LEGO NASA Sets 2011

[Joebot]

The ISS seems like an odd choice for a Lego set. First off, it's enormous, so displaying it quickly become a problem. Does it sit on a stand, or are you supposed to suspend it from the ceiling?

Second, are there really a lot of play features? Twist the solar panels, kids!! Yay! And third, it looks VERY fragile. Seriously, a hefty sneeze, and this thing is lying on the floor, and you've got trans-blue tiles from one end of the house to the other. I see some Technic beams in there that might give it some structural integrity, but even so, that thing looks to be held together mostly on faith.

It's a fantastic looking model, though.

[Artanis I]

260 thats alot.... Is this the first time 1 by eights have been produced in trans light blue?

Actually, according to Bricklink this is the first time 1x8 tiles have been produced in trans anything.

[Morgan19]

As noted, WOW. Trans-overboard!

I actually really like that shuttle; it looks pretty solid and should be fun to swoosh. The first thing I'm doing to it is ditching those hideous red hinges and closing up the gap between the wing flaps. I can stand losing that functionality if it makes that area look a bit better.

m19

[Delta 38]

The satellites thing sounds interesting, but I'm especially interested in the interior sets. Shame they are exclusive.

Do I see two astronauts in the shuttle? Yay! Even more reason to get it now.

[Zzz]

The shuttle with the new nose piece looks even worse, but the buggy is nice. It was rumored to be $40, so it most likely will be 30pounds.

I find it odd that the City NASA sets will not have minifigures, why doesn't LEGO just make a NASA line?

That'd make it a 40€. Not too cheap there.. Thanks for the info!

[prateek]

As noted, WOW. Trans-overboard!

I actually really like that shuttle; it looks pretty solid and should be fun to swoosh. The first thing I'm doing to it is ditching those hideous red hinges and closing up the gap between the wing flaps. I can stand losing that functionality if it makes that area look a bit better.

m19

I don't even think real shuttles have those flaps on the wings

[tl8]

I don't even think real shuttles have those flaps on the wings

They do, they are called elevons though. They control pitch and roll, unlike flaps which are used to generate more lift.

There are 2 on each side, Inboard and Outboard.

As for ISS strength. It will be at least as strong the the Adventure SRBs.

I also believe it will be possible to hang the model from the centre truss. That is the reason of the 1x5 lift-arms.

[prateek]

Fair enough, but I don't think Lego will be able to justify why they used red hinges.

[Aanchir]

Fair enough, but I don't think Lego will be able to justify why they used red hinges.

That's an easy one. Kids like bright colors. A stark black-and-white shuttle is going to lose a lot of its appeal, even if you plaster on a few logos. It's the same reason pretty much every LEGO firehouse is the same bright red color as the trucks-- not the least bit realistic, but it makes the set stand out on a shelf, and makes kids' feelings about the set more favorable.

I don't mind the red. Pretty much all of next year's Space stuff seems to use it, and I think it really works to give these sets an interesting and unique aesthetic.

[Darth Jar Jar]

Lego.com has got the new site up link

[nicoga3000]

Lego.com has got the new site up link

Thanks for sharing. The space stuff has always been intriguing. This will be a good time for me to grab a few sets. :)

[Gryphon Ink]

I really like the new City shuttle. It looks to strike a good balance between realism, playability and affordability. $40 is a good price point for me - not everyone can afford to spend $100 every time they buy a Lego set, especially if they're not already serious Space collectors. At $40 Lego will sell many more of these than the Shuttle Adventure set.

The shuttle is not as unrealistic as some people are saying. I think its proportions are pretty accurate considering its size. The elevons are actually pretty close to the right size, and it seems like that ugly gap between wings and elevons is not nearly as intrusive when the elevons are lowered. They could have gone with a prettier and more realistic hinge mechanism, but at what cost?

Picture of an actual shuttle, for comparison of the wings:

Notice that the elevons go right up to where the front of the engines turns into a harder curve. The Lego version isn't that far off. Just replace that eyesore of a red/black hinge with a white one (and do some piece swapping to split the elevons, if you're hardcore like that) and you have a pretty good model.

[Aanchir]

I really like the new City shuttle. It looks to strike a good balance between realism, playability and affordability. $40 is a good price point for me - not everyone can afford to spend $100 every time they buy a Lego set, especially if they're not already serious Space collectors. At $40 Lego will sell many more of these than the Shuttle Adventure set.

The shuttle is not as unrealistic as some people are saying. I think its proportions are pretty accurate considering its size. The elevons are actually pretty close to the right size, and it seems like that ugly gap between wings and elevons is not nearly as intrusive when the elevons are lowered. They could have gone with a prettier and more realistic hinge mechanism, but at what cost?

