to take a look at this upcoming set from the Piece by Piece movie from LEGO on behalf of BrickNerd.

Piece By Piece

The experience of assembling Pharrell’s ‘Over the Moon’ set feels brand new. Nothing about ‘Over the Moon’ feels redundant, compared to the rudimentary flying vehicles out of cobbled-together bricks from my adolescence or building spacecraft from beloved LEGO themes (Classic Space, M-Tron, Star Wars).

Without sounding cliché, Pharrell and Model Designer George Gilliatt  elevated the action of “swooshing” a spaceship. The base of the shuttle is far from a basecamp or habitat typically found in LEGO Space that establishes a scene. The LEGO Design Team simulated the initial stages of flight. The shuttle and the energy from its fuselage appear to be in constant motion — upward. Combustion is recreated at the base; lift off is powered by a colorful jetstream; the space shuttle makes its ascent. 

Pharrell’s deep fascination with outer space was like a blank canvas since he was a child growing up in Virginia Beach, VA. Although he earned success in the industries of music, fashion, and film, it was his curiosity that introduced him to people and places where he would have creative adventures. ‘Over the Moon’ takes us back to the essence of his curiosity that began with aerospace travel. Into the void via the black and gold spacecraft, a symbol for one’s imagination.

Making Phriends

The construction begins from the top down. Each paper bag of parts starts with the range of minifigure heads to create the person you want piloting the ship. In the eight bags, I stacked seven columns of heads in an abacus-styled display frame.

The seven skin tones across all 51 heads on display have a range of expressions and facial features. Faces wearing glasses, over-the-ear hearing aids, beards, lipstick, moles, and so much more are all welcome to play a role in ‘Over the Moon.’

Aside from some of the minifigures in the long-running LEGO collector minifigure series, the set’s detail and its amount of flesh toned minifigure heads are some of the most impressive I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to pick a favorite Phriend, but I’m partial to the one sporting gold-rimmed glasses.

Taking Off

The spacecraft takes shape over the course of bag numbers two and three, giving way for a slice of Pharrell’s biography, Piece by Piece.

Two 1x4 bricks printed with “Atlantis Apts” are on both side panels of the vehicle, referencing the apartment complex where Pharrell lived until he was seven years old. About an hour away from his former residence is the NASA Langley Research Center. When Pharrell was 12 years old, the Atlantis orbiter launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 3, 1985. It’s one thing for Pharrell to immortalize himself and Helen Lasichanh as minifigures; the two black printed bricks reference where he’s been and where he is going.

Through 1978-1992, the golden age of LEGO Space themes, various logomarks have branded the spacesuits of minifigures and their vehicles. For instance, the iconic shuttle with its jet stream streaking across a planet is synonymous with LEGO Space. ‘Over the Moon’ follows that tradition of iconography with a pair of 2x2 printed round tiles featuring the image of the set’s shuttle surrounded by its beaming jet stream. Placing it in the center of four black 2x2 round corners mirrors a label at the center of a vinyl record — a subtle nod to Pharrell’s musical roots.

The minimal aesthetic of the spacecraft balances out the set, anchored by its multi-colored jet stream. Your eyes are immediately drawn to the brightness in the center. The finer details of the shuttle have room to breathe. Take a closer look at the shuttle’s angles at the nose, and the curves along the hull; they all come together to look like one solid piece. Even though “imagination, creativity and play” are the metaphorical fuel for the spacecraft, this vehicle still looks like it could be part of NASA’s fleet. Even LEGO Batman’s Bat-Space Shuttle followed the design rules of aerospace, including an external tank, and solid rocket boosters. 

A Strong Base

Bag four is the turning point. The technical part, where the rubber meets the road…except, where we’re going, we won’t need roads. The top section is a perfect way to teach LEGO math. The bare essentials of 1x2x3/4 SNOT pieces with studs on side, window frames and plates stack together into a towering frame for the jet stream.

Colorful plates and tiles in bright pink, bright green, bright light orange, and medium azure cover four sides of the structure—and the centerpiece of the build started getting heavier. I had a feeling of deja vu during this stage, recalling my LEGO Masters experience with Dave Kaleta as we hammered down layers of pink and white plates for our “Hats Incredible” challenge. ‘Over the Moon’ and our “Pride of Carnival” headdress parallel each other in how they physically reach for the skies and represent inclusivity.

View fullsize
View fullsize

Designer George Gilliatt said the following about the Technic base of the set:

“Many different techniques were trialed, including making the entire bottom of the model out of slope bricks, but in the end, we settled for creating some triangles out of LEGO Technic triangles that happened to perfectly match the angles of some of our slope bricks – which allows the jet stream to protrude seamlessly out of the cloud base.”

View fullsize
View fullsize

The white brick-built smoke on the base is the final touch to give the spacecraft life as it rockets into the air.

Liftoff

I listened to author, journalist, and activist Ta-Nehesi Coates speak on Ryan Coogler’s In Proximity podcast recently. Coates said, “When you are in a forum and you are trying to use a forum to say something, that sh*t is hard.” In this moment of catharsis, Coates and Coogler were speaking the same language because they bonded over the pressure of channeling themes within Black culture into their respective stories about Marvel and Disney’s Black Panther.

It really is difficult, whether you’re building LEGO with a message on a nationally televised reality TV show, or designing a beacon of inspiration out of ABS plastic with the full-throated support of the company. The challenge, however, isn’t to deter anyone from trying. The pressure is a privilege. Pharrell’s accomplishment of working with the LEGO Group proves that you can do it too. 

Over the Moon

‘Over the Moon’, is a statement piece in a growing canon of sets by the LEGO Group. It masterfully walks the tightrope of speaking to marginalized people without being heavy handed. Showing without telling is the technique used by writers that I was taught in high school, and I’m still learning new ways to  do that.

I see ‘Over the Moon’ the way I have always wanted my own work to be seen. Pharrell’s design is like much of his output in other creative realms. It is the result of years of communication between people from different worlds, using their resources to offer something refreshing for those who might be stuck. Yearning to create something that connects with my family and friends is what I’ve always strived for. 

In the photograph of Pharrell on the side of the box, his eyes and chin are pointing upward to a printed quote, “Curiosity is the life force within all of us.” Before we can get anywhere physically, it is the mind that sketches a perception that we hope will become our reality. 

The value ‘Over the Moon’ brings to the communities of builders is the feeling of acknowledgment that we’ve seen in recent years with the Everyone is Awesome set. These two sets are entry points for builders new and experienced, who may not often feel seen or welcomed due to the predominant consumer demographic of LEGO that skews to white males. Everyone is Awesome has been on shelves since 2021. Three years later it has become a mainstay for the LEGO Group. My hope is that ‘Over the Moon’ is a lasting collector’s piece for the ages.

The LEGO 10391 Over the Moon with Pharrell Williams is available starting September 20, 2024 for $110 US.

DISCLAIMER: This set was provided to BrickNerd by LEGO. Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

What other ways could you show a ship launching into space? Let us know in the comments?

Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a top patron like Charlie Stephens, Marc & Liz Puleo, Paige Mueller, Rob Klingberg from Brickstuff, John & Joshua Hanlon from Beyond the Brick, Megan Lum, Andy Price, Lukas Kurth from StoneWars, Wayne Tyler, Monica Innis, Dan Church, and Roxanne Baxter to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more