Before images were released, Airport Terminal was high on my wanted list, since I really needed a terminal building in my airport. After images were released, Airport Terminal went from my wanted list to 'Should Be Wanted by No One' list. The factor that lets down this set is in the title and the reason I was originally excited for this set; the terminal. But, Airport Terminal also lacks in lots of other areas too, which is why Airport Terminal has been unofficially renamed by me; Terminal Illness.

Parts

Interesting/exclusive parts: There are a few rare parts in Airport Terminal:1/2 Circle Plate 4X8 (only in 2 other sets), Brick 1x2x2 Bright Blue (only in 2 other sets),Door 8x8x5 Bright Blue (exclusive), Bow Top 8x8x2 Bright Blue (exclusive), Bow Upper Part 2x8x2 Bright Blue (exclusive),Plane End 8x16x7 Bright Blue (exclusive), Cockpit 8x16x5 with glass Bright Blue (exclusive), Angle Plate 1x2/2x4 Bright yellow (only in 5 other sets) ,Front 4X3X2/3 W. Bow (only in 4 other sets), Conveyer Belt 4x16 dark stone grey, (only in 6 other sets), Airplane Bottom 8x16x2 White (exclusive) Rudder 2x12x8 White (only in 2 other sets),Wall Element 6x6x2 Round White (only in 5 other sets),Lattice Wall 1x5x6 white (only in 4 other sets) Bow Bottom 8x8x2 White (exclusive) Bow Bottom 2x8x2 (exclusive) Brick 2x2x3 sand yellow (exclusive) Wing 54x20x2/3 medium stone grey (exclusive) Mailbox 2x2x3 Bright Blue (only in 2 other sets).

Minifigures:

There are 6 minifigures in this set: a pilot, 2 ground workers, 2 passengers (male and female) and a flight attendant.

The pilot uses the same torso from Cargo Plane, this and Cargo plane are the only sets which included this print. He has aviator sunglasses for a face print and a black police hat. He also has a brown briefcase. The first ground worker is also the same as Cargo Plane reusing the 2015 Space worker torso print and has a common red construction hat as well as the common 'jangbricks' face print. The other ground worker has the same torso and legs with a goatee face print and an orange cap. The male passenger uses the Mitchell torso print from Jurassic World, he has dark brown hair and a black suitcase. His face print is very common (eyes and mouth basically), the female passenger has nougat colored long hair and a common female face print. Her torso print is fairly uncommon and she has a light grey suitcase. The flight attendant uses a very common suit torso print. His beard is nicely matched with the colour of his hair. (darkish blonde). All the minifigures are fine, I am disappointed that the pilot and ground worker were taken straight from Cargo Plane. I am happy that Lego has been recently breaking the gender stereotypes, this is the first time there has been a male flight attendant in a Lego Airport set. One more passenger and another airport worker (interior staff) would have been better.

The Build

The build is fairly easy, in fact, the build is too easy, thanks to use of the large prefabricated pieces. The building experience is pretty poor in this set. The plane is almost already build for you, the terminal is mainly built of large pieces too. In many cases, I praise the use of large pieces, but in this model, the designers have gone way over the top.

The Completed Model

When built, you are left with a large jet airplane, a terminal building and an airport tug with some trailers.

Since the terminal is the main reason this set is so bad, the terminal is first. The most striking thing is the control tower on top of the roof. Although the 2006 version also had the control tower on top, this is weird and very unrealistic. Most airports in the 1920's and 30's had the control tower on top but that has since changed, and the control towers of any era had access, unlike this one. The tower has a radar bar on top (a sticker). There is also a sticker on the tower support which is a red and white checker pattern, used by airports to caution airplanes of any obstacle.

There is a very small 4x4 Airport sign in blue and white lettering on the roof. There is a 2 wide sidewalk running the length of the front of the terminal, with a green trash can and a bus stop sign (also a sticker). The 'x' shaped supports in white and the sloped roof are very reflective of real airport terminals, as is the very large window on the right.

A revolving door takes up the rest of the space. Firstly, the door is too tall. Unless minifigures like to walk on stilts, the height just looks ridiculous. There is a knob on the roof which allows you to turn the doors, which works fine, but minifigures cannot use the doors. What I mean is, it is almost impossible to correctly place a minifigure in one of the spaces. This means that children cannot play with the doors very well, nor can they pose minifigures going in or out of the terminal.

