This set has the motherload of drum-lacquer metallic silver elements, since Hubble’s exterior is almost entirely covered in them, lending it a beautiful metallic sheen that’s not possible with silver plastic such as LEGO’s flat silver color. Only the 2×2 macaroni tile is new in this color, but all together you’ll get 109 pieces in metallic silver, including a whopping 62 of the 2×2 curved slopes. A couple of these bits are used on the shuttle, but nearly all of them are on Hubble.

Several appealing functions are also provided, including the deployable landing gear which is ingenious, while the Hubble Space Telescope appears spectacular. The metallic silver colours are attractive and numerous important details are included, matching the Space Shuttle in that regard. Their consistent size is also welcome, at an approximate scale of 1:70. Just over 30 years on from the original mission, The LEGO Group wanted to delve deeper into people’s passions for space to really uncover what they think of the great beyond. Including, what the next 30 years could hold, the future of space travel and if there really is life on mars. Yes, yes you definitely should. It’s a satisfying build that will challenge you, but not to the point where you’re tearing your hair out. Plus, it’s one of the most beautiful and recognizable Lego builds out there. I also asked a coworker, who used to be an Airedale in the US Navy, about this. He didn’t know why they did this, but confirmed that he’d seen it, and also mentioned that sometimes you could see a layer of dark red under the green. That would further suggest this acts as an anti-corrosion coating, if it’s the same shade of red. He also mentioned that the green is a flat paint, so not very reflective, which might also be a consideration. Admittedly, the combination of smooth and studded surfaces does appear odd, although I am impressed with how different elements are combined. Additionally, this design ensures correct colours around the nose, including at the tip where the dark bluish grey section looks fantastic. The reaction control thrusters seem relatively realistic too, although two more thrusters should be fixed on top.It’s probably because they used a pre-production version of this set in the video, and those details might have been changed by Lego between filming of the video and the public reveal. Does anyone know what the deal with this is? Why would it be such a big issue showing this anywhere; it would be pretty lame if this was just an issue with a license-fee. Nevertheless, this stand looks nice and another information plaque is supplied too, displaying specifications for the Hubble Space Telescope beneath NASA and ESA branding. The relative size of this plaque cannot accommodate the traditional blue image of the subject which seems awkward when displaying both models together, although enlarging its plaque may overwhelm the actual telescope. You start off by building the Hubble Telescope and then move onto the main event. As it’s a mostly symmetrical build, some people might find this a bit boring, but we found that they spaced out the repeated sections in a way that didn’t feel too repetitive – in fact, it felt more mindful than annoying. It was also really interesting putting together the clever mechanisms that make certain parts of the Space Shuttle Discovery move, such as the elevons on the wings.

I also have the most recent large shuttle set, 10213 Shuttle Adventure from 2010 (re-released in 2011 as 10231 Shuttle Expedition). Previously, this was the largest and most detailed LEGO Space Shuttle, and while it was a great model in its time, it definitely shows how far LEGO’s design sensibilities have evolved in just a single decade. Of course, the new set also retails for twice the price and has more than 1,000 additional pieces.That the set comes with multiple ways to display the models is something that’s sure to delight a lot of buyers. Personally, I think displaying Hubble being deployed is the coolest way, because it’s not something you see frequently. While I prefer the info placards to be attached to the display stands, it makes sense that they’re not in this case, because of that variety of display options. If you’re displaying Hubble being deployed, it would be annoying if the info placard were still attached to Hubble’s independent display base. Like the nose engines, the orbital maneuvering engines help the shuttle move around in zero G. The nacelles are surprisingly complex, especially if you’ve built any of the previous LEGO space shuttles where they were frequently made of just one or a few elements even on the larger versions. I’ll try to ask my dad if he has any knowledge about this. He ended up in charge of a service crew by the end of his enlistment, so he might have more in-depth knowledge.

