Review: 60104 Airport Passenger Terminal
Posted by MeganL,
I was happy to see the City Airport series for a couple of reasons. First, City had a subtheme that was not police or fire response, and second, it was the first set released since I have been following the Friends theme where there was a similar set: 41109 Heartlake City Airport.
Today I will look at 60104 Airport Passenger Terminal, and at the end compare it to Heartlake Airport, just for fun.
Inside the box we find eight numbered bags, two unnumbered bags containing large molded plane parts, two loose 16x16 plates, the large airplane wing in medium grey, a sticker sheet and four instruction booklets of varying sizes. Unfortunately there is no cardboard to keep the booklets and sticker sheet flat (though fortunately mine were not crumpled), but never fear, there is a brick separator!
There are six minifigures included in this set: two airport workers, a rather debonair pilot, and three passengers. None seem to be new except for the torso of the pilot.
The first few bags build the small truck with carts that you see on airport runways. The truck has a "follow me" sign that I confess I have not seen at any airport. There is also a fueling tank and a rolling staircase that sits next to the plane to allow for boarding. Both the tank and the staircase are additional carts for the truck, though I am guessing not both at the same time.
The body of the plane is built with five seats for passengers. The wings are added next with what I think are filler stickers added to the top of the wings. There is a small galley with sink and oven in the front of the plane right behind the cockpit. The cockpit uses only one sticker to show navigation equipment - the other is printed, which is always welcome (though not a new piece). A lavatory is installed in the back, and then the inside is complete. There is an odd choice for the door to the lav - a swinging door. Not much opportunity for privacy!
Stickers are used for decorations for the outside of the plane. I like how the stickers for the outside match colours with the piping on the plane. I found the sticker for the top of the door to be a little big; if you line up the orange on the bottom of the stickers with the orange on the plane the sticker overlaps a bit at the top. The stickers for the nose of the plane are not as difficult to apply as I thought they would be. They do seem a bit superfluous, though they do make the plane look nice. The plane is finished with the tail fin, that uses yet more stickers. It is interesting that this plane actually uses more stickers than the Friends plane does.
The remainder of the build is the control tower and terminal building. First there is a metal detector screener leading to the waiting/secure area of the airport, which seems taller than it needs to be for the minifigures. I think the same effect could have been made with half the height, except that would not allow for an impressive height for the overall tower. However it does seem to be similar to many modern airports with the high ceilings. This area also seems to be someplace to check luggage as evidenced by the rather nifty conveyor belt that comes in a full part. The moving parts of the set include a revolving door (a very tall one, for the first floor) that leads from the secure area of the airport out to the tarmac, and of course the conveyor belt.
The build is finished with a small control tower on top, however there are no visible means for a minifigure to get up there.
Thoughts on 60104 Airport Passenger Terminal
This is a pretty straightforward build, and does what it promises to do - provide a larger jet, control tower and a vehicle to service the plane, including a means for the minifigures to get into the airplane. I really like the use of the larger clear pieces in the waiting area and control tower to allow for lots of light.
The set has an impressive assortment of minifigures - I quite like that it has six, allowing for a lot of play opportunities. All the major parts of the plane - the wing, cockpit, tail and body - are new to this set in their colours. The inside of the plane has a minimal amount of details, with five seats, a galley and a lavatory. The outside of the plane looks quite smart with all the stickers applied.
However, for its price point (694-pieces, $99.99, £79.99, 99.99€) - yeesh, it is expensive. I bought this on sale, and even at a reduced price it still feels expensive. I know that some of it can be accounted for with the larger (and new) plane pieces but wow - it is a hit to the budget for the build that you do get.
Comparison with 41109 Heartlake Airport
Last year, 41109 Heartlake Airport was released in the Friends theme. I was interested to see how LEGO would treat the same subject in the two different themes. Even though it is a set from last year, Heartlake Airport can still be found in some retail stores and online.
Like the City set, this also packs a hit to the wallet, though not quite as much (692-pieces, $89.99, £74.99, 89.99€). I also bought this set on sale which did mitigate the sting a bit.
Unlike the City set, there is no control tower or truck that services the plane. Instead, there is a passenger check-in/baggage carousel, a rolling staircase to gain access to the plane, plus the airport entrance that includes a gift shop and a café (or, one could argue, something that is very much like many other Friends sets out there). There are only three mini-dolls in this set compared to the six in the City set.
Basically, the only thing that the two sets have in common is that they both have planes. However there is quite a bit of difference on the inside of the planes. There are a lot more details in the Friends plane. In addition to the seats, there is a rolling service cart complete with refreshments, emergency lighting as well as a larger galley and lav in the back of the plane.
Final thoughts
For the price, I like the Heartlake Airport better, simply because of the details in the plane. I am assuming there are more details in the Heartlake Airlines plane because of the findings that girls prefer more details in their toys than boys do.
Other than the planes, I do find it unfortunate that the Friends set focuses on shopping and food like so many Friends sets, and I also think it is unfortunate that the City terminal only has the basics of the airport structure in the control tower and service truck. Having a control tower for the Friends set would have been great. Having a gift shop/cafe for the City terminal would have been a worthwhile addition and not something we have seen in many City sets.
Had the features of the sets been combined, I think this could have been a terrific airport set. As it is, you would need to buy both and do some extensive MOCing to have something that would capture the features of both in compatible colour schemes.
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26 comments on this article
Great review. Appreciate the comparison between the two sets.
Nice review!! Unfortunately, the interior of the plan does look a bit sparse. Have to say I prefer the Heartlake set.
