mostlytechnic Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) In early January, I was at the local Lego store with VIP rewards in pocket, looking for a new toy. On a bottom shelf I spotted one Grand Carousel set. I knew it shouldn't be there, so I quickly grabbed it, shocked that the crowd in the store was ignoring it just because the box was banged up. Name: Grand Carousel Set Number: 10196 Pieces: 3263 Price: $250 / £180 (originally) Ages: 16+ Minifigs: 9 Theme: Town Year of Release: 2009 Links: Bricklink Peeron Brickset The Box This set is out of production, and I assume they found it in the back because the box was pretty smashed up. The Price That's right, I got it for just $125 due to the box damage! At the time, sealed sets were selling for around $350 on Bricklink. The Back of the Box More damage is visible, but I love the photography here. The minifig group along the bottom is especially nice, with all the posing. Lego took good advantage of the huge box to show a lot on the back. There's a cutaway to show the mechanisms, the overall shot to show size, and several nice minifig's-eye-view action shots. The only thing missing is a camera in the hands of "dad" in the bottom-center photo. The Box Top Even though this is a huge set with over 3200 pieces, Lego had enough space on the top of the box to show the entire part selection. Look at the color array - there's all the usual white, grey, and blacks, plus two shades of blue, two greens, two reds, tan, yellow, gold, reddish brown, dark tan... and that's not even counting the trans parts! Many of these very large sets are pretty monochromatic (think of the grey Star Wars sets, or the mostly tan London Bridge, or the Taj Mahal...), but this one just explodes with color. The 1:1 Indicator This set is so huge that they didn't show an actual size part, they show an actual size portion. These decorations that go around the carousel run around 70 pieces each to build, so this really gives a sense of scale. And I love the smirk on the head... like he's saying just wait, you won't get to build me for many many hours... As a photographer, I find it interesting that they took this photo with it installed on a carousel. Above the jester head you can see the grey ball that the canvas hooks to. Why didn't they just remove it and take a photo on a white background for easier editing, rather than using a shot from an installed decoration and have to much more carefully cut it out for use on the box? The Baseplate The carousel is built on a plain green 48x48 plate. That's the largest plate Lego makes (there was a 50x50 back in the 70s, but no longer available) and this is the only place to get it in plain green. There was a green with soccer field paint version a few years back that came with two of these plates to make a field, but it obviously wasn't plain. Given the scarcity of this part (and since I'd think this is a very desirable baseplate for large scene builders), I'm surprised that it's only going for $15-$20 on Bricklink. It does have one issue though. It's VERY flimsy. Moving the carousel for these photos was always interesting, since the baseplate bends easily. The Parts There are 25 bags of parts, not counting the canvas and Power Functions parts. They're not numbered or organized in any way (except for that bag in the center with all 48 of the dark red inverted slopes), so I recommend that you begin by sorting them all out. There are several bags that are duplicates of each other, so you could just sort one if you need to save space. My wife and I built this on a card table without enough room to sort everything and it really slowed us down. The Sticker Sheet Although the sticker sheet was tucked into the manuals when I opened the box, it was still crinkled. It didn't actually end up mattering, since the stickers smoothed out nicely when applied. The gold circles along the top though are some of the worst stickers I've ever had to apply. I'd rather do the stickers on the curved Technic panels any day - those circles are supposed to go in the bottom of the gold bowls. My fingers are just too big for that. Any why so many stickers for a large set? I think those gold vertical decorations should have been printed. There are twelve of them per carousel. Even the Emerald Night (at a much lower price tag) had gold printed parts for the engine. The Manuals There are two of them, both large, nice manuals. Inside they're clear and easy to follow, but nothing interesting. Just standard Lego manuals. Just be ready to repeat things - they're full of "make 8 of these" and "make 12 of these" sections. It IS a round, symmetrical carousel after all. The PF and Canvas Parts The battery box and motor each are packed separately, and then there's the bag with one of only two unique parts in the set - the 8 canvas triangles that make the roof. (The other unique part is the sound box that plays carousel music.) They are very sturdy and nicely cut. The Minifigs The lineup: First is the operator. Nice beard. Then mom and dad. Strangely, dad