10263 LEGO Creator Winter Village Fire Station

10263 Winter Village Fire Station has 1166 pieces, which makes it the third largest holiday themed Creator Expert set to date, pushing last year's Winter Village Station to fourth place. Cracking the push tabs of the mainly wintry blue box reveals 10 bags of bricks (numbered from 1 to 3), and two instruction booklets along with a sticker sheet for 10 stickers inside a protective bag of their own. The first booklet is not only smaller in dimension but just 52 pages long and concentrates on building everything else but the fire station, while the second, larger one has 84 pages and contains the instructions for the whole station.There are six minifigures (seven if one counts the statue, eight if one counts the baby), a red fire truck with a rotating and extendable ... More10263 Winter Village Fire Station has 1166 pieces, which makes it the third largest holiday themed Creator Expert set to date, pushing last year's Winter Village Station to fourth place. Cracking the push tabs of the mainly wintry blue box reveals 10 bags of bricks (numbered from 1 to 3), and two instruction booklets along with a sticker sheet for 10 stickers inside a protective bag of their own. The first booklet is not only smaller in dimension but just 52 pages long and concentrates on building everything else but the fire station, while the second, larger one has 84 pages and contains the instructions for the whole station.There are six minifigures (seven if one counts the statue, eight if one counts the baby), a red fire truck with a rotating and extendable ladder, a skating rink decorated with a water-spilling firefighter statue, a Christmas tree with a few gifts, a gold and brown sled, and a brown bench flanked by a black lamppost in this set, but the main attraction is a two-story fire station with big red doors and a flat-roofed tower. The ground floor of the station is mainly gray and dark red, while the predominant color for the upper floor is dark red with white window and door frames and some brick yellow columns. The detachable roof is brick yellow, but some snow has accumulated on top of it and the black stairs leading to the upper floor. There is a kitchen and a sleeping area with a fold-down bed upstairs, but all the firefighting equipment is stored downstairs along with the fire truck. If in a hurry, the firefighters can use a fireman's pole to slide down from the upper floor.As far as minifigures go, Winter Village Fire Station contains three firefighters, all clad in dapper black gold-buttoned uniforms, an ice hockey player wearing a brown argyle sweater and blue trousers, a mustached musician in a black suit and green epaulettes with a saxophone, and a bespectacled girl in a red plaid shirt and gray trousers with an orange scarf. There is also a baby figure clad in a bright bluegreen onesie with a moose print, a gray statue wearing a golden firefighter's helmet, a white dog with black spots (a Dalmatian but with pointy upright ears), and a brick-built snowman sporting a fantastic black top hat. I was pleasantly surprised to see hair pieces included for the firefighters, usually they would have just their helmets. There are no dual-sided heads, but the headgear of five of the six minifigures would not allow them anyway.The build begins with #1 bags, of which there are three. As usual, it starts with the assembly of some minifigures, in this case four of them, plus the dog which is one piece. Next in line is the sled with the baby and a present, followed by the bench and lamppost, after which the build moves onto the decorated Christmas tree with three presents (two of which are a train and a blue four wheeled cart/scooter with actual working wheels). Then the ice-skating rink is assembled and the final build of the stage is the fire truck which, in my opinion, looks a tad blocky, especially round the back wheel arches. 5 stickers are applied at this point, all on the fire truck. My set had 18 extra pieces in it. The Christmas tree was a little repetitive to build, since it consists of four identical layered wedge shaped sections. For me personally, the brick yellow stick that is inserted inside the tree and the stickers were the hardest bits of this part of the build.Bags #2, of which there are three, build the musician minifigure and the bottom floor of the fire station along with a red fire hydrant and the snowman. No stickers are used at this stage, but my set had 11 extra pieces. There is some repetition when building the walls, and the red main doors are just mirror images of each other. The fire truck fits through the main doors (which open inwards), but its ladder must be down since there are only a few millimeters to spare. The musician with his saxophone ties nicely in with the singers from previous Winter Village sets.Bags #3, i.e. the four final bags of this set, build one firefighter and the upper floor of the fire station. The build continues right on top of the ground floor, which means that this part of the build cannot be assembled before bags #2 are done and dusted. The five remaining stickers are applied at this stage, and I was left with 12 extras after the build was completed. The build technique for the ornate tower windows is simply super, and while the brick yellow 1x1 clips are quite tedious to align, they do look wonderful as a cornice (roof decoration). In my opinion, the bell, flag, and festive ornaments are all very nice details, as are the two rotating chairs and the coffee maker. The light brick on the roof is a welcome addition and helps bring the building to life. I noticed that the dog fits under the fold-down bed (its bone is placed there), but only just. Unfortunately, I found that the fireman's pole was a little difficult to use, especially if one has clumsy fingers and is spoiled rotten by a similar pole in 75827 Firehouse Headquarters. At one point, I mixed the colors black and dark blue which led to some confusion and I also struggled a little to build the structure around the silver bell.The more uncommon parts in this set include the bright bluegreen baby body (Element ID 6217078), the black firefighter torso (6218607), and the brick yellow stick with a stop (6254770), all currently available in just this set. The white ornamental fence (6097236) currently appears in two sets (the other being Disney Castle), and the dark red 1x2 plate with a handle (6214312) and the dark blue toolbox (6135159) have been in 3 sets. The trans yellow ice crystal (6116738), the sand yellow hair (6162275), and, surprisingly, the dark red 1x1 brick with one knob on the side (6212007) which hasn't been seen in Lego sets since 2013, have been in 4 sets including this one.When this year's Winter Village set was revealed, I had my doubts about it and could not see the relevance between Christmas and a fire station. Seeing the set in flesh (plastic?) and building it have totally reversed my opinion. I have only a few Winter Village sets from the past three or so years, but this is quite probably my favorite one thus far. What I love about the Winter Village Fire Station is its interior which was pretty much absent from last year's train station. The fire station is very ornamental and pretty to look at, the furnishings are top notch, and the designer has clearly paid attention to detail. In my opinion, this set ticks all the boxes: there are oodles of play features for those who actually play with their Lego sets, and also some complexity for those who just like to build and perhaps display their sets. I sincerely hope next year's set will be just as good!

