LEGO is going full steam with Gift with Purchases this year – no more cruddy polybags (although those are still around) to entice you to shop direct from LEGO, we now seem to be getting an awesome exclusive GWP seemingly every month.
To observe International Women’s Day on 8 March, LEGO have decided to launch their next historical GWP, (after November’s Charles Dickens Tribute) – 40450 Amelia Earhart Tribute
Please enjoy this short review of the soon-to-be-available LEGO Amelia Earhart Tribute set!
This is promotional set that will be available from 6-14 March 2021, when you purchase above a certain threshold from LEGO.com or your local LEGO store.
Special thanks to LEGO for providing this review set.
Name: Amelia Earhart Tribute
Set Number: 40450
Pieces: 203
Price: N/A (Gift with Purchase from LEGO.com)
Exclusive to: LEGO Brand Retail Stores, LEGO.com
Theme: Promotional, Historical Tributes
Release Date: 6 March 2021
Amelia Earhart was a pioneer in the aviation world, and was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
An accomplished aviator in her own right, on 20 May 1932, 34-year-old Earhart set off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, travelling 4 hours and 56 minutes before landing in a pasture at Culmore, north of Derry, Northern Ireland.
She piloted a bright red Lockheed Vega 5B which is usually kept at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum.
I can’t think of a better female role model that LEGO has selected to commemorate International Women’s Day, especially since we get a terrific model as well.
The box design is outstanding, following the design precedent set by the Charles Dickens Tribute with the slightly aged paper to give it that historic look. It’s peppered with really cool illustrations and motifs on nearly every side.
The instruction manual contains a lovely 2-page spread of Amelia’s history and achievements. Amelia sadly disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but I’m really glad none of that is mentioned here, as the her disappearance has largely overshadowed her distinguishing triumphs as an aviator and role model.
Sadly, the sad contains a large number of stickers used to decorate her plane.
Here’s a look at the LEGO Amelia Earhart minifigure, featuring a brown leather flight jacket with a scarf, and an exclusive new one-sided head.
She has nougat pants, and goggles on her helmet.
Here’s a look at her back printing, which features some nice stitching details.
Here’s a look at her map which charts her route across the Atlantic ocean. Disappointingly, it’s a sticker!
Here’s a look at the completed model of the Lockheed Vega, which is housed on a pretty large black base.
It’s designed very much like a plane model that aviation enthusiasts display on their shelves or desks. I love the simple aesthetic of it combined with the base which provides some nice contrast against the bright colour scheme.
Here’s a look at the base.
And a closer look at the stickered plaque. I really like the faint airplane silhouette and screw-details on the plaque. Great job graphic designers!
I’m not a particularly hardcore aviation buff, but I really appreciated how well they translated the shape and design of Amelia’s Lockheed Vega into LEGO.
The curves and wheel fairings seem really ingenious, and I really like the technique used to create the propeller out of oars.
To get as accurate to the actual model as possible, the model employs plenty of stickers throughout the plane – the one on the tips of the wings with the plane’s registration number NR-7952 is unfortunately in a darker shade of red, which isn’t immediately obvious but will annoy perfectionists.
Here’s a look at the yellow strip that runs along the side of the plane – to get the strip as straight as possible, you’ll need expert stickering skills – I think I did okay here which is a bit of a surprise as I usually botch stickers up.
Lastly, here’s a look at the underside of the plane.
What I liked:
- A really awesome subject title translated beautifully to LEGO
- Great set for history buffs that ties in really well with the message of International Women’s Day
- Looks fantastic on display without taking up too much space
What I didn’t like:
- All the stickers involved
Final Thoughts: LEGO have knocked it out of the park with the LEGO Amelia Earhart Tribute, and I highly recommend trying to get it.
The recent spate of GWPs have been excellent, which is not great for anyone’s wallet, and this is one of the standout promotional sets released in 2021.
It’s a fun model to build and display, and having an official Amelia Earhart minifigure is a fantastic bonus. It’s eye-catching, and captures a subject that LEGO hardly touches these days – historical airplanes.
Most importantly, I really like what this set represents and what LEGO is trying to say with the release of this – that the achievements of women can and should be celebrated through play.
With International Women’s Day coming up, if you have a daughter or want to gift a set that doubles as a great learning tool to a young lady, 40450 Amelia Earhart Tribute ticks all the right boxes.
