Review: LEGO ICONS Concorde Impressive Like The Real Thing

Take to the skies or point to the ground? How does our newest LEGO plane soar?

The LEGO ICONS Concorde (10318) is in a class of its own. It has felt like quite a lot has happened since LEGO last made a dedicated LEGO set for AFOLs based around planes. Sure, we have our airport City sets, but I mean a properly dedicated model for our aeronautical enthusiasts. So, how does this model fair against the eyes of this reviewer? Is this a solid landing or back to manufacturing?

LEGO® Icons Concorde (12345)
RRP AUD $299.99 – CA $259.99 – EUR €199.99 – UK £169.99 – USA $199.99
2083 pieces
Available from LEGO.com and LEGO Stores from 4th September 2023.

Around The Concorde

To begin with, I have to point out the sheer volume that this thing takes up. This is a dedicated display piece if I ever saw one. This would be my first proper warning to AFOLs. You NEED a dedicated space to dedicate this thing on its pedestal.

Aside from this, the Concorde set is a beautifully recreated set with high amounts of detail to boot. We have sleek designs from the bottom up, literally. The base this thing stands on is a printed element!

The dynamic workings of the tail, as well as functionally being able to adjust it is great. The thing looks like a talking point, and so it’s getting a big tick from me here.

The Concorde’s Landing Gear

It isn’t like LEGO to not have a model of this size and not make it somewhat functional. Heck, there are Technic sets of this size that can do things, so why wouldn’t we do so here? Our Concorde’s landing gear is fully retractable and tucks away nicely underneath the main hull, but can be easily made to fold out when needed.

The Concorde’s Nose Tilt

This is probably the most iconic thing about the Concorde vehicle. The ability for the plane to have it’s nose tilt downwards to help pilots be able to land this type of aircraft. Why do they have it on this vehicle and not other ones, like Boeing 737s? Well, the wings of a Concorde are much further back, allowing for faster flight travel, but also making it quite hard to slow down for a stop. Hence the plane tilt, and the cockpit tilt.

Okay, enough history. How do I feel about it? Well, I’m sure many people will agree with me that there is good here, and bad.

I am absolutely not disregarding how difficult this thing would be to design. There is no way I would even try to make a model like this functional in this sense. But I can’t ignore the uncomfortable slip that appears when the plane is in the droop snoot mode. The element used for the lower windows is new. It is made in such a way to allow the upper window to recede into it, but I can’t help but feel like there could have been another way to fill the void in-between the space below the window.

If displayed with the window with no tilt, I feel like there is nothing wrong here. But the tilt leaves probably my only problem with the set out on display – and it’s front and centre for all to see.

Verdict

Look, this thing is huge, and will take up an insane amount of space. It’s not an insanely overprices set because of licensing or otherwise. Those who are a fan of aeronautics or the Concorde in general will love this thing.

Me? I’m a fan. The droop snoot feature does make me feel it could be a bit more polished, but I can’t really fault designers if I have no idea how to do better myself. I know some people may complain about how this looks. But until there is someone out there that can do better, I’m not gonna turn around and say that you shouldn’t get this.

If you’re thinking of getting this, my verdict is still a positive one. Just make sure you have the room!