Here is my review on 60345 Farmers Market Van:

THE GOOD:

• Refreshing colour scheme.
• Nice sliding window design.
• Good idea on the farm section for expanding.

THE NOT SO GOOD:

• $$$ without discount.
• Using a plat only for the roof feel a bit plain.
• Already retiring soon.

I enjoyed the building and the end results of this set.  I think it's good it's not just a van but also including a small section of the farm.  The farm section is a great execution with its expandable design.  The corn build is great and one of the reason I bought this set.  There is also a pretty interesting play feature to do with carrot.  The van itself is the same scale as most other vending vans in the past which is good.  It's also good the overall theme is the same as the groceries store.  The sliding window is really good and the same technique will be useful for any types of kiosk build.  The roof can be improved as just a carrot on a plate feel a bit plain but any increase in complexities will push the price up which is already high.  And this is the real big negative on this set, the RRP is very high.  And even the individual parts if you buy directly from Pick a Brick is at insane price.  For example, the corn piece is $7 NZD a piece, which means to build one extra set of corn would cost you close to $30 NZD each.  This kinda under play the modular design of the plant section, as it's very pricey to get the extra parts, buying an extra set will make more sense.  Having said that, this set is generally good and recommended if you can get a discount.  And surprisingly, this set is already set to retire soon which is very short for a City set.

I really wish they had made 1 more €10-20 set focused on the farm crops to expand this (LEGO has the €20 road plate set after all). 

Xtra theme would've worked as well but that seems to have disappeared with no further notice, or maybe a new version of a set like 40261: Thanksgiving Harvest with the newer crop pieces.

 

LEGO keeps bringing out systems that can expand, yet it defeats the point a bit in sets like this when 2/3 is basicly vehice budget. (based on LEGO vans this size costing about €20 in the past)

I mean, surely it inspires MOCing your own terrain expansions etc, but the crops in this set are well done imo and deserve more then just the half year lifespan it got, at least in the form of a bit more attention to the terrain and the new crop moulds. (surely we'll see the plant/corn pieces probably more often from now but still)

Also the price in some regions it unexplainable high for the farm/grocery store sets.

Edited November 27, 20222 yr by TeriXeri

On 11/27/2022 at 2:06 PM, TeriXeri said:

LEGO keeps bringing out systems that can expand, yet it defeats the point a bit in sets like this when 2/3 is basicly vehice budget. (based on LEGO vans this size costing about €20 in the past)

I mean, surely it inspires MOCing your own terrain expansions etc, but the crops in this set are well done imo and deserve more then just the half year lifespan it got, at least in the form of a bit more attention to the terrain and the new crop moulds. (surely we'll see the plant/corn pieces probably more often from now but still)

Also the price in some regions it unexplainable high for the farm/grocery store sets.

yes, totally agree.  I'm hoping the corn will reduce in price next year so can build more crops.

The Van and the grocery store appear to be a limited release pricing test. Lego historically doesn't sell limited edition products but they tried it here. Both sets for example will have had a lifespan of 5 months in the US. Lego priced them widely different in certain regions for example the Van in the US was more than double the price in some European markets. Both these products are now deeply discounted in the US (i.e. they didn't sell). Lego is trying lots of pricing tests but these two stood out the most.

Edited November 30, 20222 yr by 24nolf

12 hours ago, 24nolf said:

The Van and the grocery store appear to be a limited release pricing test. [...]. Lego priced them widely different in certain regions for example the Van in the US was more than double the price in some European markets. [...] Lego is trying lots of pricing tests but these two stood out the most.

That is pretty scary. LEGO is already very expensive and seeing them trying to raise the price even more is terrifying. They actually already increased the prices here (Poland) around the end of 2021 by about 20-30%.

I picked this set up at a great discount in a UK Sainsbury's a week or 2 ago. No idea when I'll get around to building it though