I missed out of 10199: Winter Village Toy Shop, so this re-release was a nice thing to get. I know that the fact that it is nearly identical to the earlier set made a lot of people upset, but I tend to look at this as a precursor to the "out-of-the-vault" series that LEGO has been doing. This is the only Winter Village set that I have as of the time of writing this and I think that it is a perfect representation fo this much beloved line.

This set comprises of a bench with a street light, a Christmas tree with a lager and presents, a snow man, and the toy shop itself. There are 8 minifigures in this set. Two carolers (one male and one female), three children in winter gear (two boys and one girl), three adults (two males and one female. One male is presumably the toy maker and the other two adults are presumably the parents of the children).

The Christmas tree it a very fun build. It uses techniques that I had ever seen used in a set before and it was a nice experience. The final build looks great. You can easily take the lights and the star off if you want it to be just a normal tree. The lager is also nice and you can easily pose a minifigure on it to make it look like they are placing the star on the top of the tree. The toys and presents are a nice inclusion and are scaled to the minifigures well.

The bench is a simple build and it has a stack of snowballs next to it. The lamp on the other hand uses the helmet pieces originally used for Sandy in the Sponge Bob line. It looks great and I would have liked to get one more identical build in this set.

The toy story itself is a fun build and it uses a fun technique to build the roof that I have not seen in any other set. There is a fireplace, a check-out counter, and toys in the window display. Upstairs there is a clock and a work shop where toys can be made. There is a light-brick it this set that lights up the top floor. It would have been nice if there were other places that the light-brick could be placed so that it could light up the fireplace or the bottom floor.

Overall, this is a really fun set that I have enjoyed a lot. If someone already has 10199: Winter Village Toy Shop, the only reason to get this set would be the updated minifigures and some of the color changes. If you missed out on the original set, this is a great set to get and is better in someways than the original.

This set is part of my first excursion into the Winter Village line. As such, I can't offer any comparison to the original, but only an evaluation of the set on it's own merits.

The set is a nice size, both in that it is a build which takes enough commitment to be interesting without being overwhelming, and in that it is large enough to create a nice tableau but does not take up a ridiculous amount of space. Technically, some of the proportions are a little off, but I find this easily overlooked and not distracting.

The build is enjoyable. There is more variety than I typically expect with a building. It is not particularly challenging, with the exception of the roof, which I found a little difficult to properly attach, though the end result is well worth my temporary confusion. The only part which I found a bit tedious was the tree, which did get somewhat repetitive and uninteresting.

There is a nice variety of minifigures, including multiple children and adults in various activities. I did have a momentary issue where the child in the helmet had his secondary face showing above his scarf in the back, but this ended up being user error and was ultimately not a problem.

I could not find any significant problems with this set. Overall, it was an enjoyable build and the end display is fanastic. I don't imagine it has much play value, though the snowboarder and skier could probably be placed onto freebuilt slopes or another set for some winter fun. As a set to show off and add some holiday cheer, this one is definitely high on my list.

So this was my first set since childhood. Even then, I can barely remember having a set as such, just a bucket of bricks with no real instructions.

With some confidence I can say therefore that this was the first major set I've ever built. I had a great deal of fun, although I started back to front since I really want to do the toy shop first before doing the tree and the lots of little set pieces.

In comparison, the tree was significantly easier - some of the parts of the shop itself was quite complicated, but very satisfying when the roof went on (I wasn't expecting the fastening, which is probably more down to my inexperience with these sets than any real uniqueness). There's lots of good characterization in the set, with some real attention to detail. I have no idea why that frog is in the roof space, but I love. it.

My only criticism would be that as a complete newbie (even though I jumped into an advanced set), I was surprised when I ended up having several of the small pieces left over. I was glad that there was an inventory of pieces that was meant to be supplied at the back of the second book, as it indicated that these were in fact extra pieces and not things I'd missed (for example I had two blue/black levers dispite only one being used on the robot in the shop window).

