Review: 40410 Charles Dickens Tribute
Posted by Huw,
This year is the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens' death. To mark the occasion 40410 Charles Dickens Tribute will be the gift with purchase for VIPs next weekend and to everyone over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday event at the end of the month.
The set depicts a scene from the British author's best known novel A Christmas Carol published in 1843, which tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge's conversion from a miserly old curmudgeon to a kind benevolent man following a series of visits by the ghost of his former business partner Marley over the festive period.
The scene, from the end of the book, shows a transformed Scrooge visiting his employee Bob Cratchet and his ill son Tiny Tim on Christmas Day.
It's an interesting set, not least because I believe it's the first non-licensed set to contain flesh-coloured minifigures.
The scene sits on a thick base made to look like a book, with 1x2 profile bricks doing a good job of representing the edges of the pages.
There's a hidden feature in the spine as you'll see below.
The vignette on top consists a Victorian front room and a snow-covered exterior which are separated by a wall that has been given an interesting shape through the use of hinges. A fireplace, decorated for Christmas, occupies the back wall.
All the decorated elements -- floorboards, picture above the fireplace, cracked plaster on the walls, and on the spine of the book -- are stickers.
The exterior is unexpectedly lavish, particularly the back wall and roof, which won't be seen much when the model is on display
Here's the hidden feature: a small drawer in the spine of the book!
It's not quite big enough to fit all the minifigures but kids will no doubt find a fun use for it.
The three minifigures are, from left-to-right, Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchet and Tiny Tim. They all look excellent, attired in typical Victorian garb. I believe Bob's green waistcoat torso is new, as is his and Scrooge's head.
The decision to make them flesh-toned is interesting given that this is a non-licensed set, although of course it would have been if the book was not in the public domain. Has there been any other 'fleshies' in non-licensed sets? I can't think of any.
It's a delightful and surprisingly detailed set featuring a scene from a much-loved classic Christmas book and a multitude of film adaptations, so I am sure it will be a well-received gift with purchase. It's a shame, then, that the spend threshold of $150 / €150 / £150 will put it out of the reach of many.
A non-AFOL friend of mine said to me last year that they were disappointed that buying the winter village set alone was not enough to secure the seasonal GWP as it had been in previous years, and unfortunately that is the case again this year.
It will be a gift with purchase at LEGO.com, 21-22 November for VIPs and 27-30 November for everyone. We'll remind you at the time.
Thanks to LEGO for providing this set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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74 comments on this article
Bah humbug! No Lego for anyone this year!
Looks cool to me
This is going on my mantel as soon as I get it/build it.
Looks great, but I've already spent a lot on LEGO over lockdown this year, so I don't know if I'll be getting my hands on this one. Very detailed & convincing review, I'm sure this set won't disappoint if I do end up with it.
Stickers - blegh.
Envisioning the possibility of dozens other Christmas story vignettes - a black and white "It's a Wonderful Life", a Ralphie stuck to the lamppost, etc. Even other scenes within "A Christmas Carol".
I think it's kinda depressing. Other scene'd be more suitable for the display. Like when he's visited by the ghost-dude or when in the end he asks a boy to buy a goose for them. Or the hypothetical happy ending with Cratchits and Scrooge at the table.
It would have been really great if they could have made this scene the last in a series that also included Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas yet to come that could have all be joined together. It is a lot to ask, but one can dream...
Is there a way to shove that sticker sheet into the hidden door?
@mafon2 said:
"I think it's kinda depressing. Other scene'd be more suitable for the display. Like when he's visited by the ghost-dude or when in the end he asks a boy to buy a goose for them. Or the hypothetical happy ending with Cratchits and Scrooge at the table."
Bruce Willis in a dirty vest hanging out of Nakatomi Plaza.
Best GWP for ages. End of November is definitely backlog catch up time!
Thanks Huw - your review made me want this, however that threshold is beyond me! I would happily buy this on it's own.. hell I'd even pay postage!
I was concerned I'd miss out on this waiting for the Colosseum, but after seeing this review, I'm relieved to find out that's not the case.
Huw! - you've got Scrooge's top hat on the wrong way! The bow goes on the side of the head...
