Review: 60502 Airport with Airplane
Posted by Huw,
It's been a good few years since LEGO made a decent-sized airport, but the recently released 60502 Airport with Airplane is certainly that: I believe it's the largest City one to date.
It has all the amenities and facilities you'd expect to find in an airport, and it's populated with nine minifigures, providing plenty of play opportunities.
With that in mind, we asked our aviation expert, 12-year-old William, to build the set and review it for us.
Summary
60502 Airport with Airplane, 887 pieces.
£89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 | 10.1p, 11.3c, 11.3c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A well appointed airport and plenty of minifigures provide ample of play opportunities
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The set includes a much bigger airport than previous sets and a plane that looks a bit like a private jet to me.
The airplane
I started with building the plane. I love planes, so i was really excited to build this set.
The plane has a retractable staircase, three wheels, two wings with wing tips, two engines, two horizontal stabilisers and one vertical stabiliser.
The plane is black and white without much decoration. However, the vertical stabiliser has a gold world logo on it. It looks a bit like the United Airlines logo.
The engines are tail mounted engines and look good but are pretty basic. The front wheel spins which is realistic and helps the plane turn.
The wings have a green and red light on them which is true to life, the wing tips can move up and down. You can take the roof off the plane to reveal the interior. The interior has four seats. It has a little computer which is meant to be a code mechanism to release the door.
The nose of the plane is one piece and has two windows, you can easily remove it to show the cockpit. The cockpit has a yoke, a control panel and a seat for the pilot. The pilot sits nicely in the cockpit. The pilot minifgure looks really cool, he has a dark blue suit, tie, cap and sunglasses. He looks smart, it would have been nice if he had yellow stripes on his shoulders like real pilots/copilots.
The plane is a nice size to hold and play with it. It rolls nicely and is fun to land.
The airport
The airport is larger than any other LEGO airports I’ve seen. The building is constructed in three sections which are held together with pins.
There is a jet way that is adjustable in height. It moves up and down to be able to reach different sized aircraft. In my opinion, this isn’t realistic, the appearance of the jet way doesn’t reflect real life.
A nice addition to the airport is the gate waiting area and passport control. There is an interactive sign that spins to reveal different travel locations. The passport control desk looks very realistic with a member of staff in full uniform with a monitor and a moving gate to either keep passengers waiting or allowed to board their flight. There is enough room for two passengers to sit down in the waiting room. You could even have more passengers standing or maybe more realistic in a queue. Above this area is a windsock which spins and can be moved up and down.
Directly underneath the waiting room is an area for the baggage. There is baggage vehicle which can access the area, to the left of this is a flap that can be used to allow the unloading of passenger’s baggage.
The luggage goes through the flap onto a spinnable baggage carrousel ready for passengers to collect their bags. This is my favourite part of the airport. There is an Arrivals sign below which is a list of location and flight times.
Above this area on the apex is a departures board with flight, time and status details. A realistic detail that would be in a real airport.
Above this is the highest part of the set where the control tower is located. The control tower has a spinning chair for the member of staff and a display showing the runways. On top of the tower is a red and white radar that spins around. With the set being very open it’s easy to access all the different areas and play with the many features it is a very fun interactive set.
Past the departures board is a café with a newspaper stand and seating for two passengers, a café worker selling pretzels and croissants. There is also a cash register to charge for the items bought. The coffee cup looks very realistic.
Below is the security with a human X ray machine that spins to show a fun human skeleton. There is also a baggage scanner. The bags can be pushed through the machine.
Minifigures
There are nine mini figures.
A security guard - she has a blue police looking outfit with lots of detail
An air traffic controller – in a smart looking suit and tie
An airport worker – he has a high viz vest and helmet, he has ear defenders and marshalling wands
Pilot – He looks very cool with a smart suit and sunglasses and cap
Flight Attendant – She has a matching colour suit to the pilot with a light blue necktie
Café Worker – in brown dungarees
Passenger – with a green pass which means they might need assistance
Passenger – with a green jacket and blue cap
Passenger – wearing a leaf top and necklace
There are a lot of accessories in the set, including luggage, boarding passes, passport and newspapers.
