Review: 40450 Amelia Earhart Tribute

Definitely gonna be picking one of these up when I buy the London Bus and DB5 in a week's time...

I felt that the windows are too small compared to the real thing.

Really appreciate the mod inclusion, more of that please!

I wish I had waited in ordering the Porsche, supposedly to get the VIP pack (I didn't and still haven't built the model...) to get this - far better as a GWP and the revised stand looks superb!

At least if the map was printed.

these reviews are turning into a "where's Waldo" adventure.... I like it :)

@Binnekamp said:
"It feels like a running theme in the last few reviews that mods are necessary or look better."

TBH, I've only had one set ever where that wasn't the case. Some of it is down to LEGO in-house design criteria, and other times the parts optimization. But I always expect (and enjoy) some form of tweak.

This one is certainly getting me thinking of possible early March purchases to get hold of one.

Damn, I normally love Lego models of real world aerospace stuff, but I've put aside my money for the rumoured space shuttle in April so I'll probably miss this one.

I’ve just waited two months for a delivery from LEGO ordered before Christmas, so I’m in no mood to spend more on the promise of maybe getting one of these grab-when-possible sets. It’s lovely and I’d quite like to own it, but if the producer won’t sell it to me, what am I to do? I liked it better when LEGO produced a catalogue of what they were offering for the year and you could actually buy anything you fancied. This new world doesn’t benefit the fans and the builders, but there must be a good reason for LEGO continuing to alienate long-time supporters like me.

"Snot sandwich"... Thanks a lot- I was eating a sandwich! :)

Thanks for this review Sir Huw, and your version of the stand is certainly more sleek and attractive. 120.00 worth of LEGO goats always add to the ambiance of a model as well :) The only shortcoming I see w/this set is that it's unable to seat the pilot. The real question is will the many items on my Want List be In Stock by the time this promotion comes around (75798, 75290, 80107, etc. for eternity)?

My birthday is on March 6th. I think that may finally be my chance to convince my wife that it's okay to order the roller coaster...and I can get this thrown in free at the same time!

Huw, thanks for the review and the greatly improved stand design. Any chance you can share a list of the parts you had to add from your own collection?

I like the model, but the thing that bugs me most about the design is the lack of the hint of a wheel below the spats. It just looks strange. I think I will modify mine by replacing the parts at the bottom of the spat with Red Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Pin Hole on Bottom (18677) so I can attach something that looks like a wheel.

That would be a good map for a Lego Indiana Jones, if I had one.

@Huw, can we start referring to them as LE-GOats?

@Terreneflame said:
" @R0Sch said:
"Made a different stand using the Technic banana gear rack. The brick build arch versions would work if glued. You can check them out on my Flickr page:
https://flic.kr/ps/3Vksyx"

Glued! ??
"

Yes, these versions wouldn't hold the weight otherwise. https://flic.kr/p/2kFauPw

I wanted to buy a goat via bricklink... they are 45 USD a piece!

Many complaints about the large stand - Are we certain it isn't meant to be the alien spaceship coming to abduct her?

Hoping I can get one of these. I have a list of LEGO sets ready for purchase to get this GWP, starting with the Porsche.

Oh, the plane is not minifig scale :(. Great review btw.

Anyway what's that thing with the goats?

Very cute little set. Hopefully there'll be more than 10 available!

I actually prefer the original stand, but I guess it depends on whether you're looking to emulate an aircraft on a plinth in a museum, or in flight.

Except this is a common error everytime I see someone reporting on the minimum price spend for this. It's not flat across. US is $100, in Canada its $130. The past several it was same regardless of CDN/US/£/€

While lego continues to not put promos in the calendars I don't get. Put it in.

There are a lot of goats in that set!

I definitely want this GWP, but am afraid everything I want will be sold out come March 6th!

I guess time will tell. I always try to order early so I don't miss out (even though you think you're early and they still claim to be sold out).

I like the stand mod. I won't copy you, but I will definitely come up with a different stand if I receive this set.