That's a nice GWP! But why is mr. Scrooge standing in front of a window? ;-)
And next year the threshold will be 200€ and so on... Disappointed that even the floor tiles with wood decoration are not printed even though it is a part that could be re-used in so many sets or sold on PaB.
Same goes for the painting. Tired of seeing the same ship with moon or suspension bridge tile in every modular.
@Brickman193 said:
"Huw! - you've got Scrooge's top hat on the wrong way! The bow goes on the side of the head..."
No, @Huw 's got it right. That's how LEGO has it: https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/charles-dickens-tribute-40410 .
Nice set, but I’m disappointed it’s a GWP for such a high price! I might have bought it on its own, but won’t get it now.
Also, do the instructions tell you to put Scrooge’s hat on sideways? I see you’ve done so, and I think the official image has it that way, too. I wonder if it’s because the brim is low enough to cover the eyes. For some reason, that hat and the bowler have that problem.
I absolutely love this set, but I really wish this was being sold instead of a GWP - I'm struggling to reach the £150 threshold with sets I don't already own!
@GeordiePaul said:
"Bah humbug! No Lego for anyone this year!"
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/humbug
Interesting about the hat: the picture on the box and instructions shows the bow on the side, the instructions suggest positioning it at the front, and as @zander points out, the official image at LEGO.com shows it at the front, too.
I’m confused where’s the Kermit minifigure
Bob Cratchitt has a very Norman Osbourne vibe going on there. Maybe green wasn’t the best torso colour choice...
@Huw "Has there been any other 'fleshies' in non-licensed sets? I can't think of any."
Women of NASA?
@ElementalAvenger82 said:
"I’m confused where’s the Kermit minifigure"
For added accuracy, I'd like to have seen Dickens himself, too. A blue, furry Charles Dickens who hangs out with a rat, of course.
"All the decorated elements /---/ are stickers" - like the high GWP threshold wasn't enough. And the lamppost should've been the special element, not like this.
Certainly there are occasions where optional stickers are preferred but not in this instance.
Costs aside, could there be different capabilities in different LEGO factories that limit the possibilities of making printed elements (esp. other than minifig-related parts)?
For ne, there's no reason to get a Christmas Carol set that doesn't include the four ghosts. They're the most interesting figures in the story. I feel like this should have been a large set with more detail and characters, not a small GWP.
@holdre007 said:
""And the lamppost should've been the special element, not like this."
"
I think this brickbuild version is quite perfect and shows that there should never be a specialized element when you can easily build it from smaller elements.
I thought that the Brits are experts about the wearing top hats... It looks awful wearing this way...
@CCC said:
"And that top hat does look weird like that. They got it on the right way for the Penguin, so I wonder why they rotated it here?"
In the new DuckTales TV show, I read that the animators will change the angle at which Scrooge (McDuck, in that case) is wearing his top hat to match his mood; if it's an intense scene, he'll have it the right way around because then the brim gives a lowered brow effect, while for a scene when he's in a good mood it will be this way around to make him look less intensely brooding.
Since this scene seems to be set late in the Christmas Carol story, I would guess that the designer was going for a similar effect here? It just doesn't carry so effectively in plastic as it does in animation.
@parsom said:
"I thought that the Brits are experts about the wearing top hats... It looks awful wearing this way..."
To be fair to Scrooge, I wouldn't be too concerned with fashion if the ghost of my dead co-worker threatened me with eternal damnation a few hours ago.
It looks fun but 150 euro is a lot...
"Fleshies" is the term? Years ago when my siblings and I would run our minifgs around the city we had a borderline-derogatory name, "Tannards", which came from the lighter tan color compared to the "yellows"
@8BrickMario said:
"For ne, there's no reason to get a Christmas Carol set that doesn't include the four ghosts. They're the most interesting figures in the story. I feel like this should have been a large set with more detail and characters, not a small GWP."
Five ghosts surely... they’re Marley and Marley..... wooooaaaaaaah!
Are there any statistics on the number of pieces of a GWP vs the corresponding spend threshold? Thanks.
