LEGO designer explains six things you need to know about 10293 Santa’s Visit

LEGO designer Chris McVeigh reveals six things you need to know about the newly-unveiled Winter Village Collection set 10293 Santa’s Visit.

At 1,445 pieces, there’s plenty to discover in the latest addition to the seasonal subtheme – but who better to talk us through all the details, functions and characters included in 10293 Santa’s Visit than the designer primarily responsible for bringing it to shelves?

Brick Fanatics caught up with Chris McVeigh earlier this year to discuss everything there is to see in 10293 Santa’s Visit. Read on for an in-depth tour of this wintery build, from its brand new Santa Claus minifigure to its functioning Christmas tree.

6 – It’s all about geometry

“One of the fun things about this set is the geometry in it,” Chris says. “The front is angled inward so that it has this really nice, cosy, warm feel at the front, and it allows us to see details on the side, like the birch tree and some of the details along the kitchen window, without having to rotate it.

“The [inverted corner angle] actually came in really early. Another designer, Andy Grubb, did the original sketch model for this. And while things mutate over time, his basic concept was to embrace the inward-facing front of the house. I changed the angle and opened it up a little bit more, but that concept was there from day one.

“The benefit of having the front being inwards, is that the back can then expand. This allows us to put a load of little details into the back. We have a dining room table with a table runner, a centrepiece with candles, and a fireplace with stockings on. We also have some candles on the mantle, and above that a family portrait. We have a fairly detailed little kitchen, and the child’s bedroom.”

5 – The minifigures feed into the story

“There are four minifigures in this set. We have a father, mother, a little girl, and of course we have Santa. The Santa in this set is all new for 2021. He has a new torso print on the front and the back, he has a new face – under the beard, there’s actually a white beard on the face element – and he has dual-moulded legs, so that he has nice big black boots for the first time.

“The little girl minifigure is also very new. Her torso is the new pyjama print. She has a dual-sided face, so she’s very excited, but also you can turn the head around and put her on the bed, and she’ll have a sleeping face again, serving the story.”

4 – There’s a function built into the roof

“The roofs are constructed in an interesting way, in that they’re on beams. And one good thing about that is it allows them to actually bend out, so that you can access the little girl’s bedroom a little bit more.”

3 – The interior is packed with storytelling moments

“[The little girl] has a space theme going on in her bedroom. She’s got a little Saturn model, and she also has a poster of a rocket over a distant moon. There’s more storytelling at the front – we have the mailbox where dad has gone out to pick up all the holiday cards, there’s a bird on the ledge, and we have a snowman that’s not quite done. The little girl or dad started it, and it just needs a little bit more work.”

2 – Santa can fit down the chimney

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“Because the storytelling is all around Santa’s visit, Santa can go down the chimney. You just drop him down. It’s a really simple feature, but it’s fun. We didn’t need to overcomplicate the feature, I don’t think – it’s just a little bit of storytelling there. And when he gets down to the bottom, you’ll see there are milk and cookies waiting for him, and that tan chair in the background he can curl up in, just before he goes off to deliver more presents.”

1 – The Christmas tree lights up

“The last thing that I’m really excited about is the Christmas tree. It’s pretty standard; it’s a bigger tree like last year’s, and it has lots of ornaments – but this tree lights up. So you push down on it, and for the first time, we have a light-up Christmas tree using the light brick.”

10293 Santa’s Visit launches on September 16 for VIPs, or on October 1 for everyone else, for £79.99 / $99.99 / €89.99. For more from Chris McVeigh, click here to learn how he managed to incorporate an old family recipe into the set.

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