New LEGO® elements are always at the top of our Christmas list here at New E! Let's see what goodies Santa has delivered us in this year's Winter Village installment, 10339 Santa's Post Office.
Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
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LEGO Icons: 10339 Santa's Post Office
- Price: US$99.99/ £89.99/ 99.99€/ AU$XX.99
- Pieces: 1440
- Release date: 1 October 2024
LEGO Winter Village 10339 Santa's Post Office on LEGO.com
Recolours
Santa has come early and he's brought the good boys and girls 6 new recoloured elements:
- 6x Brick Curved 2 x 1 with Inverted Cutout in Medium Nougat (6499713 | 78666)
- 14x Brick Arch 1 x 3 x 3 [Gothic] in Medium Nougat (6488532 | 13965)
Two useful elements for architecture; medium nougat is used in this set to represent the post office's wooden frame but these could also be used for brick structures too.
- 4x Panel 4 x 4 x 13 Curved Tapered with Clip at Each End in Dark Green (6499715 | 18969)
The ninth colour for this element. I wonder if it'll reappear in a Botanical Collection set as a leaf?
- 3x Plate Round Corner 2 x 2 with 1 x 1 Cutout in White (6499714 | 79491)
This element will also be available in the upcoming LEGO® Fortnite set, 77072 Peely Bone which releases on the same day.
- 2x Sports Hockey Stick in Black (6473449 | 64000)
Previously only available in white, the hockey stick has been repurposed for a number of different uses since it was introduced in 2020. I can imagine that this black recolour will be equally useful. You'll also find this element in 76780 Wednesday Addams Figure, also released on 1 October.
- 5x Headwear Accessory Bow with Heart, Long Ribbon and Pin in Red (6499709 | 11618)
This final element puts a bow on this set's new recolours. Red seems like a no-brainer for this part, but it's taken nine years for it to appear.
Minifigures and new prints
The set includes 5 minifigures; Santa Claus himself and 4 elves with new printed torsos. The elves' new green uniform features a new collar design as well as a post horn emblem on the breast.
Here's a closer look at the new torso as well as in the set's other new decorated element, a 1x2 tile:
- 4x Torso with print in Bright Green (6503677 | 973pr)
- 3x Tile 1 x 2 with Groove with print in Tan (6490706 | 3069bpr)
I'm very happy to receive junk mail if it comes printed on a LEGO element!
Sticker sheet
A very modest sticker sheet containing just 7 small stickers is included.
The most conspicuous stickers on the finished model are 1, 2, and 5. They are to be applied to the signpost mini-build and reference Winter Village sets of Christmases past: 10275 Elf Club House from 2020 and 10245 Santa’s Workshop from 2014. The rest of the stickers are used on smaller details inside the post office (stickers 7 adorn the hot air balloon basket) so you might not miss them if you choose not to apply them to the finished model.
Rare elements
We usually classify rare elements as those appearing in 3 sets or less. 10339 Santa's Post Office contains 12 elements that fit this criteria.
These elements appear in just 1 other set:
- 2 x Brick Special 1 x 2 with 2 Studs on 1 Side in Sand Blue (6405002 | 11211)
- 4 x Brick Curved 2 x 1 with Inverted Cutout in Dark Green/ Green (6399788 | 78666)
- 12 x Brick Curved, 3 x 1 with 1/3 Inverted Cutout in Dark Green/ Green (6462444 | 70681)
- 1 x Animal, Seal, Pup (Baby) Black Eyes print in White (6434764 | 103157)
These element are in 2 other sets:
- 2 x Slope 45° 2 x 1 Inverted with 2/3 Cutout in Earth Blue/ Dark Blue (6470262 | 2310)
- 2 x Slope 33° 3 x 1 in Medium Nougat (6403913 | 4286)
- 2 x Weapon Pike / Spear Tip in Transparent Red/ Trans-Red (6251187 | 27257)
These appear in 3 other sets:
- 4 x Panel 4 x 4 x 13 Curved Tapered with Clip at Each End in Warm Gold/ Pearl Gold (6366167 | 43030)
- 5 x Brick Special 1 x 1 with Headlight and Slot in Earth Blue/ Dark Blue (6251247 | 4070)
- 4 x Tile Special 2 x 2 Corner with Cut Corner - Facet in Bright Bluish Green/ Dark Turquoise (6453949 | 27263)
- 5 x Tile 1 x 2 with Air Mail Letter print in White (6466380)
- 2 x Tile Special 2 x 2 Corner with Cut Corner - Facet in Bright Yellow/ Yellow (6441095 | 27263)
The build
The set provides 2 building instruction booklets so a family or friends can build together. One small booklet details the steps for a selection of small side builds and a much larger booklet provides the steps for the post office and hot air balloon.