is wearing the same shirt as the operator. Did they plan that? Is dad a ride operator at the park too? Next are two teens, I guess. Boring clothes; the second is completely plain! Finally there are 4 little kids. One boy has the same shirt as his big brother. And finally the twins on the end. I'm assuming they're twins since they're wearing the exact same clothes. Is this all supposed to be one family ? I'm guessing it's just random kids, in which case the two boys with matching shirts are probably siblings, the twins are obviously siblings, but I don't know who belongs to this mom and dad. Overally, the quantity is nice, but they're a bit boring. A few accessories would have been nice. A camera for dad, a Nintendo DS for the kids (because you know kids these days would be bored with a carousel), etc. Building the Carousel, Part 1: The Baseplate Construction begins on the baseplate immediately. First up are some white bricks in the back left corner (which are later removed - they're used only to get that one section of white fence in the correct spot!) The motor is built up as well, along with the plates that the carousel will rotate on. Building the Carousel, The Motor There was no good way to hide the battery box and motor for this set. Lego did the best they could, adding a fence and a control platform for the ride operator on top of the battery box. A real carousel would have the mechanisms inside the center of the ride, but plenty of other amusement park rides have exposed machinery like this, so it works alright in my opinion. Building the Carousel, Part 2: The Spinning Base This was the longest part of the build. That huge tan base took several hours to assemble (partly due to having all the parts still there to dig through, partly due to the wide array of pieces and colors needed, and partly due to watching tv while building). There are 8 wheels on the underside of this base that roll along the tiles underneath, and the log bricks in the center hold it nicely in place while it rotates. That's actually one unrealistic aspect of this set. Most real carousels don't have wheels under the floor. It's all hanging from the structure overhead, which is all supported by the central tower section. Lego however isn't designed to have hanging weight like that, so they cheated a bit by supporting the weight from underneath. The wheel driven by the motor just rubs the outside of this to spin it. It's all simple but so effective (and realistic - lots of amusement park rides use driven tires as the power source). Building the Carousel, Part 3: The Center Time to get out that bag of 48 dark red inverted slopes and all the white pieces you can find. This structure just builds level upon level up to the top. Here I've removed part of the top layer to show the structure. The panels with the gold stickers are on hinges at the bottom to achieve the nice slope. Behind the dark red slopes is a very sturdy structure of white arches and bricks. Hinged bricks are used at a couple levels to hold it in the circle. All in all, this is one solid piece of struture here, easily able to support the weight of the carousel roof. Building the Carousel, From Overhead Even though Lego bricks are rectangular, this set does an awesome job making large circles. The center is a dodecahedron (12 sided), and the base is a hexadecagon (16 sided). For this set, Lego basically built the biggest carousel that would fit on this massive baseplate. There's only 2 studs to spare on each side! Building the Carousel, Part 4: The Mechanism A carousel needs a way to have the horses move up and down. This is the Lego method. First, make several of each of these parts. Building the Carousel, Part 5: The Mechanism Combine all the pieces you just made into this ring. The wheels will ride on the edges of the central column, rotating the axles. The blue thin 2 liftarms will raise and lower the white 5 liftarms. Simple, effective, very Lego. However, what's up with all the colors here? None of this layer will be seen, so why the blue thin liftarms, red bushes, yellow thin bushes... not to mention the dark blue bricks and dark red bricks in the outer ring. It did make finding the parts easier though, so that was nice. You can also see in the center the light bluish gray sound brick (pointing towards the camera). There's a button on the side facing the middle that triggers it. Building the Carousel, Part 6: The Top Ring The ring just sits on the tower, attaching to the tan floor with 8 16 axles in white. Building the Carousel, Part 6: The Top Ring Detail A closeup of the mechanism here. This part does require you to pay attention to the symbol in most Lego manuals to NOT attach things too tightly on axles. There are so many connections here it's easy to get it bound up. Things (especially between the blue thin arms and the white 5 liftarms) need to be loose enough to spin very freely. Even with freely spinning axles, there's still so little friction between the tires and tiles that sometimes the horses will stop moving up and