Everything you want to know about LEGO model airplanes

The release of LEGO's iconic new Concorde set got us excited about model airplanes in LEGO sets, so we dug into the archives to see what came before.

As in our previous article on model ships, we will not be discussing minifigure sets with airplanes (there are a LOT of them!). Instead, we will focus on models of real airplanes. We will also limit ourselves to airplanes with wings, leaving helicopters for another day.

So, how far back in time do we have to go to find the first airplane set? The answer may surprise you...

The early days

Back in 1950, a set using only 2x4 bricks showed a picture that vaguely resembled an airplane. This was back in the days before tubes and coupling force! You can hardly call this a model of an airplane though. Then, in 1961 (or 1962? Brickset and Peeron beg to differ) LEGO released set 311, a special set featuring airplanes. The set featured very rudimentary shapes, but it was a definite improvement over the 1950s, and thanks to the introduction of tubes under the bricks, these airplanes were swooshable.

Then in 1965 set 320 was released: a model of LEGO's first corporate aircraft, a Piper PA-23-250. The length and wingspan are proportional and suggest a scale of 1:40. The fuselage is a bit too narrow and high, but the color scheme is clearly taken from the OY-FAV.

The 70s - The era of classics

The story continues in 1970 with the oddly named set 346 'Jumbo Jet', which is clearly a Concorde. It is also odd that while Concorde was a collaboration between the French and the British, the set was produced by Samsonite and only in the US was released.

Another odd thing is the width. Without jumper plates, there was only one way to get the tailfin in the middle of the fuselage... and that was to make it three studs wide, so that's what they did. Given that everything at that time was 4, 6 or 8 studs wide, this was quite unusual. While it may look crude now, I think the designer did a pretty good job considering the parts palette of the time.

The Jumbo Jet/Concorde set must have sold well, as it was the start of a wave of aircraft sets in the 1970s, starting with the Sud Aviation Super Caravelle. First available in 1972 as promotional set 1550 for the Danish airline Sterling, followed a year later by an unbranded version in set 687. Although officially unbranded, the logo on the tail seems to have been inspired by the Dutch airline Martinair (more on this later). Both aircraft had a printed tail fin and used the same printed 2x4 bricks with a red stripe and four windows.

In 1974 LEGO went back to Sterling for inspiration (or Sterling came back to LEGO) and this time the subject was the Boeing 727. It was a more modern plane with more and smaller windows, so a new print was developed. Unfortunately the new print not finished when they took the picture for the instructions, so it shows a development model with the Caravelle window prints. The picture on the box uses the correct window print.

This set used a brand new element for the tail fin which was printed with the Sterling logo. When the Boeing 727 was re-released two years later as promotional set 1560 for Lufthansa, the tail was produced in blue and this time the logo was a decal (probably because it didn't work to print yellow on blue at the time). While this set looks the same, the construction is slightly different. The Lufthansa livery required the window stripe to be on the bottom third of the 2x4 bricks instead of in the middle, so one row of plates and one row of bricks were swapped.

The 727 had one more outing as a regular set, but in JAL colours in set 698, going back to the original construction with white bricks with the windows in the middle.

Meanwhile, LEGO also released set 657 in 1974. Brickset calls it "Aircraft", while the 1974 British catalogue calls it "Executive Jet". That name may be a hint at the inspiration for this set, which looks very different from the Caravelle, despite using the same window print. That shape made much more sense two years later in set 455 "Learjet".

This set has the same overall shape as 657, but the engines have been moved forward and clear panels are used instead of the printed windows. This model is most likely based on LEGO's own company jet, a white Learjet 25.

These two sets leave us with a few questions: Why was the generic version released first, as opposed to the Caravelle and Boeing 727 where the branded/promotional version came first? Why did the first version use the printed windows from the Caravelle? Why was the white version released four years after LEGO sold their real Learjet? Why was it a US-only release (according to LEGO fan and casual historian Gary Istok - no one talks about it on Brickset)? We'll probably never know.

