The most swooshable LEGO Technic set - 42181 VTOL Heavy Cargo Spaceship detailed building review

[@RacingBrick]

Check out the local prices and availability in the LEGO Online Shop - racingbrick.com/product/42181-2/

[@RJ1.]

hello

[@LimChingLiang]

One of most cool feature of 42181 VTOL was able lifting up 42178 Surface Space Loader. 2 set join together, double the fun.

[@tdeng-h8k]

double the price

[@alieffauzanrizky7202]

​@@tdeng-h8kbut still double the fun!

[@RoscoeWasHere]

@@tdeng-h8k 42178 is only $35 though, so not double.

[@saberwooah]

42181 is actually EXTREMELY cheap for the amount of parts , stickers and others

[@AdamThygerson-lm1gt]

it is not that big either@@saberwooah

[@cyberkat15]

FIX FOR THE DROPPING LANDING GEAR: If you replace the yellow frictionless pin from both of the front legs for the regular black ones, the landing gear will stay in position. I recommend only replacing the pins in the front legs. If you also change a pin in the posterior landing leg, it feels like the friction is a little too much. Changing 2 pins is all you need! I tried this and have no issues with the landing gears dropping anymore! You are welcome!!!

[@okan1939]

Thank you I will try

[@AbsolutelyJason]

Thanks! I'll have to keep that in mind if I pick up this set!

[@apocalypso1564]

Is this easy to do once the landing gear is already built? Or would I have to take it all apart?

[@cyberkat15]

@@apocalypso1564 I did it after it was already built. Looked for some solutions online and eventually found a guys who said he tried it and it worked. Since those pieces are pretty common I figure it was worth a try. I changed all 3 and it was way to stiff. I changed the front leg gear back to how it was originally and kept the posterior legs with the black pins and it is perfect. Have had this set for a while now and have no issues after the upgrade. Hope this helps

[@wmac382]

@@cyberkat15do those black pin pieces come in the set or would I have to find some?

[@stepzagr9992]

Reminds me a Mars Mission series back from 2007. Love it

[@shinyrayquaza9]

Yeah, thats the reason I got the rover, it's minifigure scale!

[@mayaoya3562]

oh god i miss that theme

[@Blu_Moon_Owl]

It’s even colored the same with white and orange like the old series

[@Blu_Moon_Owl]

@@shinyrayquaza9the big 6 wheeler set right? I saw and got it for my birthday. Got some astronauts looking figures and they fit perfectly

[@Mr.Pufferfish.]

i love how you show how you build it with out showing everything, its perfect!

[@Evaunit98]

This is a perfect mixture of function and form, bravo Lego

[@harshverma9908]

Your hardwork this week is not going unnoticed. We appreciate your commitment, also take care and good health❤

[@RacingBrick]

Thank you so much!

[@JimmyDuckworth]

Woah! I have multiple technic sets, and Uwe Wabra never fails to impress me! And once again, he has showed us his extraordinary skills!! And so have have you, by bringing in the best review possible and being the first!

[@k.r.t.f4209]

Already ordered this, arriving tomorrow, I can't wait. I hope to eventually pick up the rest if the line and have a great time.

[@klausM54]

As an adult LEGO fan I appreciate the construction and the color scheme. But thinking of my LEGO playing days, having a huge heavy duty spaceship as somewhat compatible part of a minifigure space scenario would have been a big deal. Even if the minifigure interactions mostly focus around the system elements including such a beast in a supporting role would have excited 11yo me in the classic space era.

[@henribg1]

LEGO is no more what it was.

[@an_rc_guy8256]

I really hope to see more sets like this from Lego in the future. I like how this set and the Ornithopter have dedicated hand controls that you can access while swooshing about (an A+ in playability if you ask me). I think the landing gear not having a locked up position it would be an easy fix with the addition of a ball stud pin and a lego rubber band connected from the airframe to the mechanism to give it some tension. Love the in depth review and will definitely be adding this set to my collection in the summer after I recover from having bought the Mclaren MP4/4 xD

[@Gyro_Scope360]

Tip for locking the landing gears, youll probably have some left over pins, put a pin in the frame above the red linking bar to add a bit of friction and locking to function. Can add a (likely have it as a spare piece) black small tube to cover the pin and make ot look nicer

[@B3ansGuy]

This and the Orrery are imo some of the most exciting sets we've gotten in years. Great price, great functions and really fun builds. Can't wait to grab one

[@markodama8912]

Super cool set!! I think that the Technic teams achieve their best results when they make unlicensed sets... Excellent review, Balazs! (as always 😊)

[@omxga.xt30ii]

To be completely honest, I didn't expect from this VTOL Space set and the off road buggy when I saw the reveal, but by far these two sets are the absolute highlight of the year for me. I already have the off road buggy and I will totally get this if I can find it for cheap.

