Review: 40417 Year of the Ox
Posted by Huw,
LEGO has been producing Year of the... sets featuring the Chinese new year's zodiac animal since 2013.
The year of the Ox commences shortly and accordingly 40417 will be the gift with purchase at LEGO.com with orders exceeding $85 in the USA and Canada in February, and in Europe in March.
The six produced since 2016 are stylistically similar so if you have a collection of them you'll want to add this latest one to it.
Like previous sets in the series this one comes with an envelope into which money can be inserted before gifting it, as is traditional in China.
In case you're wondering exactly what an ox is, as I was, Wikipedia reveals that "an ox (plural oxen), also known as a bullock, is a bovine trained as a draft (working) animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle."
The animal is sitting in an uncharacteristic anthropomorphic and cartoonish pose, but nevertheless it's unmistakably bovine.
Given the suitability of the printed eye tiles, I thought they must be new but actually they first appeared in 11003 Bricks and Eyes in 2019.
I'm not so convinced by the use of the grey 1x3 plate with reduced studs for its nostrils, though. It's too big and blocky. At the end of the review you will find one solution to address this.
All four legs and its ears are articulated, and the head is mounted on a turntable, which allows for a range of poses.
A circular 8x8 base decorated with red and gold is provided to sit the beast of burden upon which adds a much-needed splash of colour to the model.
Here it is with its predecessors: sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, pig and rat. The sheep did not come on a round base but I built it one to match the others, as explained in my review of 40186 Year of the Pig in 2019, and it is not sat on its hind like later ones. Nevertheless, it looks OK with them.
Oxen are not the most glamorous or attractive animals but designer Mel Caddick has done a decent job of making this an appealing model. It's not my favourite by any means, but as I said at the start, if you have a collection of the zodiac animals, you'll want to add this one to it.
As I said above, I don't like its nose, so here's a solution which to my eye is much more aesthetically pleasing. What do you think?
Lovers of brick-built animals are well catered for and spoilt for choice this year, what with BrickHeadz pets, teddy bears, Easter bunnies, and now this, which will be a gift with purchase at LEGO.com from 1st February in the USA and Canada, and from 1st March in the UK, Europe and, I'm guessing, Australasia too.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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40 comments on this article
I like your nose better!
Look at him. He’s so proud of his new nose @huw gave him. He can’t stop looking at it!
I'm always tickled when people find out certain elements actually first appeared in LEGO Classic, or when people who have collected LEGO for a significant amount of time open their first LEGO Classic sets, learn about them for the first time, and are surprised by the things it does differently to other LEGO products.
What you did to the nose is so superior in every conceivable way I’m stunned that LEGO did not also come to this conclusion. My only guess is that maybe they wanted a boxier shape for it...but I think in that case it doesn’t work.
‘ with orders exceeding $85 in the USA and Canada in February, and in Europe in March.’
Wait so it wont be available in February in Europe? Will there be any other GWP from 1st of February in Europe then?
Love the fix for the nose. Ox is "my" year, so I'm excited to finally get the model and appreciate the improvement!!!!
Luckily, I've been able to collect each of these and I'm glad the more recent ones have been more widely available!
hothbricks said it starts from Feb 1st as well.
Changing the nose so it’s smaller and less square makes it look more like a pig. But that’s just my opinion.
The info I have been provided with suggests it will be March for Europe.
They're all so beautifully derpy.
If you take the horns off the LEGO version with a 3x1 nose, it’s still in the oxen/cattle family. Take the horns of Huw’s version with a 2x1 nose, it’s a pig (like B_Space_Man has already said).
@Huw, I prefer your mod to LEGO’s original. What does it look like with your piece but in black?
As an aside, I’m looking forwards to 2024 which will be Year of the Dragon!
No goats!?
I may be the only one holding this opinion, but I like the original nose better.
And these sets all look so consistent. I wonder if Mel Caddick designed them all at once and they’re just being released over time as appropriate.
I was a little surprised that you felt the need to explain what an ox is, I thought that knowledge was more widespread. Maybe my viewpoint is skewed from years of playing Oregon Trail.
My only exposure to the word is oxtail soup which, it seems, is not necessarily made using castrated male cattle ;)
I will be very impressed with LEGO if they manage to make all of the animals in the same style. We’re (over) halfway there, depending on whether or not you count the sheep.
I suspect ‘ox’ originated from a mistranslation of the Mandarin. In English ‘cow’ designates the species as a whole and the female of the species. In the Chinese languages (there are 200+) though, I believe there is a word in each that just means the species without reference to its gender in a similar way to how ‘mouse’ is genderless in English. In trying to come up with a single, unambiguous word in English for the species regardless of gender, someone, somewhere (not necessarily at LEGO) came up with ‘ox’ in the sense of ‘any domesticated bovine; a cow or bull’. But as you point out, ‘ox’ in English has more than one meaning.
I've never collected the zodiac animals or been interested in brick built animals in general but this one is so cute! The Ox is my year though so I might be biased :)
I can’t warm to brick built animals either, but they do look great as a set. Glad you included a pic, Huw. The new nose looks much better too.
I only knew the term "oxen" from a story about some kid that was born in a stable towards the end of December more than 2,000 years ago. ;-)
By the way, I was born in the year of the Dragon, so still a couple of years until it's my turn.
Should I get this set? I should probably get this set.
I am amongst the dissenters though, I prefer the original nose; I think it helps add the illusion of an elongated face.
