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According to Brick Clicker the next LEGO Icons set will be a scale model of the Concorde. Set nr.: 10318 Nr. of pieces: 2083 Price: 199.99$ Release date: September 4th Licensed: Yes (Airbus) Length on stand: 102cm / 40in Dimensions: 105 cm x 43 cm x 15 cm Scale: 1:60 Lead Designer: Milan Madge Stickers: none

Back in the day, whilst flying you could get a real turkey carved right in front of you, stretch your legs without bothering your neighbor in front of you, and take whatever you wanted on board with you... peanut butter, toothpaste, shampoo, you name it! Need the smoking section? The whole freaking plane was the smoking section! Of course, tower radar wasn't really a thing (cockpit radar was a long way off too), flight instruments were crude, and inflight entertainment was either out your window, napping, or reading whatever book you brought with you. Crashes were also common with survivability rates poor, and there was no GPS to guide your pilot on his way.... but they did have paper maps, gut instinct, a lot of know-how and nerves of steel. (a quick silent prayer couldn't hurt either) So, buckle those seatbelts (if your plane has any!) and steady those pre-flight jitters - we're taking off! This 1936-designed Douglas Aircraft Company DC-3 was very heavily modified from limited edition Indiana Jones set 7628 (Peril in Peru, from the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull film) and my own imagination. I redesigned the passenger cabin of the DC-3 to not have any pesky stickers as in the 2008 set. Sadly, the airplane's opening door has been removed as a consequence of redesigning the airframe. The colors are based off Trans-World Airlines (otherwise known as TWA) back in the immediately post-WWII period. It's not a perfect match for the paint scheme, but it doesn't use stickers, so I'm happy. The rear of the plane. Originally I wanted to build this airplane in green for Ozark Air Lines, but limited green wedge part availability killed that idea. (Ozark was headquartered at my local major airfield - St. Louis' Lambert Airport, from the early '50's until when they merged with TWA in 1986) The two front landing gear fold up. The roof of both cabin and cockpit come off to seat six passengers and one pilot figure. Thoughts? EDIT 7/14/23: Main post updated, model finished!

Hi folks, I want to share a new creation. Rebuild your Lego Technic 42152 Firefighter Aircraft into this Conwing L-16 Cargo Seaplane alias "Seaduck" from the famous cartoon Talespin. This model is an alternate build, meaning all 926 required parts comes from the main set with no extra parts needed. The plane uses 4 spare parts, that are all available with the set 42152 Firefighter Aircraft with a total parts count of 930. Get ready to join the Higher for Hire Cargo Company with its pilot Baloo von Bruinwald XIII, to rebuild one of the most iconic planes in cartoon history. You can find instructions here if you are interested in building this model. Features & Functions fast spinning propeller in opposite direction working rudder on wings openable cargo bay with linear actuator dual-linkage mechanism for cargo doors implemented wheels for comfortable playing includes two offshore buoys measures 40x46x12cm Impressions Propeller & rudder Propeller for that seaplane are custom made to fit the scale of this alternate build. Both propeller are geared up as much as possible, spinning very fast but smoothly in opposite direction by turning the red gear on top. I was not happy about the rudder implementation for the Firefighter Aircraft donor set. As a result, the rudder on wings are operable in a more comfortable way for this model. Cargo bay & doors To be confirm with the Higher for Hire Cargo Company, this Conwing L-16 is made to transport freight, providing as much space in the back as possible. By controlling the black gear behind the nose, a linear actuator is triggering a sliding mechanism to open the cargo doors. This mechanism opens the cargo door itself and part of the roof simultaneously, providing more room to reveal the cargo bay. The following animation should help to understand how the dual-linkage mechanism for the cargo doors works: Floating over surfaces This model is made as a seaplane only with no retractable landing gears, due the fact that the linkage mechanism inside takes up almost all the space. Thanks to the implemented wheels, the plane floats very smoothly over each surface to ensure a good playability. Of course this Conwing L-16 is a construction toy, do not put it into water. This model does not really float on water, but on its wheels instead. The seaplane has a heavy back wing like the real one, performing a take-off when displaying the model. Instructions Premium instructions for this alternate build comes in a single PDF-file with 241 pages of high quality building steps and clear images to ensure a satisfying building experience. Builders will be surprised what clever techniques and tricks are used to form all the shapes of the model, especially for the iconic red nose. Go back to the basics of Lego Technic with common colors, cool functions and playability - not only for the younger audience of builders. You can find instructions here. Seaduck from Talespin Talespin is a trademark of Disney and freely used to reference this model. Have fun with this 42152 Conwing L-16 "Seaduck" Cargo Seaplane alternate build.

