10235 Winter Village Market

cheshirecat

of course they do, but its probably proportional, well maybe somewhat proportional.

Paperballpark

Interestingly, most of the parts where I've done direct comparisons are cheaper via replacement parts than through PAB.

Deadareus

Love it.

Making the turning mechanism double as a game for the kids is brilliant.

I can understand the disappointment in the lack of a larger structure. I personally like the fact that I'll now be able to populate areas between the buildings with these small stalls.

9 minifigs all dressed in winter clothes is a huge plus! My village was lacking as I purchased Toy Shop sans figs.

caperberry

Deadareus said:

I can understand the disappointment in the lack of a larger structure. I personally like the fact that I'll now be able to populate areas between the buildings with these small stalls.

I understand those who have built their own expectations of what WV is might be disappointed, but the series is a village, not a series of buildings all containing light bricks. City sets build a city with various things you might find in a city. Winter Village sets build a village with various things you might find in a village.

Turn disappointment into an opportunity. Make 2013 the year you save some money and design your own WV building instead, with 27 light bricks in it.

Gee I hate that Ewok Village, it's just a bunch of trees ;O)

TheLoneTensor

^My issue isn't with the concept of the stalls, it's with the mundane nature of them. The BBQ is unique with the grill, but the frame and counter for all three are similar, copying Lucy's "Psychiatric Help 5¢" booth. If you didn't see the items being sold, you would have no idea what the stall was selling. Perhaps individual signage would have helped. It's still cute though, and I'll certainly get it, but I still think $100 is too much for these things at one per year.

And yeah, Winter Carnival would have been a better name for this set.

Paperballpark

^ If they'd called it 'Winter Village Carnival' then people would have been complaining there's only one ride! "When did you ever see a carnival with only one ride?"

Fact is that it's based on a European Christmas Market. From what I know of those, it's damned accurate, therefore 'Winter Village Market' is the correct and accurate name for it.

Honestly, I swear there's no pleasing some people.

CCC

I've been to a few christmas markets in Germany, France, Italy and Holland and don't recall seeing a carousel. Just lots of market stalls selling food and gifts. But just lots of little stalls would be boring.

TheLoneTensor

Paperballpark said:

^ If they'd called it 'Winter Village Carnival' then people would have been complaining there's only one ride! "When did you ever see a carnival with only one ride?"

Fact is that it's based on a European Christmas Market. From what I know of those, it's damned accurate, therefore 'Winter Village Market' is the correct and accurate name for it.

Honestly, I swear there's no pleasing some people.

There isn't? I think the set is nice, so there is some pleasing some people, although that doesn't insulate it from some observations and constructive criticisms. Is it a nice addition to the series? Yes. Is it a home run? No.

And, it still looks more like a carnival to me than it does a market, no matter what globetrotting facts may support the latter.

CCC said:

I've been to a few christmas markets in Germany, France, Italy and Holland and don't recall seeing a carousel. Just lots of market stalls selling food and gifts. But just lots of little stalls would be boring.

Yeah, I think that's what's missing, gifts/arts/crafts. That would drive it more into "market" territory.

Xefan

I've seen a carousel at Sheffield's winter market in the UK before.

khmellymel

there's one at the German Christmas Market here in Edinburgh... along with a whole load of other rides too. Strangely, there is a German Christmas Market in Shanghai as well which had a carousel. Very pretty with all the lights (I like Edinburgh's better tho)

I hope to pick this up, I think it's a great set, but I do not yet own any of the others in the line and think I might prioritise last year's over this year's. when it comes down to it, although I think I like this set better, a village ain't a village without a building!

BoiseState

I like it, but I don't have the previous sets so I probably won't pick it up.

TheLoneTensor

khmellymel said:

there's one at the German Christmas Market here in Edinburgh... along with a whole load of other rides too. Strangely, there is a German Christmas Market in Shanghai as well which had a carousel. Very pretty with all the lights (I like Edinburgh's better tho)

I hope to pick this up, I think it's a great set, but I do not yet own any of the others in the line and think I might prioritise last year's over this year's. when it comes down to it, although I think I like this set better, a village ain't a village without a building!

That's a smart idea, because you never know when something will retire, and certainly the older one will before the newer one.

dejavu

I think a big part of the disappointment for me is the lack of building challenge. Only the carousel looks interesting - all those booths and benches are so simple to build. All the other WV had elaborate building techniques, especially the snow-covered roofs.

piratemania7

I wonder to what degree TLG decided to put this set with the previously released sets and mix them together into one larger winter village? I can kind of picture in my head and large spread and these individual builds from this set sprinkled throughout the village?

At first who knows if TLG was planning a once a year seasonal release like this let alone for it to be as popular as it is. So perhaps there is nothing behind it and this is just "this years" release. I think with some additional add ons and your own personal touch, this is LEGO after all; that it will be a great scene.

caperberry

dejavu said:

I think a big part of the disappointment for me is the lack of building challenge. Only the carousel looks interesting - all those booths and benches are so simple to build. All the other WV had elaborate building techniques, especially the snow-covered roofs.

A good point. Perhaps the unexpected success with families building together has caused this, ie now there's lots of things to build as a team with plenty of easy stuff so Little Timmy and Timita don't get left out. I suppose it's possible this is the beginning of a new trend for WV but I doubt it/hope not.

nhyone

It will be interesting to see the parts inventory. Despite the Market's high parts count, many look like small pieces.

Here's the weight distribution of the 4 Winter sets. All data is from Bricklink.

                    Toy   Bakery  Post    Cottage
                    Shop          Office
>=0.01g (Non-zero)    97      83      66      176
>=0.20g (1x1 plate)  176     105     222      319
>=0.36g (1x2 plate)  257     220     282      564
>=0.80g (1x2 brick)  216     214     188      332
>=2.32g (2x4 brick)   19      20      16       27
>=3.21g (1x8 brick)   24      24      26       47

Basically, I'm using weight as a proxy for size. The WV Cottage has a high parts count, but most of them are smaller than a 1x2 brick.

TheLoneTensor

^Good analysis. We've always known it, but seeing empirical data is always nice.

Legoboy

Xefan said:

I've seen a carousel at Sheffield's winter market in the UK before.

Although, to see a lone ride pitched up in the middle of the local UK high street at any time of the year, we normally give it a wide berth. Strap a bit of holly and ivy to it and we're likely to try and find a different way around altogether. ;-)