Review: 10339 Santa's Post Office
Posted by CapnRex101,
The enduring Winter Village series provides an appealing blend of relatively realistic and more fantastical subjects, swapping between the two periodically. 10339 Santa's Post Office belongs among the latter and seemingly complements 10275 Elf Club House in particular.
Focusing on how letters to Santa are delivered and sorted is a clever idea for the Winter Village and I find the post office building attractive, featuring plenty of detail. Moreover, this model includes some interesting functions, beyond the norm for sets in the Winter Village produced to date.
Summary
10339 Santa's Post Office, 1,440 pieces.
£89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 | 6.2p / 6.9c / 6.9c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Though not as refined as some Winter Village sets, this is an enjoyable instalment
- Beautiful architecture
- Clever sorting functions
- Complements other Winter Village sets
- Fun and unusual vehicle
- Lacks a distinct character
- Unclear how letters are processed, from start to finish
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
Santa Claus has appeared in the Winter Village series twice before and this figure debuted in 10293 Santa's Visit, albeit featuring a printed hat on that occasion, rather than a dual-moulded one. However, the dual-moulded hat is outwardly identical and looks excellent, as always, while the dual-moulded boots are welcome too.
I like the torso as well, complete with a suitable fur trim and a metallic gold belt buckle. I miss the bespectacled head of older Santa Claus minifigures, but this is otherwise a perfect design overall and a nice addition to the set.
Four elves are also included, dressed in unique uniforms to show their role as postal workers! The golden horn emblem featured in many LEGO sets returns here and looks great, matching gold borders on their collars. The pair shown below are seemingly in charge of delivering letters to the post office, as one wears a pilot's helmet and the other a scarf for working outdoors.
The elves' bright green hats, with moulded ears, are shared with the minifigures in 10275 Elf Club House. I appreciate the consistency between these characters and those, as the mix of green and bright green colours continues, so the whole group appears cohesive, despite their different clothes.
Two of the included elves include double-sided heads, although none of their expressions are new, unfortunately. Various accessories are provided and stored throughout the set, but these marshalling wands are particularly fun. Trans-red spearheads have appeared before, although only in two Speed Champions sets.
The Completed Model
Winter Village sets normally include smaller pieces of scenery to complement the main model and this one is no exception. These items are particularly tiny, beginning with a hole in the ice, where an elf has recently caught a fish and retrieved a wayward letter. In addition, a baby seal has emerged from the ice, returning from 60376 Arctic Explorer Snowmobile.
The baby seal is very charming and I like the vibrant sign outside the post office too. All three signs are stickered, directing visitors to 10275 Elf Club House and presumably 10245 Santa's Workshop, although I wonder whether this instead hints at an updated version of the workshop coming soon. Regardless, the signpost and the accompanying post box look splendid.
Christmas trees are another traditional feature of Winter Village sets, always varying in design. This example is quite basic, comprising 1x2 and 1x3 outside half arches for the branches. The general shape looks reasonable and I am glad the tree is distinctive, but it pales in comparison with past Christmas trees in the Winter Village.
On the other hand, the decorations and presents arranged underneath are attractive, adding some more colour to the scene. A sled is also included, making good use of hockey sticks for the skids, which are only available in black here and in 76780 Wednesday Addams Figure. An elf can ride on board and there is enough space for a present and a letter as well.
Keeping these items small and relatively basic has allowed the designer to focus attention on the post office itself, so the building is substantial. The architectural style matches the broader Winter Village range and I think its proportions are appropriate beside many other sets from the series, with the exception of 10245 Santa's Workshop, which now seems too small.
The colour scheme of sand blue, dark blue and medium nougat for the walls is appealing, as these shades stand out, without becoming gaudy. Moreover, I like the stone outdoor fireplace, incorporating 1x2 masonry bricks for texture. The reddish brown 1x2 double bows arranged by the fire are welcome too, serving as logs.
A snowman also stands outside the post office, comprising an undecorated BB-8 body and a Technic ball. The same assembly was used in 10293 Santa's Visit and works remarkably well, although I am concerned about the snowman's longevity, considering its location by the fire.
Medium nougat tiles and plates form wooden beams on the front of this building, topped with curved slopes to support the projecting upper floor. These look nice beside the green and red garland, which makes excellent use of red clips poking through the leaves to represent berries. The icicles hanging above are effective as well, formed using white horns.
However, my favourite detail in this area is the ornamental horn. A pearl gold life ring and two sausages are used to outstanding effect here, with a well-placed bow disguising the awkward transition between these pieces. The curved beam above looks great as well, comprising dark blue elements to frame the horn.
