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LEGO 40603 Wintertime Carriage Ride and 40604 Christmas Décor Set [Review]

donderdag, 30 november 2023

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It’s the holiday season, and the mall is total chaos. But your kids need to find those latest Friends and Ninjago sets under the tree. Well, LEGO has a holiday present for you because they’re offering up two holiday themed gifts with purchase to make the shopping worth it. 40603 Wintertime Carriage Ride and 40604 Christmas Décor Set will be available this December with qualifying purchases. Let’s unwrap things a little early and have a sneak peak at these sets.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Unboxing the parts and instructions

Both sets come in boxes with a holiday appropriate green theme and a Limited Edition band running along the bottom. The Wintertime Carriage Ride shows the included minifigure couple taking a carriage ride. Were this a City set, we get some graphic design of the imagined environment, but for a GWP the shades of green will have to do.

The Christmas Décor Set box shows the included three bulbs. Not a very striking image, but it suffices to give you a decent impression of the build.

The Wintertime Carriage Ride comes with a set of instructions and two numbered bags.

While the Décor set features three bags with no numbering. You need to open all three bags at once to build any of the included bulbs. This was a bit of a missed opportunity, as I could see each bulb being in it’s own unique bag as a way to turn this set into a fun family activity…but then you’d need three sets of instructions, too…

The final model

The Wintertime Carriage is a surprisingly nice build. Dark reds and gold pieces accent the black to give the carriage a posh, luxurious feel. The carriage is pulled by the included horse and a swivel at the front axel allows the carriage to turn easily.

The back of the carriage sports a leather trunk for carrying cargo. No doubt this couple is taking their own respite from holiday shopping and may want to drop their wares in here while they take in the sights on their ride.

Up front, the carriage driver is situated between two lamps to help him see. But that horse must be well trained, because there are no reigns to guide him with.

When the ride is over, you can reward the well-trained horse with a carrot.

The three included minifigures are all made from reused parts, but to great effect. The young couple bundled up for the winter and the old carriage driver with his Santa-like beard would make for perfect additions to your Winter Village display.

The Christmas Décor set crafts three bulbs suitable for hanging on your tree.

These three builds are practically identical, save for a change in the colors on each. A center post makes use of some Studs Not On Top technique to create the rounded shape.

This also means that you can rearrange the bulb pieces to craft slightly more festive creations, if that’s your taste.

And the included rings do a great job of holding the bulbs on the branches of your tree, and I have no doubt that they’ll last through the season without falling to the floor and shattering. It’s a subtle, but effective way to let your holiday party guests know you spent too much money on LEGO this year. (But if your parties are anything like mine, your guests probably already know that.)

Conclusion and recommendation

GWP sets are always difficult to rate. They tend to not include new or rare pieces, and they require extra hoops to jump through to get. But, let’s be honest, you’re doing so much this holiday season, you deserve a little treat. So, make it a “One for you, and one for me” kind of occasion. Grab your loved ones their desired sets and snag these for yourself. Your Winter Village needs a carriage. (Just don’t let the kids see you playing with these before Christmas morning, or it might spoil the surprise.) 40603 Wintertime Carriage Ride and 40604 Christmas Décor Set will be available this December with qualifying purchases.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.