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The LEGO Icons series has garnered widespread popularity among enthusiasts, captivating fans with its meticulously crafted sets that pay homage to iconic designs and cultural landmarks. Offering a diverse range of sets, from architectural marvels like the Taj Mahal to beloved classics like the typewriter and the classic TV sitcom Friends, Icons LEGO appeals to collectors and builders alike. Each set in the series showcases intricate details and authentic features, providing a rewarding building experience for fans of all ages. Whether recreating famous scenes or displaying stunning models as decorative pieces, LEGO Icons sets continue to delight and inspire creativity across the globe.
Set Details
Boasting an impressive 2,354 pieces, this set offers enthusiasts a chance to recreate the awe-inspiring Space Shuttle Discovery and its historic payload, the Hubble Space Telescope. Packed with intricate features, the set allows builders to open the payload bay to deploy the Hubble Telescope, adjust elevons, engage landing gear, and deploy the robotic arm. The cockpit opens to reveal flight and mid-decks with seats for five crew members, while the telescope features movable solar panels and an aperture door. With multiple display stands included, builders have the flexibility to showcase the space shuttle model and telescope individually or together, celebrating the remarkable achievements of space exploration.
| Model Name | NASA Space Shuttle Discovery |
| Model Number | 10283 |
| Theme | Icons |
| Sub Themes | Space |
| Pieces | 2354 |
| RRP | $200 / £170 / €200 |
| Price per Piece | 9c / 7p / 9c |
| Minifigures | N/A |
| Minifigures Value | N/A |
| Launch Date | April 2021 |
| Current Status | Retiring Soon |
| Retirement Date | (Projected) December 2024 |
Investment Potential
LEGO 10283 is a superb LEGO Icons model of the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery with nearly 2,500 pieces and expected to retire at the end of this year. Whilst it has had a relatively long shelf life (3 years to date) demand is still keen and supply limited by it having been a LEGO exclusive set for its lifetime.
So, is LEGO Icons NASA Space Shuttle Discovery a strong LEGOs investment?
| Projected 5 Yr Value | $365 / £290 / €347 |
| % Increase ($) | 82% |
| Projected Future Annual Growth | 15% |
| Theme Growth | 12% |
| Sub-Theme Growth | N/A |
Theme Analysis
The LEGO Icons theme has nearly 100 sets since launch and has returned an average annualised growth of 12% albeit there is quite a broad range of performance within the LEGOs theme as you would expect with such a broad range of subjects and sets. This for us makes it very clearly a theme to be selective as to which are likely to be good LEGO investments. The Space sub-theme with LEGO Icons doesn’t have enough retired set information for us to have a view on it.
LEGO 10241 Maersk Line Triple-E has more than doubled in value since retiring in 2014 (8% annualised growth) whilst LEGO 10232 Palace Cinema has seen 150% growth since retiring in 2017 (16% annualised growth).
| Set Number | Set Name | Retired Date | RRP | Current Value | Total Growth | Annualised Growth |
| 10232 | Palace Cinema | December 2017 | $150 | $379 | 153% | 16% |
| 10241 | Maersk Line Triple-E | December 2014 | $150 | $314 | 109% | 8% |
| 10244 | Fairground Mixer | December 2016 | $150 | $241 | 61% | 7% |
| 10262 | James Bond Aston Martin DB5 | December 2021 | $150 | $189 | 26% | 11% |
Comparable Set Analysis
As the LEGO Icons Space sub-theme isn’t able to provide us with strong historic data we have looked at the LEGO Ideas NASA sub-theme to find our comparable sets. An exceptionally strong sub-theme showing just how popular NASA based LEGO sets are delivering average annualised growth of 26% across the 5 retired sets.
LEGO 21104 Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover is the stand out LEGO investment from the LEGO NASA sets having seen over 1200% growth from its $30 RRP to a current value just above $400 (32% annualised growth!). A recently retired set LEGO 21321 International Space Station has shown positive initial signs with its value increasing 40% since retiring at the end of 2022.
| Set Number | Set Name | Retired Date | RRP | Current Value | Total Growth | Annualised Growth |
| 21104 | NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover | December 2014 | $30 | $403 | 1243% | 32% |
| 21309 | NASA Apollo Saturn V | December 2019 | $120 | $195 | 63% | 12% |
| 21312 | Women of NASA | December 2018 | $25 | $58 | 132% | 17% |
| 21321 | International Space Station | December 2022 | $70 | $97 | 39% | 30% |
Conclusion
LEGO 10283 is a NASA LEGO set we expect to do well post retirement. A strong set from the strong LEGO Icons theme, a strong brand in NASA, supply has been relatively limited and demand strong, with a rarely discounted price from its RRP. Due to retire this year we think this is definitely a good contender to add to your portfolio
