LEGO have just released the details of the 2018 Creator Expert Winter Village Set.  Steering clear of another reissue of a previous set, this year we see the release of the 10263 Winter Village Fire Station. With 1166 elements, this set will be released globally on October 1st 2018, with VIP availability at LEGO Brand Retail and shop.LEGO.com from September 13th. It will cost $149.99AUD, $100USD, £84.99 GBP and €89.99 in Germany.

As with previous Winter Village sets, this one appears to be set somewhere peaceful, in the mid 20th century, possibly in the middle of a Rankin-Bass animated Christmas Special. We have seen a number of common elements of these sets over the last 9 years:

A snow covered building, aspects of the village – such as statues or frozen ponds, Christmas Trees, lamp posts, bench seats several minifigures and , where appropriate,  a vehicle or two.  This set delivers all of these things and more.  Let’s take a look at some of the elements present here:

We have six minifigures, and a new Dalmatian print on the dog.  We have three fire fighters in period uniforms, with two gold helmets, One older man, and a woman included here. We also have a girl, and I presume her baby sister.  The girl is wearing the well worn red checked shirt top, as well as an orange scarf, previously seen in the LEGO Ninjago Movie collectable minifigure series. The baby appears here in teal, with a great Ugly Christmas Sweater pattern on the teal romper suit. There is a freckled youth practicing his ice hockey as well.  I am going to presume that he is the older brother of the other children. I may well be wrong! Finally we have a musician: playing a saxophone, he looks very much as though he would fit in with the the musicians what appears back in the 10222 Winter Post Office, but I hope he doesn’t gloat about the greater quality of his saxophone, compared to the brick build one seen then.

I love the frozen pond, with the memorial fountain to fallen firefighters, the grey minifigure with the gold helmet, as well as the decorative elements look really effective. Also terrific is the use of curved tiles with different radii. The transparent tiles convey the idea of a frozen pond particularly well!

For me, the appearance of the lamp post in the Winter Village is always a highlight.  I reviewed the Winter Lamp posts last year while looking at the Christmas Build Up set, and this is another new design with simple elegance.

We also see a Christmas Tree, an essential part of any Winter Village display. Of course, while an essential part of the display, it is not an essential part of the set.  Only three Winter Village sets have previously featured an ‘outside,’ brick built Christmas tree: The Toy Shops – both 10199(2009) and 10249 in 2015.  We also had a smaller tree feature as part of Santa’s Workshop in 2014. This tree features different building techniques to any of those trees.  Only the 4th time we have seen the snowflake star element appear in transparent yellow.

The Fire Engine is similar in style to that seen with the modular Fire Brigade 10197, but perhaps feels a little more antique.  Certainly more angular.

And the Building itself: the roof details are obscured by snow, but we have great use of the inverse arches on the facade. Snow piled up on the stairs out side is also a nice touch. I also like the details around the external window frames. The fire station has all the necessary spaces: a kitchen/ready room, a pole to slide down   and the garage.  It would appear that this building is really only half the depth that it would need to be to house the entire fire engine – you might need two if you wish to completely enclose it.

The alternating use of plain bricks and those with the masonry pattern helps to avoid the Bir Flat Wall problem, adding just the right amount of greebling to the surface. On the inside, we see kitchenette, with a coffee maker and oven, as well as a fold down bunk.

I like the overall appearance of the set, but I find myself bothered by the overall  depth of the building. I do not think, however, that many will consider that to be a major drawback for the set.  (By the way, there are some further pictures below, under the press release)

What do you think? Is this a must have add-on to your collection of winter village buildings? A great source of dark red bricks? Why not leave your comments below, and follow the blog for further news, reviews and occasional flashbacks… Until next time,

Play Well!

10263 LEGO Creator Expert Winter Village Fire Station
Parts: 1166
Age: 12+
Global Launch date: 01-10-2018

Price:
Germany 89.99 EUR
Austria 89.99 EUR
Australia 149.99 AUD
Belgium 99.99 EUR
Switzerland 119.0 CHF
China 999.0 CNY
Czech Republic 2399.0 CZK
Denmark 799.0 DKK
Estonia 99.99 EUR
Spain 99.99 EUR
Finland 109.95 EUR
France 99.99 EUR
United Kingdom 84.99 GBP
Hong Kong 799.0 HKD
Croatia 99.99 EUR
Hungary 31990.0 HUF
Ireland 89.99 EUR
Italy 89.99 EUR
Japan 14980.0 JPY
South Korea 139900.0 KRW
Malaysia 485.75 MYR
The Netherlands 99.99 EUR
Norway 1099.0 NOK
New Zealand 169.99 NZD
Poland 429.99 PLN
Portugal 99.99 EUR
Romania 469.99 RON
Russian Fed. 7499.0 RUB
Sweden 1099.0 SEK
Singapore 149.9 SGD
Slovenia 99.99 EUR
Slovakia 89.99 EUR
Turkey 449.9 TRY
Taiwan 3799.0 TWD
Ukraine 2999.0 UAH
South Africa 1499.99
USA 99.99 USD
Brazil 799.99 BRL
Canada 129.99 CAD
Mexico 1999.0 MXN

Jump aboard the sleigh and head down to the snowy LEGO® Creator Expert 10263 Winter Village Fire Station, where the holiday season is in full swing. Outside the holly-adorned building, the firefighters are busy filling the ice rink with water from their shiny fire truck while an ice hockey player looks on, and a street musician plays yuletide carols on his saxophone. Build a cute snowman with a cool top hat and help decorate the Christmas tree. Place the gifts and toys below and climb the fire truck ladder to position the shimmering star on the top. Then head over to the fire station and take the stairs to the cozy kitchen. Switch on the light and enjoy a refreshing beverage in the company of the friendly Dalmatian, before you slide down the fire pole and head back to the square for more festive fun. Fire up your imagination with this delightful LEGO Creator Expert set.