Review: 40570 Halloween Cat and Mouse
Posted by Huw,40570 Halloween Cat and Mouse is the third of four seasonal vignettes to be released this year.
Like the others, it features two cute animals on a plinth and offers great value for money.
Summary
40570 Halloween Cat and Mouse, 328 pieces.
£11.99 / $12.99 / €12.99 | 3.7p/4.0c/4.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Delightful, well-designed animals on an attractive plinth
- Good value for money
- Looks great on display, especially with the others in the series.
- Light grey ball joint on tail
The plinth is remarkably parts-intense and detailed and, some might argue, unnecessarily so. However, it does elevate the set from simply being a couple of models of animals to something worthy of display.
The black cat, beloved of witches apparently, is a masterpiece in miniature animal building. Unfortunately its overall appearance is let down slightly the light grey ball joint piece used in the tail.
1x1 brackets are used to hold cheese slopes to the sides of its head and body to give the appearance of fur, and I think the effect is quite effective.
The mouse looks like it's been munching on the pumpkin, or perhaps living inside it. It's remarkable how such a realistic model of a rodent, perched on its hind legs and looking like its nibbling something held in its front ones, can be made with so few pieces.
When it's all put together, it looks delightful.
In my opinion this is LEGO in its purest form. It's a highly-detailed and well-designed brick-built model that's not reliant on minifigures or licences, from which you can learn a wealth of building techniques. Priced at just $12.99 / £11.99 for over 300 pieces, it's a bit of a pocket-money priced bargain, and there aren't too many of them around nowadays.
I'll be reviewing this year's fourth seasonal set, 40571 Wintertime Polar Bears, in a few days and will include a photo of them all lined up together.
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24 comments on this article
You're completely right about the tail, the gray piece is distracting and looks out of place. Why not list that as a negative?
I'll probably get this set sooner or later, the plint looks great. Really good use of the wolverine claws, too!
^ It's such a minor thing, and I guess I've got used to living with such problems, but I'll do as you suggest anyway!
Picked this one up the other day, probably will build and display at my work.
@Huw said:
"Priced at just $12.99 / £11.99 for over 300 pieces, it's a bit of a pocket-money priced bargain, and there aren't too many of them around nowadays."
I would like to see an in-depth article that examines the above statement. People are often complaining in the comments on Brickset that "LEGO is too expensive" or "LEGO is only for rich people anymore," etc. But when I look at the numbers on the Brickset database, it seems as though there are a plethora of (as in, too many to possible buy every one of) "pocket money" sets available in 2022. At one point, I think that I counted more than 200 sets that were each available for $20 or less. So maybe we need to define what "pocket money" means in 2022 (is it $5? $10? $20?), and then use PPP or some other rough metric to determine if "there aren't too many of them around nowadays." And before anyone worries that I'm being a "LEGO apologist," rest assured that I have absolutely no horse in the race; I just like to know the truth about statistics and not just what the market "feels like" to people. Thanks!
I really like this one, now that I'm looking at it. I'll probably have to pick it up. I have a bunch of Christmas-related Lego sets, but scarce few for Halloween.
@Huw: any ETA when the review of 10303 will be published?
@IgelCampus said:
" @Huw: any ETA when the review of 10303 will be published?"
I am assured that @CapnRex101 is working in it and I hope he'll have an opportunity to finish it before the next set of review deadlines next week.
The cat looks very scruffy, like a stray.
"In my opinion this is LEGO in its purest form. It's a highly-detailed and well-designed brick-built model that's not reliant on minifigures or licences, from which you can learn a wealth of building techniques."
Well said and totally right. Low-key set of the year?
This is great. I don't mind the contrasting colour on the tail... verging towards Postman Pat's black and white cat!
Looks like a nice set. I was not inclined to purchase it, but after the review, probably will. I agree with the other comment that using more light grey would have balanced that last tail piece.
Fun little set! This is one case where I almost wonder where all of those 300+ pieces went, but considering the very fair price that's nothing to complain about. Too bad about that grey piece, but otherwise pretty much as good as it can be.
