27 replies to this topic

[Scorpio]

Christmas has come early to Eurobricks. Hopefully the weather doesn't. Without further ado, I bring to you the 2010 City Advent Calendar

Name: 2824 City Advent Calendar
Theme: LEGO System / City / Seasonal
Year: 2010
Number of Pieces: 271
Figures: 6
List Price: $34.99 USD
Resources: Brickset, BrickLink

Front of Box:


Back of Box:


Inside of Box:



Day 1 - Snowman:



Day 2 - Boy with Sword:



Day 3 - Skateboard and Ramp:



Day 4 - Toy Crane:



Day 5 - Drum Set:



Day 6 - Girl with Cat:



Day 7 - Piano:



Day 8 - Dog with Dish and Treats:



Day 9 - Toy Airplane:



Day 10 - Man with Briefcase:



Day 11 - Fireplace:



Day 12 - Firewood, Sleigh and Axe:



Day 13 - Toy Firetruck:



Day 14 - Woman with Baguette:



Day 15 - Table with Lamp:



Day 16 - Couch:



Day 17 - Shower:



Day 18 - Naked Santa:



Day 19 - Red Wagon:



Day 20 - Toy Bulldozer:



Day 21 - Yellow Wagon:



Day 22 - Toy Helicopter:



Day 23 - Christmas Tree:



Day 24 - Santa's Train Engine:



37 Extra Pieces:


All of the builds together:


The Rating System
Figures:    8/10  They are nice but nothing too special
Parts:      7/10  All little pieces but useful little pieces
Fun Factor: 9/10  If actually used as an advent calendar it would be a lot of fun. I had fun guessing what was behind every door
Design:     9/10  Overall good design work for such little creations
Price:      7/10  It could be a little less
Grand Total 40/50

Conclusion:
If I were a kid again and my parents bought me this and required me to open only one set a day I would probably go mad but at the same time it would be rewarding. I liked the progression of the builds and that the last two were the tree and Santa's engine.

I hope it was as nice for you as it was for me to get the Christmas feeling in the middle of August.
This is my first review and I am not technically in the Reviewer's Academy so any comments, critiques and criticism is welcome. Thanks for looking.

Edited by Rick, 02 October 2011 - 07:58 AM.
Indexed

[prateek]

Nice review. I like this year's calendar, and the play mat thingy attached to the box is really cool

[jonwil]

Nice review. Wish a retailer would stock this here in Australia, looks like its got some great parts.

[Svelte]

Thanks for the review.

Any set with a nude fig is an automatic win in my book, even if it is Santa

Is it wrong that I like the mini-models better than their large scale system counterparts?

This definitely looks better than the last two years

I really, REALLY hate that they don't give a face print to the cat anymore Can it really be that expensive to add? It makes a huge difference to what is otherwise a fairly crappy mould.

[Mr McGow]

This is a good review DHCP1121 with high quality photos. I've often seen these advent calenders at my local Toyworld and wondered what they were all about. To be honest though, there is nothing in this set that gives me a "wow" feeling. The sausages are kinda cute, (when is TLG going to make a radically differant colour/breed of dog?), but that's about it.

Interesting to see that hoodie torso in yet another city set (Day 2 - Boy with Sword). To me it doesn't really look like a hoodie though. Rather the pockets look more like the blue surgical masks I wear at work, when seeing patients with an infectious disease. Also two Santa minfigs in one set seems a bit excessive.

So overall a big   to this set, but a big   to your review.

[lightningtiger]

Thanks 'DHCP1121' for this great review !   
Lots of C & C stuff......Cute & Cool that is !
But can't Santa take a shower in peace !
Cool stuff each and every mini-creation !
Keep on bricking !

[LegoDad42]

Another great thorough review.

Cute all around!
Not too crazy about the mini-figs (of course Santa the nudist is fun). Those little micro toys are excellent and the little scenery models are fun too (except for the Snowman...looks awkward to me).
I'm gonna' pass on this though. I think there's a new Castle theme Advent Calendar coming out that I'd like to check out instead.

Edited by LegoDad42, 20 August 2010 - 06:11 AM.

[KielDaMan]

Early Christmas present indeed! Thanks for the review DHCP1121, very orderly presentation with clear photos. I think it's a pretty good selection of parts, pieces, and MFs, though it's not a must-buy for me. The Santa fig does look good (esp. the nude one).

[The Cobra]

I have mixed feelings about this calendar.
It's nice to have a whole family, but 6 minifigs is really a few. And that's with 2 Santas. Including a naked one.
Last year's calendar was Holiday oriented, this one seems children oriented, with all those mini toys.
Yet there are some good points with Santa's train, nice torsos, sausages, baguette and plenty of extra pieces. But we have a snowman for the third year in a row, and always getting worse.
I think I'll only buy this on sale, like I did last year (while I absolutely want the Castle AC).

