This is my review of the totally awesome 2011 space shuttle set.

Box/Instructions

The box is perfectly sized and has some cool-looking box art. The instructions are easy to follow.

Parts

There are a lot of useful parts for making your own custom plane or spaceship. The cockpit is great and the wheels are very useful.

Minifigures

There is one minifigure included, which is an astronaut. The astronaut has back printing, two different helmets, and a nice looking design. The minifigure head is weird with the sunglasses. Why would an astronaut need sunglasses if he has a visor? It's a shame there is only one minifigure.

The build

I had fun building this vehicle and it was a good experience. Quite easy to build, but I was thrilled by how much fun it was.

The completed model

The model looks identical to the miniature model of a space shuttle I have in my room. I am very impressed with how the model looks. It fits comfortably in my hand when I hold it. There is barely enough room for the minifigure to fit in the bridge of the ship. I would have preffered two seats in the cockpit. The satellite is neat, but breaks easily.

Overall opinion

I love this set, but there are a few tiny things that could be improved. The set could be enhanced by another minifigure, more room in the shuttle, and a less breakable satellite dish. I have this set on display rather than playing with it, so I believe there will not be a lot for kids to do if they get there hands on this set. Other than this, the shuttle model is excellent, the minifigure is nice, and it is overall a fun little set that is well worth the price.

Introduction:

For $30 I was pleasantly surprised. This set is large, and playable (grammar check?). I really love this. If you didn't get Shuttle Adventure because it's too pricey, here's your chance. Review in short: Any city, space, or generic Lego fan should get this set.

Minifigures:

Okay, here's where the set lacks a bit. Only one minifigure. Typically in a $30 Lego City set we'd expect two or three. It shouldn't change now. This set does include one new minfig, though. He has a very common City face with the orange sunglasses, generic white Space Police III helmet (I really hate that mold), and a new double-printed torso. I'm a big fan, now why can't we get two of these guys! The best part about the minifig in this set, however, is the secondary helmet. It's a white version of the Atlantis one with the already-been-used gold large visor. Excellent.

Accessories:

Only two for this set. A coffee mug and a satelite dish. Just a red mug; nothing new here. The satelite is pretty neat, though. It has transparent extendable flaps with a sleekish-looking base. It also has pegs to attatch to the Canadian Arm. Decent accessories; what you'd expect in this set.

The Set:

This is a nice sized shuttle. With a POOP cockpit, it makes it very easy for younger builders to put together. As a TFOL looking for a build, I was a bit dissapointed, but again, this is Lego City. The color scheme is great, with only a few NASA stickers. Thumbs up, Lego!

The main play feature of this set is the pull-open back. Inside, you see a generic Canadian Arm, satelite storage, and a helmet storage spot. You can remove the retractable arm, but that's about it. The best part is the swooshability of this set for sure!

The Good:

I really like the secondary astronaut helmet, the playability, the design, the size, and how this set feels heavy.

The Bad:

This set needs to improve on including more minifigs, more accessories, and a few more pecies because the Price-Per-Peice is bad.

Final Thoughts:

This is a very nice set. I would only reccomend this to AFOLs who like space or city, really any TFOL could find some use for this (like I did), and for sure any little child would love this set! I know a bit younger version of myself would. Go get it! Where are the other Space sets in America though?

It is definitely a big leap for Lego to have a space them that doesn't include aliens or anything. I just got this today, March 12, 2011, and I am completely impressed. I have three base reasons for being impressed:
-It looks so sleek and it looks really nice on display.
-I can't really play with Lego, no matter how hard I try. This set made it easy.
-There's lots of great features!

So I'm just going to start with the Minifigure.

Minifigure:
Legs: You get normal white legs without printing.

Torso: It is again white but it has lots of printing like the NASA symbol, some buttons that might control the space suit, etc. on the back there are some printed tubes to help him breathe. He has gray hands.

Head: I really dislike this head. I am going to change this head without a more suited one. It's that frown with the red glasses. I just don't get why the guy has to be angry. I really hate it in this set and would seriously recommend changing it with a more happy face.

Helmet 1: You get two helmets for this Minifigure. You get a nice white helmet with a clear visor. It kind of looks like a motorcycle helmet. Or if you're familiar with the game 'Halo' then it looks like the Master Chief's Helmet.

Helmet 2: I prefer this one over helmet 1. It's big. In the back there are some air tanks that extend over the back of the Minifigure. Then you get a big golden visor that isn't see-through. It's pretty cool and makes the Minifigure looks cute.

Cockpit:
The cockpit is kind of empty. Inside there is some nice 2x2 slanted pieces with computer screens, and there's a mug there, which is kind of dumb because wouldn't coffee just float out because of zero gravity? The mug sits on the computer. Then there's a blue chair for the Minfiigure. The Minifigure cannot sit properly in there with Helmet 2. Only helmet 1 works.
The top/outer part of the cockpit is pretty nice. At the nose part there is a printed part that looks pretty cool. It has what I think are some engines and some black and gray paint to make it look cool. There's are three blue windows, two small ones and a large one in the middle. They are actually one big window and attach from the inside. On top there are some studs. On both sides there is a sticker which again might be the NASA symbol. It's on either side of the cockpit. This whole thing is one big piece that attaches pretty easily.

