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October 6, 2014
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October 6, 2014
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CybusMaster's Reviews

Santa's Workshop

Posted:October 6, 2014

CybusMaster

Age: 19-24 years old

Customer Type: LEGO Fan

Building Experience: Intermediate LEGO builder

Overall:

4 / 5

Merry Christmas, LEGO!

" As the years have gone by & I’ve gotten older, there have always been two things I enjoyed: playing with LEGO & Christmas.

I will admit that I have missed out on a few Winter Village models due to expenses not being there, such as the Cottage & the Toy Shop. In fact, the only one I have is Winter Village Post Office.

… Until now, that is.

Ever since the introduction of the Winter Village range, I have always wanted to see the home of the modern Christmas icon we all know as Santa Claus.

And now Ladies and Gentlemen; we have it! Without further ado, let’s review this baby.

MINI-FIGURES

As expected of Santa’s Workshop, we have the jolly gift giver himself; a re-release of the Series 8 Minifigure Blind Bag release. Except, this time, his sack of gifts is red instead of brown.

I am glad that LEGO actually sculpted a proper hat for Santa instead of slapping a Pirate hat on him, as done in the past. The added bonus of a printed torso and a proper beard, as opposed to Dumbledore’s in white is very nice as well.

What would Santa be without his Elven helpers? Very tired, I’d expect. In this set, we have 4 of the little munchkins to help Santa make the toys. One of them has a double face feature; strangely showing a crying face on the other side. Why is he crying? Did a reindeer bite him? Has a recently labelled good child been relegated to the Naughty List? We may never know. The Elves come in a variety of outfits, but all wearing green hats, like the Holiday Elf in Series 11 of the Minifig range. I kind of wish we had a variety of colours for the hats, just to make the Elves stand out a bit more and make each one truly unique.

So, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Santa or an elf. What we ARE getting for the first time is Mrs Claus. The good Mrs is donned in a red dress & cape to protect her from the cold of the North Pole. As Santa prepares to leave on his Christmas Eve flight, she decides to give him a little snack in the form of cookies! Oddly, no mince pies though. Joking aside, it is nice to have Mrs Claus to stick by Santa so he doesn’t look so lonely.

I’m not sure if these count, but hey, it’s my review so I may as well.
We now have reindeer as opposed to the grey dogs Seen in the Advent Calendars of old. In this set, we have 4 adult reindeer (My guess? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer & Vixen.) And one young buck (I swapped the brown stud with a red one to turn him into a certain reindeer who guided Santa’s sleigh one night.) As nice as the reindeer are, I’m a little disappointed that Comet, Cupid, Donner & Blitzen are not included here. Maybe LEGO could release an expansion pack with 4 extra reindeer and an extension to the reins of the sleigh. Speaking of…

SANTAS SLEIGH

I love the design of this thing. The red and pearl gold go great together and are very appealing to behold. There’s room for Santa to sit, as well as store some presents in the back. Including: some wrapped gifts, a fairy princess wand and an Electric Guitar. Something tells me a lucky kid is gonna be rockin’ some Jingle Bells on Christmas Day.

THE WORKSHOP

And now, the place where the magic happens. This is a nice little representation of Santa’s home. There is a wrapping station where one of the elves prepares a final gift for Santa to deliver, a warm, inviting fire by the door and a small study where jolly ol’ St. Nick can read the letters of children from around the world.

Outside is a Clock that Santa uses to count down the days until Christmas; minute by minute. By the main entrance are a pair of candy canes that appear to be growing out of the snow. Santa can grow candy?! TELL ME THE SECRET, SANTA!

There is a modern looking machine that produces toys (I thought Elves made toys by hand. Focus Cybus; it IS the 21st Century.). On the conveyor belt is a small yellow car and what looks like Bennys spaceship from the well-received ‘LEGO Movie’.

P.S: - Can’t wait for the sequel!

Also included is a small Christmas tree & the North Pole. Both nice little additions to this set.

While I agree with some Reviewers that the Workshop itself is on the small side, I totally get why it isn’t larger. A larger set would mean a higher price tag, which would deter some parents from getting this for their kids. And storage space can be an issue, too. It would be difficult to store a large set away for 12 months until next Christmas. Do I wish it were larger? Sure, but I’m happy with what I got.

Taking into account the small nitpicks I have with the set, I still love this set & I give it 4 Bricks out of 5.

Carry on with the good work boys & girls of LEGO and a Merry Christmas to you! "

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