Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas everyone! Hope all of you got wanted LEGO sets under your Christmas trees. Santa was really busy, and now he can finally take a break. While his Elves are preparing him a cup of warm tea, he can enjoy reading FirestarToys blog! Mary will read it too after she finishes making cookies. 🙂 Today, I will review a special set. 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop from 2009! This set was the first in Winter Village theme, a subtheme of LEGO Creator which gives us one new holiday set every year since 2009. In 2015, this set was re-released as 10249 Winter Toy Shop. It got 83 new pieces and one more figure. Let’s take a look at the original version of the set and celebrate ten years of LEGO Creator Winter Village theme!

Box content

 

As you can see on the front side of the box, this set contains 815 pieces. You will get three main models: winter toy shop, Christmas tree and the bench with trees. Power function light brick is included, too, and it is nice that LEGO decided to include batteries as well. The recommended age range is 12+, but I think that the building process isn’t complex, and 9+ would be fine. I don’t like stickers, and I was very happy when I saw there are none in this set. Instructions book contains 76 pages, which isn’t too much.

Figures

Winter Village comes with seven figures. Let’s take a closer look at every one of them.

The first figure is a female caroler (singer). She doesn’t have legs but Black Slope 65 2 x 2 x 2 with Bottom Tube (the part you probably know from the witch’s dress), unfortunately, without any pattern like the torso. Two capes are looking good in red-black combination and the facial expression is perfect for a singer. White hands are representing gloves which give a nice touch.

 

 

 

 

 

On the other hand, the male caroler doesn’t wear gloves but a red scarf. As we can see on his torso sign, he is a pilot who loves singing. He wears a black top hat and his legs are without printing.

 

 

 

 

 

Interestingly, other figures don’t have a name. They are only described by their looking on both Brickset and Bricklink. This one, for example, is “Overalls farmer green, light bluish grey hair, Glasses”.

In my opinion, this figure is the best in the set. Toy Shop owner wears green overalls and a checkered red shirt. The head is a very old print, first appeared in 2009 and between then and 2019 made 42 appearances in LEGO sets.

 

 

 

Another great figure from the Winter Village Toy Shop is definitively a shop employee. She wears a red jacket with a classic space logo, which is a very nice (and nostalgic) detail. Legs are classic white without print while the hair has a ponytail.

 

 

 

We have three kids in this set. None of them has moveable short legs since they were introduced in 2019. The first kid is this little boy with black gloves. He has a two-sided head with an alternate expression. The side you can see on this picture is a scared one, while another is mischievous. He wears a red scarf too.

 

 

 

 

 

Next, we have another boy with a plain torso, this time in Light Bluish Gray colour. He wears an orange vest, dark bluish grey gloves and has a lopsided smile.

 

 

 

 

Last, but not the least figure is this little girl. As you probably noticed, all the kids are wearing gloves, and this figure isn’t an exception. Short legs are useful when you are making creations, so you can’t have enough of them in various colours.

 

 

 

Christmas tree and gifts 

 

I must admit that I really like the idea of including a Christmas tree in Winter Village Toy Shop set. As you can see on the image, the tree is so big and minifigures need to use a ladder to be able to decorate it. Lights for the tree and big trans yellow snowflake are here too. Toys and gifts are included and are giving this set more playability. Even five toys are ready to play! Clown head from a box with spring, yellow car, teddy bear, robot and locomotive! I can easily say that a locomotive is my favourite. And yours? Let me know in the comments section! The packed gift was made cleverly – with only eight bricks. Love the gift card on it.

 

Toy Shop

 

When you look at it from the outside, the toy shop looks so lovely. Behind two windows you can see two toys – a robot and a locomotive. Side window doesn’t have a toy behind it. The chimney is here too to ensure employees warm working atmosphere. The shop has a first floor, too. It isn’t much, only one little room which you can light up using the included light brick with batteries. Under both roofs, a little mistletoe is added – perfect for the holiday touch! The sunshade above the windows is made using Dark Red and White brick, modified 1 x 2 x 1 1/3 with curved top. Of course, the door can be open and beside the shop is a small tree. Very nice addition! I will describe the interior in the next section when we’ll discuss the playing features of the model.

 

Playing features

Unlike some LEGO models which are intended only for display, Winter Village Toy Shop offers a lot of playing features.

Let’s start on the ground floor. Here you can find a big fireplace, displayed models and cash register. It is perfect for recreating the shopping experience. You can change the display models too. The toy shop owner has a very cute little cat. It loves playing in the shop and can’t wait to see who will enter next. The floor is covered with dark tan 1 x 6 tiles which gives the whole shop a nostalgic look.

 

 

On the first floor, the shop owner has a little desk, tools and a chair where he can make new toys and repair existing ones. He doesn’t need to worry that he won’t have enough light while working because above his head there is a lightning brick. He has a perfect look at a clock, so he can see how much time he has left to finish his work.

 

What are holidays without building a snowman? This set includes one too. It contains eleven parts, so you can recreate making it. On the picture above, you can see the cat playing while the kids are building a snowman. Of course, you can always change the snowman for another one. Here is the idea. Mr. Melty will give you more playing features – recreating the snowman melting when warmer days come sound amazing! Pets are always fun additions to LEGO sets and luckily, you will get one in this set too.

 

 

Conclusion

Overall, I think that this is a perfect holidays set. With a lot of playing features, I can be sure that you will have a lot of fun with Winter Toy Shop even after building it. Although figures aren’t detailed, seven of them are included, which is a really nice number. Big Christmas tree looks perfect as holiday decoration on your desk. Lightning brick is a very nice addition to this set, I love using it, and what is more, the batteries have a long duration.

That’s it. Hope you enjoyed this review. What do you think about this set? Do you have it? Or maybe its re-released version, 10249? Did you maybe get some LEGO winter set this Christmas? Let me know in the comments section! Wish you a Merry Christmas again! 🙂