SilentMode

REVIEW: 10222 Winter Village Post Office

  

70 members have voted

  1. 1. How do you rate this set?

    • Poor
      1
    • Below Average
      0
    • Average
      8
    • Above Average
      35
    • Outstanding
      26
  2. 2. Which is your favourite Winter set to date?

    • Winter Toy Shop
      36
    • Winter Village Bakery
      21
    • Winter Village Post Office
      22


Recommended Posts

gallery_2351_18_164.gif

Are you ready for some action? Are you ready for another review from the illest AFOL on the streets? I'm not actually ill, just a little tired and sleepy from building this set - but let's do this.

This particular set was released yesterday, and I picked it up yesterday. (I was actually looking for this other, "exclusive" set that had been mentioned here on EB - which turned out to be the Kingdoms Joust set.) A quick conversation with one of the staff at the Lego store revealed they'd been stockpiling these for "several weeks".

img_7603.jpg

Winter Village Post Office

Set 10222

# of pieces: 820

# of minifigs: 7

RRP: GBP 49.99 / USD 59.99 / CAD $79.99 / EUR 59.99

Links: Eurobricks

Brickset

Following the success of last year's Winter Village Toy Workshop and Winter Village Bakery, this year's Winter set takes us to the Village Post Office: a small building in a sleepy rural village, reminiscent of Groundhog Day.

Actually, this building reminds me of one of the entries from last year's EB winter competition - didn't someone make a Winter Post Office?

~ The box ~

Let's examine the box, as is customary:

img_7622.jpg

The back of the box.

img_7610.jpg

On one side, along with the lengthy part counts, one of the minifigures is featured.

img_7613.jpg

Another side of the box shows this set's multicultural heritage. And yes, China is involved.

img_7611.jpg

The main feature of this set is highlighted in the bottom right corner of the front of the box: the very special light brick. This will be my first ever light brick.

img_7615.jpg

If you're in France, the light brick will come with piles instead of batteries. (Cream sold separately.)

~ The contents ~

So now we're going to open the box and reveal the contents. Get ready to have your mind blown.

img_7624.jpg

The box itself feels rather lop-sided when you take it from the shelf, but once you see the contents you'll understand why. The nine bags fill the box reasonably well, with little air inside.

img_7626.jpg

Here's a close-up on one of the bags, which shows there are numerous small pieces to contend with. Medium blue features prominently here, which is one of my favourite "new" colours.

img_7631.jpg

The manual is packed in its own bag, along with the DSS (dreaded sticker sheet?). They are both kept flat with the aid of a sturdy piece of cardboard.

img_7628.jpg

img_7638.jpg

Hidden in one of the large bags of parts is the star of the show (apart from the actual star), the light brick. There's a very small black tab underneath the brick that prevents it from lighting up until it's pulled out.

Also in the instructions, at the very front, are steps to replace the cell battery.

img_7633.jpg

And here's the DSS. I won't be using this in the review; I tend not to apply stickers to sets as I'll most likely use the parts in MOCs and things. (Sadly, darkdragon, the banjo print is actually a sticker.)

img_7649.jpg

Here I've shown some of the many large plates that will be used to build the set; the largest are three 6x12 white plates, which serve as bases.

img_7655.jpg

Dark green is probably the most in-demand but rare "new" colour, and this set doesn't disappoint.

This brings back memories of the "mosh pit" at this year's AFOLcon: before I could even figure out what was going on, dark green elements were the first to disappear. Many an injury was incurred during my visits to the pit, and till this day I'm suffering from "stud strife".

Anyway...

img_7678.jpg

If dark green's not your thing, check out this interesting selection of blue and white tiles. Dark blue and medium blue tiles look particularly attractive, while the set provides no less than 16 1x3 white tiles.

img_7670.jpg

A selection of the even smaller parts. I forgot to include the five dark green cheese slopes before, but we also have metallic silver, reddish brown and pearl gold studs, and a few more medium blue elements.

And now for the stars of the show, in my book:

~ The stars of the show ~

img_7694.jpg

I haven't seen those trees come in a set in years (bearing in mind I don't usually buy sets), but they've made a very welcome return. It's been a long time since I've handled a tree that hasn't been chewed.

