The internet can argue for ages about what the best Christmas song is. And while there are some correct answers (it’s the Pogues, obviously), one which should not be overlooked is Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. This was Christmas music before Christmas music was a thing, and has been set to many a festive ballet performance since. You might find yourself humming it if you build LEGO’s next Gift with Purchase (GWP) offering: 40701 Ballerina & Nutcracker Scene, which will be available from December 6 to December 31 with purchases of US $TBD | CAN $TBD | UK £TBD. (You might also find it at third-party retail sites like eBay or Amazon.) I think it’s preferable to having Mariah Carey stuck in your head, anyway – so let’s take a closer look at this holiday-themed set!
The box and contents
The box is in ‘portrait’ format, showing off the build front and back. A ‘Limited Edition’ band runs around the bottom. The ballerina’s dancing feature is shown off on the reverse, too.
Break open the push tabs (which in this instance had some stronger than usual glue, it seems), and we find 5 clear bags within, alongside three loose plates.
There’s also the instruction booklet, of course, and a sticker sheet.
The build
As the build starts, I’m reminded of another Gift with Purchase: 40595 Tribute to Galileo Galilei. Both it and this start with plates and a blue cog in the middle. Time will tell if the working principle is the same!
At the end of the first bag, we have a new part re-coloured in white: two 3×3 quarter-circle panels. They form a backdrop to the golden fences which clip on for the front of the stage.
Let’s go up a gear in the next bag – up a gear size, that is. A larger cog is attached to the spinning mechanism after the stage is built up a bit more.
The final loose plate sits on top, and we get an idea of how the ballerina’s dancing mechanism will work. With the bigger gear locked in place, actuating the tow ball on the back spins the smaller one back and forth.
Now that we have our stage, it’s time to set it, and we’ll do so with some fun parts: sand green windows, and a pair of medium nougat corner walls.
They both make use of stickers to add a bit of detail to the décor. The mismatch between the dark blue stickers and black panels is a bit jarring; I can understand not wanting to make new dark blue panels, but would it not make more sense to have the sky be black in that case?
Anyway, from here we keep extending the backdrop upwards. There’s another row of window frames, and some red slopes double as curtains. The gold chain pieces are a great stand-in for the tassels that often adorn such curtains in theatres!
Then we add some presents. And where there’s Christmas presents…
… There’s usually a Christmas tree! It’s LEGO’s typical tree, with a core of 1×1 bricks with studs on all sides surrounded by plates and arches.
The tree does add a nice bit of colour to the scene. With a few more bits of decoration, including some candles at the front, we’re finished!
The minifigure
The titular ballerina is the only minifigure included. She holds a small nano-figure statue which represents the Nutcracker from the story, and her torso is a new print.
The tutu is an interesting part – previously appearing in a small handful of sets in white, including the Collectible Minifigure Series 15 Ballerina and 10255 Assembly Square. But going off the part’s LEGO designation (6460676 for the parts geeks out there), it’s technically a different part – although I couldn’t tell you what the difference is. Likely, this is because it hasn’t been produced in a few years. Suffice to say, it’s not an especially common accessory.
The finished build
The final display piece is nice enough! It certainly has a festive vibe, with the prominent green, red and gold.
The set’s function works well, with one significant limitation: the ballerina only goes back and forth, rather than doing a full pirouette. I won’t pretend to be a ballet connoisseur – heck, I struggle to balance on one leg – but I don’t know of many ballet moves that go like this:
It looks more like something you’d see at a rave to me!
Conclusion and recommendation
On the whole, this is a pretty decent Gift with Purchase. It doubles perfectly fine as a display model and an interactive one, without really excelling at either. The build isn’t spectacular, but there is at least a smattering of parts in interesting colours. The minifigure is perhaps a bit plain, but with a new print and an uncommon tutu, it’s nothing to be sniffed at. The only real drawback is that the dancing mechanism feels a bit incomplete. Even so, if you’re doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, it’s not a bad little set to end up with. If you’re waiting for a super interesting GWP to pull the trigger on a bigger purchase, though, it’s probably worth waiting for something a little less seasonal.
LEGO 40701 Ballerina & Nutcracker Scene is a Gift with Purchase available with purchases of US $TBD | CAN $TBD | UK £TBD or more between December 6 and December 31. You might also find it at third-party seller sites like eBay or Amazon.
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