Whereas some Winter Village sets are lightly dusted with snow, those at the North Pole tend to be completely covered, fittingly. I love the thick snow on top of these roofs, using curved slopes at the edges to create the impression of volume. Moreover, the flag is a useful addition because it shows the wind direction, which will prove important for deliveries.
A thick layer of snow also covers the porch, involving a similar combination of curved slopes. The red and white striped posts outside the door recall 10267 Gingerbread House and these serve an important role because I think this part of the post office would otherwise lack colour, with the sand blue walls in shadow beneath the porch.
The platform above the door looks odd at first glance, especially since heavy snow can cause problems for flat roofs. However, this is actually where the included hot air balloon lands, fresh from collecting letters to Santa! Some traditions of sending these letters involve burning them in the fireplace, so presumably the hot air balloon floats overhead to gather them.
Hot air balloons have appeared in a surprising number of sets since 41097 Heartlake Hot Air Balloon was produced in 2015, introducing the large curved panels that comprise the balloon. This example features traditional festive colours and dark green is a new shade for the curved panels, which is always appreciated.
Construction of the basket is a little chaotic. Although I like the predominant red and dark red colours, the 1x1 round bricks and 1x2 rounded plates look odd. I think these are supposed to depict a wicker weave, but the neighbouring bricks spoil the effect. Even so, the Technic parts connecting the basket to the balloon are neatly integrated, avoiding incongruous colours.
Also, there is just enough room for a minifigure to stand in the basket, with letters on a table in front of them. Several more letters are stored in a container and these are delivered by turning the gear around the back of the hot air balloon, releasing the letters down the waiting chute.
Like previous LEGO hot air balloons, the proportions between the balloon and the basket are not entirely realistic. Nevertheless, I like the shape of the balloon and the decorative foliage is lovely too. Notably, a pearl silver sword sticks out of the top, activating another function aboard the hot air balloon.
Light bricks are another tradition across the Winter Village Collection, appearing in the majority of sets. The brick is hidden inside the balloon on this occasion and illuminates the trans-orange and trans-clear 2x2 round bricks forming the burner, which works well. Additionally, the button to activate the light brick is integrated discretely.
Winter Village buildings always have an open back, providing easy access for play. This has never bothered me, as long as the structure is completed around the sides, which this one is. Furthermore, its depth seems reasonable to me, again corresponding with past Winter Village sets and leaving ample space for interior detail.
The entrance hall is somewhat lacklustre in that regard, only housing a coffee machine in one corner and a stack of mail in the other. Admittedly, there is little obvious need for anything else, but I might have added a hat rack or perhaps clips to store the air traffic controller elf's trans-red marshalling batons.
Seventeen printed 1x2 tiles representing letters are supplied in total, with four designs. The tan envelope stamped as 'junk mail' is new and looks superb. I suppose it makes sense that Santa would receive lots of unwanted mail, given his various addresses are extremely well known!
Letters are sorted in the next room, where the chute from the hot air balloon hangs down from the ceiling. This area is quite spacious and I like the large windows, allowing plenty of light into the sorting area. Furthermore, there is plenty of space for minifigures to stand.
The letter sorting station against the wall looks good too, consisting of various small panels for dividers. However, I wish there was a mechanism to deposit some letters into the neighbouring room, which seems to be where Santa reads those needing particular attention.
A book is found on the other side of the room, recording how many letters are being accepted and rejected. I am surprised by the relatively small scale of the system, although it seems the elves have come to rely on a machine for help, ready to be placed on the yellow and blue rug.
The sorting machine looks a little awkward, protruding so far from the back of the model. Even so, its striking colour scheme suits the environment, as it feels like areas of the post office with more muted colours are older, whereas features like the machine and the delivery chutes have been installed recently.
Green and red trolleys are provided to catch letters as they pass through the machine. Moving the red switch back and forth will drop mail into each container and the mechanism works well, changing the angle of a 2x4 tile inside the sorter. In addition, letters slide down the chutes with ease, whether from the air balloon or a room above the sorting office.
Santa's study completes the ground floor. The outdoor fireplace is mirrored in here and there is a small gap through the wall, which may prove problematic! The trans-yellow and trans-orange elements in the fireplace look perfect though. Similarly, I like how Santa's armchair is designed and the bookshelves provide some extra colour, alongside a printed globe.