@LegoRobo
Thanks, now I can't unsee it.

The stand is an eyesore, but your mod is a great improvement. I'll definitely be doing that with mine. Now hopefully one of the 2 sets (Medieval Blacksmith, which as of this morning is available again, or the 3-1 Pirate Ship) I'm interested in will be available on the 6th.

Any bets on how long this GWP will be in stock?

Stans mod is awesome!

For me the set itself is so so, but the idea behind it is so great! I hope we will get a new women's day set every year from now on. Will get this for that reason.

Love getting a 1930s aeroplane in Lego and Amelia looks great although the pant colours are rather lazy. (Her pants/flying trousers not the so called wheel pants).

Super disappointed Amelia cant fit inside the plane. I never expected to be able to fit more then one person but they really shouldve made it that she could fit inside. And all those parts wasted on one of the most ridiculous stands Ive ever seen, yet nowhere for her to stand given that she cant actually fly the plane.

I really like the minfigure and as I said its awesome for me as someone who loves that era to get an old aeroplane as well as I think its a great idea to commemorate both Amelia Earhart's achievements and International Women's Day as a whole.

However I wont be THAT disappointed if I miss out on this one simply because the plane cant fit a pilot!
After all since her main achievement was being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic (and attempt to fly around the globe) why then would you bring a set where she cant even fly at all???

I am aware that Lego likely wanted to capture the look of the plane, which I appreciate, but since the set is meant to be about her and not a scale model of a Lockheed Vega Im sure many people would have rather it fit a minifig and have a tad less realistic capture of the actual plane then no cockpit at all.

I made my own Amelia Earhart a few months back, it was worthy of the CMFs, but that's about it.

@Brickchap said:
"I am aware that Lego likely wanted to capture the look of the plane, which I appreciate, but since the set is meant to be about her and not a scale model of a Lockheed Vega Im sure many people would have rather it fit a minifig and have a tad less realistic capture of the actual plane then no cockpit at all. "

Agreed, I managed to get the GWP in stores here but it’s such a shame she can’t fit in anywhere. It reminds me for those Town sets from the 1970s where the minifigs are massive by comparison to their vehicles.

Any clue when in March we'll have double VIP points? Wondering if that will overlap with this GWP.

it would be cool to have a stand in white and bright blue, making the plane fly above the clouds ...

GWPs lately are top notch designs. Hot Rod, Christmas Tree, Charles Dickens, Cabrio and this. A shame that all of these unlicensed, somewhat historic designs are always special editions available for only days, not even directly. Just imagine how much better the Hot Rod and Cabrio would sell compared to the embarrassing 60285 Sports Car. Same with Amelia now compared to all iterations of Sport planes.

I would prefer a white cloud over a black rock.

@HeriSanmi:
Interestingly enough, that plane is pretty close to minifig scale. From pictures, it's clear that the the fuselage at the cockpit is about the same height as Earhart herself. A minifig sans hair stands four bricks tall, and so does the fuselage. She flew a Vega 5B, and the specs for a Vega 5C show that it's 27'6" long (5B appears to be the passenger variant, while 5C sounds like it was intended for cargo, but the external dims are probably similar). A fast rule of thumb is to use one stud per foot, but if you go by the minifig height it should really be 4.8 studs for every six feet. This model is 22 studs long from the prop to the tailfin, which translates to roughly 4.6 minifigs. Assuming height of 6', a real Vega 5C is precisely 4.6 people long.

You just have to remember that minifigs with their hands at their sides are about 60% as wide as they are tall. In the US, wheelchair-accessible doorways have to be 3' wide. If we were built like minifigs, we'd have to either twist to a bit of an angle, or hold our arms in front of us to squeeze through that extra-wide doorframe. If you figure that a real person would be closer to half the width of a minifig, seven people would cramped, but it's not an impossible fit.

There's also at least one picture showing Earhart standing in the cockpit up to her waist, with her torso sticking up through an overhead hatch, which makes me wonder if that's how the pilot actually gets in and out.