This set, with only 203 pieces accomplishes The LEGO Group’s Mission Statement “Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow” in more ways than one, and as a dad, I found being able to tell her the story of Amelia Earhart, and most importantly that women can do anything that men can do a particularly poignant experience that was enabled by this collection of bricks.
Rating: 4/5
The LEGO 40450 Amelia Earhart Tribute will be available from LEGO.com (and LEGO Brand Stores) from 6-14 March 2021 onwards, and will be free with purchases of US$99, AU$169, and £99.
This is going to be an extremely popular GWP, so I expect it to sell out really really quickly. If you really want it, be prepared to act quickly on it as soon as the clock strikes midnight in your timezone.
It’s a great time to pick some new LEGO up with new releases such as LEGO Vidiyo, new Raya and the Last Dragon, Ninjago The Island, Technic and Monkie Kid sets now available online.
What do you think of LEGO’s GWPs so far in 2021? Let me know in the comments if you’ll be ordering something to qualify for the Amelia Earhart Tribute!
Special thanks to LEGO for providing this set for review.
I personally think the model of the plane doesn’t look that appealing. The minifigure looks good though. I won’t be getting it especially when I need to spend $200 to get it.
Have just ordered from lego.com and this was still added (6am 6/3 Australian Eastern). Am awaiting confirmation. Hopefully there’s enough for everyone who wants one. Good luck.
Glad you managed to get one!
Such a shame this window falls outside my next planned purchase: the Winnie the Pooh set… Then again, I’m sure they know that people won’t need any encouragement to buy into that one!
I suspect Winnie the Pooh is going to be one of the most popular sets this year and will sell out almost immediately.
I think this is a great set! When I first heard it was being released I went on Wikipedia and read more about Amelia Earhart, learning new facts. I imagine young boys and girls will do the same. Amelia is an accomplished woman and great role model.
If I can come up with sets to total $100 and that are in stock, I will try to get this GWP.
I think that’s exactly what LEGO are looking to inspire with the set. I really like that even without Wiki, the instruction manual has a lovely writeup on Emily and her achievements. Hope you managed to get one today!
Nope, not buying anything for a gift with purchase after I never got the 40448 Vintage Car from earlier this year. Really wanted that car, ordered something to qualify but the car never came. They’d “run out” because it was “more popular than they expected”. If you can’t guarantee it, don’t offer it expecting me to buy.
I’d rather find the instructions online and buy the parts.
Yeah I agree. Most of the sets I wanted were still out of stock from December. They gave me the ice skating rink instead. They seemed to have a lot of those.
Yeah the Vintage Car release was botched really hard – I think due to the fact that it was the 1st, and a ton of new releases were happening and their systems couldn’t handle it. Rest assured, this has been raised by many LEGO Ambassadors directly to LEGO, so hopefully this one will be less chaotic.
I’d love to have one. I think it’s cool I really like the stuff lego is coming out with. I’m waiting on the Bonsai Tree to get back in stock that was my next purchase but now think I’m go for this.
Yeah, really hope a big Bonsai restock is on the way. It’s near impossible to find one these days!
I thought we were trying to inspire more young women into STEM fields. How is this $100 set with maybe $12 of plastic, stickers, and packaging suppose to get into the hands of the people it is meant to encourage? A 4/5 score? I would judge it closer to 2/5 due to the price.
It’s a gift with purchase.
I think John is referring to the fact that yes, it’s a gift with purchase over £100, so you have to spend £100 to get it, rather than releasing it as a purchasable set.
I note from my order that Lego have valued it at £17.99, but you can’t just pay £17.99 for it, you have to shell out £100 for a different set just to get this. Or pay the scalper prices on eBay…
…. aaaaaaannnnnnddddd yes after a brief check, eBay is full of the set for £50….
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and I do agree that the set being gated as a GWP does defeat some of that, but personally, I think this doesn’t just fall squarely on this set. I’d see this set as as a symbolic gesture, much like the Women of NASA and Research Institute sets when it comes to recognising the achievement of women.
Also, as a product, it’s really tricky for LEGO to release this as a standalone set, and the investment to launch a whole new theme would be a stumbling block, so GWPs do give LEGO a reasonably easy way to release sets that are “outside of their core themes”.
You’re not paying $100 for the set, but it’s a free GWP, sorry if that was unclear!