This is NASA Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102), built almost in minifig scale.
It is 114 x 74 x 36 studs (90 x 58 x 28 cm), more than 3100 parts and about 4 kgs, 
excluding batteries.

The mechanical part is strongly inspired by original 8480 Shuttle: I used two separate gearboxes,
powered by two Technic Mini-Motor, and 4 out of 8 mechanisms could be used at the same time 
(even if this is useless)
Midfuselage gearbox:
-Landing gear door open/close
-Landing gear up/down
-Crane (Canadarm, even if it doesn't look like the real one) slewing
-Crane luffing

Aft-fuselage gearbox:
-Payload bay door open/close (this doesn't work very well because of their weight)
-Elevons and body flap pitch
-SSME nozzles swivel (maybe i will drop this and add elevon roll...)
-Rudder airbrake opening.

At the moment, the SSME nozzles are missing, because I'm looking for something which does not 
require painting the green half-cones, that are also too large.
Also, the crane is missing, because I don't know the payload (will it be the Hubble or 
the Chandra X-Ray, or something else?), and I want the crane to be able to move it. (even if,
according to Wikipedia, Canadarm cannot even lift its own weight when it is on Earth)

As you can see from pictures, Solid Rocket Boosters are already completed, while building the
External Fuel Tank shouldn't take too much (I have to decide whether to paint it in rust orange 
or leave it in lego color, mostly dark-tan, which was quite cheap).

The real shuttle, when in vertical position, is sustained completely by the tank, which in turn
is sustained by the SRBs, but this is impossible, since my Shuttle is heavier than Tank + 2 SRB, 
so I need to build something resembling the Tail Service Masts on the Launch Platform before
putting it vertical.

I already have an early project for the Mobile Platform, which is going to be around one square 
metre, and I'm waiting for 8275 bulldozer, four of which will form the base of the Crawler.

I still have to decide the exact moment in which the Columbia is represented (some changes 
to external appearance were made during its service), and details could be incorrect now.

Please send questions and comments: nicko87@tiscali.it

Update: .ldr files will be available again after some changes

Update[Italy Only]: Il modello sarà esposto alla mostra "LEGO... che passione" 13-20 ott 2007 
presso il Teatro comunale di Castello d'Argile - BO