@Pongo:
The real plane is displayed "mid-takeoff" at the Smithsonian's NASM. The front landing gear are on the floor, and the tail is propped up on a block set under the tailskid. It's a pretty small plane, though, with an overhead wing, so you can get a decent look at it from the ground. This model is mounted like they often do with decommissioned jet fighters that are being put on permanent display outdoors, mimicking a steep climb. I'm not sure why they do it that way, but it may be partly about shedding rain or snow off the wings, keeping people from climbing onto the wings, or allowing you to get a topside view by standing behind the plane. The way it's supported leaves much of the weight on a modern fighter jet near the ground, where it's more stable, but on this it does the opposite (COG should be right behind the front gear).

@Pekingduckman:
The center pane should extend up into the wing, with an overhead pane that flips up and is large enough for a person to fit through. There should be additional triangular panes to either side of the center, as well as a L/R pair of side-facing panes directly below the leading edge of the wing. The entire windshield looks like it should span over half, but not the full width of the fuselage. They could have done a better job of incorporating the topside hatch, but without new molds it would be difficult to do a better job with the windshield at this scale.

@iriz:
I don't think I've ever seen a real prop-driven plane like this displayed like the model in the set. I've only seen jet fighters mounted like that. For this plane, that would put most of the weight right on that support pillar, which could become unsafe with age, and risk destroying the plane (especially if left outside, where wind could put a lot of torque on the wings). Huw's stand is more like how real model aircraft are displayed, with an "in flight" pose, and an unobtrusive black stand and a slender support that connects to the plane in one place. Usually the support has a more graceful curve to it, but the need to use SNOT construction to attach it to the plane makes that somewhat tricky. So, I won't be using Huw's stand (or the glued one that someone mentioned), but I will be interested in seeing what other alternative stands people come up with, and I may try my hand at one as well.

@tomahawker:
When I was still under the impression that this was built smaller than minifig-scale, I figured it might be possible to easily incorporate the wheels in a larger build. Really only the bottom sliver of the wheel should be visible, which makes figuring out a way to add one that makes sense with the wheel fairings a bit of a challenge. Since the 13547 inverted curved slope does have an open pocket on the underside, it might be possible to just add something to represent the wheels. However, it's just large enough that a stud won't attach to it. I've tried a few possibilities, and found that a 1x1 round plate or Technic half-bush flipped on edge are both too wide to fit, while a lever base on its side is too tall. I'm not sure what other purist options are available, but I want to keep the fairing as unmodified as possible. I know some people who have been 3D printing, and I'd rather just see if one of them can come up with something that will plug into the bottom of 13547 and mimic the curve of a tire.

@SmilingCyclops:
In the UK, this version is called "spats", while something that extends up to the fuselage and also covers the struts is "trousers". I suspect "pants" is more equivalent to the latter, but another North American term is "speed fairings", which is entirely accurate to their purpose. They're used to streamline the shape of the landing gear so air flows over it better than the far less aerodynamic shapes required for landing gear.

@DavidBrick:
It _IS_ minifig-scale. Look up pictures of the real thing. The overall model is perfectly scaled to the height of a minifig. The cockpit windshield should be a bit bigger, the oar blades are the wrong shape for propeller blades (but a pretty clever solution otherwise), and the wheels are missing from the front landing gear but otherwise the dimensions look pretty good.

I think it's a charming little set, and trying to hollow out a space for her to sit inside might have made the whole fusilage too fragile to be swooshable. Fortunately there are enough things I really want to buy at the moment to make up the cost for the GWP--at least, assuming they can at least be backordered by the 6th!

@Brickchap: A minifig-scale model might well be too big to be a GWP, or at least would have a much higher purchase threshold.

They made a new flesh-tone female head print instead of rehashing a 4-year-old one from Star Wars? Say it ain't so!

*fingers*crossed* I get one, bit late just getting my order in last night 21325