Hello everyone! I'm here on the Action and Adventure forum today to share with you my latest creation: 5935 Island Hopper Redux! 5935 Island Hopper redux by Joshua, on Flickr 5935 Island Hopper redux flying by Joshua, on Flickr 5935 Island Hopper redux wheels down by Joshua, on Flickr 5935 Island Hopper redux interior by Joshua, on Flickr ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5935 Island Hopper was one of my favorite sets TLG ever put out. I have many happy memories from my youth of long hours spent lost in the world of Johnny Thunder, and this set was always my favorite to play with, and somehow always made it into every adventure, no matter what environment it was taking place in. Sadly I no longer have the original set still complete, but recently I came across the instructions, and decided it was time for this to be reborn with new parts and techniques. All the play features from the original set are there, such as folding wings, and removable roof, but I also added a few of my own, namely retractable landing gear, opening rear hatch,full interior, and working vertical and horizontal stabilizers. Worth noting is that many of the pieces from the original set were used in the new model. Hope you all like it! Long Live Johnny Thunder! Cheers, Joshua

Hi all, this is a first aircraft, a Canadair CL-215 waterbomber in minifig scale (around 1:45). Its wingspan is 80 studs, the fuselage is 8 studs wide. The main points were getting the wings straight and getting a smooth fuselage, especially at the rear. Apart from that it was quite a fun build, although it took nearly two months. Being a complete newbie in building airplanes I was very glad to see that I had some predecessors. It helped me a lot to look at their versions of the Canadair. That's why there are quite a few credits: John Lamarck, Bombardier CL-415: measurements, proportions, wing profile vincez01, Canadair CL-215: fuselage, landing gear Zorko Huljic, Canadair CL-415: tail Last not least a big thank to my dear friend Steffen, a LEGO plane specialist, who gave me a lot of advice. Take a look at his fantastic aircraft: www.flickr.com/photos/29666619@N04 Some more pics: Side view: The plane fits two whole minifig pilots, as you can see here: Furthermore the aircraft has some functions: 2 engines (run by a PF M motor each) flaps (run by a PF M motor) movable rudder, coupled with the steerable nose wheel Video (sorry for the bad quality, it's just to get an impression): The plane was built to be moved by an LCS (see http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=91937). It was quite suspenseful to see if a plane with a weight of over 1 kilogramme could be pulled by it. In fact it's no problem, as you can see here: This is quite nice because like this an airport with taxiing planes is possible which widens the possibilities when planning a town layout. That's about it so far, some more pics on Flickr, if you're interested in this. C&C welcome as usual, thanks for looking.

From the first time I saw the theme for this Lego Technic contest, I was intrigued by it and wanted to give it a try, but it had to be a biplane. I have a soft spot for these aircrafts, after seeing them in many documentaries and old Hollywood movies. And after some time on the world wide web, I was hooked on the striking blue/yellow color combination on the Boeing Stearman Model 75. It's basically a military trainer aircraft built starting from 1934, in the United States. More than 10k were built until 1940, and after the WWII, they were sold to civilians. This was a great move, cause they were used as crop dusters, then as sport and acrobatic planes used in air shows. Around 1500 are still in use today, and many are at display in museums around the world. But enough of this, you can read more about it and see real photos on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing-Stearman_Model_75 I tried my best to replicate the sleek lines of this marvelous biplane, while including relevant functions, such as: Functions: - motorized rotor - working ailerons (front) - working elevators (back) - functional tail rudder Technical Specs: Scale: 1:19 Weight: 956g Lenght: 46cm Wing span: 52cm Height: 18cm As the model is finished, see some representative photos here: So guys, I managed to get the stickers on, so here is the final model: See more detailed photos on my Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/braker23/albums/72157705259798851/with/46179286365/ Video is done and online, let me know what you think about functions: Thank you all for your time!

Hi everyone, This is my P-51 Mustang Racing MOC. It is made out of 401 official LEGO pieces. Blue Bull is 28.7 centimeters long (11.3 inches), its wingspan is 30.7 centimeters (12.1 inches), it weighs 263 grams (9.3 ounces) and its top speed is just over 400 km/h (over 250 mph)! A single pilot can sit in the comfortable cockpit and take control of the plane any time. Although Blue Bull has an aerodynamic design, its mainframe’s strength is not compromised! The model is designed with agility, durability and playability in mind, so in case of an accident, the plane is sturdy enough to withstand any drop from the height of up to 30 centimeters (12 inches), without any part breaking off. The model can be easily and carelessly swooshed by holding any part – main body, nose, wings, tail or even the propeller. Plane’s nose, wings and tail are connected at a slight angle. Sideways and top-down building techniques are implemented to achieve the appropriate design of the nose and tail. Nose has a smooth narrowing shape towards the propeller, while tail also narrows towards the endpoint. Main wings also have a slanted design – rear line of the main wings is angled in two points, contributing to the overall appealing shape and leaving enough room for the front landing gear. Front landing gear can be deployed or retracted, but rear landing gear is fixed. If you like the plane and would like to see more photos, visit my Flickr album. And if you especially like the model, consider supporting it on Ideas, under a title "Blue Bull"!

