Is it worth powering up LEGO 10361 Holiday Express Train?

The suitably festive LEGO 10361 Holiday Express Train can be powered up with additional purchases, and we're seeing if it's worth the money.

At £109.99 / $129.99 / €119.99 for 956 pieces, 16 of which are larger track elements, 10361 Holiday Express Train was described in our review as being cute, charming and festive, though it struggled to compare to its retired predecessor.

Despite its shortcomings, one aspect of the model that we weren't able to explore in our initial review was the option to power up the train and make the best use of the included track. Doing so requires additional components costing £77.97 / $86.97 / €86.97.

These components are 88009 Hub, 88010 Remote Control and 88011 Train Motor, and while their combined cost is high, it's worth noting that they will qualify for the Black Friday gifts-with-purchase if you need an extra excuse to order them this weekend.

That's on top of the £109.99 / $129.99 / €119.99 needed for the Winter Village model, combining for a considerable cost for a creation that will likely only see use around the holiday season. 10361 Holiday Express Train has been designed with this functionality in mind, providing just a few short pages in the instructions manual to guide you through the quick process of switching out parts and inserting the electric components.

The process is easy, quick and intuitive, more so than other LEGO trains I have converted to motorised forms in the past. Switching it back to non-motorised is just as easy, and this will become important later. The electronic components are visible, but aside from the black wire, nothing is visually intrusive. The white of the battery box resembles snow, naturally blending in with the festive nature of the train and the side detailing can be applied to the motor.

With the process of switching the train from static to motorised complete, we set out to trial 10361 Holiday Express Train, all powered up. After a brief struggle with grip, caused by how tight the wheels are instructed to be, but we recommend pulling them apart slightly more than the manual tells you to, the train was gripping the tracks satisfactorily and running around the loop.

While I don't have my Christmas decorations up just yet, it's easy to imagine this set skirting around the edge of my tree, or on a winter village display. It's just as good as any other LEGO train, but powering up the model lets you admire the moving features in greater detail. The swinging arm and head of the polar bear are easily the best parts, moving in a gentle rhythm. The funnel of the train moves up and down too, and that's unfortunately it.

While these two moving parts are good individually, they don't make much of an impression after spending so much to motorise 10361 Holiday Express Train and one more aspect of motion on the train would have gone a long way. While picking up a new set of components for £77.97 / $86.97 / €86.97 to power up the latest Winter Village model isn't worthwhile, picking them up to then swap them between trains after the holiday season is worth your money.

Since it's so easy to switch out these components, you can effectively keep 10361 Holiday Express Train motorised for the Christmas season by borrowing the components from another LEGO train, then giving them back after the holiday season is over. When you adopt this strategy, powering up 10361 Holiday Express Train is worthwhile.

In fact, you can find all three of these components in the recent 60470 Explorers’ Arctic Polar Express Train, currently discounted from £179.99 to £99.99 for Black Friday on Amazon UK. For only £22.02 more, you'll receive a very different train build with its own set of track. Simply take the components from that or another existing train set and insert them into 10361 Holiday Express Train, and you'll have a fun, charming Christmas display.

Those with 10361 Holiday Express Train and other train sets have all the excuses they need to pick up the three electronic parts, should they not be in your collection already. Those on the fence about 10361 Holiday Express Train or powering it up will need to consider whether they intend to expand their LEGO railway any further. If you do, it's worth inserting the components into the 2025 Winter Village set for the holiday season each year.

10361 Holiday Express Train is available now for £109.99 / $129.99 / €119.99, and the three electronic parts can be yours for £77.97 / $86.97 / €86.97. They all qualify for the Black Friday promotions on the official online store, including two gifts-with-purchase.

10361 Holiday Express Train was provided for review by the LEGO Group. The Powered UP components were purchased.

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