10226 Sopwith Camel Review (warning - picture heavy!)

[Algernon]

10226 Sopwith Camel

REVIEW

LEGO.com description: Relive a classic era of aviation history with the Sopwith Camel biplane!

Build and fly a huge replica of the famous British biplane loaded with rare bricks and functions to match its real-life counterpart!

• 
  
• Parts: 883
  
• Release: 2012
  
• Price: $99.99/£79.99/$129.99
  

So, I open my front door one hot Saturday afternoon, and what do I see?

A brown paper package tied up with string. One of my very favorite things!

The box is quite large, but packed surprisingly tightly. Not much wasted space.

I quite like the box art!

The back of the box shows off a few different angles of the Camel, including the play functions. No flick fire missiles here!

Something I haven't seen before: the top of the box includes a list of parts.

Without any minifigs to show off, I imagine that LEGO needed something to fill up the space.

This baby requires two instruction booklets! I was glad to see them packaged in their own plastic bag, complete with cardboard backing.

The first booklet is much thicker than the second, for whatever reason. As you can see, the DSS is nice and small!

And here's the open instruction booklet:

Unfortunately, I forgot to take any photos of the building process. However, I can tell you that I found it extremely enjoyable, albeit lengthy!

A huge quantity of small parts mixed with gigantic base plates makes for an entertainingly tricky build.

If you're anything like me, you triple-check each page to make sure that you're building it accurately. Took me a few hours (and a few beers )!

There were definitely some repetitive sections, but that's to be expected.

I was extremely impressed with how much detail went into the build. You can really tell that the designer did his research.

My favorite part was building the joystick controls and figuring out how the functionality works. I felt like an aerospace engineer! Close enough right?

There are a small handful of extra pieces, including an extra string piece and brick separator.

The build required quite a few rubber bands, which were packaged inside these cardboard boxes.

For some reason, they gave me an entire extra box.

And now, without further ado...

What a beauty! The size of the model is humungous. It's hard to capture the scale of the thing on camera, so here's a comparison shot:

I imagine the Spirit of Luis might be feeling a little insecure now...

The midsection. Yes, I applied the stickers. Sometimes I think AFOLs must have the dexterity of drunken squirrels. It's really not so bad.

The propeller. When you spin it, the cylinders spin with it. It looks pretty cool!

The pilot's seat! I love the detail here. The printed control panel is perfect.

The seat itself. Rather tricky to get a good photo of it. I tried.

So, I bet you're wondering: what about all that functionality?

Well, it turns out that you can control the elevators on both the front wings and the tail with the joystick!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3mLHiwsow8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F1VOEKEudg

(Excuse the sound. I forgot that my dishwasher was running. )

How is this possible?! Patience. Master Algernon will show you.

Moving the joystick left or right pulls this string through those slots on the plane's front section.

The string then loops around the top of the wings...

... and then connects to the elevators, which are connected with another string.

The tail elevators are hard to show, so I'll just explain them. When you push/pull the joystick forward or backward, it moves a technic beam through the plane's midsection.

The beam is connected to this string:

Which is connected to the elevators. They're kept in place by these rubber bands:

Sorry for the awkward photo. I guess my inner drunken squirrel came out.

There are even springs attached to the landing wheels:

These make it so the plane rocks back and forth a little bit. I suppose they're supposed to add authenticity or something. It's a nice touch.

The bottom of the plane. Not much to see here.

Now we get to my one biggest complaint about the model. The rubber bands on the wheels have a bad habit of doing this:

ALL THE $#%@ TIME.

Still, it's a minor issue. Just a point of annoyance.

As many of you are aware, if you order the Sopwith from LEGO.com right now you get a bonus: a MINI Sopwith!

...because that's what everybody who buys the real thing wants, right? A smaller, crappier version to go with it.

Kidding aside, I actually like it. Plus, it's free, so it's hard to complain.

I remember somebody saying it looks like there are two giant cakes on the wings. I tend to agree.

