A few weeks ago, I made an order through the online LEGO Store. I wanted the Penguin Arctic Roller (click here to read my review), but I needed to fill my shopping cart a little more in order to get the freebie Disco and Clown Batman Minifigures. So, knowing that True North Bricks was on the verge of turning one, I also ordered the Birthday Table Decoration, which was 50% off at the time. It usually sells for $11.99 in Canada, and I got it for $5.99. Was it worth the purchase?
Set Summary
Name: The Birthday Table Decoration
Set #: 40153
Cost: $11.99 CDN
Brick Count: 120
Minifigure Count: 0.5
Manuals: 1
Release Date: June 1, 2015
Summary Review: 76%
VALUE: 90% (Each brick costs you $0.10, which is below the current average.)
BUILD: 100% (Well designed little cake/jack-in-the-box.)
MINIFIGURES: 55% (You only get half of a Minifigure.)
ENTERTAINMENT: 60% (Short build, probably not worth keeping built.)
Review
VALUE: 90%
At the full price of $11.99, and a brick count of 120, this set will cost you $0.10 per brick. That is $0.03 below the current average, which is actually pretty good. This set earns a score of 4.5/5 (90%). If you caught this set while it was on sale, the value was even better, with each brick costing you $0.05. At that price, this set gets a perfect value score.
BUILD: 100%
I have no complaints about the build for this set. It looks exactly as it is supposed to: a birthday cake. The top of the cake opens up with the flip of a switch, which also reveals the jester, like a sort-of jack-in-the-box. There are lots of yellow and clear pieces that allow you to build the numbers 1 through 99. I will give this set 5/5 as a build score.
MINIFIGURES: 55%
Sadly, this set suffers greatly in the Minifigure department. You actually do not get a whole Minifigure. That was a super huge disappointment for me when I opened the box. The jester has no legs. He does have a double-sided face though. One side is smiling, the other is tearful. Half a Minifigure is really not much use to me though. He also has no accessories. He earns 4/10 (40%) for design.
With 120 bricks and half of a Minifigure, the brick-to-Minifig ratio is 240:1. That earns a score of 3.5/5 (70%). When combined, the design and ratio scores earn the Minifigures in this set an overall score of 55%.
ENTERTAINMENT: 60%
This set takes about 15 minutes to build, which means each minute of build time costs you $0.80. That is not a phenomenal value, and ranks this set at 3/5 (60%). If you were lucky enough to get it during the half off sale, the value is much better at $0.40 per minute, and a score of 5/5.
How much do I enjoy this set? Well, it was fun to photograph for my one year anniversary here at True North Bricks (click here to see the post). I could even see myself potentially using it as an extravagant rooftop decoration for a bakery or something in my LEGO City. Most likely, I will repurpose the pieces. It comes with a number of useful curved pieces that will help with my future custom projects. Given than I could see myself keeping it built, but probably will not all the same, I give it 3/5 for entertainment. I doubt many kids would keep this as is for play either, and I anticipate that the novelty of it would wear off quickly.
Combining the entertainment value and enjoyment scores at full price earns this set 60%. If you got it at half price, the score goes up to 80%.
Overall: 76%
This set is a pretty good source of curved bricks to repurpose. You are paying less than the current average for each piece. It is a nice little set when built, but I doubt if many people will keep it as is long term. The biggest letdown is the fact that you only get half of a Minifigure. It would have been so easy to make this set functional with a full Minifigure seated inside the cake. At full price, I give this set 76% overall. I got it half off though, and at that price, the overall score is 84%.
Until next time,
-T.N.B.