Review: 60103 Airport Air Show
Posted by DrDaveWatford,
After a somewhat lacklustre first half of 2016 dominated by Police- and Fire-related releases, LEGO City has thankfully burst out of its enforced slumber with a couple of interesting Summer subthemes in the form of Volcano Explorers and Airport.
It’s been three years since the release of the most recent City Airport set, namely, 60019 Stunt Plane, and a full six years since LEGO gave us a number of Airport releases at any one time. Of the five summer 2016 Airport releases, 60103 Airport Air Show was one of those that I was most interested to get my hands on, and I’m pleased to be able to bring you a review of it today.
Box & Contents
The front of the box (above) provides a nice, clear overview of the set contents and carries the standard City branding. The set’s six minifigures are paraded on the top edge of the box, while the back of the box (below) provides the usual mix of action vignettes and illustrations of various play features.
The box contains nine bags of elements, eight of which are sequentially numbered. There’s also a heat-sealed sleeve containing five instruction booklets and a single sticker sheet which you can see below.
The Minifigures
The set contains six minifigures. Even though they all incorporate standard, unprinted minifigure legs together with commonly-available headprints, it appears that all six are unique to the set. First up are two members of the Ground Crew (below). The bearded guy has an orange torso printed with a hi-viz jacket, ID badge and red pen pattern. This has appeared in nine sets to date including all of the 2016 Airport sets plus 60080 Spaceport which I reviewed here last summer. His red construction helmet, which incorporates a pair of non-removable black ear muffs, has appeared in less than ten sets to date. The other member of the ground crew has a rather nice printed medium blue torso which is new this year and has only appeared in a total of three sets including this one. It features a shirt print which includes the Octan logo and a top pocket complete with a pen.
Although neither of the minifigures have alternate expressions, both feature torso backprints which you can see in the picture below. The bearded guy’s hi-viz jacket print extends onto the back of his torso, while the other member of the ground crew has a torso backprint dominated by a large Octan logo.
Next we have the two Jet Pilots, one female and one male, both of which have identical torsos and helmets. The dark blue torsos, which are unique to this set, are printed with a nice design featuring a red jet with a red, white and gold jet wake plus gold jet insignia on the left breast. The white helmets incorporate a trans-black visor which can be raised and lowered; the helmets feature a print consisting of a star flanked with gold stripes, and like the torsos they’re currently exclusive to this set.
As was the case for the ground crew, neither of the jet pilots have an alternate expression. Both torsos are however backprinted (below) although the printing is subtle and easy to miss.
The final two minifigures are the Biplane Pilot and the intrepid Wing Walker. Both of these minifigures share the same white torso which is printed with a flight suit design overlaid with dark red and bright light orange flames plus a logo over the left breast. The torso design is superb and it can at present only be found in this set. Both minifigures are provided with a reddish brown aviator cap and dark bluish grey goggles, and the pilot (below left) also gets an alternative to this headgear in the form of medium dark flesh mid-length hair which has only ever appeared in five sets in this colour.
As you can see from the picture below the superb dark red and bright light orange flame print extends onto the back of the torsos. Once again neither of the minifigures has an alternate expression.
The Build
The main constituents of the set are a tanker truck, three aircraft and a hangar. Each of these gets its own instruction booklet and bags of elements. First up is the tanker truck (below) which at only four studs wide and less than ten studs in length reminds me of the 4-stud wide vehicles of my youth. This impression is reinforced by the inclusion of a couple of late 70’s-style 2 x 4 mudguards in the build.
Compact it might be, but the tanker truck still manages to accommodate a small, Octan-branded fuel tank plus a reel-mounted hose complete with nozzle. Along with the tanker truck we get a couple of small accessory builds including a tool trolley.
Attention then shifts to construction of the three aircraft. When I first spied this set I assumed that the two red jets were the same, but closer examination reveals a number of differences. First up is a red jet with a canard wing configuration as seen in the Saab Viggen amongst others. The lower fuselage is fashioned from a number of double and triple inverted 45 degree slopes with a pair of 1 x 14 Technic bricks running through the centre; there’s no obvious reason for Technic bricks to be used in this situation – standard 1 x 14 bricks would have done the job just as well - so I assume that LEGO just happened to have a bunch of them lying around…. A printed black 1 x 2 tile in the cockpit represents the instrument panel, while a substantial air intake is attached on either side of the fuselage at a 90 degree angle by way of brackets.
The main wings are made up of a pair of white 10 x 10 wedge plates with cut corner and no studs in the centre; these are rare, having only previously appeared in two sets in this colour. The red 1 x 1 plate with tooth on each wing tip is also uncommon, having appeared in less than ten sets to date. The sides of the cockpit are made up of stickered red 1 x 4 x 1 panels, and it definitely helps if you concentrate when you apply the stickers, which I clearly didn’t as you can see in the picture below…. The area behind the cockpit canopy is nicely contoured by a red 4 x 4 triple wedge which, I was surprised to discover, has only previously appeared in a single set in this colour. Not to be outdone, however, the large 12 x 2 x 5 tail is appearing for the very first time in red. The hinged trans-black cockpit canopy is yet another rare element, appearing here for only the second time ever; rare it might be, but its pronounced curvature unfortunately means that it somewhat spoils the hitherto sleek lines of the jet. The flipside of this, however, is that the cockpit can comfortably accommodate the pilot.