We've got four trans light blue "flame" parts that serve as icicles, the new lattice window panes, three of this year's new clip plates, two "burglar" sacks and a black lamppost. A very nice addition is the sought-after "Elsa"* blonde hairstyle, as well as the clear minifigure head. And of course, no set would be complete without a bone and four heavy-duty bazookas.

The German Shepherd dog isn't the same as the Police dog - not only has it got a different face print, but I'm 90% sure it's in Bricklink's Dark Flesh. (It's Earth Orange!)

Finally, you'll also see we have two distinct minifigure heads and two new torsos. I'm fairly certain they're new prints but someone's bound to correct me.

* Trivia for those who don't know: I was told this hairpiece was actually modelled after Megan Rothrock, a very talented designer at TLG.

~ The minifigures ~

Here we have the minifi...

img_7710.jpg

img_7705.jpg

It appears that the male figures are completely smitten by the blonde female, which hasn't resulted well for the female postal worker. I have to admit, the blonde looks good!

If I can eventually tear the guys away, you'll see more of them a bit later.

img_7712.jpg

~ The models ~

The Winter Village Post Office comprises of four different models; we'll go through them in the instruction manual order.

Model One: the bench

img_7720.jpg

So we start things off with a very simple build; this model takes only around 20 pieces. It incorporates a male in a mismatching bright green hood (the same one as in the 2011 City Advent Calendar) and light bluish grey jacket, a young boy and a dog. This scene probably represents a small park or a roadside bench.

Yes, I'm convinced TLG is advocating the whipping of dogs. Don't get it twisted: they want you to think that menacing whip is something else...

img_7732.jpg

...but the instructions clearly show otherwise:

img_7724.jpg

(Disclaimer: a woman, a dog and a walnut tree - SilentMode does not endorse the whipping of any of these.)

Model Two: the Post Office van

img_7734.jpg

This doesn't look like any post office van I've ever seen, but it's a neat little model. This vehicle is the preserve of the male postal worker, who wears a black cap.

The van is home to a couple of gift boxes (one of which doesn't actually fit in the van with ease), and inexplicably a burglar sack sitting on top. Also on the right side there are a couple of attached snow shoes in reddish brown: at first I thought they were part of some elaborate engine, but it turns out they're actually for the postal worker to wear in snowy conditions. Duh.

Many of the stickers would go on the van (the red panels and licence plate), but as mentioned before I don't apply them.

img_7737.jpg

img_7742.jpg

Model Three: the gazebo pavillion gazebo

It's a gazebo. :hmpf_bad:

img_7767.jpg

This is one of the more complicated models, so it effectively comes in two parts. The first is the base, which explains the presence of four large bazookas, and the second is the roof containing the massive star.

img_7747.jpg

img_7757.jpg

One thing to watch out for when placing the roof: the bazooka pieces fit into the small peg, rather than the last hole, underneath the tan parts. This wasn't made very clear in the instructions, but if you try to fit the bazookas on the ends of the tan arches, you'll break the structure. This bit is rather tricky.

The gazebo is accompanied by these two talented musicians, each with their own instrument:

img_7770.jpg

img_7771.jpg

I wasn't keen on the instruments in preview pictures, but I'm rather impressed with the saxophone construction in this set. At least, I'm pretty sure it's a saxophone. It could actually be something that requires a lighter.

Model Four: the Post Office

And now the main event...

img_7831.jpg

This bad boy is constructed in several parts, most of which I've tried to show in the pictures below. It takes a while to see it forming, but it's well worth the time.

The first part is obviously the ground floor, which includes the interior and the windows. There's 14 of those small windows to construct, and it's very interesting to see how the front ten are arranged to give that curved shape. The interior is tiled with alternating dark tan and dark blue tiles, and even includes a fireplace.

img_7773.jpg

img_7777.jpg

img_7778.jpg

img_7780.jpg

The next stage sees a front door being added, as well as something to secure the front windows in place, and a window for the top floor:

img_7799.jpg

This part also sees the insertion of our light brick, as follows:

img_7801.jpg

After that we look at making the roof. This is achieved with some Technic parts on the building and under the green plates, held together by 1x4 axles.

img_7807.jpg

We do the same thing for the other side of the building, which contains a very small solitary room. This side also has an analogue clock.

img_7820.jpg

With the building complete, we finally add the peripherals: the small tree goes in one corner, two postboxes are put out front, and we add a classic lamppost at the back. The lamppost's construction is very simple but effective, making use of that odd "elephant trunk" black piece.

img_7829.jpg

~ Leftovers ~

After building all four of the models, we have these pieces remaining:

img_7842.jpg

Pretty much one of every cheese slope and round plate, and a couple of 1x1 tiles for the journey.

