A new out-of-this-world LEGO Icons set was revealed today, but 11382 Hubble Space Telescope isn’t the first model to be based on the orbiting observatory.
LEGO Icons officially revealed 11382 Hubble Space Telescope today, a 1,252-piece build due to arrive early next month. The model represents a scaled recreation of the groundbreaking joint NASA and ESA space observatory that launched back in 1990, yet it isn’t the first time that we’ve seen the scientific platform recreated in brick-form.
Debuting in 2021 was the now long-since retired 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery, a LEGO Icons set that just so happened to include its own Hubble Telescope to place in the craft's opening payload bay. Comprised of just 382 pieces, the small side build featured moveable solar panels and an opening aperture door, as well as its own display stand and a stickered information plaque.
While 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery’s Hubble Space Telescope may have been the first version of the scientific array to be released, 11382 Hubble Space Telescope’s much higher piece count pushes the detail and functionality of the upcoming orbital observatory to another level altogether.
For starters, the new LEGO Icons model’s aperture door is larger and leads to brick-built primary and secondary mirrors, with removable panels exposing a detailed instrument bay packed with gyroscopes and other equipment.
Both iterations of the LEGO Icons Hubble Space Telescope boast solar arrays made from diecut vinyl sheets, although the two gold and dark blue pieces that appeared in 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery have been replaced with a pair of correctly-coloured silver and dark blue versions in 11382 Hubble Space Telescope.
The upcoming LEGO Icons build also comes with its own dedicated display stand that includes some of the incredible solar imagery that the observatory has captured over the years, such as the Pillars of Creation and The Butterfly Nebula, and even an astronaut minifigure to complete the model.
11382 Hubble Space Telescope releases on August 1, with the LEGO Icons model priced at £119.99 / $139.99 / €129.99 and available to pre-order in the UK and Europe right now.
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