I get the impression Santa reads his letters in the study, but responds when necessary from a writing room on the level above. The steep roof leaves this room relatively compact, but all the necessary details are present, including a writing desk and a stack of envelopes. I love the wax seal in the corner, with a matching seal on the stickered letter.
The roof is removable for access to this space, although the ceiling actually hides another fun feature. A yellow arrow points to the hole in the floor, where Santa deposits his letters ready to be dispatched. From here, they run down the chutes underneath and enter the sorting machine, which can presumably identify outgoing mail, as well as filtering unwanted correspondence.
Overall
Fun has always been an important quality of the Winter Village Collection, especially its more fantastical sets, such as 10339 Santa's Post Office. I think this model succeeds in that regard because the functions are rather unusual and integrated perfectly, so features like the delivery chutes avoid interfering with the building's outward appearance too much.
Despite these qualities, I cannot help but think this set is missing something. The architectural style, for example, is effective, but not particularly distinctive, compared with the likes of 10325 Alpine Lodge or 10293 Santa's Visit recently. Taking that into consideration, I would recommend other Winter Village sets over this one, although its price of £89.99, $99.99 or €99.99 feels fair, in my opinion.
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51 comments on this article
Its a nice set, but I much prefer the Winter Village sets to be non-fantasy based.
Dear Santa,
Please. Make it stop.
.... --- / .... --- / .... --- / -- . .-. .-. -.-- / -.-. .... .-. .. ... - -- .- ...
While I usually love the Winter Village sets, I find this one incredibly bland. It's okay at best, and though it 's a decent addition to the existing collection, there's nothing about it that really stands out. It seems to me that too much of the budget and design work went into the hot air balloon, which I feel would've worked better as a separate set.
The interior is also very lacking, and despite the sorting function being a fun gimmick, it doesn't make sense for Santa to sort ingoing and outgoing letters, does it? I mean, who is he sorting all those letters for? He is the only recipient on the North Pole, or isn't he?
Frankenstein's monster perhaps?
I like the set, but frankly I prefer the line of classic village buildings instead then these related to Santa Claus and the north pole.
Anyway, I'll buy it as I did with the others, maybe waiting for some winter diorama GWP in the next weeks.
@ToysFromTheAttic said:
"While I usually love the Winter Village sets, I find this one incredibly bland. It's okay at best, and though it 's a decent addition to the existing collection, there's nothing about it that really stands out. It seems to me that too much of the budget and design work went into the hot air balloon, which I feel would've worked better as a separate set.
The interior is also very lacking, and despite the sorting function being a fun gimmick, it doesn't make sense for Santa to sort ingoing and outgoing letters, does it? I mean, who is he sorting all those letters for? He is the only recipient on the North Pole, or isn't he?"
I guess he should just open them since they are his.
Maybe they're going to each country's assigned elf or maybe they're presents that, when placed in the same room as the child, turn into boxes or fill stockings.
Wait, is the hot air balloon not easily removable? If so, that's a tragedy.
Am pleased at the generally positive review. I wasn’t keen on this one due to the hot air balloon, which to me holds not festive relevance.
I feared that may lead to this being the first Winter Village set we don’t get as a family, having started with 2014’s 10245, but I think we will get it eventually. Usually the WV sets are day 1 purchases.
Am hoping next year isn’t another workshop as we probably would get that as we don’t need two. Would love to see a reindeer barn or similar for the fantasy village at the North Pole instead.
I tried pairing this set with 10245, but Santa's Workshop is too small in comparison. I hope we do get a new version of Santa's workshop as suggested by @CapnRex101.
@ItisNoe said:
"Wait, is the hot air balloon not easily removable? If so, that's a tragedy. "
The balloon can lift off and fly away easily
Funny, I assumed that the workshop sign referred to the recent 40565 and not the older set.
If they would have played with more depth in the various parts of the building (especially from the outside, being flat and all) i think this building would have been better. The idea of a post office for Santa is very good. I like the sorting stuff as well. But i would have made santa’s writing room and study one and the same, and more like an official office (with some christmas decorations though).
I don’t like the balloon. Maybe it needs snow as well or ice pickles, or maybe it needed to be a snow man balloon, i don’t know. But now it is distracting and not really christmassy to me.
So front is too flat, and balloon feels out of place.
Possibly my least favourite set in the Winter village collection.
I kind of like this set since it addresses (pun intended) a part of the Santa Claus story relating to the common practice of sending letters to Santa. While the balloon looks good, I think a more maneuverable and controllable craft like an airship/blimp may have been better suited to the model.