Dear all, I'd like to show a MOC I finished last month: the Curtiss P-40E Tomahawk in the colours of the Flying Tigers in China. Tiger_11_wheelup by Roel Cruijff, on Flickr As you can see it's in dark green and khaki; colours which aren't readily available in LEGO sets. I had to order these bricks from CADA and wherever I could find them, so I hope I am not violating any rules there since these bricks are not from LEGO. Still, I don't regret it as my 'original' colour-vomit set made from mostly 42039 pieces just didn't have the right look to it: spareparts by Roel Cruijff, on Flickr It started innocent enough, with me making the front cowl and canopy... but you know the feeling, once you are that far it becomes a life mission and needs to be finished. halfway by Roel Cruijff, on Flickr At first the canopy could open, but I had to let that idea go when the controls were added. canopy by Roel Cruijff, on Flickr Really happy with the dihedral there. I used some black 15-length liftarms, which I have not been able to take out and switch to light grey. dihedral1 by Roel Cruijff, on Flickr Once the model was fairly complete, I ordered the various green and khaki parts, and came up with this: Blank_08_topview by Roel Cruijff, on Flickr Blank_03_sideview by Roel Cruijff, on Flickr Blank_05_bottomview by Roel Cruijff, on Flickr The flaps fell off right after I took this photo, so I fortified them since. They are controlled with a level in the cockpit, but I like the way they slope in down position: Blank_07_frontview by Roel Cruijff, on Flickr The flight surfaces are controllable by a small joystick behind the cockpit. It was very hard fitting the mechanisms in there, and I am afraid to take it apart for a picture as it'll be a challenge to put it back again. Tiger_12_controls by Roel Cruijff, on Flickr I am most proud of the landing gear retraction system. As you may know, the gears of a P-40 retract one after the other, so I always wanted to make it fully manual operation. Here below you can see how it works. You turn the small black cog to drive the linear actuator. this will push the gear axle back and forwards. A fixed cog at the base drives the wheel axle, and the 90 degree turn becomes a 90 degree twist, making the wheels fold neatly under the wings: Blank_13_wheelhalf by Roel Cruijff, on Flickr Blank_12_wheelturn by Roel Cruijff, on Flickr Here is the mechanism in case you'd like to try it: https://www.mediafire.com/file/fqgxwfmazzuclv0/Gear_retracting_mech.io/file The decals are simply laminated colour prints stuck with double sided tape. Works like a charm. Hope you like it and that it may inspire more WW2 aviation models!

On Erotema homeland, the Supreme Leader Paul Ratchurch, Ministry of Defence N´Dongo and Ire Nemountain are visiting the first model of the newly developed SU 25 frogfoot. This is a jet-powered for close air support, being a step ahead from the Picarón Mk2 (inspired on the Argentinian Pucará). It has 11 hardpoints (5 per wing and 1 in the belly) and can carry up to 5 tonnes. This pictures show a wide selection of weapons, with two of them I am particularly proud of: the 30-mm anti tank cannon, inspired on the Ju 87 G anti tank Stuka, and the 8-barreled 12,70x108 machine gun, nicknamed "Little Irina". Not very suitable for highly armoured targets, but will cause havoc on unprotected troops and vehicles, as well as BOS terrorists (including civilians who support them). 20210501_095032 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr 20210501_095103 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr 20210501_095200 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr -Good morning from EADS testing ground, this is Tonoff Stonemanoff reporting from the only TV channel in Erotema, on "Allo Supreme Leader". He is here visiting the facilities. 20210501_095808 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr -Supreme Leader, it is our pleasure to hear you speaking. What´s your opinion about this glorius artifact made by the brightest minds in Erotema? 20210501_095851 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr -This will give us the chance to break fascism, terrorist, anticommunism, the PSIC, the BOS, anti-veganists, bullfights supporters, members of the resistance, all of them. -Oh, Supreme Leader, your words inspire all of us. Later, Paul and Ire go and see a "Little Irina"... 20210501_095909 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr -It is not large enough, I will have some of the technicians sentenced to force labour. -Oh Supreme Leader, you always so munificent...

This helicopter is my first alternative model built out of set 42105 (Catamaran). It features crank that spins both rotor blades and pontoons that gives it ability to float on water (although I didn't try it, it should work). I will be happy if anyone test its floating capabilities and share her or his experience in comments. Building instructions are available at buildinst.cz

Since the 42125 Ferrari set has blades... The features are: - Rotating propellers - Collective pitch control - Folding blades Video: More photos: Rebrickable page: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-68779/paave/helicopter/#details

A while ago I created a small minifigure scale plane inspired by the classic Cessna 172. I built an ordinary version as well as a seaplane. You can check out a 3D-view on Mecabricks and I also created custom instructions which you can find on Rebrickable.