In contrast to the first jet with its delta wing configuration and forward canard wings, the second jet features a more conventional straight wing configuration with tapered leading and trailing edges. As you might expect, construction of the fuselage of the second jet is in many ways similar to that of the first, although in order to accommodate twin exhausts the rear isn’t tapered, and the air intakes which flank the fuselage are of a different design.
The cockpit, including the stickers on the sides and the canopy, is identical to that of the first jet, as is the front of the aircraft. As previously noted, however, the wing configuration is different, as is the tail design which features twin tail fins and a pair of fuselage-mounted tailplanes. The red 4 x 1 x 3 tail fins, which have appeared in a total of seven sets including this one, are angled outwards similar to the arrangement on an F/A-18 Hornet. Overall, it’s another sleek design but once again the smooth lines are somewhat spoiled by the prominent canopy.
The last of the three aircraft is a modern biplane. This incorporates a number of rare orange elements including right and left 8 x 3 wedge plates which make up the wings and have only previously appeared in three sets, a 3 x 4 wedge brick only previously found in two sets, and a 3 x 6 round half plate with a 1 x 2 cutout which has only previous appeared in a single set in this colour and which forms the tailplanes. Similar to the two jets the tail fin is stickered rather than printed, as are the pair of 1 x 4 x 1 panels making up the sides of the cockpit. Unlike the jets, however, the instrument panel is stickered, which seems odd as there are existing printed 1 x 2 light bluish grey tiles which could have done an acceptable job. There are also a pair of stickers which represent the engine exhausts and which are applied to a couple of modified 2 x 4 x 1 1/3 bricks with curved top which sit just behind the propeller; applying these neatly to the curved surface takes a steady hand, and that’s also the case for the pair of checkerboard stickers which are stuck onto the propeller cowl. As if stickered exhausts weren’t enough, there are also a couple of light bluish grey exhaust pipes with Technic pin which emerge from the propeller cowl and run along either side of the fuselage. They’re entirely superfluous given the presence of the stickered exhausts but they still look cool regardless!
The upper and lower wings are connected by a dark bluish grey 4 x 1 x 3 tail on either side; this tail element is unique to the set in this colour, although has previously appeared in a couple of sets back in 2003 in old dark grey. The upper wing is also supported by a couple of 1 x 2 x 2 black windows placed back to back in front of the cockpit, which from the perspective of the pilot really can’t be good for visibility. The biplane has a three blade propeller and the tips of the blades are stickered prior to sliding the propeller on to a 6L axle protruding from the front of the fuselage where it’s held in place by an orange 2 x 2 brick with domed top. The last step is to attach a 1 x 4 x 2 bar to the top of the upper wing for the Wing Walker to hold on to and then we’re done with the biplane.
Last to be assembled is the hangar, which given its size is a surprisingly quick build – even though I’m a notoriously slow builder it took me barely ten minutes to put it together. The first step involves stacking dark bluish grey and orange plates and tiles to create a three-sided enclosure covering an area of 24 x 32 studs. Two side walls are then constructed from 1 x 6 x 5 rectangular girders topped off with dark bluish grey bricks and orange tiles, after which the roof is assembled, predominantly from a few large plates including a black 8 x 16 plate only previously available in two sets, and four dark bluish grey 6 x 24 plates which are only appearing in a set for the second time ever. A couple of stickers at the front of the structure identify it as an Airshow Hanger; to be frank, describing it as a hanger is probably exaggerating the case a bit as with its open front and rear it’s more akin to a large shelter.
The Verdict
I’m pleased to report that I thoroughly enjoyed building this set, and what’s more I quite enjoyed playing with it afterwards as well…. First and foremost it’s an excellent play set – it’s not often that you get three good-sized vehicles plus a large building and a number of accessories in a single set at this price point. Furthermore, all three aircraft are actually pretty good, particularly the two jets which look really sleek apart from their prominent cockpit canopies. The jets are also solidly built, surprisingly weighty, and eminently swooshable; you can conveniently grab them by their lateral air intakes and nothing falls off when you swoosh them around - I know this as I extensively tested this particular play feature…. The hanger is admittedly a bit insubstantial, but overall this set lived up to my expectations and I’ll certainly be picking up a couple more of the Airport sets this summer.
Set 60103 Airport Air Show contains 670 elements and is available now at an RRP of £69.99 / US$89.99 / €79.99; while the price to parts ratio suggests that the set is relatively expensive for an unlicensed offering, this can readily be explained by the number of large elements, and in practice it feels reasonably priced for what’s included.
Many thanks to Norton and Co. for providing Brickset with a copy of the set. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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29 comments on this article
Good set, but will only buy it on a discount. The canopies are a bit too large, but this is probably due to having to house a minifig. Nice to see more and more female minifigs in important positions included in the sets.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but is the hangar only large enough to house the biplane? A bit of a cock-up if that's the case. As good as the planes are, the hangar is a major failing. It looks like it's only about 30-40 pieces; just a bunch of big plates, some prefab cross-bracing and ... errrm ... air. Not so much a "hangar" as an aviation-equivalent of a car port!
