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    Here’s a look at the LEGO NASA Ulysses Space Probe VIP reward!

    March 31, 2021 | 20

    Update 14/4: The launch in Australia and the UK was a complete dumpster fire. Here’s a recap of this shambolic mess of a launch.

    Remember to set your alarms for the impending launch of LEGO 10283 Space Shuttle Discovery, which will be releasing on LEGO.com on 1 April 2021!

    Update 14/4: The Ulysses is now sold out in Australia. For the rest of the world, here are the timings you should be aware of:

    • 10am CEST (Europe)
    • 9am BST (UK)
    • 9am EDT (USA)

    Do note, we had a ton of dramas in Australia, and the Ulysses Probe got loaded up very late (about 4 hours late), so be prepared for glitchy websites and to refresh the VIP Rewards Centre constantly. Hope it goes much smoother! Godspeed!

    Update 13/4: LEGO VIP members were sent out this EDM, confirming that the launch of the Ulysses Probe is imminent. There’s also a product page for the Ulysses Satellite that’s currently online which confirms that it’s been loaded online.

    Speaking to LEGO Australia’s Customer Service today, they mentioned that it would be available at 9am AEST on 14 April 2021, but take that with a grain of salt. Time in your country might differ, but keep an eye out on this blog and follow my Facebook page for updates.

    Update: Just heard from LEGO and the Probe is going to be delayed. No ETA of when it’ll show up as a reward.

    As part of the launch, here’s a look at the Ulysses Space Probe VIP Reward, which you can redeem with 1,800 LEGO VIP points from tomorrow onwards.

    The Ulysses Space Probe was sent to explore and observe the sun on the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-41 mission in 1990, so it’s almost the perfect companion to the set.

    It’s a little uncertain when the Space Shuttle will be available for purchase, but it’s safe to check at midnight local time (AEDT here in Australia) as that’s usually when new sets go up online.

    See below for regional links.

    What do you think of the Ulysses Space Probe? Will you be picking it up with the Space Shuttle?

    News

    20 responses to “Here’s a look at the LEGO NASA Ulysses Space Probe VIP reward!”

    1. Andrew says:
      April 14, 2021 at 5:18 PM

      Not sure this’ll be read now but FWIW .. the Ulysses Satellite set was released on 14/4 – it was advertised for 9am, it finally came online around 12-15. It then sold out within the hour.

      I’d have to ask, what’s the point of Lego creating a false scarcity for a set like this? Very few fans will have been able to redeem it, and we’ll see much of what was snapped up immediately available from resellers. At the time of writing there is one on eBay listed for $1,000, which is just nuts – you can get the Osprey for less than that.

      It *should* have been available as a companion set to the Shuttle, either as a GWP or an optional redemption/purchase for those buyers. Lego needs to be better at getting desirable sets into the hands of fans rather than scalpers. I make it a point to never buy sets at more than RRP, because that just encourages the behaviour. What it means, though, is that I will often miss out.

      Reply
      • Andrew Mais says:
        April 14, 2021 at 11:52 PM

        It looks like the NA version sold out within 20 minutes this morning. Very disappointing!

        Reply
        • Dario says:
          April 15, 2021 at 12:39 AM

          Indeed. I saw Jay’s email, but as an AFOL, I have a day job. So I just came out from two hours of back-to-back meetings, just to find out it was sold out.
          I won’t rehash what everyone else has already said – but this is a sh*tshow. LEGO has really let all AFOLs and VIPs down here.

          Reply
    2. Andy Evans says:
      April 8, 2021 at 10:04 PM

      I am an AFOL and also teach Lego to children with ALN.
      Bit concerned and disappointed that Lego are supplying an over priced secondary market.
      Most of my students can’t afford Lego so I’ve funded the resources out of my war pension ( no worries, thanks UK taxpayer).
      The issue I have is we look forward to the GWP’s. I factor them with what I purchase and the interests/ability of the students.
      So come on Lego, cut out the profiteers and spread the fun fairly.

      Reply
    3. Andy says:
      April 1, 2021 at 9:29 PM

      Having had a think about my earlier comments, I’ve noticed that as of 11am in the UK there is still stock of the Shuttle available online.

