Review: LEGO 40499 Santa’s Sleigh

September 15, 2021 | 18

As Christmas approaches, 10293 Santa’s Visit isn’t the only LEGO Christmas set for 2021, as we are also getting 40499 Santa’s Sleigh, aka the Reindeer Battle Pack – a small Seasonal set that’s coming on 1 October.

If you’re in Australia and want this set early, it’s already listed for sale on the LEGO Certified Store website! Update: the product link seems to have been removed.

Otherwise, 40499 Santa’s Sleigh has a release date of 1 October 2021, and will be priced at US$36.99/AU$59.99, and be available from LEGO.com

The proposition here is pretty simple, but something that LEGO hasn’t really done at this level of detail – a bid red traditional Sleigh for Santa Claus, pulled by 4 LEGO Reindeer.

For many people, the 4 Reindeer is going to be the reason you’ll pick up one (or multiples of the set), but as a standalone set, it makes for a pretty great gift, and expansion to your LEGO Christmas/Winter Village.

Read on to see more of 40499 Santa’s Visit.

See below for regional pricing and links:

• LEGO 40499 Santa’s Sleigh [US] – US$36.99
• LEGO 40499 Santa’s Sleigh [AUS] – AU$59.99
• LEGO 40499 Santa’s Sleigh [UK] – £34.99
• LEGO 40499 Santa’s Sleigh [EU] – €36.99
• LEGO 40499 Santa’s Sleigh [CAN] – CA$49.99

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this review set!

Name: Santa’s Sleigh
Set Number: 40499
Pieces: 343
Price: $36.99 [US] | £ 34.99 GBP [UK] | AU$ 59.99 [AUS]
Exclusive to: LEGO.com
Theme: Seasonal / Iconic
Release Date: 1 October 2021
Buy from LEGO.com [USA] [AUS] [UK]

The build is fairly small, quick and simple. At only 343 pieces, you should be able to blitz through it in less than an hour, but I mostly enjoyed building the sleigh and all the decorations that go with it.

Here’s a look at the sticker sheet included. Mine got a little mangled in the box.

First thing’s first – here’s a look at the Santa Claus minifigure included in the set. New for 2021, are his dual-moulded legs, which FINALLY give Santa Claus some much-needed black boots to complete his ensemble.

Surprisingly, this Santa Claus minifigure is exclusive to the set, and has a few differences than the Santa Claus that we got from 10293 Santa’s Visit, giving you an additional reason to pick this up if you’re planning to get Santa’s Visit.

Here’s a look at Santa’s back printing, which has a candy cane tucked into his belt, which is a fun touch.

Here’s a comparison of both Santa’s side by side – you can see some subtle differences with the printing and design of their torsos.

And Santa also has a new face – a little stern looking, with an excellent white handlebar moustache.

For accessories, he also comes with a printed Santa’s Nice List 2×3 tile – which has some names you can barely make out, unless you squint really hard.

So the main drawcard of the set – you get four (!) LEGO Reindeer in the set. First making a debut in 2020’s Elf Clubhouse set, the Reindeer has been one of the more popular animals to be ordered from Bricks and Pieces, but having four included in the set makes it so much easier to amass an entire herd if you’re so inclined.

Here’s the completed Santa’s Sleigh, pulled by four LEGO reindeers. They have interchangeable harnesses, which clip on to the middle collumn, to pull Santa’s red sleigh.

Here’s a better look at how it’s created, and technically, you could hook up 12 Reindeer to it to properly emulate Santa’s crew of Reindeer.

The four Reindeer look great pulling Santa’s Sleigh, and it’s really nice to see so many of them together.

Here’s a look at Santa’s Sleigh from the side.

And here’s a look at Santa’s Sleigh, which has pearl gold decorations surrounding it, which give it a fitting traditional Christmas look. The curves, including the suspended front look really nice, and there’s also a large compartment behind to stash Christmas presents for kids the world over.

Here’s a look at the gifts that Santa carries – plenty of fun accessories like Teddy Bear, and a white Acoustic guitar, as well as a pair of ice skates snow skis. Thanks Steve for the correction!

Santa also has an ornate decoration on the front, with his initials – SC.

For some fun details, the back has some custom plates – with an alphanumerical spelling of Santa.

This was also quite clever – a compartment you can open, where you can find treats for the Reindeer (a carrot), and for Santa (a pretzel).

Last but not least, a GPS map for Santa, because it’s 2021, and he needs artificial intelligence to help him plot the quickest route to children all over the world.

The set naturally pairs very well with Santa’s Visit, and in a sense, I think it may have originally been a part of the set, but was removed to be its own thing to keep the price low.

It does fit the overall theme of Santa’s Visit, and looks great in any Winter Village setup.

What I liked:

• Four reindeer in a set
• Exclusive new Santa Claus minifigure
• Fun little seasonal build that expands your Winter Village

What I didn’t like: 

• Set is quite pricey due to the Reindeers
• Quite a lot of unnecessary stickers

FINAL THOUGHTS:

For a small set, this is quite delightful, and who’s going to deny the real draw of the set – the four Reindeer included. For many looking to get their hands on more Reindeer without having to navigate Bricks and Pieces, this is an easy (but expensive) way to do so.

The inclusion of a new and exclusive Santa Minifigure is a nice touch, and I like that it’s different from the one in Santa’s Visit. If you’re skipping the Santa’s Visit set, this is a slightly more affordable alternative to getting that new Santa minifigure with black boots.

This is at its core, a super festive set, and I think it makes for a great addition to your LEGO Christmas display, or Winter Village as we’ve never gotten a detailed Sleigh pulled by full-sized Reindeer before.

That said, if you’re just getting it for Reindeer, you’re better off buying off Bricks and Pieces as Reindeers are much cheaper, as this set isn’t the most affordable.

I like small sets like these, and if you’re a big fan of Christmas, I can heartily recommend the LEGO Reindeer Battle Pack and can see this set doing quite well.

Rating and score: 3/5 ★★★✰✰

Build [3] – A very quick and straight forward build, with some interesting techniques used in the sleigh
Real Value [3] – Bit expensive because of the reindeer, but the exclusive Santa is a nice bonus
Innovation [3] – Does an Animal Battle Pack/Bulk Pack count as innovation?
Coolness [4] – A great, and very charming Winter/Christmas set
Keepability [4] – Santa’s Sleigh pulled by Reindeer is really iconic, so I can see this one holding its value well.

Thanks to much for reading my early review of 40499 Santa’s Sleigh!

40499 Santa’s Sleigh will be available from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store on 1 October 2021 onwards.

Will leave you with this shot of my Reindeer Army so far!

Will you be picking this set up to boost the size of your Reindeer herd?

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this review copy!

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