I bought this and I like it. I love the LEGO Winter Village sets. I don't have all of them (I wasn't a fan of the Market 10235 and Fire Station 10263), but I liked this one enough to buy it. However, much like the Workshop 10245, I don't think it is going to be one I'll be getting excited about building every Christmas - it is definitely missing something. I do seem to prefer the Village sets over North Pole sets. My favourites are the Cottage 10229 and Main Street 10308.
To me the matching green outfits on the Elves is a negative as well as the failure to reuse the elf hat with braids that appeared in the CMF. I need some red elf outfits. And the hat with braids in some other color.
I think that this is the second post office in the Winter Village theme. Now its time for a post office in the Modular Building theme.
I like the look of it from the front, but I don't understand the purpose of the sorting mechanism.
From what I was told as a kid I would write a letter to the "Christkind" (German variation of the Santa motif, in some regions of Germany they had the "Weihnachtsmann", who himself seemed to have been an amalgamation of St. Nicolas and Santa, or a variation of the English character of Father Christmas), and it would be the one responsible for bringing the gifts on Christmas eve.
Is there a lore internationally that you write to Santa and he actually answers your letters instead of simply delivering the presents?
The movie "The Santa Claus(e)" from which I got all my knowledge on the subject suggests otherwise. :-)
Edit: I just checked Wikipedia* and was amazed to find how many countries have adopted the Christkind tradition.
* https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christkind
Actually the whole history behind the Christkind as well as the connection to St. Nicolas and his various evolutionary steps from a real historical to a fictional figure via Sinterklaas to Santa Claus is quite fascinating imho.
And let's not even start to talk about the involvement of a certain soft drink manufacturer from Atlanta... ;-)
Oh and something else I hadn't realized before either. To quote Wikipedia once more:
"By 1845, "Kris Kringle" was a common variant of Santa in parts of the United States.
A magazine article from 1853, describing American Christmas customs to British readers, refers to children hanging up their stockings on Christmas Eve for "a fabulous personage" whose name varies: in Pennsylvania he is usually called "Krishkinkle", but in New York he is "St. Nicholas" or "Santa Claus"."
"Krishkinkle" sounds suspiciously similar to how "Christkindl" is pronounced over here, especially if you say it after having consumed a little too much mulled wine, which isn't uncommon during that time of the year ;-)
@Maxbricks14 said:
"Possibly my least favourite set in the Winter village collection."
Can't be when 10259 exists.
@MegaBlocks said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Possibly my least favourite set in the Winter village collection."
Can't be when 10259 exists."
Perhaps I am alone in this regard, but I like 10259 as it provides a great connection for my 9v 10173 Holiday Train to be incorporated into my Winter Village creating a more dynamic scene.
@Schmopiesdad said:
" @MegaBlocks said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Possibly my least favourite set in the Winter village collection."
Can't be when 10259 exists."
Perhaps I am alone in this regard, but I like 10259 as it provides a great connection for my 9v 10173 Holiday Train to be incorporated into my Winter Village creating a more dynamic scene."
I love 10259 - between that and 10229 I have a tough time deciding which to build first when we get them out.
@CapnRex101 lacks a distinct character? Were you hoping for a postmaster or mistress or something?
I built this one a few weeks ago (and the accompanying truck) and it is OK. Maybe a bit better than I hoped- the building's architecture looks nice and uses attractive colors. The sorting function is perhaps cute, but too much was invested in this gimmick rather than in a detailed interior, and worse, the function does not really make sense, as others have said. I adore the winter village line. This is definitely the weakest entry for a main set that we've had. The train station was better, with a better interior. This is also by far the weakest Christmas tree. Following from the weak gingerbread cookie set last year, I hope that this is not a downhill trend and that next years' sets will be better; I wish I could say that with more optimism, but I see similar downward trends in other long term themes as well- modular city, and now the Chinese New Year sets too.
This is my least favorite winter village set so far.
The balloon is very similar to the ones in basic Lego Friends sets that have been around for ages. The main building looks like very simple. Under no circumstance is this an 18+ expert set. The snow on the roof makes me think of Duplo.
However I do think that the children will absolutely love this set, and they are probably the main target group for this set.
Starting from classic sets like the Winter Toy Shop, Winter Cottage and Winter Post Office the series have changed a lot - and not for the better imho.
Side note: I also think the Winter Train Station is a truly great set, despite some people ranking it low.
@jnscoelho said:
"Funny, I assumed that the workshop sign referred to the recent 40565 and not the older set."
