City Advent Calendar: Day 11
Posted by CapnRex101,
We are nearing the halfway point of the 2018 LEGO City Advent Calendar and the gifts have been impressive on the whole, although some excellent miniature toys that are shown on the packaging have yet to emerge.
Let's find out what will day eleven will bring...
This miniature train undoubtedly takes inspiration from 60197 Passenger Train that was released during the summer. Its flame yellowish orange and dark blue colour scheme looks very familiar and the smooth curve of the locomotive has been replicated effectively. The translucent windscreen is absent but I think capturing that detail would have been impossible without the use of a new printed element at this scale.
However, the passenger carriage does include a trans-clear 1x2 plate that forms windows. This can be disconnected from the locomotive and there is another coupler at the rear so you could expand the train with pieces from your own collection. In addition, this model contains eight 1x1 round plates with hollow studs, as well as a spare, which have the potential to be very useful elsewhere.
Overall - 4.5 - Miniature versions of official LEGO sets are always enjoyable and this is a superb example.
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9 comments on this article
i like the train, would like to see one more carriage for the price of the advent calendar
Out of interest, what does a model have to do to get 5? You mentioned no negative points in the review but it still only got 4.5!
And I must be getting old, I could have sworn the parts in my train were all black, not blue...!
^ While another carriage would be nice (I just knew somebody would ask for it, it seems to be a common refrain when a Lego train is concerned!), that'd mean an awful lot of parts behind just one door.
^ The Captain may not see any particular flaws here, but I assume a 5.0 rating requires a model that is truly special and unique.
The main body ( https://brickset.com/parts/4523339/motor-1x2x2-3 ) piece is black, but the locomotive has dark blue tiles between this and the yellow parts.
Personally I don't like how the wheels stick out from the sides, making the train 3x as wide and ruining the streamlined sleek shape of the train. A ball joint or other flexible solution connecting the carriages would also be preferable in my opinion, giving better play and display value.
So we've got a Lego Advent Calendar, featuring Lego toys of Lego? There's a whole Inception-thing going on here...
Aww... So tiny! :D
This train also did take some inspiration from the train from the 60024 advent calendar. Overall one of the best so far!
This is excellent.
Toy versions of trains are often ungainly and unliflike, I mean check out the attempts at a Eurostar E320 and a London Underground train here https://www.ltmuseumshop.co.uk/toys/wooden/kings-cross-st-pancras-train-set
(also the Crossrail train in the related products).
On that basis it's not a bad stab at it.
A challenge- can you do a better 60197 with at least one power car and carriage in 20 pieces or less?