So this is my first Creator set and one of my largest sets, only my King’s Castle set from the 80’s is comparable in size, my largest Classic Space set from the 80’s is a third smaller. So obviously I don’t have a whole lot to compare this set to, but let’s just say Lego has come a long way from the 80’s!

The Airplane

The airplane is an incredibly impressive design. Not only is it a beautiful color scheme and well designed, but it is solid. Where my classic space sets would tend to fall apart as you play with them, I would feel confident throwing this plane gently onto a bed or couch without anything breaking off. Of course the trade off to this is playability. Where my space sets would separate into modules, open up to let out space rovers, and include plenty of minifigures and tools, this airplane can’t do any of that. It doesn’t even include minifigures, but it should have and can seat two. The main playability of it is that it won’t break and it has a mechanical propeller.

As for the build of it, it is brilliant. The wings are assembled separately from the fuselage and are attached minimally making it seem very realistic. You also have access to viewing the gears that operate the propeller which are located where the engine would be. Not to mention movable flaps and retractable front wheels. Although the rear wheel can’t be retracted, but since it is the mechanism you slide to operate the propeller you wouldn’t want to anyways. The only design flaw is that the front wheels tend to retract themselves as you drive the plane on carpet, not sure how it would do on hard surface.

The Helicopter

The helicopter is also fantastic but has a few problems. It too has a mechanical propeller, however there is no way of viewing the mechanics of it once built. The other 2 issues are the handle for operating the propeller would benefit from a 1x3 plate on its “bottom” just to make it more symmetrical and a bit easier to hold. The other issue is where the minifigure would sit you have a flat tile so you can’t snap him in, not too cool if he’s a stunt pilot and can fly upside down. The seat is also so incredibly tight that your minifigure will need to hold his hands up just to fit in. I suppose maybe a couple of 2x2 plates could remedy this situation.

While it may not look as appealing as the airplane, with an exception for a bit of yellow (should have been blue) where the front wheels attach, the colors look great. Even as you are building, despite hiding some colors that don’t fit, they are at least patterned so it still looks good while being assembled. Not quite as solid a construction as the plane, but still very solid and much better than my Lego City helicopters from the 80’s!

The Boat

The boat on the other hand is much less impressive, and actually a little disappointing. There is no mechanical component except for a very basic button you push to slightly open the windshields. But seriously, who has windshields on a speed boat? The color of the bricks is arranged randomly (whatever piece fits) so it looks awful as you build it. At the end most of that horribleness is covered up with an exception for a sliver of black on the sides and the seating area. But the colors along the sides change in both straight and jagged edges which just looks bad. There is a storage compartment with a movable cover, but it would have been much cooler if it revealed an engine, even if it is located in the wrong place. Since the set comes with gears, just design something that looks cool even if it isn’t functional, although why not make it spin the fan on the back? Like the airplane, the boat is solid and will not break. But it is not attractive, not very interesting to build, and quite honestly seems like an afterthought. I really wonder if I couldn’t design a better looking boat with the pieces included in this set.

Overall, it’s a fantastic set and lots of fun. I just wish it had a couple of minifigures.

The Aviation adventures is a LEGO Creator 3 in 1 set. It stands out from other planes from its size in its unique and impressive features that every Creator builder should own. This review is focused on the primary build the plane and on its functionality, building procedure and parts

Box/Instructions

There is nothing out of ordinary here. A square box that is about just over half filled with everything you need. All 618 pieces and 3 instruction booklets for the primary build (the plane) the moderate build (the helicopter) and the boat (quick build).

Price

This set is priced at 70AUD and a lot of people thought this was quite a steep price but in my opinion I think this is a great price compared to other Creator sets that are now coming out… *cough* *cough* Blue power Jet *cough* *cough*. In all seriousness I think this is a decent price especially since you get models and functionality.

Parts

This set contains many LEGO plates and bricks like what you would expect in a Creator themed set this size. Pieces that caught my eye include some of the gears used in the main function of the plane that I haven’t seen in a Creator set for ages. It also contains an orange brick separator to help fix errors or to help deconstructing the model for one of the alternative builds.

Minifigures

This set doesn’t include minifigures but the designers were kind enough to make this set minifigure scale.

The build

The build like with most creator sets for me is quite easy (as a technic builder now) but still with interesting steps for the procedure. This is for steps such as adding the back wheel of the plane (I’ll explain the reason why it is interesting when I explain functions.

The completed model

When construction is complete the model looks fantastic. The plane has a nice color scheme with different stripes of blue, yellow, a bit of black and white. This plane also comes with functionality. It has retracting landing gear, movable flaps, opening/sliding cockpit, swiveling back wheel and the spinning propeller which can easily be triggered by moving the back wheel back and forth. You can also view the gears that do this by opening the front part of the plane which doesn’t require any deconstruction. This makes an amazing playability feature that is unique and impressive. Also the two alternate builds are quite outstanding with their own features and it is worth rebuilding the plane into one of the other models.

Overall opinion

If you can’t tell by now I adore this model. With Great Playability, Functionality and building process, this is probably my favorite LEGO Creator Plane I own.

The big brother of 2012's Propeller Adventures, this plane is obviously bigger, has more parts and more details. Building the plane is not overly complicated, with some moving part actions like flaps and rotation propeller than is 'pumped' by the rear landing gear. The color theme is quite pleasing too, a good combination of white, yellow and blue.

For those of you who don't like stickers, this set has none!

Pros

• Good size and detail
• Sturdy
• No stickers!!
• Playable with big holding area for your hand

Cons

• Price? US$60

A worthy addition to the Lego planes collection