I only ever collected the Year of the Dog set (because that's where I fit on the Chinese calendar), but I really wish I'd collected them all. They look so good together.
@BovineBrick said:
"Should I get this set? I should probably get this set."
Probably? You’re called BovineBrick. You *have* to get this set. It’s the law. Just like I had to get this one: https://brickset.com/minifigs/sw0754
(I’m kidding of course. No-one has to get anything they don’t want. But I really did get the Zander minifigure just because it’s my namesake.)
Cool review and nose fix. The set even contains the 1x2 rounded plate in black which would also look better than the grey 1x3 jumper.
Too bad the older Seasonal sets were regional exclusives. Only have the rat and pig. They look good next to each other. Hopefully they will get re-released when the cycle repeats.
I like Huw's modified nose better. The 1x2 rounded plate was introduced in 2018. Perhaps the whole series of sets was designed at once, before the part was available.
Huw has corrected the LEGO cow's nose. You might say he's a plastic surgeon :~P
@Huw said:
"The info I have been provided with suggests it will be March for Europe."
That'd be quite maddening for the Chinese people living there.
@Zander said:
"I suspect ‘ox’ originated from a mistranslation of the Mandarin. In English ‘cow’ designates the species as a whole and the female of the species. In the Chinese languages (there are 200+) though, I believe there is a word in each that just means the species without reference to its gender in a similar way to how ‘mouse’ is genderless in English. In trying to come up with a single, unambiguous word in English for the species regardless of gender, someone, somewhere (not necessarily at LEGO) came up with ‘ox’ in the sense of ‘any domesticated bovine; a cow or bull’. But as you point out, ‘ox’ in English has more than one meaning."
It has nothing to do with the Chinese language. Its origins are Germanic. The Chinese character translates to cattle or bovine, in general, which is an even broader word than ox, given that an ox is specifically a draft animal, yet in the context of the Chinese zodiac, the Chinese label is supposed to refer to the ox.
"(I’m kidding of course. No-one has to get anything they don’t want. But I really did get the Zander minifigure just because it’s my namesake.)"
I've had this LEGO handle since club.LEGO.com in 2001. Ever since I saw the Sonic the Hedgehog minifig I wanted it for obvious reasons, but when I realised how expensive he was, for what I feel is a lacklustre minifig, I reluctantly decided against it. Maybe if I find him in great condition at a great deal... but I'd also like to have the actual set he came from and not just the minifig. Meanwhile, I have a small collection of Mario sets...
@LegoSonicBoy said:
" @Huw said:
"The info I have been provided with suggests it will be March for Europe."
That'd be quite maddening for the Chinese people living there.
@Zander said:
"I suspect ‘ox’ originated from a mistranslation of the Mandarin. In English ‘cow’ designates the species as a whole and the female of the species. In the Chinese languages (there are 200+) though, I believe there is a word in each that just means the species without reference to its gender in a similar way to how ‘mouse’ is genderless in English. In trying to come up with a single, unambiguous word in English for the species regardless of gender, someone, somewhere (not necessarily at LEGO) came up with ‘ox’ in the sense of ‘any domesticated bovine; a cow or bull’. But as you point out, ‘ox’ in English has more than one meaning."
It has nothing to do with the Chinese language. Its origins are Germanic. The Chinese character translates to cattle or bovine, in general, which is an even broader word than ox, given that an ox is specifically a draft animal, yet in the context of the Chinese zodiac, the Chinese label is supposed to refer to the ox."
You misunderstand. I suspect LEGO’s choice of the word ‘ox’ originates from a mistranslation from Mandarin to English, not that the word itself is Mandarin in origin! Also, ‘ox’ in English has more than one meaning. It can mean what Huw said: a gelded bull used as a beast of burden. But it can also mean any domesticated bovine regardless of gender/use. So in fact you and I agree that ‘ox’ was used by LEGO as a result of the Chinese character being translated to ‘ox’ in the second sense.
@Zander said:
"You misunderstand. I suspect LEGO’s choice of the word ‘ox’ originates from a mistranslation from Mandarin to English, not that the word itself is Mandarin in origin! Also, ‘ox’ in English has more than one meaning. It can mean what Huw said: a gelded bull used as a beast of burden. But it can also mean any domesticated bovine regardless of gender/use. So in fact you and I agree that ‘ox’ was used by LEGO as a result of the Chinese character being translated to ‘ox’ in the second sense."
Ahhh, I get what you're saying now.
@Zander said:
" You *have* to get this set. It’s the law. "
Well, that settles it then; the law's the law!
But too goofy for me
I have the 2019, I'm hoping to get this one for my birthday.
I am in for this one as it is my chinese zodiac sign.
@Huw you are missing 10250 in your lineup
^ I have it but it's MISB, and in any case it doesn't match.
Why wasn’t there one in 2014?
@Zander said:
"Huw has corrected the LEGO cow's nose. You might say he's a plastic surgeon :~P"
Priceless.
:-))
Great review! Of course I much prefer not exactly YOUR nose (lol), but the nose you propose. I'm even susprised on how the LEGO designer didn't arrive himself to such an obvious solution.
We've only had these as GWPs in North America since the Dog (2018), making the Ox the 4th readily available.
Also have gotten notices that these are also now available at TRU and Mastermind with a $80 threshold. Or $12.99 in the case of TRU.
"In Europe in March"
Weird, I got it with my blacksmith order and I don't exactly live in the US or Canada