Review: 10361 Holiday Express Train from LEGO® Icons
Posted by
Elspeth De Montes
Another train is pulling into the station, this time it is LEGO® Icons 10361 Holiday Express Train.
We have already discussed the main controversial element within this set – the latest 3D printed offering from LEGO – but there's more to this train than one element. Let's see what else it has to offer.
Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own. This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.
10361 Holiday Express Train
Release date: LEGO® Insiders 1 October 2025, full availability 4 October
This set is not the first holiday train, in fact it's not even the second. 10254 Winter Holiday Train was released back in 2016 (see our review of set 10254) and the original 10173 Holiday Train was released in 2006. According to the 10 yearly timetable, it seems we were due another train in 2026; what a pleasant surprise for a train to arrive early!
New mould
There is one new mould in the set, a 3D printed functional train that comes in its own little box with gift wrap print.
1x 3D-printed Locomotive in Blue (6535273 | 112073)
There are three 3.18mm bar connections and one 1.5mm accessory pin connection. The windows are not within the LEGO® System. The moving pin within the funnel is 3.18mm in size so any hollow stud can connect, but the smoke stack itself is larger than a stud, so it is not in LEGO System.
As the wheels go round, the coupling rod moves round and there's a little crankshaft that moves the funnel up and down. The 3D-printed blue locomotive (6535273 | 112073) marks the first 3D-printed element in a commercially available set.
Updated mould
16x Vehicle Track, Train, Plastic (RC Trains) Curved (Updated Version) in Dark Bluish Gray (6515853 | 2827)
The train tracks included in the set are the newly updated mould, where the updated clips seem to make it easier to connect the tracks. This is only the second time the updated mould has appeared, with the first being back in June in 60470 Explorers' Arctic Polar Express Train. You can see a comparison of the two moulds on Rebrickable.
Each stack of 4 train tracks uses three of the train pins to hold the stack together. They don't have a design ID as far as I can see, although I imagine there is one used by LEGO for production reasons.
While this is probably meant to just be a practical thing to stack the train tracks, it can be used as a LEGO element – it is a bar after all!
Here you can see how Tom Loftus has used the train pin as the antenna for the upscaled minifigure radio.
Recolours
1x Tile Special 6 x 4 with Beveled Edges and 5mm Pin (Train Bogie Plate) in Dark Tan (6568041 | 4025, 65441)
2x Brick Arch 1 x 6 Raised Arch in Bright Light Blue (6568018 | 92950)
2x Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 1 with Curved Top in Dark Turquoise (6568019 | 5841)
2x Plate Special 1 x 2 with Pin Hole On Side in Dark Green (6568015 | 3172)
4x Panel 1 x 2 x 3 [Side Supports / Hollow Studs] in Bright Light Blue (6568017 | 87544)
New prints
There are two new prints, that I can imagine will be used for train enthusiasts who want to build their own version of a holiday express train. The Polar Express would be nicer, but that particular name is trademarked by Warner Bros. Entertainment.
1x Tile 1 x 2 with print in Pearl Gold (6560083)
2x Tile 4 x 4 Curved, Macaroni with print in Pearl Gold (6560082)
Rare elements
The following elements appear in only one or two previous sets.
2x Slope Inverted 45° 2 x 1 in Bright Light Blue (6288284 | 3665)
4x Window 1 x 2 x 3 Flat Front in Pearl Gold (6547883 | 3662)
16x Vehicle Track, Train, Plastic (RC Trains) Curved (Updated Version) in Dark Bluish Gray (6515853 | 2827)
2x Brick Special 1 x 1 x 3 with 2 Clips Vertical in Dark Blue (6023973 | 60583, 42944) was last seen in 2 sets back in 2013.
Minifigures
There are four minifigures included in the set. The only new prints are the torsos, detailed below.
1x Torso with waistcoat print in Pearl Gold (6566715)
1x Torso with duffel coat print in Olive Green (6566725)
1x Torso with puffer jacket print in Dark Red (6566724)
1x Torso with overall print in Bright Light Blue (6566722)
The build
Platform & mini builds
The simple, austere little platform must reflect the remoteness of this stop for the holiday train.
The 3D printed locomotive comes in its own little cardboard box that is decorated with gift wrap printing.
There are three little mini builds that accompany the 3D-printed train. The tracked digger is a lovely little design and there's no denying that these fun little builds contrast starkly with the 3D printed locomotive.
Locomotive
The main part of the build is the locomotive and its tender. I really liked the colour combinations with bright light blue, pearl gold and dark blue. It's a rich colour scheme that still feels seasonal without being too much red and green like almost everything 'Christmassy'.
