Set #40138 Christmas Train: For the limited edition holiday sets of 2015 LEGO gives us a pair of interesting models designed for a fun little display. Sadly I did not get the Gingerbread House, but I did receive this wonderful looking Christmas Train and I’m going to enjoy discussing it in this review.

Box/Instructions

Box: Wonderful festive design with a great looking shot of the model on the front in a winter setting with distant trees in the background, a beautiful snowy night with crisp newly fallen snow and what might be ice carved into the shape of train tracks. Beautiful design and just an awesome fantasy type idea for a toy display like this. The back showcases the set wonderfully and the images just really do not do this justice, it must be seen to be truly appreciated.

Instructions: As well as the box design with a great look, solid easy to follow steps, a parts list in back and that’s pretty much it, there are no cross-promotions here. Solid A+ all around for the box and manual.

Parts

In this set you will find a predominant number of red pieces with dark green and gold, the sloped roof tiles are pretty good and I believe a rare sight in this dark green colour. The pearl gold pieces are also quite nice and a solid choice for MOC fans, also included is a nice little fir tree or pine which I don’t believe we see very often these days.

The build

The build for this model is extremely satisfying, each section of the model is built individually, you have the engine, the cargo car and the caboose or passenger car, honestly it could be either or depending on preferences. It all comes together nicely for a uniform look and it stands out as a fun festive design with the reds, golds and greens as the predominant colour scheme.

The completed model

This is just a fun solid little model with a load of fun and charm, it is a great idea for a holiday based set. The locomotive looks like a classic steam engine and uses the white ice cream part to excellent effect as a puff of smoke escaping from the stack. Even the cow catcher on front really impresses.

The smaller parcel/cargo car is a wonderful short to the ground model that houses a festive array of brightly wrapped parcels using 1x1 plates of various hues, and a smartly crafted candy cane built with red, green and white 1x1 studs. There’s some cookies, a lollipop, some kind of fluffy pastry and a chocolate cone, since it is open air I’m assuming it won’t melt while being transported to the Gingerbread House.

The final car a passenger car, or possibly caboose, is very well built with some great techniques and parts use for the numerous windows. The roof is also fairly impressive with a bit of a build to raise the central portion and capture the likeness of the train car in question. The best part is the modular nature, you can place the cars in any order, and with a bit of MOCing using parts from your collection you can elongate the train as much as you want.

An extra display option is the side model of a Christmas tree on a snowy outcropping, it includes another wrapped parcel and some cheese slopes for higher snow, plus a sign of some sort I’m thinking it’s meant to alert any passengers to the approaching next stop of Gingerbread Junction, or something.

Overall opinion

Pure brilliance, this set shines as a great holiday based set that works on several levels. The train is a stand out piece and all the candy and other items make it double quite nicely for a display with the Gingerbread House. I definitely recommend this set and if you missed out on it tracking it down is a really great investment, the set makes for a very nice holiday display item and even without that the train is a great little model that stands out as a must own.

This exclusive Christmas set was the reason that I decided to buy something from the official legoshop for the first time. And I have not regret this. It's a lovely set with many small, nice parts. It looks nice and is very playable.

Box/Instructions

The box itself looks like it's a Christmas gift.

Parts

There;s quiet some interesting part in this small set. I especially like the wheels of the train and the small candylike parts. There's some golden parts that for me are a welcome colour as I havent'got many parts of this colour. The green rounded parts opn the roof are worth mentioning here as well. And a tree is always nice to have!

Minifigures

No minifigs in this set. Set is not at a scale where minifigs would fit in.

The build

The build is easy, but fun enough. A locomotive and two different carriages make for three different builds. Together it takes about half an hour I guess.

The completed model

The result is a very nice looking Christmas train. It´s got the right colours for Christmas and would look nice in a winter scene, although maybe the scale doesn´t match other winter sets.

Overall opinion

Great free set! Very much worth paying some extra money for the annual winter set at lego.com.