Brickset Bouts: 10283 Space Shuttle Discovery vs. 10333 Barad-dûr
Posted by Huw,
Welcome to the third bout in the first round of our competition that will determine which set released in the last five years you consider to be the best.
This time, 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery faces 10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr.
bananaworld advocates for the spacecraft, while GoldenNinja3000 pitches the case for the evil fortress.
Read what they have to say after the break, then cast your vote.
10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery
“Icons” should mean something, and the Space Shuttle is a universally-recognised icon. It doesn’t need knowledge of a particular IP, or long-term LEGO-fandom to recognise what you’re looking at; anyone who sees it knows two things: it’s THE Space Shuttle, and they want to swoosh it.
Yes, the word “swoosh” is how I’m going to persuade you that this is the best LEGO set made in the last five years. The Space Shuttles were the swooshiest spacecraft ever made, and that swooshiness has been excellently translated into ABS.
But first the build, which is simply perfection. All the way from the precise cylinder of the Hubble Space Telescope to the final multi-directional construction of the Orbital Manoeuvring System pods, the build is well-paced and never boring.
The making of the Shuttle’s silhouette is some of the most fun I’ve had building LEGO. It combines Technic building & functionality with exceptionally well-designed System covering and smoothing to deliver us an aerodynamically curvaceous marvel.
It would be remiss to talk about a model of a real-life system without talking about the educational factor. Not only does the model itself allow perfect recreations of orbital operations, but digging into the subject of the Space Shuttle programme yields a wealth of information on topics from engineering & public engagement, to disaster investigation & budgetary mission-creep…
Building and educational value are important, but LEGO is about playing well, and this spaceship lets you play out (18+: “simulate”) a mission from orbital insertion all the (very swooshy) way to landing. This is where the swooshability really comes into its own: one hand can (just about) fly/glide/swoosh the craft while the other hand deals with the amazing play features. Possibly the most satisfying feature to ever be included in a set is the landing gear deployment. A push on the pitch-control flap below the engines springs out all three sets of wheels; the nose gear is especially fulfilling because it’s so far away from where you actuate the feature. Less dramatic but no less technically pleasing is the control of the elevons, achieved by turning the upper Main Engine nozzle. A turn of this knob and the swoosh volume is up to 11!
Never mind 18+, 10283 will make you behave like an 8-year-old in the ‘80s watching this real-world Icon push the final frontier.
But why should this spaceship get your vote over Sauron’s observant edifice? 10283 Space Shuttle is better than 10333 Barad-dûr because of attainability and size. Even though 10283 happens to be the most cash I’ve ever paid for a LEGO set, its price is just about in the realms of affordability; a kid could realistically save up and buy themselves a quintessential building and play experience. Barad-dûr’s price puts it out of hope.
Worse still is the size: Barad-dûr is both too big and too small. Five and half thousand pieces later and you’ve built yourself a sprawling, awkward-to-display mess of a set, but even then it’s still too small! The hilarious thing is that even LEGO knows it’s on the squat side because they used this, frankly unhinged, phrase in the press release: “LEGO fans with more than one copy of the set will be able to stack this section to build a taller tower.” Buy two; get one…
For less than half the price of one, incomplete, Barad-dûr, you could buy a complete modern classic: 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery.
10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr
It would be easy to write Barad-dûr off as a plain black tower, but designer Antica Bracanov has cleverly poured colour all over the build - from the hues of orange and yellow that make up the volcanic rocks and pouring lava from Mount Doom to the simple but groundbreaking technique used to bathe the tower in flickering firelight.
Although no one enters Barad-dûr in The Lord of the Rings, a wonderfully detailed interior has been crafted for this set. The Orcs have plenty to do, from forging weapons and imprisoning enemies to cooking and eating together. Meanwhile, Sauron gets his own throne room with a secret palantír and a two-story library that recalls the similarly detailed interior of 10237 Tower of Orthanc.
There are several fun details and functions scattered throughout the model, from references to LOTR lore to remotely-operated front gates and the light-up Eye of Sauron, which is a spectacular little build.
The build experience is anything but repetitive, with the exterior of the tower changing from level to level as it reaches a towering height. The minifigures included are nearly perfect, featuring our very first LEGO Sauron, who was voted Brickset readers’ top minifigure of 2024 for good reason!
Barad-dûr is the ultimate companion to the beauty that is 10316 Rivendell. Even if you’re not a diehard LOTR fan, you can’t deny the stunning impact of seeing the most evil fortress in fantasy history brought to life in LEGO bricks!
Cast your vote!
Having read the above, which of these two sets do you think should go through to the quarter-final for a chance to be crowned "best set of the last five years" ?
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51 comments on this article
Skip this one, there is no ultimate winner here...