The Modulars are a standing tradition, and frequently reference other sets in the line. Winter Village is the closest equivalent, so I’d expect them to follow suit. 10245, like 10275, is one of the official WV sets. 40565 isn’t even really WV-adjacent, like 40416, 40603, 40082, or 40083.
@AustinPowers:
The US is a nation of immigrants. People came from all over the world, and many settled in areas already populated by others from their original homeland. I believe Pennsylvania had a lot of Dutch settlers, but I know there were German enclaves in neighboring New York, so that may factor into your findings.
@Detectivesoffice:
By itself, 10259 is somewhat pointless, but it was always meant to be paired with 10254. I’m sure many probably feel the two should have been combined into one set.
@PurpleDave thanks for the usual mansplaining.
I didn't say that the sign pointed to 40565 . I said "I assumed that the workshop sign referred to the recent 40565 and not the older set.", mainly because I didn't even remember 10245 existed. Hence the "Funny" with which I started the sentence.
Nevertheless, imo, 40565 together with 40564 and 40484 would be interesting additions to any Winter Village, like many recent GWP add well to their corresponding modulars.
Edit: I mean, interesting additions in the likes of 10339 or 10275.
@jnscoelho:
Gender's got nothing to do with it. I can understand why some people rail against the introduction of a North Pole subtheme, but I never would have guessed that anyone would completely forget it existed.
Regarding the 40xxx sets you listed, everyone is of course free to include whatever they want in their own Winter Village display (I'm partial to Santa-Bat), all three of those have backgrounds built into their design, so I'd display them separately.
@HJB2810 said:
" @ToysFromTheAttic said:
"While I usually love the Winter Village sets, I find this one incredibly bland. It's okay at best, and though it 's a decent addition to the existing collection, there's nothing about it that really stands out. It seems to me that too much of the budget and design work went into the hot air balloon, which I feel would've worked better as a separate set.
The interior is also very lacking, and despite the sorting function being a fun gimmick, it doesn't make sense for Santa to sort ingoing and outgoing letters, does it? I mean, who is he sorting all those letters for? He is the only recipient on the North Pole, or isn't he?"
I guess he should just open them since they are his.
Maybe they're going to each country's assigned elf or maybe they're presents that, when placed in the same room as the child, turn into boxes or fill stockings."
I see three possibilities for sorting. Unfortunately, all of them include some negative connotations so fitting for our times:
1. Incoming/outgoing: the writing room indicates that Santa writes (presumably to good children) far more than what BS commentators are aware of. What this says about BS commentators, I'll leave to you.
2. Junk/non-junk: Santa, like the rest of us, receives mostly junk mail, these days.
3. Bad/good: orange-haired children get coal, yet are rewarded with other unearned presents, to would seem. :(
Bah humbug!
This set will be loads of fun.
@AustinPowers said:
"Oh and something else I hadn't realized before either. To quote Wikipedia once more:
"By 1845, "Kris Kringle" was a common variant of Santa in parts of the United States.
A magazine article from 1853, describing American Christmas customs to British readers, refers to children hanging up their stockings on Christmas Eve for "a fabulous personage" whose name varies: in Pennsylvania he is usually called "Krishkinkle", but in New York he is "St. Nicholas" or "Santa Claus"."
"Krishkinkle" sounds suspiciously similar to how "Christkindl" is pronounced over here, especially if you say it after having consumed a little too much mulled wine, which isn't uncommon during that time of the year ;-) "
Oh, there's going to be a LOT of mulled wine consumed this year. Just like the last Krampus was in power.
@MegaBlocks said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Possibly my least favourite set in the Winter village collection."
Can't be when 10259 exists."
Funny. 10259 is one of my favourite WV sets, maybe even THE favourite one.
@AustinPowers said:
" @MegaBlocks said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Possibly my least favourite set in the Winter village collection."
Can't be when 10259 exists."
Funny. 10259 is one of my favourite WV sets, maybe even THE favourite one. "
My favourite is the only WV set I own. The O.G 10199
Good review.
Glad to see the comments here are along a similar vein to myself.
I really dont like the directions lego is taking, especially for beloved themes like modulars and winter village.
I HATE the North Pole Santa village stuff, it should be its own theme or not at all. Why cant we have a nice nostalgia realistic Christmas village like before?
Oh and the argument "its fuh kidzzz" doesnt cut it with me because this is under the Icons 'Adults Welcome' 18+ theme.
Even prior to that WV was alwaysa theme more targeted at older builders. There's also the untrue assumption that kids dont like regular nostalgic village stuff.
Im sure kids would like the Fire Station and 2012 Cottage for example.