@mafon2 said:
"I think it's kinda depressing. Other scene'd be more suitable for the display. Like when he's visited by the ghost-dude or when in the end he asks a boy to buy a goose for them. Or the hypothetical happy ending with Cratchits and Scrooge at the table."
You would rather this be a hypothetical scene, as in one that didn't happen in the story? He went had had Christmas with his family, it would be weird for the set to be that scene and exclude important characters. This is depicting the scene where he goes to the Cratchit house to leave all the food and gifts on Christmas morning. I think this is the perfect scene that include all the most relevant characters, it's certainly one of the least depressing scenes in the story.
I've never spent £150 in one go on Lego before, but I'm going to do it this time to get this set. Christmas Carol is a fairly significant part of Christmas for me; last year my family watched the BBC adaptation; the year before we went to a theatre production of the book in Glasgow. I might try and do some custom figs of the three ghosts and Marley.
I think I'd rather wait for the other ice skating rink GWP. Thanks for the review!
Is it the 20th or 21st ( for the US)? On the lego site it says 21.
@Huw said:
"It's an interesting set, not least because I believe it's the first non-licensed set to contain flesh-coloured minifigures."
Does The Lego Movie count as licensed if they're licensing it from themselves? ...because Vitruvius is an original character and not the standard Lego yellow minifig color.
@Galaxy12_Import wrote:
""Fleshies" is the term? Years ago when my siblings and I would run our minifgs around the city we had a borderline-derogatory name, "Tannards", which came from the lighter tan color compared to the "yellows""
Not all flesh is "tan" and "tan" certainly doesn't describe all flesh.
@lego_leppy said:
"Is it the 20th or 21st ( for the US)? On the lego site it says 21. "
Sorry, my mistake. 21-22.
I kinda liked this ... then I saw the stickers. Hard pass.
It might have been interesting to get this as a theme. You could have had the four ghosts, the other Cratchits, even young Scrooge and his ex-fiancé and relatives.
@CCC said:
" @8BrickMario said:
"For ne, there's no reason to get a Christmas Carol set that doesn't include the four ghosts. They're the most interesting figures in the story. I feel like this should have been a large set with more detail and characters, not a small GWP."
It wouldn't make sense to have the ghosts without Scrooge, and so that's already up to five minifigures. So I can think of a reason to get a Christmas Carol set without them. Five minifigures in a GWP, especially these days, seems very unlikely.
"
Maybe a minifig pack, so just the minifigs and their accessories.
There are five “fleshtone” colors. Let’s just see ignore brown and reddish-brown because things would get insane if we went down that rabbit hole. The easiest element to search on is the hand. It’s never decorated, and it’s _usually_ included even when arms and legs are not. So:
1. Light-Flesh/Light-Nougat hands have only appeared on one minifig that’s not from a licensed IP, which was an oddball De Bouwsteen promo fig that had light-flesh hands and a yellow head. Presumably the only red torso and arms combo at the time came with fleshie hands.
2. Flesh/Nougat likewise comes on one minifig, but this time it was intentional with CMF Squarefoot (the rest of his parts are reddish-brown).
3. Medium-Flesh/Medium-Nougat is a lot more common. Besides the CMF Gingerbread Man and the Gingerbread couple from the Winter Village set, there’s a China beaver with hands in this color. There’s also a pair of Hidden Side construction workers with this color hands. Like Mr. De Bouwsteen, they also have yellow heads, but this time the mismatch has to be purely intentional, as it would make sense for construction workers to wear leather gloves...even if they are made of human skin...
I find it ironic that the set depicts the home of a poor family, and the price threshold is set higher than expected
@LegoRobo said:
" @Sandinista said:
" @Huw "Has there been any other 'fleshies' in non-licensed sets? I can't think of any."
Women of NASA?"
Women of NASA, I’m assuming, was licensed by NASA.
"
I meant the figures included aren't licensed
@Snazzy_Bricks said:
"Why can't they put it a a threshold of $149! $150 means you can't buy a $149.99 set and get the promo >:( "
Diabolical. It's almost as if the purpose of such a promotion is to encourage additional purchases.
