The NASA-Lego collaboration has won hearts yet again, this time with its detailed version of the NASA Discovery space shuttle. Back in 2017, Lego introduced a detailed version of the Saturn V. Two years later, the Danish toymaker came up with the Apollo 11 lunar lander, and in 2020 came the International Space Station (ISS) model.
Now, in April, Lego has released the Discovery space shuttle with NASA’s worm logo. Discovery was an important mission for the agency, as it reached the highest orbit to date. The mission also put the Hubble space telescope into orbit and the whole event was captured on IMAX cameras carried by the crew members.
Lego has built several space shuttle sets in the past few years, but none of them come close to this 2,354-piece set. Once finished, the orbiter measures 21.8 inches (55.46 cm) long with a 13.6-inch (34.6 cm) wingspan.
Since the STS-31 mission was to launch the Hubble telescope, so the Lego construction begins with it. The same construction build was used for the Saturn V model as well. Lego has adopted new building techniques such as SNOT (Studs Not On Top), which allow designers to build more freely than just stacking bricks on top of one another. And, this model stays true to that.
Although the latest set is meant for adults, Discovery set scores high on playability. And thanks to its solid body, the swooshability is also decent. A good Lego build is when every step offers you the freedom of building and lets you understand the mechanism. And, the latest Discovery claims to check all the boxes. Speaking of the price, the Discovery space shuttle will set you back by $199, which is almost twice the asking price of the Saturn V set, despite the brick count only being a tad higher.
