Like me, Branko is a long-standing fan of Space LEGO. Today, he looks at a set that is just a little different from the rest of this year’s space offerings…

Growing up with Space LEGO (not yet labelled Classic Space at this time) and a strong love for Science Fiction, especially of the space-faring kind, I was very excited about LEGO’s space-themed push this year. Many themes this year have some sets tagged with the ‘Space’ corner on the box, somehow tied to this central topic. Duplo is no different with 10422 3in1 Space Shuttle Adventure. The box contains 58 pieces and retails for AU$89.99/£59.99/US$59.99/€64.99, which is more than $1 per piece! Clearly, this set cannot be considered by such an ‘AFOL’ standard; we need to consider things a little differently.

What does Duplo offer to the Space realm? We will explore how this set can be enjoyed by older children; the ones who learned to read in a century that started with ’19’. How does it compare to half-sized LEGO (in comparison to Duplo), and why might you consider this set? We will also consider briefly if this set might be enjoyable by children of a new generation: the ones who are currently counting their age in single digits.

The Parts

The parts all easily fit in a picture, showing a nice palette of purple and purple-adjacent colours; the only main exceptions being a lime-green part (psst, it’s an alien) and some yellow parts (psst, those are for the sun).

The standout parts, however, are all neatly printed pieces, including the glitter brick and the pearlescent star. The printing on the parts is really nice; especially the metallic grey/blue ‘screen with joystick’ brick. Adult LEGO builders may not often use LEGO for other uses than support structures, but these parts could certainly warrant a visible use in LEGO builds.

The Builds

True to a 3-in-1 set, there are building instructions for three separate builds. Because they are in a single booklet, this wasn’t as clear as the Creator 3-in-1 sets with separate booklets. The booklet includes some comics telling stories about the adventures of the figures so the builds can be seen as various stages in the stories, this creates some sense to keep it all flowing through.

The first build is a large rocket loading a mega cup of coffee (?) and powered with a big propeller. The story shows clearly that the propeller is required to drive the rocket. I’m not sure what Aerospace engineers would think of this suggestion, but hey; it seems to do the trick for this rocket.

Initially, the light brick on the top of the rocket is all that lights the world of the Space Duplo figures, and it does it with passion! The brick has several different modes; different colours, different blink patterns or even a gradual colour-changing pattern

Soon, day and night join the crew to provide nighttime and daylight, and an alien comes along, so there is time to put the drink to good use.

The other builds show some alternatives for rockets while illustrating a few nice build techniques for beginning builders, such as stacking brick across gaps between other bricks and locking parts in place by placing a plat across. It’s a great way to get the basics into young minds and prepare for LEGO’s smaller bricks. Adults who haven’t gotten these techniques ingrained yet… pay attention to this!

Is there space for giants in space?

My most important consideration is how well this set integrates with some of the other space-themed sets that have come to us this year. I am particularly enamoured with the Friends range, so I transferred the Duplo team to Mars for a bit of a meet-and-greet.

On arrival, there was a brief ‘mine is bigger than yours’ contest, but very quickly, it turned into cooperation when the Friends rover needed a bit of maintenance, which the Duplo team happily provided.

The ‘minifigs’ that come with 10422 3in1 Space Shuttle Adventure are simply adorable. They do not have air tanks and cannot take their helmets off. But they have the typical Duplo cuteness, and I actually like how they look next to the mini-dolls. I feel that if minifigs and minidolls can share space, then Duplo certainly can join the party; they are welcome on my future planets!

The Swoosh Test

It wouldn’t be a spaceship review on the Rambling Brick without a swoosh test of some form… and here it is:

The Value Proposition

Duplo sets have a very different value from regular-sized LEGO sets, so we cannot asses the value based on a price-per-piece assessment or a number of ‘minifigs’. The main build is a pretty sizeable rocket that dwarfs more expensive sets in the LEGO realms. The light brick is simply fantastic, as well as the quality of the figures and the printed parts. It will provide young children with many hours of pleasure, building and re-building and playing with their builds. For adults, the Duplo space figures are adorable, and the light brick deserves to be seen in other LEGO builds; I know it will certainly find its way into one of my MOCs one day!

Although it is not exactly cheap, there is a lot to love about this set, and I have already recommended this to anyone willing to hear. If you like Space; you almost owe it to yourself to have some Duplo space in your life. It currently proudly sits next to my desk; and I’m thinking it would be nice if the light brick would come on automatically when I enter the room.

I give this set an arbitrary 3.5 out of 5 praise units if you are a veteran youth (like me), or 4.5 out of 5 praise units if your school years are still mostly ahead of you. The 10422 3in1 Space Shuttle Adventure is now available from your local retailer or LEGO.com. It has a recommended retail price of AUD89.99; USD59.99; €64.99;£59.99, but you might be able to find it already offered at a discount.

This set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes, all opinions are my own.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!