What's on the Front of Your LEGO® Set?

I recently reviewed #60233-1: Donut Shop Opening and I commented that the box did not include the set name when I originally posted the review. I found that to be quite odd as the name of the set is always on the front.

Fast forward a few weeks and I received a shipment from Amazon.com in the US which included #75957-1: The Knight Bus. The box came with a sticker on the left side with the usual information I always see on sets. If you look at the second picture I posted, you can see what it normally looks like. It took me a bit to put it together, but the one on the left was not produced in LEGO’s North America factory. Apparently US sets have all of the information while sets in Europe do not have the name and piece count. Like the #60233-1: Donut Shop Opening set I purchased from Smyth’s in Germany, the set I received from Amazon.com was made elsewhere (Europe or Asia), a sticker was added to meet the US rules, and it was sold at Amazon.com. That must be how LEGO is trying to fix its supply chain with the Mexico factory shut down due to COVID-19.

I have a few sets here that I purchased at Smyth’s in Germany. I wanted to do a check to see if they all were like that. First off, some architecture Skyline sets…

For comparison, here are two versions below. The North America versions have the piece count and let you know that it is a building toy. Which if you’ve seen the first LEGO® Movie, you know that it is not a toy. It is “actually a highly sophisticated inter-locking brick system.”

Here’s #75276-1: StormtrooperTM Helmet purchased from Smyth’s in Germany. In looking it up, the North America version has the piece count and the abbreviation in Spanish. Then it says it is a “Building Set” in English, French, and Spanish.

One last one… this one was also purchased from Smyth’s in Germany and it is #10254-1: Winter Village Train. It looks very similar to the North America packaging per what I could see on Brickset.com. The North America version says “Ages/edades” above the 12+. This set picture has pieces abbreviated in English, German, Spanish, and… I’m not sure what “db” is. Anyone? The North America version just says “pcs/pzs.

So there you go… If you’re in the US, pay attention to any new sets you get to see what the packaging is like. Your set may have traveled a lot farther than you’d think. I haven’t done a deep dive of the instructions or any of the other markings. Has anyone else noticed any differences?

Happy building!

Set Review - #75957-1: The Knight Bus - Harry Potter

Here’s another 2019 released Harry Potter set. This one is the Knight Bus from the book “The Prisoner of Azkaban.” This set was released on 1 July 2019 in the US and retails for $39.99. It contains 403 pieces and has 3 minifigures. This makes the set run at $0.099/piece. I picked the set up at a 20% off discount through Amazon.com in the US. As of today (mid-December 2019), the set is still 20% off.

This is not the first LEGO version of this set. Previous versions are (links to Brickset.com):
#4866-1 (2011)
#4755-1 (2004)

It’s interesting to see how the set has evolved through the years. Let’s dig into version 3…

It’s the standard box with the full set on the front and the back showing the play features.

The set contains 3 parts bags, an instruction booklet, and a small sticker sheet.

The first bag starts off the first level of the bus. I like the purple color and the abundance of purple pieces. If anything, the purple pieces can be used for other MOCs as I know they don’t show up in a ton of sets. This bag contains Harry, the Knight Bus conductor, and the shrunken head with the Jamaican accent (in the movie). It also includes Harry’s trunk and then 2 printed 1x2 tiles. One is a letter and the other is a… um… I’m not sure. Potter fans, help me out here!

Bag two finishes the first layer and builds the second layer. There are a lot more purple pieces to include more window frames which could be good in a future building MOC or passenger train MOCs. Given the scale, I think the chandelier was done well and I like how it is movable as portrayed in the movie. Some of the stickers get applied here. They are for the most part larger and I don’t mind them as they add some key details to the set while keeping the price down versus printed parts. The right side of the bus is built with a hinge so that you can open it up for play access. While I’m not a huge fan of this, I see why they did this versus having the second layer removable so you can get to the first layer. I don’t think it would make as much sense with the chandelier located where it is and the low amount of details on the second layer (one seat).

The final bag finishes the bus off. I includes the driver (Ernie) as the last minifigure. It also finishes off the third level of the bus. Lastly, you build one of the beds. Re-watching the movie clip where the Knight Bus is shown shows that there are 3 beds on the first level which move around as the bus drives. One of the beds has someone sleeping in it in the movie. The set only contains one bed for scale and the designers built it so that it can move around some in one direction so that’s good.

This bag contains a 2x2 printed tile for the Daily Prophet newspaper. Beyond that, the third level does not contain much detail, but I don’t recall seeing on the top in the movie so it might not matter although it does seem like wasted space in the set.

The third level disconnects from the lower part of the bus and then it has a top that comes off too for access.

The minifigures are Ernie (the driver), Stan (the conductor), and Harry). I think they did a good job capturing all three and I think Ernie’s look matches the movie character rather well.

Here’s the final set. Too be honest, I wasn’t overly impressed with this set. I like the purple parts and I think they did a good job with the minifigures, but that’s about it. The shape of the bus looks better than older versions, but it still looks like they could have done a bit more with details on the top layer and maybe a door to get on the bus.

I recommend only getting this set if you can get it on sale and if you’re a big Potter fan. Or maybe if you want the purple pieces for a MOC. Otherwise, there isn’t too much overly exciting here.

What are your thoughts?

Happy building!