31038 Changing Seasons

31038 is the latest Creator series house, having just been released in the US in the last month.  I always like the creator buildings and was intrigued by the 3 in 1 construction options representing three different seasons.  I am used to the 3 in 1 designs having the primary (advanced) model being by far and away the nicest build with the other two models being at best awkward so I figured this set might actually give me a reason to build the other sets.

The main model is the "Advanced" build and is meant to represent Spring/Summer.  It includes a house with dark red roof, a raised white patio with sunken pool area complete with pool basketball hoop and a diving board.  There is also a nicely built up outdoor grill that utilizes the red light brick that is included to represent the fire in the grill.

Rounding out the outside is a small table with glass mug, mail box, garden, lawn chair, mower, tree and a brick built bird.  Inside, the detail is pretty sparse with a single non-rotating chair and table with lamp.  Most of the windows have flower boxes adding a nice detail.  The building splits in half on hinges all the way down to and including the base plate.  There is also a very small car that is included that is in the same vein as the ones in a number of other recent Creator sets.  The car is way too small and the mini-figure looks ridiculous sitting in the vehicle.  The build starts off with the pool area which is a very odd build as you are constructing the foundation out of white slopes that mostly end up getting hidden from view.

The down side to the three seasons focus is that there are some sacrifices made to the overall function and feel of the model so as to use bricks that serve completely different roles in the other builds.  This leaves the whole set feeling a bit off, but overall I still like the novelty and flexibility of the three seasons options and the design is different enough from previous ones to feel fresh and unique.  The set includes two mini-figures, a kid and an adult and the different builds have the minifigures put together in different combinations to make new figures.  The set feels a bit over priced at $49.99 for 536 pieces, especially compared to other recent creator sets like 31025 Mountain Hut and doesn't have quite the level of polish that I like in my creator sets.