LEGO Creator Expert Carousel 10257

Hubby bought me this for my birthday as I have become somewhat of an addict of lego....I built it alone and although at times some parts were stressful (getting the connections right to allow it to move smoothly) it was quickly sorted and I was so impressed with the finish, the little animals move up and down as it goes around just like the real deal....absolutely love it, definitely recommend it

Absolutely amazing set with a very high standard of detail and realistic features with some fantastic new building techniques and is a great addition to the fairground theme i hope for many more challenging realistic models in this theme in the near future.

I was lucky enough to get this for Christmas before it was retired. Absolutely amazing set. Fiddly and a challenge, but worth it. Anyone who has reviewed this set and found it to be a problem must have built it wrong. I had a few issues with the frog, but I'd not built it correctly. Accuracy is a must with this because everything works perfectly when it's built correctly. Those reviewers on here who had trouble, need to look at back at what might have gone wrong because it DOES all work and it's well worth the time to get it working as it should and it is sturdy. Love it!

I got this Lego set on my birthday and I ordered it from the Lego shop online it came within a few days and I built this quiet quickly and I really like the choice of animals and colours in this set and the building technics that the designer has used when you add power functions to this set it really comes to life I like the way the animals move up and down with only a few Lego parts the price was not high for what you receive.Thanks I definitely recommend to anyone.

This is a fabulous set. Love the detail, love the animals. But. My issue with it is sturdiness. Because of the size and complexity of the underpinning, I would really really like it to have a far more stable base. I have had to rebuild twice, once an easy fix, but the second time I had to pretty much start over after moving the set off the shelf so that all the grandkids could admire it and watch it turn. For now I have put it on a large gray baseplate, although that does still allow more flex than I would like. Additions? It would really have been nice to have lights under the canopy. I am still thinking on that as an addition, but it would likely mean another rebuild! (Note: music would also be wonderful!) Because of the fragility, I don't really think of it as a playable set.

I had a wonderful time building this set. I didn't run into issues with any parts like other reviewers have mentioned. I ordered this when it was pre-released to VIPs. I did receive one slightly bent long, gray, cover piece but that was my only issue. It's my most advanced Lego construction to date and I love playing with it. My hours to build include time to play and test the gears as I went along. I had an area in the early construction where the gear would sometimes stick so I opened it up, found I had used the wrong part, put the correct part in and voila, the gear ran smoothly after that. I agree that the center piece is a bit difficult to get to sturdily attach and I did have things fall apart from the pressure I was using to try to make them click. But they have stayed on so I guess I made it work. If you're like me, this may be helpful. I hate putting the Lego stickers on pieces, I can never align them with enough precision for my taste; and this calls for quite a few stickers for the reflective accents. (A heads up, the first set of circular stickers you'll use are the printed ones. The plain ones come last). All that said, I really had a blast bringing this creation to life and I didn't want it to end, even if there was quite a bit of repetition for the pieces. The frog is brilliant, as other reviewers have commented. Building the tiger was also really enjoyable. All the animals were fun to build, but those two were my faves. The colors of the bricks were also fun to work through. It's pricey, but it's big, with lots of unique pieces, and for the creative design that went into this, I think it's a pretty fair price.

Had fun doing this set. And I have newfound respect for Lego designers. Fairly challenging to make, one just needs to pay attention to details. My only complaint is about the blue arch pieces, I ended up with some holes showing. :( Minor thing though. I added fairylights to this fairy tale carousel. I think it makes it look more like the real rides. :)

I really liked building the Carousel last night. The instructions are easily followed and as the model took shape I really enjoyed building the ride elements. The animals are cleverly designed and are surprisingly realistic, considering the scale we are working at. There was one part of the build I needed to deviate from the instructions when joining the lower to the upper level of the main deck. The instructions show four red 2x2 plates being used for this task, but I found this was insufficient and in the end used a 2x2 plate for each of the 12 segments. This aside, the whole build was enjoyable, some really neat techniques were used and the finished model is well worth the money. Thank you Lego and can't wait for the next new expert model.

I built this for my two sons who, like me, are huge Lego fans. They have all the Amusement Park theme items, including the new rollercoaster. We have two large tables step up as a Lego Amusement Park -- this is great addition to other sets. Like others, my annoyance is the base comes apart too easily. And when it does, you have to take half of it apart to fix internally. After fixing it 3 times (about 20 to 30 minutes each time), I figured out the cause and a found a solution. I've included pictures, basically on page 163 you want to use larger plates, in more locations to keep the base together. Where it says 4x 2X2 plate, you want to replace the lower red 2x2 place with a single plate that is 4 knobs high. With extra pieces I had, I used both a 4x4 for one section, and an 8x2 + 1x4 (for side support). If you have them I would recommend using 6 or 8 4x4 plates spaced out. You might be able to use it on all 12 points, but I was concerned it could cause a jam. After my fix, it has been used dozens of times over the last 4 months (with power functions) and it is still together!

I have built the Ferris Wheel and had high expectation from this set. I had read other reviews saying the set was fragile. I took precaution buying extra 4X2 peices to secure the revolving base as had been suggested in earlier reviews. However, I found that the overall set is very fragile. The top decorative pieces keep pooping out and the animals come lose from the top joint whenever you turn the thing too hard. Also i wish the base was built on a baseplate, because the bottom pieces can come off if you are not too careful. Overall I found that the set is not as sturdy as the Ferris Wheel. I can play with the Ferris Wheel with my 2 year old daughter (which she absolutely loves), but I could only try playing with this one once, and decided that it will not survive the hands of a toddler (even with heavy supervision). I will try to figure out how to make the set more sturdy, like I managed with the revolving base, but I wish the designers thought through a bit more. Now it is just a display piece on my shelf with very little play value.