I get asked by customers all the time, particularly by new customers buying their very first set, which one is my "favorite." The question is a great deal like asking what is your favorite song or your favorite movie. Depends upon the mood.
I'm really glad, first of all, that we have our Apollo 11: Men on the Moon set back into stock, especially since it now contains the restored/enhanced television transmissions during the EVA. Why? Well, it is Apollo 11. And part of that, for me, is that it sits squarely in the middle of my space memories as a child. I had just recently turned 7, and felt so incredibly lucky to be alive during the time, of all times, to see the first human foot fall on a body other than Earth.
As for the Apollo 11: To the Moon set, well... I completed that one too recently to want to go back and see it, so I'll have to reserve judgment upon it. I like it, a unique presentation, but right now I'm a bit sick of it.
Next? It gets hard from here. I really like the Mercury set for a number of reasons: the naive nature of guys with hand tools working in street clothes on the spacecraft, the fact that NASA used a lot of Air Force camera people to document things... and the Air Force loved to use 35mm film rather than 16mm. Some of the film on the set is of better quality than much of the Space Shuttle material. And the fact that it is complete, there is nothing on Mercury that comes anywhere close to this set.
The Saturn V (and the Saturn 1 and 1B), because they are, the Saturn rockets. As for the other missions? Probably 16, 15 and 17 in that order for the "J" lunar missions. I put 16 first because I enjoy listening to Charlie and John on the Moon. Makes me smile. And I like the Apollo 12 set because of how successful I think we were in "rebuilding" something watchable after the TV was burned out.
So what's my favorite set? I don't know. What's yours?
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