On Sept. 4, 2023, LEGO released the Concorde. The Concorde is an 18+ set with 2,083 pieces and the retail price sits at $199.99. This set is a collaboration with Airbus, one of the largest manufacturers of airplanes and helicopters, which encouraged aviation-lovers from all around the world to purchase this set.
The dimensions of the LEGO Concorde are: 6” (15 cm) for the height, 17” (43 cm) for the width, and 42” (105 cm) for the depth. Included is a tiltable droop nose and visor, accessible seating area, retractable landing gear and movable ailerons!
I would rate this set a solid 10/10. It beautifully replicates the original Concorde, with in depth details of the aircraft, such as its four Olympus engines, iconic droop nose and Delta wing.
The Concorde took me around seven hours to build and while the build was quite repetitive because of the wings and fuselage, it was definitely a laborous build.
The most difficult part about it was incorporating its mechanic system for having a retractable landing gear. It was crucial to ensure that the system worked throughout the build because one wrong move could cause you to spend hours fixing it.
What Makes The Concorde So Significant?
On March 2, 1969, the Concorde had its first flight. It had a cruising speed of 1,350 mph which is twice the speed of standard modern-day jets. It flew from New York to London in under four hours instead of the typical eight hours.
Unfortunately, the supersonic airliner retired in 2003. The main factor was because of the Air France Flight 4590 accident, in which debris blew a tire and punctured one of the fuel tanks. The fire and engine failure caused it to crash, killing 113 people. The Concorde was also retired due to the expensive cost of fuel and its ability to send a shock wave into the air that would be strong enough to shatter glass if it flew over densely populated areas.