Hello ! For my first topic here I would like to share with you a small thing I made that proved itself very useful ! I've had my 31039 sitting at the top of a 2 meters high shelf for a few month now and all I could see all day was the underneath of it. I was quite sad of this because I love this set and it's a very displayable model so I decided to work on a stand to display it. I wanted it to be : - As light as possible - Easy to use with any model - Made of common parts (actually the few parts I had left available) - And most important with ADJUSTABLE TILT ANGLE so I can modify the model position depending of how high the model is displayed. Here is the result : The stand is very sturdy and can handle a quite heavy model as long as it is well balanced on the stand. The model connects thanks to two 1x4 Technic bricks joined by a 2x4 plate : The parts are quite common and the rarest of them is the black 24T (I wanted the stand as black as possible ) Here are some pictures of the stand with the model on display : I also tested it with the 75102 and 75175 and both worked fine with the stand ! I think it can be easily modified to display technic models by replacing the technic bricks with Beams. I hope you will enjoy this stand, feel free to ask any question or suggest any improvement ! Oh and here is what it looks like on display at the top of the shelf :

Hi all, This is my latest moc, the Red Wasp Stealth VTOL. You may hear it landing but you won’t see it coming! This one came together remarkably quickly from an initial idea I had a couple of weeks ago. It looks like a pretty simple build due to its clean outer shell but actually proved to be quite complex to create, particularly the rotor blade engines, which needed axles running deep into the body of each to support their weight and which also freely spin and adjust between flight and hover mode. For anyone interested, the full album can be found on my Flickr page here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/164260086@N06/albums/72157717218068297 Thanks for looking.

I recently finished building a LEGO City/Minifig scale plane that offers more details than your usual airliner. I have submitted my creation on LEGO Ideas. See more pictures and vote for it here! My model also has its own display stand which can also be used to display the minifigs. This plane is built using brick-built solutions instead of relying too much on pre-fabricated plane pieces. This plane has quite a nice cabin on the inside and can accommodate many minifigures. To see pictures of the Economy AND Business class cabins, please see my LEGO IDEAS project page.

Flaperons are a combination of flaps and ailerons, found on various airplanes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaperon Thanks to @MinusAndy and @Jeroen Ottens for sparking this topic. I've had the following idea for ages, but it can use some perfection. (I think I've borrowed this idea somewhere) Red - Input for flaps Yellow + Turntable - Input for ailerons Combined - Flaperons Please post your ideas, suggestions, or questions in this topic.

Let me turn aside from cars and trucks and present you the Autogyro: Autogyro/gyroplane/gyrocopter is a vehicle, which contains both helicopter and plane qualities. As a helicopter, it has main rotor, making a gyro get off the ground. At the rear an engine-powered propeller pulls the vehicle horizontally, like a plane. The primary feature of autogyro is autorotation. Autorotation makes the main rotor rotate through air flows only. It does not need an additional power source; some models have pre-rotator, though. This is an ultralight autogyro, so, despite its look, it is finished. Video: Features & Functions: – Spinning rotor and propeller – Rolling wheels – Main rotor control with the joystick – Rudder control through pedals – Fake flat-2 engine – Dashboard – Seat belt. Measures: 27x14x21cm (blades diameter – 50cm). Weight: 150g. Autogyro isn't a common type of vehicle. I personally met it once while watching the second part of Mad Max trilogy, and I was astonished by its unusual look. Anyway I didn't try to copy it or any other specific copter. The presented one a collaboration of many.

Following my disappointment that the Osprey 42113 did not follow the normal pattern of availability and cost, I decided to build a civil aircraft MOC of a similar price point. I chose the CityAirbus because it has an interesting configuration, not seen before in LEGO Technic. The real one is all-electric, improving on the usual gas-guzzling Technic prototypes. There was also room to innovate in the model. A lot of prototype aircraft inherit a shell from an existing one and fit new equipment, which doesn't make for such an interesting model. With Technic we want to see the new mechanisms, so I left the underside open to view the gearbox. There are three motorised functions: rotor spin, a "hovering" mechanism and a movement mechanism. A single L-motor powers the 8 rotors and a selection gearbox for the other 2 functions. The right lever does the hovering mechanism, which lowers a pair of linear actuators that move clear beams to raise the aircraft off the ground. The left lever does the movement mechanism that powers a sliding axle arrangement that drives clear wheels on the feet of the scissor jack. The two manual "mechanisms" are removal of panels on each side and the ability to rolls sideways when landed, using small wheels on the skids. The red lever sows the centre of the function selection gearbox. It works like the one on the back of Claas tractor 42054. The rotor drive comes from the centre of the gearbox, using the reversing bevels, and goes up, then diagonally to reach the front rotors. The rear rotor drive goes along the top. My first prototype test model allowed the rotors to tilt in sided pairs but they do not do so in the real CityAirbus. The motor is above and to the rear of the function gearbox. The hovering mechanism is geared down by worm but has a small gear-up before the worm. A clutch protects the motor. You can see the final drive from the end of a row of 16-tooth cogs to the LA (mirrored the other side). The movement mechanism has an axle sliding in a red 8-tooth cog in between the LAs, with bevel drives to the wheels. The battery unit (any 4x8x3 one will do) is housed at the rear. The 12-tooth cog shows the control to a PF LiPo for this prototype but the PU 2-port hub could be used. The maximum hovering height is about 7cm but the movement function works as soon as the skids have left the ground. Further flight uses the traditional "swooshing" method. Walking pace would meet the real 75mph design speed at 1:20 scale! My hope is that this will help to ensure that we have LEGO Technic civil aircraft of a decent size in the range of sets, seeing as the Osprey would have been around for at least next year, had it not tripped over the "non-military" policy. As a set, the final CityAirbus model would need to be sponsored by Airbus Helicopters, who own the IP to the real CityAirbus. They would specify decals to put the livery patterns and brand names on it. The design and build time was 125 hours over about 5 weeks in August and September, quite a few hours after midnight! More pictures in my Brickshelf folder Video on YouTube Project on LEGO Ideas Please let me know what you think, and do support and share! Thanks, Mark

