LEGO Pulled Off What Sir Richard Branson Never Will
Budget space travel. Budget being the operative word here…
Yes, of course, no one is claiming LEGO suddenly jumped on the space travel bandwagon in a real sense of the word, but they did do something that many often claim the Danish toy company never does — protect the customer’s wallet. The latest Creator 3-in-1 Space Shuttle set is everything a brick-built space vehicle needs to be at a laughingly low price, and while it’s been out for a couple of months, I only now had the time to build it and review it, so tighten your seatbelts, we’re heading into the universe of LEGO bricks!
Those who like space themed LEGO sets, may or may not have noticed this little gem on the LEGO store shelves. I must admit myself, half the time, I kind of just gloss over the Creator 3-in-1 sets, because they truly are meant for kids. While that’s true, this particular set caught my eyes because it looked strikingly similar to the big, expensive, iconic NASA Space Shuttle I reviewed a while back, except this one is tiny, which makes it all the more interesting.
This 2023 LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Space Shuttle is a beautiful exercise in perfect miniaturisation.
Barely, if any, of the details are lost, which says a lot, because there does come a point where even with the most generous imagination, building with LEGO bricks, things do start to “pixelate”. Instantly recognisable. All the iconic shapes and even functions are kept — like the deployable satellite!
Set #31134, is a brilliant example of just how much you can achieve with 144 carefully chosen LEGO bricks. Add to that the fact that this is a 3-in-1 set, which means you also get to build an alternate space vehicle and a brick-built astronaut, and this small box becomes a true marvel. All for the low-low price of 10 euros! TEN! Most takeaways in Dublin, barely do a regular-sized meal for ten bucks, yet this set — a 3-in-1 set, no less — is sold for ten. That is so budget, it’s insane. That’s like Sir Richard Branson selling Virgin Galactic tickets for 199 bucks, with onboard catering included. Not gonna happen! Ever!
What is gonna happen though, if you get this LEGO set, is at least 30 minutes of guaranteed fun for yourself, or whoever you gift it to. Look, it’s 144 pieces, this is not gonna take long to build. It is a 6+ set, after all. But I will say this: for a 6+ set, it does come with a couple of interesting build techniques, like SNOT, and also some clever angles, especially for such a small set. The windscreen is done with two 1×1 transparent slope pieces, reminding me of good ol’ classic LEGO from the 70s.
This space shuttle looks fantastic, and the final build is super sturdy. No stickers either, which I for one, love. The engines in the back, if I am to be honest, are actually better-looking than its big brother’s from set #10283.
I have a single complaint, but given its size and price-tag, I can forgive the omission of landing gears. It would have been nice though to include something, and would have made it the perfect budget LEGO space shuttle. Nevertheless, 99% of customers, especially kids, won’t care at all, and they will enjoy the heck out of building it and then swooshing it for countless hours.
LEGO’s Creator 3-in-1 Space Shuttle makes you fall in love with space all over again, and for kids, it’s the best gateway set into the LEGO universe and space!
Go on, Sir Richard Branson, try to beat that, if you can! 😉
Attila Vago — Software Engineer improving the world one line of code at a time. Cool nerd since forever, writer of codes and blogs. Web accessibility advocate, LEGO fan, vinyl record collector. Loves craft beer! Read my Hello story here! Subscribe and/or become a member for more stories about LEGO, tech, coding and accessibility! For my less regular readers, I also write about random bits and writing.