      I wonder if they had bundled the Ulysses probe in with it whether that would still be the case? Personally I will be buying the shuttle, but I don’t feel any urgency to buy it just yet as the only incentive is an Easter chick. Maybe others have felt the same and it looks better for Lego to have their newest model still available to purchase at a sensible hour, rather than it selling out at 4am on release day.

      Of course I don’t know how many were produced anyway, so maybe the shuttle had a much larger run than other recent sets.

      As for the VIP points paid for vs using points for money off – If you did use your 1800 points to get the model purely to sell on the secondary market, I’m sure you’d be able to sell it for more than £20. £20 off is 3,600 points, so you’re already up on that trade. Although as Dario says, if this becomes a ‘thing’ people will not use their points for fear of missing out on the next exclusive.

      Reply
      • Jay says:
        April 3, 2021 at 10:57 PM

        Same here. I was ready to purchase at midnight if the Probe went up, but I think this is the Porsche VIP Welcome Pack all over again.

        The lack of communication or clarity is most disappointing. Like you, I would’ve much preferred it being bundled, especially since you can only redeem one VIP gift at a time.

        I can say that many ambassadors have raised this concern directly to LEGO, so hopefully they’ll take this onboard. Between this and the Classic Space VIP coin selling out almost immediately, there’s been a TON of disgruntled fans.

        Reply
    4. Bill J says:
      April 1, 2021 at 4:50 PM

      I was really looking forward to the Ulysses space probe. Read some chatter that it was possibly held up in the Suez Canal but who knows. I also agree that it should have been a GWP instead of points. Although I was surprised to receive the 40335 Space Rocket Ride as a GWP when I purchased 2 Discovery Shuttle sets just after midnight. Man was that hard though. Lego site was bombarded and crashing bad. Finally purchase went through after several attempts. Checked back later and a queue had been started with nearly 2000 people waiting. Unreal.

      Reply
      • Bill J says:
        April 1, 2021 at 8:01 PM

        This was the scenario in the US anyway. Not sure about elsewhere worldwide.

        Reply
        • Dario says:
          April 2, 2021 at 12:33 AM

          I bought mine at 12:30 AM EDT, 04:30 UTC. No queue, no delay, no issues. Bought just one – I buy & build them, I am just a AFOL – don’t resell them.
          It was already up for sale at 04:00 UTC, but I kept waiting and refreshing the “Rewards” section just in case. Finally I bought it, concerned it might sell out.
          And there’s something odd going out on the online US Lego store. If you add it to your cart, then the cart on the upper right shows not “(1)”, but instead “(3)” – like they added two GWP. But when you actually go to the cart – there’s only the Shuttle. Weird. Tried being logged-in w/ my VIP account, and also logged out – same behavior. Same also in two different browsers. Weird weird.

          Reply
          • Bill J says:
            April 2, 2021 at 3:12 AM

            I build all of mine also. I purchased the second shuttle for a work mate that’s a AFOL as well. Did you get the 2 different GWPs with the Shuttle purchase? My cart and receipt show the Easter bunny carrot house and the 40335 Space Rocket Ride that was released in 2019. I hadn’t heard anything about the Rocket Ride promo.

            Reply
            • Dario says:
              April 2, 2021 at 3:58 AM

              Nah, I didn’t get anything *at all*. It seems “something” was supposed to happen (see above – three items were added to the cart when I added the shuttle, but only one was there at checkout – the Shuttle).
              I’ve never had but good experiences when buying from the Lego store, but lately (last year), it seems haphazard. Like – on March 15 I ordered the “Spring Lantern Festival”, and I got two GWP @ cart – Amelia Earhart and the Easter bunny. They have NOT shipped ANY. Which is AOK by me. But then on March 30 I bought the Imperial Drone – also added the Sea Xtra to go > 60. Got the Easter GWP added, I also used the code to get one of the Winnie prints. And today I just got a box w/ the Xtra, the Easter bunny – and the Winnie the Pooh print.
              Which OBTW – I already got another Winnie print, which came inside a cardboard folder to protect it. This one ? Just thrown into the box together w/ the bill, which broke in two part – and the print was STUCK to the adhesive address label. So now I have to call Lego support to complain . . .
              I understand COVID-19 and everything – but as I said, it’s a bit of a poopshow.