Now it is also important to recognise that even when we do get WV sets that arent 'fantasy', they nevertheless lack the charm, nostalgia and general nice WV vibe of past sets.
Alpine Lodge is not a 'bad' set but its just a generic alpine lodge that couldve been a part of Friends or City.
Likewise Santa's Visit was a mediocre remake of the 2012 Cottage that felt too modern for the other sets and it too lacked 'that something.'
To come to this set, I can understand why people here are rating it as one of the worst.
Now, the gingerbread house for example I do very much respect for its architecture and detail (it just shouldve been its own thing rather than WV).
Whereas here the architecture to me is.... I struggle to place it. The colours sort of all blend together, especially the main 'middle' section Im not sure what Im even looking at.
The left side is particularly unsightly when the hot air balloon is removed.
I'm also very happy that others question the sorting process here. We are not sure where letters are going and there's no real way for letters to be sent out unless the balloon lands on the ground outside. The sorting chutes and machine take up too much space in my opinion. That arrow especially is hideous and very unnecessary.
I will say the balloon itself Im mostly happy with and the light function is great. Good point CapnRex about the ugly attempt at wickerwork. It really shouldve been in tan. Maybe dark tan? The horn is excellent, thanks for pointing out the gold sausage pieces.
This brings me to my final point about purpose/overall idea. I believe CapnRex alludes to this at the end of the review.
I strongly question why we needed another post office when there are so many other things the village lacks.
It was argued by some before that this is the post office for the North Pole sets like two separate villages. A fair idea, but its silly and counterproductive to me turning WV into basically two separate lines of sets. We had a nice little alpine European village going there, why stop it? :(
Santa's Workshop is a great set that I believe captured all the aspects of 'Santa Claus' and his elves, including the receiving of letters from children with their requests. It was also good in that the architecture and size of the set meant it could be integrated well into the rest of the village.
Personally I considered them people dressing up as Santa and Elves for charity. I was also okay with just one set for Santa, we didnt need to go beyond that to elf clubhouses (???), anthropomorphic gingerbread men and ANOTHER post office!
I also lament the price. It's true that lego has kept the WV sets at $99.99 USD for a few years now. However that comes out at around $170 AUD which is almost $200 and getting into the realm of modular buildings in terms of cost.
I really wish they would make cheaper WV sets again, especially when sets such as Santa's Post Office really dont feel like $170 worth of value.
@PurpleDave said:
" @jnscoelho:
Gender's got nothing to do with it. I can understand why some people rail against the introduction of a North Pole subtheme, but I never would have guessed that anyone would completely forget it existed.
Regarding the 40xxx sets you listed, everyone is of course free to include whatever they want in their own Winter Village display (I'm partial to Santa-Bat), all three of those have backgrounds built into their design, so I'd display them separately."
Is Santa-Bat an official figure, or a MOC?
@Maxbricks14 said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @MegaBlocks said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Possibly my least favourite set in the Winter village collection."
Can't be when 10259 exists."
Funny. 10259 is one of my favourite WV sets, maybe even THE favourite one. "
My favourite is the only WV set I own. The O.G 10199"
I have it's remake 10249 and I agree that it's a great set. Actually goes very well with 10259.
I was meaning to ask anyway, what makes 10259 such a bad set in your opinion?
And @Brickchap: I so totally agree with everything you said.
Winter Village ideas:
Tavern
Farm -with tree sales, tractor ride, log and coal delivery, farm shop and animal feeding including a reindeer and Turkey (alive).
Bridge with street stalls and frozen river beneath.
Traditional Shopfront- grocer, butcher, deli (Cheeses!)
School Yard with fayre and snowball fight. If we can’t have a church, stick a bell on this?
Department Store with Santa’s grotto (ok thats a stretch)
Traffic Jam -wait! it includes vintage vehicles delivering hampers, dairy, chocolate, toys, a bakers van etc etc.
Soup Kitchen?
Public Works Centre with incinerator?
Ok I give up.
Good concept, weak design.
Why is the sorting machine not part of the design????
Why it has no special figures? Santa should not be in this, instead we should get 2-3 variation on elves, also reusing the female version of hair.
And about winter ideas:
>Winter Lego shop
>Snowman buidling competition
>Ornament factory with new printed technic balls
>Winter themed Ice Castle
>Wooden Police station
>Petting Zoo.Barn and shop. With Alpacas, Goats and Sheep.
