Review: 40204 Pilgrim's Feast
Posted by Huw,This year's six seasonal sets are something of a mixed bag: from the cute to the downright creepy.
The fourth in the series 40204 Pilgrim's Feast, this year's Thanksgiving set, is definitely in the latter category!
Thanksgiving is pretty much only celebrated in the USA and Canada as far as I can gather, and unlike previous years' Thanksgiving sets which feature turkeys or dinners, it is doubtful whether this one will have any real appeal outside those countries. I would go so far as to say that most people in the rest of the world would not even know what it is supposed to be: I certainly did not.
Still, I guess we should be thankful that it is being sold in Europe at all.
For those that do not know, according to Wikipedia, Americans commonly trace the Thanksgiving holiday to a 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation, where the settlers (the Pilgrim Fathers) held a harvest feast after a successful growing season, which explains the connection between the holiday and the pilgrims.
So, this year we have a pilgrim seated on a pumpkin stuffing himself with turkey legs...
The legs are articulated to enable them to be splayed, and the arms are on ball joints at the shoulders. The head however, is fixed.
Parts-wise the rarest one in the set is the 1x1 round tile in tan. As of now, it comes in this and 21029 Buckingham Palace only.
I guess overall it is a pretty good model but there is something about its face that is not quite right and which makes it look creepy. It is the eyes... they are too far apart and close to the sides of the face. I appreciate that making them any closer together, half a stud or so, is nigh on impossible at this scale though.
From the back, with the face out of sight, it looks great!
I think this is one for die-hard collectors of seasonal sets only, certainly outside of North America. I do not see the appeal otherwise.
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I don't find him creepy at all, to be honest. Just a little dopey-looking, which to me just adds to his charm. As an American I can definitely recognize him as a stereotypical Thanksgiving pilgrim from his costume. Real pilgrims didn't tend to dress like this, but the look is quite iconic, as you might see when doing a Google image search for "pilgrim" or especially "Thanksgiving Pilgrim".
Considering the designer, Mel Caddick, is Australian, I'm curious how she felt designing a figure based on an American holiday.
Dude, the face picture....... Thanks for the nightmares, Huw.....
I actually like this set and will definitely get one. Not sure if I'll open it up or stick it away in my archives, but I'm over everyone calling it creepy or scary to children.
^^ Same...
My daughter has just looked at these pictures. She will now be requiring therapy. Poor thing. And she is so young.
What a creep. I won't be sleeping tonight.
Creepy? I think he is charming.
He's not creepy! Like bok2 said, I think he's quite charming. I'll definitely be getting him.
You know the more I look at his picture I think I am starting to feel a bit more of love for him. So odd looking that I want to just to pat him on his head and go "there there love, it's not your fault your eyes are too far apart" and give him a little cuddle. He is like a dog with three legs and half an ear... you can't help but fall in love.
Mmmm, Thanksgiving! I can't wait. The one day a year us Americans can gorge ourselves on food...wait. (but seriously, I love the holiday. So yummy and good company.)
I doubt I will get this seasonal set. I don't have any of the other character builds from other holidays this year.
But I don't know if it is creepy per se. Yes, the eyes are a bit wide, but some people look like that. So judgmental about people's looks on here. Do not approve.
These pictures definitely look better than the official ones. He looks pretty cartooney, I like it
I think the seasonal sets this year are purposefully created by LEGO to try to support a new product category and see if it can "take" with the consumer. That being brick-built figures. I think it no coincidence that they are being released around the same time as rare Superheroes versions are out there to be acquired via secondary, and a set from Ideas is in the queue awaiting launch. It's a way to gauge reaction without commiting a vast amount of licensing resources to it.
Just a guess. Anyway...I really liked the Vampire, will likely pick up the others this year. This one is my least favorite design but...I'm a sucker now for the seasonal stuff and using them for holiday deco.
I don't think he looks creepy, but the lower jaw reminds me of ventriloquist dummies and their distinct cut-out jaws. That might be what people are unconsciously reminded of looking at it.
I think it's a rather nicely made figure, and @Graysmith is probably right about the ventriloquist dummy resonance - now you've said it, I can't unsee the connection! It would be fun to make a variety of characters based on its structure.
CREEPY!! CREEPYCREEPY!! I do not want this set ever!!
@bok2 I agree. This is probably my favorite small seasonal set this year. Still prefer the vignettes of yesteryear though. :(
Really not my cup of tea!
I'm not sure creepy is the right description but I have a feeling they won't sell as well as the Halloween set. Its personal taste and its been said before but I just loved last years sets so much more this this years. Wait to see what the offerings next year bring. This Halloween one is the only one I finally did purchase.
I think he's slightly goofy looking, but sweet. Would be awesome if there was a Pilgrim female to munch the turkey legs with him.
^ Exactly. He doesn't look creepy at all. I do think it's odd that Puritans came from England, and Huw didn't know who the guy was supposed to be.
Just tried to order this set on new LEGO website - a bloody nightmare! Only found it when I searched by set number!
The eyes remind me of those black cat clocks (Felix-like) where the tail is the pendulum and the eyes shift back and forth.
From the first picture I imagined the pumpkin was rocket exhaust, and now I can't unsee it.
@tallblocktoo: You're probably right about the Halloween set selling better than this one. Most kids I know would probably find vampires and monsters more exciting as a general concept than pilgrims. So this one's appeal is pretty much purely as a Thanksgiving set rather than as something with general year-round appeal.
Kill it with fire.
doesn't look creepy to me, though, when it comes to what it's supposed to be, the first thing that comes to mind is a x-files episode in a pretty creepy amish community.
Well.... I suppose... when the nukes start burning the Northern Hemisphere next spring, it'll be this face in my mind's eye and not that of Hillary Clinton, so... that's a bonus...
His face makes me think of Pinocchio.
That giant picture of the close-up on his face is terrifying. My gosh.
But I think brick-built figures just don't look very good. Both this guy and Santa both have giant heads and tiny little hands (with grey ball-clips, because ball-clip pieces only come in grey). They just look really odd, and I'm not a fan, no.
And the fact he's sitting on top of the pumpkin stem also adds some weird subtext to this set.
I agree with the creepy comment. I had the same thought. I usually love the seasonal sets, but I'm going to pass on this one.
I got it, and it was a fun build. Didn't think it was creepy neither do my wife or kids, and my mom was in town and she even said it was cute. For 10 bucks in the US, good amount of bricks, find it money well spent IMO. Picked it up with the Vampire as well.
Count me in as part of those in the (obviously minority right now) who think that set looks quite nice, just like the Santa figure. And in case you didn't know, Thanksgiving is also celebrated in Germany, albeit in a different manner and with less fanfare than in the US. In Kindergarten for example, there is a Thanksgiving feast and/or theme every year around this time, sometimes in schools as well, and definitely in Christian churches, obviously.