Hi, all my friends here! I just posted a contribution on Lego Ideas. That's a cute and creative Lego jet- plane set. Check it out! If you like it, please support it on the official Lego Ideas website https://ideas.lego.com/projects/8f441604-87c1-4768-a5d7-cad0c014fb6a to help me make it real. For getting this set actually into the Lego market, I need to gather at least 10,000 supports. Thank you for your interest and support, and don't forget to share it to your friends!

I haven't been building any plane from LEGO Technic for a long time so I decided to build new one. I built it from set 42106 and it became my first twin propeller plane and also the first plane with pullback motor. Pullback motor is connected to both landing gear and propellers so after pulling it back you can let it run forward or lift it and let propellers spin during flight. Building instructions are available at buildinst.cz Any comments are welcomed.

I was looking for LEGO Concorde designs but not very much came up in such a small scale so I thought I might as well give it a try. It comes complete with bendable nose cone, retractable landing gears (front and back), moveable back wing flaps (thanks again, mini fig pants...!) and the optional flame FX for... historical accuracy... . . .!? And as always you can find more pics here and if interested in a cutesy little Concorde to swoosh around the full set & instructions are available here. I hope you like my small sized interpretation of one of aviation history's most iconic aircraft. Thanks & have fun! (And many thanks to ukbajadave for explaining to a noob how to implement more pics here!)

Build based on How To Build Brick Airplanes: Detailed LEGO Designs for Jets, Bombers, and Warbirds by Peter Blackert (Author) LEGO World War One biplane ALBATROS

Hello everybody, Here's my lastest project, a minifig scale replica of the famous Canadian waterbomber, the Bombardier Canadair CL-415. First of all, I'd like to credit and thanks @ER0L. His great CL-215 model has provided me a lot of inspiration, especially for the nose and the tail building technique. Even if I'm far from the complexity he achieved with the Power Functions integration, I'm still quite happy with my build. I tried to reproduce as many details as possible, and I'm still working on others details:) For the moment, it includes: Flaps and ailerons mechanism Cockpit and interior (water and additives tanks) Right now, I'm working on the retractable landing gear system, and on improving the Pratt & Whitney engine design. The model is 50cm long and 65cm wide. I hope you'll like it! Tom

After watching the 2019 "Midway" movie, I tried to build a technic version of SBD Dauntless. I wanted this project to be a light and quick one, so I decided not to build the plane from scratch, instead, I wanted to mod from some exist MOCs. Then I found this master piece plane MOC on RB: https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/150206-aircraft-fighter-bomber-mkii-lego-technic/&tab=comments#comment-2791893 https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-9602/NikolayZubov/aircraft-fighter-bomber-mkii-lego-technic/#comments It's @Nikolay's wonderful fighter bomber MK II, a beautiful fictional plane packed with tons of features. This MOC has more than enough features I want to add to my SBD, so I removed some of them and adjusted the shape of the plane to make it look like a SBD of course, and here is the result: Featurewise it has(left over from original): Control surfaces controlled from cockpit: Ailerons Flaps (Unfortunately, it doesn't have any of the SBD's famous giant speed brakes) Elevators Rudder, connected directly to the tail wheel Other functions: Retractable landing gear; Wing folding mechanism, I know real SBD can't fold its wings, I keep this function to save space.... Rear machine gun Central retractable bomb pylon Sliding openable cockpit Some details: The olive green parts introduced by 42110 fits very well as the interior color here. The white belly: A closer look at the bomb: For paintjob , I chose the SBD-5's typical paintjob instead of the SBD-3 which appears in the movie. Some comparison with real SBDs: In memory of the already dissembled prototype: More pictures Thanks for watching, hope you like it. Many thanks again to the original MOC author: @Nikolay