Inside things go from bad to worse. The interior is a disgrace to the Lego company. There is so little detail! Behind the windows is the waiting area, which is 4 seats. On the left is the very large and obvious conveyer belt with a massive knob. In front of this is a tiny desk with a computer and a seat. Apart from a full body scanner on the right, basically all the detail is the walls separating the different areas! The scanner is an empty door frame with red and green lights on top. This is the first time Lego has included a full body scanner, which is good. The conveyer can be turned by the knob and luggage dropped into a baggage cart. Furthermore, the layout is very confusing. You check in, then walk to one side then back to the other side to go to the aircraft. Or minifigures can just walk straight onto the plane. The control tower has a seat, a 1x2 printed tile (radar) and a coffee cup.

The plane is the usual design. This time, the designers have re-coloured some pieces, creating a new colour scheme of blue and orange. This is very nice. Like the 2006 plane, the engines are placed at the back, like a learjet. This plane looks rather like a HS121 Trident. Few airplanes use this engine design, why Lego has used it twice is clearly an aviation mystery. There are two very oversized wing-lets (used to reduce air vortexes) on the end of the very large specialized wing piece. The tail is about right in size compared to the rest of the plane, maybe a tiny bit too big. The large landing gear (the front wheels rotate 360 degrees) results in the plane being very tall. There is an opening door on one side at the front of the plane and various stickers all around. Some give fuel cap details, others continue the lines of colour. Unlike the 2006 plane's tail, this year's tail is not printed and has a sticker instead. Right at the back are two storage compartments for luggage, these are the only places for cargo.

Unlike the terminal, the interior detail is not too bad. The cockpit is accessed via removal of the enormous front cockpit canopy piece. Inside the cockpit is room for two minifigures (there are two seats) and there are two 1x2 printed slope pieces as controls with a sticker on a slope piece in the middle.There is also a coffee cup on top of the controls. I am very happy with the cockpit. There are two small walls behind the two seats, which although make access form the passenger cabin a little harder, are more realistic. The sticker in the middle is fine and very realistic. The only improvement could be some joysticks or aircraft steering wheels for the pilots, but references to these things are made on the sticker.

The passenger cabin is also nice. Closest to the cockpit is a sink and container with some drinks in it. Opposite this is a backwards facing chair for the crew. The seats for passengers are separated by 2 humps. These are part of the large wing piece and are essential for structural support but are the worst possible thing for interior detail. These humps are 3 long and 6 wide. The 2006 plane had a line of studs then a 2x6 smooth area and the reverse on the other side. Now, all of the hump has studs, so seats could be placed there or other details. These humps are very negative, but sadly unavoidable. Hopefully one day Lego will find a way around them. There are 5 red seats. There is room for a 6th, but this was left out for room to stand the flight attendant. I think this was a very bad choice. In fact, the first ever airliner, which first flew in 1913 (but was never reused) carried 16 passengers. This modern Lego plane carries 5. Modern airliners can carry up to 615 seats. Behind this, for the first time, is a toilet on a Lego airplane. The previously mentioned first airliner had a toilet. The toilet has a small sink with taps and a life ring piece representing the seat. The seat is basically on the ground and the door would be better suited to a pig pen, given how small it is. The plane overall is alright but pretty poor.

The best part of this set is the smallest, the airport tug and baggage train. The tug is the most built up of all the 2016 Airport set tugs. The front is nicely rounded and has headlights, There is room for 1 minifigure and clips holding 2 marshaling wands. There is also the common Follow Me sign. There are two red brake lights and a ball joint allowing the trailers to be towed.

The baggage car is almost exactly the same as the 2006 one, except different wheels and colours. It can fit roughly 5 Lego suitcases and has a ball joint so the next trailer can be attached.

The next trailer is a fuel cart. There is a hose piece which can be winded up and a lever. he rest of the cart is a small Octan tank with a fuel cap on top. There is a ball joint for the next cart.

The final trailer is the mobile stairs. They are just a Lego stairs piece on wheels. The stairs easily reach the plane door, but really should have included a platform at the top with some handrails.

Overall Opinion

Airport Terminal is the worst Lego airport set yet. (in my opinion) The terminal has a modern look ,yet 1920's design and extremely little interior detail, with maybe 1 play function. The plane has very little building experience and, although it is enormous and uses most of the pieces, has less seating capacity then the first ever airliner, which by the way, only flew once. Two of the 6 minifigures are direct copies from another, much cheaper set, and the rest are just average. 6 minifigures is the same amount found in a set that is $30 cheaper. Only the baggage car has very little negatives. As a whole, there is not much play value. Children will have some fun with this set, but it is way too expensive for any sort of value for money to be had. There are quite a few exclusive pieces in this set, but they are mostly for the plane and offer no benefit to MOC builders. Airport Terminal will be needing a complete overhaul.

By Brickchap