Happy Holidays, everyone! To get us all in the spirit of the season, today I have a special LEGO review - LEGO #10293: Santa's Visit.
Santa's Visit comes with 1,445 pieces and is part of LEGO's newly minted "Winter Village Collection" theme. The set contains four minifigures and is rated 18+ (designed for adult builders, the previously called "Creator Expert" line). Suggested retail price for this set is $99.99.
Upon opening the box, you are greeted with the usual numbered bags plus a pair of instruction booklets (and a small sticker sheet containing four stickers). Obviously, I forgot to take a photo of the "before I start building" part here but you get the idea)! The two instruction books are kind of neat because LEGO also rated this set for 1-2 people (with the idea that one person can build the large house using one instruction booklet while the other person can build the smaller accessories using the second instruction booklet). I kind of like that idea so kudos to LEGO for that one.
As previously mentioned, the first instructional booklet contains the non-house accessories for the set. You get a small fence/entry way to the residence as well as a bunch of gifts to go around a brick-built Christmas tree.
The tree is one of the better designed ones that I've seen for LEGO - and if you press down on it from the top it even lights up thanks to a built-in light brick.
Moving on to the main build - the large residence!
Here, you can see wonderful blue color along with the festive decorations that adorn the house. I believe this is also the first "Winter Village" themed set with a deciduous tree - and this one comes complete with an adorable little yellow birdhouse.
I like the base of the building as well, you can see here how it's very much rounded as opposed to being perfectly rectangular. Makes for a more realistic look if you ask me.
Flipping the house around, you can see that it's in the style of a dollhouse with the back open for play (like pretty much all of the Winter Village-themed sets). The house is small but it's packed full of great details. The large dining table is the star of the show in many ways but I love the look of the fireplace as well as the child's loft bedroom. If you study the image above close enough, you may even be able to spot one of the hidden presents around the house (a pink and white one).
Here's a closer look at both the hidden present as well as the child's loft. I love the model of Saturn hanging above the child's bed! Also, notice the wonderful stand mixer in the kitchen area - so simple, so perfect!
The chimney has a fun feature in that Santa can slide down the chimney and burst through into the living room. It works remarkably well so long as you make sure Santa's arms are down (if he gets stuck, the chimney does come apart easily so that you can free the stuck Santa).
Overall, I give LEGO 10293: Santa's Visit the following rating:
The Bottom Line (out of 10):
Fun: 7
Play Value: 7
Kid Value: 7
Adult Value: 7
Overall: 7
This is a perfectly solid set that does look great on display. However, there isn't a ton to do with the set (the inside is terribly cramped for actual play) and there's no vehicles or other things to interact with. The set does contain a lot of pieces for the money, but I can't help but say that it still feels like it ought to be closer to an $80 set rather than a $100 set. All that said, it's still a great addition to the Winter Village line - and if you can find it slightly below retail, all the better!
Happy Holidays, everyone!
This looks like a really cool set. As much as I love Christmas and Legos, I doubt I'll dive down this rabbit hole. It mainly has to do with lack of space for display (although I think this set would look great paired with Santa's sleigh). For now, I'll stick to the HP and SW advent calendars.
ReplyDeleteHappy holidays!