(Written by William)
When the #10363 LEGO Icons Leonardo da Vinci’s Flying Machine was released at the beginning of 2025, I wasn’t really sure what to think of it. It’s in the LEGO Icons line, which means it is geared towards adults and more of a display piece rather than a playset. With its historical reference and unique look, I certainly found it appealing, and the price of $49.99 isn’t bad either, so I thought to give it a try.
I do want to state up front, there are a lot of brown elements in this model. Historically, I’ve found that the various brown colors have a tendency to crack more easily over time. I know LEGO has made efforts to remedy this issue, but I remain wary of models with a large amount of brown due to past experience. But let’s take a look at the features of the set!
LEGO FLYING MACHINE – A WORKING MACHINE!
Given the fact that this set revolves around one of the world’s most famous inventors, it only makes sense that the model works. Keep in mind that the model is a representation of a proof of concept. That means it is not designed to hold a pilot. Rather, it demonstrates how the various wing structures could work.
This is why LEGO designers went about the task of connecting all these elements together so that with one pull of a trigger, you get three different wings moving in tandem with one another. This is a rather complex set of mechanisms strung together. We get two separate methods of tension being supplied: levers, pullies, and hinged elements.
At one point, I was concerned that a spring that provided tension was too tight and could barely move, but levers were added to make the turning easier and allow for a greater effect. Still, the spring tension was stiff, and I was not certain it would move smoothly when using the trigger. However, pullies were added, further reducing the amount of tension needed in order to activate the spring.
It’s also easy to get lost in all the various hinge work, but most of it is to enable the wings to move in the right orientation and provide stability in specific areas. Adding to this is the odd frame structure of the model. Given that this is a representation of a proof of concept, the resulting frame is more skeletal in nature. In other words, this is sort of what Leonardo thought was the bare minimum to support the mechanism he had in mind. This makes it a functional-based design, keeping the focus on the working elements.
Once built, you pull a trigger and watch what an odd contraption looks like when it comes alive. LEGO designers even went one step further and made the trigger as comfortable as possible while allowing much of the model to be seen. Overall, this was a very interesting build, and the end result is also extremely satisfying, seeing it work.
LEGO FLYING MACHINE – TRIGGER & TENSION
I don’t often get the opportunity to talk about triggers. Most of the time, LEGO sets offer a switch rather than a trigger. The main difference is that a trigger will often have some form of tension providing resistance to the triggering action.
I like this set since it actually provides two tension elements for the same trigger. The first is a spring that is centrally located in the model. The second is a rubbery connector hidden away under the tail section of the machine. The reason why this is interesting is that each provides tension differently.
For the spring, it is already compressed and offering counter-pressure. This is great when the tension needs to overcome additional weight. In this case, the spring helps hold up both of the side wings. These wings are much heavier than the tail section, so they require a bit more force in their tension element.
As for the back section, the rubber element simply rests and gets compressed to offer its tension. This is great for a lightweight design with only a small amount of movement required. The limitation of this sort of tension is the fact that you can only compress this element so much before it doesn’t matter how much force you use.
What this means for the trigger is that you have a certain type of trigger being built. This is a resetting trigger. Left alone, the tension will return the trigger to its resting state, ready for another activation. This is the type of trigger you want to build for a repeating action like flapping wings.
It’s really that simple. The rest of the model looks very complicated, but ultimately, it’s just a round about way to connect the two tension elements to the trigger. It just happens to use all that connective material to perform the action.
LEGO FLYING MACHINE – FINAL THOUGHTS
So, who is this set for? It highlights history while giving a very functional model that has a high degree of importance in the working mechanics of this machine. Adult builders, older teens, history buffs, and those who enjoy building working mechanisms should all get great enjoyment from this set.
And the set is reasonably priced and quite affordable. I should also mention that you get an exclusive Leonardo minifigure as well as a few parts in the brown family, I can’t say are very common. The standouts are the string elements in tan to make them look like ropes.
The problem is that this is the type of set you almost have to go out of your way to accept in your collection. It is not designed to complement anything you might already have. For instance, this could potentially make a good museum piece for a brick-built aerospace display, but the model is rather large. Or it may be an interesting art piece, but its color scheme is rather drab since it’s made to look functional. Don’t get me wrong, this is a cool set, but you may find it tough to give it a home. In the video below, I talk about the set in a bit more detail.
The best I can say is that this is the type of model that falls in the kinetic sculptures category. There have been a handful over the years, but they are not that common. If this is something you collect or think you might be interested in getting into, then this is another good reason to pick up this set. If you want to take a look, it’s available at the LEGO Icons section of the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? How do you like this set? And what do you think of the features and functions we discussed here? Feel free to share your thoughts and own reviews in the comment section below!
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I would have loved this to be a little smaller so I could put it in the museum!
We need more sets like this! And not just for adults, but kids too. A great way to learn how things work!
I already ordered this one just to learn the mechanisms. It’s an underrated set.
I red a comment once that minifigs ruined Lego. They force Lego to be on a certain scale. And this in turn limits building techniques. So it’s nice to see Lego sometimes breaking away from minifig scale. We usually only see that with Technic sets these days.