Review: 60080 Spaceport
Posted by DrDaveWatford,
Fans of NASA’s Space Shuttle have been well served by LEGO, with a multitude of sets featuring the iconic Space Shuttle orbiter having been released over the years.
The first recognisable LEGO Space Shuttle appeared in Set 1682 Space Shuttle Launch back in 1990 and we’ve had more than ten further iterations since then, with the most recent System Scale version, Set 3367 Space Shuttle, debuting in 2011.
When NASA’s remaining Space Shuttles were finally retired in 2011 after thirty years of distinguished service, I feared that we had seen the last of the LEGO Space Shuttles. I was therefore delighted when a new set featuring the Space Shuttle, Set 60080 Spaceport, was revealed as part of the LEGO City Summer 2015 product line-up. Read on to find out how it stacks up against its predecessors...
Box & Contents
The box is pretty much exactly the same size as that of Set 3368 Space Centre from 2011 which was prior to set 60080, the largest City Space set of recent years. The front of the box (below) lays out all of the set contents; the City branding is little changed from that of the 2011 set, the most noteworthy tweak being a different City skyline in the background.
As is now customary, the back of the box (below) highlights a number of the set’s play features. There’s also a panel which reinforces the modular nature of the build, and a further panel which advertises a free LEGO City online game which I’d not previously been aware of.
The box contains eight bags of elements of which seven are sequentially numbered and the eighth is unnumbered. A number of instruction booklets are supplied in a heat-sealed clear bag, inside which you’ll also find the single sticker sheet (below) which contains a total of 19 stickers.
Consistent with the modular nature of the build, the set contains no less than five instruction booklets. These vary from close to A4-sized in the case of Booklet 5 which contains instructions for the Space Shuttle’s external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, to a booklet less than the size of a DVD case for the ground support vehicle, countdown display and radar tower. An inventory of parts can be found in Booklet 5, and advertising for the various 2015 City sub-themes including Swamp Police, Construction and Space Port (below) is shared between the booklets.
The Minifigures
The set contains five minifigures – two astronauts and three ground crew. As is the norm these days in bigger sets, the minifigures are distributed across a number of different bags and are thus encountered at different stages of the build. The two Astronauts have identical space suits, helmets and unprinted legs. The helmets, including the metallic gold visors, are the same as those which appeared in the 2011 City Space sets.
.
You can see the faces of the two astronauts, one female and one male, below. With the helmets removed we can also now get a good look at their torso prints which are appearing for the first time in the 2015 City Space sub-theme.
The two astronauts look identical from behind, both sporting the same torso backprint featuring the 2015 City Space logo. Neither astronaut has an alternate face expression.
The ground crew is made up of two Service Personnel and a Scientist. The Service Personnel have new torso prints featuring a medium blue shirt, high visibility jacket and I.D. card plus a red pen dangling around their necks; in addition to Set 60080 they also appear in a couple of the other 2015 City Space offerings, namely Set 60077 Space Starter Set and Set 60079 Training Jet Transporter. One of the the guys has a head-print featuring trans-orange goggles which has only previously appeared in a trio of 2014 City Arctic sets. The Scientist is unique to this set and one other, the Space Starter set. Like the Service Personnel she sports a new torso print. Her bespectacled head-print has appeared in a total of ten sets including the new Ferris Wheel.
All members of the ground crew have backprinted torsos as you can see in the picture below, but like the Astronauts they don’t have alternate face expressions. White construction helmets haven’t been seen since 2002 so it’s good to welcome them back this year.
The Build
The build commences with construction of the ground support vehicle, countdown display and radar tower. These feature a number of elements which are new for 2015 including a couple of black modified 2 x 4 bricks with wheel holder, a yellow 2 x 6 x 2 windscreen which is currently unique to this set, and a dark bley 3 x 2 x 1 1/3 bracket. Meanwhile, those looking to modify their newly-purchased Ferris Wheel might welcome the inclusion of a white 6 x 6 inverted dish in the Spaceport set. The vehicle number plate is stickered, as is the yellow windscreen and the countdown display. The ground support vehicle can accommodate a driver and two passengers, and there are a pair of clips at the back to carry the astronauts’ helmets. I was surprised to find a spare dark bley modified 1 x 2 tile with handle and a spare black 8H whip antenna in Bag 1.
