Review: 6373604 Ulysses Space Probe
Posted by CapnRex101,
The lamentable distribution of 6373604 Ulysses Space Probe has understandably overshadowed the actual model, which appears relatively bland beside the appealing 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery. However, the important combination between them seems intriguing.
I was fortunate to redeem this probe during the brief period it was available. Despite that limited availability, I think assessing this model and comparing the excellent Hubble Space Telescope with the Ulysses Probe remains worthwhile.
Box and Contents
Several recent promotional items have been packaged in yellow boxes, with their instruction manual forming the cover. 6373604 Ulysses Space Probe continues that trend, reflecting the evidently limited production quantity. Additionally, the bag which contains the elements inside differs from standard LEGO products, featuring a resealable tab across the top and matching 6322501 The United Trinity.
The Completed Model
Such simple packaging is somewhat surprising because this model comprises 236 elements, considerably exceeding other promotional sets with similar boxes. The resultant spacecraft is therefore fairly substantial, measuring nearly 19cm in length. Nevertheless, the design seems relatively bland, lacking authentic texture or mechanical detail across much of the vehicle.
This model shares construction techniques with the Hubble Space Telescope in 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery, as one might anticipate since both spacecraft are intended to nestle inside the Space Shuttle. The brilliant internal structure originates from 21309 NASA Apollo 11 Saturn V and creates a smooth cylinder, faithfully replicating the shape of the original Ulysses Space Probe.
While the shaping looks marvellous, the smooth design deviates noticeably from the source material. Projecting ribs should surround this cylindrical section, known as the Inertial Upper Stage, which is required for propelling payloads beyond Earth orbit. Furthermore, the engine nacelle lacks detail and white was definitely the incorrect colour choice because gold Kapton should enshroud the engine.
Kapton foil is represented around the Inertial Upper Stage and the connected Ulysses probe, albeit by yellow elements. Beyond seeming flame yellowish orange in official images, metallic gold would definitely have been preferable here, capturing the vital reflective properties of this foil. Unfortunately, the needed 2x2 curved slopes and other parts are not currently available in drum-lacquered gold, hence I think yellow is acceptable.
The absence of detail across the propellant stages is rather disappointing, although that does draw attention to the Ulysses Space Probe which looks relatively intricate. The prominent high gain antenna looks great and I love how Technic gears are employed, forming the radioisotope thermoelectric generator, commonly known as the RTG. The extending magnetometer boom is superb too, although several additional antennas are missing.
Before travelling to Jupiter and eventually the Sun, the Ulysses Space Probe was transported into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery during mission STS-41. This craft was therefore stored inside the cargo bay and the model slots inside as well. However, I was disappointed to find that the RTG actually prevents the doors from closing and must be removed.
Unfortunately, the Ulysses spacecraft is incompatible with the Hubble Space Telescope's two display stands, hence they appear awkward when displayed together. Furthermore, this small probe cannot even connect to the Canadarm on the Space Shuttle which seems like a missed opportunity because that would only have required one exposed click hinge.
Both models are accompanied by matching information plaques that display similar graphics. However, the plaque from 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery includes a sticker while this example is printed, hence the text on the sticker appears brighter. The sticker therefore looks better in my opinion, although printing this plaque avoids any errors during sticker application.
Overall
Nearly everything about 6373604 Ulysses Space Probe is disappointing, extending beyond its poor distribution. The model lacks external detail and accuracy when compared with the actual spacecraft, especially across the Inertial Upper Stage which looks completely bland. The probe fares slightly better, although numerous important instruments are inexplicably missing.
Moreover, the integration between this craft and 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery leaves much to be desired. I appreciate their consistent scaling, although both display stands from the larger set should certainly have been compatible with this one. From my perspective, this probe accordingly provides little to complement the aforementioned Space Shuttle, which we reviewed here.
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48 comments on this article
Question, was this set truly worth 1600 VIP points? I get the printed 6x8 plate, but other than that...?
The plaque is the only unique part in this set...the other parts can easily be picked up on BL. The benefit of this entire kerfuffle is that someone posted some better, more realistic looking MOC models on this site a couple weeks ago, which I plan to pick up at some point.
@Classique said:
"Question, was this set truly worth 1600 VIP points? I get the printed 6x8 plate, but other than that...?"
That's only like $15 in my currency, I think that's fine for 200ish parts and something kinda neat.
I wonder, since so many people wanted this set, can’t LEGO simply re-release it?
(I thought about picking it up on ebay, but those prices are crazy…)
Still a bit bummed I was not able to get this after staying up all night for it. Super happy for you and the other that did get it though.
Hopefully they re-release it or something to make it available again. The $250+ Ebay price is nuts.
