[REVIEW] 40488 - GWP Coffee Stand

[Jim]

REVIEW - 40488 - GWP COFFEE STAND

INTRODUCTION
Recently, I got an offer to review a GWP (Gift with Purchase) set. I had never done a GWP review, so I accepted the offer. Not having any information, I was interested what this set would be. Turned out to be this coffee stand. As a coffee enthusiast (not a connaisseur) I can appreciate this set. Let's get that coffee brewing.

PICTURES
Pictures can be clicked to view hi-res versions. My Flickr album contains all the photos taken for this review.

DISCLAIMER
The CEE Team of TLG has provided this set. It's not my goal to promote this set. It's my goal to give you an honest opinion about it. Therefore, the opinion in this review is my own and is in no way linked to TLG.

SET INFORMATION
Number: 40488
Title: GWP Coffee Stand
Theme: City
Released: 2021
Part Count: ?
Box Dimensions: 15,5 cm x 13,7 x 5,7 cm
Weight: 178 gr
Set Price (RRP): free (gift with purchase)
Price per Part: £0.000 / $0.000 / €0.000
Links: Brickset, Bricklink

THE BOX
The front of the box shows the entire scene, where the customer and barista interact. Pay attention to the scene on the box. I will get back to that later.

The back shows more or less the same scene a couple of minutes later, where the lady is enjoying her coffee.

CONTENTS OF THE BOX
The box contains:

• 1x Instruction booklet
• 1x Sticker sheet
• 3x Unnumbered bag

The sticker sheet is somewhat crumpled, but nothing serious.

 

HIGHLIGHTED PARTS
Since I am more into Technic than other themes, I am not entirely sure whether this is a new part, but it's new for me. I had never seen it before. I have tried some Bricklink-Fu, but couldn't find this modified brick.

PART LIST
The entire part list, which contains 147-odd parts (had to count them manually).

MINIFIGS
The set contains two minifigs, a female customer in need of some quality coffee. And when you think of quality coffee, you think of a beanie wearing hipster barista. The hipster only has a single face with some facial hear and smile. The female coffee drinker has an alternate school teacher like stern face.

 

THE BUILD
What I like about these kinds of builds, are the cool little details. The coffee machine is built using only seven parts. This picture also shows the 1x2 bricks with studs on one side.

Since this is a fairly small set, the build is done before you know it. Took me about the same time as drinking a good cup of coffee. The completed build is shown below. What I do like about this set is the logo attached to the roof of the stand.

I also like the stand itself, but I would have loved to see a coffee-mug-shaped stand. Something a bit more special than this one. I am aware that this is probably not feasible, using around 150 parts, so I understand why it's a simple stand. It would be nice to do a mini contest to build a coffee stand using only 150 parts.

The usual left-over parts, which indicate I haven't missed a step hehe.

The back of the stand is fairly simple, without many details. And the stand apparently doesn't need a door.

Using the Technic pieces isn't the most elegant solution if you ask me.

At the beginning of the review I was talking about the scene depicted on the box. I find it rather odd that we are building a slightly different scene than the one on the box. The cups and two bottles are located differently and the customer isn't holding her phone. Obviously, these are minor details, but I wonder why the scene built using the booklet isn't depicted on the box. I'm pretty sure this happens all the time, but this time it caught my attention.

SUMMARY
You can't look a gift-horse in the mouth, as the saying goes. But since I am reviewing this horse, I can look it in the mouth hehe. And when I looked the horse in the mouth, it looked good. I like this set for what it is. This makes a perfect addition to your city. There's always room for a stand like this.

Do I think this is the best design for a coffee stand? No I don't. I would have loved to get some sort of coffee mug stand. But given the part count, I do think the stand looks good enough.

For once, I do think the two stickers are nice and possibly useful when building your own coffee shop or stand.

All things considered, this is a nice gift, but it wouldn't make me run to a LEGO store or the LEGO website.

PROS

• The logo on the roof is cool
• Your very own hipster minifig
• It's a free set!

CONS

• The stand is a bit too generic
• The usage of Technic parts feels kinda out of place

SCORE
How do I rate this set?

7 DESIGN

A bit too generic to score higher.

7 BUILDING EXPERIENCE 

Build was short, but fun.

6 FEATURES

No special features.

7 PLAYABILITY 

Provides some basic LEGO City playability.

7 PARTS 

Unless I missed them, not a lot of special parts.

9 VALUE FOR MONEY 

It's free. Well kind of, because you do need to spend some money.

7,2 NICE ADDITION TO YOUR CITY

 

[Darkdragon]

Very cute set, even though it's a sticker i love the sign with all the types of coffee on it.

[Jim]

1 minute ago, Darkdragon said:

Very cute set, even though it's a sticker i love the sign with all the types of coffee on it.

Yeah, the stickers aren't too bad.

[TeriXeri]

I like how the color scheme fits well with #31097: Townhouse Pet Shop & Café , white/azure coffee mug on the wall, and a red mug above the shop door.

Also the trailer ball connection is nice, given that multiple City vehicles have connection points for a trailer, including recent sets.

Edited November 8, 2021 by TeriXeri

[Jim]

7 minutes ago, TeriXeri said:

Also the trailer ball connection is nice, given that multiple City vehicles have connection points for a trailer, including recent sets.

Yeah, that is a nice touch. Could have mentioned that in my review.

[Guyinaplaguemask]

That is not a new part, it appears in the gingerbread house set in brown, although this is my first experience with it in black.

[Jim]

2 minutes ago, Guyinaplaguemask said:

That is not a new part, it appears in the gingerbread house set in brown, although this is my first experience with it in black.

Okay, thanks for the clarification!

[Clone OPatra]

Good review of a fun, if random, GWP. That's what a GWP should be - not something anyone is clamouring over or will be too sad to miss out on, but simply a nice bonus if you're buying stuff already.

As an American myself, I wonder how perplexed Americans will be at the espresso machine and sign showing the various coffee-water-milk configurations. That would've been foreign to me before living outside of America!

[RichardGoring]

It looks excellent to me. Fits very neatly with many other sets. Bit of a shame that there isn't a matching menu tile on the back side to act as shutter doors, but easy enough to add if you feel strongly about it.

[Some Guy With LEGO]

Thanks for the review.

I think you are right on with the hipster beanie comment, and the customer looks like a stereotypical gender studies/sociology major or social justice oriented teacher, in Seattle or any other large metropolitan city in the western world. At least that's my read...

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I'm sure in large American cities (like Seattle) espresso machines and combos must be common?

Edited November 9, 2021 by Some Guy With LEGO

[mostlytechnic]

Cute little freebie set. I feel like the umbrella on the side table is too small, and how many bikes do we need? 

[cosmic]

I just got this set today with my purchase of the Roller Coaster and Upside Down. Its neat, figures have useful prints and pieces and then build is detailed and to the point. I personally think this will be a hard gift with purchase to top for me but I’m new to the whole VIP buying directly from Lego thing (been doing Toys R Us and Target for years) so maybe I’m just not sure what the standard for these freebies are but I loved this.

[Redhead1982]

It's a neat little set also for the non-coffee-drinking AFOLs. I find your review really fair and realistic. While many would love a highly intricate and detailed set as a GWP, there's a limit to what can be done. I like it for it's simplicity and additional play feature for town displays. On the other hand, it's a great starting point for modification.

 

[DelQuinn]

looks like a really great set!

[bright22]

I think the last one, Cafe stand - from Target exclusive looks much better than this one, be honest....