Bakery

"A charming and cleverly detailed micro bakery let down by a snow theme that refuses to play nicely with the rest of the series; its BrickScore of 75.3 reflects a Mixed Reviews verdict that holds unless you plan to display it on its own or modify the pavement tiles."

40696 Bakery lands in Mixed Reviews territory despite its attractive detailing, because both expert critics flag a fundamental compatibility problem: its heavy snow theming and white pavement clash visually with the grey-pavement predecessors in the series. The single LEGO.com owner rating is an enthusiastic 5 out of 5, but that solitary data point diverges sharply from the more measured expert assessment. Jay's Brick Blog (65) and Brickset (72) both call it a fun and charming build in isolation while cautioning that the high cumulative spend required to collect the full series undermines the value proposition.

Where they split: Brickset and Jay's Brick Blog both land in mixed territory (72 and 65 respectively), agreeing on the snow-theming compatibility problem. The single LEGO.com owner rates it 5 out of 5, but with only one rating that enthusiastic single voice does not override the more nuanced expert critique.