Small figures in new LEGO Helicarrier 'wouldn't make sense'

A couple of features from the last huge LEGO Helicarrier are missing in the 2026 set, but they're gone to level up the detail and the minifigures.

When you compare the two biggest LEGO Helicarrier sets, which are being released 11 years apart, there are quite a few differences to spot between them. The most notable of these is the lack of the trophy, or nanofigures, in the 2026 model, while the 2015 build features a full crew of them and several heroes.

They're completely missing in the new model, and the designer behind the set, Mark Stafford, was able to share why with MiniSuperHeroesToday at Fan Media Days 2025.

"It was talked about, it was suggested to me early on, but if you look at the scale of this, even at this size, those trophy pieces are almost two bricks high," Mark said. "Even those tiny figures are massively overscaled for this model. They wouldn't make sense moving around on the deck here. If you look at the Winter Soldier movie, when people are running around on the deck, they're tiny objects, and trophy figures are just too big."

While there are no printed trophy figures in 76354 S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, there are a series of figures made up of three stacked studs, but they're positions in the set are intentional to avoid impacting the sense of scale.

"Even the places where I have the stacked studs representing minifigures are inside," continued Mark. "They're sort of Easter eggs and references; they're not to scale, and I wouldn't have put one out on the deck because it just won't work. That scale, even of the stacks, is wrong."

Despite this comment, it's important to note that stacked-stud figures depicting Iron Man and Hulk are not inside the model. They are, however, in areas that are not immediately visible, limiting their impact on the overall scale. Another reason for the missing nanofigures comes down to the set's overall budget and how one of the new minifigures would have been left behind if any were included.

"We could have given you a set of trophy figures, but which of these minifigures would you get rid of?" Mark queried.

It's due to the set's overall budget, leaving no room for both minifigures and nanofigures. The budget also impacted the number of stickers versus prints in 76354 S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, on which Mark spoke in another part of Fan Media Days.

Another major difference between the 2015 and 2026 Helicarrier sets is that 76042 The SHIELD Helicarrier can be motorised with additional pieces. They are contained inside the set to bring the model to life in ways that 76354 S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier can't officially. This was left out of the 2026 model to allow the most possible space inside the Helicarrier for more Easter eggs.

"The thing with the previous one is that it was also built to be motorised," Mark explained. "If you wanted to, you could build a motor in it with a battery box and make the propellers go round, and that would compromise the detailing that you could do inside.

"Plus, I think when Marcos Bessa was doing it, we only had concept images at that point. I don't believe we had the final movie to look at, whereas here I can look at the movie, freeze every single frame, and there are 3D models out there."

There's no doubt that 76354 S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier is a much more accurate Marvel model than the original 2015 Helicarrier. While some sacrifices have had to be made for that accuracy, including the optional motorisation and nanofigures, the references and minifigures increase the new set's appeal.

76354 S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier will be released on June 1, 2026, for £329.99 / $399.99 / €369.99, and pre-orders are open right now.

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