The limited-edition #40291 LEGO Creative Storybook set is now available! This is a free exclusive set with purchases of $99 or more until June 20th at official LEGO stores and the Online LEGO Shop. As this is one of the largest free sets LEGO ever released, and one of the nicest ones, it deserves its own separate review. So let’s take a look. 🙂
The #40291 LEGO Creative Storybook comes in a pretty large box (10.25 x 5.5 x 2.75 inches and just about 1 pound), and with 307 pieces. This is no keychain or other small freebie, but a full set in its own right.
The front of the box displays the storybook itself, with a row of colorful Danish houses in the background. There is also a red seal at the front, with the name and silhouette of Hans Christian Andersen in minifig form. The back of the box features a series of lovely scenes depicting Andersen and a little boy in a park setting – which is the subject of the storybook.
Inside the box, you will find four bags with the pieces to build the set, as well as four 6×10 plates loosely added. I was very surprised by the quality of the instruction booklet. It’s printed on thicker paper than most LEGO sets and is very nice quality. The first couple of pages feature some alternate building suggestions that could be used to replace the little pond in the storybook. Please note that pieces and minifigs for these alternate models are not included. They are merely suggestions, each referencing a scene from a famous Hans Christian Andersen fairytale; The Princess and the Pea, The Little Mermaid, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen, The Nightingale, and Jack the Dullard.
Although no building instructions are included for these alternate models, none of them are difficult builds, and you should be able to build them with your own pieces just by looking at the pictures. It’s interesting to note that while the scenes in the book are built on 6×8 plates, the alternate models are on 6×10 plates. I’m not sure why LEGO designers took this route, as all of the alternate models could easily fit on a smaller plate, and thus ready to be inserted into the storybook. In any case, just keep this in mind if you plan to build the alternate models.
The storybook itself is built of three sections; the spine of the book, and the two pages. Once assembled, they connect with clips. Although the two pages can be moved slightly from completely flat to somewhat angled, the book cannot be closed. It is meant to lay open, with the two little scenes creating a pop-up book effect.
As mentioned above, both of the scenes are built on 6×8 plates, and they are inserted into the book at an angle, using hinge-bricks. The rest of the book (pages and cover) are built using mostly plates, tiles and some curved bricks in tan, brown, and bright-light-orange. The nameplate is a 1×8 printed tile. I’m very impressed that LEGO chose to print this piece, instead of just giving us a sticker. After all, remember, this is a free set!
The left side of the storybook depicts Hans Christian Andersen sitting on a park bench and writing one of his stories. He is holding new style book with hinged opening, and a 1×2 printed plate attached inside. Although this printed plate is not a new piece, it only appeared in a couple of other sets, so it’s a nice piece to get. The printing says: “Once upon a time…” with some gold decoration around it. Next to the park bench, there is a simple street lamp. Strangely, LEGO designers choose a trans-neon-green piece for the lamp instead of a trans-yellow one. It’s not too bad, but a trans-yellow one would have matched the era better. The 6×8 light-gray plate is covered with round tiles in two sizes (1×1 and 1×2), and four colors (tan, brown, dark-gray, and olive-green) to create a cobblestone effect. It looks lovely!
On the right side of the storybook is a small pond built on a 6×8 medium-azure plate with trans-light-blue 1×2 tiles to create a water effect, along with some other trans-light-blue elements for a water fountain. There are also a few green plates and tiles, as well as some plant pieces to add a bit of greenery around the pond. A brick-built swan completes this side of the book – another reference to The Ugly Duckling story.
The storybook is meant to be viewed in its open state, but in case you are curious about how the bottom looks, below is a picture for you. While the front and back of the book are just the bottoms of plates, the spine is actually really nicely detailed with four bright-light-orange stripes.
The two minifigs included with the #40291 LEGO Creative Storybook are pretty generic, but they serve their intended purpose well with useful pieces and accessories. I like how Hans Christian Andersen is dressed in a 19th-century fashion, while the little boy is wearing a modern striped shirt and hoodie. This indicates the timelessness of Andersen’s stories and how they continue to inspire new generations of children.
As far as parts selection, you get a good number of basic elements (particularly plates and tiles) in nice colors. The most outstanding piece is the 1×8 printed tile nameplate, which is exclusive to this set, and the 1×2 printed tile inside the book. Other nice pieces are the large selection of tiles in several different colors. And as usual with LEGO sets, you also get one extra of each of the smallest pieces (see picture below).
If you would like to see the #40291 LEGO Creative Storybook in more detail, I have included the video-review below by JANGBRiCKS.
Overall, the #40291 LEGO Creative Storybook is a fantastic set! It looks great on display, and it also has a nice play-feature which encourages you to swap out the pages with your own fairytale scenes. Even if the set wasn’t free I would recommend it, and as a free-with-purchase set that is valued at approximately $19.99 (according to the set information at the Online LEGO Shop), this is a very generous offer from LEGO. It’s also a nice precursor to the recently approved LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book set by Jason Allemann which will be released before the end of the year.
If you would like to get the #40291 LEGO Creative Storybook, you have until June 20th to stop by at an official LEGO store or place an order at the Online LEGO Shop. There are plenty of new sets to choose from to meet the $99 minimum purchase amount, and you will also receive free shipping if you order online. Below are some recently released sets that you might be interested in and were recently listed at the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? How do you like the #40291 LEGO Creative Storybook set? Are you planning to make a purchase to get it? Or do you have it already? Feel free to share your thoughts and own reviews in the comment section below! 😉
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