Storage:
The storage area is very nice. The rocket can be pulled open easily so it is very wide and you can see inside. Attached to one end is the yellow robotic arm. It's not an actual arm, but a long part that moves around and pivots at lots of useful angles. At one and is a piece that attaches to the satellite.
The satellite is a great accessory. It is round at the bottom and on top of that there are two transparent blue pieces that can fold up and down so it looks like it's closed or like a real satellite. When closed it fits into the storage area, but open it looks like a satellite. On top of that two little sticks stick out, and this is where the satellite attaches to the robotic arm. On top of that is a round piece with a yellow stud. You can also put Helmet 2 in there and it has this kind of stand thing that holds it. You put the satellite and helmet back in and fold the robotic arm on top and then you can close it up.
When closed, it looks like the middle of a shuttle as it should. There are tons of studs on top for things you need on top.

Wings:
The wings are big triangles on top of bigger black triangles. There is a sticker with the NASA symbol and the numbers and letters: JM 3367 (3367 is the set number). Another section of the wing can move up and down. Each wing is identical.

Engines:
In the back there is a large rudder piece with the NASA symbol again, and both sides are the same. Then there are these half-circle type pieces that kind of hold in the engines. There are five black circular engines in the back with lots of orange studs. It basically looks like the back of a rocket.

Bottom:
On the bottom there are circular smooth gray pieces and a five wheels. The ship leans in the front because of some of the wheels.

Overall:
This is a very well-done set. The design is pretty realistic. It has so many features that even if you aren't into City or Space or anything 'real,' you will still have to get this. I expect that once it is discontinued, it will be hundreds on eBay and Amazon. This is something you must get before it leaves stores. Seriously, buy it! This is right now my favorite set, but it will probably drop to second when i get Lego Hogwarts this April for my birthday.

Pros:
-Great Minifigure, minus face.
-Excellent design of shuttle
-Lots of great features
-Must have

Cons:
-The easily fixable face problem....

Building Experience - 5 - Not overly challenging but it was definitely fun and pretty good. Not easy, and you get numbered bags which can be helpful.

Parts - 5 - Lego picked the best parts to make this set, including the new cockpit piece and Helmet 2

Playability - 5 - I have never been able to really play with a real Lego set, this I can play with.

Value for Money - - This is hard. The piece count would say it should be about 25 bucks, but in the end it is fairly big at about a foot long and 8 inches wide it is pretty big and you get big pieces. I'm going to give it a 4.5 because this is a hard decision, but I'll give it a five here.

5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 20/20 = 5/5!

As I Said In My Last Review I LOVE The New Lego City Sets And I Was Really Looking Forward To Getting This Set, So I Was Happy When I Saw A Review The Day Before To Find That The Nose Design Was Printed! \(^-^)/ Anyway Onto Pros And Cons.

Pros:

Nice, Sturdy Design

Cheap

Nice Pieces

Comes With A Lot Of Little Bits N' Bobs To Play With Such As The Satellite, The Breathing Apparatus Thingy And Even A Coffee Mug! :P

Cons:

STICKERS!

Only One Astronaut

Red Bits Look Odd Because The Real Shuttle Doesn't Have Red Just Black And White. (The Buran Shuttle, The Russian Equivalent Did However, But I Won't Get Pedantic)

But Anyway I Really Recommend The Space Shuttle To Anyone Who Is Thinking About Getting It.

P.S The Moon Buggy Doesn't Fit It In The Back (Unless You Dismantle It XD)

After hearing the words; Space, NASA and 2011 I knew I couldn't wait. Lego was a genius to revive the earth based space theme: Space shuttle, rover, and Apollo like rockets. I had just gotten my birthday money and as usual went with my family over to Toy's R Us. I went straight to the Lego aisle and all I saw was the space shuttle box glowing in all of its glory. After grabbing the last one I set to work.

Pros:

• This set was not too hard to build and was a great experience. It took about an hour but it was fun none the less.
• It's a space shuttle! You just can go wrong with that.
• Cool golden helmet. It is the same from Atlantis except it's not a trans visor.(A little big but not impossibly obtrusive.)
• Double sided minifig torso's are always welcome.
• Unique nosecone design. Still the same from the blue plane but with a pre-painted black tip.
• The instruction booklet had lots of facts on the real space shuttle at the end of the build.

Cons:

• WHY DID LEGO USE STICKERS?
• The lone spaceman. He's all alone. Lego should have made the shuttle a little bigger to accommodate at least one more passenger like the previous Lego space shuttles and the hatches are also tough to close and open.
• The hatches are really rickety and although they stay closed, they rattle quite a bit.
• The landing gear isn't retractable
• It can’t be set up standing on the thrusters since the fin in the back sticks off the edge over the thrusters.

Fixes:

• Stow a fellow astronaut into the back with a little rearranging.
• You could put a long two by twelve flat brick over the hatches to stop the rattling.
• You can take the landing gear off or stick the back to wheels onto the wings.
• Build a small launch pad out of 4509668 pieces and make a clamp and add some extra stuff and the shuttle can stand up on it's own.

Overall I will definitely be recommending this set to many more people. I am glad Lego joined forces with NASA. In the end, the cons I found were mostly minor and overlook-able. And the price was reasonable as well. I cant wait for my local Toy's R Us to get a shipment of other 2011 space products.