Picture of an actual shuttle, for comparison of the wings:

Notice that the elevons go right up to where the front of the engines turns into a harder curve. The Lego version isn't that far off. Just replace that eyesore of a red/black hinge with a white one (and do some piece swapping to split the elevons, if you're hardcore like that) and you have a pretty good model.

The hinge is actually red/dark gray, not red/black. See here.

On that note, did Grogall ever link to his full folder of high-res City set images in this topic? I can't find a link to it in the last three pages. It's here. All the Space sets besides the ISS are listed there.

On a related note I did some math on a calculator, and the size of the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters on the Shuttle Adventure is still fairly close to the size they would have to be for this new shuttle set. I wonder how much modding it would take to get them onto this current shuttle... the fact that the landing gear is fixed might be a hindrance.

And then of course I'm sure some people would be buying the rocket takeoff set in bulk to get enough of those red girder pieces for a proper Space Shuttle launch tower... either that or hope the Bricklink prices are low enough to purchase a significant amount of them.

[xavierion]

minifigs are interesting i like the golden visor. also could modify ship to suit star wars NICE

[Brickviller]

Sory for complaining but isn't this topic a little, well.. unneeded? I mean, people here think the new Lego City space sets are from NASA, which they're not, they're from the Lego City line. It's just a subtheme which don't need it's own forum right? I mean police, fire, civilian sub-themes also don't have their own forum. The only thing I see as a NASA set is that realistic ISS, but for the rest it's just City

Edited December 23, 2010 by Brickviller

[mike-wil]

This an amazing news!

I love the minifig helmet..it's so Red Planet travel!

Maybe it has something to do with the new Mars project!

A Lego model going into space? Cool!

[Aanchir]

Sory for complaining but isn't this topic a little, well.. unneeded? I mean, people here think the new Lego City space sets are from NASA, which they're not, they're from the Lego City line. It's just a subtheme which don't need it's own forum right? I mean police, fire, civilian sub-themes also don't have their own forum. The only thing I see as a NASA set is that realistic ISS, but for the rest it's just City

Technically, they're produced in conjunction with NASA and have NASA vehicle specifications and other "fun facts" on instruction booklets and the back of the box. The products themselves don't have NASA branding anywhere on them, but they are a collaborative thing between LEGO and NASA.

I'd kind of agree that it would make more sense in the regular City topic, but then again a lot of traditional Town/City fans don't seem to like these sets because they don't fit too well in a "tabletown". So keeping this as its own topic might be good just as a crowd-pleaser, the same way the Pirates of the Caribbean set is kept in the Pirates subforum despite being above all else a licensed theme.

[maelstrom]

I really like the sets but I can't see myself collecting them all. They won't exactly fit in with the rest of my city layout.

I plan on getting the shuttle to display separately and to maybe make occasional landings on the runway.

[Fuzzylegobricks]

Sorry to bump a old topic, but when exactly is the International Space Station set going to come out? I have searched all over and no results have told me.

[Captain Bayonet]

The old Space Port sets were one of my favourite lines ever released, they were great... It's nice to see TLG revisiting this theme.

~Bayonet

[Klaus-Dieter]

Sorry to bump a old topic, but when exactly is the International Space Station set going to come out? I have searched all over and no results have told me.

I'd expect it to be one of this year's til now unknown Exclusives: 10220, 10222 or 10223.

But I'm not interested in it anyway since firstly I will buy none of those Space sets and secondly since it isn't System scale.

Klaus-Dieter

[collectSPACE]

Sorry to bump a old topic, but when exactly is the International Space Station set going to come out?

I just came across this thread again, and just yesterday published an update. Apologies if this is old news, but at least for now, the International Space Station will not be offered to the public (and if it is ever offered, it will be modified from the model that is now in space):

Since the NASA-LEGO partnership was first announced in November, which included revealing an image of the ISS model, fans have been asking how they can build one just like the astronauts.

"We've had a lot of people asking about the space station — from every direction people are asking about it," said [LEGO designer Daire] McCabe. "Personally I would love to see us do it so never say never, but there are no plans right now."

"One of things about the [space station] model is as it is on Earth, it can't stand because it is too heavy. The solar panels fall off. It will only work in microgravity," he said.

--

Robert Pearlman, Editor

collectSPACE - The Source for Space History & Artifacts

http://www.collectspace.com/

Edited May 31, 2011 by collectSPACE

[Fuzzylegobricks]

Thank you! It is strange that it is made for microgravity because you could just hang it up.