But we love them anyway, right? Maybe this set is a blatant rehash. Scratch that, it definitely is. There's been a ton of controversy when this set came out and I find it rather hypocritical, selfish and unnecessary, although expressing my opinion there's irrelevant to the set itself. I don't have the original set to compare it to unfortunately, but it's still the same toy shop. The same cute and delicate toy shop that both old fans can connect with and relive, and that new fans can restart those same traditions with them. We pass on our love and celebration through the ever-different ways, from the food we eat to the decorations we use, and this is simply another branch to take.

Minifigures

The figures in this set are for the most part generic people you could find in a City or Creator set, using mostly familiar parts, and are there to set the scene and bring it to life. They're the ones to have fun snowball fights or to decorate the tree, the ones to open the presents or work the toy shop, or have that holiday kiss. You can do just about anything with them, silly or charming. The only things "new" are the updated faces for the carolers, and they look extremely rosy and expressive.

As a Parts Pack

I was pleasantly surprised to see the shocking variety of parts, from the classic bricks and plates that we've known for quite a while, to the tiniest of details to brighten up the place. There's more than enough pieces that only fit on one stud, simply for Christmas lights, or to give the chimney texture, or create the plethora of toys. I don't think any new molds are used but some recolors were introduced that weren't needed but give an extra treat, like the ladder piece in brown, technic "D's" in dark green to represent the streamers, and the new printed sign to welcome you into the store.

As a Building Experience

Also surprising is how different the internal structure is from the original despite the similar look. The Parts themselves are divided into 8 bags labeled 1 and 2. The first stage introduces some extremely clever microbuilds. It's amazing that they can be made so small and still retain function, like how the helicopter blade actually spins and the jack-in-the-box gives the illusion of popping up. I also quite enjoy how the tree was constructed, feeling both symmetrical and consistent with the leaves, but also geniusly rotating them with a simple offset to give it a natural look. What's great is how simple it is, you only need to take a 4x4, place studs slightly away from the corners, and throw another plate on top of it roughly 45 degrees, and it can be used for mocs in no-time.

With the toy shop itself the construction's all over the place. You start out thinking it's simple brick-on-brick but then you see headlight bricks to give subtle detail under the windows, plates tossed on their side to texture the chimney, lots and lots of arches, insetting by jumpers, intricate sloping, and a full light brick to mount on the celing, for the roof to complete it. The roof itself is the most significant change from the last, using more eye-friendly techniques. The front bars are only mounted by a single technic pin while the snow-covered top falls flush with it with a simple hinge. Unfortunately it has a tendency to wiggle, but fixing the original's issue, it's sturdy and won't fall off. It allows it to remove the unsightly gaps and create something a bit more complete and seamless.

As a Playset

If you've had any winter village set you know what this is, it's a cozy cottage surrounded by a crowded vignette of fun, outdoor scenes. Go all out with playing in the snow, go all out with feeling the joy of opening your new toys, and go all out with pulling the all-nighters with the kids, and carolling until you freeze. Whatever you do this holiday will be quite fun to reflect on this set.

As a Display Model

The end result lies right in the Goldilocks zone--not so small as to simplify it and feel ripped off, but not so large as to take up an overwhelming amount of space and lose it's warmth. I've mentioned all the small details that help add some believability and it feels like an untouchable, intricate vintage model but at the same time being colorful and welcoming. I think it'd be welcome on both a shelf, a table or a playroom and still look great and feel Christmasy.

Final Verdict

Rambling aside, if you already own the 2009 version there's no reason to get this. There's literally hundreds of other excellent sets to pick from this year, from nostalgia trips, reboots of classic franchises like Star Wars and Jurassic World, and quite a few new and unprecedented, fun welcomes, plus loads of beautiful advanced sets, and on top of that this is slightly pricier. Although if anything it's nice to get something that isn't revolutionary, something you can recognize immediately and feel that same warm joy of when you owned this to that of your kids for years to come. And really, that's the beauty of the holidays.

Just throw it in with the rest of the collection and it's feels even nicer. It just keeps growing.