This Lego Animal Crossing set may be "solid and functional," but one thing took me by surprise

In the most recent Animal Crossing video game, New Horizons, Leif is a traveling character that stops by with plants for sale every so often. The Leif's Caravan & Garden Shop set brings this concept to life by adding a little garden plot and a traveling, well, caravan to the mix. (He kind of just shows up with a cart in the video game.) It's not the most detailed Lego set in the Animal Crossing line and won't win awards as one of the best Lego sets by any means, but it's a solid one for a midrange set.

Lego Leif's Caravan & Garden Shop (77054) features

• Leif and Poppy minifigures
• Solid expansion on Leif's game appearance
• Fun and functional vehicle with caravan

As the name implies, the Leif's Caravan & Garden Shop Lego set prominently figures a minifigure of Leif as well as Poppy. In addition to the characters, there are a few gardening odds and ends like a water pump, seedling stall, and tools, but by far the biggest part of the entire set is a functional car and caravan. Similar to K.K. Slider's van from Lego K.K.'s Concert at the Plaza (77052), the latter folds out to serve as a mobile home for Leif. It's not a particularly complex set, but does beef things up from what might normally be associated with Leif from the latest Animal Crossing video game.

Lego Leif's Caravan & Garden Shop (77054) build

• Chunky trailer with many pieces
• Easy to set up as a group
• Small but impactful

While it features several distinct modular pieces, Leif's Caravan & Garden Shop is maybe the easiest Lego set I've built of its size from the Animal Crossing line. Arguably there are simpler sets due to size alone – the Lego Stargazing with Celeste (77053) set, for example – but the caravan itself as the chunkiest, most complex build makes for a straightforward process overall.

And the caravan is certainly the centerpiece of the build. Because it can open up with multiple hinges and even a proper door, there's some trickery built in to make it all fit together that means there's a little more involved in putting the caravan together. Even then, it's easy to do, just relatively complicated compared to the rest of the build.

Lego Leif's Caravan & Garden Shop (77054) design

• A standout vehicle that actually works
• Thematically appropriate for a travelling merchant
• Charming gardening vibe

Historically, I've disliked sets from the Lego Animal Crossing line that sink the vast majority of their bricks into a vehicle or overly large setpiece of some sort. The Leif's Caravan & Garden Shop Lego set avoids this pitfall by making the orange caravan itself both pleasing to the eye and surprisingly compact and complex at the same time.

The whole thing folds out to present a living and sleeping area for Leif, complete with cooking utensils, wall clock, and a little light on the outside. It's not exactly fancy, but it is – well, would be if Lego sets were representative of real life – rather functional, which entirely fits the vibe of Leif the character as a traveling salesman.

The various gardening accoutrements are all simplified but necessary, and the little truck is about as small as you can make it, but as a cohesive whole the entire design really works for me in a way that most Lego Animal Crossing sets don't quite nail. It feels natural, despite the fact that it's a swerve from the game's interpretation.

Should you buy Lego Leif's Caravan & Garden Shop (77054)?

Despite being a smaller set, Lego Leif's Caravan & Garden Shop impresses with its surprisingly intricate build. It's a good addition to any Animal Crossing collection that provides something a little different for your village.

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Lego Leif's Caravan & Garden Shop (77054)

This set was built over the course of a single session and took around 35 minutes to complete. With no distractions, it might have even taken a shorter amount of time. Additionally, the set was directly compared to other single sets in the same line as well as a whole as part of the line in total.

For more, check in on our guide to how we test products.

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