Another great offering from the City Farm range, this lovely set has made me think twice about having another bacon sandwich, thanks in no small part to the addition of the adorable Lego pig.
First off is the excellent pig pen. Its a very nicely realised model of the real thing, with a stone trough, some mud, straw and bales of hay. The four pigs have ample space to play in and are well served by two wooden troughs (a novel use of treasure chest lids!) full of swill - including carrots! There's a cheery farmhand on site armed with a brush and shovel to clear up any er, foul smelling waste products!
The set also comes with another beautiful tractor which comes with a trailer to take your pigs to market. The tractor itself comes very close to beating last year's excellent red tractor. With its superb detailing - from the engine block to the lights, its easily the equal of anything Britains have put out. Add in the smashing lime green colour scheme and you're onto a winner. The trailer is a nicely engineered bit of kit, with opening side panels, rear access ramp and tipping mechanism. Another cheery farmer rounds out the set.
Its difficult to find fault with the set as its such a charming piece. However, as with a lot of sets these days (I'm looking at you, City Corner!), it could quite easily have been split into two smaller sets and one wonders whether Lego aren't hedging their bets by packing in a vehicle with sets such as these. Times change, I guess, and maybe a pig sty on its own wouldn't set the world on fire. Price wise, it does feel a little steep for what you actually get. As ever with Lego though, the value shines through in longevity and possibilities for play.
So where next for the City Farm? Well, and still hopeful we'll get a farmhouse of some sort (although I suppose there's always one of those pricey creator houses that would do the job). Maybe we'll even get some DEFRA officials to come visit the Lego Farm and put it slowly out of business with their blizzard of paperwork and impractical and heavy handed application of European Union Directives...