down for a moment. Building the Carousel, Part 7a: The Horses There are six total horses on the carousel, two of each color. Other than colors, they're all identical. The figs seem a little small on them compared to most carousel horses I've seen in real life. And the small kid on the dark grey horse - seriously, with the short (non-bending) legs, she has to stand! You can also see here the stickers for the eyes. The white and light grey look good, but the dark grey are too dark for the bricks. Building the Carousel, Part 7b: The Sleigh One daughter gets to ride this nice sleigh. It does go up and down like the horses (the real-life carousels I have been on usually have sleighs or similar that don't move). I actually think it looks a little plain. Everything else on the carousel is loaded with jewels, fruit, gold... this only has the two gems. Building the Carousel, Part 7c: The Thing? I have to say, I have no idea what this is supposed to be. A hot air balloon basket? A gondola from something? Anyway, like the sleigh, it's a bit plain. They did add a beard at the back for a little more decoration, but it's still simple compared to everything else. Building the Carousel, Part 8: The Decorations Carousels always have to be adorned with golden decorations and assorted colorful things. Here is how Lego does that. First, there's 8 heads with jester hats. The heads are in 4 different expressions for variety. Some clear gems and golden rocks give the required bling, and an upside down beard piece is used on top. The construction is some nice SNOT work, with studs actually facing 4 different directions. Building the Carousel, Part 8b: The Decorations The jester-head decoration looks like this, all assembled. There are two pins sticking out the back that will be used to attach 8 of these around the top of the carousel. There are also 8 slightly smaller, but similar, decorations built with gold bowls in the center instead of heads. Building the Carousel, Part 9: Adding the Canvas The last addition to the carousel is the canvas top and golden flag. The canvas triangles have holes in each corner - the lower two hook over the grey ball pins, while the top holes slide over the blue pins on the underside of the red stripes. Those red stripes actually only attach at the top - the lower end is just resting on the canvas. The Canvas Here all the lovely curves of the carousel fall apart. It's just not possible to get all the canvas sheets to lie nicely. It's not that bad in real life though. Most people are too busy looking at the details to even care about the wrinkles. Inside the Big Top If we pull back some of the canvas triangles of the roof, you can see the musical mechanism inside. That orange button starts the music. There's a cam on the center shaft (just visible sticking out to the left of the white column) that presses the button on each rotation. If you get sick of the music, you can just slide that cam up or down the axle so it doesn't hit the button any more - I did that while building since I kept rotating the carousel to attach various parts. The music gets very annoying when you're working for hours. The Spare Parts After assembling over 3200 pieces, this is the leftovers. It's quite the assortment of small pieces and shows just what variety of parts go into this set. There are 3 white cheese slopes shown here, but that's because my wife forgot to put two of them on one of the horses :) (my wife is making me add that she had a 104 degree fever and pneumonia at the time, so it wasn't really her fault...) The Abused Part One of my spare yellow half-bushes looked like this. What horrors must have befallen this poor lonely piece in the Lego factory to come out looking like this... Finished! After about 8 hours total build time (albeit while watching tv for most of it), the carousel is done. That is gorgeous. I love the tons of details crammed into this set. Decorations on the horses, faces on the jester heads, gold and red and white and dark blue and tan everywhere. And those gold stickers in the middle just make it. This set would lose so much without those. The Decorations Around the crown of the carousel are the decorations made earlier. Each clips on as a unit - 8 with jester heads and 8 with bowls. These add a lot of glamour to the design and hide the Lego structure behind them well. The Operator In the back corner is the operator's stand. Lego even added a pair of levers to the control switch of the battery box. One is a functional grey beam coming under the stairs to make controlling the ride easier for the real people. The second is the rods coming up for the minifig operator to control. Such a nice touch. And of course, all the mechanical bits have to be behind a fence to keep the kiddies safe. The Video You just can't have a review of a set like this (with both motion and annoying sound) without a video. PLEASE click through to youtube and watch at high quality - the standard resolution just doesn't cut it for this. The Conclusion This set defines how detailed and gorgeous