Christmas Build-Up: Day 1
Posted by TheBrickPal,
Welcome to December at Brickset, everyone - our busiest time of year! We hope to provide you with the very best news, reviews, editorials and more as we get closer to the end of the year. You'll need to visit several times a day to keep up...
Of course, one of the greatest parts of the final month of the year is cracking open your Advent calendars - particularly, the LEGO ones. Last year, LEGO offered up for the first time 40222 Christmas Build Up, a Creator-esque seasonal set that contained models that could be rebuilt into new things each day, all leading up to Christmas. The tradition continues this year - the new one, 40253 Christmas Build Up, came with qualifying purchases in November. Now, time to dig into it!
You may remember last year how on Day 1, we got a neat little sailboat. Well, in 2017 we get another boat in a different form - a pirate ship! While there are no truly unique building techniques here, I do appreciate the pieces used. A grey 1x2 Mixel joint represents the stern, while two black 2x2 jumper plates help hoist the sails.
There is some nice, simple detailing, and I like the water, in a blue 2x4 plate, to support the ship. However, is it just me, or are the sails just a little bit awkward looking? Maybe it is just how they are set up in relation to the main structure...
Overall - 3.5 - Yet again, we begin the calendar with a non-holiday themed model, but it is still a decent one at that.
Thanks to Huw for the photos here, and for all the ones that will follow.
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18 comments on this article
Arggh! In the article the other day, Huw said "The Advent calendar articles will be spoiler-free as they appear on the homepage", but it isn't! I didn't have time to open mine this morning... :(
EDIT: I've just read the note at the bottom of the article. Last year I deliberately didn't look further through the instructions, so that each day was indeed a surprise.
I actually don't see how there is more of an element of surprise in the Advent Calendars than there is in this set? All the components are shown on the boxes of the advent calendars, so you know what you'll get, although not when you'll get it. In that way, it's the same as the build-up set.
I check Brickset several times a day regardless. Now I'll have an excuse :)
Luckily I'm a day-ish ahead in Australia and already built this or I'd be disappointed about the spoiler too! The instructions are set up so you don't see the next days build.
@Paperballpark, this is not an Advent calendar. It's a Creator 24-in-1 set. If you choose to build one a day in the run-up to Christmas that's up to you but nowhere is it encouraged on the packaging :)
SPOILER!!! :-(
So now I have to wait until evening before visiting this site - instead of regularly throughout the day? OK. Got it. "Do not want frequent visitors to site in December"...
Edit: Found the place in preferences where I could uncheck news about "Advent Countdown", so now I'm safe again. But I will miss reading the 24 x 4 posts about the calendars. Oh, well...
Ok... don't say we don't listen to our readers... From tomorrow we'll use an innocuous image for the article.
Have to get it out of my system - again: for those that do want to treat it like an Advent calender, the way you're treating it is a bit disappointing. [edit: thanks Huw!]
As for the build: the bit with the mixel joint for me is the back of the ship, which in these classical ships is higher, containing the bridge and captain's quarter. So the sails are on the right way round and the Mixel joint is there to mimic the elaborate carving and stuff usually going on on these kinds of ships.
(conspiracy theory mode on: TLG would be a bit miffed if people would realize that they're giving an alternative to those overpriced Advent calendars away free, so maybe that's the reason a large lego-community is ruining the surprise element? Just joking!)
@Huw I guess I assumed that because you'd included this set in the list of advent calendars you'd be reviewing day-by-day, that it would also be spoiler free.
Hopefully I'll get up early enough during the rest of December to not need it to be spoiler free again, but it's good to know that if I don't, I won't have to avoid Brickset! :)
Talking about the theme of spoilers, it is true that Advent Calendars show in the box the ítems you will get. On the contrary, in the 24in1 Build Up Set, only 4 of them are displayed, and therefore, 20 of them remain suprise. Although when you start building what are you building, it looks better if in the main page it is not shown the ítem of each day.
On the other hand, I have opened it, and my first impression is that there are more parts than in the one from 2016. Could be done a comparisson? Thanks
Lasst year's Creator set started with a sailboat too. Hmmmm.
I immediately thought this was a micro-scale version of MetalBeard's Sea Cow.
What do you mean a non-holiday themed build?!?
"I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas Day in the morning."
Here's hoping next years 24 in one comes with the third ship.
I'm with the Unlike crowd - "The Advent calendar articles will be spoiler-free as they appear on the homepage"
Finding out what and how is part of the fun, so guess will take time out for brickset for some weeks.
^ Wasn’t my decision, sorry everyone. We’ll try to do better starting tomorrow.
@shootvolio Right you are!
Thanks for listening to the feedback, Huw & Brickset Crew! I appreciate the spoiler-free 24-in-1 reviews. We do one a day till Christmas, I think it's a better quality, more LEGO-like advent calendar than the 'official' advent calendars.
@shootvolio. Reminds me of this: https://goo.gl/images/wTx2jN
Amazing art made by Rodney Matthews!
Would be helpful for folk's new to the site to mention somewhere the range you're using for the rating scale. I'll make the assumption it's out of 5 max, like from previous years.