Bags 2 and 3 contain the parts needed to build the mobile launch platform. This has a Technic-rich chassis to confer the necessary structural rigidity to support the weight of the Space Shuttle orbiter and its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. Interesting elements used during its construction include a blue 1 x 4 x 3 window frame, a black modified 4 x 4 plate with a 2 x 2 cut-out, a dark bley 1 x 6 x 10 triangular girder, a couple of blue 1 x 1 x 1 corner panels and a trans-light blue 3 x 4 x 4 inverted windscreen, all of which have appeared in less than ten sets to date. There are a few stickers to apply, notably a pair of City Space logos on either side of the cab which are small and decidedly fiddley to stick on straight. The completed vehicle is nice and robust; for authenticity’s sake caterpillar tracks would have been preferable to wheels but it’s still a decent effort.
The Space Shuttle orbiter is next to be built. It has two instruction booklets all to itself which seems a bit excessive. The contents of Bag 4 plus a couple of elements from the unnumbered bag are needed to build the lower portion of the orbiter which you can see below. Uncommon elements making an appearance at this stage of the build are two white and two black 10 x 10 cut corner wedge plates with no studs in the center which have only previously appeared in one and two sets respectively and which are used to fashion the orbiter’s wings. I was surprised to find a couple of black 2 x 4 vehicle mudguards being pressed into service as supports for the underside of the wings; these are a newer version of the mudguard element that I used to use when building 4-wide cars as a kid.
Bag 5 contains the parts needed to complete the orbiter. The six white 3 x 4 x 3 curved hinge panels which make up the cargo bay doors are new for 2015 and are I think an improvement on the angled hinge panels used in previous versions of the orbiter. After installation of the cargo bay doors the non-retractable landing gear is attached, followed by the orbiter’s engines and stickered tail. The remote manipulator arm, also known as the Canadarm, is then installed in the cargo bay, after which the front of the orbiter is finished off with a new, one-piece forward fuselage element. My scornful attitude towards big, prefab elements, or POOP for short, has been well documented, but even I have to admit that LEGO has done a decent job with this element - the shape is pretty realistic and the nose is appropriately printed. It could perhaps have done with a bit more black on the lower aspect, but this is partly addressed by stickers applied to the lower rear portion. The prefab front section lifts off easily to provide access to the cockpit, although there’s unfortunately no cockpit seating for the pilots who have to cram in one behind the other and sit on the floor.
The orbiter build is wrapped up with the construction of a small satellite. This comes complete with a pearl gold round 2 x 2 dome top brick and extending solar panels represented by stickered trans-light blue modified 2 x 3 tiles with clips. The satellite fits neatly in the cargo bay alongside the Canadarm and can clip on to the end of the arm.
From the rear you can see the orbiter’s three main engines and two orbital manouevring thrusters, all of which are accentuated by trans-orange round 1 x 1 plates. Similar to the real orbiter, the upper of the three main engines is angled slightly upwards.
The final part of the build involves construction of the huge external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters. These are built from the contents of Bags 6 and 7 plus the remainder of the elements in the unnumbered bag. The 6-wide fuel tank is a realistic dark orange colour and features a number of new elements including three dark bley 6 x 6 round bricks, six 3 x 6 x 6 half cylinders in dark orange and a couple of dark orange 3 x 6 x 6 half cones which form the pointed top of the fuel tank. A 32L axle skewers the fuel tank from top to bottom helping to bind it tightly together, with the stability issues of the fuel tank in Set 10213 Shuttle Adventure seemingly a distant memory. Each solid rocket booster features a dark orange Hero Factory Weapon Barrel at its base; these have only previously appeared in one set in this colour, namely Set 70143 Sir Fangar's Sabre Tooth Walker. The 4-wide body of the boosters is predominantly made up of white 2 x 4 x 5 half cylinders; these are topped off with a white 4 x 4 x 2 cone and a truncated 2 x 2 cone. The completed solid rocket boosters clip on to the side of the external fuel tank via Technic pins.
The external fuel tank and solid rocket booster assembly attaches to the underside of the shuttle as you can see in the picture below. Even when not mounted on the launch platform, the Space Shuttle can comfortably rest in the vertical position, with the bases of the solid rocket boosters and the top of the orbiter tail making a stable triangle.
The orbiter, complete with its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, fits snugly into the mobile launch vehicle and we are done. You can see all the components of the set together below. The top of the fuel tank stands approximately 13” (33cm) above the ground when mounted on the mobile launch vehicle.