The bag:

And the instructions, fold-out style:

Pretty typical of polybag sets. You even get a couple extra pieces:

Whoopee.

And there you have it, folks!

So, now that we've seen it, how does this set measure up to the 2001 version? Unfortunately, I don't have 3451, so I can't really do a legitimate comparison. Maybe if someone has them both, they could post a few pictures. That said, I have to admit that I'm extremely impressed with 10226. I'm a Space fan, so I don't usually pop for these large-scale models, but something about the Sopwith attracted me. I've always been a fan of WW1-era memorabilia, and everybody knows Snoopy's favorite biplane! I liked the look of it so much, I decided to make it my first LEGO purchase in months.

I can't remember the last time I had so much fun putting a model together. The detail, accuracy, and functionality are all jaw-dropping! I don't think we've gotten something so lovingly designed since the heady days of Model Team. LEGO really designed this for adults, and I appreciate the effort - it's refreshing to attempt such a complicated build straight from LEGO.

I'm no aviation history buff, so I can't really tell you how accurate it is to the real thing. But as they say, a picture's worth a thousand words:

That's about as accurate as I've ever seen a LEGO set.

And now, the scorecard!

Build: 4/5 - challenging and entertaining, with some repetition.

Design: 5/5 - The design is the what you'd be buying this for. Outstanding!

Minifigs: n/a

Functionality: 4/5 - Ambitious, yet mostly successful! The icing on the cake.

Value: 3.5/5 - $99.99 is a steep price for 883 parts, but frankly, I didn't feel the least bit ripped off. It's a gigantic set, and with the amount of effort that went into the design, $99.99 is a reasonable price.

Overall: 4.5/5

It's a shame this set isn't connected to any real "theme", because in my mind, it's a modern classic. A heaping TON of unique parts and colors, amazing functions, massive size and jaw-dropping accuracy make this one of LEGO's best efforts. It's as close as we're gonna get to the return of Model Team!

I highly recommend 10226. Get it while you can!

"What is this? Some kind of new alien technology?!"

Thanks for reading!

Edited June 18, 2012 by Algernon

[Brickus]

Excellent review, of an equally excellent set, this is a must buy for any aviation fan, or the casual LEGO fan.

[Dane]

Thanks for a great review with some nice detailed images. When I watched your video before reading that it was your dishwasher, I was thinking that it almost sounded like the engine of the plane was running and a perfect "sound effect"

[Algernon]

Thanks for a great review with some nice detailed images. When I watched your video before reading that it was your dishwasher, I was thinking that it almost sounded like the engine of the plane was running and a perfect "sound effect"

Lets go with that!

Edited June 17, 2012 by Algernon

[just2good]

Nice double review, 'Algernon'!

I'm still a bit mixed on this set. It does look really nice, but I am 97% sure I wont pick it up. I do plan on picking the miniature version through a shopping spree, though.

[Darthluke824]

Thanks for reviews! Ughh, imagine the set with flick missiles! How could LEGO do that!

[BrickPicker]

Excellent review. One of my favorite new sets. Can't wait to build it and display it.

[Algernon]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

[Lightning Dragon]

Funny how they added a small one

[SuperSirLink]

Great review! This has been one of the best sets I have purchased in a long time (second only to the modular buildings), and have to say if you like planes, or WW1 planes specifically... this is a must buy!

Here are some comparison shots to the original:

There are somethings about 3451 that I like better, but overall 10226 is more accurate to the real thing... The biggest drawback of 10226 is the fuselege design (too long and too wide) and would have been nice to see them make the lower wings dihedral.

Edited July 19, 2012 by SuperSirLink

[Javert]

I have just spent around 30 minutes studying this review and I have to say it's making me more and more interested in the set, but I'm also wanting to know another thing, could someone who has this set tell me, could this set be easily MOD'ed to create a Supermarine Spitfire? I'm a big fan of those planes, and it looks like the entire body section including the tail is the same kind of shape as the Spitfire, obviously if I did try this I would take the inner workings out of it. thanks in advance!

