LEGO Spring Festival Trotting Lantern Review

gamesreviews.com:

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing the designer of the LEGO Spring Festival Trotting Lantern set, and he had some great insights into what it takes to be a LEGO designer, and what went into making this set happen. And this interview made me look at LEGO sets in a brand new light! Let’s take a look at the LEGO Spring Festival Trotting Lantern!

First and foremost, I do think that interviewing Niels, the designer behind this set, made me love this set more than I probably already did. I’m a sucker for culturally themed and holiday LEGO sets, so the Trotting Lantern was not going to be any different. But understanding the work that went into making this set really made me appreciate the build and the little details so much more. If you want to learn more about this set, please read my interview!

This is an incredibly satisfying building experience, and while there is some reputation as you construct the walls of the lantern, the final product is gorgeous to look at. There is a nice balance of standard LEGO building techniques, mixed with enough Technic to give this set a unique feel. The Technic portion of the build will allow you to rotate and spin a light brick to give that lantern a more authentic feel when pushed in and spun in a dark room.

Thankfully, there is more here than just a light brick and some clear windows. The set itself opens up and displays a number of cool booths, things you might find at a Lunar New Year celebration in China. There are traditional Chinese foods, costumes and more features throughout the lantern, and these can be accessed by swinging the doors open and displaying what is inside.

I think that first and foremost, the LEGO Spring Festival Trotting Lantern is a display piece, but with all the included minifigures and the ability to open the lantern up, there is a good opportunity for play here as well. Over the past week, my kids have had the set off the shelf and down onto the table, playing with the figures and exploring the