Also potentially interesting are the remaining pages in the instructions:

img_7849.jpg

Here's what happens if you combine this set with the Winter Village Bakery.

img_7851.jpg

Two of this year's Creator sets, along with those highly-popular modular buildings.

img_7852.jpg

An ad for DESIGNbyME, along with an invitation from the Ashton Kutcher of Lego to join the Lego Club.

~ Lighting! ~

img_7889.jpg

Awesome.

~ Fun with the set ~

This is my favourite bit, and I promise there are no gorillas involved.

img_7856.jpg

img_7859.jpg

Unable to gain assistance from the female postal worker, the femme fatale approaches the male with an important letter. "Oh mister man, could you possibly help me?" *screech*

img_7873.jpg

"This is Rosa Lee reporting from the sleepy town of Snowdonia, where pop sensation Bryknii is giving a free performance to the locals as part of her conditional leave. What's shocked us all is that she's performing without her autotuning mic!"

img_7870.jpg

img_7882.jpg

img_7885.jpg

img_7867.jpg

Sabe: "I'm stepping away from you, 'cos I don't wanna be too close."

Chef: "You ungrateful, nasty, vindictive little joker."

Sabe: "@#!$ you."

Chef: "That's it, is it?"

Sabe: "That is it. You're very disappointing!"

Chef: "That's your second @#!$ performance tonight."

Sabe: "Are you kidding me? Your whole act is a @#!$ joke."

Chef: "Anything else?"

img_7888.jpg

Sabe: "Your whole act is a @#!$ joke and you're a phony."

Chef: "You shouldn't run like that."

img_7861.jpg

[insert innuendo here]

All of a sudden...

img_7899.jpg

"Ma'am, we have reason to believe there's an unauthorised lighting device in this property; we are required to confiscate it until proper authorisation is filed."

"But..."

"Step aside, ma'am."

img_7908.jpg

"That thing?! You can't take that, the boss will kill me!"

"Don't make me use lethal force, ma'am."

img_7880.jpg

You didn't see this.

img_7913.jpg

"You know you're not supposed to solicit men with shovels!"

"But mom..."

~ The verdict ~

I missed out on both the Winter Village Toy Workshop and Winter Village Bakery last year, and while they are back again this year they've reverted to their original prices (GBP 40.99 and 44.99 respectively). The Winter Village Post Office is the most expensive of the Winter sets out at present, and normally I wouldn't buy a set like this at full price. The main draw for me, particularly towards the Toy Workshop, was figuring out how the models were built.

Unlike other sets I've reviewed, I do think I got my money's worth with the Post Office: it's reflected in the selection of parts, particularly with all the dark green elements and various sized and coloured tiles. The set itself makes an excellent wintery display on its own, but imagine what it would be like with the Toy Workshop and the Bakery combined.

The highlight of the set for me is easily the new minifigure prints - along with the S5 Snowboarder's torso and the bright green one in the City Advent Calendar, we could use more designs. Bring on a City skiing theme!

But there are two major downsides to this set, and I don't know if they apply to the other winter sets:

- The first is that we could really have used numbered bags for the different models. As it stands, the different parts - especially the small ones - are all mixed together in different bags. It made finding particular small parts (and there's a heck of a lot of them) very difficult, even in sunlight.

- The second is the quality of the instruction manual: it might be my eyesight, my inexperience with newer sets or the yellow indoor lighting, but there were times when I couldn't tell which colour parts to use. This particularly happened with black, grey, dark tan and especially the transparent colours. It might also have to do with the many hours spent this week creating my own instructions.

Either way, these two drawbacks meant that the build (along with taking photos) took two or three hours.

Design: 9/10

A very good-looking series of models that would be great as part of a wintery display - or even on their own.

Build: 7/10

A reasonably good set to pick up building techniques from. The combination of numerous small parts, mixed bags and instructions means increased building time.

Parts: 9/10

Many many parts stood out on their own in this set, but there's something for everybody. The female blonde stands out as perhaps the best City minifigure this year. Some might find the spare parts underwhelming, compared to the 2011 City Advent Calendar.