a Lego set can be. The rich colors and attention to minute detail just make this set stand out. It's loaded with playability, staying with a nice minifig scale so you can include it in a town layout. Really, the only things I'd improve if I could would be: 1. a more rigid baseplate, 2. easier access to the cam to mute the music (perhaps sliding the flagpole on the top up and down to turn sound on and off?), 3. printed pieces. The Ratings Value: 10/10 - Assuming you get it at the original price, it's a great deal. Well under 10 cents a piece at just 7.7, and loaded with fun pieces in large quantities, it's a fantastic deal. Plus you get a motor and battery box! Design: 10/10 - Did you look at the pictures? Do I really need to explain a 10 rating here? Playability: 10/10 - It's motorized, musical, and minifig scale so you can fit it into whatever scene you have. It's got enough figs to fill it, and enough going on to keep a kid (or AFOL) busy for a long time. Parts: 10/10 - While not giving anything new, this set is practically a part pack of anything you could want. Slopes, arches, hinge bricks (in both directions), any color, it's just loaded. Even has a bunch of minifigs to get you started. Minifigs: 6/10 - Ok, there are a bunch of them, but they're boring. No accessories, repeated clothing, just nothing interesting to see here. They fill the seating on the carousel and that's about it. Overall: 10/10 - Really, what could they improve that's enough to merit docking a star? My Flickr set for this set (to see the images larger) Edited February 22, 2011 by Zorbas Indexed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metalgearsolid Posted February 22, 2011 Love the crisp & clear pictures in the review. I think this is a great set which will be a treasured item for years to come. Great 'wow' factor in any display that few sets achieve. Great deal on the set mostlytechnic! Congrats! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Follows Closely Posted February 22, 2011 I regret missing out on this set. Very nice review, and WOW on the price. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fuzzylegobricks Posted February 22, 2011 Great Review! I wish I could get it that cheap! $$ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zorbas Posted February 22, 2011 Great and very detailed review mostlytechnic, fantastic pictures! The set looks impressive and although that it's not in my wish list I would have done the same thing you did with that price. There are some very interesting pieces in there and a 3000+ piece count is always tempting. Next are two teens, I guess. Boring clothes; the second is completely plain! Boring and plain clothes yes, but the lipstick balances that. Thanks for the great review! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pandora Posted February 22, 2011 Great review with fabulous pictures! And that poor old abused part Lucky you for getting such a bargain! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lightningtiger Posted February 22, 2011 Excellent review and lucky you for scoring it at a cool low price 'mostlytechnic'. Interesting to see how the motor drive worked....classic rim drive - goodness must be noisey as hell....hopefully the sound brick drowns it out ! And what's with those torso's.....since when do kids carry spanners in their pockets....ah, but wait they both ride push-bikes....or are they fans of American Chopper ? A cute but monster of a set, pity I missed out on this when David Jones had them....aw, well that's life ! Brick On Everyone ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mostlytechnic Posted February 22, 2011 Excellent review and lucky you for scoring it at a cool low price 'mostlytechnic'. Interesting to see how the motor drive worked....classic rim drive - goodness must be noisey as hell....hopefully the sound brick drowns it out ! And what's with those torso's.....since when do kids carry spanners in their pockets....ah, but wait they both ride push-bikes....or are they fans of American Chopper ? A cute but monster of a set, pity I missed out on this when David Jones had them....aw, well that's life ! Brick On Everyone ! There's no noise from the tire, but yes, the motor is pretty noisy. You can hear it in the video. The music is louder, but certainly not enough to completely cover the motor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prateek Posted February 22, 2011 Amazing! Thanks for this review. Congrats on getting this for $125 too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XimenaPaulina Posted February 23, 2011 Wow, congratulations on this fantastic review mostlytechnic! The pictures are excellent as is the commentary. I must say this is one of those huge Lego sets that is really worth buying if you have the resources to purchase it. It's simply a beautiful Lego set that's nice for display and is highly playable for kids due to its light and sound effects and the rotating functionality. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vindicare Posted February 23, 2011 That is a very impressive set, build wise. But, for a set of that price, the minifigs are a let down to me. Sure, there's a good number of them, but too many doubles and what's up with the dude wearing lipstick?! Nice find though, I didn't entirely want this set, but for half price... I'd even snag that off the shelf! Nice review too, btw. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canada_7 Posted February 23, 2011 That is an absolute steal to be able to get it at $125. Lucky you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
