The build: on the whole, pretty fantastic. It gets off to a pretty mundane start as the base requires around 30 1x4 tiles and 60 1x1 plates to form the sleepers, but the locomotive more than makes up for it. Plenty of interesting techniques are used to form the sides of the central cab section, while the ‘snouts’ that give the Crocodile its name are built using a 7-wide standard that will be familiar to many train MOCers. This results in a surprisingly challenging build for a system set – the pantographs in particular require a degree of patience. The instructions add to the challenge, though not in a good way: the black backgrounds of the 18+ sets look very smart on the box, but with so many dark bley, black and reddish brown parts it can put some strain on the eyes – good lighting in your build environment is thoroughly recommended. 8/10

The figures: two driver-cum-mechanics are included in the set, one male and female. The two are identical with the exception of the head and headpiece, and the sky-blue of their outfits brings a welcome splash of colour to the brown/monochrome mix of the Crocodile. It is a shame that the stand doesn’t include somewhere to display them as in, for instance, the Star Wars UCS range; without taking the roof off, you wouldn’t know there were any included. This may well be a conscious decision given the target audience, though. 7/10

Play value: despite being marketed primarily as a nice thing to have on your mantlepiece, #10277 is not far away at all from being a toy. The two minifigures and their toolbox and wrench just about add some play elements, and even fully-grown adults with little interest in toys will undoubtedly find themselves rocking the loco back and forth on the short length of track. LEGO have made it as easy as possible to transition between its static display state and a fully-motorised play one, however: the standard magnetic couplings and instructions on installing a battery box and motor are testament to this. Buying additional track and motor functions is not an insignificant outlay, but you will surely feel at least an itch to do so having built the Crocodile. 8/10

Model value: within the LEGO community, the train fans are among the true pioneers of the hobby, having in some cases literally written rulebooks on MOC design (and, according to some purists, promptly ripped them up again). For us mere mortals, this set may well be as close as we get to building such fabulously detailed models. This is not the first iteration of the famous Swiss Crocodile (or to give its proper designation, the SBB Ce 6/8 II) we’ve seen in LEGO, but it is by far the most accurate – to start, it isn’t red unlike the previous two! The SNOT used throughout the build results in a terrifically accurate shape. There is plenty of visual interest beyond these techniques, with the handful of printed pieces and general detailing – especially on the cab roof – making for an eye-catching model. There are compromises brought about by the medium, of course: the gap between the snouts and cab, a necessity to allow the loco to negotiate LEGO curves, is especially noticeable from the side, and there should be more conrods between the driving and driven wheels. But for an official LEGO set, this really is as good as it gets. 10/10

Overall verdict: while many LEGO trains have been loosely based on real-world examples, the number of sets explicitly representing real trains is considerably fewer(I make it just four excepting this set: the Disney train, Maersk train, and the BNSF and Santa Fe Super Chief locomotives). One constant with these sets is their high quality, and #10277 certainly delivers on this metric. It represents exceptional value for money, not only as a building experience and beautiful display piece, but also as a great toy and even a parts pack (a price-per-piece ratio of 7.1p, with a huge amount of reddish brown, is not to be sniffed at). This icon of the Swiss railways will delight both seasoned veterans of the hobby and those just starting out on their LEGO train journey. 9/10

I really hope Lego will make more 18+ sets similar to this. When I first saw it I immediately had to own this set.

It reminds me of model team sets I always longed for as a child but could never get due to their price. Now I can at least experience it as an adult.

The creativity of how the parts fit together to make a pretty realistic looking model, is really neat. There are no special parts specific to this set as far as I can tell, so everything is made by re-purposing existing pieces. Especially the nose section is constructed cleverly.

It can be motorized and it is compatible with regular Lego Train Tracks, but the motor and hub needed to make it run is as expensive separately as the set itself, so I'm reluctant to buy those. Attaching the model to another train didn't go so well, because the center section is really struggling to get through bends. It cannot be pulled by a regular lego train. I don't know if it could navigate bends better if it was motorized. But it's great as a display piece on a stub track.

Apart from that my only problem with the set was that the instructions are printed with black background. That makes some brown / black parts hard to make out. Just because this is an adult oriented set doesn't mean the instructions must look dull and colourless.