>Sweets/Candycane factory
@HJB2810 said:
".... --- / .... --- / .... --- / -- . .-. .-. -.-- / -.-. .... .-. .. ... - -- .- ..."
.-- .... -.-- / -.. --- / .--. . --- .--. .-.. . / -.- . . .--. / --- -. / - .- .-.. -.- .. -. --. / .. -. / -.-. .-- / -.--. -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . -.--.- ..--..
@Brickchap:
Years ago, my parents took me and my grandma to Frankenmouth. They have this little Christmas store called Bronner’s. And by little, I mean a multi-story warehouse that bills itself as the “world’s largest”. In the basement you can buy Christmas village (and a little Halloween village) stuff. Besides carrying maybe a dozen different brands, most of those brands produced multiple different themed villages. For instance, under one brand you might be able to get an urban city, small country village, alpine town, seaside resort, and yes, even the North Pole. So running three distinct sub-themes here isn’t as world-ending as many have been suggesting. Except that the entire WV theme would be about one year’s new products for one of these companies.
@TheOtherMike:
Santa-Bat is canon to TLBM:
https://lego-batman-movie.fandom.com/wiki/File:Krampus_Bat.png
But, no, purely custom. And nowhere near as cool as a legit minifig would be. Notice the Batman logo on the Santa hat, which doesn’t exist. On the plus side, it’s super easy to replicate. Currently, I have the original S8 CMF torso, matching legs w/ black boots, head w/ appropriately exaggerated TLBM grimace, black cape/cowl/batarang/Santa sack, and you just hang the Santa hat off the right ear of the cowl.
There are four different standard Santa suits that you could use, being the OG S8 CMF, red candy cane, dark-red candy cane, and the one from the Santa sleigh set. You can get the matching hat and booted legs for red or dark-red, but I’d suggest sticking to one of the primary red options as that more closely matches the film version. Now, the image shows him wearing a standard TLBM utility belt, but all these Santa suits have belts printed on the torsos, so I ended up skipping it. Santa Maul is the closest I’ve seen to a Santa jacket with no belt, and I’m not buying spares of that minifig just to make it easier to work the utility belt in.
@CamberbrickGreen said:
"Winter Village ideas:
Tavern
Farm -with tree sales, tractor ride, log and coal delivery, farm shop and animal feeding including a reindeer and Turkey (alive).
Bridge with street stalls and frozen river beneath.
Traditional Shopfront- grocer, butcher, deli (Cheeses!)
School Yard with fayre and snowball fight. If we can’t have a church, stick a bell on this?
Department Store with Santa’s grotto (ok thats a stretch)
Traffic Jam -wait! it includes vintage vehicles delivering hampers, dairy, chocolate, toys, a bakers van etc etc.
Soup Kitchen?
Public Works Centre with incinerator?
Ok I give up."
You had me at "(Cheeses!)"!
@StyleCounselor said:
"You had me at "(Cheeses!)"!"
Winter Village Wallace & Gromit’s House?
@Brickchap said:
"Good review.
Glad to see the comments here are along a similar vein to myself.
I really dont like the directions lego is taking, especially for beloved themes like modulars and winter village.
I HATE the North Pole Santa village stuff, it should be its own theme or not at all. Why cant we have a nice nostalgia realistic Christmas village like before?
Oh and the argument "its fuh kidzzz" doesnt cut it with me because this is under the Icons 'Adults Welcome' 18+ theme.
Even prior to that WV was alwaysa theme more targeted at older builders. There's also the untrue assumption that kids dont like regular nostalgic village stuff.
Im sure kids would like the Fire Station and 2012 Cottage for example.
Now it is also important to recognise that even when we do get WV sets that arent 'fantasy', they nevertheless lack the charm, nostalgia and general nice WV vibe of past sets.
Alpine Lodge is not a 'bad' set but its just a generic alpine lodge that couldve been a part of Friends or City.
Likewise Santa's Visit was a mediocre remake of the 2012 Cottage that felt too modern for the other sets and it too lacked 'that something.'
To come to this set, I can understand why people here are rating it as one of the worst.
Now, the gingerbread house for example I do very much respect for its architecture and detail (it just shouldve been its own thing rather than WV).
Whereas here the architecture to me is.... I struggle to place it. The colours sort of all blend together, especially the main 'middle' section Im not sure what Im even looking at.
The left side is particularly unsightly when the hot air balloon is removed.
I'm also very happy that others question the sorting process here. We are not sure where letters are going and there's no real way for letters to be sent out unless the balloon lands on the ground outside. The sorting chutes and machine take up too much space in my opinion. That arrow especially is hideous and very unnecessary.
