Review: 40423 Halloween Hayride
Posted by MeganL,
After a two and a half year absence, seasonal vignettes are back! I was delighted to come across 40423 Halloween Hayride during a visit to a brand store last weekend. I really enjoyed the last Halloween vignette, 40260 Halloween Haunt. I've missed the seasonal vignettes, so I wasted no time building this little set. There's a couple of "firsts" for this set - find out what they are and if this is a worthy addition to the other vignettes after the break.
I was happy to see that the box for this set was only taped shut and didn't have the annoying thumb tabs. Inside there are three unnumbered bags, an instruction booklet, and a moderately sized sticker sheet. I don't recall sticker sheets with other vignettes; I believe this is the first use of them in a vignette. I think most of the sticker sheet is superfluous - I would guess the main need for the sticker was the large pumpkin face for the gate, and then the others were added to fill out the sheet. However, the graphic designer has done a nice job with these and I think the stickers are quite effective.
Minifigures
There are two minifigs in the set (and a skeleton, but I don't count that) - a man addressed like a mummy, and a little girl. The scene is evoking a popular US tradition - taking a haunted hay ride. The little girl is outfitted for a cool evening ride with a black hoodie with some white striping emblazoned on it - I think it looks like a skeleton when you first look at it - over an orange shirt. She has shorter dark green legs.
The man has taken his role of leading the hayride seriously, and has dressed like a mummy for the occasion! His torso printing looks marvellous with many bandages wrapped around him appropriate dirt markings. His head is similarly bandage wrapped with space available to see his face. For some reason, he's chosen to top off his outfit with a fedora, which we haven't seen too much of since the Indiana Jones theme. I'm not sure why a mummy would wear a fedora.
The printing for both minifigs continues on the back, which in both cases look great. The little girl has a dual sided head, with one side showing a broad smile and the other a surprised/horrified look, which is very appropriate for the set. The man does not have a dual sided, which makes sense, but it's a shame the printing didn't continue on the back for the bandages. Also included in this set is that great jack o'lantern piece that was first introduced with the Scooby Doo sets in 2015.
Since I think the printing on the minifig head is relatively unusual, I'm including another picture of the fig without the hat.
What's even more interesting to me is that both torsos and the man/mummy head are unique to this set, and the girl's head has only been seen before in the recently released 40429 Ninjago world set.
However, one of the restrictions of these kinds of sets is that the designers are not allowed to have new elements created for them. Since these torsos have not been seen before, I would conjecture that we'll see these torsos and minifig head in the future. I wonder what upcoming set will need a mummy…..
The completed model
The build provides the necessary detail for the hayride - the tractor has been decorated on either side (in this case, with stickers). It's difficult to see, but there's a sticker decoration for seat back as well.
The tractor has to be towing a trailer that contained the hay (of course) and any passengers. This trailer is rather small, with quite a few hay bales inside - so many that there's barely room for passengers.
All of the side rails on the trailer are decorated with stickers - the sides show cobwebs, while the front and back just show wood detailing. I know LEGO used to make printed wood planks. It does make me wonder why we see so many stickers to replicate the same effect these days.
Finishing the vignette is the entrance to the hayride. A bat and skeleton are there to greet the participants, with a suitable number of hay bales on either side. A large pumpkin face takes center stage up top, thanks to a sticker. As previously mentioned, I think many of the other stickers are superfluous, and this sticker drove the need to have one. I really like the patterned stickers on either side of the pumpkin.
Overall thoughts
I love vignettes, and I think this one will fit in nicely with my Halloween themed creations. I love the minifigs, particularly the printed mummy torso - it looks fantastic. I like the little story, and I think there's some nice parts usage. This may be worth picking up as a parts pack, as there's some reasonably rare pieces included - such as the 4x4 1/4 circle plate in sand green, previously only seen in 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg!.
I don't mind the stickers included, though they are a first for a seasonal vignette, and they're used to great effect. Before taking a hiatus, the vignettes were using some of the lesser used minifig torsos, and this set tops that by using two torsos that haven't been used before. I like having these newer/rarer pieces available in smaller sets.
Another new thing about this set is the price; while previous vignettes have been $9.99, this one comes in at $12.99 (other prices not available as of this writing). It does include 148 pieces, some new minifigs and nice parts pieces, so I think it's a decent value for the price.
Here's hoping this is the start of more vignettes!
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37 comments on this article
Lovin' the skeleton Hoodie!
Hate Halloween but bloody love this set. The Tractor, trailer and figures are amazing and the gate build is cute. Definitely going to get this set at some point, fingers crossed this will be at ASDA next year at a discounted price.
Either way getting it from LEGO at RRP.
Am I just weird, or does anyone else just wanna get this for the skeleton hoodie to make a twenty one pilots moc... most people probably have no idea what in the world I’m talking about lol
Great little set. I’m a sucker for tractors, so I’ll definitely get this if I can.
The last few years of Halloween have been mainly about the Brickheadz ghost, witch, vampire etc. so returning back to mini-figs. Although this just not seem very scary compared to the hidden side graveyard mystery. Guess there is still time before Halloween.
It is a cute little vignette. I'm going to pick this up when I order my advent calendar. Thanks for the review!
The pumpkin face should of been made a printed tile tbh... but i like the set I'm gonna have to tweak the tractor though...
too bad it's not a GWP but i'll get it - kicking myself for missing the last one
How could you not count the skeleton?! It’s a figure indeed. Just a dead one.
