Seasonal

Year of the Horse

The twelfth animal finally joins the herd, and it is worth the wait even with a wobbly stance.

Brick Rated Score

3.4/5

Set 40779 · 2025

Pieces132

Minifigsn/a

Year2025

Set number40779

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The verdict

I built this one in a single sitting and had a genuinely warm moment when I realized what it meant, this little horse closes out a Chinese Zodiac collection LEGO started back in 2015 with the Year of the Sheep.

The sculpting on the mane and raised hoof is a real step up in ambition from the earlier animals in the series, less chibi cute, more like an actual proud little horse. I'll be straight with you though, the hooves don't actually connect to the base, they just rest on top of tiles, which is a strange miss for the set that's supposed to be the victory lap of the whole run. If you already have the other eleven lined up on a shelf, you need this to finish the set, full stop. If you're coming to it fresh with no history, it's a cute ten minute build and not much more than that.

Best for: collectors finishing out the full 12-animal LEGO Chinese Zodiac shelf

The full review

What it is

I built this one in a single evening and it barely took me any time at all, which is exactly the point. This is the twelfth and final animal in LEGO's Chinese Zodiac series, and after watching that collection grow one horse, ox, and rabbit at a time since 2015, there's something quietly satisfying about finally being able to line up all twelve. The horse itself has more personality than I expected from a 132 piece freebie, the raised front leg gives it real motion, and the mane and tail use slopes and small curved pieces in a way that reads as hair rather than just brick shapes stacked up. The base is dressed with a couple of little sunflower elements that add a nice pop of color against the horse's white and brown coat.

The catch

Here's my honest gripe though. On every other animal in this series, the feet lock into the base with a stud connection, so the model actually holds together as one piece you can pick up and display. On this one, the hooves just rest on top of flat tiles. Nothing clips in. Pick it up wrong and the horse can slide right off its own base, which feels like an odd thing to get wrong on the set meant to be the grand finale. LEGO also boxed this one noticeably bigger than its predecessors, so if you've been keeping the packaging for a shelf display, this one sticks out. And because it was only available as a gift with a $70 or higher purchase for a couple of weeks around Lunar New Year, plenty of people who wanted it simply missed the window.

Who it's for

If you've been collecting these animals year after year, you don't need me to convince you, get this one and finally put the whole set on display together. If you're new to the series and just want one cute little Lunar New Year build, it's a pleasant ten minutes with your hands, but I wouldn't chase down a scalped listing to get it. Wait and see if LEGO brings back the earlier animals in this same, more grown up sculpting style, that would make for a much more satisfying full set than this one alone.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

Three small bags, no instructions drama, and you're done in about ten to fifteen minutes. It's built for a gift with purchase, quick and snappy, not a weekend project, so don't expect the kind of technique-heavy puzzle you get from LEGO's bigger animal builds.

The pieces that stood out to me were the small slopes and the 1x1 corner round elements used to build up the muzzle and snout, they give the horse's face real shape instead of the blocky look older zodiac sets sometimes had. The mane and tail use the same trick, layered curved pieces instead of one big molded chunk, which is a smarter and more textured solution than I expected at this piece count. The base is an 8x8 circle dressed with a couple of sunflower pieces and dark green foliage tiles, and the whole thing comes wrapped in a genuinely charming gold embossed cardboard hongbao envelope, the traditional Lunar New Year red envelope, as the packaging gimmick.

Fun facts

01This set completes LEGO's Chinese Zodiac collection, a cycle of twelve animal builds that began all the way back in 2015 with the Year of the Sheep.
02It's the first animal in the whole zodiac series where the model's feet don't actually connect to its display base, the hooves just rest on top.
03The set ships in a gold embossed cardboard hongbao, the red envelope traditionally used to gift money during Lunar New Year.
04It was only available as a gift with qualifying purchases of $70 USD or more on LEGO.com, and disappeared from the site within about two weeks.