TLG created a wonderful LEGO locomotive based on the real thing, the Swiss 6/8 III Crocodile. This is what we were waiting for many years after the great Creator Expert trains.

Things I do like:

• Stunning details, lovely solutions everywhere. Building the set was a joy, and you can learn some new building technics here.
• I like the colour choice as it is something new to LEGO trains.
• Loco looks like the real thing. I know there were some complaints about the gap among the nose sections and the center unit but actually it is really not that bad.
• With Powered Up application it sounds like the real thing.
• It can be used as a display model. Personally I don't need the display stand but understand the logic behind it. Well, if this is the way that ensures more purchases by AFOLs and more Train sets later by LEGO (including probably freight cars or coaches), then be it.
• I appreciate that it can be motorized easily and love to see it going around.

Things I do not like:

• Motorizing makes this set insanely expensive and there are still no tracks and wagons.
• The instructions: it is hard to read due to the black background. It was not a good choice as the dark reddish brown and dark bluish gray pieces cannot be seen even in sunlight. I would stay with light blue colour as instructions' background.
• The loco derails easily in curves which could be eliminated by using some ballast as was the case in the good old 12v era.
• Unfortunately there is no light for the loco out of the box. Even Powered Up instructions does not contain how to add light and adding one requires big modification.

The verdict: it is not without flaws but still a must-buy for all LEGO and Train fans. I like it so much that I plan to purchase another copy. I am sure it will be a very sought-after model in the coming years.

I received this set for my birthday a few days ago and here are my thoughts on it :

The building experience : my feel is to give a 3 out of 5 looking to the build process. We begin with the plate to expose which consist into a huge number of identical plates and feel repetitive. Then the next two steps are the build of the central part with nice details and a good process. Finally, the last bag is the build of the two “noses” : the first to build is nice but then the second identical is quite repetitive.

For parts used in this train, I appreciate that outside of the presentation plate the rest of the details are printed : it is nice for people who are afraid to fail the application of a sticker. The choice of specific pieces for ventilation, the use of black (overcooked) sausages for each front is intriguing and the train's wheels are always good to get. A good 5 out of 5 for me.

I'm going to be strict towards playability : this is a train that is for exposure as the box shows and marketed for +18, so it will not be the main reason this locomotive would be bought. I appreciate that it is possible to motorise the set, but it comes at the cost of the central part's interior and few pieces as the smaller parts on the top that would fall if the train moves. Sadly it's a 2 out of 5.

Value for money ? The traditional ratio is respected, and it feels like a good range specially if Lego want perhaps release a few more locomotives of different shapes for the next years, as they have the creator experts vehicles. A 5 out of 5.

Overall a 4 out of 5 to the crocodile locomotive : despite not being a train fan, I have appreciated building this set and put it next to my architecture sets. I recommend the Crocodile Locomotive for people who would like to expose it.

This set works fine as a display piece, being a decent model of the classic Swiss Crocodile Locomotive in a compact package. However, things fall apart when you try to motorise it and actually play with it like a train, given it is still Lego (gasp!).

First, there is just too much friction. The middle section has a huge wheelbase and too large wheels for the Lego curved tracks and the rubber bands on the wheels make the situation even worse. I revamped the whole middle section with a 9V motor, which reduced the wheelbase a lot, removed all rubber bands, and the locomotive could tackle corners a lot faster. But then we're still not done.

The front small wheels are independently articulated from the front section, just floating on their own up front without any weight, and thus they derail easily. I had to remove them altogether since they are there only for cosmetic reasons. But then we're still not done!

With the locomotive now travelling at decent speeds, you'll find that it is just way too tall and has too high a centre of gravity for the narrow 6 wide Lego tracks. It will just tip over at higher speeds in the corners. I had to remove the roof and significant parts of the middle section down to the windows in order to tackle the corners at full speed. What you end up with is maybe 3/4s of the original model, just to make it behave like a normal Lego Train.

As a result, I'll give it a 1/5 for playability, since it is highly flawed in its stock form, and 3/5 overall, because it looks good on its own on a shelf.