The 2018 addition to the Winter Village collection is a Fire Station with an antique ladder truck, four fire fighters (including one female another playing a saxophone) a resident playing hockey along with a girl pushing a baby minifig on a sled. And a Dalmatian… can’t for get the great dog pattern included in this set. Unlike the Modular series, the Winter Village collage has mostly included back open designs allowing for easy interior access while also increasing the PLAY-ABILITY level for this set.
The vintage ladder truck is well designed to evoke the feel of a real vintage truck while remaining a simple accessory to this set. The firehouse itself is well designed with a number of interesting details including a fireman’s pole, kitchen area, bunk and table for the fire fighters. I was impressed with the design of the firehouse engine bay doors as they are “built” doors in lieu of any of the standard door pieces normally associated with vehicular doors on many sets. The column details, window ornamentation and the crown molding along the top level are fantastic. Also of note are the construction techniques for the tower section along with the “railing” sections being used a ornamental fretwork in the tower window sections. Very creative.
Capping out the set, there is a new design for a Christmas tree with presents; a bench and light pole; and a fountain – presumably frozen over for ice-skating – with a statue of a marching fireman. A nice feature are the metallic gold fireman helmets with option hair for 3 of the 4 fire fighters (the saxophone guy has to wear a brimmed cap all day, every day but he does have a cool mustache, so that kind of makes up for the hat).
All in all, another solid addition to a theme that has become a highly anticipated holiday tradition every year. As someone who was attracted to these sets early on, my biggest concern is how to display all these great sets each year and how to store them securely the rest of the year (first world inter-locking brick problems).