Being that I love the Christmas Creator Expert sets, I had to pick this one up, and it did not disappoint! The detail is incredible inside the fire station, and has a few cool features, such as a bunk bed that can be turned up to reveal a couple of stickered tiles. The kitchen is cute and has enough room for minifigures, and the pole is a nice addition. The outside looks fantastic, with the frosted decorated elements, and the wreaths. The firetruck is small but looks very classic, and has an extendable ladder. The ice rink looks really cool, and even has a statue incorporated into the build. The tree looks phenomenal, no complaints there. The minifigures are cool, love the classic Fireman outfits, and the baby mold is too adorable. The only critique I have about ... MoreBeing that I love the Christmas Creator Expert sets, I had to pick this one up, and it did not disappoint! The detail is incredible inside the fire station, and has a few cool features, such as a bunk bed that can be turned up to reveal a couple of stickered tiles. The kitchen is cute and has enough room for minifigures, and the pole is a nice addition. The outside looks fantastic, with the frosted decorated elements, and the wreaths. The firetruck is small but looks very classic, and has an extendable ladder. The ice rink looks really cool, and even has a statue incorporated into the build. The tree looks phenomenal, no complaints there. The minifigures are cool, love the classic Fireman outfits, and the baby mold is too adorable. The only critique I have about this set is the price, because the set comes with a ton of small elements, more than I expected. The size of the build isn't worth 100 dollars in my opinion, so I suggest waiting until it goes down in a price a little bit. Overall, it's another great addition to the Christmas theme, can't wait for more!

This is a good set. The bench, little blue vehicle and the ice rink are a nice addition. The fire truck is nice and has 2 seats.The gate might be a brick higher to give acces to other fire vehicles but I used an easier option.I removed the dark grey 1x12 plate and the 2x2 bow slopes on the gate to give access on ladder fire vehicle from set 6554 for extra support. The fire truck in the Winter Village Fire Station has only 1 ladder instead of 2 (shorter range).Both vehicles can through the gate now and even the other fire vehicles without a ladder.Pros- The roof can be removed to get better access to the interior.- bench- little blue vehicle- sleigh- ice rink- fire truck with two seatsCons- Fire truck has 1 ladder instead of 2- Grey 1x12 ... MoreThis is a good set. The bench, little blue vehicle and the ice rink are a nice addition. The fire truck is nice and has 2 seats.The gate might be a brick higher to give acces to other fire vehicles but I used an easier option.I removed the dark grey 1x12 plate and the 2x2 bow slopes on the gate to give access on ladder fire vehicle from set 6554 for extra support. The fire truck in the Winter Village Fire Station has only 1 ladder instead of 2 (shorter range).Both vehicles can through the gate now and even the other fire vehicles without a ladder.Pros- The roof can be removed to get better access to the interior.- bench- little blue vehicle- sleigh- ice rink- fire truck with two seatsCons- Fire truck has 1 ladder instead of 2- Grey 1x12 plate on the gate might be removed or replaced with tiles (and 1x2 plates under the walls)9/10