Review: Lego 31009 Creator Small Cottage

I'm gonna pick up the pieces and build a Lego house
If things go wrong we can knock it down

- "Lego House", Ed Sheeran


When I was a kid my parents bought me a lot of Lego City houses.  Those sets taught me a lot of the building techniques needed to make great Lego houses.

This Creator set caught my eye with its sliding door and nice mix of colors.  I knew I had to get one.

The great thing about Creator sets they already have 3 different models and instructions for them in the box.

Opening the Box

The box shows the Creator line branding as well as the 3 main models that can be built from the kit.

Just like any big creator box it contains 3 separated instructions booklets for all 3 main models.

Ah a nice bunch of packs... since this is a Creator set the bags are not numbered

Agh I can't find my hair in this mess!?!?!

Now let's get to building this creator set.


The first model:  Small Cottage


It has been a long time since I built a Lego house straight from a boxed set.  This brought back a lot of memories form my childhood when mom and dad bought me a lot of City sets.  Those sets taught me a lot about building structurally sound Lego houses.  And 31009 is no different as it uses a lot of proven building techniques and a few modern ones.

I have my hair piece, skate board and hotdog!  Time to get to building!

Notice the swing out wall that allows you to arrange stuff inside the house

Lego houses in the past used to have one wall missing so that you play with the interiors after the house is built.   A lot of the modern ones use swing out walls as a means to have a complete structure as well as a way to still play with the house interiors.   Seen above is one of the ways by which this is accomplished.

Ahh that awesome sliding door!  It's what made me buy this model

The sliding door above was what actually convinced me to buy this kit.  I was working on some sliding doors for a spaceport moc and I stumbled on 31009.  It's not close to a space station sliding door but I still wanted it haha.

Preparing the section where the roof/second floor will connect

Another building technique here is adding those tiles with studs at either ends as connection points for the roof structure.  The lesser amount of studs let the roof be easily disconnected from the house and once again let you see the house interiors.  The minimal stud count allows for a good grip for the roof so it sits well on the house.

And just like that the first model is done!  Again being a creator set this is just set 1 of 3 that you can build with instructions from the box.

Me and my girlfriend Apple's sigfigs

 It's a nice small cottage.  And that awesome sliding door!

And here we have the completed house with the small pond and lawn.   Also showing up in the picture is nephew BJ's champion racer from the Lego City line.

The Second Model: A small bungalow

Out of the 3 models this is the one I like the least.  This is also the model that felt more like a standard Lego house build.  Take note of the classic technique of splitting the house in half to allow building a house with 4 walls and still be able to play with the interiors.

The technique shown from behind.

Here's a more complete structure of the house's ground floor.  I love the window details and the small fireplace.

The structure form the outside.

Unfortunately I was not able to get a picture of the completed house split in half. The roof section is also created so that you can open the house in the middle.


It is a nice little house when get down to it.    I just prefer the sliding doors cottage and the windmill to this build.

Nice details on the exterior.

Small Cottage 2

Love the hotdog as lamp neck.

Third Model: The Windmills in our mind

After the Small cottage the windmill is my second favorite build from this kit.

I like the fact that the Windmill is on a raised platform.

Well some of these bricks (particularly the glass panels) won't be used

Nature shot!

The windmill opens up to show the distillery inside.

Milk?  Beer?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Some additional shots:

And with the extra bricks a waiting shed popped up. :)

Let's  PPPPAAAAARRRTTTYYYY!

Always remember this technique to make your internals accesible

Woohoo pool party!

From the extra bricks I made a small white shelf

As usual a Creator set never fails to satisfy your building urges.  This was an extremely satisfying set to build especially for people who loves to build Lego houses.  It also provides new builders with a lot of great techniques they can learn from.

If you ever get the chance to acquire 31009 I suggest you go get it.  The sliding doors are awesome!

Thank you for going through one of my longer reviews in recent memory.

Until next time Leg Godt!

Review: Lego Creator Set #31003

So I got this a couple of weeks ago for my girlfriend (who gravitates more towards Creator sets than the Friends line, because as she puts it there are more parts).  And we both completely forgot about it.

What's in the bag sir???

OH darn completely forgot about this!

Hello there Creator #31003

Me and my girlfriend like the Creator boxes because they come with 3 different models to build.  And once you build all three they contain enough bricks to create a couple more models.

I personally like them because they also come with a good mix of bricks for both the beginning builder and the advanced Lego person.

Notice the three sets of instructions below.  And that gorgeous pile of red hued bricks.

Ah which one to build first!?! Always a question with Creator sets.

Let's get a couple of guest to decide:

Well looks like Admiral Ackbar and Deadpool wants the airplane built.  I can't fault them since the plane is actually compatible with Lego minifigs.  Notice the cockpit that can sit 1 figure.  Guess Ackbar and Pool can punch it out as to who gets to fly it first.

Let's check out some of the techniques that this set teaches us shall we Deadpool:

Notice the use of the Technic piece to create a centered position from which we can connect the propeller too.  Also take note of the use of pieces normally used as mounting points for rotors.  Observe how orientation of bricks can be changed through the effective use of certain pieces.
 

And the one thing that Lego modelers must always keep in mind the creation of stable models and bricks that support each other to make the complete model stronger.  Note the yellow bricks on the wing that helps create a stronger structure.  Ackbar looks happy with his cockpit.

All they need now is the propeller!

There you go!  Complete!

Time to take it for a spin Ackbar!

It's a trap!!!!!

Nice!

Hey its my turn now Admiral!

A visit from the Sluban aviation series Express Truck

It fits right in with the Sluban Aviation series Express Delivery truck I had lying around!

Creator sets are always a great buy!