LEGO Creator Expert NASA Space Shuttle Discovery (10283)

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In fact, it’s such a wonderful design that had the LEGO Group decided to release this separately, it would no doubt garner huge praise. As it is, this is just a small part of this set, and the fact there is a gigantic Space Shuttle to build next makes for a very exciting prospect. 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.

Together, you can recreate the highlight of STS-31, with the ground-breaking space telescope first being placed into orbit. Gah! I meant C-141b. So, I was right. He said that the C-141a and C141b had a particularly bad problem with electrolysis between the rivets and the material they were holding together. When he first started working in them, the exteriors were largely paint-free (probably because it takes a few hundred pounds of paint for each plane). Then they started painting just the biggest problem areas, and eventually the entire exterior. The paint helps prevent corrosion, but it costs weight off your max payload, I think ice builds up on painted surfaces more than the bare metal, and you can’t inspect the metal surfaces for fatigue without stripping the entire paint job off. On interior surfaces, you can’t do that level of inspection without stripping all the rivets and disassembling the entire plane. But, metal fatigue will show up on both sides of a piece of sheet metal, so a full exterior inspection basically eliminates the need to see every interior surface anyways.Alternatively, you can rotate the stand and display the model with its nose pitched downwards because the stand remains sufficiently tall. This configuration seems awkward on flat surfaces but could prove effective when displaying the orbiter on higher shelves, showing the bodywork more clearly. However, this vehicle cannot be displayed sideways, as though banking. LEGO has produced various renditions of the Space Shuttle and 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery appears exceedingly accurate. The model measures 54cm in length which is larger than previous designs and has enabled the designer to create shapes which have proven very challenging in the past, notably including the distinctive nose. Furthermore, the intricate details demonstrate outstanding fidelity to the original spacecraft. 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. Another adjustable flap is positioned beneath the engines and attached using ball joints. This body flap assists in aerodynamic control during descent and seems accurate when compared with the original spacecraft. The angled engines also appear realistic, incorporating pearl dark grey tub pieces which previously appeared on 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V and 10266 NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander. Incidentally, Hubble’s solar panels are the original design that launched with the space telescope in 1990. They were later replaced on a servicing mission by the crew of Columbia in 2002.

Clearly, if you’re a space enthusiast set on displaying all the NASA LEGO kits, you’ll have to be OK with a variety of scales, as the ISS and the new Discovery are in wildly different scales. Nevertheless, they look pretty great together. See also: 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V (and more). 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. For those who might be introducing themselves to the shuttle, I love how the set embeds a little bit of education into the build. I already mentioned the facts in the manual, but what I also love is just how much the set shows in terms of the shuttle's capabilities. It's obvious from looking at it that it was designed to land somewhat like a plane. 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. The working functions of the model are top-notch. The body flap below the engines can be adjusted up and down to control pitch during landing (the body flap also protects the engines during reentry). Or push the flap in and the landing gear deploys with a solid, spring-loaded thud.The building experience is a little hit and miss, though. The build for Hubble is simply joyous from start to finish, while the Space Shuttle starts off strong, but towards the end gets a little repetitive. It’s a minor negative as the finished model looks excellent, but it’s worth bearing in mind if you are on the fence about this set, or are deciding between this and another in a similar price range. The outermost layer of white bodywork then covers the internal structure, creating beautifully smooth shapes which appear realistic. Additionally, the connected landing gear mechanism is ingeniously disguised inside the payload bay. This space is quite substantial but necessary for the telescope, hence the forward and rear landing gear are inconspicuously linked through the floor. 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.