In addition to these modern aircraft, LEGO also produced two historical examples in 1976. The first was 1562, another promotional set from Lufthansa. It was a rather primitive biplane, probably inspired by Lufthansa's own Antonov AN-2.

The second, set 661 in Europe and set 456 in the US, was based on the famous Spirit of St. Louis, Charles Lindbergh's plane that made the first non-stop transatlantic crossing from New York to Paris. Both models were supposed to be grey are to stay true to their respective prototypes, but that was not yet a popular main color for sets. The Lufthansa plane was made blue, while the Spirit was yellow. The color was not the only problem, however; it also has the wrong propeller and the wings are way too small, which means it wasn't really a scale model at the time, but that didn't really bother me as a seven year old.

The Legoland aviation theme ended in 1978 with three more promotional sets. The first is set 1555, the last collaboration with Sterling. This time it is a biplane with the registration OY-VET. Although it is a beautiful plane, it is probably not based on a real plane. I have found no evidence that Sterling ever had a biplane, and there has never been an aircraft with the registration OY-VET.

Below are two sets that were produced for the Dutch charter airline Martinair. Both sets share the fictitious registration PH-MAH. The small propeller plane is a model of a Cessna 402B. The real plane had the registration PH-MAZ. It is the plane you see on Wikipedia, only in its new livery after being sold to the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat.

The jet is a McDonnell Douglas DC-9. A special window print was made for this set. It is similar to the previous one, but the color band is wider. Because there is no tail piece available in the right shape, both sets have tail fins made of bricks. It works on the Cessna, but on the scale of the jet it looks a bit clumsy.

The 80s and 90s - A Long Wait

After the 70s bonanza, LEGO aircraft production came to a halt. Ten years after the Martinair sets, a promotional set came from Air Canada. Possibly intended to resemble a Boeing 767, but the proportions are more than a little cartoonish; the tailfin and wings are too small, or the fuselage too big. It’s a minifigure plane without the minifigures. That same year, Technic also released its first airplane set, a generic propeller plane.

In the 1990s, the closest thing to a model aircraft was part of Model Team set 5591 Mach II Red Bird Rig, but the bird in question was a generic show jet, not modeled after a real aircraft. There were a few other Technic aircraft, but all were generic and mostly not very interesting.

In 1999. The LEGO group started making Star Wars sets and the following year they released two huge sets, starting the now famous Ultimate Collector Series. This was a clear sign that they saw the potential to sell sets to adults. They also produced a Lady Liberty statue (3450) and a scaled up minifigure (3723) that year. Then in 2001, out of nowhere came set 3451 Sopwith Camel, a World War I fighter plane.

This was a real scale model of a real airplane. The scale, 1:15, is much larger than all previous airplane sets. A year later, set 10024 Red Baron was released in the same scale. This is another fighter plane from the same year, 1917: the Fokker Dr.I triplane.

For the next installment in the series, LEGO returned to the dawn of human flight with the Wright Flyer, the aircraft in which Orville Wright first flew 120 ft... or just over half the length of a Boeing 747!

For this plane the length was about the same as the previous two, but the wingspan was way too small with only 68 studs. To be in scale, the wingspan should have been 120 studs. A funny detail: when it was released, this set had more Technic links than any other Technic set (excluding Dacta and service packs). Twenty years later, that number has been surpassed by the Haunted House, two Roller Coasters and the Razor Crest UCS set - there is still no Technic set with more links.

A few years later, LEGO went to the other extreme with set 10177, based on the then-unreleased 1:87 scale Boeing 787 Dreamliner (at a respectable 82 studs long with a wingspan of 86 studs), but that was to be the last major aircraft model for a while.

In 2007, Creator started their 3-in-1 aircraft set series with 4953 Fast Flyers. This model appears to be loosely based on an F-14 Tomcat. To make sure it doesn’t look like a military jet, it has the colors of a fictional show squadron. The type of aircraft and size of the set vary, but the 3-in-2 series continues to this day, the latest installment so far being set 31126 Supersonic Jet from 2022.