The Verdict
While Set 10213 Shuttle Adventure and its slightly modified replacement, Set 10231 Shuttle Expedition, are undoubtedly the daddy of all LEGO Space Shuttles, the orbiter in Set 60080 stakes a strong claim for being the best-looking and most realistic System Scale version ever. It also offers a number of play features, notably the opening cargo bay doors, the retractable remote manipulator arm complete with satellite (below) and hinged flaps on the wings. The external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters look authentic, while the the functional and robust mobile launch platform enhances the play experience as well as acting as a respectable display stand if you’re more inclined to look rather than touch. Further play value is added by the ground support vehicle, countdown display, radar tower and five minifigures, and overall, I think that this is an excellent set.
Set 60080 Spaceport contains 586-elements and is available now at an RRP of £69.99 / US$119.99 / €89.99. If comments on the Brickset Forum are anything to go by, the eye-watering U.S. RRP is likely to put off a lot of potential U.S. purchasers, but on this side of the pond the set constitutes significantly better value for money and is easy to recommend.
Many thanks as ever to Kim and Ana from the LEGO Community Engagement & Events Team for providing us with a copy of the set for review.
3 likes
34 comments on this article
And this Space Shuttle takes off with the wheels out? What a piece of crap!!
It also appears that this ridiculous aspect of the set cannot be seen on the box art.
set - 10231 : 9/10 60080: 5/10
value for money - 10231 : 9/10 60080 : 3/10
@bok2
You could easily take the wheels off.
I don't think there's ever been a System Scale Space Shuttle with retractable wheels. It's supposed to be a play set, anyway - if you want something more realistic then you'll want to go for 10213 or 10231.
And as @ChazTheMinifig says, you can always just take the wheels off....
I really want this set, but the US price is just awful. It should be in the $59-79 range. I'm gunna wait for a major sale. 3368 Space Centre was overpriced too and had some major discounts a few months after it came out, so I'd expect this one to come down in price too.
I have 10231 but I really like the look of this and may consider purchasing. I think it has a great parts selection and I really want a bunch of those dark orange tanks. Thanks for a really nice review DrDaveWatford.
The mobile launch platform, central fuel tank and even the small yellow runabout are all very nice. But even though the nose piece looks more authentic than those on previous shuttle models, the orbiter as a whole, seems like a step down from the last one. It just looks very simple, which combined with the astronomical US price, makes this a weird case on the whole. If one were looking for his/her first Lego shuttle and could get a good price on this one, though, it looks like a great package.
The other thing, as mentioned in at the start of this review--how long will Lego keep making new space shuttles? Will this be the last one? I don't suppose that traditional rockets (as in the Space Centre) are as attractive or would sell as well, so I would love to see a new spacecraft design, perhaps based on something in development in the real world (or an Interstellar set!).
Thanks for the review. Seems like a lot of space shuttles in recent years. I still like 7470 the best though.
Great play set, but compared to 10213/10231 the price point is WAY too high! I guess it's all the large pieces...
I really cannot bring myself to enjoy this set much. Yeah, sure, it's a great playset... but if this was $80 it would be a significantly better buy. $120 is obscene for that part count, no matter how many prefab elements they chuck in, I would only buy it at RRP if it was signed by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen himself! This set is so small... one shuttle, a miniscule amount of scenery, a transport that is incredibly undersized and bears no resemblance to the real thing, and three rockets that maybe have seventy parts between them. Beyond that, it feels definitely lacking in the figure department, and it does have way too many prefab elements for its own good... one can't so much as retract the landing gear with a fuselage like that.
And why on earth did they make a space shuttle FOUR FREAKING YEARS after the program ended? I'm not even going to go into all the inherent problems with the shuttle program...
The suckers will buy this up and I'm afraid Lego has gone beyond needing AFOLs.
"daddy of all Lego Space Shuttles"? Surely you mean 8480?
I find it very interesting that the US price is so high in comparison with the rest of the world when typically it would be the other way around. I think we can all agree that there are better sets available for $119.99, but for £69.99 I think this is a great model.
This will certainly be my first Space Shuttle, although I think I will wait for some kind of discount as I am in no rush to get it.
Another Shuttle to add to my collection, look good to me but maybe that's because I am in the UK.
I get the feeling that Lego keeps making Space Shuttles because they're probably the most recognizable real-life space craft. Until we get some replacement, I guess they'll stick with them. Of course, i'd love if they made a Soyuz craft or something like it for their space sets. And since Soyuz craft are still used...
