Devour the delicious LEGO 10267 Winter Village Gingerbread House [Review]

The Winter Village series is always highly anticipated, keeping LEGO fans on their toes regarding what the next set will be in the ever-growing storybook town. The series is celebrating eleven years of beloved Christmas scenes, the first of which was introduced in 2009. Now, fans of the theme can build the Winter Village Gingerbread House. Minus the re-release of the very first Winter Village Toy Shop in 2015, this is the tenth set in the series. It consists of 1477 pieces, the second-highest piece count in this series after the Winter Village Cottage (1490 pieces). Set 10267 Gingerbread House is priced at US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £89.99 and will be available on the 1st of October.

When news of the gingerbread house first broke out, the set received a mixed reaction from LEGO fans who have been following the series. This was primarily because, unlike previous entries which were mostly grounded in reality, it is steeped in the world of pure fantasy. Of course, one could argue Santa’s workshop (2014) exists in a mythical and magical land with flying reindeer and elves running around the village. Nevertheless, LEGO at its core is about your imagination running wild and it’s refreshing to see a different take on a familiar theme. Without further ado, let’s snowball right in the review to see how it stacks up.

The box, instructions, and contents

The front of the box showcases the facade of the gingerbread house, and the back of the box predictably highlights the house’s interior as if it was sliced into half. The images act as teasers, clearly illustrating the various rooms and play areas with little to be missed.

The set includes a total of 10 bags, which are divided into pairs and numbered one through five. Also packaged in plastic are a pair of instruction booklets (one large and one small), along with the sticker sheet. The only loose element is a 16×16 white plate.

Unique Parts

The two unique parts highlighted by LEGO are the tan minifigure ingots and the 1×1 bricks in glitter transparent dark pink and glitter transparent blue. With the 1×1 bricks, there are a total of 20 pieces in each color. I’m still pretty much on the fence over the usefulness of glitter in custom creations, but I’ll let the greater LEGO Fan community of builders push me over to one side or the other. In general, it’s always great to get existing parts in new colors, and I look forward to seeing how builders will use the glitter parts in their builds.

Stickers

The set comes with 3 stickers comprised of a family portrait, welcome mat and street sign.

The Gingerbread House build

As with previous Winter Village sets, the Gingerbread House come with smaller side-builds. These appear in the first leg of the instructions, but we’ll save those for later. For now, let’s dive into the main attraction to avoid anxiously anticipating the details it has to offer.

The build starts off with the foundation and detailing of the first level. Things begin to take shape rather quickly. The first section that stands out is the chimney in the center, followed by a simple table and seating area for two in the right corner. Meanwhile, the welcome mat sticker marks the entrance of the crunchy abode.

On the reverse side where the rooms are situated, the checkerboard tiling hints at the size of the room to be finished. The fireplace is unique with openings at the bottom to both the interior and exterior. Between each side is anornamental fence in black with modified clips on top, which makes for a perfect protective grille separating the indoors from the outdoors.

Glitter bricks are laid out in an alternating grid pattern and form the decorative windows of the gingerbread house. The dark orange masonry profile bricks are used in the chimney and the foundation of the building. The house is dressed up with pink cupcakes, which are complemented by modified bricks with scrolls strategically placed throughout the build.

The next phase of the interior build consists of the structural beams to support the upper level. Each room is retrofitted with furniture and appliances; the kitchen layout consists of a stove and basin, while the living area features a set of drawers with sweet snacks resting on top.

Stepping outside, two doors are snapped into place providing a side and main entrance. The main entrance has two brick-built lanterns, which I personally favor over the minifigure accessory elements. There are some LEGO pieces builds that are meant to be objects and do well, and this is one of those instances where the solution suits the model at this scale.

Things get a little cozier with the addition of a picture-perfect family portrait above the mantle and a comfortable looking armchair upholstered with chocolate-flavored ingot bars. I almost let out a squeal at the cute stockings hanging over the fireplace. Everything is arranged in such a way that oozes with warmth and comfort. This is beginning to look like my favorite part of the home so far.

As the walls are built up, you’ll start to notice all the white horizontal plates forming lines strewn across. Set your imagination to visualize them as the cream that holds the gingerbread pieces all together. It’s starting to get tasty indeed.

Back outside, the chimney is stacking up and a light brick is lodged inside. The red Technic bushing you notice at the top triggers the light when pressed down.

Here’s a view of the light brick removed to illustrate how it’s hidden within the build.

The next section of the build was really mouth-watering, having me think of cookies and all things sweet. The roof sections are all creatively constructed to fit each angle of the exposed roof and, since they’re all unique shapes, there’s very little repetition to keep the experience interesting. The colorful 1×1 round tiles were chosen to represent candies, and they do remind us of our favorite M&M snacks or Skittles.

The underside of the roof plate consists of half of the hinge and Technic axle and pin connector elements to line up the edges for a close fit.

The hinge elements from the rooftop slide into the angled slots smoothly.

The assembly speaks for itself, and the results are just marvelous looking!

The image below shows how the Technic parts form a slotting mechanism to hold the roof together. I must say this aspect of the design feels like it was crafted with purpose and extreme precision, as it really minimizes gaps in the roofline.

The front facade is starting to look complete, while the chimney is raised further and the the second level is extended to support the final roofing.

Just when you thought roof building might become monotonous, the instructions lead to the inner section of the second level where a toilet and bathtub are built into the left-hand corner of the room.

The other side of the room is fitted with a bed, baby blue bassinet and nightstand, topped off with a delicious pink beehive cotton candy lamp.

