Review : LEGO 71044 Disney Train and Station

As promised, we'll talk about the LEGO set soon 71044 Disney Train and Station (2925 pieces - 329.99 €) that LEGO has just unveiled and which will be available from August 21 for members of the VIP program.

For 330 €, we get a station, a motorized train that can be controlled via the Powered Up application or using a remote control (not supplied), a set of rails allowing to assemble a complete circuit and five exclusive minifigs. .

If you are a die-hard fan of anything that bears the Disney logo, you don't need me to convince you that this set deserves to join your collection even if the station delivered here is not the one at Disneyland Paris.

Those who are on a mission with the ultimate objective of reconstituting a Disneyland park can add the contents of this box around the castle of the set 71040 The Disney Castle (2016). The designer also made sure to wink at the fans by inserting a micro version of the castle under the roof of the station. The model is here accompanied by a pad printed reproduction of the visual of the LEGO box, to be sure that no one misses the reference.

Collectors of Disney minifigs, accustomed to series in sachets, will perhaps find it a little difficult to consider spending € 330 for five minifigs including four variants of characters already available.

There is not much to reproach the reproduction of the station in a LEGO version, the result is very honest and the facade is sufficiently detailed to allow the integration of the building at the bottom of a diorama based on Modulars.

As is often the case with LEGO, it is only a half-construction with a pretty facade and several easily accessible interior spaces to stage the characters provided. The designer has tried here to give the model a little more depth than usual and we can therefore expose the station in profile without revealing the deception. In turn, the interior spaces are less cluttered than the models that usually use this technique and this is appreciable. In my opinion, a piece of roof is missing to at least partially cover the corridor of the upper floor and form a real half-station.

If we avoid using the excuse of saying that it is mostly an amusement park setting, we can also regret that the ground floor and the first floor do not communicate with each other. , but that's a detail. The layout of the station is really in the Disney spirit with its curtains, its rugs, its armchair with a round back, its models and posters representing trains, its ticket office and a large handful of black handcuffs which are used to reproduce the borders of roof. It's visually very compelling without giving the impression that everything is crammed together.

The station platform is covered with Tiles but the designer thought of inserting a few pieces with a tenon on the gray square in order to be able to expose travelers there without risking seeing the minifigs fall because of the possible vibrations of the train which passes in front. It is well seen.

The set also proposes to assemble the train which circulates around the park with its iconic locomotive, an open wagon and a second more opulent wagon whose interior is accessible by removing one of the two side panels. The locomotive is superb, the "lambda" wagon is easily accessible via movable roof elements and the "luxury" wagon benefits from an interior which is also really in the Disney spirit. This cute train will certainly make the heyday of many upcoming LEGO exhibitions.

The detail that may annoy fans of LEGO trains: the wheels on the bogies are now free of the usual metal axle used until now and each wheel now has a plastic extension that clips into the expected support. This was already the case in the LEGO Hidden Side set 70424 Ghost Train Express, but since the train in this box was not motorized, there was still hope that LEGO would not change the system on trains considered "functional".

To put it simply, several tests show that the friction is more important with this new system. This modification could therefore have an impact on the longevity of the batteries used, on the ability of a train to pull as many wagons as a version equipped with the old axles with metal axles and, in the long term, it could also have a significant impact on the life of the engines that will be used more.

In the meantime, this toy performs quite well and the train does not derail in curves even at full speed. Even for a fan whose threshold of wonder is difficult to reach, this train has its small effect and it is difficult to remain indifferent to its look, at the same time a little cartoonish and faithful to that of the life-size version which circulates in the Disney parks.

It is the coal wagon that carries the elements necessary for the motorization of this train: the Smart Hub Powered Up (88009) and Train Engine (88011). If you already have one of the new LEGO trains in your possession, you know the principle: The train motor is connected to the Smart Hub which is itself controlled via Bluetooth via the dedicated application available on iOS and Android or using the Powered Up remote control.

LEGO only provides here what to move the train forward (and backward) via the smartphone app. No lighting integrated into the locomotive or remote control allowing the youngest to play with the train without risking breaking their parents' smartphone. LEGO could have provided a kit 88005 LED Lights (9.99 €) to plug into the second available connector of the Smart Hub, just to add a little light to the train.

As with other trains based on the elements of the Powered Up ecosystem, the sound effects are emitted by the smartphone, there is no built-in speaker. Smart Hub or to the train itself. Playing with the remote control therefore requires ignoring the few noises offered in the application, but this is a detail that will not really harm the fun experience offered by the set.

There are a lot of stickers in this box and some of them are problematic. Those that must be carefully applied to the sides of the train to reconstitute the terms DISNEY and RAILROAD are not always spaced correctly and the result is a little rough visually, as on the panel bearing the word PARK in the set 75936 Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage.

Another problem that I encountered with the stickers provided: Those which take place on the two white flags placed on the roof of the station have a strange tendency to peel off quickly, even having taken care to apply them carefully on a clean surface.

LEGO has obviously planned a section dedicated to this train within the Powered Up application. It is more of a cosmetic update than a technical one and apart from the few sound effects offered, we find the usual piloting interface packed in a somewhat kitsch thematic skin. You can also drive the train from the sections dedicated to the two LEGO CITY sets already on the market, the orders sent to the Smart Hub are the same.

As for the five minifigs provided, collectors who will spend the 329.99 € requested by LEGO for this large box should not be disappointed. The pad prints are very correct and Minnie is even entitled to a few patterns on the upper arms. I'm not particularly a fan of the colored rectangles applied only to two sides of Mickey, Minnie and Goofy feet, but it's still better than neutral legs.

No plastic skirt for Minnie, the accessory is here in fabric. The rendering is less regular than on the versions of the character with a rigid skirt, but why not. The continuity of Mickey's overalls is not completely guaranteed between the torso and the legs, but it is a recurring problem at LEGO which has a bit of difficulty in pad printing very close to the edges of the part concerned.

Tic and Tac are dressed here to stick to the set's railway theme and their outfits are sober but convincing, except for the somewhat drab shade of Tac's shirt collar which does not match those of the white sleeves.

Goofy comes with a molded head incorporating the hat which I find really successful and which gives the character a very convincing transition to minifig format. The character comes here in her iconic outfit and everything is there, even the touch up on the pants.

In summary, LEGO offers in my opinion here a nice very complete product that should not disappoint die-hard fans of the Disney universe who have the necessary budget with a beautiful replica of the station seen in some of the parks, a detailed and motorized train , a basic circuit but just waiting to be extended and a handful of pretty exclusive minifigs.

Those who like trains and LEGO buildings will always be able to rid the station of its "Disney" attributes, so it will easily find its place in a classic railway diorama with its pretty facade. At 330 € the box, an additional remote control and a few LEDs could have been part of the game. Otherwise, for minifig collectors, it's 330 € for Goofy right away, and with a little patience a lot less on Bricklink in a few weeks.

THE SET 71044 DISNEY TRAIN AND STATION ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

Note: The set shown here, supplied by LEGO, is used as usual (batteries not included). To participate in the draw, all you have to do is post a comment (avoid "I participate, I try, etc ..." be a little more constructive) on this article before the August 20, 2019 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory. PS: I know, the coal wagon derailed in the first photo.

A clarification for those who win but who still complain by email (there are some lately): I dismantle the sets, I repack the parts in bulk in the bags that I seal with a machine BUT I do not sort and I do not not repackage the parts with the same inventory per bag as when the product is new. If this annoys you, don't participate.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.