LEGO 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is inspired by 10318 Concorde
LEGO Icons 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft has a new piece and a mechanism inspired by the success of 10318 Concorde, and a beloved feature.
There are some clear similarities to be drawn between the upcoming 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and the recent 10318 Concorde, but the intrinsic link between the two sets runs deeper than you might expect. LEGO Icons 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft was revealed earlier today as one of the biggest LEGO planes ever designed. It’s launching next week on May 15 early to LEGO Insiders for £199.99 / $229.99 / €229.99.
10318 Concorde is currently available, and the success of the Airbus build inspired an important part of 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, but it improves upon the original in an important way, by introducing a new element.
“The one new part for this set, which I hope you all find more uses for, is this new landing gear piece that holds four wheels,” shared Senior designer Anderson Ward Grubb in a recent roundtable interview with Brick Fanatics and other LEGO fan media.
“There was a lot of discussion around how this element should be designed. The other landing gear pieces are designed to go on LEGO System planes, but some have Technic connectors. This element and what connection it should have was a long discussion.”
After previous landing gear elements used studs and Technic pins as the connection points, 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft opts for an axle instead, meaning it fits within the Technic building system, but won’t be able to move freely on an axis like previous pieces.
With the new piece designed, the LEGO Icons design team just had the task of improving upon the working landing gear in 10318 Concorde left to tackle.
“When we started this model, we had a concept as a beautiful display, as if it were in flight with no landing gear,” continued Anderson. “We got to the briefing stage and said we want to have landing gear. Well, it would be better if the landing gear were attached to the model, and it should be attached to the set.
“If they’re attached to the model, they need to fold into the build if you want it to be in flight, and if they’re going to fold into the model, they probably need to fold in with a mechanism. We looked back, and our most recent precedent was the Concorde. I’ve built 10318 Concorde, and it’s mind-blowing how it all comes together. We thought, can we improve on that?”
10318 Concorde was well-received in our thorough review, and the landing gear has been similarly well-received by fans since its release in 2023. The design team was able to look back on that build and its approach to working landing gear to make an even better version for the 2025 model.
“Concorde is proof that we have something that works, and we can see comments from people when they’re taking the product surveys that they like how complicated the landing gear mechanism is. That gave us confidence to say we can build from and use that.”
“We spent several weeks on the landing gear, and I had some great help from several people to experiment with another way of building landing gear that used rubber bands so that you could snap the landing gear out, and it would lock in position. We went through maybe 20 iterations of trying to make that work, and ultimately, we got somewhere with it, but it became very clear that it was also not simple to build.”
LEGO Icons 10318 Concorde and 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft will pair perfectly together when the new set is released on May 15 for LEGO Insiders or May 18 for everyone. The 2025 model comes with the Enterprise space shuttle and costs £199.99 / $229.99 / €229.99. You can find out more about the upcoming set by clicking here.
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