Yin Yangish, what a contrast.
Barad Dur and it's not even close.
As much as I love TLOTR and its lore and everything about it, I cannot help voting for the Shuttle. This set is a marvel of design , such a pleasure to build and to contemplate on display. One of my favorite set ever, along with Ninjago Destiny's Bounty 70618.
I'm abstaining from this one. I don't own either set, don't really care about space and although I do care about Lord of the Rings, Barad Dur doesn't interest me as much as Rivendell or the Shire.
A space shuttle doesn't need an IP? I can agree with that, but I assume people nominated this set over 31117 because it is indeed a specific NASA shuttle.
I'm chosing the shuttle, because it looks like a fun build and it would lead me to read up on it. So, thanks for the good arguments.
Barad-dûr would be good for the time it takes to build, but I wouldn't have a good place to display it.
I think both sets are great, but not perfect, and ultimately the shuttle edges it out for me even though I love the LOTR franchise. Barad-dur should take this one handedly though.
Abstain. I have no dogs in this race.
Swoosh!
I'm not particularly invested in either of these, but I think the Space Shuttle is the superior set.
Users shouldn't be allowed to diss the opponent whilst advocating for their favorite set.
Space Shuttle FTW!
@MrBedhead said:
"Zero interest in space shuttles with american flags on them. Never clicked so fast for the winner."
I'm not one for national pride, but the space shuttle program is a pretty great achievement.
Space Shuttle and it's a stunning set.
One is an icon, the other one uses a lot of black...
As much as I like LOTR (the book much more than the movies), Barad-Dur just doesn't look like something I'd want to have around me. The shuttle it is!
I once saw a shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral. It was initially underwhelming as it was basically a small shape going silently up into the sky on the horizon. And then the sound reached you and the ground shook and it took your breathe away. Years later, on a return visit to Kennedy Space Centre there was a new exhibit about the shuttle. You start in a room watching a film about the various missions and then the screen turns translucent, the wall beyond draws back and there, looming over you, is Atlantis itself. It's an equally awe inspiring moment.
The Lego version is superb. It's accurate and contains so many great features. I must admit I omitted this set from my nominations, but only because I'd assumed it was older than it is. It's a wonderful set. And so much better than a big, black castle with a Pringle balanced on top...
I've been into space travel for a lot longer than I've been into Lord of the Rings, so...
The Shuttle revitalised my space interest lost when the Apollo mission ended. 10283 is so good that I even forgave it's concave chrome stickers!
10333 is just another Lord of the Rings set that's not a patch on Rivendell.
@amok said:
"Users shouldn't be allowed to diss the opponent whilst advocating for their favorite set."
Dissing is fine, and fun!
I voted for Barad-dûr with reservations. As a Tolkien fan I couldn’t vote against it. But as I said at the time of its release, its proportions are wrong. It’s too squat, too dumpy while the film version is tall, lean and baleful. I hope it doesn’t win the competition overall; it doesn’t deserve to.
This was the easiest round so far, I didn’t even hesitate
No doubts here, for me the vote is for the shuttle.
Any shuttle more than 4 wide is not of interest. Pass.
@MrBedhead said:
"Zero interest in space shuttles with american flags on them. Never clicked so fast for the winner."
so unnecessary but ig when you're American you have to just put up with everyone trashing on your country for no apparent reason
@lego4elio said:
" @MrBedhead said:
"Zero interest in space shuttles with american flags on them. Never clicked so fast for the winner."
so unnecessary but ig when you're American you have to just put up with everyone trashing on your country for no apparent reason"
hmmmm, for no apparent reason..... hmmmm
also, I really have no interest in space shuttles. like literally none.
@lego4elio said:
" @MrBedhead said:
"Zero interest in space shuttles with american flags on them. Never clicked so fast for the winner."
so unnecessary but ig when you're American you have to just put up with everyone trashing on your country for no apparent reason"
I would be carefull these days with "...no apparent reason" .... ;-)
The Space Shuttle is a brilliant set......except for it's one massive flaw: The stickers.
For starters there's the ones with white background that (as usual) doesn't match the white plastic at all. Something clear-backed stickers could have easily solved. Or prints.....
But even worse are the chrome ones for the inside of the cargo area. Now it's always more annoying to put stickers on the inside of a curved piece, and even more so if there are 24(!) of them that need to be exactly aligned. And with these shiny ones you basically get one chance and one chance only, any atempt at correcting it will show. And even in a €200 set, a few spare stickers apparently is too much to ask....
Especially after the Saturn V this was a rather big disappointment in an otherwise pretty much perfect set. And for that reason alone it didn't make my nominations.
Don't care much for anything LotR, but apart from the price tag I don't see much wrong with it.