I have just spent around 30 minutes studying this review and I have to say it's making me more and more interested in the set, but I'm also wanting to know another thing, could someone who has this set tell me, could this set be easily MOD'ed to create a Supermarine Spitfire? I'm a big fan of those planes, and it looks like the entire body section including the tail is the same kind of shape as the Spitfire, obviously if I did try this I would take the inner workings out of it. thanks in advance!

[gti180]

i never got the free toy. Not a happy.

[MacK]

Great review! I will definitely be picking this set up later in the year.

I have just spent around 30 minutes studying this review and I have to say it's making me more and more interested in the set, but I'm also wanting to know another thing, could someone who has this set tell me, could this set be easily MOD'ed to create a Supermarine Spitfire? I'm a big fan of those planes, and it looks like the entire body section including the tail is the same kind of shape as the Spitfire, obviously if I did try this I would take the inner workings out of it. thanks in advance!

I reckon that you could transform the Sopwith Camel into a Spitfire, but I doubt that it would be easy. Depending on how accurate you want it to be; you would need to move the cockpit back, and redo the engine and wings. If nothing else I think that this set would be an excellent parts pack to get you started on a Spitfire.

[Multiverse]

I might be getting this, but it won't be at the retail price. If it goes 20% off or more on S@H, though, I think I'll be in.

And I certainly won't be building it without my dad, the family WW1 plane enthusiast. =J

[Ferrik]

Looks interesting! It actually looks very realistic compared to the real Sopwith Camel.

[kboleen]

Thanks for the great review. And thanks to supersirlink for posting the old set. I had no idea there was another release. This new set is definitely better than the previous release though I have to say I love the Red Baron. Unfortunately I have a limited budget and I am saving it for the Lord of the Rings Helm's Deep set. Terrific review nonetheless.

[Flying Ace]

I love this model. I loved building it and I love displaying it. I also have a somewhat smaller RC Fokker Dr.1, too bad they cannot really dogfight. I am sure that TLG was reading my mind when they conceived and designed it. About the only other model that would rate this highly for me would be one of the Nautilus from Disney's 20,0000 Leagues Under the Sea.

I did have the problem with the elevators having too much upward deflection. I moved the string studs forward one row to correct this and now they work great. My only other minor complaint is that the propeller blades will come off if they are "flicked" too hard. I also would have loved to see an information brick/sign about the original to use for display.

I know it's not 100% accurate, but that does not bother me at all. I think it's part of the "charm" of the model. A plane with studs all over the wings will never be completely accurate anyway. Of course, I am glad some owners have the skill and spare parts to make it even closer to the "real thing" and I look forward to seeing their efforts.

To add a little more interest to the bottom, I scanned in the large roundel stickers and and printed out two more to stick on the bottom wing with double-stick tape (they are not full circles due to the aileron hinge components). I have been trying to find out what the two 1x1 silver circles are behind the cockpit. I am assuming that they are filler caps, one for fuel and maybe one for oil, but I have not been able to confirm this yet.

I would like for it to have a pilot. My daughter's Belville horse jumping girl figure fits into the cockpit just right. There is not much room for her legs, but from what I read about the real thing, that is about right. Can anybody suggest a male Belville figure I could use? I have looked at the ones on Bricklink but I am not sure which one would work.

Cheers!

[BasOne]

Excellent review of an excellent set.

I really enjoyed building it and it has place of honor on my ceiling

I never did get the mini version though

All we need now is a new Fokker Dr.1

[Mtx]

Great review!

I finished my own yesterday and I must say what a machine! It's large, highly detailled and it has functions! I was so excited cause I'm big fan of technics. Only consern is that I found out that I had more "extra" pieces than you... :D Now I'm wondering where those are going... I tried to be so precise as possible. But my nerves were cracking cause I was also filming my first time lapse building video. Camera kept this annoying beebing sound during my build.

I also discovered that if you stretch those blue rubber bands over those rims they stay better. If you just roll them on, those bands will go and stay warped, and will pop out more easily.

Plans for building Snoopy in the cockpit are on their way :D