My LEGO® City does not have an airport. However, I have long wanted some LEGO® airplanes. I am not talking about small planes here. I have long wanted a large, proper plane for my Minifigures to fly in. Despite this desire, I let the last round of airplanes pass me by. As I mentioned earlier, my city does not have an airport. Airplanes came back in force in summer 2020 with not one, but two passenger planes. The City theme produced one, and Friends released another. Today, we take a closer look at the City Passenger Airplane (60262).
NOTE: The LEGO® Group provided this set for review. However, the provision of products does not guarantee a favorable review. I will use my usual rating system (click here to learn more) and provide my honest opinion.
PASSENGER AIRPLANE (60262) SUMMARY:
- NAME: Passenger Airplane
- SET #: 60262
- THEME: City
- COST: $139.99 CAD
- BRICK COUNT: 669
- MINIFIGURES: 8 + 1 baby
- RELEASE DATE: August 24, 2020 in Canada (June 1 in Europe)
PASSENGER AIRPLANE (60262) QUICK REVIEW:
- VALUE: 56% (This set is pricey even by City standards and does not offer enough build time.)
- BUILD: 90% (The airplane is wonderful, most of the side builds are uninteresting.)
- MINIFIGURES: 86% (Set includes a great number decently detailed Minifigures.)
- ENTERTAINMENT: 95% (Great set for AFOLs and KFOLs alike. Cannot wait to display this.)
- OVERALL SCORE: 82%
PASSENGER AIRPLANE (60262) REVIEW
VALUE: 56%
The Passenger Airplane was one of the larger City sets released in summer 2020. As such, it retails for $139.99 in Canada. However, the kit contains only 669 bricks. Consequently, the cost-per-brick is $0.209. By comparison, my average cost-per-brick across all themes is $0.14, while for City it is $0.17. Therefore, even by City theme standards, you pay a lot for each piece in this kit. Granted, you get several specialty pieces. These include parts of the fuselage and wings. All the same, I rate the value-per-brick at 59%.
In terms of assembly time, the value is also not great. I built this kit in 102 minutes. At full price, the cost-per-minute of build time is $1.37. For this price tag, the set should offer more build time. Comparatively, my average cost-per-minute is $0.83. I rate this at 52%. Averaging this with the value-per-brick score gives an overall value rating of 56%. The Passenger Airplane is certainly expensive for what you get.
BUILD: 90%
With the first instruction booklet, you assemble Poppy Starr’s red convertible. The car is typical City-theme fare. It seats only one and is four studs wide. There is nothing wrong with the build, but there is nothing interesting about it either. However, the car does feature into the set’s story and play potential. It fits perfectly in the airplane’s cargo hold. Personally, I could do with out this build. A baggage trolley full of suitcases suits the set better.
The set also includes a baggage tug. It consists of two parts. One is the actual tug that a Minifigure can drive. The other half is the cargo trolley. The car sits on this for transport to the plane. Additionally, the trolley has a lever mechanism that lifts the car to an appropriate height for loading into the plane’s cargo hold. The build could work equally well with a crate full of suitcases since the car is nothing special.
A couple of the smaller builds in this set are not very interesting.
The airport terminal is nothing to write home about. Additionally, the air traffic control tower is disappointing. The tower consists of stacked window frames with no stairs or ladder. The terminal is a desk with a departures sticker/tile on the wall. The interior also has a vending machine. However, it does not look much like a vending machine in my opinion. Considering this is not the focus of the set, I am not terribly upset that the terminal build is lack-luster. On the plus side, it does use roller coaster tracks to an interesting effect.
The main build is the airplane. It makes up for the uninteresting airport and car. This plane looks great from the outside. It is sleek and all the interior access points merge seamlessly into the fuselage. Incidentally, there are three portions of the plane that open to allow you place Minifigures inside. The front of the plane lifts off to reveal the cockpit. This area of plane features fun details. Behind it is the passenger area. While it does not have many seats, it still works well for display and play. In the rear section of the ship, you find a bathroom and a storage area for the refreshment cart. You access all of this by removing a modular section of roof from the plane. The final access point is a side hatch for the cargo bay.
The airplane build is amazing.
There are a couple of minor items I am not keen on inside the airplane. The first is that the wings come in one piece. Because of this, the joint between them separates the cabin from the rear. Consequently, the refreshment cart cannot roll into the passenger section. Additionally, Minifigures cannot walk to the bathroom. Finally, the bathroom door consists of two separate pieces. The pieces lack a link and can move independently. That is an easy enough fix, but one more piece would not have killed anyone.
Overall, the airplane is a great build. My issues with it are minor. Additionally, I like the baggage tug. The car and terminal appeal to me less. However, since they did not cost the airplane in terms of detail, I am willing to look at them as bonus add-ons instead of wasted bricks. For all the minor issues I have with the Passenger Airplane, I rate the build at 9/10 (90%).
MINIFIGURES: 86%
The Passenger Airplane comes with eight Minifigures. Additionally, none of them are stumpy kids and come complete with all the standard, moveable parts. Four of the characters features double-sided faces, but only one has leg printing. However, they all have fun front and back torso designs. In terms of recognizable characters, the set features Poppy Starr from the LEGO® City Adventures show. Finally, the set comes with a few accessories as well. Included with the Passenger Airplane is a baby fig, a baby bottle, a baby carrying pouch, a mug, a suitcase, a briefcase, and five printed computer bricks. While the character selection is fun, they could be more detailed. Alternatively, the set could come with more accessories to make up for details. Overall, I rate the Minifigure design at 80%.
Eight Minifigures in 669-piece kit is quite good. The brick-to-fig ratio is 84:1. Comparatively, my average ratio is currently 145:1. Therefore, for a kit of this size, you get an excellent number of Minifigures. That earns a ratio score of 92%. Averaging this score with the design score gives an overall rating of 86%.
ENTERTAINMENT: 95%
While I am not incredibly impressed with airport build, I do love this set overall. The plane looks amazing. I am going to hang it from the ceiling above my LEGO® city using fishing line. I already have plans for a fun display involving a Superman Minifigure 😉. This airplane is one of those sets that is just nice to look at. While that is a subjective opinion, I do really feel many AFOLs will appreciate it. I rate the AFOL score at 4.5/5 (90%) since I will be recycling the airport and Poppy’s car.
From a kid’s perspective, I think the Passenger Airplane is equally impressive, if not a little more so. Having a plane for my figurines was a dream growing up. I had small aircraft for sure. I even built some of my own LEGO® planes. However, this design would have blown me away. I even doubt that the airport would have bothered me at a younger age. I rate the KFOL score at 100%. Averaging the AFOL and KFOL scores gives an overall entertainment rating of 95%.
OVERALL SCORE: 82%
The only downside to the Passenger Airplane (60262) is the price. I expect more bricks and build time from a $140 set. However, you get an excellent number of Minifigures and the plane looks amazing. In fact, the airplane is so nice that I am willing to overlook the unimpressive side-builds. Despite the price, I still highly recommend this set. I will certainly keep this one built and hanging over my LEGO® city. What are your thoughts on the set? Feel free to comment below or reach out on social media.
Until next time,
-Tom
What do others think?
Brick Insights is an awesome site that aggregates LEGO® set review scores from around the web. Based on their statistics, you can see what other reviewers think of the Passenger Airplane (60262) below.
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