Good review of an awesome set! Even if it's not as widely celebrated a holiday as Christmas, it's always fun to see this kind of creativity in Halloween-themed seasonal sets, especially since Halloween is such a big tradition in so many kids' childhoods. Hayrides in particular are a form of Halloween festivities that I remember quite fondly from my own childhood!
With regard to the tractor operator, I think he's wearing a fedora because he's intended to be the farmer who owns this property. Most farmer minifigures for over a decade now have worn fedoras.
Do you know if this set will be available in Europe?
I'm getting Jim Hopper vibes from that farmer.
I mostly just love the girl's skeleton hoodie in this set, honestly. Would almost get it just for that, if it was a little bit cheaper... maybe I'll just bricklink her, instead, since the rest of this set is kinda 'neat, but nothing particularly special' to me.
I still think it gives the farmer a lot of character, that he simply refused to part with his fedora even for the sake of being in costume xD
Yay!!!!! Vignettes are back!!!!
Interestingly for me about this set: I bought it from my Lego store the other day, and for the first time EVER in a Lego set I got the wrong sticker sheet !
I got the stickers for set 40393 - Legoland Fire Academy.
Of course, a call to Lego has the right ones on the way, but how common is this? I have had multiples before, but never completely different ones....
It is a very cool set, BTW, worth getting when you can!
@mickeyD0715 said:
"Am I just weird, or does anyone else just wanna get this for the skeleton hoodie to make a twenty one pilots moc... most people probably have no idea what in the world I’m talking about lol"
"Stay with me! Oh! You don't need to run!"
I am SO HAPPY vignettes are back. They are one of my favorite type of set. I cannot wait to pick this up.
@mickeyD0715 said:
"Am I just weird, or does anyone else just wanna get this for the skeleton hoodie to make a twenty one pilots moc... most people probably have no idea what in the world I’m talking about lol"
I do, and that's a cool idea :)
Also:
"The man does not have a dual sided"
Eye? Hand? Wife? Dog? Blanket? Groceries receipt?
Ah, head!
This one is a must for me, I'll combine it with the Thanksgiving vignette to work on my farm.
@yap said:
"Do you know if this set will be available in Europe?"
Amplifying yap's question, does anybody know if this set will be available in Europe?
This should go great with the Haunted House set!
Is it really a rule that these sets can't have minifigure prints deigned for them and that they must be headed for use in another set? I doubt we'd see the farmer's head again in anything else, and if Build-A-Minifigure stands are now allowed to have exclusive parts....
I would love a proper monster mummy in that light tan color, though, since we've seen a few in white, light grey, and one in dark tan. Reusing the torso with arm prints, legs, and a monster head would be great.
@Snazzy_Bricks said:
"These were a favorite from a few years back, even though I only got one. However, I'm thinking about buying out a store's stock of these to amass my Skeleton army..."
You do know you can order all the skeleton parts from BnP from directly from LEGO? Way cheaper than buying multiples of this set although I myself did order 2 of them. I love this set but wish they had printed parts rather than the infernal stickers.
I look at that adorable little girl fig and see a cross between Skylor and Kid Lloyd Garmadon from Ninjago.
I love Halloween sets. This one though has so much stickers :-/.
Little me would get a mile of fun swapping heads with the skull.
Like @Minifig290 I hate Halloween (or rather what it has turned into in recent years), but I love these vignettes and am so glad we got rid of those seasonal BrickHeadz.
Well it's certainly a Halloween set, those stickers are terrifying. Too many, guys. Too many.
LOVE: A return of vignettes.
HATE: Too-many-stickers.
As others have said, not liking the stickers.
So, I'll build it without them. :)
Lots of good things are included in this set.
We get two new torsos, a new mummy head, the carved jack o'lantern, and a skeleton!
Several spooky items for a decent price in my opinion.
My order was placed over the weekend.
Hopefully, it arrives this week!
The minifigures are the main attraction of this set. It would be fantastic if they were in the build-a-minifigure bins this Fall.
the tractor looks really nice. Gives me ideas.
@mickeyD0715 said:
"Am I just weird, or does anyone else just wanna get this for the skeleton hoodie to make a twenty one pilots moc... most people probably have no idea what in the world I’m talking about lol"
If anyone is familiar with TØP, which considering how popular they became, I have to assume is a lot of people, then I’d guess they know what you’re talking about.
... but that skeleton didn’t stay alive, fren.
Great looking lil set, that girl with the skeleton hoodie is adorable, I get a great fall school fair vibe from this. I'm picking this up from the Store once the Haunted House comes back in along with Barracuda Bay.
Also 100th like right here B)
Its a nice little tractor set, but I wouldn't class it as Halloween specific. Yes it has a bat, a skeleton and a pumpkin but they are almost an afterthought.
Now 40122: Trick or Treat Halloween Set, that's a seasonal set.
Why do we even get actual bricks? Let's just imitate everything with stickers.
@Minifig290 said:
"Hate Halloween but bloody love this set."
Just wondering but why?
The set looks interesting and I'll probably get it. The hayride driver kind of reminds me of Jim Hopper but dressed as a mummy.
Great review, love this little set, had great fun building it recently, and would be a great addition to a larger display scene of a pumpkin patch or farm or something.