I can’t even believable the kind of things you can make using LEGO building blocks. LEGO regularly comes up with so many different amazing items for kids and adults to build and have fun. One such LEGO creation I came across today is the LEGO Technic Jet Plane with 499 Lego Pieces.
This LEGO Plane (LEGO Set No. 9394) has been selected by Toys”R”Us as one of the 2012 Holiday Hot Toys. If it is picked to be on their Top List for Holiday Toys of 2012 then there must be something special about this toy. What do you think is special about this LEGO plane set?
For starters, I don’t have to tell you what an extraordinary toy it is to be able to build something complex like this out of building blocks piece by piece. I can just imagine the hours and hours of fun I will have if I got this LEGO plane set.
That’s not all. This is a 2-in-1 LEGO Model set. You can build a LEGO Jet Plane and then rebuild it into a aerobatic plane with a propeller! That’s so cool. It’s like getting two LEGO sets for the price of one!
Kids and aspiring young aircraft engineers can start young, building their very own plane and learning about various parts of a plane like cockpit controlled retractable landing gear, working ailerons and sweeping wings. You get all of this functions in a plane you build yourselves piece by piece. What an amazing LEGO set? Its not only fun but a building kit with a very high educational value for kids and adults too.
LEGO Technica plane is also quite big in size. It measures half a meter in length! Complete exact dimensions of the 2 models of planes you can build out of this set differs from each other.
- Jet plane measures 7″ (17cm) high, 17″ (44cm) wide and 18″ (46cm) long
- Aerobatic plane measures 5″ (12cm) high, 17″ (44cm) wide and 20″ (50cm) long
Here is a video that shows you how to build this LEGO Technic 9394 Jet Plane in time lapse stop motion. It shows you how piece by piece the whole jet plane is assembled. G. D. Harding in March 2012. It had taken him 7 hours to compltely built this set and he has filmed that and shortened it to 2 minutes with the use of time lapse stop motion technique.
LEGO also has other similar vehicle models like the Lego Technic Rescue Helicopter that rebuilds into a Medical helicopter, a Mini Mobile Crane that rebuilds into a LEGO tow truck, among several others. If you want to buy this set you might like to check all of them as well. I checked some of them and I think this LEGO plane is better because it has features like
- Opening and closing cockpit!
- Turn the propeller on the aerobatic plane!
- Control the jet’s rear elevation rudders!
- Retract the landing gear!
- Sweep the wings!
You can do all these things just like in model toy plane you buy off-the-shelf. But the incredible difference here is, you put together the LEGO brick like parts and build it and then you operate it. That is super cool!
Manufacturer recommended age is 9 – 16 years. I think it will be great fun and a challenging project even for an adult.
However unlike the LEGO Architecture Villa Savoye set I discussed previously here on Toy Truck Toys, with this set you can build only the 2 Lego plane models. With the LEGO Architecture sets you can also build and experiment your own designs of LEGO buildings and houses. That’s a disadvantage I see with a set like this. Then again I think if I buy it I’ll build it a few times and then keep it on as a display model on my office table or amaze my visitors by displaying it in our living room. What will you do with it?
You may think if you buy this how to build a LEGO plane with all those 499 tiny LEGO pieces? Like you can see in the above picture there are two detailed manuals with step by step building instruction on how to build the LEGO Jet Plane and the LEGO Aerobatic plane. If that’s not enough you can also download a digital copy of the building instructions for this model from the LEGO website.
You can also buy this on Amazon now before it goes out of stock.
Safety Warnings: Like all LEGO creations this set is also a CHOKING HAZARD due to Small parts. Keep it away from kids under 3 years.