I love everything about airplanes, and I have always loved the Lego airport sets. But when it comes to set #3181, my love is not as centrally focused on the plane alone, as it is many of my other sets, but rather on the detailed, additional accessories in the form of a radar tower and an aircraft tug; both of which are of exceptional value to an airport nut, such as myself, and lend to a higher level of playability.

Pros

• -Very strong set design overall. The plane has good dimensions, balance and color scheme. The radar is a simple, but nicely constructed piece and an essential to any airfield. The tug is decent, but the tow bar is a fantastic accessory.
• -Compatibility. The radar is a universal accessory that can be placed among many other airport-themed sets and it compliments them all very well. The tug and tow bar are especially handy for compiling a busy airport scenario. The tug is capable of not only "hitching" to this jet, but it also fits the helicopter from set #3222, and, with some modification to the front landing gear arrangement, will also hitch to the helicopter from set #7738.
• -Size. Although there are many who argue that this airplane lacks the refinement of its larger brethren (aisle between seats, bathroom), I feel that the aircraft is a nice "medium sized" airplane. Not all commercial liners are jumbos, and the regional airline business has soared as of late, giving rise to fleets of E-145s and CRJs, and this set serves as a model of these carriers. Plus, it sits right between the large, commercial jets, and small, private aircraft, giving your airport some diversity.

Cons

• -Price. Very rarely do I complain about the cost of a Lego set, especially anything airport-related, which is my favorite theme. But I felt that Lego may have reached a little on their asking price, given that there are only 3 minifigures to a set that should have at least 4. The lone passenger looks so pathetic sitting in the airplane all by himself.
• -Odd-colored bricks. I get that Lego has, for the sake of simplifying building certain sets, added brightly colored pieces in order to distinguish them while going through the assembly steps. Usually, they end up in places where they are completely obscured and not at all an impact on the overall aesthetic. Yet, with this set, there are bright red pieces placed on the very edges of the wings on the bottom that are glaringly obvious. Why Lego? Why can't these be gray or some other subdued color? As it is, it makes it look like these were put on as "replacement, wrong-color" parts to take place of what would have been gray pieces. Fortunately, they are in a place where they can be easily exchanged, but why must I even have to do this?

I am overall very pleased with this purchase. The airplane is the definite highlight of this set, but the accompanying tug and radar are such exceptional pieces based on their functionality that they more than make up for any shortcomings the aircraft, itself, may have. If you have other aircraft already, this one will probably not top your list as a favorite, nor will it steal the spotlight from any collection, but it is almost an essential purchase, if just for the radar and the tug.

Today I brought the 3181 Passenger Plane. It contains 309 pieces. I really like this set for alot of reasons. It has some very useful parts that I want in my city. Secondly, it has alot of playability.

Here are the pros and cons.

Pros

Radar

Plane

Towing Truck

3 Mini Figures

Price

Parts

Cons

There is no door for the plane.

No food or water inside the plane.

A few more Mini Figures would be good.

Ratings

Younger Kids - 8 / 10

Older Kids - 7.5 / 10

Adults - 6.5 / 10

By wollongong0

OK, First, the mini figs!

1. Passenger. Item: brown suitcase that opens
2. Service Man. Items: light on stick and knit cap
3. Pilot. Items: walkie talkie and pilots cap

Second, the tow truck! The tow truck is small. It fits two mini figs and has a place to put the light on the stick and the walkie talkie. The tow truck is yellow and white and has two blue seats.

Third, the traffic radar! The traffic radar has one sticker on it and spins.

Fourth, the plane! The plane has seven seats and some cargo space. The cockpit has one seat. There is no co pilot. The entire plane has eight stickers.

All together the set has nine stickers. I paid $46 dollars at Amazon. It's worth the money. It has great playability. All it needs is the airport to go with. This set comes with great parts. Some parts are new.

This has great building experience. If you are buying it for a smaller child, help them build it.

Overall, I give this set five stars. This set is a must have. Hope my review was helpful.

This was made by my brother who has the account youngdave
OK, First, the mini figs!

1. Passenger. Item: brown suitcase that opens
2. Service Man. Items: light on stick and knit cap
3. Pilot. Items: walkie talkie and pilots cap

Second, the tow truck! The tow truck is small. It fits two mini figs and has a place to put the light on the stick and the walkie talkie. The tow truck is yellow and white and has two blue seats.

Third, the traffic radar! The traffic radar has one sticker on it and spins.

Fourth, the plane! The plane has seven seats and some cargo space. The cockpit has one seat. There is no co pilot. The entire plane has eight stickers.

All together the set has nine stickers. I paid $46 dollars at Amazon. It's worth the money. It has great playability. All it needs is the airport to go with. This set comes with great parts. Some parts are new.
This has great building experience. If you are buying it for a smaller child, help them build it.
Overall, I give this set five stars. This set is a must have. Hope my review was helpful.

Starting off I'm a huge fan of the LEGO aviation world. I buy all the aviation related LEGO I can.

Box/Instructions

The box and instructions are the usual city ones nothing exciting here.

Parts

The part selection is GREAT! The small plane along side the larger plane (3182) looks so cool, I love how LEGO completely changed the build for "just another plane". Sadly no specially printed pieces :( just a whole lot of stickers.

Minifigures

The Passenger and the pilot aren't exciting, the pilots the usual and the passenger has nothing special about him. What I love about this set though is the ground worker, LEGO never really had to include him but yet they did. Which I love! Sadly this set doesn't come with a flight attendant.

The build

The build is very easy and straightforward. I've already broken it and didn't have to use instructions to put it back together. The actual interior is kind of sad. There is no door to exit/enter the jet and there is no ailse for the pilot or flight attendants. Also there is no "door" between the pilot and passengers.Even worse where is the toilet?

The completed model

Great exterior look. Sadly I can't fit woman with their hair onboard this jet. Which is a big letdown. Engines and wings give it that "private jet look" which actually I don't think LEGO should have gone, I would rather have wing-side engines.

Overall opinion

Great "cheap" set for aviation fans. Lacks in good interior though. The roof parts need to be looked at again and improved. Wish it came with a aisle and toilet. Too many stickers for a set with this playability, needs to be all printed. Overall I rate this set a 4/5.