I will say the balloon itself Im mostly happy with and the light function is great. Good point CapnRex about the ugly attempt at wickerwork. It really shouldve been in tan. Maybe dark tan? The horn is excellent, thanks for pointing out the gold sausage pieces.
This brings me to my final point about purpose/overall idea. I believe CapnRex alludes to this at the end of the review.
I strongly question why we needed another post office when there are so many other things the village lacks.
It was argued by some before that this is the post office for the North Pole sets like two separate villages. A fair idea, but its silly and counterproductive to me turning WV into basically two separate lines of sets. We had a nice little alpine European village going there, why stop it? :(
Santa's Workshop is a great set that I believe captured all the aspects of 'Santa Claus' and his elves, including the receiving of letters from children with their requests. It was also good in that the architecture and size of the set meant it could be integrated well into the rest of the village.
Personally I considered them people dressing up as Santa and Elves for charity. I was also okay with just one set for Santa, we didnt need to go beyond that to elf clubhouses (???), anthropomorphic gingerbread men and ANOTHER post office!
I also lament the price. It's true that lego has kept the WV sets at $99.99 USD for a few years now. However that comes out at around $170 AUD which is almost $200 and getting into the realm of modular buildings in terms of cost.
I really wish they would make cheaper WV sets again, especially when sets such as Santa's Post Office really dont feel like $170 worth of value."
What a great summary. Spot on! I think you speak for all of us that like the classic sets like the Toy Shop, Post Office and Winter Cottage. Lego had a renaissance 15 years back, but now it seems things are going in the wrong direction again...
@Detectivesoffice
{{What a great summary. Spot on! I think you speak for all of us that like the classic sets like the Toy Shop, Post Office and Winter Cottage. Lego had a renaissance 15 years back, but now it seems things are going in the wrong direction again...]]
Thank you for your kind words. Very happy that I was able to summarise everyone's thoughts. By the way would you mind DMing me or messaging on Brickset discord?
@AustinPowers
Thank you as well for agreeing with what I said. Likewise to you if youd like would you mind DMing me or messaging on Brickset discord?
@StyleCounselor said:
" @CamberbrickGreen said:
"Winter Village ideas:
Tavern
Farm -with tree sales, tractor ride, log and coal delivery, farm shop and animal feeding including a reindeer and Turkey (alive).
Bridge with street stalls and frozen river beneath.
Traditional Shopfront- grocer, butcher, deli (Cheeses!)
School Yard with fayre and snowball fight. If we can’t have a church, stick a bell on this?
Department Store with Santa’s grotto (ok thats a stretch)
Traffic Jam -wait! it includes vintage vehicles delivering hampers, dairy, chocolate, toys, a bakers van etc etc.
Soup Kitchen?
Public Works Centre with incinerator?
Ok I give up."
You had me at "(Cheeses!)"!"
"Wenslydale: Ah, hungry!
Customer: In a nutshell. And I thought to myself, "a little fermented curd will do the trick," so, I curtailed my Walpoling activities, sallied forth, and infiltrated your place of purveyance to negotiate the vending of some cheesy comestibles!
Wenslydale: Come again?
Customer: I want to buy some cheese.
Wenslydale: Oh, I thought you were complaining about the music."
:-))
@HJB2810 said:
".... --- / .... --- / .... --- / -- . .-. .-. -.-- / -.-. .... .-. .. ... - -- .- ..."
- .... .- -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- / ... --- / -- ..- -.-. .... --..-- / -. .. -.-. . / -.-. .... .-. .. ... - -- .- ... / - --- --- -.-.-- / .... --- / .... --- / .... --- -.-.--
@Schmopiesdad said:
" @MegaBlocks said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Possibly my least favourite set in the Winter village collection."
Can't be when 10259 exists."
Perhaps I am alone in this regard, but I like 10259 as it provides a great connection for my 9v 10173 Holiday Train to be incorporated into my Winter Village creating a more dynamic scene."
I too, like the station.
This is the first Winter Village set I probably won't get. I have them all so far but this one is just so boring. Come on LEGO, do better! :(
@faster345 said:
"This is the first Winter Village set I probably won't get. I have them all so far but this one is just so boring. Come on LEGO, do better! :("
Yes. If you are an adult Lego fan that have a track record with the earliest Creator Expert sets, I think it is unlike that you will like this set.
I have one sticker, number 6, wich according to the instructions goes nowhere. It isn't mentioned in the instructions.
And I got a couple of pieces that don't belong in this set.