At this point, just in case you’re wondering how the triggering of the light brick takes place, wonder no more. A simple mechanism topped off with an ice cream element slots right into the chimney.

With the rooms fully furnished, all that’s left now is to finish the chimney and remaining exposed gingerbread roof sections.

The final touch consists of candy canes by the side of the entrance, complete with a “Candy Lane” sticker piece for signage.

The finished gingerbread house is simply delightful and beautiful from all angles.

If you look at it closely, you will notice how each and every part fits in perfectly and leaves very little wasted or redundant space.

A view from the top shows how elegant and snugly the pieces fit for a seamless appearance.

I enjoyed the process of how each section was built and felt they were representative of the thought and time the designer put into designing this model. The end result is equally elegant and a wonderful model to showcase.

Micro builds

Let’s take a quick look at the miniature models we mentioned earlier; they are loose and not featured anywhere inside the main house. There are a total of nine micro builds, plus a Christmas tree.

Scaled for the minifigures are a baby carriage, snow blower and rocking horse.

The toy train & truck and set of four wrapped gifts that would sit perfectly under the Christmas tree.

The micro builds are quite enjoyable at this scale with just the right amount of details. Aside from the toy truck and gifts, these are easily one step above the advent calendar mini-builds in terms of the higher number of elements used. I’m torn between the baby carriage and snowblower as my favorites and the toy train comes in at a close third.

I’m always impressed by the countless number of ways brick-built Christmas trees can be made, highlighting various techniques with an end result that’s always different across the official sets from LEGO over the years. When it comes to the tree in this set, I’m pleased with the results of its construction and design.

The Minifigures

Mom and Pop Gingerbread are the only two minifigures in the set. Pop sports a ’stache and mom’s wearing the skirt element. The torsos are the same for both figures.

Mom’s head is strawberry flavored while dad has chocolate filling in-between. The torso is printed on the front and back, while the legs and hands are left unprinted.

For minifigure fans, the first thing that comes to mind is how this cookie couple compares to the Collectible Minifigures (CMF) Gingerbread Man in Series 11. It’s hard to notice but the little dots around the face and torso are done differently. The Series 11 figure also sports a different design for the brows and mouth. Even the lines on the torso are drawn differently with thicker lines. What does stand out are the printed legs, absent from Mom and Pop Gingerbread.

Investigating things further, the CMF Series 11 figure is a chocolate head just like the dad figure but, unlike dad, his arms are printed with dots and lines.

The one area where the CMF Gingerbread comes up short is on the back, as the torso is not printed. Looks like there’s no running away from this one for collectors; both old and new figures have their pros and cons when viewed in detail.

Wait a minute, did we forget the baby gingerbread figure? I’d say this is the most disappointing part of this set. I would have expected a tiny gingerbread baby of sorts, but all we get is a printed tile. It’s cute and appropriate but still, I’m a wee tad sad that we didn’t get a gingerbread baby.

The play features

The light brick feature is a nice touch but doesn’t do much beyond a glow. I guess it adds a little uniqueness to play for the kids. What I did enjoy was setting up poses within the various rooms to create scenes.

What this set lacks in the number of minifigures is made up by the multitude of micro builds and play opportunities. Here are a few scenes that we couldn’t resist enacting. We’ll leave more in our gallery for you to enjoy if you wish to browse through them.

“Are you sure we’re going to feed him milk? He’s going to get all soggy!”

“As usual, Dad’s horsin’ around while Mum’s hard at work.”

“Where’s the remote dear? Oh yeah, I forgot we don’t have a TV.”

“Imma gonna take a dunk right now, alright?”

“Home Sweet Home”….Literally!

And as always with LEGO, we do what we please to suite our tastes. I did find the table and chairs a little out of place, so I swapped in the Christmas tree instead! Perfect scene.

Summary

While I had my doubts on whether I was going to like this set from the visuals released, building the set certainly changed my mind. Setting aside the lack of minifigures, the Gingerbread House is a lovely addition to the Winter Village series. Everything from the journey of building to the finish is well thought out and planned. The parts all seemingly flow together well, no space is wasted, and the compact design gives it a great finished look. With the micro builds, there’s a lot of playability for the kids to imagine and engage with. If you are already a fan of the Winter Village series this is likely one that won’t disappoint.

If you’re looking for ideas on how believable and fantastical themes can coexist in your Winter Village setup, here’s a thought: Separate your display into two sections, with the Winter Village Station and Winter Holiday Train acting as a bridge between the realistic themes and the more magical themes like Santa’s Workshop and the Gingerbread House. A perfect solution for a harmonious village!

Last but not least, if you’re feeling generous for Christmas this year and want to surprise a loved one or a friend with a lovely LEGO experience, you may want to consider leaving the Gingerbread House under the tree or stuffing one into an extra large stocking if you can find one. It may just convert him or her into a LEGO fan if they’re not already one.


LEGO 10267 Winter Village Gingerbread House includes 1,477 parts and 2 minifigs. The set is available on October 1st retails for US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £89.99 from the LEGO Shop. It may also be available from other retailers such as Amazon.com and on the secondary market from third-party sellers on BrickLink and eBay.


The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Sending The Brothers Brick products for review does not guarantee coverage or a positive review.


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2 comments on “Devour the delicious LEGO 10267 Winter Village Gingerbread House [Review]

  1. LEE

    The design of this set is really spectacular. Lego should definitely take note – it is super sophisticated in its techniques and yet it is absolutely packed with charming details that are highly and beautifully sculptural and smile inducing. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect holiday set!!

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