The side builds start with some simple plate stacking to create an ice fishing mini-diorama, and gradually increase in complexity, culminating in the letter-sorting machine which uses a little SNOT and some Technic elements.
Building the model reminded me of assembling a Modular Buildings set, albeit on a smaller scale. There is a fair amount of brick stacking with some SNOT thrown in to create the interesting architectural details.
My favourite of these details is the brick-built horn, brilliantly made with just a handful of gold elements including sausages. Also in this area, some cleverly placed studs provide the attachment points for the A-frame of the roof.
The roof above the front door is another example of the clever building techniques found in this set. It also shows how useful the recoloured curved corner plate can be.
Just like the Modular Buildings, there are plenty of fun details to enjoy inside too. A comfy chair, bookcases, and a hot cocoa dispenser can be found amongst the furnishings.
Finally, the hot air balloon side build conceals a light brick. Pressing the rapier protruding from the top of the balloon activates the brick which illuminates the transparent pieces below, simulating the flames of the gas burner. Very clever!
Completed model
Lots of white curved slopes and 1x1 plate with tooth (15070) appear all over the model to create the impression of a building buried in soft heavy snow. Unicorn horns (89522) work well as icicles, too.
If I were designing this model, I might have used a few more tiles rather than plates on the roof, though, as I think the number of visible studs undermines this effect.
The back of the model reveals the bright, cosy, fully finished interior and the roofs can be removed to provide better access inside.
Not just a nice looking Christmas decoration, the set also features a cleverly integrated play feature in the interior:
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The roof provides a space for the hot air balloon to land where it can offload its mail.
The letters travel down the chute into the letter-sorter. By pushing the red lever left or right, the machine can sift the junk from Santa’s post.
There's a chute in the floor of the second floor as well, but operating the balloon's tipper is a lot more fun.
Closing thoughts
I wasn’t particularly excited about a new Winter Village set as the previous sets in the theme never really appealed to me. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this latest installment which embraces the whimsy of Santa’s elves.
While light on new elements, this is a very well-designed set which looks great and includes a fun play feature which works very well.
If you’re looking for a creative Christmas-themed activity to enjoy with a younger builder this holiday, this set is a good candidate. The side builds will keep builders engaged regardless of their abilities, and there are plenty of innovative building techniques for experienced builders to discover in the post office itself. In fact, my 4 year-old daughter volunteered her help in assembling the set. She got halfway through the small instruction booklet before getting distracted by the minifigures (particularly Santa and the seal pup) and the mesmerizing light-brick!
READ MORE: 10391 Over the Moon LEGO® Pharrell Williams set reviewed
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Just a slight correction: the hockey stick has been around since 2011 in sets and CMF's. It was also in reddish brown in 2017 as well, in that years CITY advent calendar.
ReplyDeleteIt appears the mold was updated in 2020. Here is the old one: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=93559#T=C
DeleteAh! When I was checking I was certain the hockey stick was introduced in the CMF theme, but it didn't come up in the list I saw. That there was a mould change explains why. Thanks for pointing that out! Regardless, it's still great to have this piece in Black :)
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