I don’t mind the light tip on the tail, but it seems a little odd they didn’t use a pink quarter circle tile for the nose like they did on Magnificent Tiger.
The light gray tail joint doesn't bother me, but the cat's hind legs and other parts being dark gray rather than black strikes me as a very odd choice. I get that it adds contrast, but it makes the cat look mottled rather than the all-black I'd associate with Halloween. Maybe I'm alone in this view, but I find it really distracting.
It's great to see such a creative set, though, and I'm glad so many people are so fond of it!
It's the cat's trousers. Either that or this black cat has sat in mud.
@Huw are those tiny white specks on the black pieces of the cat from the packaging, or static attraction while/after you completed the build? Parts packed in paper bags for this set?
@darkstonegrey said:
"Parts packed in paper bags for this set?"
Still plastic in mine!
As are the ones in the Christmas Tree, despite showing paper bags in the manual.... changeover imminent!
These little seasonal animal sets are great. Cheap, adorable, and looks great on the mantle when the related season rolls around!
"Like the others, it features two cute animals"
Heheheh, two cute animals that are too cute. Love you mouse, love you cat.
This is a delightful set for $13. Top marks, for sure.
The Itchy and Scratchy show…
@utlf said:
" @ForestMenOfEndor said:
" @Huw said:
"Priced at just $12.99 / £11.99 for over 300 pieces, it's a bit of a pocket-money priced bargain, and there aren't too many of them around nowadays."
I would like to see an in-depth article that examines the above statement. People are often complaining in the comments on Brickset that "LEGO is too expensive" or "LEGO is only for rich people anymore," etc. But when I look at the numbers on the Brickset database, it seems as though there are a plethora of (as in, too many to possible buy every one of) "pocket money" sets available in 2022. At one point, I think that I counted more than 200 sets that were each available for $20 or less. So maybe we need to define what "pocket money" means in 2022 (is it $5? $10? $20?), and then use PPP or some other rough metric to determine if "there aren't too many of them around nowadays." And before anyone worries that I'm being a "LEGO apologist," rest assured that I have absolutely no horse in the race; I just like to know the truth about statistics and not just what the market "feels like" to people. Thanks!"
There was an article posted here that talked about Lego prices recently, I dunno if it's still up though"
Yes, there have been articles about "price" and "value" but what I'm getting at is "affordability." These things are all related, but also can be separated. While there is no doubt that LEGO is producing more sets that are larger and more expensive, that doesn't necessarily mean that anyone is being priced out of the hobby. If there are still a number of "affordable" sets available, then rising prices on the high (extreme) end shouldn't affect the overall population of LEGO buyers, because there are still plenty of "pocket money" sets to obtain. Or are there? That is what I would like to explore. Thanks for the reply!
@Balthazar_Brannigan said:
"The light gray tail joint doesn't bother me, but the cat's hind legs and other parts being dark gray rather than black strikes me as a very odd choice. I get that it adds contrast, but it makes the cat look mottled rather than the all-black I'd associate with Halloween. Maybe I'm alone in this view, but I find it really distracting.
It's great to see such a creative set, though, and I'm glad so many people are so fond of it!"
I guess I figured the 2-tone color scheme was just a caricatured representation of tabby marks or something. In person, it doesn't bother me. I also just swapped the tip and base pieces for the tail, so the light bluish gray one is now tucked away nearly out of sight at the bottom of the cat, and the dark bluish gray one sits at the tip. Super easy swap, and looks a million times better.
@sjr60 said:
"This is great. I don't mind the contrasting colour on the tail... verging towards Postman Pat's black and white cat!"
@Huw
I agree that the grey is so minor as to not warrant mention- especially as a bullet point. It seems like many cats to merely have a lighter color at tail's end.
Thank goodness this isn't a Star Wars cat, or it'd be a $40... oops now, I mean $50 set!
Already sold out at LEGO.com in the US. :-(