Set #40106 Toy Workshop: The free holiday set from 2014, or at least the first one, was this wonderful little companion piece to the Santa’s Workshop set. It was a great looking addition and I’m glad to have managed to pick it up, seasonal sets are always impressive and fun to have around the holidays for the display.

Box/Instructions

The box is a really nice little design, it’s a limited edition set and ties in with the Santa Workshop from the seasonal department as well, the Christmas Village has gotten a lot of praise and I can see why considering the nature of the box designs. You get to see two different images, one on the front showing the interior and a fun little scene on the back showcasing the set from a different angle allowing you to see the detail on the exterior. The artwork of Christmas trees in a snow-covered forest is gorgeous too. It’s overall a great looking box and worth keeping, if like me you tend to recycle all your LEGO boxes.

The instructions are equally impressive. The steps aren’t too difficult to follow and the cross-promotional image in the back showing the Santa Workshop and Winter Village Market is pretty impressive too. There aren’t many pages of cross-promotional images in this manual and that’s not entirely a bad thing. Although it might have been interesting to see a minifigure checklist for the Winter Village Theme here.

Parts

The most impressive parts in this set are the new tool set, the small light rust orange baseplate (or what I’m assuming is light rust orange, it’s a pretty tricky colour to isolate) and the new 1x4 sculpted mason bricks this is an awesome looking set for new parts. You also get two paintbrushes, pretty rare piece that, I say it’s a great little parts pack for a free set.

Minifigures

This set has two great minifigures. Two more elves for Santa’s Workshop, which is sweet.

Male Elf: This short legged minifigure has a double-sided torso with a plaid button-up shirt on, and a belt with tools hidden in pouches on the front and back. He has a single-sided facial print and is wearing the CMF elf hat. All-in-all not a bad little figure.

Female Elf: This one has a double-sided torso with a more winter themed outfit, she’s wearing a light blue sweater and a purple scarf. She has a double-sided facial print as well, mostly because it’s a re-used head I think, on side is smiling the other is scared. It may have been on one of the female characters from the LEGO movie theme.

Pretty great looking pair of elves, I do kind of wish the hats were a different colour though. Both of them are green, so one of them could have been red and the other blue perhaps to match their outfits better.

Accessories for both include, two paintbrushes, screwdriver, crescent wrench, open wrench, socket wrench, oil can, closed wrench, one of those torque wrenches and a drill. I think I got the wrench names right, oh yes and a small hammer. Basically a new tool set that I’d wager is used in LEGO City garages since you don’t have much use for one of those socket wrenches when there’s no hubcaps around.

The build

It’s a fun fast little seasonal build with some interesting design choices, the slanted white roof and the window are nice, I will admit since the model is more of a scene build, meaning it’s like a set on a stage, it isn’t four walls enclosed. But it does a superb job of filling that holiday themed decorative fun that LEGO seasonal sets are all about.

The brick-built toys that the elves are working on are all fun, you can accomplish a lot with only a few pieces, and these micro-builds do not disappoint. I especially like the vehicles.

The two wrapped presents are nice too, although I have to wonder just what could be inside the tiny things. One of them is so flat it could just be an inflatable beach ball without the air in it, what a curious gift that would be.

The completed model

This little model is utterly gorgeous. It has a few flaws, mostly due to the fact that it is a bit open instead of having four solid walls, but that does not detract from the impressive looking workshop. Admittedly it is on the tiny side, you can’t fit both elves at the workbench or even on the baseplate at the same time, however I don’t see this as a bad thing because the set is meant to go with the Santa Workshop and there’s enough space for the other elf to go where it needs to go.

The micro-build presents are fun. You have two wrapped presents, a flat red square one and a green and white small rectangular one. There’s a toy train that uses the LEGO camera piece to great effect for the locomotive and a nifty looking small bulldozer that uses it effectively as well.

The toy nutcracker, or soldier, is also a clever little build and I can see a small army of these being built using spare pieces to make even more of them.

Overall opinion

I would strongly encourage you to track this down if you can, it is a great little Christmas set that is a complete scene in a box for any holiday display. It also has some nice pieces, a great overall design and includes more holiday elves for you collection of seasonal minifigures. Two thumbs up LEGO.

Last week, I decided to seize the opportunity of getting double VIP points and an additional gift, and ordered 21108 and 21109 from shop@home. I was surprised that it showed up in my mail after only 4 days. The last time I ordered something from shop@home, it took more than 3 weeks to get delivered.

Box/Instructions

The box does not have the usual half-circles on the side to open it, you only need to cut one of the tapes. It measures 14x12x6 cm, and the parts come in 3 bags, except for 2 loose 6x8 plates. The instructions are folded frontward, and were not damaged.

Parts

The parts selection is very good. Tan and brown pieces are always useful, and it's my first time encountering the dark-flesh(?) color of the 6x8 plate. Other pieces that are new to my collection: the elf-hats, the tool set and the brushes. The tool set took a big step from the old one, and you can use it for a garage in your city or for anything else that needs to be fixed.

Minifigures

You get 2 figures, a female and a male elf. Both have short legs, in light grey and dark tan respectively, and the same green hat with pointy ears.

The female has a light blue torso with a scarf, which is new to me. It also should be noted that she has a double-sided face with a scared expression, which I think is good vor variety and can be used in any other theme.

The male gets a regular smiling head and the torso is taken from last year's lumberjacks in http://brickset.com/sets/60021-1/Cargo-Heliplane

The build

The build is not complicated at all and it took me 7 minutes. There isn't much to say about it. You get 12 spare parts.

The completed model

Details include a screw clamp, bottles of paint, two presents, two microvehicles and a nutcracker, which I really like out of nostalgia. The only thing that's somewhat distracting is the color used for the tool holders. You can see their bright red from the outside, and it takes away from the wood pattern. But since these pieces are very common, it can easily be fixed.

Overall opinion

I get that this set is supposed to be an add-on for Santa's Workshop, so the room is open on two sides. But if you don't have that bigger set, it's still ok, and you can expand it yourself, or part it out. Keep in mind that I can only judge this on its own, which is reflected in my overall rating score.