UCS Helicarrier

[fred67]

This is irrelevant, clearly this is about the same size as the Death Star and they did a great job at making it work with minifigures.

They're completely different, though.... the death star is just a spherical shape with minifig illusion scale rooms inside; the hell carrier is a flying aircraft carrier with runways... they simply aren't comparable when considering minifig illusion scale.

Edited January 29, 2015 by fred67

[Etzel]

Looks like a really fun set to build, lots of interesting pieces and techniques. I like the microfigs as well, really cool way of including characters but still keep the scale somewhat right. The small vehicles are also very well made.

However, since I'm not a fan of Superheroes and certainly don't have the money for such an expensive set as this I will not buy it. It looks very nice though!

[The Joker1]

Compared to this its not half bad, little small but its growing on me

Not half bad by Legocollecter123, on Flickr

Edited January 29, 2015 by The Joker1

[XAxles]

Though now I realized that TLG could have used just the small Technic motorcycle rims for the rotors.

[Tom Jurassic]

Quite disappointed if I am honest. I think this had a whole host of potential, but only a small bit of that potential has been realized here. The Rotating Propeller gimmick probably used a lot of potential interior space, but even so, there still could have been a Minifigure-scale room in the space where the Microfig control room is. The Microfigs were a good decision for display, but a very bad decision overall. Figures are mediocre at best - one of Hill's arms printed? Come on TLG. And the whole thing feels very - eh. Nice as a display model, but little appeal for me, and feel that it just missed some serious potential.

[Skalldyr]

Is this the first official set to hold tiles with clips? I was under the impression that this was an illegal technique, but it is utilized here in the control room screens and the barricades...

I was wondering the same! It is nice to know that it isn't an illegal technique.

And I have to say I'm not familiar with Super Heroes. But damn I want those Microfigs (Nanofigs) and printed runway tiles!

[Erik Leppen]

I really don't get what all the disappointment is coming from. To be honest I think this is a magnificent model. I'm not into the theme, but just looking at the model by itself, I'm quite thrilled by it. I think it is really intriguing and has a lot of interesting stuff into it. I'm very curious to the instructions (as I won't have the money anyway unless a miracle happens).

I also love the microfigure scale. It makes a lot of sense here, and I think it works really well. I really hope they will do this for other sets in the future. Same with all the microscale vehicles, I think they're great.

I also like the studs-everywhere approach. It makes the runway stand out more, and afterall, it is a Lego set and I think that with all the studs, this model really feels Lego-y.

The only thing I really dislike is the minifig stand and minifigs. I understand it is a collector's item, but I just have zero point nil interest in minifigs, so I'd rather have a cheaper set without them, and them being available as a separate add-on set.

As a whole the model looks great. The price is a bit less praiseworthy though...

[The Legonater]

I love it, it looks amazing and the figs are perfect, especially if buying with the Winter Soldier promo. My only gripe is the fact that they made the interior micro-scale but still have the price as $400 CAD. If the micos came to bring down the cost, I'd accept it, but that's really pricey.

[Graham Gidman]

This is one of LEGO's best, in my opinion. I gotta get that Cap 'fig.

[Jay_Em]

I think it looks great. That shot with the hatch removed and all the microfigures inside makes me realise what they were going for. The miniature planes and vehicles on deck are cool as well.

Black Widow, Cap and Hawkeye all look great, I'm glad those aren't exclusives and that the Quinjet comes with two of them. Nick Fury and Maria Hill are pretty nice, but not especially groundbreaking. I'm surprised by Coulson's absence for sure.

Of course I'd never be able to afford it, and I'd struggle to justify the cost anyway, but I think LEGO have done a good job. Not sure what more you could ask for at this price, other than a better minifigure selection.

[HJR-Holland]

A model like this got 10.000 votes at LEGO Ideas; I'm curious what they'll say about it at the next review...

[DarthBrickus]

While I can appreciate the craftmanship, i don't particularly like the scale and it doesn't feel like getting your money's worth for 350€.

[TheLegoExperience]

Looks like it's from a Star Wars set (Phantom Menace Obi Wan has that same head. Not sure which set though).

Great, so two out of five of the figures aren't anything special, and another can be made on BrickLink when the AoU sets come out. That, along with the big price tag and lackluster build means this will also be a pass from me.

[Moebius118]

As much as I wanted the LEGO Helicarrier, this is not even remotely what I was hoping for.

Seems like another case of where LEGO design has difficultly determining whether to launch a kid set or an adult one.

