LEGO® Designers interview: 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery

Zachary Hill recently conducted an exclusive interview for New Elementary with not one but two LEGO® designers who worked on 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery: the set designer Milan Madge and element designer Mani Zamani. This transcript has been edited for clarity, readability and narrative flow.

New Elementary: The Discovery Shuttle is an amazing spacecraft and the new LEGO® 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery is a fantastic homage to it. How did you enjoy the opportunity to develop this set, Milan? 

Milan Madge: It was great working with NASA and it really was a childhood dream come true for everyone involved.

© 2021 The LEGO Group

New E: In the LEGO Designer Video, you mentioned a part of that childhood dream: admiring the Discovery which was in the LEGO catalogue when you were young. Which version of the Shuttle was that?

Milan M: That set was the Space Shuttle Discovery from 2003 (7470). I loved the pictures of that set but never owned it myself, so I built my own out of multicoloured bricks.

LEGO® NINJAGO® review + MOCs: 71719 Zane’s Mino Creature & 71721 Skull Sorcerer’s Dragon

Aron Gerencsér (@_pohaturon) reviews two 2020 LEGO® NINJAGO® stes today as well as building his own models using some of their parts: 71719 Zane’s Mino Creature & 71721 Skull Sorcerer’s Dragon. Buying these sets? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

LEGO® NINJAGO® has been spinning for a decade, and over the course of ten years we’ve seen nearly twice that many subthemes, with the latest having been a dungeon crawling fantasy adventure inspired by tabletop RPGs. 71719 Zane’s Mino Creature & 71721 Skull Sorcerer’s Dragon are two of the bigger sets in the wave, both featuring the “game experience” gimmick prevalent in it. 

Rolling a party consisting solely of thief-sorcerer multiclasses is a bold move. Let’s see if it works out for the ninja or if they get wiped by the boss. 

LEGO® Minifigures review & MOCs: 71030 Looney Tunes

Thomas Jenkins (@thomas_jenkins_bricks) reviews the recently revealed LEGO® Minifigures 71030 Looney Tunes, coming 26 April 2021. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

It seems we only just welcomed the release of a host of new Collectible Minifigures with series 21, but they’re back once more and feature a wealth of new moulds to represent Warner Bros’ iconic cast of animated characters. LEGO Collectible Minifigures 71030 Looney Tunes are available from 26 April 2021.

LEGO® Marvel Super Heroes review: 76199 Carnage

TobyMac (on Rebrickable) examines LEGO® Marvel Super Heroes 76199 Carnage, available priced US$59.99 from 11 April 2021, and £54.99/ AU$89.99 on 1 May. Consider using our affiliate links: USA LEGO Shop | UK LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop. New Elementary may get a commission. It's also available as a retailer exclusive in some countries. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

So, today I’m doing something a bit different. I first built 76199 Carnage for a review on Rebrickable.com, but when I found out how many interesting elements there are to be found here, I decided to write this additional piece for New Elementary.

Minifig shown for scale!

New LEGO® pieces for April 2021

TobyMac (on Rebrickable) has created a list showing all 55 new LEGO® elements released in April 2021 sets, with links to which sets they come in, so you can check for the ones you might be interested in.If you want a more detailed look at some of these new parts check out our recent reviews of 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery.

LEGO® City review: 60243 Police Helicopter Chase

Tim Goddard (@tim_goddard928) reviews a 2020 LEGO® City set today with an interesting inclusion: magnets! Buying 60243 Police Helicopter Chase? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Last time I looked at a brief history of LEGO® magnets, today I look at the 2020 return of the magnet and one of the two sets that these new offerings come in. But before the pull of the magnets overwhelms us, let us have a look at the rest of the set.

This is a fairly basic set, at least by New Elementary standards, and so something that AFOLs may easily overlook. It is the kind of set designed to appeal to younger children who might just be able to pester a parent into buying it for them during a trip to the supermarket. It offers good value for money and plenty of play value and I have often seen it available on discount.

Old Elementary: A brief history of LEGO® magnets

Tim Goddard (@tim_goddard928) is back with another delve into the parts of yesteryear: an overview of various magnets the LEGO Group have included in products over the decades. 

Magnets have been in LEGO® sets for a long time. They were first used as practical train carriage couplings starting back in 1967 and for were restricted to train sets for over two decades. A variety of parts were made exclusively for this purpose and they were just perfect for a bit of shunting and easy carriage separation.

LEGO® House Limited Edition review: 40502 The Brick Moulding Machine

Ben Davies has received an exciting set from Billund to review for you today: LEGO® 40502 The Brick Moulding Machine which is priced 599 DKK and only available in LEGO House in Denmark. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Announced earlier this month, 40502 The Brick Moulding Machine is the latest exclusive set from LEGO® House, and the second in the “LEGO House Limited Edition” series, following 40501 The Wooden Duck introduced in 2020.

LEGO® set review: 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery

Omid (@nwbricks) examined all the new parts in LEGO® 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery yesterday and today he explores the build process of this 2,354-piece set. It's available from 1 April 2021, and if you're buying it (or anything) please consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

There’s actually two separate models in LEGO® NASA Space Shuttle Discovery to build: the Shuttle itself and its precious cargo, the Hubble Space Telescope. Each gets its own stand and information panel, but they can be combined into one display piece in a variety of ways and, yes, the entire telescope will fit snugly in the cargo bay - albeit with the solar panels removed.

LEGO® parts review: 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery

Omid (@nwbricks) has examines the upcoming LEGO® 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery over 2 articles, starting here with a look at its pieces and then his review of the build. Buying this set in April? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Hot on the heels of last year’s 21309/92176 Saturn V reissue and the 21321 International Space Station, the latest instalment of the LEGO–NASA collaboration takes the form of an incredible Space Shuttle Discovery model. Take a trip with us back to April 1990 and one of the most important space flights ever undertaken: Mission STS-31, the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope.

The 10283 Space Shuttle Discovery is on sale from 1 April 2021 with 2354 pieces. There are no minifigs or microfigs included, so I invited some friends. It will retail for 179,99€/ £169.99/ US$199.99/ CA$269.99/ AU$299.99/ NZ$319.99.