Hello again Eurobricks! It's time to continue reviewing rare Life on Mars series with Martian Excavation Searcher - a huge mech with two claws! Excavation Searcher Full Set by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Excavation Searcher is the second largest set in the series. Only the main set, Aero Tube Hangar, was larger. On the one hand, the Searcher may look rank-and-file due to typical colors (tan and brown). On the other hand, this mech is interestingly designed, and Aero Tube Hangar looks empty without a meteorite processing station, and that's why I view this set worthy to acquire. I got it on my Birthday, just like Alien Discovery, but it was my present to myself. In fact I've been waiting to buy it for a long time from my childhood, when I was reading LEGO catalogues and dreaming of Life on Mars sets. So, let's begin. Box The box is rather large and bears typical Martian background and a photo of the set. When the set has been stored in some warehouse for 18 years, it became pretty battered, but not destroyed: Excavation Searcher Box by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The set name and brick count are written again on the box. That means I got the American version again. The back side depicts how the parts of the Searcher can be separated and combined: Excavation Searcher Box Back by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr This modular structure is one of Life on Mars features and can be seen in many LoM sets. The sides of the box - photos of Martians, warnings and importers in the New World: Excavation Searcher Box Sides by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr There's a little surprise within the box - it has a cardboard pallet for parts: Excavation Searcher Box Cardboard Pan by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr It makes the box useful for storage, and now I put there elements from Life on Mars sets, such as small vehicles and aero tubes, while bigger parts such as mechs and the pump lie in the large Aero Tube Hangar box. Alas, such boxes don't exist now. Instruction and Booklets The set has three booklets: an instruction, a mini-catalogue and a postcard: Excavation Searcher Booklets by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The instruction is standard: here are the beginning and the end of the build: Excavation Searcher Instruction First and Last Pages by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr On the following pages the transformation of the Searcher into a smaller mech is shown: Excavation Searcher Instruction Transformation by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr I'll return to this function later. The back cover of the instruction depicts all boxed LoM sets as usual: Excavation Searcher Instruction Back Cover by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The postcard surprised me. It's made of cardboard, and it could be sent to Enfield, Connecticut to get a free LEGO catalogue: Excavation Searcher Club Postcard by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The back side has the same information written in French and a profile. Unfortunately, this service was available only for USA and Canada residents: Excavation Searcher Club Postcard Back by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr I didn't get the free catalogue because I live in neither of these countries, and it has been 18 years since this postcard was published. However, I got another booklet with the Searcher, and it was a very pleasant surprise: Excavation Searcher Mini-Catalogue by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr In theory, this mini-catalogue from early 2000s deserves its own review, because it's a paradise for nostalgic LEGO fans. And yes, I'll show all its pages here! The first pages - contents (so many old school logos!) and a LEGOLAND ad: Excavation Searcher Mini-Catalogue First Pages by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Studios - the Steven Spielberg Moviemaker Set with a real and hopelessly outdated camera, and smaller sets: Excavation Searcher Mini-Catalogue Studios by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Life on Mars - the Aero Tube Hangar with detailed work scheme and other sets: Excavation Searcher Mini-Catalogue Life on Mars by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Xalax racers (these aliens are so funny!) and Alpha Team (agents, neon, evil Ogel, cool spy stuff): Excavation Searcher Mini-Catalogue Xalax and Alpha Team by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Old Star Wars sets - somewhat clumsy, but cute, and Palpatine's shuttle is gorgeous! Then there are the first Star Wars UCS models and the 1999 Railway Express train (I have it): Excavation Searcher Mini-Catalogue Star Wars and Trains by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr LEGO Football/Soccer (it's my favorite series too), Arctic and legendary Adventurers - particularly Dino Island: Excavation Searcher Mini-Catalogue Football, Arctic and Adventurers by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Knights' Kingdom (the first one with King Leo and Cedric the Bull) and the very first BIONICLE sets - Toa Mata: Excavation Searcher Mini-Catalogue Knights' Kingdom and BIONICLE by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Technic (Battle Cars and Slammers), video games and a Canadian LEGO Club ad: Excavation Searcher Mini-Catalogue Technic, Software and Last Page by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The back cover has a US LEGO Club ad: Excavation Searcher Mini-Catalogue Back Cover by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Here the review of the papers is finished, and I'm ready to move to the next part - the Martians. Minifigures The set has three Martian minifigures with typical turquoise skin: Excavation Searcher Minifigures English by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Canopus and Pollux are unique to this set, and Vega appeared in Aero Tube Hangar (7317) and two promotional sets (7320 and 1195). All Red Planet dwellers are named after stars and constellations like the Blacks from Harry Potter, and these three Martians are no exception. Pollux wears a light grey suit and a gas mask. Judging by the dirt on his forehead, he is a worker. And apparently he shaves his head. It's weird, that there is no Martian named Castor, since Castor and Pollux are twin brothers in mythology and neighboring stars in Gemini constellation. Canopus wears a tan suit and some hi-tech mask. He has a gunsight instead of his right eye. Maybe it's a magnifying lens or an implant. In LEGO Racers 2 video game Canopus was a scientist. The tan and light grey suits look standard, but unique faces compensate this. Vega wears an orange suit. He is a scientist who specializes in excavation. He likes BLT sandwiches (did he discover them after humans arrived?) and dislikes surprises. Vega's head is dull since it lacks any features besides eyes. Considering that this Martian was included in 7317 too, this set should have contained some other Martian - Castor, for example. The Set The assembly contains three parts: the Excavation Searcher, the flyer and the bay: Excavation Searcher by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Let's start with the most important