Summary
To summarise, this set is one of my favourite LEGO sets. It has multiple moving parts, lots of minifigures and accessories. The fact that the airport is open makes it easy and fun to play with.
William aged 12
123 likes
45 comments on this article
It's often listed in the US as "backorder" when any decent GWP or points offers hit the shop. I have not seen the set stocked in any larger retail shops, so in my estimation if you want this and have the opportunity it looks like a fantastic City theme set and value.
Excellent review @ William!
This set is perfect to complement 60262 (large plane, small airport). Combine the two terminals and get an ugly mismatch like real airports with two nice planes, long-distance and shot-distance (or private jet).
@pecadorl said:
"This set is perfect to complement 60262 (large plane, small airport). Combine the two terminals and get an ugly mismatch like real airports with two nice planes, long-distance and shot-distance (or private jet)."
It does seem that we can't have a decent terminal building and a decent sized plane in the same set: it's one or the other, I guess to meet a ~$100 price point.
Chase McCain going undercover right there
the jetway might just about look right with 60637, at least in terms of height/angle
I really like this - in my younger years I would probably have attempted to make it much larger in terms of the buildings but this has everything you need for great play opportunities and everything can be expended as needed in the future - great review too!
I’m also curious whether it’s compatible with 60367.
I really miss the runway baseplates like in the old airports of my childhood like 6392. Sure they were way too short, but I loved them anyway.
Great job William!
Not sure what they were going for with the jetway on this one. I've never seen one like that, though to be fair I've not been on a plane since 2021.
While Lego minifigures are indeed most without neck, I think it should be "necklace" in the caption for the final character.
But that's no reflection on William's magnificent review. I'm certain mine had more mistakes than that!
Was going to say that 6597 is so much better and leave it at that. Then I realized that set cost $109 in 1994! 0.0. That’s always been one of my favorite sets, but the RRP definitely explains why I never had it as a kid. So for the money, this one seems pretty good!
Nice job on the review as well
@Xov581 said:
"Was going to say that 6597 is so much better and leave it at that. Then I realized that set cost $109 in 1994! 0.0. That’s always been one of my favorite sets, but the RRP definitely explains why I never had it as a kid. So for the money, this one seems pretty good!
Nice job on the review as well"
6396 is my airport, and that's inflated to $174! Could definitely pick up some runway plates with the leftover from this one.
I do tend to prefer the types of layouts of the 90s airports, but this really does have a lot of great play bits in it, and it matches what a lot of people would see at a real airport. Where it falls down in comparison is integration; this would require a lot of customization to be more enclosed and fit into a city.
The departure board appears to reference several LEGO themes.
I think I see FABULAND, PARADISA, and BELLEVILLE. Anyone have any ideas for the other abbreviations?
It's actually quite a nice little airport. I really like the plane.
@WokePope said:
"The departure board appears to reference several LEGO themes.
I think I see FABULAND, PARADISA, and BELLEVILLE. Anyone have any ideas for the other abbreviations?"
PLV - ?? (Poltava, Ukraine)
STL - ?? (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
FAB - Fabuland (Farnborough, Hampshire, England)
LRG - ?? (Lincoln, Maine, USA)
PAR - Parts bin lol (Paris regional airports, France)
TOD - ?? (Tioman, Malaysia)
BLL - Billund (Denmark)
CCL - Classic CastLe? (Chinchilla, Queensland, Australia)
I'm sure brickset members will know what more of these acronyms might mean in the greater Lego world.
@dimc said:
" @WokePope said:
"The departure board appears to reference several LEGO themes.
I think I see FABULAND, PARADISA, and BELLEVILLE. Anyone have any ideas for the other abbreviations?"
PLV - ?? (Poltava, Ukraine)
STL - ?? (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
FAB - Fabuland (Farnborough, Hampshire, England)
LRG - ?? (Lincoln, Maine, USA)
PAR - Parts bin lol (Paris regional airports, France)
TOD - ?? (Tioman, Malaysia)
BLL - Billund (Denmark)
CCL - Classic CastLe? (Chinchilla, Queensland, Australia)
I'm sure brickset members will know what more of these acronyms might mean in the greater Lego world. "
Initials of designers I suspect.
