I love the Lego NASA space sets and didn’t think any set could ever topple - pun intended - the Saturn V set. That set is amazing.

When Lego announced they were doing a Space Shuttle, and not any shuttle but Discovery and the STS-31 mission, well I waited for the day I didn’t hesitate at clicking buy. Yes, £169 is the most I’ve ever spent on a set and is, quite frankly, very expensive.

It arrives, and yeah it’s a BIG BOI. I’m so excited I forget how to smile properly. So excuse my goofy face.

17 bags! Now four are the Hubble space telescope. More on that later. It’s shiny though and hates my fingerprints.

Right with that fairly simple build done and a few days later it was time to tackle a build rated 18+. I’ve never built a Lego set like this. Starts easy.

See that nose gear? We’re going to talk about that later. By talk I mean I’m going to rant a bit…

Starting to have that classic NASA space shuttle look now. Not exactly space worthy but looks less like random Lego and more like a spacecraft. So far no stickers. Oh how I wasn’t ready for this…

The cargo bay acts as a radiator when the space shuttle is in space - to vent excess heat - and why, yes, each one of those is a shiny sticker that needs near perfect alignment. ALL 24 OF THEM.

Took a few days break after that ordeal. The nose cone was a nice build. Interesting how they get the profile and how it attaches to the body. BUT…

Remember the landing near in the nose? When I built the nose cone I found out it was BACKWARDS. So I had to dissemble most of the damn front of the model.

AND I STILL HAD IT WRONG!

Nose cone landing gear and nose cone rebuilt - twice. I finish the clearly not to either mini or micro figure scale cockpit.

Orbital engines and tail next. Yeah that tail is fiddly. The orbital engines look amazing.

Remember the Hubble Space Telescope? Yeah it fits inside the cargo bay this model is so detailed, so accurate, so amazing. But £170? Yeah, it’s a big model but I’m not sure I could recommend the set because of its price. Enjoy the glamour shots.

Here’s the rest of the sets…

…and where the shuttle lives. Plus one happy goofy boy.

Thanks for attending my TED TALK.