From October 1 – 13, 2022, the LEGO® Group will offer a new gift-with-purchase (GWP). The set features a desert island and is called Ray the Castaway (40566). This offering comes from LEGO® Ideas and results from a contest held in summer 2021. Brothers David and Diego Escalona created the entry. The LEGO® Group sent True North Bricks a pre-release copy of the set to review. Now we can share all the details with you before it hits stores!
NOTE: The LEGO® Group provided this set for review. However, the provision of products does not guarantee a favorable review. True North Bricks’ usual rating system applies (click here for more information).
RAY THE CASTAWAY SUMMARY
- NAME: Ray the Castaway
- SET #: 40566
- THEME: Ideas
- COST: gift-with-purchase
- BRICK COUNT: 239
- MINIFIGURES: 1
- RELEASE DATE: October 1, 2022
RAY THE CASTAWAY QUICK REVIEW
- VALUE: 100% (Free, need I say more?)
- BUILD: 90% (Great little build, but the palm trees are weakly attached.)
- MINIFIGURES: 85% (Nice minifig, but low fig count… even though it is meant to be that way.)
- ENTERTAINMENT: 100% (Great, free build.)
- OVERALL SCORE: 94% (Excellent set for a freebie.)
RAY THE CASTAWAY (40566) REVIEW
VALUE: 100%
Ray the Castaway is a GWP. Consequently, you get free build time and free bricks with a purchase you would probably make anyway. I rate the value at 100%. However, for those who are interested, let’s break it down by cost anyway. I assume this set has a $29.99 CAD value based on brick count and comparing it to other GWPs of similar size. At that price, each brick costs $0.125. That represents a good value, earning 84%. The set also took me 44 minutes to build, which works out to $0.68/minute of build time. That is also good, earning 88%. Considering both of these, if I had purchased this set I would rate the value at 86%.
BUILD: 90%
Ray the Castaway is an adorable little build. You construct a tiny island and shack for Ray along with a raft and the rest of his camp site. While not specifically designed as such, this set goes great with custom pirates scenes. The campsite includes a small cooking fire and hidden treasure chest. Additionally, Ray has an S.O.S. sign built in the sand. The sign consists of two snake elements and a life preserver ring. The build is simple, and it does not come with any new parts. However, the result looks great.
One aspect I do not like about the build is the attachment for the palm trees. The brick holding the two trees in place is not strong enough to support them. Both trees fell of repeatedly as I positioned the set for photographs. The tree seems to stay in place as long as the set is simply displayed. However, I doubt the trees will stay in place during play. Otherwise, I do really like the trees. The positioning looks great, and you learn how to build palm trees at interesting angles. I rate the build at 90%.
MINIFIGURES: 85%
Ray the Castaway comes with one Minifigure. Can you guess his name? Ray features a double-sided torso and dual molded legs. The torso is one we’ve seen before, as is the bearded hairpiece. However, in this case both suit the character. Additionally, the set includes a bottle, a treasure chest, three rubies, a parrot, a crab, a whip, and two fish. This fun character with all his accessories easily earns 100% for design.
One minifig in a 239-piece kit is kind of a low fig count. Comparatively, I usually see one Minifigure for every 172 bricks in an average LEGO® kit. While Ray the Castaway earns 67% in this category, I am inclined to give it a better score. The set is meant to represent a deserted island with one shipwrecked person living on it. This kit was not designed to have multiple Minifigures, and I appreciate the story behind it. That earns the set a few more points in my book. I rate the brick/fig ratio at 70%. Averaging this with the design score gives an overall Minifigure grade of 85%.
ENTERTAINMENT: 100%
2022 brought many great GWPs. We’ve seen the Vintage Taxi, the Jane Goodall Tribute, and Forest Hideout to name a few. Ray the Castaway definitely adds to the list. If the LEGO® Group had not sent me one early, I would certainly plan a purchase to acquire this set. I do not have much of a pirates set up at the moment, but this would fit right into such a scene. As a GWP, Ray the Castaway is also fairly substantial. I prefer sets like this much more than polybags. On top of that, as a GWP, this is free entertainment with purchases you are likely already planning to make. Consequently, I rate the entertainment at 100%.
OVERALL SCORE: 94%
As a GWP, Ray the Castaway (40566) is a great set. You can’t beat free bricks, and the build is fun. The palm tree attachment is a little weak though and represents my only point of contention with this set. If it was a purchase, I would probably still acquire the set, but I might rate it lower for value and entertainment. What do you think of Ray the Castaway? Will you make a purchase in October to get one? Let us know in the comments below or reach out on social media.
Until next time,
-Tom
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