So this is what everyone was so upset about? Even if you were lucky enough to receive it, you'd be disappointed anyway. The irony.
Glad I didn’t waste 45 minutes trying to get this!!!
I just ordered the needed pieces from Bricks & Pieces and Bricklink to build the Stonewars Ulysses probe. https://www.stonewars.net/lego-news/ulysses-instructions/
It'll be well worth the wait for the B&P order as this version of the probe is superior in nearly every single way (the only thing it lacks are the probe's antennae that swing out). The only saving grace for the complete bungling of the release of this set is that it quite frankly is ugly, boring, incorrect, doesn't even properly fit in the cargo bay, and lacks any good way to display it, and now with another, more achievable version out there (and I wouldn't be surprised if there were more versions created), there is no reason to break the bank to acquire this. I feel like FOMO is a very real phenomenon with this particular item, but I don't think my comments are simply sour grapes. Everything about this set was and is a total mess.
So, not really worth getting upset about, then!
@Merlict said:
"That's only like $15 in my currency, I think that's fine for 200ish parts and something kinda neat. "
In US you normally have to spend $250 to get that many VIP points, so this set is much pricier than most GWP.
Thank you for this informative article. This negative review matches the series of articles pointing out the flawed and disappointing collectible coins. Despite these negative reviews, AFOLs have been clamoring for the latest exclusive VIP promotional items, complaining if/when they didn't get one and paying a hefty price for them on the secondary market.
I guess this just goes to show that passionate LEGO fans are undiscerning and uneducated in their desire to acquire "exclusive" items.
I hadn’t paid much attention to this, just as well as it looks pretty crap.
I only wasted about 20 minutes of my time in order to get this set. I'm glad that I got it and I'm not so worried about the intricacies and details that the set seemingly lacks. I find joy in the simpler things and of course the hunt in obtaining such sets.
@CC said:
" @Merlict said:
"That's only like $15 in my currency, I think that's fine for 200ish parts and something kinda neat. "
In US you normally have to spend $250 to get that many VIP points, so this set is much pricier than most GWP."
That's one way to think of it.. but I've already 'earned' those points (on purchases that usually already came with a GWP hah)
So the choice is really between this and $15 off an order.. I'd pick this even with the bad but fair review.
@Classique said:
"Question, was this set truly worth 1600 VIP points? I get the printed 6x8 plate, but other than that...?"
Only worth it if you can sell it for the outrageous prices on ebay... but if you actually wanted it, its pretty meh. I didn't even bother.
@MrJackson said:
"I just ordered the needed pieces from Bricks & Pieces and Bricklink to build the Stonewars Ulysses probe. https://www.stonewars.net/lego-news/ulysses-instructions/
It'll be well worth the wait for the B&P order as this version of the probe is superior in nearly every single way "
Is that one really so much better? To much incoherent griebeling...
Anyway,...the probe is dumb, cannot understand why people get upset over this,...
I BrickLinked the parts I was missing (surprisingly few) and built this earlier. From an overall design, I prefer this design to the others out there. At this scale a LEGO model always involves compromise and I prefer the compromises made here. I agree, other colours than yellow would be better (even flame yellowish orange or dark orange) but would require quite a few recolours.
As for the launch fiasco, I wasn't upset by missing out, nor the limited quantity per se - what really annoyed me was the website crash preventing me even getting a chance to get this. Plus the time wasted. It's the manner of the failure, rather than the outcome: this is likely to happen for things more worthwhile having.
@BelgianBricker said:
" @MrJackson said:
"I just ordered the needed pieces from Bricks & Pieces and Bricklink to build the Stonewars Ulysses probe. https://www.stonewars.net/lego-news/ulysses-instructions/
It'll be well worth the wait for the B&P order as this version of the probe is superior in nearly every single way "
Is that one really so much better? To much incoherent griebeling...
Anyway,...the probe is dumb, cannot understand why people get upset over this,...
"
If you check out the sliding image where you can go between the image of the probe and the Lego build you'll see that there's a decent amount of greebling on the probe itself as well. And while it might not be flawless it is certainly an improvement over the bland official set.
So apperantly this didn't justified the rush to get it.
@mroper295 said:
"Thank you for this informative article. This negative review matches the series of articles pointing out the flawed and disappointing collectible coins. Despite these negative reviews, AFOLs have been clamoring for the latest exclusive VIP promotional items, complaining if/when they didn't get one and paying a hefty price for them on the secondary market.
I guess this just goes to show that passionate LEGO fans are undiscerning and uneducated in their desire to acquire "exclusive" items.
"
I think that might be a bit harsh! ESPECIALLY your last sentence, which is actually slightly offensive to me.
I've been collecting Lego for just over 40 years now, and I wouldn't say I'm undiscerning and definitely not uneducated.