part - the mech. Excavation Searcher As the name implies, this vehicle is used for search and gathering of meteorites that provide the Martians with energy-rich biodium ore. The mech is large and moves on four legs. The front claw and the tail make it look like a scorpion, though the antennae make it resemble some insect like an ant: Excavation Searcher Mech by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The color scheme looks very standard compared with other Life on Mars sets which have many rare colors. Tan and brown were widespread in LEGO sets - for example, in Star Wars, so there's nothing particular in these colors. Fortunately, they are diluted a bit by small touches of orange. As with all LoM mechs, the legs of the Searcher don't bend in knees. However, due to the presence of four legs the walker can be posed in many ways without the risk of falling: Excavation Searcher Mech by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Excavation Searcher Mech Walking by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The only remaining restriction is the 2000s-era hinges that can be placed only in certain positions and bend harder with time. And this set has many of them. This mech can even do the splits! Excavation Searcher Does the Splits by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Rear view: Excavation Searcher Back by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr In front, there is a cockpit for a pilot. Above the typical LoM darkened windscreen, the antennae with red signals and the circular badge with unique claw symbol are located. The operating arms are attached to the left and right of the cockpit: Excavation Searcher Front Cockpit and Arms by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Technic panels and curvy sloped parts give the cockpit a nice shape. The windscreen can be removed to see the pilot: Excavation Searcher Cockpit Inside by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr As in all mechs, the Martian is holding the handles. The orange slope makes the model look complete - without it the claw and the orange dish would look worse. The pilotless cockpit: Excavation Searcher Cockpit Without Pilot by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The brown handles have no control panel on them, though there is some device on the left side of the pilot. And it looks like a Martian smartphone! The arms of the Searcher can be moved with hinges. The left arm ends with the claw which is designed to hold meteorites (they are included here and aren't in 7314): Excavation Searcher Claw Arm by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Above the claw there is a similar sign than above the cockpit. The claw itself contains two parts which are pulled together by a rubber band. This claw works harder than the one of Recon Mech RP, probably because of time. The right arm wields some device with an orange radar dish: Excavation Searcher Laser Arm by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr I think it's a laser for stone cutting to obtain biodium. Behind the cockpit the mech's body with four legs, meteorite container and tail is located: Excavation Searcher Middle and Back by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The grey top pin spoils the impression a bit, but it's required to attach the cockpit above. It should also be noted that leg prints slightly differ in color for some reason. The meteorite container occupies the entire middle part of the mech. A small flyer can be seen under it: Excavation Searcher Meteorite Container by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The container can carry up to 2 meteorites. Frames prevent the meteorites from accidental falling. Grey bridges between the hinges are made of flexible rubber, so the joints can be moved separately: Excavation Searcher Meteorite Container Flexible Parts by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The container without meteorites - the studs allow to attach the precious cargo: Excavation Searcher Meteorite Container Empty by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The tail claw can move down and take a meteorite from the ground: Excavation Searcher Grabs a Meteorite by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The Searcher holds the meteorite: Excavation Searcher Tail Claw by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Unfortunately, the tail contains the same hinges as arms and legs do, and this design restrains its movements. The claw can put the meteorite in the container: Excavation Searcher Puts a Meteorite by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Unfortunately, there is no way for the front claw to do the same work. The crane operator controls the tail: Excavation Searcher Tail Claw Pilot by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr His workplace looks very simple and has no seats - only the control panel on the rotating circle: Excavation Searcher Tail Control Panel by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Flyer The Searcher is equipped with a small scout flyer. This little plane is attached to the holes under the meteorite container using Technic axles: Excavation Searcher Flyer Storage by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr These axles with light grey dishes are some kind of engines or anti-gravity devices which allow the flyer to hover above Mars surface: Excavation Searcher Flyer by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The pilot controls the vehicle, firmly holding the computer panel. The flyer's nose is the same part as Searcher's legs. The pilot can stand on his flyer too, though this will likely worsen the aerodynamic properties: Excavation Searcher Flyer with Standing Pilot by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The console is attached to the flyer with a tan Trade Federation battle droid arm - the same part as Martian arms. Plane's bottom. Perhaps, these black circles are anti-gravity devices too: Excavation Searcher Flyer Bottom by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The flyer without its pilot - the control screen can be seen: Excavation Searcher Flyer Without Pilot by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr This small aircraft can be placed under Searcher's hull even with the pilot (though mech's steps and Martian "air" currents will shake him hard): Excavation Searcher Flyer Stored With Pilot by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Vega uses the flyer to locate meteorites, and Pollux with Canopus will gather them in the Excavation Searcher: Search for Meteorites by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Hangar Bay/Meteorite Processing Station The set contains a structure - a bay where the collected meteorites can be unloaded and processed: Excavation Searcher Hangar Bay by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Its roof is decorated with the same claw as the Excavation Searcher. It looks very similar to two other mech bays included in Aero Tube Hangar - sloped roofs, sand purple arches, docking axles and supports with red lights: Martian Hangar Bays by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr But there are differences too: Searcher's bay is shorter, and roof lights are placed a bit