@CCC said:
" @8BrickMario said:
"For ne, there's no reason to get a Christmas Carol set that doesn't include the four ghosts. They're the most interesting figures in the story. I feel like this should have been a large set with more detail and characters, not a small GWP."
It wouldn't make sense to have the ghosts without Scrooge, and so that's already up to five minifigures. So I can think of a reason to get a Christmas Carol set without them. Five minifigures in a GWP, especially these days, seems very unlikely.
"
I might not have been clear enough. I meant to say this should have been a larger set, with the included characters *plus* Marley, Past, Present, and Future that *wasn't* GWP and was just a standard release. I don't want a GWP set without Scrooge, I want a big standard release with everyone.
Would've been nicer with a scene in Scrooge's bedroom, do a nice hearth, etc. and have a Ghost of Christmas Present figure, holding a torch with a plethora of foods around him. And a Scrooge fig in his nightgown.
But with that said, it's still nice to get free.
"Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas day who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see." - Bob Cratchit
It'a beautiful set, but sadly I won't be buying. I'll enjoy it by looking at its pictures.
Looking at my wish list and it appears that any large sets I'd get in order to qualify for this item OR sets I'd like to get soon (such as 75279 or 60268 advent calendars or 40424, 10275, or the 40426 Christmas Wreath) happen to be either "Sold out" or "Temporarily out of stock"...with 75292 Razor Crest being backordered. (I got burned last time by ordering something that was backordered and not getting the GWP as a result. Not falling for that again!)
This is super frustrating.
It’s a shame you can’t pre-order things - I’m not planning on spending £150 until January 1st assuming there’s a modular building on the way :/
It’s also a shame that Lego never expanded on the Creative Personalities GWP by producing different inserts for that book.
You'd have a hard time to know what it is without the book spine. I agree that one of the ghost visits would've been far more representative.
@Sandinista said:
" @LegoRobo said:
" @Sandinista said:
" @Huw "Has there been any other 'fleshies' in non-licensed sets? I can't think of any."
Women of NASA?"
Women of NASA, I’m assuming, was licensed by NASA.
"
I meant the figures included aren't licensed"
They actually are. it's why Katherine Johnson isn't included - they couldn't get permission (I think because the rights were linked to the film Hidden Figures, which was released around the previous year).
Such a neat set. Too bad the threshold for the GWPs this year is too high. :-(
@Snazzy_Bricks:
I’ve had LEGO Store management waive the penny or two it would take to hit the official threshold, but lately I’ve even had LEGO.com automatically drop the GWP in my cart with a $99.99 item on a $100 threshold. $99 would make the most sense, since you could buy 20x $4.99 and still qualify.
@CCC:
Doesn’t work. Or at least it’s not supposed to. Bricks & Pieces and online Pick-A-Brick are officially excluded from GWP offers and free shipping. You could order $1000 in just online PAB and still get hit for shipping. Likewise, you could order the Cantina and one PAB element and the single element will still trigger shipping. Or at least that’s what I was told a while back by Consumer Affairs (and what I’ve witnessed since then).
"It's a shame, then, that the spend threshold of $150 / €150 / £150 will put it out of the reach of many."
It's a 333 piece set with many large and useful bricks. A set with this amount of pieces would cost €30. To me a €30 gift with a purchase of €150 sounds very generous -- 20%!
Spending €150 towards LEGO is indeed out of the reach of many but the same can be said of any set that's over a certain amount. Sorry, can't get the logic behind your comment.
@dutchlegofan50 said:
""It's a shame, then, that the spend threshold of $150 / €150 / £150 will put it out of the reach of many."
It's a 333 piece set with many large and useful bricks. A set with this amount of pieces would cost €30. To me a €30 gift with a purchase of €150 sounds very generous -- 20%!
Spending €150 towards LEGO is indeed out of the reach of many but the same can be said of any set that's over a certain amount. Sorry, can't get the logic behind your comment."
Well put (and accurate maths)! I ran a quick query on the database for sets released this year with between 300 and 350 pieces and 3 minifigures. Two matches - 71709 and 70430. Both £24.99/$29.99/29.23€.