[@lumpyize]

This is great, all the functions and features, after all its a TOY

[@guy990]

Excellent review of a great cost effective set, would be a great set to get a LEGO fan into Technic building since it has gears and mechanical linkages with some nice geometry

[@ericheaton642]

Mine should be coming in a few days, I’m really excited!

[@aharonvazquez3646]

I got mine on the 2nd of march and built it the next day

[@mkprofessionalism]

Uwe Wabra is a king without a doubt! That is a masterpiece! 😊

[@michaelkeaton5394]

One of the few technic set that i actually want

[@williama.leyrer3839]

Thanks again for another awesome review! I was on the fence about this set but, after your review I now understand more about it. It's a MUST have! THX

[@AhmedSheikh-zh4ej]

I really like the new space theme. Great review 👍

[@UncleFester84]

I just finished building the spaceship and it is indeed swooshable!

[@Spookyshoes]

Just came across your channel and have to agree. This is an oustanding set for the price, @$150 AUD (retail price can be had cheaper), peice count, build quality, ability live out your dreams as a space borne delivery driver. This set is fantasic and high recommend it. If you on the fence, buy it, it will not dissapoint.

[@AbsolutelyJason]

Great review! Not normally attracted to Technic but this set looks wonderful! All those sticker though! Sheesh! lol

[@S0n0fG0D]

Just built this recently, mine was missing two parts, and yes I did check EVERYWHERE. I could easily replace them, but still.

[@RoscoeWasHere]

Picked it up yesterday and it's by far one of my favorite sets of all time.

[@IamSaud_YT]

Im really liking these technic spacecrafts. The Dune one was insane...

[@logansmith2703]

This is definitely the best of this wave. It's just so dang cool

[@Vohtwomax]

This set looks sweet. I haven’t been in to LEGO for a couple decades, but I might go buy this

[@firionrazar3797]

Swooshability reminds me of my old Lego Technic The Mision set 8450. Difference is the engines and landing gear were connected on the old set, with different attachments for the plane and a Technic figure had space in the cockpit.

[@Joldrath]

Excellent lego, excellent video. You got me fired up on lego again. Gonna buy this next time I get my paycheck ♥️😁

[@juliandunn8412]

Great review, im going to get this. Thanks.

[@vladlupascu5514]

What an amazing set and a nice review :)

[@CommanderAlscrimp]

Vtol, coast guard looking paint, and a lot of people begging for the v-22, this is literally the CG V-22 except spaaaaaace

[@helmutle75]

I'll put this on my watchlist for alternate builds. Looks very interesting.

[@RSX0999]

Brilliant set ❤

[@aarnavsrivastava8041]

This looks stunning!

[@OfficialDjAVE]

2:11 all you need is a grey shock absorber and two pins to fix the landing gear’s positions and it’s a huge improvement! Instead of having the landing gear fall when in use. It works by connecting the shock absorber on the L beam connected to the large red linkage, closest to the front of the ship. If you connect one end of the shock absorber to the open pin hole closest to the axel that the knob gears are connected to and the other end to the bottom pinhole of the ship. The shock absorber locks in both positions thus preventing the landing gear from falling + adds a satisfying click when switching between both positions 👌 hope y’all improve yours with this easy tip.

[@Jack_The_Yam]

Already bought it, cant wait for it to arrive!1

[@sylnz97]

the play features are amazing

[@notdarkpls]

This is such a cool and fun set! I might just pick it up

[@specificrim9186]

That would be sick for some kind of sci-fi movie

[@chilll_gaming]

I ordered mine the morning it released and hope to get it on my birthday!!

[@mirkopanzera7837]

Maybe in the second half of the year i will buy it

[@gregspratling2403]

Great set, absolutely huge footprint - but I wish the seats had studs and were a bit more minifig compatible, so may need a bit of customization

[@toamastar]

ok i might be in love with this set!! It looks really cool and i want it! :D

[@shinyrayquaza9]

Crossplay and minifig scale is what sold me on the rover, sad that don't fit well in the seats here

[@stainlesssteelfox1]

I have just built this set. It is generally awesome. I haven't had any problem with the legs dropping down, and it is eminently swooshable, as well as having excellent play feature controls. The one element that lets it down is the cockpit. I'm not a fan of it self levelling, plus the design feels shoddy compared to the frankly impressive job the rest of the set is. It feels like something slapped on the set at the last minute. A fixed, larger cockpit with the seats oriented more vertically, and an actual control panel would have been a better design. Obviously, I'm going to have to create one.