Thanks for the review.

[Brickviller]

Great review, very clear. I came up with the idea to make a toy store when I buy this because it has so many toys

[noname]

Thanks for the great review.

There are some odd things in this advent calendar. The boy with the swords is really stupid- TLG should have done reddish brown swords instead of these.
The piano looks like a toy piano, a combination of these two.
The naked santa is really strange, but it's a good excuse to bring another white beard.
(Maybe it's the Christmas-spirited grandfather before his shower.

On the other hand, the crane, the fire truck, the helicopter and the airplane look really good. You can also use them as a mini-scale or micro-scale city.
The minifigures are great, esepecially the their torsos.

BTW, If you'll remove the chair from the go-cart it'll look like a mini-scale train.

I wouldn't buy this set, because I'm Jewish, but the advent calendars are not sold in Israel- maybe TLG will make a LEGO Hanukkah  .
It's a great set to get ideas for mini-scale vehicles and useful parts (for example, the sausages). Thanks again for the review, DHCP1121.

[Antonio]

Very cool review and i like the fact that TLG brings toys for the lego kids!   
The set si really nice and ill get it,but ill open  each 1 everyday until christmas.

[Holodoc]

Nice early (august, wait- august??? ) review!

There is only one good thing about the calendar: The micro toys are a nice source of inspiration.
But for the parts and the price - no, thank you!

... I still don't get the point with the naked Santa, but Santa hasn't got anything to do with Christmas, so why should I care?

[The Yellow Brick]

I think I might buy 2 of these along with the winter Bakery so that I get 4 Baquette's . Also I think the snowman is hideous, anybody else agree.

Edited by The Red Brick, 20 August 2010 - 10:53 AM.

[noname]

The Red Brick, on 20 August 2010 - 10:51 AM, said:

I think I might buy 2 of these along with the winter Bakery so that I get 4 Baquette's . Also I think the snowman is hideous, anybody else agree.

I think he looks like the second egyptian from the left here  
P.S
DHCP1121, how did you get it so early? Bricklink doesn't have an entry about this set, and Brickset says that this set hasn't been released yet.
Another thing- are the swords dark pearl?

Edited by noname, 20 August 2010 - 12:14 PM.

[Rick]

noname, on 20 August 2010 - 12:01 PM, said:

Another thing- are the swords dark pearl?

Looks like it. The dragon knights in the new Castle theme also have them.

[Scorpio]

noname, on 20 August 2010 - 12:01 PM, said:

DHCP1121, how did you get it so early? Bricklink doesn't have an entry about this set, and Brickset says that this set hasn't been released yet.

I was on the hunt for Series 2 Minifigs but they weren't in my store yet. Walked into the Lego section of Toys R Us and on the top shelf was a brown box of Advent Calendars that was already open. I don't know if there were supposed to sell it or not but it's at my house now.

[Night City Dream]

To me^ this calendar is way worse than the previous one. Too few minifigs, too much simple and useless staff...

[L@go]

Thanks for the (early) review! I hadn't owned a Lego advent calendar before last year's, and really enjoyed that - it went really well with the Winter Toy Shop on the shelf, and my friends who visited before Christmas loved seeing it.

Won't be buying this one, though, as the whole mini toy thing doesn't appeal to me, and the Castle calendar looks a lot more promising, even for integrating in some kind of city layout. The number of extra parts is interesting, though, and I might pick up a couple of the models on BrickLink later.

And the naked Santa is a hilarious - and terribly strange - idea... what where they thinking?  

[Praetorian]

I think this is a great advent calendar!  The miniature toys will make ideal additions to the Grand Emporium.

[04smallmj]

"Day 14 - Woman with Baguette". That's so random! Great review DHCP1121, I like how you show pics of each model, unbuilt and built   It looks like it comes with a lot of useful minifigure pieces, I like the sausages the most.

Speaking of Christmas in August, I volunteer in a charity shop and we have had a delivery of Christmas cards already!  

[Redcross]

I think this one is all about the toys and a bit of fun. Perhaps all the toys will need to be displayed on a sidewalk sale on tables rather than hidden away in the toy departments of our towns.

[fred67]

Available right now from US Shop@Home!

[metalgearsolid]

I thought the calendar isn't too bad given the pricing where I live, but I really hate the faceless cat.  

The previous cat with face printing is so cute but the new cat is just creepy...

[Darth Jar Jar]

metalgearsolid, on 05 September 2010 - 09:43 AM, said:

I thought the calendar isn't too bad given the pricing where I live, but I really hate the faceless cat.  

The previous cat with face printing is so cute but the new cat is just creepy...

Thats so sad I loved the cat with face printing

Edited by Darth Jar Jar, 05 September 2010 - 10:30 AM.