Another discreet mechanism is situated between the engines and the payload bay, controlling the elevons. While the aforementioned landing gear linkage is hidden in plain sight, these dark bluish grey linkages will be completely hidden when construction is complete. The engine base is interesting as well, featuring several connected sections which create an authentic shape. They are very obviously trying not to show the NASA 'meatball' insignia anywhere. It is not present anywhere on the set, and it is even blurred in the designer video: only 'the Worm' is visible. From the review, it sounds like the interior of the tube is severely truncated, and the main mirror (which should completely fill the tube) would then have to be moved towards the aperture. The 3x radar dish is clear, where a mirror should be silver. It doesn’t completely fill the aperture, like the real mirror should, but neither is it small enough to represent the little chunk that is directly inside the aperture (unless clear is the big mirror, and gold is what’s just inside the aperture). Either what you’re seeing as the forward second mirror is supposed to represent the entire length of the real interior, or someone might have goofed and given it a glass lens instead of a mirror. On a WAG, it could be an anti-corrosion coating. My dad was a C-131b mechanic in the USAF, and he said that aircraft are routinely stripped down to the bare metal so you can inspect them for stress fractures, then repainted. Unless you want to drill out the rivets, pull all the structural components apart, and then re-build it, you pretty much aren’t going to be able to do that level of inspection on the interior, but you also don’t want your frame to be weakened by corrosion. I’ve seen steel framing members for pole barns, which have a protective red coating to keep them from rusting between the time they’re made and when they’re turned into a building.

Now, at last, the main affair. We start by laying out the shuttle’s wingspan. Immediately you’ll build the rear landing gear and part of the spring-loaded mechanism that will deploy them. The interior of the shuttle is a multi-colored rainbow to make it easy to keep your place, but it relies most heavily on olive green. In the original plan, they were expecting to launch two missions per month, made affordable by recovery and reuse of everything but the orange external tank (which wasn’t much more than a hollow shell with some valves and mounting points). With a fleet of four orbiters (Endeavour was only built to replace Challenger, and Enterprise was not built to be space-worthy) that means a 2-month turnaround for each craft, and six launches per year. At some point, under that schedule, they would have had to mothball older orbiters and build new ones to replace them. As with new year models of cars, upgrades to the design could be rolled out each time, and the service life of the STS program could have been extended indefinitely. LEGO is also releasing a small Ulysses Space Probe set in conjunction with Discovery, which will be available exclusively to LEGO VIP members for 1,800 VIP points. LEGO has not provided TBB with this set for review, but if they do, we’ll be sure to bring you our thoughts. Finally, the large Technic panels that make up the payload bay doors are also a new element (part 76798). The panels are 8 studs long and have the same slope as the classic large 1x6x3 1/3 arch.

With the solar panels in retracted mode, Hubble fits neatly in the cargo bay (to retract them, pop off the regular panels and add on separate “furled” panel elements). A separate stand is also included to display Hubble being deployed. You can remove a chunk of the satellite’s body to fit the secondary stand in. Incidentally, this removable chunk represents the module added to Hubble in 1993 on STS-61 to correct a minute flaw in the mirrors. The distinctive forward rake is present and viewing the landing gear from underneath reveals their tidy integration. The doors are understandably excluded but these struts are outstanding. Additionally, the underside of the shuttle is smoothly finished, interrupted only by landing gear and display stand slots. The inverted 2x2 wedge tiles attached on the underside of each wing are especially delightful, nestling among larger wedge plates and curved slopes.

Challenge your way to a calmer self 

Columbia was the first space-capable orbiter in the fleet, and was almost 22 years old when it was lost. Challenger was second, and wasn’t quite three years old when it was lost. Discovery was third, and the oldest in the fleet when it was retired after 26.5 years. Atlantis was the fourth and final of the original fleet, and retired at just under 26 years. And the final orbiter was Endeavour, which had just turned 19 a few days before being retired. Now, manufacture of the original fleet stretched out over at least five years, based on the four-year stretch between first flights. The one replacement orbiter first launched 11 years after Columbia. Even by the time they built Discovery, they’d made several changes to the design (they were kinda like Navy ships in that regard), since I remember reading that the two we lost were too heavy to achieve certain orbits. By the time Discovery was built, they’d shed a full _four_tons_ from the design, so as callous as it sounds, it was considered a small mercy that the two lost orbiters were the two oldest and heaviest, as neither could have hauled ISS modules to the station. If they’d lost two of the other orbiters instead, it pretty much would have ended ISS construction right then. What remains to be seen is if more national space agencies (Roscosmos in particular) will warm up to Lego collaboration and if its something the can be sold to the public in the same volume as NASA sets can. Unless Lego wants to dive into Mercury and Gemini or Skylab it has already about ran the gamut of manned NASA programs, but Roscosmos offers up the possibility of the Soyuz and its ancestors as additional Lego sets to keep up this "space theme." The vital solar panels are unusually assembled using plastic sheets, rather than printed tiles which appeared prominently on 21321 International Space Station. However, this design has proven effective and captures the delicacy of these panels in reality. The supports underneath look excellent as well and these are surprisingly robust, despite their fragile appearance. Finding out more about the universe and making scientific discoveries listed as the number one reason people believe we should travel to Space, with understanding more about Earth taking second spot