[@enrikekasijas705]

Kudos, great price and amazing features❤

[@sonneck12]

i modified the loader set so it has a missle louncher in the back and still all of its features an soolk even better than before

[@PandaHiveGaming]

landing gear feels like the same style as the justifer from star wars

[@joecherry6879]

Great video RB thanks! My 7yr old has been dreaming of this for his next birthday (in a few months time). I was curious if it was possible to fit a mini fig in the cockpit, huge props for clearing that up. Will definitely be grabbing this set for the boy now haha.

[@oshimida]

I built this lastnight, its great, I wish the landing gear stayed up when flying though, I might have to do some modifications.

[@UltravioletNomad]

A lot of people want Bionicle back for the aesthetic or the buildable figures, but my spiritual successor to Bionicle would be a technic theme dedicated to making affordable, unique builds packed with play functions, not tied to just real world machines. This is certainly scratching the surface of that idea.

[@palnagy2599]

5:55-nél amúgy nem értem miért nem oldották meg egy sima botlasztó mechanizmussal, mint pl a csörlőknél vagy tettek bele nehezebben forgó alkatrészeket. Ismét egy igénytelen kivitelezésű túlárazott készlet (főleg a rengeteg matricára értem ezt mivel ezekben a fehér rész becserepesedik a napfény hatására hetek alatt 😢)

[@courinno4702]

Great job !!

[@R0Sch88]

Great review, as always! If there was an official award for most swoosh-able LEGO set, this would win it for sure and not just in the Technic theme. Looks like 2024 turns out to be a great year for Technic, space and medieval fans and we are only in March! I don't think my wallet can handle it, not to mention the lack of space (pun intended). P.S. Thanks for clarifying who designed which set. It's really important for my (unofficial) Technic Designer Bricklists over on Brickset.

[@TriassicBricks]

This one is my favorite i am definitely buying this

[@jcyang7071]

Absolutely agree 👍👍👍

[@AHYL88]

It's definitely got its flaws and quirks, but I can live with them as the value proposition is close to unbeatable for the massive size of this and the functionality and playability this offers for the price. It looks like a £130 set, just from the size of it, so I was shocked that it only costs £90 in the UK. It's been quite a while since we got a large Technic set that was great value; probably since the function rich but retired Heavy Duty Tow Truck set from 2021, which has been benchmark I felt. The VTOL may probably overtake it as while it is rougher looking in places and not as function packed as the Heavy Duty Tow Truck, it's a lot cheaper by like £70 which is a little over half of what the Heavy Duty Tow Truck used to retail at.

[@pablesm]

Love the googly eyes 👀

[@L3GIT349]

Lmao LEGO got salty over the Osprey and just decided to make a space version. Equally good set anyway.

[@AnthonyAvon]

The Loader will be my first LEGO technic set ever. This one looks great too, but... shelf space and finances are running low after so many great sets this year. pff the more I watch this, the more I want it...

[@rx7_abi]

Help 🥲 my landing legs are out of sync and the front on doesn't go up/down with the other two in the back, it goes down/up 😂 I can't find where I effed up

[@kalebdoom7944]

Is it just me or dose the landing gear not fully stay. Got to the engines hoping it’s fixed when I finished

[@aleksejm2282]

I missed one Cone 1 x 1 with Top Groove =( in this set, first time miss some part in lego set

[@kiabrste2961]

Almost done missing bag 8. And 9 but the cargo arm doesn’t seem to be able to hold it the box up. I can see in the video how he presses the red thing all the way down but when I do that it blocks the engine turning thing and the landing wheels making them harder to turn I’m gonna fix the landing wheel issue with a a trick I found but wanted to know if I’m doing the cargo thing wrong. Like does anyone else have that same issue? Couldn’t find anything about it on the web I already checked for that

[@kiabrste2961]

Edit when pushing red part all the way down it interferes with the main axle making the landing wheels and vtol engines very hard to turn

[@misterdiablo1981]

A solution for the landing gear...is to change the gray pin for a black pin in the red bar who connects the front legs with the back leg.

[@MagicalBread]

You’re right! Thanks for this. I was getting frustrated that the landing gear kept becoming loose as I was swooshing.

[@misterdiablo1981]

@@MagicalBread you're welcome.....same here....now it works...

[@АлексейСачук-к4э]

Legs will hold in close position if you lift up something with those hooks

[@ghostrider13bg]

I know that 10 years old me would be so happy to play with this set for hours. Shame I don't have kids yet, I would have gladly bought them this Lego set to play with. Ornithopter it is, I guess...