Playability: 8/10

Apart from the van I think the models themselves (especially the post office) are more display pieces. The minifigures can easily be adapted.

Price: 7/10

I think this set could have been a little less expensive, perhaps the same as the Bakery (GBP 44.99), but for the parts it's okay.

Based on these scores I'd give this set a reasonable 8/10.

And that's it. It's almost 4am; I'm off to bed.

img_7917.jpg

Postcard from 1967

img_7727.jpg

A golden age when little boys would attempt unspeakable things with pet dogs.

Edited by SilentMode
Indexed

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Already?! It's not even October November yet! Well, thanks anyways. :laugh:

This set is a peculiar one. It's full of great pieces, and a lot of figs for a great price, but I don't know if it's better than WTS. It's still pretty awesome though :thumbup:

Edited by prateek

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Awesome review SilentMode. I don't know what it is about the Winter themed sets, but they just seem to have special appeal, well to me at least. Maybe it's because we don't get a lot of snow here in Australia, so any thing that features that alleged white stuff is special. I love the mini-figs, especially the blond femme-fatale, but I do feel sorry for the female postal worker. Oh, and your girls in sailor suits are just so cute, brings out the otaku in me...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Awesome review! A few (ahem) 'questionable' details, but very entertaining.

I love this set, it will join the rest of my winter village for sure, I think the vehicle looks great, and that it's an awesome addition to the rest of the set. The post office follows in the footsteps of the toy store and the bakery in having great details, I like how the designers are keeping a very good common thread through all the designs.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great Review! :thumbup:

I'm still pretty new to Lego but I think there is something about the Winter sets that just seem to have that special something that you just have to have one for yourself. I hope I get one of these soon. I wonder what they will come up with next year!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for a FUNNY review of the WPO.....the female postal worker forgot to wear a bra this morning and blonde chick did ! :devil::laugh:

Joking aside a very good set and equal to the bakery in my opinion (the toy shop was not a joy to build and is my least favorite). :wink:

The saxophone is only part of the set which lets it down - a trumpet which is available (okay, it's just a horn) could have been used. :blush:

When I can score one of these I getting one to add to the other two buildings ! :sweet:

Footnote - This is my 10,000 post on Eurobricks ! :grin:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you guys for the feedback, and congratulations lightningtiger!

Also, whoever added that <-- title - what a nice gesture. :classic:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks silentmode for the review.

I would have liked to see more clearly how the roof in the gazebo is made. It looks like a clip, and a semi-round plate, but the pic looks dark and I can't quite make it out.

No problem, though, as my wife has one of these coming for her display. She has the Winter Toy Shop, Bakery, and a Medieval Market Village to go into a display. For Christmas I ordered her a Mill Village and a Diagon Alley to go with the other buildings.

I myself have parted out two of each of the Bakery and Toy Shop into my parts for MOCs, and I have unopened boxes of each as well. I am undecided whether I want to do that with this year's set or not.

I do like the dark green, though, so I might have to get it just for those. :wink:

Your reviews are always great, keep them coming!

Locutis

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Fantastic Review! I have these but never built them. My mother loved them so much she had to build them. :laugh: She's never built anything in her life. Still, this will make a great addition to her my collection. The blonde woman is very :wub:. As is the sax! I do see a technique they used on Diagon Alley in there. Anyone else spot it? Great review!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the review SilentMode!

This is a great set, and you've really showed that with the pictures. However, I don't own any of them, and I think buying one would tempt me to buy the rest! :laugh:

Oh well. Maybe if it is ever discounted I'll pick it up.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would have liked to see more clearly how the roof in the gazebo is made. It looks like a clip, and a semi-round plate, but the pic looks dark and I can't quite make it out.

Just took a couple of pictures to show how it's done:

img_7921.jpgimg_7922.jpg

Basically the circle corner plates are held in place with the clip plate and a four-way clip piece (probably a Technic part) that sits in the centre of the roof. Simple, but I'd never have thought of it. Thanks for the compliments!

If this set is discounted again (hopefully with the Toy Workshop), there's going to be some stockpiling.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Basically the circle corner plates are held in place with the clip plate and a four-way clip piece (probably a Technic part) that sits in the centre of the roof. Simple, but I'd never have thought of it.

