Remember, not everyone who has been collecting from the very start has actually bought the entire run. I see plenty of comments from people who skipped some over the years. The last two and Santa’s Workshop are too fantastical for some tastes. The train and station don’t appeal to some people. There’s a repeat of the Toy Shop in the gap, and one set is just a bunch of market stalls. Skip all of those and your town is basically toy shop, bakery, post office, blue house, fire station, blue house. Enjoy a magical Christmas build with this LEGO Santa’s Visit (10293) building kit. Explore all the traditional details of Santa’s visit with an enchanting Christmas house model to display. If you actually look at traditional Christmas Village lines, like Department 56, they release a ton of new products annually, with their main focus being small town Americana, which seems to be what the “realistic” WVC is based on (they’ve also done a Santa village line). In that context, it is actually common to see a variety of different architectural styles and color schemes. Rural communities tend not to impose restrictions on individual expression, especially if the population is spread thin enough that you can’t see any of your neighbors’ houses from your own yard.

That realism is certainly appreciated, especially following two previous sets which focused upon fantasy. While those models were enjoyable, returning to the traditional origins of the Winter Village collection is welcome. This creation should therefore complement previous examples, or provide magnificent display value alone. Box and Contents The wooden dining table looks magnificent as well, featuring a red table runner and matching upholstery on the chairs. Their construction techniques are rudimentary, but the result is great and seats are provided for all four minifigures, should Santa Claus decide to stay. A decorative centrepiece completes the dining table, with two additional candles. Chris McVeigh, LEGO Set Designer commented: “The holiday season is always a magical time for my family. It’s been fun to inject a few of my own family traditions and experiences into this set from the new Christmas cookie to the hidden gifts.” Winter Village models are traditionally open when viewed from behind, enabling easy access during play. This example is no exception, although its shape creates an unusually large open section. Nevertheless, I am satisfied with this configuration because the open sides provide an excellent view of the interior and can be concealed when displaying the model.LEGO has established a consistent aesthetic for Winter Village structures. 10293 Santa's Visit continues such conventions, including steep roof slopes and comprising vibrant light royal blue elements. This colour is shared with 77942 Fiat 500 and looks great, particularly in combination with the white roofs. However, greater contrast against 10229 Winter Village Cottage may have been advantageous, since these might be displayed together. There’s a more complicated form of trombone where a single valve allows you to skip the most extended positions and instead use more retracted positions. It does so by opening up a curl of tubing located in the rear section that subs in for the extra length achieved by extending the main slide more. Not only does this allow a trombonist to change notes faster, but it allows people with shorter arms to more easily hit the full range of notes. It’s not something that was offered on student-level instruments where I grew up, but anyone who is seriously considering even an amateur career as a trombonist might consider the upgrade worthwhile. Chequered white and tan tiles distinguish the kitchen from the dining area. Tremendous detail continues in here, as sand green units correspond with the aforementioned light fixture. These are similar to the kitchen units found in certain Modular Buildings, particularly since the realistic sink resembles that found in 10243 Parisian Restaurant and includes a pipe underneath. Santa's beard and traditional hat each remain unchanged from previous minifigures, although the head underneath is exclusive. This element appears friendly, but I prefer the bespectacled head featured on earlier depictions of Santa. Nevertheless, the newest depiction of this classic character is my favourite, particularly because of those dual-moulded legs. Attractive architecture has defined the beloved Winter Village and 10293 Santa's Visit achieves continued authenticity. This impressive cottage features distinctive roof slopes while the shape appears unusual, separating this creation from 10229 Winter Village Cottage.

Another wrapped gift is secreted in the rafters, above the sand green light fixture. This seems notably modern within the cottage, hence I would have preferred something more traditional in style. The consistent colour scheme of the rafters is brilliant though, resembling wooden beams and providing adequate support underneath the roof. My main issue is more that my build limit is 800-1000 pieces before I get bored and it's at the lower bound with the Winter Village simply because we own all the sets and when we haul it out of the attic for Christmas (and we don't even build every set) there is a chunk of building in addition to all the other Christmas stuff going on. This isn't a problem with the set in and of itself just the context it's built in and the builder.I give the set an overall grade of B+. It's a good, solid set. If someone buys the set I think he'll enjoy it and if it's given a pass I don't think it will be for any flaws of the set itself. As someone who used to play trumpet, I can only see the many problems with the design (extra mouthpiece, short one valve, missing the main tuning slide, and an off-color bell), but I recognize that it would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to do better with existing parts. Short of molded elements like the bugle, saxophone, violin, and various guitars, the only musical instrument I can think of that was accurately depicted with existing parts only is the flute. All they had to do to represent an old-style wooden flute with open hopes for the fingerings was paint dots on a lightsaber blade.

The dark blue windowsills and bands beneath each roof look marvellous, complementing the light royal blue walls. The contrasting dark bluish grey chimney appears perfect too, matching pieces around the door and incorporating light bluish grey highlights. Moreover, this deciduous tree makes good use of Technic elements, seeming suitably sparse and including a birdhouse. If you exclude the train and market stalls, the majority of WV buildings are shades of brown and tan, with two that feature blue. There are also two that feature green, and two with red. It’s just the fact that these are the only two regular houses that makes the choice to produce them both in shades of blue stand out, but this was probably a color of opportunity situation. With the blue Fiat requiring so many new LRB parts, they probably wanted to work them into as many sets as possible to justify the adjusted production runs, plus designers would have seen this as a chance to use a rare color without having to burn their own limited recolors on making it happen. Meanwhile, the child features a unique torso and double-sided head. Her cheerful and sleeping faces are perfect for Christmas Eve, while the teal pyjamas include a brilliant snowflake pattern. These decorative snowflakes and this colour resemble the baby from 10263 Winter Village Fire Station, so perhaps both figures portray the same character at different ages. The cottage measures nearly 29cm across which is surprisingly large, but seems proportional with previous sets. The details are consistently impressive too, especially around the entrance where two lanterns with trans-opal glazing are positioned. My favourite feature, however, is the wreath which is ingeniously fixed through the windows in the door. This construction method is unusual, but feels secure. If you’re dreaming of the perfect Christmas Eve, get the festive season off to a magical start with this LEGO Santa’s Visit (10293) model building set. It’s the ideal way to spend quality time with a cosy project for adults and families. Build the intricate Christmas house and explore all of the model’s jolly features before placing it on display.

Beautiful foliage continues beneath the central roof, alongside additional berries. Once again, these stand out perfectly against the walls and white roofs, which feature curved corners. The exposed studs are effective here and swapping these snow-covered surfaces for other colours, reflecting different seasons, would be easy. Christmas trees have appeared consistently throughout the Winter Village range, although the designs have varied dramatically. The newest creation appears relatively bushy and comprises numerous slopes, producing authentic texture. Such construction techniques seem rather basic when compared with previous LEGO Christmas trees, such as the superb example from 10275 Elf Club House. No staircase is included to reach the upper floor, although that was probably the wisest choice because space is restricted. However, this child's bedroom makes efficient use of the available room, containing a flame yellowish orange bed and a desk. This mezzanine configuration looks fantastic as well, differing substantially from previous LEGO houses.