Mr GeoK’s Lego shopping continues to evolve. He’s buying more sets these days compared to 2019. The increase is almost entirely due to the LEGO® Speed Champions series. That makes it a little easier to create a wish list of Lego sets to order when the annual holiday bonus sets become available.
Some years, he orders just enough to qualify for one holiday bonus set. But other years his wish list is long enough that he’ll break it into multiple orders. So when multiple holiday bonus sets arrive, he places one on my desk and stores the rest away for future trades/sales.
I always look forward to an enjoyable hour or so of Lego building and then finding a spot to add the latest set to the Christmas decor on our mantlepiece or coffee table. This year I assembled the Santa’s Front Door set from 2021. Or maybe it’s called Santa’s Front Yard. I’ve seen both set names online, and the box itself doesn’t show the name.
Badged as limited edition the set was available for Black Friday in 2021, again in July 2022 and I even found it on the Walmart website this afternoon! The box shows 317 pieces, which includes a sheet of stickers (not my favourite thing).
Box Contents
The box contains one bag labeled 1, two bags labeled 2, 3 one-third height white base plates and an instruction book. I need to remember to have a brick remover on hand when I open these bonus sets, as they don’t come with one and I broke two fingernails when I had to correct an error.
The Build
The parts in bag 1 are more colourful than the finished build suggests. I like the way Lego includes really colourful bricks in spots that eventually become hidden. It makes it easier for my decidedly middle-aged eyes to follow the instructions. And it makes me smile when I look at the set long after it’s built…I know a secret about what’s inside. 🙂
Ten steps along, the scale of the build is apparent, given the three loose base plates have been joined together with a layer of full-height bricks across the back.
This close-up shows all the colourful bricks that are covered over by additional layers of “snow” and “ice” bricks.
With stage 1/bag 1 complete, the wintry landscape of the North Pole is complete – with the addition of four tree stumps from which will sprout four out-of-place evergreen trees!!
Stage 2/Bags 2
The backdrop is unusual in a Lego holiday bonus set. In fact, as I worked on this section, I thought about how certain aspects are similar to parts of the Starry Night set, which I recently completed. The bonus set rendition is much simpler, using full height bricks and stickers vs. the one-third height bricks and printed pieces in the much more expensive Lego collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art.
Side comment: I found assembling the one-third height background for Starry Night somewhat tedious, so in that regard, this set is more enjoyable!
This shot is from about 10 steps along in Stage 2. At this point, I made the choice to go along with the portrayal of evergreen trees at the North Pole. There’s no point grumbling about the inaccuracy.
Look closely and you’ll see just how bad I am at applying stickers. And yes, I used a pair of tweezers! Anyhow, here’s the completed backdrop, with the two-dimensional evergreen trees cleverly tied-in to the navy background.
At this point, there are two more trees, the elf minifig and the reindeer still to go.
The three-dimensional evergreen trees are cleverly done, with both snow-covered and snow-cleared branches. One nice touch is how the four evergreen trees are all different heights.
Completed Set
The scale of the reindeer vs the trees is a little off. And the carrot is super-sized (wouldn’t I love to pull carrots of that scale from my own back yard garden). But otherwise this is a cute little set that will make a great addition to our mantlepiece Christmas display.
Opinion
This set sparked joy during the build. I’ll treasure the secret of those brightly-coloured bricks under the layers of snow and ice. And I chuckled when I discovered that parts of the reindeer are a repurposing of Star Wars droid components.
It looks good. Mr GeoK commented how the white, pale turquoise and transparent turquoise bricks work well together to convey a sense of ice and snow.
There are at least a couple of opportunities for creative photography with this set. One is to find a way to light up the hand lantern. And swapping out the white stars for transparent ones could also provide an opportunity for lighting. I’ll see what I come up with if I am bored one evening between Christmas and New Year’s.
What about you? Anything you particularly like/dislike about this set? Or that you’d change? If so, please share take a few seconds to share via comment. Meanwhile happy holidays to you, however you celebrate this special time of year.