LEGO The SHIELD Helicarrier Announced

Fans have long speculated that a LEGO Avengers Helicarrier was in the works, and yesterday LEGO officially confirmed those rumors. The new set, 76042 The SHIELD Helicarrier, is a gigantic microscale Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) ship which rings in just shy of 3 feet (0.9144 meters) in length. This is the first time LEGO has used tiny microscale figures (originally designed to be trophies) as characters in a playset. The set also comes with 5 normal-sized minifigures, and can be motorized using LEGO Power Functions (not included). It will be available on March 1st. 

Here’s the press release from LEGO, along with the designer video:

76042 The SHIELD Helicarrier

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Ages 16+
2,996 pieces.

US $349.99
CA $399.99
DE 349.99€
UK £269.99
DK 2999.00  

*Euro pricing varies by country. Please visit shop.LEGO.com for regional pricing.

Build and display the huge SHIELD Helicarrier!
Take on the challenge of building this awesome LEGO® model of The SHIELD Helicarrier. Construct the flying aircraft carrier with 2 runways, microscale Quinjets, fighter jets and ground support vehicles. The set also comes with many of your favorite LEGO Marvel Super Heroes minifigures, plus 12 microfigures to display on deck and within the highly detailed interior. Includes 5 minifigures: Nick Fury, Black Widow, Captain America, Hawkeye and Maria Hill.

• Includes 5 minifigures: Nick Fury, Black Widow, Captain America, Hawkeye and Maria Hill, plus an iconic SHIELD eagle stand to display them on
• Features 3 microscale Quinjets, 3 fighter jets, a gasoline truck, 2 forklift trucks, 2 runways, 4 road blockades, armored exterior with translucent elements, detailed interior, plus 12 microfigures (Nick Fury, Hawkeye, Captain America, Iron Man and 8 SHIELD agents)
• Also includes a detailed runway
• Weapons include Hawkeye’s bow, Black Widow’s gun and Captain America’s shield
• SHIELD Agent Maria Hill minifigure is new for spring 2015!
• Includes a plaque with facts about The SHIELD Helicarrier
• Add lights and spinning rotors to the Helicarrier with the 88000, 8883 and 8870 LEGO® Power Functions sets (sold separately)
• Rotors can also be turned manually
• Includes a display stand
• Helicarrier measures over 11” (29cm) high, 31” (80cm) long and 17” (45cm) wide
• Each Quinjet measures over 1” (3cm) high, 2” (7cm) long and 2” (7cm) wide
• Minifigure stand measures over 4” (12cm) high, and 2” (6cm deep) and 6” (16cm wide)

The set is huge, and has a higher price tag to match ($349.99) but it’s not nearly as big as it might have been. The Helicarrier was originally submitted to Lego’s Ideas site, which crowdsources concepts for new sets based on user submissions and consumer voting on said submissions. A Helicarrier was submitted by user YoSub Joo on May 13, 2014, which quickly met the threshold required for a concept review by Lego itself. The original model was designed to use 22,694 bricks, however, and be 85.4 x 45.3 inches in size. Lego’s version is a relatively modest 2,996 pieces, and measures only 31 by 17 inches, but Lego did mention in a comment on the original posting that the size of Joo’s original creation went far beyond anything Lego has ever produced for general consumption. 

  

-Topopato