godaikyoko Posted February 23, 2011 wow $125 !!! what a steal... Nice review you have there ! I miss out this set as well :( Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AussieJimbo Posted February 23, 2011 Great review mostlytechnic and well done on the bargain price. :classic: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Man with a hat Posted February 23, 2011 A Really good review, thanks. I am amazed. I always thought it was a nice set, but to see it in action. Wow, better than expected. A pitty they don't sell them anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mostlytechnic Posted February 23, 2011 A pitty they don't sell them anymore. That's why we have bricklink (and crazy high prices there...) :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thomasmn Posted February 23, 2011 Mighty beautiful! Do you happen to have any pictures of how the base was built? I mean the wheel section that rests of the tiles on the base plate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mostlytechnic Posted February 23, 2011 Mighty beautiful! Do you happen to have any pictures of how the base was built? I mean the wheel section that rests of the tiles on the base plate. Sorry, I don't but you can see the instructions here: http://cache.lego.com/bigdownloads/buildinginstructions/4561835.pdf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
romdam Posted February 24, 2011 I'm guessing this is going to just be me but for some reason the whole thing seems way too misproportioned. It just seems too big for the minifig scale. Again, prob just me as everyone loves these things and all. I'll go with the "poor" rating as I would have no use for this thing if I paid $15 for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael S Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) I'm guessing this is going to just be me but for some reason the whole thing seems way too misproportioned. It just seems too big for the minifig scale. Again, prob just me as everyone loves these things and all. I'll go with the "poor" rating as I would have no use for this thing if I paid $15 for it. I have to agree. It is an outstanding construct as a standalone model - but it is too big for minifig scale and would dwarf most LEGO buildings. I think it would even look awkward next to the PF Ferris Wheel, and making those two sets be complementary was a must. Thus I never made the plunge to buy it. Very nice review tho, I felt like I got to build it myself going thru your detailed account! Edited February 24, 2011 by Michael S Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blondie-Wan Posted February 24, 2011 I still want this, and now have no chance of ever getting one. I'm sick over missing it along with the first three modular buildings, Town Plan, and most of the UCS Star Wars sets, especially the Millennium Falcon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mostlytechnic Posted February 24, 2011 I still want this, and now have no chance of ever getting one. I'm sick over missing it along with the first three modular buildings, Town Plan, and most of the UCS Star Wars sets, especially the Millennium Falcon. Just order it on bricklink for a massive premium ;) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Guy Bri Posted February 24, 2011 Great review on a great set I passed this one up because of its price tag and size. Too big to put anywhere in my layout. I still like seeing this in others cities or towns. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mostlytechnic Posted February 25, 2011 So this huge set took a long time to build - but it also takes forever to take apart. Spent an hour last night and only got the top and horses apart. Filled an entire gallon bag though... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg Posted June 14, 2011 Hey, I know this thread's been inactive for a while now, and perhaps this isn't the best place to ask, but: I'm currently building this set, and am wondering if it's "normal" that the music stops at some point: the sound brick is evidently equipped with a trigger rather than a switch, but it seems that it ends right at a half-turn before the cam reaches the button to start it again. Albeit, if there were 2 opposed cams, the music *might* play non-stop, if I'm seeing this correctly. So: did I mess up something in the build ? Has anything tried adding a second cam, is the timing right ? (i don't have no try here) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