Correct - the hanger can only accommodate the biplane. That having been said, in order to accommodate the other aircraft too the hangar would have to be huge, with an enormous footprint, and a substantially increased parts count. As a result, I'd estimate a price up to double the current RRP which I suspect few of the target market would pay. LEGO therefore got the size of the hanger right IMHO.
Nice review, and it looks like a really nice set with a good mix of builds. The fact that I read the entire review without looking for the price speaks volumes for this in my opinion. The planes look good and I cannot see anyone from any age group who buys this not giving all three planes at least a quick test drive round the living room. One to add to my list.
Could the Quinjet from the Airport Battle fit in the hangar with its wings folded?
Nice review! I prefer reviews that aren't just a step-by-step build report...
I'm not sure what to make of the set yet. I like the planes (although that biplane really doesn't need the bubble canopy). The idea of adding a hangar is interesting and I don't mind that it's a bit open. But the fact that it'll only house one of the three planes is annoying. Having said that, I'm not sure what you could do about it. Tripling the hangar would make it big and boring and push the price up. Could they have done two planes and a double hangar?
I'll probably pick up a copy, but only when the price drops a bit. €80 for a City set with 670 parts is just a bit much for me.
@DrDave : My thoughts were not that the hangar should be big enough to hold *all* aircraft simultaneously - which would, indeed, make it huge! - but that it should at least be big enough to hold any one of them. Just a few studs wider should cover the wingspan of either jet (judging from the photos). Add a few centimetres to the height - by whatever construction means - and that'll accommodate the oversized tail on the Viggen-styled plane. If/when I pick up this set, that's the mods I'll be making to it.
The hangar will (just about) accommodate each of the jets individually, including the oversized tail.
When I saw the box for this I was pleasantly surprised by the size, but not having seen the pieices assembled I guess most of the box contents will be air.
Hangar should have been double the size it is, or replaced by a another plane. Either a red baron biplane or a modern Cessna type plane.
Alternatively the price should be halved and the two jets removed?
I will probably wait for a heavy discount before buying this one.
I'm surprised you'd consider the first half of the year lackluster—I was actually quite impressed with the "prison island" variation on the classic Police subtheme.
^ Prison Island was actually the only one of the Police and Fire sets that I thought was interesting (and bought....). The others provoked profound deja vu and hence my lack of enthusiasm.
This set was a pleasant surprise for me, I knew nothing about it until I saw it on the shelf at a TRU. I wish more times this could happen, with the internet and all we know too much too soon and by the time we finally see it for real....it is often old news. I like being surprised, and this set surprised me
I'm looking forward to getting this set as I've been a big fan of the smaller brick built planes.
Those two jet pilots would probably look utterly amazing in 31039 Blue Power Jet. Like, pretty much a perfect fit.
^ Yep - perfect colour match!
Lego doesn't make a standard 1x14 brick, only the Technic version.
Love those minifigs. I'm surprised they went to all the effort in a non-licensed set.
Beautiful small set, I'm not going to be buying it but that small "hangar" could be useful.
Those new jet canopies are great! They look like the ones on the F-16 Falcons and give the minifig greater visibility all around, including the rear. Canopies with no rear visibility are the bane of jet pilots, and little rearview mirrors don't help that much. :)
Three aircraft that almost don't look terrible. Good job, Lego.
I really like the look of the biplane.
The hangar is a good analogue of the very basic aircraft 'car ports' as seen on military Air Force bases. The always-ready nature of military use means that they don't need big closed-in hangars unless major maintenance is being carried out.
Here's an example:
http://www.shelterstructures.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2001.jpg?9be0d0
Its beyond me how someone thought this set needed 5 instruction booklets...
^ That's very much the norm for City sets these days. LEGO frame these builds as modular, with each of the constituent builds having its own instruction booklet and bags of elements, thus allowing family members to build together more easily.
Most LEGO vehicles are unrealistic, but these jets have too grotesque proportions. It is an insult to the sleek lines of the F-18 and the JAS 39 they clearly are modeled after.
it looks like the jet pilots are in Red Bull colors.
I like the nod to the classic LEGO Ideas Book with the 'Follow Me' sticker, but overall I think the F-18 type jet is redundant, making the whole thing over-priced. Had it been presented in a different colour scheme from the Viggen, and maybe a bit of a sleeker or more agile design in itself, it might have been a worthwhile inclusion. But as it is, it just superficially looks like two fairly similar aircraft, and thus quite a bit less value for money as a set.
The delta and canard wings jet reminds me a lot the "Colibri", a really small jet with a big canopy, created by Roger Leloup in the comic book "Yoko Tsuno". http://yoko.tsuno.free.fr/index.php?mod=engins&id=62&cat=1&numalbum=1000 you can even find basic instructions for a lego model in this page.
If and when I get this set, there are at least four stickers I won't be applying. Namely, the ones proclaiming "AVIATION AIRSHOW." Rather redundant, that. (What's next, an aquatic boat show?)