Creator

Space Shuttle Adventure

A little shuttle that keeps giving you three different reasons to love it.

Brick Rated Score

4.3/5

Set 31117 · 2021

Pieces486

Minifigs1

Year2021

Set number31117

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The verdict

I built the shuttle first and figured that was the whole show, then I tore it down for the rocket and realized how much thought went into making the same pile of bricks work as two completely different silhouettes.

The lunar lander is the one that won me over though, it feels like its own little set instead of a leftover. For under forty pieces a dollar and a genuinely new astronaut, this is one of the smartest small Creator sets LEGO has put out in years. If you want a big showpiece shuttle, look elsewhere, but if you like the puzzle of rebuilding, this is a real treat.

Best for: space fans and rebuild-happy Creator collectors who want three small builds instead of one big one

The full review

What it is

I went in expecting a cute little shuttle and came out impressed by how much LEGO squeezed out of 486 pieces. The Space Shuttle Adventure is a Creator 3-in-1 that rebuilds into a rocket and, best of all, a lunar lander that genuinely stands on its own as a design. The shuttle model itself is charming, with a payload bay that opens and a satellite to deploy, and it comes with one astronaut who is new for 2021, kitted out with a proper helmet, gold visor, and a little multi-tool that clips into his hand.

The catch

I will be straight with you about the tradeoffs. This is not the giant shuttle model some space fans picture when they hear the name, it is a compact tabletop build, so if you want a big display piece this isn't it. You only get one minifigure, and a few reviewers said they wished LEGO had given him a second face, something like a concentrated or G-force expression, instead of the single calm look he ships with. Pricing also landed a bit better in the US than it did across the pond, where some felt it ran a touch high for what's here.

Who it's for

This is a set for someone who actually enjoys the rebuilding part of a 3-in-1, not just displaying model A and forgetting the box exists. If tearing a model down to build something entirely different sounds fun rather than tedious, you'll get a lot of mileage out of this one. If you're after a single impressive shuttle to sit on a shelf, I'd point you toward a bigger set instead.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

Building the shuttle first feels straightforward and satisfying, with a nose section that tapers nicely and wings that clip on cleanly. Where it gets interesting is tearing it apart afterward. The rocket reuses almost the entire shuttle's parts pile but reads as a completely different shape, tall and sleek instead of winged, and it was clearly engineered with that transformation in mind from the start rather than bolted on as an afterthought.

The lunar lander is the standout for me. It uses angled slopes and newer bracket pieces to build a spindly, insectoid landing module that looks nothing like the shuttle it came from, and several reviewers singled it out as the best of the three builds. The astronaut's helmet piece with its gold visor and the multi-tool accessory are small but nice touches, and at roughly twelve cents a piece for three separate builds and a new figure, the value here is genuinely strong for a Creator set this size.

Fun facts

01The astronaut minifigure introduced for this set wears white legs instead of the flat silver legs previously paired with the same torso print, a small but noted variation among collectors.
02The rocket alternate build was inspired by real NASA rocket designs, and the lunar lander nods toward the look of the Apollo lunar modules.
0331117 launched in 2021 at $39.99 in the US and has since retired, with secondary market prices on sites like BrickEconomy climbing toward $60 to $90 for sealed copies.
04Fan builders on Rebrickable have published dozens of unofficial alternate builds using the set's parts, including rovers and exploration vehicles beyond the official three models.