I like the comparison - I didn't even know about the Friends set, so this is helpful. As with trains, I've always liked the look of airport sets but have yet to take the plunge and buy one, so this is some good info to chew over. I have to say I prefer the imaginative details in the Friends set, but it does seem a shame to lose the control tower.
In general, I'd have preferred more buildable wings, but I'd imagine they're thinking of swooshability there; certainly, single-piece wings are going to be a lot sturdier...
And not a base plate in sight. I really hate the lack of runways with the modern sets, it's not like you can even buy them new. My old 6392 had 4 plates for the aircraft alone.
Adding my vote to liking the comparison; hoping to see more of this in the future!
It's nice that the City set has a control tower, but the overall detailing of the Friends set is much better. The Heartlake airplane doesn't even need any colour substitutions to make it AFOL-friendly: several real-world airlines use a purple livery...
Does anyone notice the tower in the City Airport is leaning slightly?
And it is not just the airplane, even the building is a bit bland. And I have seen an excellent modification to the Heartlake plane - a larger jet essentially built up from two sets, it looked rather well.
BTW no AT-ST review?
Good review of a disappointing set. It's time for a new less juniorized aircraft design instead of these rehashes.
I can't understand why all these planes keep having the same hideous undercarriage?! 60022 had it, 41109 too and now this. Why not use some Technic pieces to get a good look more in line with the rest of the aircraft?
The door design has the right look but it doesn't work as it keeps falling off when children play with it.
It would be nice to see Lego make an entire airport that was sold in small parts and would fit together like a modular building, instead of trying to fit little pieces all in one set.
Good job with this review! I especially enjoyed the comparison. I really like when people are comparing similar/previous sets. Gives a an idea about a development of the sets and themes. Thanks a lot!
Is anyone else's mind totally blown by an 8-stud-wide plane body? I grew up with 4-stud-wide planes, and this is totally freaking me out. Although I like that you can actually walk around in the cabin while the other passengers are sitting down (although the thought of the minidolls sitting anywhere securely makes me giggle).
I wish City airport would have the luxury detailing that Friends has.
@Dalek135: Must be the airport in Pisa...
Looks great but I am going to do my own airport MOC that features airships and spaceships instead of planes.
Thanks for the great review and comparison. I've thought about getting the Friends Airport for my daughter, as we both like the amount of detail inside the plane. Why would Lego think that boys don't care as much about detail? I love the wider body planes, but it's a shame they're not producing the runway plates, or including them in the airport sets, anymore. I agree with ZeeBricks that if they're not going to include everything an airport needs (although as expensive as price/piece these sets are getting it would cost a fortune) they should sell smaller sets that can be added together. Now that I'm feeling nostalgic for classic airport I might rebuild my 6392 and dust off my 6396 and set them up tonight, it's time for some serious swooshing :)
Great review, echoing the feelings above: adding in the comparison is a very nice touch!
The set to compare it to should be 3182, which was cheaper, had more parts and looked better, too.
@Zordboy: The 8-stud-wide plane bodies have been around since 2006, but I agree that it's a huge improvement on the 4-stud-wide planes of the 80s and 90s! A full-size commercial airliner should not have the same size fuselage as a single-person aircraft, after all!
Anyway, I think this may be my favorite LEGO City air terminal yet! It may not be as big as some previous ones, but it feels really coherent. The plane is nice as well with its white, orange, and blue stripes. I agree that Heartlake City Airport's plane has a cozier and more detailed interior, though. It does really highlight some of the differences between Friends and City, with City opting for capacity over comfort and function over flair.
Heartlake City Airport does have a better price per piece (similar piece counts, but HCA is $90 and APT is $100). However, APT is considerably heavier, probably because it opts for size over detail. And APT definitely has a strong value compared to other recent LEGO City air terminals like 3182 and 60022.
Right now 60104 is $78 at Wal-Mart.com and Amazon, and $79.99 at Target.com.
So, in conclusion, I need both to build a decent airport. Also 3182, 7894, and 60022. XD
I did prefer the previous 3182 airport set as it had a lot more components. But, I realise that it makes more business sense to offer a little less than raise the price of an already expensive product. However, 60104 is still a nice set and is often very well discounted in the UK so, I ordered a pallet load from Tesco during their 3-for-2 which made them a half-priced no-brainer ;-)
This review is great. I really appreciate the side by side comparison of the similar sets. Do more like this.
@TabbyBoy: I'm not sure this one really offers much less than 3182 in terms of sheer substance. According to the Brickset entries, 3182 is 703 pieces/1.96kg, while 60104 is 694 pieces/2.11kg. The piece count is slightly less but the weight is actually greater.
Even in terms of play value it mostly seems to be a trade-off — 60104 loses the vending machine, cafe, baggage x-ray scanner, and a few seats on the plane but gains a baggage conveyor, a restroom, a refueling tank for the plane, an additional minifigure, and more seats in the waiting area. It's pretty nice to see the value of a LEGO air terminal remain fairly stable even though the price has not increased.
Nice review, good comparison, though I see the need for MOCing more as a natural way to use Lego the way it's meant to be than criticism of either of these two sets.
@Aanchir: Why did you have to mention 3182?? Now I want that and this new set!!
I honestly think this set is lacking 'size' in the terminal...have LEGO employees not been at airports lately? The terminal is a joke.
@josekalel: I think the size of the terminal is kept in check for price reasons more than anything. This is a $100 set, and while bigger and pricier City sets exist, they tend to be few in number. What's more, the disadvantage to having a plane wide enough to seat two rows of passengers is that it inevitably takes up a big portion of the budget even for a larger set like this one. If the set were just the airport with no plane, then the terminal could probably be around twice this size at the very least… but then the set would not offer such a complete play experience.