[REVIEW] 8480 Space Shuttle

[N-4K0]

One word of caution, somehow the 1/2 toothed bushings from that era tend to break/crack easily.

I experienced this already in that era.

[S.I]

Not just the 1/2 bushings, when I rebuilt the spaceshuttle I bought some of the normal bushings disintegrated, and even several of the axle joiners fell apart. I don't think a single 1/2 bushing wasn't cracked.

[Dutchbrick]

I'm selling this item, with box and manual. I have to build it again to see if it's complete but I'm pretty sure all the major components are there. I will make sure that it's 100% complete before I sell this beautiful piece of Lego.

[Meisseli]

My dark ages with lego started before this set came out. I did get 8880 supercar as a christmas present, but that was last of the flagships for me in a looooong time. So i missed 8480, and later I have been regretting that. I do remember seeing it in Lego catalogues but for some reason it did not raise my interest.

Now I am a happy builder, because my copy of set finally arrived today.

Found it from bricklink without a box, but with manual and all parts in excellent shape (white is white, not yellow), every electric part working, fiber optic cables in unopened bag, and even a mint condition sticker sheet. Had to pay 130 euros for it, but at this point I do think it's a set worth every cent!

I have just finished going through the parts and made sure that they are all there (yes they are, even the extra parts). Next task, to build it...

[allanp]

You'll want to take your time with this build. Modern builds allow you to give most of your attention to the TV and forget about it but 8480 demands much more attention for example to position gears and bushings on axles just right. Its a model for builders who are perfectionists and it makes the build so much more memorable and rewarding, just take your time and do it perfect .

[Blakbird]

You also have to be really careful with the wire routing and to keep it taut or it interferes with some of the gears.

[RWSL]

One thing is bothering me after reading this review.

I do not have a personal experience with 8480 set, so I might be wrong, but looking on the image above I can see that one of the eccentric pieces is used as a cam - it pushes the corresponding buttons on the battery box when it's axle is rotated. (That matches the cam definition from, say, Wikipedia: "a part of a rotating wheel (e.g. an eccentric wheel) or shaft (e.g. a cylinder with an irregular shape) that strikes a lever at one or more points on its circular path").

However, Blakbird's Technicopedia on http://technicopedia.com/1994.html page states the following:

A lovely cam was released with 6 separate axle holes to allow a variety of connections. The outer profile allows rotation about any axis to be eccentric. Oddly, this part have never been used as an actual cam like we would expect to see in an engine, for instance.

I see that Mr. Blakbird is here, so my question will be addressed directly to him - am I being wrong about the aforementioned mechanism or Technicopedia's entry on the "cam" piece is, say, not up to date?

(Oh, and a second question regarding that article - aren't there 4 axle holes in the cam piece, not 6?)

Please do not consider me being picky or rude, I am just really bothered by this issue and have no intentions of insulting anyone. In fact, I'm very thankful to Blakbird for the excellent encyclopedia site and to Lost_In_Noise for such a detailed review.

[Lost_In_Noise]

The Technic Cam is the original name. It's use is a different opinion, although in this set it is used as one.

[Blakbird]

I do not have a personal experience with 8480 set, so I might be wrong, but looking on the image above I can see that one of the eccentric pieces is used as a cam - it pushes the corresponding buttons on the battery box when it's axle is rotated. (That matches the cam definition from, say, Wikipedia: "a part of a rotating wheel (e.g. an eccentric wheel) or shaft (e.g. a cylinder with an irregular shape) that strikes a lever at one or more points on its circular path").

However, Blakbird's Technicopedia on http://technicopedia.com/1994.html page states the following:

I see that Mr. Blakbird is here, so my question will be addressed directly to him - am I being wrong about the aforementioned mechanism or Technicopedia's entry on the "cam" piece is, say, not up to date?

Well, you are certainly looking closely! Naturally, my Technicopedia page is correct. These cams to not touch the buttons on the battery box, and therefore do not work as cams. Those round bricks are actually used to turn pole reversers used as switches. This turns the motors on and off (and reverses them). I think they only used the cam part to get a half stud offset on the rubber band which centers the switch.

This picture shows you the pole reversers and the white rubber band centering.

[Lost_In_Noise]

I'll have to redo this review with some proper pics some day...

[RWSL]

To Blakbird: well, that explans it - I really was decepted by the photo because of not having seen the Shuttle in reality. I probably should get myself one someday :) Thank you for resolving this for me.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

I always underestimated this set ... but now I find it wonderful!

[Meisseli]

You also have to be really careful with the wire routing and to keep it taut or it interferes with some of the gears.

Thanks for the advice, I started building this morning and have already seen that the wiring is indeed tricky to keep away from all those gears.

I was also sure at some point that I had forgot to put a gear somewhere, because one long axle routing ended to nowhere, just couple half bushes in the end. But those half bushes were there for a rubber band, of course. I had simply forgot all about using rubber bands! Such a nostalgic trip this build.

Also something new for me, I just finished mounting the engine block and this is my first ever set to include fiber optics. Those cables were tricky ones to route correctly! Like allanp said, this build really needs attention to get everything right. Love it!

[skriblez]

This set is awesome and really demands your attention when you build it

[EV3Noob]

Bought this set yesterday - bags unpacked, BI like new (untouched, actually). Looking forward to building it.