Yes, the jetway is compatible with 60367, it shows it in the product images. I think this is a great airport and a fine plane. I haven't bought it yet because I need a new job, but I hope to buy it as soon as I can.
@Huw said:
" @dimc said:
" @WokePope said:
"The departure board appears to reference several LEGO themes.
I think I see FABULAND, PARADISA, and BELLEVILLE. Anyone have any ideas for the other abbreviations?"
PLV - ?? (Poltava, Ukraine)
STL - ?? (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
FAB - Fabuland (Farnborough, Hampshire, England)
LRG - ?? (Lincoln, Maine, USA)
PAR - Parts bin lol (Paris regional airports, France)
TOD - ?? (Tioman, Malaysia)
BLL - Billund (Denmark)
CCL - Classic CastLe? (Chinchilla, Queensland, Australia)
I'm sure brickset members will know what more of these acronyms might mean in the greater Lego world. "
Initials of designers I suspect."
Are there that many designers in a set like this?
I'm always down for a William review.
Printed boarding passes instead of smartphone QR codes, how quaint!
If Lego was looking into 3D printing, then STL would stand for one of the most common computer files used to create them, but in that case I'd expect ABS also and PLA instead of PLV.
It has been said that there are some minor issues with this set, but nothing terminal.
No idea what I might ever use it for, but the cylinder with x-ray had to be bought from pab and arrived today.
I think I'll try to find this with the usual 20% off. Seems very 'complete' although with a smaller plane.
Also, great review!
@Huw said:
" @dimc said:
" @WokePope said:
"The departure board appears to reference several LEGO themes.
I think I see FABULAND, PARADISA, and BELLEVILLE. Anyone have any ideas for the other abbreviations?"
PLV - ?? (Poltava, Ukraine)
STL - ?? (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
FAB - Fabuland (Farnborough, Hampshire, England)
LRG - ?? (Lincoln, Maine, USA)
PAR - Parts bin lol (Paris regional airports, France)
TOD - ?? (Tioman, Malaysia)
BLL - Billund (Denmark)
CCL - Classic CastLe? (Chinchilla, Queensland, Australia)
I'm sure brickset members will know what more of these acronyms might mean in the greater Lego world. "
Initials of designers I suspect."
Darn. I got all excited to see STL (my hometown) in a Lego set... guess that idea is still just a dream.
Thank you, William. I have plenty of reason to be angry at airports in real life, but your reviews help to take the edge off.
@Rimefang said:
"It's often listed in the US as "backorder" when any decent GWP or points offers hit the shop. I have not seen the set stocked in any larger retail shops, so in my estimation if you want this and have the opportunity it looks like a fantastic City theme set and value."
But despite William's classy review, I still blame Sean Duffy for the delays at those airports, including the delays @Rimefang mentioned.
Nice looking set, but the airplane doesn't look right. Pretty much every commercial aircraft with the engines mounted on the rear of the fuselage has a T tail with the horizontal stabilizer at the top rather than at the base of the vertical stabilizer. This is mainly to prevent the airflow over the control surfaces being disrupted when flying in nose up attitudes.
Nearly a plane, and nearly part of an airport. Oh, well, that’s nearly £100. Easy pass.
@Xov581 said:
"Was going to say that 6597 is so much better and leave it at that. Then I realized that set cost $109 in 1994! 0.0. That’s always been one of my favorite sets, but the RRP definitely explains why I never had it as a kid. So for the money, this one seems pretty good!
Nice job on the review as well"
Ese es el mejor aeropuerto jamás realizado por lego. Lo obtuve con la reedición en 2001 creo, saliendo de mi edad oscura de lego.
Great set, and glad they finally gave us nice not gigantic plane.
The "green pass" is a Sunflower Sign.
Nice set, nice review!
The airport is quite a good design for around 500 pieces and should keep kids amused. The plane does not really interest me as the proportions are all off with the small tail and wings, together with the large duplo nose and rear piece, but at least 60367 is still available with the weird rear wings and no tail.