Especially fun write-up for the shuttle. It's my favourite of the two as well.
Easiest vote ever, although I reckon it might have been fairer to put Rivendell up against Barad Dur, that way other IPs get a fairer share of the votes
There are many space shuttle Lego sets, so it's not particularly special (I think I have bought the set though). Seems like many users here would vote for the shuttle if it had a Russian flag on it though.
While I'm really glad Lego finally made Barad-dur and Sauron, it doesn't match how iconic the space shuttle is on display. Plus, the space shuttle's functionality and different built-in display states make it far more interesting to keep on a shelf and rearrange from time to time.
I have both but i do have a favorite so am voting for that.
Thanks for making this political everyone. Now I remember why I don’t like to frequent this site.
@amok said:
"Users shouldn't be allowed to diss the opponent whilst advocating for their favorite set."
Tread lightly. Randal from "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" has an excellent but apt diss of the LotR trilogy and you could diss the space shuttle concerning 1986 & 2003 (very insensitive to do).
The Space Shuttle is one of the best Lego set ever imo!
The first hard choice I had to make.
A hard choice for me because my cousin got the shuttle and I got to see how well designed it was, but I gotta vote for Barad-Dur.
@MrBedhead said:
" @MegaBlocks said:
"There are many space shuttle Lego sets, so it's not particularly special (I think I have bought the set though). Seems like many users here would vote for the shuttle if it had a Russian flag on it though."
oh boy oh boy oh boy. you are one of those. if you don't like the direction ye good ole us of fricking a is going in, you must be a communist. sorry sailor, that ship has sailed... about 40 years ago.
did it ever dawn on you that good old trumpty dumpty and vlad the impaler are in essence two very similar edges of the same sword? and that it is ok not to like the both of them for very different, but also very similar reasons?"
Uh
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_(spacecraft)
@monkyby87 said:
"Thanks for making this political everyone. Now I remember why I don’t like to frequent this site. "
I think I'd like to thank politics for making everything political. Specifically, your politics, which are now somehow everybody's problem, up to and including micro-countries populated exclusively by penguins.
I'm going to have to go with "the one with the minifigures". The rest of the minifigs are also pretty awesome. The Mouth of Sauron was one of my few "ones that got away" minifigs so this was a must buy. The only other minifig I can think of right now that I passed up on but really want is Queen Amidala.
Reminder to self, read the Brickset articles but not the comments. Comments on these face-off articles have been grim.
I built the shuttle. It was perhaps the most satisfying build I have done in the last decade. It comes together beautifully. Amazing building techniques. Great display piece. And the Hubble space telescope is absolutely the cherry on the cake. It hangs from my ceiling and everyone comments on it.
What makes it special is that it really is by far the best of the bunch. It's not "just another shuttle". The design is brilliant. I recommended it to an orthopedic surgeon former engineer friend of mine, and she was enthralled.
Accurate Space Shuttle model with Hubble space telescope versus Big Black Blob with orange accents.
No competition.
Both are Mid sets. Barad dur was mostly dissapointing in terms of VERY lame, cheaply made figures.
@amok said:
"Users shouldn't be allowed to diss the opponent whilst advocating for their favorite set."
One of the principles of advertising is you never mention your competitors unless you know you’re the underdog. I think the writing is already on the wall for this bout.
@sjr60 said:
"The Shuttle revitalised my space interest lost when the Apollo mission ended. 10283 is so good that I even forgave it's concave chrome stickers!
10333 is just another Lord of the Rings set that's not a patch on Rivendell."
Unlike you, I cannot forgive the concave chrome stickers, the best set of the last 5 years cannot have a significant flaw like that! ;)
I can't agree with @bananaworld on the swooshy nature of the space shuttle since it was pretty much a flying brick after the deorbit burn lol.
But he hits the nail on the head about 10283 being truly deserving of the Icons branding.
Easy vote for me!
Voting Barad-Dur on this one over shuttle because of my experiences with their Day 1 GWP items. Getting a nazgul was awesome, and easy. The shuttle had that extra satellite build that was a mess to try and get and I eventually just Pick-a-Bricked someone's better custom version of the build.
@ytjedi said:
"Voting Barad-Dur on this one over shuttle because of my experiences with their Day 1 GWP items. Getting a nazgul was awesome, and easy. The shuttle had that extra satellite build that was a mess to try and get and I eventually just Pick-a-Bricked someone's better custom version of the build. "
So you're voting for the quality of a set, based on your shopping experience.
I don't think you've quite understood how this poll works.
The space shuttle is missing all the Gas (boosters and external fuel tank). Barad-Dur was a fun two week building experience. My wife doesn't like that I take the top of the tower and pose it so that it's creepily staring at her from various locations in the house.