LEGO Creator Expert NASA Space Shuttle Discovery (10283)

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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. We’ve been to known to criticise the LEGO Group for how some of its products are priced, and what you actually get for that price (did someone say VIDIYO?), but to give credit where its due, the value here speaks for itself. 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. 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. Excellent detail continues across the wider camera, spectrometer and spectrograph housing, where different instruments detect and record data. The yellow highlights around the exterior accurately recreate handgrips on the Hubble Space Telescope but the associated light bluish grey sections look awkward. Unfortunately, these pieces are unavailable in metallic silver.

Trims comprising tiles, slopes and curved slopes are then attached along the leading edge of each wing. These are reminiscent of 76161 1989 Batwing, cleverly demonstrating how LEGO hinges and wedge plates can interact. Four separate structures are attached to the wings and they feel absolutely rigid, especially after positioning large 10x10 corner plates on top. 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. Shortly after launch, it was discovered that the Hubble Space Telescope's primary mirror had been polished to the wrong shape. Thankfully, this mistake was corrected using the COSTAR system which was installed during 1993. This rendition of the telescope includes a removable section to represent that famous repair and the resultant void cleverly connects the telescope with its aforementioned deployment display stand.

Spacelab and the similar Spacehab would be another great aftermarket set mod, which placed a module inside the cargo bay that expanded the interior space available to the shuttle and was used on several free flying missions before the ISS and its lab space was installed. http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/i/streams/2013/December/131202/2D9835101-spacelab-30th-annivesary-1.jpg

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. The only real negative thing we have to say about this kit is that there are no minifigures. Due to the size of the Lego NASA Space Shuttle Discovery, we understand that any included minifigs would not have been to scale, but it would have been nice to have a token astronaut anyway – maybe it could have stood next to the information placards that comes with each model. STS-107 the mission that saw the loss of the Shuttle Columbia was a Spacehab mission itself, and the last time the shuttle would have flown with a mounted interior module. All future modules would be ISS equipment being transported to the station or the equipment for the final Hubble Service Mission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-107 The Hubble Space Telescope is an amazing co-star in Lego's new NASA Space Shuttle Discovery set. (Image credit: Elizabeth Howell/Space.com)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. NASA Space Shuttle Discovery is certainly impressive – there’s no doubt about that. Both models look incredible with a high level of accuracy and authenticity, and it’s clear the designers have a lot of love for this subject material as both have been incredibly faithfully recreated. Having the option to display the smaller Hubble attached to or alongside the larger Discovery adds another layer to the display, and both have an air of importance to them thanks to the display stands and information plaques. The diagrams that Lego sends in its gorgeous manual — filled with fun facts about shuttles— are mostly self-explanatory, although I struggled in a couple of spots. To admittedly tired eyes, as I built the set over three long days for this story, it looked like Lego was asking me to build two left wheels at one point. Also, the Canadarm robotic arm has a unique piece in the middle that is easy to mistake for other grey joints, so make sure not to repeat my error of using it in an antenna and scratching my head in utter confusion for 15 minutes until I spotted the wrongly used piece. The satellite is protected by reflective thermal blankets that are represented by metallic silver drum-lacquered elements here. The entire set includes 108 such pieces and they look superb, effectively recreating the actual colour. Moreover, the cylindrical shape of the aperture housing and seems realistic and I appreciate the inclusion of yellow braces on either side, even though these are perhaps too prominent.