I've managed to get all the VIP Coins so far, and I love them all.
None are "flawed", they all look great and are definitely not "disappointing" (especially the `space one) and I think they were all well worth the 1150 VIP points that I paid for them (about £7 in my currency)
I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I manage to get the last one too!
@BelgianBricker said:
" @MrJackson said:
"I just ordered the needed pieces from Bricks & Pieces and Bricklink to build the Stonewars Ulysses probe. https://www.stonewars.net/lego-news/ulysses-instructions/
It'll be well worth the wait for the B&P order as this version of the probe is superior in nearly every single way "
Is that one really so much better? To much incoherent griebeling...
Anyway,...the probe is dumb, cannot understand why people get upset over this,...
"
Have you seen the source material? On their website, they have a sliding window with the original (drawing) on the left and the Lego model on the right - you can move the scroller left and right and see for yourself how accurate it is. And it uses as much metallic gold parts as possible.
I have the original from Lego but I also ordered the parts for the moc as it is much more on par (design and realism) with the Hubble satellite included. Compared to the elaborate design of the shuttle and the Hubble satellite, this probe looks like a 4+ set and does not fit with the display - note that the fan-based moc which comes with its own stand.
@Classique said:
"Question, was this set truly worth 1600 VIP points? I get the printed 6x8 plate, but other than that...?"
Its about £10 isn't it? I would say that on the surface, its worth it. Having read the review, Im glad I missed out on it! Ill put that £10 worth of VIP points to better use!
A lot of people are in on the Stonewars version and while their rendition of the probe itself is quite nice, their upper stage leaves a lot to be desired. I plan to use my Ulysses set as a starting point to mod it to look more realistic and add a stand.
As already stated, the value of the points I "spent" was around $14.xx and I suspect I'm paying that much to buy and ship Bricklink parts.
I really like the concept of the space probe and/or capsule models and I'd like to see them become a retail series with coordinating display stands and relatively accurate modeling, in the vein of the Hubble.
I’m just happy to have another probe I can use with my Space sets.
Alas another set i can never own due to such insanely stupid low stock and a crap website....
@Huw:
I managed to get a copy which I haven’t decided if I’m even going to build, or keep MI”S”B, and I still think it’s worth getting upset. Not just at The LEGO Company, either. I burned a day of vacation just to sit at home and hammer away at a computer keyboard. The site was more jacked up than normal. The queueing system requires someone to manually turn it on, which they didn’t do. And fighting with all the people who wanted to display this next to their Discovery set were all the people who wanted to display it in an eBay listing because suddenly the things that I decided nearly a year ago to use my VIP points on are such a hot commodity that I’m now concerned about coming up short on the coin collection. Those of us who legitimately want these things shouldn’t have to wade into battle just to pick up a few souvenirs.
Possibly the solar max satellite may be a more interesting build in Lego, with a Lego astronaut repairing it as in the Shuttle 1984 mission.
So the actual ulysses probe is just the small yellow block on the end, the rest is just a booster? That', combined with the set's poor looks and lack of details makes me glad i chose to pass on even trying to buy this.
As a free GWP this would have been decent, but i wouldn't spend a single point on it.
Should have been free for everyone that purchased the Shuttle.
I don’t care if some people think it’s ugly or undeserving of the anger/upset. It IS important to some people and that’s all that matters.
Lego SHOULD be criticised for this debacle.
I tried and failed on getting this release day, but feel like I dodged a bullet of further disappointment. I've assembled most of the stonewars version from my parts collection with just a few pieces on order. Works out well for me as one of my favorite things to do with official sets is mod them to enhance their proportions and detailing to be more realistic.
@wilcosu35:
Yeah, but consider the scale of it. If you laid the Ulysses flat, it’s about a mid-sized NBA player tall, and two Marie Antoinettes laid end to end in either of the horizontal dimensions. It weighs about as much as five grown adults. And because they launched it aboard the Shuttle, it had to enter a parking orbit and relaunch from there. It required a polar solar orbit (vertical to the solar plane), and you lose all the assistance of both the daily rotation of the planet and the annual revolution around the sun. To achieve this, from a stable Earth orbit, they had to slingshot it around Jupiter like the wildest curveball ever thrown. That’s where the booster rocket comes in.
This all had to be accomplished with a combined size and weight that was both compact enough to fight inside the Discovery’s payload bay, and light enough to not exceed their lift capacity to that parking orbit. The Atlantis and Endeavour were both built later, and lighter, and probably could have given it a higher starting point, but then you’re in a bind if neither of those craft are available come time to launch. The Columbia and Challenger were significantly heavier, and may not have even been able to pull off the altitude necessary to make the second launch successful.