Now we need an Airport with a Taxi, Airport with a Train, and Airport with a Ship :)
Yet another Lego city set attributable to this period of general decline of the line and characterised by an ugly and poor design (building architecture and the plane) a bizarre choice of colours (Police Airport?), as well as a prevalence of irrational elements (the shape of the aircraft and its smallness, the jetway), ideological elements (green pass) or in any case side effects at the expense of substantial elements.
Golden Age of City Theme is over and the times of majestic 6597 or the more recent 3182 are increasingly distant.
Great job on the review, William! Keep them coming!
@Roberto said:
"Yet another Lego city set attributable to this period of general decline of the line and characterised by an ugly and poor design (building architecture and the plane) a bizarre choice of colours (Police Airport?), as well as a prevalence of irrational elements (the shape of the aircraft and its smallness, the jetway), ideological elements (green pass) or in any case side effects at the expense of substantial elements.
Golden Age of City Theme is over and the times of majestic 6597 or the more recent 3182 are increasingly distant. "
what
That windsock is pretty nice, but I still miss the element from my childhood: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3942p1&idColor=1T=C&C=1
@AustinPowers said:
"I really miss the runway baseplates like in the old airports of my childhood like 6392. Sure they were way too short, but I loved them anyway. "
I had 6396, and being the aviation buff that I am, loved it. But yeah, there's no way the plane would get enough lift to leave the ground before the runway ran out.
@xoddam said:"Not sure what they were going for with the jetway on this one. I've never seen one like that, though to be fair I've not been on a plane since 2021."
I've never been on an airline flight in my life, although I did start taking flying lessons when I was a teenager.
@Rare_White_Ape said:"It has been said that there are some minor issues with this set, but nothing terminal."
I can't really think of a good pun in response; guess I'll have to wing it.
Fascinating to see a nod to disability access described as “ideological elements”, which I suppose is true, in the sense that most things come back to ideology in the end, but implies a number of unpleasant things about the speaker’s priorities.
@Hiratha said:
"Fascinating to see a nod to disability access described as “ideological elements”, which I suppose is true, in the sense that most things come back to ideology in the end, but implies a number of unpleasant things about the speaker’s priorities."
It is fascinating to see the interpretative imagination with which one would like to hide the obvious evidence of certain references by attributing to them characteristics and purposes that, however, have no basis in reality. All this evidently so as not to disturb a certain false respectability which is precisely typical of those who have introjected a certain ideology.
This implies a number of unpleasant things about the speaker's priorities.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I really miss the runway baseplates like in the old airports of my childhood like 6392. Sure they were way too short, but I loved them anyway. "
I had 6396, and being the aviation buff that I am, loved it. But yeah, there's no way the plane would get enough lift to leave the ground before the runway ran out."
My kid self would tend to disagree.
"Wrooooom"
"Swoooooosh"
See? Easy peasy. :-)
@AustinPowers said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I really miss the runway baseplates like in the old airports of my childhood like 6392. Sure they were way too short, but I loved them anyway. "
I had 6396, and being the aviation buff that I am, loved it. But yeah, there's no way the plane would get enough lift to leave the ground before the runway ran out."
My kid self would tend to disagree.
"Wrooooom"
"Swoooooosh"
See? Easy peasy. :-) "
My kid self was an aviation buff, just like my adult self still is, so he realized that some suspension of disbelief was necessary to enjoy the set. But yeah, swoosh.
@Roberto said:
" @Hiratha said:
"Fascinating to see a nod to disability access described as “ideological elements”, which I suppose is true, in the sense that most things come back to ideology in the end, but implies a number of unpleasant things about the speaker’s priorities."
It is fascinating to see the interpretative imagination with which one would like to hide the obvious evidence of certain references by attributing to them characteristics and purposes that, however, have no basis in reality. All this evidently so as not to disturb a certain false respectability which is precisely typical of those who have introjected a certain ideology.
This implies a number of unpleasant things about the speaker's priorities."
Disability access does, in fact, have a basis in reality, and it’s incredibly weird and anti-facts to suggest otherwise.
Since no one's done it yet, I would just like to remind everyone that the white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.
I like that even the 12 year old kid reviewing the set demands arm printing on the pilot for more accuracy and it isn't just adults who are too into star wars or some other licensed theme