Set Review - Blue Power Jet - #31039

The Blue Power Jet was released in the US on 15 May 2015.  It is a part of the Creator line and contains 608 pieces total.  It costs $69.99 in the US which works out to be 11.5 cents per piece.  In my opinion, this is a bit high.  I found it on sale at Amazon.com for $59.99, which works out to be 9.8 cents per piece.  Right under the average of 10 cents per piece so about average.  If you're interested in this set, I would definitely look for a sale if you can find one.  

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As you can see on the box, it comes with 3 separate designs.  There is the jet, a helicopter, and a speed boat.

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The set comes with 5 parts bags and a 217 page instruction booklet.  It also comes with a part separator which is $2.49 from LEGO if you buy it separately so you can't complain there.  The bags are not numbered since there are 3 different builds so it takes a bit to find the pieces you need.  It also makes it more fun.  On page 2 of the instruction booklet, it says there are 3 different builds.  There is a "quick build" which is the speed boat, a "medium build" which is the helicopter, and an "advanced build" which is the jet.  For this review, I show the jet version only.  Interestingly enough, the Blue Power Jet looks a lot like the US military's F-35 Lightning II.  

F-35A - Courtesy of www.af.mil.

F-35A - Courtesy of www.af.mil.

You'll notice some of the differences pretty quickly.  Besides some of the differences in shape (intakes, bottom of the aircraft, tail), there's the 2 seat cockpit versus the single seat cockpit, and the landing gear being visible.  I'm getting ahead of myself... let's get into the build.  

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The build is on the bottom of the picture with all of the pieces above it.  You can see how the front landing gear fits in and you see the use of the Technic pieces to hold it all together.

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As the build continues, you can see some of the engine taking place.  This variant looks similar to the F-35B variant that the US Marine Corps will use.  You can see some pictures on Lockheed Martin's Flickr stream here.  You'll notice a few pictures where panels open up so the aircraft can do vertical takeoffs and landings.   In later pictures, you'll see that the top of the LEGO model has panels that open so you can see the engine inside.  Not sure if it's for maintenance purposes or if it's vertical takeoff and landing parts.  

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In this photo, you can see the cockpit taking shape.  The front seat has a green 1x1 translucent tile that I assume acts as the Heads-Up-Display or HUD for the pilot.  

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In this photo you'll notice that the main part of the fuselage is covered.  There are 2 panels that open up (a picture of them open will be shown later).  Also, one of the wings is installed.  When I started the build, I was confused as to how it was going to work, but in the end it turned out very nice.  My only complaint is that the top is very detailed, the bottom is very plain (another picture seen later).  You'll notice the flaperon as well.  In my opinion, there's a lot of space between the wing and flaperon, but there isn't much you can do with a model this small.  By the way, if you don't know what a flaperon is, it's an aileron that can be used as a flap as well.  The aileron help you turn the plan, the flap gives you added lift at slow speeds.  Watch the wings the next time you fly commercial and you'll see the flaps open up before landing.

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Here is my final build in progress picture before the final one.  Both wings are on now.  We're just missing the tail (vertical and horizontal stabilizers) and the canopy.

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Here is the final build.  I put he flaperons up, the horizontal stabilizers are pitched as well.  You can see the panels open on the fuselage to expose the engine parts.  Also, the canopy is open too.  The actual F-35 has a single canopy piece that opens at the front versus 2 pieces.

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Here is a picture with everything closed up.  

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Here is a view from the front.  The nose is pretty flat and not a great aerodynamic shape.  Given the small space, I can't complain with what the designer did.  I'd rather have this then, LEGO building a specific piece that is a BURP (big ugly rock piece).

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Here is the bottom of the aircraft.  Very plain if you ask me.  Landing gear is exposed, the wings do not have a shape on the bottom (camber is the official term for you nerds like me), and the color scheme from the top does not continue on the bottom.  To be fair, I'm sure LEGO didn't design this to be an official model.  They built it to give someone a building experience and if you want to make it better, go for it.  Get some additional pieces and knock yourself out, right?

Overall, it's an impressive model.  Lots of great detail and fun to build.  It's not an exact replica of a fighter jet, but given the size, I can't complain.  The price is a bit high so look for it on sale or take advantage of deals on LEGO.com (double VIP points or free give aways) to help out with the higher price.  I didn't build the other 2 models, but having the instructions for 2 others is great too.  Plus, it comes with a ton of great pieces.  The darker blue color is great to build with and I'm sure there are many other things you could build with these parts and maybe a few others.  The box says it is for ages 9 to 14.  I realize I'm older than that, but it's all good.  Younger kids may have trouble with the build or it may be a good time to sit down with a kid and spend some time together away from a screen.

I hope this post was useful.  Let me know in the comments if you'd like to see something different in set reviews.  Also, let me know if you have this set and what you think.  

Finally... I do not have this set available in my store.  Sorry.  I will look to catch it on sale so I can add it to the store or to one of my sales events.