Trying to do both continually makes these awkward sets with a high price but low adult model display value. Something with the philosophy behind the UCS Slave 1 or Executor would have done well here.

[xtof]

I regret now that the lego group doesn't go so far.......I mean, this could be a HUGE set but the impression I have is something made very fast for selling it either........I feel a little sad with politic....

[TheBrickHitHouse]

Love it, great display piece and some fun to be had with the interior and play features. Odd that lego didn't add in 4 additional bricks to get it to 3000...

Would have liked to see all the figures have leg printing, lego are being cheap there and it's cheeky for them to reissue the figures later with the Ultron sets. That said, they are a 'bonus' so...

...and if you can't afford the set you don't need to tell us that, or condemn the set out of jealousy...

Trying to do both continually makes these awkward sets with a high price but low adult model display value. Something with the philosophy behind the UCS Slave 1 or Executor would have done well here.

Er...you are aware that Slave 1 and the Executor were EXACTLY that sort of half way house between kid and adult you just had a go at?! Did we forget the Executor's interior? Slave 1's pop out guns?

[Moebius118]

Er...you are aware that Slave 1 and the Executor were EXACTLY that sort of half way house between kid and adult you just had a go at?! Did we forget the Executor's interior? Slave 1's pop out guns?

No one forgot anything. Although I will not deny those UCS sets did incorporate certain play features that I thought unnecessary they did not sacrifice exterior aesthetics to implement them. I cannot say the same for this set as they even appear to have sacrificed much for even the possibility of making it swooshable. The undercarriage looks like engineering for weight reduction.

Final point being displayed next to a UCS Slave 1 or Executor this set would best be described as awkward.

[Oky]

I don't get what everyone is so disappointed about either. I mean, what did you expect? A giant minifigure scale model with 50 minifigs? Let's face it, the chances of getting a model as big as that Cuusoo project were very small and the number of people who would actually buy such a behemoth even smaller. Even if they would have made it a little larger than it is now, they still wouldn't have been able to recreate the bridge of the Helicarrier in minifigure scale without it looking crammed or inaccurate. Comparing it to the Death Star isn't fair because the Death Star cost more and was a big playset rather than a UCS set. The only UCS set that I can think of that had a minifigure scale interior was the Executor which also cost more and also only had one small room for the minifigs to stand in. Keep in mind that these UCS sets are primarily for display and that minifigures are just a bonus.

I think it looks quite impressive and accurate. The microfigs and micro vehicles are well crafted and add some nice detail to what would otherwise just be an empty runway. I didn't expect the rotors to turn simultaneously, so that play feature is a nice surprise, and I actually like that they didn't include any PF which would have made it even more expensive, but give you the option to add some. The only thing that bugs me about the design are the rotors themselves which look more like those seen in Winter Soldier than those in Avengers, but oh well. That minifigure stand with the SHIELD eagle also looks really nice.

I gotta admit that the price is a bit high for the amount of pieces you get, and I also would have liked to see Coulson and/or Banner, but UCS sets never come with more than two exclusive minifigs anyway. I definitely want to get it at some point, although I will probably wait for double VIP points days or some other promotion.

[The Executive]

$349 USD is just too pricey for something like this and on top of that, where I live I would have to pay $20 in taxes too. It should be more like $299 USD. I mean where is the Hulk micro figure and the rest of the Avengers? Also the exposed studs is sort of bothering me, this kind of ship needs a more smoother look. They should have used more SNOT techniques. I mean it's a nice ship and its well designed but overall not impressed by the price and lack of Hulk.

[JanetVanD]

I was quite excited about this set until I realised it had microfigs instead of minifigs. The micros just don't do it for me.....

[Quicksilver]

I guess everyone was expecting a Minifigure sized Control Room. Because the Minifigures are not essential to the set.

[Risgrynsgrot]

I think that the micro vehicles look sweet, but I would have traded all the microfigures away for a minifigure-sized control room (I don't mind it being small) and a Banner, Coulson and two Shield Agent minifigs.

The studs on the side is more a matter of taste, obviously this was the designers choice since the tumbler had barely any studs showing.

[WarSquirrel]

It is a definite buy for me as I like the idea of the trophy figs and Coulson is an easy custom.

I will probably buy all the sets except for the Quinjet because Black Widow is included here as well

[Chewybricks]

This set is growing on me. Wish they included thor and other characters in micro figs. Maybe another set would release them? Possibly a board game?

[Gremer]

Yeah, I'll pass. I like it, but not enough to spend $350 on it. If it was 300, I would think about it, but it's just not exciting enough for 350.