Random set of the day: Space Shuttle Launch
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 1682 Space Shuttle Launch, released in 1990. It's one of 28 Town sets produced that year. It contains 423 pieces and 3 minifigs.
It's owned by 1836 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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I wanted this set so badly as a kid. This and 6399 Airport Shuttle. Lego’s first space shuttle and still my favorite one.
I had this set, and it got a lot of play. The sheer volume of wing and engine pieces meant it got a lot of traction with MOCs and the girder pieces were great. I've got the astronaut from that set on display with my Saturn V now. A lot of stickers though, including on the fuel tank.
I love this set so much! Still have it!
This was definitely a limited release.
Cool set--I remember taking one of my Classic Space-style probes and putting in the shuttle's bay.
Nice classic set. I love this one.
Those girder pieces are one of my favourite parts
Was going into my dark ages by then, but was one of the sets I wanted to collect (and got) when getting back into collecting LEGO sets.
The first Lego space shuttle! Such a classic set. Although the 1995 version was more realistic and had more play features, I like this version better because it's all brick built, using wedge plates and barrels and jet engines in clever ways to produce a remarkably attractive result. The 1995 version introduced six or seven new molds to make the perfect Town space shuttle, which made it really good - but also really a cheat. Also, the launch pad and service tower is clearly modeled on pads 39A and 39B at Kennedy, unlike any other subsequent launch facilities rendered in Lego.
Iconic torso print on the blue guys. Best shirt ever.
I've come across a couple of these in old bulk lot purchases, but haven't tried to put it together. For whatever reason, this one has never interested me and you can get a good $50 just for the girders, grey wheels, black barrels, and astronaut.
So.... who wants to sell or trade me a minty one with box? :D
Always wanted as a kid, still looking for Shuttle Transcon 2, which I did get and miss a lot.
Ooh, is this the first time Lego really did the whole earth-bound space programme stuff as opposed to the more sci-fi ranges?
I’m sure I’ve seen this on Lego Ideas recently...
Square front, but very good design. Something I really would have liked to have at the time. Space shuttle was so fascinating. I dreamed I was a pilot in Columbia...
I really miss this style of Lego box art. Clear, simple, but undeniably appealing. It's been a long fall to Hidden Side.
One of the best sets of my Legoland collection.
Sadly this wasn't available in Germany apparantly. Strange set number as well. Weren't all the 1xxx sets various exclusives or limited editions of some kind?
Would have loved this as a kid.
@spacecadet
I like the Hidden Side box art. It’s interesting and unique. LEGO marketing has had to change with the times.
6339 has more meaning for me.
This set sits proudly at the end of my Lego City opposite the equally excellent Century Skyway. I think it's still one of, if not the best, umbilical tower/launch pad designs they've done. Still looks great at almost 30 years old. Yea, the scale is a little odd, but that's a result of what is basically a Space Shuttle version of the old 4-wide vehicles that made up '80s and '90s Town. for me, there's a charm to those old 4-wides that the newer 6-wide vehicles can't replicate, even though 6-wide allows for more realistic proportions and some of the sets, like 60150 Pizza Van, are really, really great City sets.
This was my first big set when I was a kid. I remember building it with my dad. I still have it set up in my Lego room.
I vividly remember my mom buying my brother and I this set on the way home from the first counseling / therapist session we had for our parent's divorce. We didn't have a lot of money growing up, and the divorce made things harder, but she found a way to get us this one. I was about 10 at the time and loved this set. It was proudly displayed at one end of our huge city, and played with many, many times. Crazy how memories are linked together and come back.
Fond memories of this set. It was the first big set I got. It is still at my parents' house; it was complete and on display until my mother let my nephew disassemble it and try to put it back together. Many pieces are now missing :(
I still have vivid memories of receiving this set on Christmas Eve from my grandparents. At the time this was a huge gift for me and so yes there's a lot of nostalgia that goes along with it. That said, it's also a great set with fantastic parts which I've used in tons of other builds throughout the years!
Excellent set. I had it as a kid and I loved the baseplate and the red girders. Wonderful realism for a set from its era.
The red gantry is, I feel, the best part for really nailing the feel of the shuttle launches.
Still one of the best shuttles so many years later.
While I never got a shuttle in the 90s, the 2017 Creator 3-in-1 shuttle for me is the most recent example of a good brick-built shuttle.
I did build numerous spaceships in the 90s however combining parts of Classic Space Galaxy Explorer with like Aquasharks cockpit canopies etc to make my own fantasy designs.
2019 did bring a lot of nice human space training/exploration figures however, but I still prefer the 2017 Creator shuttle over the 2019 City version.
The Overwatch Gibraltar set is also a great Licensed example of a very nice "futuristic" shuttle+launch tower.
Quite rare set in Europe
My white whale! love all things space and I think this is one of the most iconic, moreso than the classic space sets for me, maybe because I am younger and classic space was before my time.
Looking through the other town sets that were released that year, I wonder:
Is 1690-1: Helicopter worth more if you still have the tube of toothpaste with it?
This is/was truly my favorite set as a kid! It puts a huge smile on my face to now see my own kids playing with/destroying/rebuilding it.
At the moment we are actually using the base plate and launch tower as a sorely out of scale base for our 21309 Saturn V!