Review – Snowglobe [40223]

I actually got the LEGO Snowglobe last Christmas. My wife timed her gift purchasing for me so that she was able to get this set for free when it was being given away last year. She gave it to me on Christmas. Given that the season was pretty much over at that point, and the freebie promotion was over too, I decided not to review it. This year, I noticed while browsing LEGO’s online store that the Snowglobe is up for grabs once again. However, this time it is for sale for $11.99 in Canada. So, since I did not review the set last year, I thought I would give my opinion on it now since people can go out and buy one.

Set Summary

Name: Snowglobe
Set #: 40223
Theme: Seasonal
Cost: $11.99 CAD
Brick Count: 215
Minifigures: 1
Release Date: November 25, 2016

Summary Review: 87%

VALUE: 100% (It is really hard to beat $0.06 per brick.)
BUILD: 80% (Nice look, but drawer is stiff and “snow” doesn’t work well.)
MINIFIGURES: 69% (Ok Minifig, with an ok brick-to-fig ratio.)
ENTERTAINMENT: 100% (Fun set with great build-time value.)

Review

VALUE: 100%
This set is currently retailing for $11.99 on the Canadian LEGO Shop-at-Home site. With 215 bricks, that means each piece in this kit will set you back $0.06. That is an amazing value that you usually only see with large Classic creative boxes. It earns a full 5/5 for value if you are planning on buying one. The only thing that can beat that price is if you got it for free last year.

BUILD: 80%
This set is actually very nicely designed. I really like that it comes with a lot of dark red, textured bricks. I am also a fan of the large, curved window pieces that make up the globe. There is a drawer that you can pull out from the base which allows some storage of small items. The drawer is a little stiff when it comes to sliding in and out, and the actual “snowglobe” function is a bit questionable. You have white 1×1 round tiles inside the globe portion, and you really have to shake the thing in order for them to gain any semblance of falling snow. Even then, it more like hail or flying ice chunks. The overall design is fun and Christmas-y though. I give it 8/10, taking off a mark for the drawer stiffness and the hail function.

MINIFIGURES: 69%
This set comes with one Santa Claus Minifigure. He is not really any different from other Santa Minifigs that have come with LEGO advent calendars and such, though I do feel he looks a little more grumpy or tired. Perhaps this is Santa once Christmas Eve is finally over. He comes with a Santa hat and beard piece, and an old man face that is not double sided. The only body printing is on the front of the torso. He earns 10/15 for design (67%).

In terms of the brick-to-Minifigure ratio, you are getting one figurine for 215 bricks. That is satisfactory in my mind, but certainly not great. It earns the Snowglobe set a ratio score of 3.5/5 (70%). Averaging this score with the design score gives the Snowglobe set an overall Minifigure score of 69%.

ENTERTAINMENT: 100%
When asking whether or not I will keep this set built, I would have to say probably not. I will keep it out this Christmas. But, there are too many great pieces in this set that could be repurposed into a MOC. The textured bricks and curved windows will come in super handy in the future. I am tempted to buy more of these just to get more of those pieces at such a great value. The Snowglobe makes a nice decoration for the holidays, and I could easily keep it for that, so I won’t take off points just because I want to reuse the pieces. It gets 5/5 (100%) for enjoyment.

This set took me 21 minutes to build the Snowglobe. If I had paid $11.99 for this, that would mean that each minute of build time would cost $0.57. That is an excellent build-time value, and earns a full score of 5/5 (100%). Averaging this score with my enjoyment score gives this set a full 100% for entertainment.

Overall: 87%

This set looks nice as a Christmas decoration, and is a great value in terms of brick cost and build-time. It is also a cheap way to get a Santa Claus Minifigure. The only other alternative right now is to buy the City advent calendar, which costs a lot more. My favorite aspect of this set is great re-usability of the pieces that come with it. My only complaints are the stiffness of the drawer, and the poor functionality of the falling snow feature. Overall, I think this is a very good set, and I recommend buying one if you have been on the fence. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Until next time,

-Tom