Some Lego grownup time.
December 9: Hot Cocoa Guy
This guy just showed up, bringing more questions than answers, but a hell of a lot of hot chocolate.
Rating
Fun ★★★★☆
I’ve long established that I’m not that into the Lego people, but this cat knows how to accessorize (unlike the literal cat from a couple days ago, who somehow managed to get upstaged by a cod). You want to come in here wearing a little newsboy cap, like you ought to be hobbling around on one crutch in some Dickensian Christmas nightmare, mumbling, “Please sir, might you spare a tuppence for a guitar string? It’s me, sir, young Eric Clapton.” Fine, I guess. You want to do it wearing snowshoes? Now we’re talking. Are you going to be holding a hot chocolate that’s been prepared in a 1 liter mug from the Hofbräuhaus with a wad of whipped cream on it the size of an alpine peak? Slap me and put me on the night train to München. Are you wearing an ugly sweater that obviously contains a secret code? No comment.
Ease of Build ★★★★★
It’s a standard Lego person. No real surprises here on the build.
Comprehensibility ★★☆☆☆
On the surface level, it’s just a guy. There isn’t necessarily anything to understand. But what story is he trying to tell us? I’ll admit that I often have to hover over an emoji and get it to tell me in plain English what it’s trying to convey, because I don’t always immediately connect with the tiny cartoon facial expression for “Mildly Hungry” or “Thinking about Delaware” or “Happy,” but this guy sure looks like he just got caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to. The grin is one thing, but those eyebrows…you’re not hiding those under the brim of your playful cap. It’s like someone just asked him, “Hey bro, are those my snowshoes?” or “Did I just see you put a half liter of Drambuie in that hot cocoa?” or “Have you been committing arson?” It took me a minute, but I’m pretty sure the pattern on his ugly sweater is a stylized flame flanked by axes, so I’m thinking he’s going to be a firefighter or pyromaniac. If I’m correctly recalling the plot of the 1991 film Backdraft, potentially both.
Extra Parts ★★★☆☆
It has virtually no utility as a building block in the traditional sense of the term, and I can’t imagine why I’d ever need a spare, but this kit came with an extra dollop of whipped cream and I can’t really be mad about it.
Overall ★★★★☆
For one thing, I’m glad we finally have some adult supervision around here. At least I think he’s a grownup. All of the people we’ve encountered so far this season have had immovable legs that are 7/8ths the size of full-size legs, which we assume means that they’re children, but this guy is rocking the full-height single-axis/limited-travel leg joints of a grown man (they’re also a kind of stonewashed denim color that I dig). Mostly, he’s got such a weird collection of affectations that I just want to know what his deal is. Snowshoes without a jacket? The Ugly Sweater of Prometheus? A crystal hogshead of hot chocolate? He’s got a lot to unpack, and I’m here for it.
