Intro

Ignoring helicopters, this 42066 Air Race Jet is the first bigger Technic airplane since the 42025 Cargo Plane in 2014. Technic jet engine planes are rare compared to propellor models, helicopters and even hovercrafts. This one is by far the biggest jet ever produced by Lego, consisting of about 1150 parts compared to 500 for the 2012 all manual functions 9394 Jet Plane. Though rather more of a free interpretation than exact scale model, it is clearly inspired by the design of the F-35 Lighting II fighter jet, currently being produced in large numbers by Lockheed Martin. Looking at the functions Lego has incorporated this is supposed to be the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) version, which is the B-series variety of the F-35.

I have been lucky to get a nice discount paying only 89 Euros (in a Lego bargain paradise called The Netherlands) instead of the 129 Euros RRP Lego charges. That is about 8 cents per part, which I think is fair for a motorized Technic model. Here in Indonesia, where I live, it’s 4 million Rupiah, approximately 245(!) Euros at the time of writing this review.

Box & Instructions

Not too long ago the size of the box would have been considered “large” for a Lego Technic model. Today, sitting on a toyshop shelf accompanied by models like the Bucket Wheel Excavator containing up to about 4000 parts it’s only medium sized.

The front of the box is mostly taken up by a nice picture of the jet in full flight, with smaller pictures to the right showing the retractability of the landing gear, movement of exhaust nozzle, power functions and size of the model. The top half of the back of the box shows more details of the functions of A-model, again the size(?), though strangely enough not the manual movement of the rudders on the tail fins. The bottom half displays the B-model which is a free-style kind of business jet plus 2 pictures detailing the retractable undercarriage and jet engines.

The instruction manual is a glued 250 pages booklet containing 335 building steps for the A-model. The building instruction for the B-model is available on-line, as always for Technic models.

Parts

To the best of my knowledge this set does not contain any entirely new parts, but there are some parts in new and rare colors. In most cases these parts are “medium blue” Technic panels and beams, which is slightly different from the “azure blue” used in for example the 42070 6x6 All Terrain Tow Truck. This set also contains a generous 8 pieces of 5x11 panels with angle in black, which are new in this color. From a parts collection building perspective, the introduction of the azure blue as a new color makes the medium blue parts in this model perhaps less attractive, though that depends on personal preference as well of cause.

In general, this set contains a wide variety of Technic parts, making the set interesting for anyone interested in building up a Technic parts collection.

Build

Most of the first half of the build consist of installing the M-motor, the core frame of the hull, the mechanisms to operate the landing gear and forward lift fan plus hatches and exhaust nozzle controls to go from horizontal flight to (standstill) vertical flight. After that the gear box for the motorized functions is added and the rest of the build mainly concerns body paneling starting from the front with the cockpit working backwards creating the body, wings and finishing with building both tail fins. Even though the left and right side of the body and aerofoils are almost identical nothing felt repetitive to me while building. The exact positioning of some of the gears and levers requires a keen eye and precisely following the instructions to make sure all moving parts are lined-up correctly when finished building. The instruction manual provides a handful of call-out technical drawings to prevent these kind of mistakes, which I appreciate.

The set contains a sheet with 25 stickers. I prefer not to apply any stickers, but gauging from the pictures on the box and manual they do look good on the plane.

Functions

The model contains a mix of manual and motorized functions. The first motorized function is for retracting and deploying the landing gear through a gearbox leaver on top of the aircraft. The second gearbox leaver controls all functions to go from horizontal flight to vertical and vice versa. This entails operating the above and below hatches for the vertical fan behind the cockpit, changing the direction of the exhaust nozzle from afterwards pointing to downwards, lowering the cover plate of the exhaust nozzle and lowering the flaps at the rear of the wings. The working of this second group of functions looks realistic compared to the way a real F-35B fighter jet hovers above the ground! Changing direction of both functions goes through the gearbox, so no need to reverse the rotation of the M-motor through the battery box switch. The M-motor has the vertical lift fan spinning all the time as soon as the M-motor gets switched on, even with the hatches closed, which is a bit odd, though not distracting because it’s hardly visible from the outside due to the fully plated body of the plane.

Manual functions consist of turning the front wheels through a gear on top, providing hand-of-God steering when the landing gear is deployed. The gear knob is mounted in the after rim of the cockpit canopy, making the gear unobtrusive to the design. The canopy itself can be opened and closed and the rims fit nicely with the body of the aircraft. The third manual function moves the rudders on the vertical tail fins through a gear knob connected to rods. This gear knob is mounted between the tail fins.

Completed model and conclusion

The end-result is a fantastic looking, convincing model of a (fighter) jet. The gear leavers on top look like antennas without disturbing the elegance of the plane. Seen from above and beside there are not too many gaps in the paneling. Even from underneath with the landing gear retracted the jet looks tidy. My only real criticism regarding the looks of the plane are the wings. They’re too small and stubby relative to the length of the plane. Fortunately, part of the fun of Lego is that you can always modify things you don’t like and in this case, it’s relatively easy to make the wings bigger with a few extra parts.

Structural integrity is good. The plane is sturdy and easy to pick up with one hand. Because of the worm and roll construction to operate the landing gear there’s no risk of the landing gear collapsing when pushing the plane around. Though the number of functions of the plane is smaller than on the previous 42025 Cargo Plane from 2014 I think they’re all very realistic and well built.

This model is the first time Lego have produced a large jet and as such the model is a welcome addition to the Technic line-up. I am very happy with the result and having added the Air Race Jet to my collection and I certainly recommend buying one if you’re interested in Lego Technic and planes!