Lego are under no obligation to give free gifts, especially large ones with custom pieces on the minifigures. Complaining at a high purchase threshold or stickers instead of printed pieces seems a bit, well, ungrateful? I don't know of any other toy company that does free gifts as regularly or of such size as Lego (but feel free to correct me).
And as has been pointed out, the purpose of this is to encourage people to spend more....
While the purpose of a GWP is to encourage people to spend more, it can also have the opposite effect. If this was available for $30 or even $40, I'd buy it. But I don't see anything over $150 in stock that screams "take my money", so I won't be spending any money at all at Lego.com next weekend.
There are about a half dozen sets I am waiting to buy that would quality for this GWP, but EVERY BLOODY ONE is out of stock! Ridiculous! Depressing.
I love this GWP. It's different and fun. Though... stickers on the spine? Really?
I'm getting Razorcrest for my nephew for Christmas and the GWP is for my sister. I think she'll get a kick out of it.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @CCC said:
" @8BrickMario said:
"For ne, there's no reason to get a Christmas Carol set that doesn't include the four ghosts. They're the most interesting figures in the story. I feel like this should have been a large set with more detail and characters, not a small GWP."
It wouldn't make sense to have the ghosts without Scrooge, and so that's already up to five minifigures. So I can think of a reason to get a Christmas Carol set without them. Five minifigures in a GWP, especially these days, seems very unlikely.
"
Maybe a minifig pack, so just the minifigs and their accessories."
Holiday/classic literature CMF series?
So the 150th anniversary remembrance set has a 150 (your money) purchasing threshold?
Great set overall and the drawer albeit small, is always welcome, I loved these hidden features as a kid!
Pity the stickers, this kind of set deserves better. Also it's about time for LEGO to come with a corner Profile Brick!
Ah, the threshold is high too.
@datsunrobbie said:
"While the purpose of a GWP is to encourage people to spend more, it can also have the opposite effect. If this was available for $30 or even $40, I'd buy it. But I don't see anything over $150 in stock that screams "take my money", so I won't be spending any money at all at Lego.com next weekend."
Same here.
Even though I don't like stickers, I would buy this set as a separate purchase rather than spend more than 150 Euros on set I don't need or don't want at full RRP.
A beauty of a set
I know a friend who is a librarian who would adore this set as a gift -- but I don't buy LEGO direct often so I won't probably qualify for it, and I usually prefer to order her gifts from closer to her to save shipping. This is an excellent idea but it shouldn't have been a GWP, imo
The flesh tones were definitely the right choice. While we tend to think of them only in terms of "licensed/unlicensed", it's likely that the general perception of it is more in terms of "is it just LEGO people or is it a part of popular culture." Helps make these characters more life-like, too.
As much as I want this and the teal brick.. I just can’t afford more LEGO right now. After all the recent LEGO things I had to have.. the buckbeak and Hagrid brickheadz, the mini robots, the Star Wars key chain... And with Xmas right around the corner.. I might just have to sit this one out for now :(
got it as a free gift today when i made some purchase at the LEGO LCS. have to say that i am really impressed with the built of it. it is going to make a good display.
I decided to buy a copy through eBay. Got one for £45. Bit much perhaps for such a small set but it looks so awesome. And it's a lot better than shelling out £150.
@Jedijon said:
"So the 150th anniversary remembrance set has a 150 (your money) purchasing threshold?"
Oof. Hopefully we don't get a Shakespeare then LOL
@Zander said:
" @Brickman193 said:
"Huw! - you've got Scrooge's top hat on the wrong way! The bow goes on the side of the head..."
No, @Huw 's got it right. That's how LEGO has it: https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/charles-dickens-tribute-40410 ."
Actually no the box art has it right and the promo material has it wrong the bow goes on the side of a top hat. Check this comparison.
https://flic.kr/p/2kb5Drk
Nice build but I don't like the Christmas tree. Why didn't they use the 3x3 cross plate? https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=15397T=C
I know this review isn’t piping hot, but I just have to give another nod to the designers. If this was the level of charm and detail given to future GWP’s then I’m in every time. Lego at it’s best. Sure I’m not a sticker fan but it doesn’t bother me as much as some.