[@AHYL88]

You don't need to let something like the age rating stop you from buying the set; if anything, they're very deceptive in Technic sets as I feel they're a lot more complex than the age rating suggests. Especially with sets like this VTOL which is so massive for its rather low price. For example, the John Deere Skidder set and the Heavy Duty Tow Truck set, they're both incredibly complicated to build and still took me a long time to build, even though they're rated at 11+ and despite me having a lot of experience with Technic sets.

[@JekPorkbricks]

It looks very cool, but I find the functionality slightly disappointing. The landing gear shouldn't deploy by itself and it would've been nice to land with the cargo box still attached. The integration of this with the City space sets would've been a lot better if this had blue system seats in the cockpit, then it would've easily fit in.

[@motoberada6332]

Reminds me of the codm vtol

[@DZoneMat]

Ill probably get this

[@joeywinso2798]

I'm buying this one

[@LegorocketsAnimation]

Thanks for the review! It's a great looking set, but it doesn't have enough features or play value for my tastes. I'll probably pass on this one and just build a replica of the V22

[@SsCyclooxygenase]

I got this and the perseverance for $80 at target

[@MagicalBread]

How? It’s $109.99 retail price.

[@SsCyclooxygenase]

@@MagicalBread Does your Target not have 20% off?

[@heshtele]

also got it for 80 eur on pre-order

[@shoua7]

The set suspiciously looks like the aerial hunter killer from the Terminator movies.

[@NoahgotLEGO]

How do the European immediate discounts work? As an American, sets rarely go on sale unless there’s a big sale, before retirement, or not selling well.

[@RacingBrick]

Well here the official shop is probably the most expensive, other retailers easily offer most sets with around 20% discount by default.

[@coffeeinhandproductions3238]

This is definitely one of the best valued Technic sets in a while. Love the that all the functions are easily accessible while the plain remains fully swooshable. Lego definitely took a lot of inspiration from a lot of similarly styled movie sci fi V Tols though the orange and white definitely make it look friendlier than the dark grey ones often seen. Only real complain is the grabber claw though functional looks skeletal and ugly.

[@jamesshoemaker3424]

Super cool. Too many stickers for me, though.

[@JohnField-cr6tv]

I am soooooo getting this

[@jimarapidis]

🔥

[@camau79]

Im currently building mine im on bag 4

[@permeus2nd]

So I have to say I’m a little surprised, it’s been 4 months and no one has put up a video (that I can find) fixing some of the problems with the dropship there’s normally a few by now, If I can see the problems it’s got and start to think of ways to fix them surely people with far more skill than me have done it already?

[@ProWierdchamp]

I’m not a fan of the technic planes so I’m not getting this one. Also i get it. It’s a space vehicle but holy moly I can’t take that amount of stickers. I also don’t like the huge gap mentioned in 4:53 . It needs to be covered but keep the levers and stuff for functions.

[@derk-306]

pelican-1, ready for departure

[@Aggelos_10]

Which one should I get this or the perseverance from last year?

[@RacingBrick]

If you want something playable that also looks cool, then this one for sure!

[@Aggelos_10]

@@RacingBrick Thanks for the advice.

[@kawydeen]

Can you make more space Leo’s

[@pessimisticdiabetic717]

what are these even inspired by?? soso cool.

[@polarlicht4758]

I mean there is no gravity in space, so how would the oscillating cab work? 🤓

[@RacingBrick]

It is supposed to land on planets, that's where it is handy ;)

[@axi0matic]

Sets based off Lego's own IP tend to be better value. No licensing fees, and have to try a little harder as they don't have the name recognition.

[@Definitely_Aviation]

I’m a quarter way through the bulid i would of finished but assignments and exams

[@SimonLaudati]

Balazs working hard this month 😂

[@Throrface]

I think it's a bummer that the technic Space sets don't carry over the battery gimmick that all the system sets have. They could have easily worked that in anywhere.

[@aaqibrawat3863]

I hope a mod is created so it can pick up the the space buggy. Not feeling the cargo box.

[@heshtele]

no mod needed, it can already do that, the smaller buggy set has an attachment point exactly for this

[@dorothydeese2048]

That "new" airlock peace is not new It was in multiple sets before all of the new 2024 sets.

[@natbarmore]

8:43 the weight comparison is even more in the VTOL’s favor: 1215g is *_37%_* more than 888g. (888g _is_ 27% _less_ than 1215g, because percentages are an intuitive-seeming but often unclear way to express comparisons.)

[@RacingBrick]

Yeah, well all that math and trying to express it in a foreign language...

[@diptichaudhari6450]

I am buying this

[@genebegaye2359]

I finally finishes this lego set like about 5 hours(what the heck ive done to my shoulder at night🍷🗿💀💀💀💀)