10231 is cheaper, looks better, and has double the number of pieces. This new set is a huge disappointment.
I used to have the 2011 spaceship. This looks pretty nice.
@EvilTwin
That shuttle has no substance. It may have a lot of pieces but technic has this issue where there are gaping holes in the fusilage. In addition many lego sets these days come with technic assets so I would still say 10213/10231 takes the cake on the Best Lego shuttles out there.
Price through the LEGO Store is NZ$160, which roughly equates to GB£75 (more expensive than UK) or US$115 (cheaper than US). Have TLG never heard of xe.com? The pricing policy is just nuts. I haven't yet bought anything through their own store because of this and until buying from the source isn't a rip-off (which, let's face it, will always be the case!) then I and many others will keep buying from "alternative" sources.
The LEGO cartel in NZ is so bad that the very few mass-market suppliers there are have identical inflated prices - even the timing and discounts of their LEGO sales generally coincide! And buying from the LEGO Store means we get stung on delivery unless we spend N$400, at which point we get "free" delivery but incur the wrath of The Evil Empire who hound us for import taxes. A lose-lose situation. Then add in the fact that we have a limited range available as well. For example, *nobody* here stocks the 10247 Ferris Wheel, and there's only *one* retailer carrying the 76042 SHIELD Helicarrier (and at a 10% mark-up on the UK price).
So ... while we can buy through Amazon UK (or elsewhere) and get stuff delivered directly to us for significantly less than buying through "official" (i.e. price-fixed) sources, then we will continue to do so.
Sorry for the rant. I just needed to get that off my chest. I feel much better now...
Shocked by the huge price different between the Pound price and the dollar price. Very Interesting!
This is the most expensive price-per-piece set I have ever seen. What are they thinking? I won't buy it even if it is half price of that.
$119 for 526 pieces. What's the excuse? There's not even licensing to deal with here.
Hory POOP.
Even with all the big parts (the cylinders, prefab windscreen, etc.) that price isn't justified (IMO big parts should count as at least 5-6 times as much as normal pieces in the parts count). Maybe add around 200 pieces worth of actual buildings and then this can be called a Spaceport. And worth $120.
10213 Shuttle Adventure is a much better deal.
This is a definite buy for me but then I'm in the UK. That US price is crazy!
This will sit nicely alongside my other shuttles and also be one I'm happy to let the kids play with.
Great review too by the way, thanks, lots of detail on the parts and some excellent pictures.
Nice review. One thing I would like to know:
Is this set actually COMPATIBLE with the previous 3368?
I know, it won´t make it better, but it´s still cheap in comparison to the Star Wars Sets.
I really don´t know what Lego is heading for, but it´s the same with Apple. The prices will rise until it all implodes. So far people are willing to pay, the worst isn´t yet to come...
Wow, this is way overpriced. For $120 Id expect a ground control building included. The new shuttle is just rubbish. Although the externals look pretty good, the interior has no cockpit interior, and it isn't even sealed off from the cargo bay. The elevators on the wings need that black piece on the bottom to match the rest of the wingmlike in the old shuttle. (Why are they still making shuttles??)
It is not worth getting it if you already own space shuttle 10231, 10231is the best space shuttle LEGO ever produced but what a pity 10231 didn't contain the launchpad.I have to say 60080 is really ugly comared with 10231 and it seems that there's no difference between 60080's spaceshuttle and it's former version in 2011
Don't like it at all. Should be marketed as a Junior set. But I'll buy it for The Boy to play with until he is old enough for a 10231.
EDIT: Wait, £70? No way. I'll wait for a discount to under £50.
I really want to get this set because it looks like a lot of fun, but that US price is insane.
@CortezTheKiller: Of course, that's already a 10% discount to the US price. If we go by that ratio, this set should had been $100 in the US (US prices are normally 5-15% less than the UK price, outside of the "Hollywood sets").
The price doesn't really bother me. I need a space shuttle for Superman vs. Zod LEGO space battle. I should just build a satelite but I like the idea of them smashing into this. I'm picking this up for sure. I'll just build my own control center.
Those astronaut minifigures look terrible compared to the ones from the Town Spaceport series, like 6463. It's the most major let-down for me on an otherwise impressive but expensive looking set.
@Darthbricks - For whatever it's worth, the 60078 Utility Shuttle looks to have the same new nosepiece and a small satellite included. Of course it's not a full-sized model, but for a much lower price, it offers some essential shuttle parts and an approximated look.