40058- Decorating the Tree

I've been crazy for this Seasonal set since I first saw images of it months ago.  In this polybag, we get two minifigures (one with short legs), a model tree, a stepladder, four presents, and a tiny model train.  There is also a surprising amount of extra pieces for a $7.99 set.





The male minifig has a common dark blue plaid button down shirt and maroon legs.  The female is a girl with short red legs and an interesting printed torso featuring a silver heart necklace.  The expression on her is one I've seen a few times for children of either gender: a big toothy smile and three freckles on each cheek.  I like her wavy, side parted hair.





Our Christmas tree starts with a simple snowy white base build and has a long cross axle through which we push the four layers of branches.  The branches are decorated with yellow and red translucent studs, with a missing one to be placed in the man's hand.  The star on top is actually a yellow wand, but fits cutely in with the model, even if the star does look a little funny so far away from the top of the tree.  Overall, I think it's a very visually pleasing sturdy model with some creative building methods, though I did have some difficulty placing the layers of the tree into the axel.





We have four presents, a stepladder, and a model train (!) to put around our tree.  The stepladder is hinged on the back and front and can fully open and close (see below for Lego Kane reaching the top of the tree with the ladder fully extended).  I haven't seen the pieces used to make up the ladder for anything but jail cells or barriers, so it was a pleasant surprise to see them used here.  We get three unique presents, and four in total.  You can see the two red and white small ones above.  We also get a yellow and white one and a lime green and white one, which is topped with a letter piece.  I'm impressed with the variety of styles in these little present models.






Finally, and most importantly in my opinion, we get a tiny, adorable, and "awww"-inducing blue model train.  This train is initially the sole reason why I wanted this set, but the whole set is so well done that it would still be great even without the train.  I can't rave enough about this set; it's so sleek and diverse with so many wonderful elements that it's a near perfect set.










Yay, extras!  We get many in this polybag, and though the only really interesting one is probably the yellow wand, they are all useful in their own right.

Additional Image:

Year Released: 2013
Retail Price: $7.99

Pieces: 110

Minifigures: 2

My Purchase Location: Lego.com