Space Shuttle 'Design Issue and Alternate Building Instructions'

 

  • Space Shuttle 'Design Issue and Alternate Building Instructions'

    Posted by Huw, 11 Mar 2011 08:20. Filed under Brickset.

    10213: Shuttle Adventure
    Advanced Models/Space, 2010
    More details...
    ©2010 LEGO Group

    It's been a bit quiet for decent news this week. The most interesting item that's come my way is this from Sann in Singapore, who brought this article at Smashing Bricks to my attention today.

    I can't say I had problems building my shuttle or have any stability issues, either. If you are, you can grab the alternate instructions at flickr. But it looks as if you'll need to supply your own bricks...

    News may be quiet but there are some very exciting things going down behind the scenes at Brickset Towers which I'll be able to tell you more about soon!


    31 comments, latest one posted 26 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by flump in United Kingdom, 11 Mar 2011 09:37

I sense another 8043 episode. Although, at least this time Lego are already prepared. Well done Lego.

Posted by vynsane in United States, 11 Mar 2011 10:08

I've already commented on this elsewhere, but the use of the words 'faulty parts' is a bit misleading. There are no faulty parts in the set, just that the design of the external fuel tank is not as stable as it could be, necessitating some additional pieces to enhance it.

Additionally, the use of the words "Space Shuttle" and "Faulty Parts" together, taken out of the context of the word "LEGO", can be construed as a bit incendiary and alarmist in light of past tragedies and the upcoming final Shuttle mission.

Posted by legowerba in United States, 11 Mar 2011 10:20

I bought and built this set as soon as it came out, and never had any problems with it. Since the age group for this set is 16+ it may not be as robust as some other child sets. I will admit that I am over 40 and played with this set quite a bit and again never had any problems with it. Since it was an adult set I understand Lego's response to not having a service pack it is not a "Play with" (term I use with my children when they want to play with daddy's toys) set but more of a display set.

Posted by DrDaveWatford in United Kingdom, 11 Mar 2011 10:49

Ouch - I hope these mods aren't really necessary as the alternate parts are hardly the kind of parts you'd just have lying around.....

Posted by The Green Brick Giant in United States, 11 Mar 2011 11:49

If the parts are really needed you can just use LEGO customer service and get the parts for free. Seems incredibly stupid to have the instructions to make the model more stable and not give out the pieces.

Posted by yellowcastle in United States, 11 Mar 2011 12:28

These kinds of updates concern me because I have been collecting faster than I can build these last few years. It would be greatly frustrating to find an issue with a set long after it's reached end of life. :o/

Posted by Enosh Kasra in Guatemala, 11 Mar 2011 16:27

Earlier today, I sent a message to LEGO through their LEGO.com site requesting the service pack and in no time they replied that I'd be getting it in 7 to 14 business days.

Last year, I requested the service pack for the 8043 Motorized Excavator in the same way and it did arrive when they said it would. Kudos to their customer support.

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 11 Mar 2011 17:11

I didn't have a problem, but I did mess up twice on the set.
@Enosh Kasra, LEGO Customer Service is pretty epic.
@legowerba, Actually, I would disagree. It is as much a "toy" set as it is a collecter's one, and I treat it as both, even though I am only 13.

Posted by CortezTheKiller in United Kingdom, 11 Mar 2011 17:53

No problems building it, but the EFT falls apart when I look at it. Amazed at how that got past the R&D stage.

Posted by evilempire22 in United States, 11 Mar 2011 20:19

What exactly is the problem that this is intended to fix? I don't see any mention of the specific problem, only that there is a problem. I built my shuttle and have swooshed it quite a bit and have not had any issues.

Posted by vynsane in United States, 11 Mar 2011 21:42

It's basically internal reinforcement to the structure of the orange cylinder forming the greater portion of the external fuel tank. It replaces the 2x2 and 2x4 brick column in the center with another cylinder that fits just inside the outer one.

Posted by Monty in United Kingdom, 12 Mar 2011 00:44

I was one of the first people to buy and review this set, and i have carried out my own modifications, but these were aimed at improving the appearance, not stability. Yes if you hold it horizontal by the orbiter only the ET and SRBs will drop off. Not sure if this can be fixed by just using blue pins as shown as they still also show a hand supporting the combo. It is heavy, and adding extra bricks as they suggest surely just increases the weight and the likelihood of it dropping off. I have never had the ET implode on me - i have always thought it a farily strong structure. The thing i did on mine - albeit with a MOC mobile launch platform, was to get it sitting on that as steadily as i could. The stack is a weighty item and you do not want it to topple over. Like many others here i have really had no problems and i agree the bricks needed are not common and certainly not in my extensive spares boxes either. Easiest way to get the curved plates is from a Zurg set, which i have seen being sold off recently very cheaply - but they will be purple not white, but as they are unseen from the outside, that hardly matters.

Posted by Doctor Leg O'Brick in United Kingdom, 12 Mar 2011 03:12

For anyone in the UK, Tesco have the City Space Shuttle (3367) for £20.

Posted by DrOrrery in Australia, 12 Mar 2011 04:08

I'm a bit torn about this. I love the shuttle (as anyone who's read my review can tell), and although I've had the tank fall apart a couple of times during rough handling I've never considered a problem. I definitely wouldn't consider it a fault. But if the option is there to get the parts and strengthen it, I'd like to have them. But by the same token, it hasn't been a problem for me and I don't want to feel like I'm ripping off TLG. So I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it.