Personally, I’d love to see a series of every Discovery payload for her full slate of missions. I’d really love to build them all, but I have no idea where to track down all the reference material, plus I already have a few high-dollar projects on my plate.
@thefirst said:
"Should have been free for everyone that purchased the Shuttle.
I don’t care if some people think it’s ugly or undeserving of the anger/upset. It IS important to some people and that’s all that matters.
Lego SHOULD be criticised for this debacle."
Getting the shuttle, heavily agree with you on this.
I care very much about things like these!
Also, on the matter of the ugliness, I'm not sure whether to call it hideous or not, but owning the saturn v and knowing how that was build, I kinda like it.
People won't be upset for not getting it because it's the greatest ever released.
Anyone who doesn't want it (CapnRex101 ?), I'd be happy to buy it from you!
My box says number 6373603. What’s the difference?
Edit: just saw 6373604 is the European version
@Classique said:
"Question, was this set truly worth 1600 VIP points? I get the printed 6x8 plate, but other than that...?"
Apparently, as you can still sell it for up to 500 Euro on eBay (actual sold items) and even the cheapest go for between 120 and 150 Euro. How stupid can one be to spend such insane amounts of money?
I'm beyond caring by now. TLG have shown on several occasions recently that they don't want my business anymore. So be it.
I bought a clone of the abandoned Technic Osprey from a Chinese knock-off manufacturer in response, to reward myself with something that will make me much more happy instead. Another huge TLG blunder. And having just built it I can say it was 65 Euro well spent.
@PurpleDave said:
"Personally, I’d love to see a series of every Discovery payload for her full slate of missions. I’d really love to build them all, but I have no idea where to track down all the reference material, plus I already have a few high-dollar projects on my plate."
Here: https://axmpaperspacescalemodels.com/index.php/shuttle-models/
This site has papercraft models for every payload launched on all five shuttles. It should be at least a decent visual reference or starting point.
@rljf311:
Interesting site, but not nearly as comprehensive as you think. They only have 15 of the 39 Discovery payloads, with STS-31 and STS-41 both being absent. 44 of the combined 133 missions are represented, so there's a _long_ way to go (but in their favor, the list is no longer growing).
Glad to see CapnRex feels the same about this set as I do. I would say it was definitely worth the points, but not worth getting upset about if you didn’t get one.
Although it is important to note that it does fit into the cargo pay without the need to remove the technic gears (RTG). CapnRex has this facing the wrong direction I believe, and then he needs to rotate it 90 degrees. Those technic gears fit in where you have the flat 1x2x2 bricks on either side of the bay (as opposed to the sloped roof tiles). The issue is not that it doesn’t fit, but it’s a puzzle that they didn’t show the solution for.
As someone who owns this set, you can actually put the probe in the shuttle, you just need to rotate it correctly. But the Hubble space telescope is definitely easier to put in the shuttle
I asked TLG Support some questions about this set a couple of weeks ago. So far, no response. I guess they don't want my business.
@MrJackson said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @MrJackson said:
"I just ordered the needed pieces from Bricks & Pieces and Bricklink to build the Stonewars Ulysses probe. https://www.stonewars.net/lego-news/ulysses-instructions/
It'll be well worth the wait for the B&P order as this version of the probe is superior in nearly every single way "
Is that one really so much better? To much incoherent griebeling...
Anyway,...the probe is dumb, cannot understand why people get upset over this,...
"
If you check out the sliding image where you can go between the image of the probe and the Lego build you'll see that there's a decent amount of greebling on the probe itself as well. And while it might not be flawless it is certainly an improvement over the bland official set."
I did check, thats why I said there is too much griebeling...the lego-model looks nothing like the real probe
I managed to get one when the site came up at 9:20 am. Yes it’s kinda plain, but worth the points to me. I am using one of the stands from the Saturn V to display it on, with the shuttle and Hubble.
@MainBricker said:
"So is it worth $150 on eBay then?"
From what I've been reading, nope. Plus, eBay scalpers are one of the reasons it 'sold out' so quickly. Don't legitimize them.
Certainly looks cr*p in the photos.
So now I am sitting here staring at my unopened copy of this set trying to decide whether to sell/keep and sell/build. No worries though as I am too happy with the shuttle to care much about this dilemma. I hate the idea of making someone pay an incredible price for this set. I wonder if there are any folks who would trade a desired set for this.
This looks very disappointing, really...
Truly baffling this wasn't offered with the Discovery set, especially if it's supposed to be able to interact with it.
After the disastrous launch, and the fact that anyone who purchased the 10283 set should have been reserved one, having now seen this review I'm really not bothered I didn't manage to get one. Still, I hope LEGO have learnt something from this situation so we don't get a repeat.