              Reply
          • Ed says:
            April 7, 2021 at 8:09 AM

            12:30 AM is when the Lego shop was functioning. Between 12:00 AM and 12:25 it was slow and error-ridden as people scrambled to get hold of their Shuttle before it sold out.

            And like others, my order online showed two GWPs included but the followup confirmations don’t even mention them.

            Still no word when Ulysses set will be released?

            Reply
      • Jay says:
        April 4, 2021 at 7:31 PM

        Oh good point re: the Suez Canal. I still think it’s a little shoddy from LEGO that there was little to no communication. That’s a nice little bonus, though! At least they had some sort of backup bonus in place.

        It’s kinda scary how difficult how hard is it to buy LEGO on launch day. I hope we don’t get to a point where raffles and other shonky buying methods will be required.

        Reply
        • Andrew says:
          April 5, 2021 at 6:05 PM

          Yep. I stayed up this time (no simple feat at my age :D), but it seems in this particular instance it wasn’t necessary – there’s still stock a few days later. I wonder if pulling Ulysses caused many to delay their purchase?

          Winnie the Pooh, however, sold out before breakfast and appears not to have yet restocked.

          Reply
    5. Dario says:
      April 1, 2021 at 4:06 AM

      I think it sucks they made the Ulysses Space Probe a VIP redeemable reward when it should have been either a gift with purchase, or an item on its own – with own price.
      Because if this becomes a trend, then LEGO is telling us “you should NOT spend your points on anything – online discount code, in-store discount coupon, raffles, etc. because we might do this again, and if you don’t have enough points in your account, then you won’t be able to get this”. And that sucks, and it is st**id.
      I have personally spent U$S 1,300 on LEGO since Jan 1st, 2021. The Police modular ? Got it. Ninjago City Gardens ? Yup, that one too. Medieval Blacksmith ? Got it. Star Wars AT-AT ? Sure thing ! Spring Lantern Festival, Winnie the Pooh, Imperial Probe Droid.
      So three months into 2021, U$S 1,300, I may end spending U$S 4,000 *on LEGO online* this calendar year.
      And then I can’t use my rewards, because I might miss on one of those “VIP only exclusives but you need to have a points balance in your account” ? How can that make sense ?
      You seem to be plugged-in w/ LEGO, and seem to be able to provide feedback directly. I would appreciate if you could share the above w/ them.

      Reply
      • Andy says:
        April 1, 2021 at 2:25 PM

        I couldn’t have put it better myself.

        Hopefully when it is released, take-up will be low and they won’t do it again, but I doubt it…. collectors will be collectors.

        Had this been a GWP, I’d have bought the shuttle this morning, but as it stands in the U.K. the only thing we get is the Easter Chick and free delivery, so personally I’m holding off for now until a GWP comes along I’m actually interested in, or double points.

        I’d be tempted to make my own probe rather than spend my points on it, as I’d rather use those points for money off.

        Reply
      • Jay says:
        April 4, 2021 at 7:51 PM

        I agree. LEGO have been going hard on VIP rewards this year (don’t get me started on the coins), so there’s the actual fear that you might miss out on something cool.

        The limited availability has definitely been raised directly to LEGO, but your comments are all completely valid. That’s quite odd that you feel that way, given that you sound like you typically buy mostly from LEGO, and technically should have enough VIP points in your stash.

        But will ensure this is raised to LEGO directly.

        Reply
    6. Andrew says:
      April 1, 2021 at 12:29 AM

      I’ve just logged on to try and redeem this (12:20am) but there’s no sign of it in the reward centre. Some discussion on Brickset that it may have been delayed. The Shuttle itself is available now.

      Reply

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    Hello and welcome to Jay's Brick Blog. In here, you'll find independent LEGO set reviews, commentary on LEGO trends & news, bargain hunting tips and an inside look into the life of an average LEGO fan. Find out more about me here

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