As we all know, LEGO is based out of Denmark. A country that is in the Northern Hemisphere. As such, a lot of their releases don’t make a lot of sense seasonally here in Australia.
Allow me to introduce you to 40424 Snowball Fight. A set that I built on a 28 degree day here in Brisbane.
The set comprises of 149 pieces and two minifigures.
Snowball fights are primarily enjoyed by the young, so of course both minifigures included with this set are the short legged variety.
There is a young girl with purple pants, blue jacket and an orange scarf. I really like the cheerful face print included on this minifigure.
The second minifigure is a young boy with black pants and a green jacket. This minifigure comes with one of those winter hats with the flaps over the ears.
There is also a husky included, which seems like the most suitable choice out of all of LEGO’s dog options.
Rather than one bigger build this set is comprised of several distinct builds that combine to set the scene of the snowball fight. While the play potential is pretty open here the inclusion of red and blue flags lends itself to a capture the flag battle.
Sled – This is a fairly small sled but I like the way they have integrated the 2×2 box as part of the design. It makes for a good snowball storage area.
Red Hill – This small hill includes a mechanism to launch the sled down the slope. It doesn’t have a heap of height so the sled isn’t going to go far but it does work well enough.
Blue Fort – I really like the curved snow wall, with the few little transparent blue elements to represent ice. This part of the build also includes a small catapult that can surprisingly send elements flying a fair distance.
Snowman – There have been a lot of different versions of a LEGO snowman created over the years. This one is not my favourite. I don’t really like the way they’ve tried to do the scarf.
Snack Break – In December 1914, during World War 1, there were a series of unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front. In this snowball war potential ceasefires are celebrated with cookies and hot chocolate.
Adding some finishing touches to the set are some skis and a small tree.
Overall this is a really cute little set. The only complaint that I have is the use of 1×1 round studs with holes to represent the snowballs. They look more like weird snow donuts. Something like the 1×1 Octagonal Jewel from the DOTS theme would have made a good snowball.
This set is available from LEGO.com [affiliate link], LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and LEGO Certified Stores for $19.99.
This set was provided to me by LEGO. Opinions expressed are my own.
Bought this as a nice little vignette for the Christmas Village. Some cute mini builds, but really this is just a slightly-bigger-than-normal polybag. $20 is a stiff ask. I agree with Michael, there are better snowmen in plenty of other sets (the City Advent Calendar can normally be relied upon in this regard, too).
This came available on LEGO AU website right after the Elf Club sold out. I’m too cheap to buy full price sets where I have to pay postage as well so was holding out until these came out so I could buy them together. Hopefully these are still available when the Bat Wing comes out so I can get a couple. If LEGO AU are as good at stocking as normal then the Elf Club will have to wait until next year as it likely won’t be back before Christmas.
Can’t wait for a LEGO store to come to Adelaide.
Don’t hold your breath, the Lego stores are not good at having enough stock of new or seasonal sets either… Neither of the Sydney stores have any elf clubhouse sets left, they sold out almost immediately and have said to call back mid next week as they didn’t know if they’d have more stock by then…