differently. It also has a rear section for meteorites. The Excavation Searcher can be docked to its bay with axles. To do this, all leg hinges should be placed at right angles: Excavation Searcher Connected by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The axles of the bay are connected to the holes in Searcher's hull: Excavation Searcher Bay Connection by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The tail claw can be turned, and the roof can be raised to unload the meteorites: Excavation Searcher Meteorite Arrives by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr A meteorite can slide to a container (it's a block part): Excavation Searcher Meteorite Station by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Here Vega can scan it to find biodium and even extract the ore using hi-tech equipment. And here are the uncovered meteorites! Biodium, the spaceborn valuable energy source for Martians, can be seen inside them: Excavation Searcher Meteorites by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The biodium crystals have different colors: red and blue. They both are fused to orange rock. Biodium meteorites were included only in 3 sets: in this one, in Aero Tube Hangar (one with blue crystal) and in Solar Explorer starship (one with green crystal). Unfortunately, this high-energy ore is represented only by transparent tubes, but there were no translucent crystals in 2001 (though there was CHROME!!!). The processing station has a computer panel: Excavation Searcher Meteorite Station Computer by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The slide for meteorites holds on hinges that don't take fixed positions (the rube is removed for illustrative purposes): Excavation Searcher Meteorite Slide by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The straightened slide: Excavation Searcher Meteorite Slide Straight by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Here turquoise grills can be seen - they are unique for this set in LoM, but were also used in Rock Raiders and Technic series. An aero tube connector from 7317 can be attached to the bay: Excavation Searcher Bay With Hangar Ports by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr It's done! The Aero Tube Hangar is now complete! All three exits now lead to mech bays! Aero Tube Hangar With Excavation Searcher Bay by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The only one shortcoming is that the connector between two tubes now floats in air, but the tubes can be turned such a way that it will stand on the ground. Transformations Now let's see the modular structure of this set. It can be disassembled into 7 parts (Lord Voldemort approves!): Excavation Searcher Disassembled by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr It's proposed to make a small mech from the cockpit and front legs, and another one - from the tail with the container: Excavation Searcher Two Parts by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr I even like the cockpit-based mech - it looks funny. However, the separated tail is weird and can easily fall. I would like to put the cockpit above the front legs - now we can get a centaur without annoyingly bulging pins: Excavation Searcher Centaur by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr In this configuration, the cockpit becomes mobile and can rotate up to 90 degrees. I like this variation even more than the defalut one. By combining the elements of this set and Recon Mech RP, you can try to assemble a very looooooong "mech train": Excavation Searcher and Recon Mech RP by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr However, the 7314 instruction proposes to connect the rear part with a long light-grey bricks, so this model becomes a fully-fledged alternate build. I didn't disassemble the set just to do that. By removing Searcher's cockpit and connecting the rear part with an extra Technic bridge, such construction can be achieved: Excavation Searcher and Recon Mech RP Fusion 2 by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Unfortunately, the Recon Mech's cockpit leans down under its weight. The extra parts: 5 spare rubber bands, a black Technic bridge to connect parts from different sets and a red light (there were also Martian and droid arms, but I removed them before filming this review): Excavation Searcher Extra Parts by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Pros/Cons Pros: + Original design + Size + High mobility + Contains a part of Aero Tube Hangar + Interesting and unusual parts + Modular structure + No stickers + Usable box Cons: - Typical color scheme - Connecting hinges - Legs don't bend in knees - Leg and flyer nose prints have slightly different colors - A bulging top pin in the standard configuration - it can be easily eliminated by building a "centaur" - Hard to find Bonus (with Aero Tube Hangar) Once upon a time, in the Aero Tube Hangar... Excavation Searcher at Aero Tube Hangar by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr - The intelligence reports two meteorites in Tharsis mountains. Pollux, Canopus, Vega, go there in the Excavation Searcher and bring biodium ore. - Right away, General Riegel! Pneumo pump, destination point - Excavation Searcher bay! Pollux Ready by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The pneumatic pump started working, and Pollux's hypersled disappeared in a translucent tube of the Hangar. After that, Canopus prepared to his turn. - Pneumo pump, destination point - Excavation Searcher bay! Canopus Ready by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr After Canopus, Vega laid down in his hypersled. The powerful pump placed all three Martians into the tube, and the mechanism connected it to the required aero track: Vega Ready, Pump Is Working by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The air flow changed its direction, and all crew members rushed in their hypersleds to the destination point: Three Martians in the Tube by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr The tube passed through the entire Martian base, and a human astronaut looked cautiously at Hangar's work, driving his Rover. Three Martians in the Tube by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Finally. the Martians arrived at the bay and cheerfully walked to their faithful mech: Excavation Searcher Crew Arrives by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Pollux climbed into the cockpit, started the engine, and the mech undocked from the bay. Canopus took his place near the crane, and Vega laid down in the empty meteorite container as he couldn't find a place to sit: Excavation Searcher Departs by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr After several Martian hours, the walker returned to the base, loaded with meteorites. Vega flew his aircraft that helped him find these rocks with precious ore. Excavation Searcher Returns With Meteorites by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Using Searcher's tail claw, Canopus moved the meteorites to the bay, and they slided to the processing station, where Vega prepared the biodium extraction tools: Excavation Searcher Returns With Meteorites by Farseer Eldar, on Flickr Thank you for reading and watching! 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