The blessing and curse of the GWP or Gift With Purchase. Lego's attempt to convince people to pay xl-full price for sets at Lego Stores or website. Lego adds small and unique bonuses and sometimes they do entice to get them.

With the end of year being near, it is more feasible to reach the threshold and so I obtained the 'Wintertime Carriage Ride'. It looked wonderful when it first was announced and it would fit nicely with a winter village or as a stand alone set.

The box looks pleasing and the build is what to expect from this size of set. Apart from the dumbed down instructions, construction was pleasant and varied. It comes with nice details such as the chest, the lanterns and the dashboard.

But during construction it came apparent that some details of the set leave quite somewhat to be desired, mostly with regards to look and decor but a construction flaw as well.

The rear wheels have the fantasy decor woven in as spokes (#6330617) but the carriage seems to put them tilting inwards. The wheels and axle points are too thin and flimsy and don't thoroughly support the carriage. This element has always seemed more of a decorative element to me than a truly functional element.

As it comes to the look and decor, the set gives some weird impressions. The carriage is rather large especially compared to the horse. It looks like it is being pulled by a pony. And one horse for this size of carriage is stupid and a set of horses would have been more logical and have made for a nicer look of the set.

With the carriage being large there is however but ample seating for the minifigs. I can't believe a design with 4 seats or two side by side seats was not possible. Getting the figs in requires some arm wrestling between the two of them.

The set is also called Wintertime carriage ride, and the two patrons both wear scarves. The coachman however, who spends the entire day on his carriage is set up for calling in sick the next day.

Lego calls this 'Wintertime' carriage ride since this is more neutral than 'Christmas'. The set is released in December and a faint attempt for a bit of holly is present but it has no snow anywhere which one would expect. The decoration is a bit of a hit and miss this way. 'Winter' but no snow, 'Christmastime' but only a couple of nearly visible holly pieces.

The set does a great job at selling itself in the images and on the box. Once you have built it, it does feel a bit disappointing.

I know this is but a GWP but that as such can't be a valid argument for having lower expectations. Even more so when looking at the minimum spending amount Lego asks for this.

The GWP's are meant to lure in clients to buy from Lego itself. With raising thresholds to ridiculous heights and delivering mediocre sets, perhaps Lego should do a re-evalution of their GWP concept.

Wintertime Carriage Ride is a nice enough set but at the same time an easy and somewhat lazy design coasting along on people being suckers for decorations this time of year.