I believe that's actually a new part for this year and quite possibly this set too.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great review! I have the WVTS and WVB as well. Just picked up the WVPO last night. I need to build the Bakery and Post Office soon as I have them planned as part of my Christmas display for my LEGO studio.

Great photos and story.

Andy D

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great review and I absolutely love this set!

However, is it just me or did Lego go back on their press release prices. Your review quotes the US price at $59.99 which is what I remember from the press release. However, I just checked the official S@H website, and it's now quoting $69.99. Lego's being cruel to me. I was hoping the price would stay at the same level as Winter Village Toy Shop.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great review and I absolutely love this set!

However, is it just me or did Lego go back on their press release prices. Your review quotes the US price at $59.99 which is what I remember from the press release. However, I just checked the official S@H website, and it's now quoting $69.99. Lego's being cruel to me. I was hoping the price would stay at the same level as Winter Village Toy Shop.

I got the price list from the other thread on EB about this set, but given it's GBP 49.99 I think it would roughly be USD 69.99. That's a shame.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The dog is actually in Bricklink's Dark Orange (TLG's 38 Dark Orange). Bricklink's Dark Flesh (TLG's 217 Brown) stopped appearing in new sets after 2006, and was probably discontinued at that time.

The clip piece used to assemble the gazebo roof is actually from last year's Toy Story sets. Specifically, it's used to make the claw in the Trash Compactor Escape set. I think this may be its first appearance since then in an actual set.

Anyway, great review! The lighting of some of your photos could have been better, as there's an uncanny orange glow in many of the "build" pictures, but it still shows the construction of the set in great detail.

I like this set a great deal, but there are things I think could be improved. For instance, I'd much prefer the minifigures if the man in the bright green parka hood were wearing the matching bright green torso from this year's City Advent Calendar. The grey torso just seems flat-out underwhelming. The actual construction of the set is of course to die for-- I love the curved window to the post office-- and the minifigures are mostly desirable, but this one minifigure design choice bothers me significantly.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Turns out there were two post office entries in the "Expand the Winter Village" competition last year:

Santa's Post Office by Cecilie

Post Office by SuperBagel

Had wondered if there were any similarities between them and the official set.

Anyway, the orange tint exists when I don't use the flash. I'm going to look at getting a proper setup for my next review or creation, whenever that is.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the review SilentMode!

This is a great set, and you've really showed that with the pictures. However, I don't own any of them, and I think buying one would tempt me to buy the rest! :laugh:

Oh well. Maybe if it is ever discounted I'll pick it up.

Totally agree with everything you said (well, wrote..). Great review of a beautiful set, such great details and the blonde minifigure is one of the nicest I've ever seen. :sweet:

Any idea if these sets will become discounted after Christmas (wishing and hoping)??

Edited by Roger Rabbit

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Postcard from 1967

:look:

Nice review, great pictures... although I'd be getting this either way.

I also have problems with the colors in the instructions. Sometimes it helps to check the complete inventory on the last couple of pages, since they're grouped by color.

Specifically, they can't really print black pieces as black, because then you'd just see black - you wouldn't see the detail on the bricks. That's what it looked like when I built the the UCS Batmobile... and all the pieces were black. It was terrible. I honestly am not sure how they could do it any better.

The saxophone is only part of the set which lets it down - a trumpet which is available (okay, it's just a horn) could have been used. :blush:

I don't know... I have horns, you can get horns on BL... while I like the idea of molded instruments, I think the Sax is a nice change and well done as brick-built. It would be cool to have a molded Sax, but I don't know how much I like LEGO moving from more generic to specific pieces. There's a happy medium, even if I don't know exactly what it is.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice pics at the end, it's always nice to see a little random action in LEGO City! That gazebo is really unique, and the window section on the post office is great. So is the dog the same as in the Pet Shop? Looks like it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So is the dog the same as in the Pet Shop? Looks like it.

Very sure it is, actually I didn't realise the similarity until after seeing the review of the Pet Shop. Thanks for the feedback!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is a charming set. My interest in LEGO Town has grown over the years, but the only sets I've ever seriously looked at are the winter exclusives like this one. They just radiate homey nostalgia in the purest LEGO sense. Being a family man who loves Christmas time, these sets are even more appealing. This set gets high marks in my book.

However, the Bakery is still my favorite of the trio... great review, by the way! :thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.