I love Technic sets but I don't like how unwieldy the larger sets are, so I prefer the smaller ones. The unfortunate trade off for this is that smaller sets usually means less functions. It seems this year for their 40th Anniversary Technic has kicked it up a gear.

Firstly the Ultralight Helicopter isn't a helicopter at all, it is an Autogyro. The functions of this set allows you to turn a small gear on the bottom of the craft which activates the inline two-cylinder engine, the rear push-prop and (unrealistically, although thankfully for playability) the top rotor. There is also a small lever at the side to control the rear rudder which I am pretty impressed with as they could have easily left this function out.

Overall I am very pleased with this set, particularly at its $23AUD price point. The only complaint I would make are the huge number of stickers you need to apply and some to some pretty awkward places. Another small issue is that the rudder has limited movement in one direction as it fouls on the tail, I also feel the rudder control could have been in the cockpit but understand that would effect playability.

If you like Technic sets, this is a great one and if you don't, get it anyway as it is as playable and displayable as any good Technic set should be and at a very nice price.

This is an excellent 'small' Technic set with a good range of functions and some nice parts.

The build:

First, the confession that I didn't buy this from a boxed kit. Rather, the excellent 'rebrickable.com' indicated that I had the parts required already. So I downloaded the instructions and set my six year old son to work. Between us we found this an engaging and quick build with a surprising number of mechanisms contained within.

The Model

The finished model hits the sweet spot of looks, functionality and interest. The design is suitably close to a 'real' autogyro. The mechanical errors are forgivable - firstly for playability, and secondly because it's quite clear that Autogyros break several fundamental laws of physics anyway and only fly because their pilots operate under the delusion that they can. To be honest, I think the pusher blade, top rotor and motor would have been enough mechanisms, but we also get a nice linkage to the rear rudder as well.

Playability

Really good fun: The fact it has stayed built and in the Technic collection is testament to how much my son enjoys building this model into various super hero rescue missions. It swooshes well, withstands knocks during play, and rolls along the floor nicely too.

Conclusion:

I think this set offers everything that a technic set at this price point should: An engaging build, some good intriguing mechanisms, and a rewarding final model that is actually a viable toy. A solid 4 start set, and at current discounts a must have.

I wasn't actually planning to buy this set before but I realised it has some nice elements to use in MOCs and the price was not so high so I spontaneously wanted to buy and try out the set.

The 199 pieces come in three unnumbered bags. It has a few gears of different sizes and lots of (10 to be exact) white panels differing in size.

The instructions books of A and B models are 70 and 55 pages each.

The final model is bigger than what you would guess.

You can flip the stick on the left side of the cockpit and turn the rudder. You can rotate the rear propeller, the main rotor and you see the pistons move up and down inside the 2 cylinder engine.

I don't like stickers a lot and I am thinking of using them in MOCs so I ignored them but the model looks much better with the stickers.

Intro

With already 5 reviews covering the A-model, including an “official” Brickset review, but nothing about the B-model I decided it’s more useful to do a B-model review here than regurgitating what’s been said before.

I’ll skip features of the set mentioned in other reviews, such as box, instructions, parts etcetera, unless I think it adds something to the A-model reviews. The ratings I gave are based on what I think of the B-model without taking the A-model into account.

Building Instructions

Contrary to most larger Technic sets, where you’ll need to download instructions for the B-model, this one comes with a second booklet for the B-model. The instructions provide clear and easy guidance how to put the model together correctly. The also show which sticker to put on what part, enabling to build the B-model before the A-model should anyone wish to do so.

Parts & Building Experience

As expected for such a small model, it’s an easy, straightforward, built, using 63 parts less than the 198 of the A-model. The instruction manual for the B-model consist of 75 steps, compared to 86 for the A-model. No need to use spare parts left over from the A-model for the for B-model.

Functions and Playability

The main function of the model is the propeller, connected to the fake engine. The model can be pushed around on the ground thanks to the three wheels and as a plane you can swoosh it around of cause. It’s easy to pick up with one hand, sturdy enough to prevent any parts falling off when playing. Unlike many other Lego models pushing the vehicle over the ground does not make the propeller spin because there’s no connection between the wheels and engine/propeller. It’s difficult to spin the propeller more than 1 or 2 revolutions before it stops. Spinning the propeller manually drives the fake engine and that’s it.

Completed model and conclusion

Without applying stickers, the plane looks very whitish, if not a bit boring. Applying the stickers cheers it up a great deal resulting in a charming little Technic vehicle. Applying the stickers as shown for the A-model does not result in upside down writings or awkward alignments, which isn’t always the case with Technic B-models. The design of wings and fins combined with the relatively large cockpit plus outsized engine at the back give the plane a somewhat outlandish look, appropriate for an experimental aircraft. Using rotor blades as sidewalls for the cabin lends a fancy touch to the design. The rear wheels of the B-model make a strange looking 45 degrees angle to the ground and unfortunately it looks just as bad as on the A-model.

All in all, I think the model looks reasonably well if with stickers applied. Functionality and playability unfortunately suffer from lack of connection between a wheel and the propeller / engine to get them spinning / running.

Definitely a bit of a mixed bag this one.

On the plus side the engine & gear assembly is very pleasing, particularly for a small set. I like the drive output to the main rotor, despite the fact it ought to be free rotating. The steerable rudder is a nice feature. It's a surprisingly large model - not massive, obviously, but much bigger & more solid than I was expecting.

But...

The whole thing is really goofy looking. The rotor blades look way too small & flimsy for the size of the aircraft. The 45 degree angle of the side wheels is a very odd design choice, as is the exaggerated 'V' of the elevators. The placement of the rudder lever is also odd, placed as it is towards the cockpit, but nowhere near where a pilot could actually reach it - it makes me wonder why they bothered moving it to a forward position at all. As noted by the previous reviewer, the range of movement of the rudder is also rather small.

The model feels like it's been severely compromised at some point in the design process - whether this is to hit its target price point, or to ensure it contains the parts needed for the 40th anniversary car chassis model, I don't know, but the end result is something that feels like it could have been a great little kit, but has missed the mark.

Still, it does have its likable points, and would make a very good entry level model for someone new to Technic. I'm sure there's a lot of scope for modifying it into something better too - personally I think a smaller, stripped down version could work really well.