2010 - The sequels

The 2010s started with two exclusive airplane sets for the opening of the LEGO Store. One was an unmarked cargo plane (maybe a Boeing C-17?) and the other was a more familiar subject, the Spirit of St. Louis. This time around, the color correct in mostly gray, but despite containing almost twice as many parts, it is actually smaller than the 1976 set. (Makes you wonder why they didn't save this set for the opening of the West County Center- store. After all, the Spirit was named after Charles Lindbergh's birthplace of St. Louis, MO.)

The next model to be revisited was the Sopwith Camel in 2012. Set 10226 has different colours to 3451 plus working controls! The stick in the cockpit actually moves the ailerons and tail flaps. As a bonus there was also a polybag version of 65 pieces.

Also in 2012, LEGO created the most exclusive set on this list with a model of the old Piper corporate jet for that year's LEGO Inside Tour set. In 2015, one of set 4000012 sold for $4,350 on eBay, and in 2020 one sold for €3,050 on Catawiki. There's currently one listed used on eBay for just $2,500.

For the final aircraft model in this decade, we return to Lufthansa. Set 40146 is one of the smallest sets in this overview, and ironically enough, it is a model of the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft.

The 1920s - The Return of...

The 2020s almost started with the first Technic model of a real airplane, but set 42113 Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey was canceled at the last minute. Instead, the first model in the 2020s was set 40450, a tribute to Amelia Earhart and her Lockheed Vega 5C. The model is approximately 1:50 scale, similar to the first Spirit of St. Louis set, but because it was made 45 years later, it is more detailed. The set also includes a Amelia minifigure.

This brings us to 2023 and the release of the massive set 10318, the iconic Concorde. At just over a metre (3'5") long and containing over 2,000 pieces, it is easily the largest aircraft model kit to date - and Based on reviews it seems like a fantastic set to build.

Like the Dreamliner, the livery is that of the manufacturer's demo rather than that of either of the two customers, Air France or British Airways. I suspect it would have been too expensive to add parts for both airline liveries, and they couldn't decide between one and the other.

And here we are. For nearly 60 years, LEGO has produced models of the world’s first, largest and fastest aircraft, as well as some lesser-known ones, in all sizes and scales ranging from 1:15 to 1:500.

Epilogue

Okay, we said no minifigure sets, but we're going to make an exception for Indiana Jones . In 2008, the release of the fourth Indy film Kingdom of the Crystal Skull led to a number of sets, including 7628 Peril in Peru , which includes a very nice Douglas DC-3 . While it's a bit small (it's about 1:65 scale, while 1:40 is considered minifigure scale), the proportions are pretty good for a playset.

In the second wave in 2009 we have set 7683 with a flying wing. It is not a great likeness to the plane from the movie, which itself was a fictional movie prop. Enough said about that. There was another set, 7198 Fighter Plane Attack, which had two planes. First there is the plane that Indy and his father steal from the zeppelin. This is supposed to be a Bücker Bü 131, but the actual plane used in the movie is a Belgian Stampe et Vertongen SV.4C. For a minifigure set it is actually a bit too long and the wings are a bit short, but it is recognizable.

The second plane is the one that chases the Joneses. It was supposed to be a German Messerschmitt Bf 109, but out of necessity the studio used a Swiss Pilatus P2 in the film. This model is also too big for minifigures, but that is probably because of the mechanism for the party trick: press down on the cockpit and the wings pop off. The model in the set is based on the P2, but has the correct propeller for a Messerschmitt.

With the release of the fifth Indiana Jones film this year, there's a new wave of Indy sets, and one of them, set 77012, includes a new version of the Pilatus P2. This set shows a later scene in the film where it's chasing a car, so there's only one plane in this set. The length is perfect this time around, but the wingspan should have been six studs wider. The propeller is wrong again (four blades this time), the exhausts are overdone, and those stud shooters on the wings don't help, but it's still a much better model than the first. (Oh, and the swastika on the tail fin is missing, thankfully... unlike some concept art from 2009.)

This concludes the deep dive into the archives. Time to catch our breath. Where will the LEGO model airplane story go? Will this be the start of a new series of releases like 20 years ago? We’ll just have to wait and see.