The front bogie houses the cam, while the rear bogie uses the newly recoloured dark tan bogie plate (6568041 | 65441)
The cam rotates as the wheels turn and impact upon the long axle with Technic ball. This impact pushes the chimney up and down within the smoke stack. I found the mechanism did not engage consistently without some downward hand pressure on the locomotive. Naturally this occurs when pushing the train around the track by hand but could be more of an issue if utilising the Powered Up components to control the set.
There's space at the back for the engineer to stand with his various dials and buttons to press. His cup of coffee sits precariously on the top of the control panel.
Carriages
Tender
The tender has a roof area to place the toys. The tender holds the battery if you chose to purchase the added Powered Up components but without those, it’s simply an empty space. Not even a 1x1 black stud to represent coal.
Polar Bear
The next carriage to be built houses the polar bear, a fun moving model. The head is particularly nicely shaped but I felt it needed some black stud eyes. I wasn't sure exactly what the coloured area on the polar bear's shoulders represents - is it a scarf, shawl or vest?
A little village on a plinth sits in front of the polar bear. The use of the newly recoloured dark green carrots as tall fir trees is a nice touch.
There's also a play function within this carriage, using cams once more. The cams rotate to move both the arm to ring the polar bear's bell plus a gentle nodding of its head.
Passenger carriage
There's only room for two in the passenger carriage; definitely an exclusive train.
One of my favourite parts of this set was the cute ribbon detail for the passenger carriage.
The bow is cleverly constructed using a mixture of curves; 1 x 2 x 1 arch brick (5841), 2x1 curved slope (11477) and 2x1 curved slope inverted (24201).
Final model
The final model is cute with a rich colour scheme and some fun functions that are sure to delight young fans. White the platform and the tender are austere, the detailed locomotive and the gift wrapped passenger wagon are highlights.
The 16x curved tracks are plenty to go round the bottom of the average Christmas tree but I imagine children will want the power functions to truly make the train move, not without cost, as you can see below.
It is possible to power the train as it comes Powered-Up ready and the instructions include the directions for adding this to the final model. However, the necessary additional items are not available in all countries – they show as temporarily out of stock, but in fact Customer Services have been advising callers that some are actually discontinued and are advising customers to purchase from BrickLink. Our friend Balazs from RacingBrick advises that they are currently available in UK, FR, NL, BE, DK, NO, SE and FI so if they are not available in your country, it is recommended ring Customer Services to say you are not happy about this situation. It certainly seems strange to have a new LEGO set that suggests adding additional products that aren't glob ally available.
10361 Holiday Express is priced at £109.99/ $129.99/ €119.99, giving a price per piece (PPP) of 11.5p/ 13.6c/ 12.6c, above the magic 10 cents that many consider to be the maximum for good value. To be fair, this is almost the same PPP as 10254 Winter Holiday Train from 2016.
Winter Village sets have varied in price over the last 16 years of sets with the ceiling holding at £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 until this year. The 3D printed locomotive is in a boxed like an 'added gift' and, whether it led to the increased cost or not, that's the opinion many folks voiced when we posted about the 3D-printed locomotive and the increased price tag.
This is a fun set but younger fans will want to add the Powered Up option, and perhaps even more track depending on how long a track you wish to create. Overall it does seem more expensive but I am a sucker for novelty items and was intrigued with the 3D-printed locomotive. I also preferred this colour scheme, but dedicated locomotive fans may prefer 21344 Orient Express in looks, even if it doesn't officially move on tracks.
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Excellent review, awful set. The locomotive design is gaudy and reminiscent of the My Own Train days of bogeyed steam engines. No magnetic couplers, and why couldn't they give us a 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 bogey plate back?!?
I think they were approaching it as a toy train to go around the tree first and making it a "realistic" train wasn't much of a concern. As for gaudiness, it's rare to see a Christmas decoration that isn't—ostentatious decoration is sort of the point.
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Great review! Thank you for sharing, my son and I love your blog.
ReplyDeleteExcellent review, awful set. The locomotive design is gaudy and reminiscent of the My Own Train days of bogeyed steam engines. No magnetic couplers, and why couldn't they give us a 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 bogey plate back?!?
ReplyDeleteI think they were approaching it as a toy train to go around the tree first and making it a "realistic" train wasn't much of a concern. As for gaudiness, it's rare to see a Christmas decoration that isn't—ostentatious decoration is sort of the point.
Delete3D printed train isn't a new mold, it is a new print ;)
ReplyDeleteHaha, I guess technically that's true!
Delete