Set Review ➟ 40410 A Christmas Carol
As many directors have learned the hard way, filming a successful movie after an epic, a novel, a tale, or just about any kind of literary work, is a seriously difficult task. Readers visualise the scenes according to their own imaginations and later often cannot fully immerse themselves into a movie unless it matches their own mental images.
That must have also been one of the harder aspects of designing a LEGO set after a book, and after a famous one at that: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. As one of the most beloved novellas of all time, there is no doubt most people, including children, will be well acquainted with it already by the time they will be opening this set’s box. High expectations already await us at the threshold…
Into the Christmas scene
This set follows the medium-sized "scene-slice-on-a-book" recipe which is not a brand new idea, but it works fine, so why fix something that isn’t broken? It is obviously a set which many owners will decide to keep built as a decoration for their living area, and in that role, this format does a good job.
So, as a foundation of this set, we’ve got a nice thick book with classic ornaments on its spine, as well as a full label. Slightly yellowed pages, rather than pure white ones, are a nice touch.
The book serves as a baseplate for a segment of Cratchit’s house in a Christmas mood, with a wreath, candles, a tiny Christmas tree and a burning fireplace. Several stickers, for the picture above the mantlepiece, for the two areas where the wall is slightly worn down, and the simple planks on the floor, do help achieving the intended feeling of a slightly run-down, but warm and cozy house. If you are no fan of stickers, without them the scene does lean on a bit sterile side. Outside the house, we have got a classic Winter setup featuring a street lamp, a fence, another tiny tree and a lantern, with most of the horizontal surfaces covered by snow, of course.And to complete the scene, we have got three minifigs, representing the three prominent characters of the story: Ebenezer Scrooge in a standard Victorian-era rich man’s outfit featuring a top hat, his exhausted employee, the mid-aged Bob Cratchit, and Tiny Tim, Cratchit’s ill son with a walking stick. Other important characters, the ghosts are missing, but a standard minifig LEGO ghost would perhaps have turned out a bit too hilarious for what is a very happily ending, but altigether serious and, in few places, a rather sobering story.
To give credit right away where credit is due, as long as one is acquainted with the novella, one doesn’t need much imagination to recognize the scene. It teleports to the mid-19th century England instantly ? and as a display set, it certainly succeeds in its mission. And even beyond the first look, there are many little details here to enjoy: the angled wall, the carefully crafted fireplace, the snow, the roof shingles in varying colors…
In addition, although the set was obviously designed with a distinctive front side to be observed from, which faces the book spine, it is nice also from the other angles. No need to display it strictly in a corner, or next to a wall.
Building and functionality
By and large, 40410 is simple to build. It requires moderate dexterity only in a few steps where fragile wall segments are being connected together. Those steps likely warrant the 8+ age recommendation. Inside the set, parts which are not to be seen once everything is finished employ the good old trick of having completely different colors, simplifying finding and orientation.
Instructions are very clear, reducing steps to only several parts at once, and all in a similar area. Thumbs up for a chubby little instruction book (as opposed to a large, thinner one) as it allows building on a smaller work surface.
Less so with the stickers, which require some amount of focus and precision: since they are close to long parallel edges, misaligned floor boards and book ornaments sting in the eye even from distance.
The set abundantly combines New dark red with Reddish brown parts. This subtle difference looks nice once the set is complete, but distinguishing between them during building may turn out challenging, unless under strong light.
As far as the functionality goes, the set is rather static except for one, yet a large exception. The inside of the book contains a concealed drawer, with 6-stud wide interior. Do not expect to store a whole lot inside (perhaps a matchbox for lighting up the Christmas candles?), but it is certainly a nice feature as such. Despite the house walls being assembled from somewhat fragile sections, the completed construction is sturdy enough to successfully survive any moving by hand, or even a bumpy drive on a car seat.
Other than the drawer, the only intentionally movable parts are the minifigs, and of course their gadgets. Hence, in the playability department, A Christmas Carol is somewhat limited, which was to be expected for a primarily display set. But give it a bit of imagination, and there could be endless tales Bob (or perhaps the reformed Scrooge too) can tell Tim, as they sit in the inglenook.
Parts supply and rebrickability
Among the 325 parts of this set, there are no true exclusives. Builders with a need for earth-like shades of colors may find the Dark red, Reddish brown and Brick yellow parts useful, as well as the 34 1x2 bricks with grills. Furthermore, there are some nice gadgets in here, like the umbrella, the top hat, the lantern, the scarf, candles and such—none of which is exceedingly rare, but are welcome additions to spice up some MOC’s.
Thanks to the basic building materials used for the book, this set can be rebuilt into small MOC’s easily, or remixed into a larger house, albeit an angled roof could be a problem. Those interested in modding may well decide to eliminate the drawer and replace it with, perhaps, a battery and a lighting system illuminating the fireplace.
Closing words
Now that we have ran through all the standard bases, let’s return back to the home plate and recapitulate.
As a display set, A Christmas Carol hits all the important targets: it is a pleasure to look at (and from more than just one angle), it isn’t too difficult to build though complex enough not to be tedious, it is reinforced by a famous story whose mood it represents adequately, it is large enough to offer detail yet small enough to find a place in anybody’s living room, and it makes a nice gift.
In the role of a play set, it could work, but to a limited degree. An openable door or some more furniture would have increased the play value, though at the expense of simplicity and sturdiness. (And likely, price.) However, this is only the set’s secondary role, so some wise compromises in that sense are to be expected—and accepted.
It is a bit too small to be viably purchased for building material only, though it does include a combination of colors and parts which could be interesting for some builders, particularly those building in a similar theme or setup. Yet, there are perfectly sufficiently many diverse parts to rebuild this set into various other ideas, within the early-Victorian English setting or not. And the drawer may be just the perfect place to hide a mini-chocolate, for those times when only sweets can help boost the inspiration.
We wish to thank LEGO for providing this set for review. The opinions in this review are not supported or endorsed by LEGO.
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