Spaceport

My 10 year old grandson is a space nut and when he saw this he asked to get it for Xmas. I was a little reluctant because some reviews said it was somewhat easy and not challenging enough for the price. He built it in about 3 hours and displayed it on the fireplace mantle. When people see it they comment on how nice it looks and he tells them he is keeping it as a collectors item and seems to be very proud of how good it looks. Once in a while I see him take it down from the mantle and see him play with it then he puts it back again. I think he really likes the design and what it symbolizes. So I would suggest that if this particular set sparks an interest for someone it is well worth the price. To me it seems more like a model assembly than Lego, but I did not assemble it, he was extremely happy. more less

This set provides everything LEGO fans need to build, stage and play-out a shuttle lift off. A service worker can drive the astronauts to the launch pad, where they board the shuttle and blast off. more less

The set as a whole is very well constructed and features many play elements that help make up for the steep price point. Which is an unfortunate side effect of the large number of custom or over-sized elements included. With that out of the way though, lets get to the meat of the review. First off the inclusion of the shuttle crawler is a welcome addition to any Lego CIty spaceports and provides something I don't believe we've seen before. The set is very solidly built and the shuttle fits perfectly into the platform. My one issue with it is that it is roughly 3 bricks too wide to fit perfectly on the available Lego road plates. While not an issue for your average child, it is a minor annoyance for those who use the road plates. The shuttle itself is a very nice update to previous shuttles while maintaining the same general styling of past Lego shuttles. The boosters detach easily from the shuttle and reattach with little issue. So for the shuttle itself I have no complaints. Overall I am very satisfied with it except for two points, one which I mentioned above. The second is that I would have liked a gantry for the crawler to pull into much like what 1682-1 (Space Shuttle Launch from 1990 which I also own) came with. While I understand the extra costs associated with it, I think having a more substantial spaceport included would have helped take some of the sting out of the cost of the set. more less

The above score is for the set at regular retail price. For the money, you could get many more pieces if you went for a different large LEGO set - and frankly, this set doesn't feel like it's worth $100+ dollars to me. Therefore, it gets hammered pretty hard for Kid and Adult value. That said, the play value is very high - two astronauts, a shuttle with removable fuel tanks, a shuttle launch vehicle, a small truck to cart the astronauts to the shuttle, and a countdown clock? I'm not sure what else could have been included to up the play value any more! more less

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. more less