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Ready to build your LEGO Curiosity rover? Below is a complete parts list, followed by easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions. If you're ever concerned that your build doesn't perfectly match ours, don't worry: it's your own rover, you can build it however you want! However, if you do want to perfectly recreate our build, there is a troubleshooting section at the end of the instructions. Happy building, and make sure to have fun!
- Builders United
Parts List
Dark Red 2x1 Brick (4)
Tan 2x4 Plate (2)
Small Black Tire (4)
Small White Wheel (4)
Light Grey 2x2 Axle Plate (2)
Brown 1x1 Round (2)
Black 2x2 Round (2)
Blue 1x1 Brick with Side Stud (2)
Light Green 2x6 Plate (1)
Light Grey 2x1 Brick with Side Studs (1)
Dark Grey 4x1 Brick (1)
Dark Grey 2x1 Brick (1)
Brown 2x3 Brick (1)
White 4x1 Brick with Side Studs (1)
Extra Tall White 2x1 Brick (1)
White 1x1 Round Tile with Eye (1)
Orange 2x1 Slanted Tile (1)
Orange 2x1 Sloped Brick (1)
Building the Rover's Base
Building the Rover's Base
1) Begin with the green 2x6 plate.
2) On one end of the plate, connect the dark grey 2x1 brick.
This is the back of the rover.
3) Directly on top of the grey brick, connect a dark red 2x1 brick.
4) Connect the orange 2x1 slanted tile (the one without studs) on top of the red brick, with the low side towards the middle of the green plate.
5) On the opposite end of the green plate, connect a red 2x1 brick.
This is the front of the rover.
6) Connect another red 2x1 brick on top.
Adding the Center Wheels
Adding the Center Wheels
7) Begin with a black 2x2 round.
8) Connect a blue 1x1 brick with a side-stud so that it's side stud fits in the central hole on the back of the black round.
9) Repeat steps 7-8.
10) Attach the blue 1x1 bricks to the bottom of the green tile. They are placed slightly towards the all red tower, with two studs in front of them and three studs behind them.
Adding the Front and Back Wheels
Adding the Front and Back Wheels
11) Begin with a tire.
12) Fit a white wheel piece into the tire.
13) Attach the wheel to a light grey 2x2 axle plate.
14) Repeat steps 11-12, and add the new wheel to the axle piece.
15) Repeat steps 11-14 with a new axle piece.
16) Connect one pair of wheels completely under the back end of the green plate.
If it is impossible to place this axle without breaking the center wheels, you may have attached them in the wrong spot during step 10.
17) Under the front end of the green plate, connect the other pair of wheels so that two of the grey studs are exposed.
Adding the Camera Module
Adding the Camera Module
18) Begin with the extra tall white 2x1 brick.
19) Connect a brown 1x1 round on one stud.
20) Connect the second brown 1x1 round on top of the other brown round.
21) Connect the light grey 2x1 with side studs so that it is centered on the brown rounds.
22) Connect the eye piece to one of the side studs of the light grey 2x1.
23) Connect the bottom of the completed camera module to the exposed grey studs on the front of the rover.
Adding the Arm Module
Adding the Arm Module
24) Begin with a tan 2x4 plate.
25) On one end of the tan plate, connect a dark red 2x1 brick.
26) Connect the brown 2x3 brick, covering the remaining studs on the tan plate.
27) Connect another tan 2x4 plate on top of the red and brown bricks.
Face the side with the dark red brick towards yourself.
28) Connect the dark grey 1x4 on the third stud back on the right side, perpendicular to the tan plate, so that the grey brick overhang to the right.
29) Connect the white 1x4 with side studs to the grey brick, overlapping the last two studs. The side-studs on the white brick should face towards you.
30) Connect the thicker side of the orange 2x1 sloped brick to the furthest right side-stud on the white brick, with the slope facing downwards.
31) Connect the bottom tan plate to the center of the green plate on the rover. The arm should hang over the rover's left side, with the white side-studs facing forward.
Congratulations! You have completed the LEGO Curiosity rover build. Now you are equipped to explore the furthest reaches of space, or the cozy confines of your living room. We hope you have had fun throughout this build!
- Builders United
General Troubleshooting
Here are the solutions to some problems you might encounter while building your LEGO rover:
"The sloped pieces are confusing me."
If steps 4 and 30 involving the orange sloped pieces don't make sense, you might have placed the wrong orange sloped piece at step 4. An easy fix is to go back and place the correct piece at step 4, which will leave you with the correct piece for step 30.
"My camera and eye look wrong"
It's ok, they don't need to be exactly the same. Your rover can still see no matter which side you placed those pieces on. That being said, if you want to recreate our build exactly, see the section below titled "Camera Module Specifics".
"My arm is on the wrong side"
If you placed the arm on the wrong side in step 28, it's ok, perhaps your rover is right handed. If you want to fix it, simply reassemble the arm on the rover's left side.
"My rover won't roll"
Don't worry, this is by design. The rover is optimized for travel on Mars's rough terrain. Since the front and back wheels are smaller than the middle wheels, they won't both touch the ground at the same time. If you want your rover to roll better on a flat surface here on Earth, remove the middle two wheels. Just remember to but them back on before heading to the red planet!
"My pieces don't fit where they should"
It's possible you chose the wrong green piece to build on. Check and make sure it is 2x6.
If you find an issue that these instructions don't cover, please email it to isaiah.greenlee@gmail.com and we will attemp to fix it.
Camera Module Specifics
While the finer details in this module aren't specified as they don't change the overall build, in our rover, the brown rounds the camera sits on are on the rover's right side, and the eye is placed towards the middle of the rover, centered above the white brick. We used the fully open eye for our build, but you can use a different eye tile to give the rover a different look.
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