Posted by yys4u in United States, 12 Mar 2011 18:59

@Enosh Kasra Thats pretty cool that they would do that. I just sent them a message too asking if I could get a service pack, I did have difficulty building it and moreso trying to put the rockets to the fuel tank, it kept breaking. I can't really prove that I ever bought the set tho...except through VIP point records I guess...

Posted by infinitz in Singapore, 12 Mar 2011 20:21

This is the reply I got last night...from Lego USA.

Thanks for getting in touch with us. We do apologize, we don't have a service bag available for this set.

However we do have an alternate instruction booklet that should help you with this set. Here is the link:http://assets.lego.com/bigdownloads/buildinginstructions/10213-1_Fix_tank_guide.pdf

Please get in touch if you need anything else. It's free to call our experts at 1-800-835-4386 (Monday through Friday, 8am to 10pm and Saturday & Sunday 10am to 6pm EST) or you could go to www.LEGOshop.com.

Happy building!
Erica
LEGO Direct Consumer Services

Posted by yys4u in United States, 12 Mar 2011 21:14

Lame!

Posted by 1265 in United States, 12 Mar 2011 23:12

I just fired off an email requesting a service pack. Let's see what happens....not holding out much hope.

Posted by PocasNuckie in Portugal, 13 Mar 2011 10:18

I just made a quick figure and buying those parts would cost me around 8€, plus shipping etc... That's like 10% extra of what I payed for the set for a dozen parts or so. Totally not worth it.

I am going to wait on the developments to see if LEGO really releases an SP, and if so I may ask it. If not, meh won't care. I am more a build&display guy so it's not like the set is going to get that much action.

Posted by legomoe74 in United States, 13 Mar 2011 17:36

I called LEGO customer service and asked about this. The rep looked it up, but couldn't find it. I told her I heard about it here. She looked it up on this site and then she found the service instructions. She looked all the parts and the parts and instructions are being shipped to me free. No hassle no fuss.

Posted by 1265 in United States, 13 Mar 2011 22:26

Here's an email response to my email I sent yesterday requesting a service pack......

"Dear Ken,

Thanks for getting in touch with us.

I am sorry to hear you are having stability problems with your LEGO® set 10213-Shuttle Adventure which can be fustrating. I am happy to send out to you the pieces required to stabilize your set and a the building instructions to go along with them, please allow 10 business days to receive.

Please get in touch with again at 1-800-835-4386 (8am - 10pm Monday to Friday or 10am - 6pm Saturday to Sunday) or by email if you need further assistance.

Best wishes!

Kathy
LEGO Direct Consumer Services"

I pleased and greatful for great customer service.

Posted by IlovePowerMiners in United Kingdom, 13 Mar 2011 22:47

Wow, another example of TLG's great service. I have had issues and will be requesting one of these. thanks BS.

Posted by Alexdiazb in France, 14 Mar 2011 07:27

Hello fellows, I personnally didn't have any problem with the stability of tha tank. Just one time broke but was because I took it too strong and it broke. However, I called Lego Service in France and was absolutely no problem for them to send me the parts and the PDF. I must say the Lego Customer Service is one (if not the only) of the best ones! They are always cool, rapid and extremely helpfull.

Posted by Farmer_John in United States, 14 Mar 2011 09:49

I have a couple sets and requested kits for each. Lego responded in less than 12 hours, and was kind enough to oblige by sending kits for each set. I have to admit...there are a lot of companies out there that could learn a thing or two from Lego's customer service!

Posted by atxdad in United States, 14 Mar 2011 18:03

I called the customer service number at 1-800-835-4386 saying that I had read about a service pack for 10213 and asked if it was still available. The rep wasn't familiar with it immediately, but he looked it up and said he would ship one out free of charge. That's great customer service!

Posted by IlovePowerMiners in United Kingdom, 14 Mar 2011 20:13

E-mail sent! Hopefully they send me one, though I don't think I have to worry about that ;).

Posted by vynsane in United States, 14 Mar 2011 21:10

@DrOrrery - I feel much the same as you do. I've not really taken the set from its shelf that much and thus haven't run into an issue, but feel if other people are getting the parts it's only fair that I do, as well. I still haven't sent a message to LEGO CS, but I'm really starting to think I should.

Posted by infinitz in Singapore, 14 Mar 2011 21:29

Finally on my 2nd attempt to email them, Lego USA agreed to send me the parts.

Posted by AlexWeston in United Kingdom, 15 Mar 2011 17:11

Sent email yesterday and got very pleasant reply 2 hours later saying they would send the service pack
Good old lego - looking forward to a more solid fuel tank

Posted by yys4u in United States, 15 Mar 2011 17:56

I send them an email on the 12th and they sent me an automated email saying they'd send me the parts but I have not received an official email from a person, I was very vague in my email (didn't list the parts or ID or anything or the set number, just said shuttle launch or something cause I was too lazy to look it all up). I hope they still send me the parts or I may have to email a more detailed message...

Posted by Stacy in Australia, 16 Mar 2011 04:50

I received yet another conflicting email, granted I haven't yet put it together, but that's not the point:

"Dear Stacy,

Thanks for getting in touch with us.

As I understood you did not build your new Set yet? The service pack is used for stabilty problems and we send it out for our customers who have those problems with their sets.
What I would suggest is that you try to build the model and then we will see if there are some problems with it.
Not all of them have those problems and we need to know exactly which replacement parts we have to send to you to support it the best way.

Thanks again for getting in touch.

Happy building!

Angelika Buse
LEGO Direct"

So, I'll wait, put it together, then place an order if need be. Although, I find it hard to believe that "not all of them have those problems" considering all the sets are identical. Regardless, I think I'll order the parts anyway. :P

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