For whatever reason, it’s over a week into September 2015 and TLG still hasn’t posted the hi-res, front-and-back PDFs of the October 2015 LEGO Store Calendar. Crazy, right? So what’s a guy to do, other than drive to the nearest LEGO Store and scan ridiculously hi-res images of the October 2015 calendar himself, right? And thankfully, it’s worth the effort: next month is going to be a good one, with the awesome free LEGO Holiday Train promo and more!

I’m a little bit crazy when it comes to the monthly calendars. In fact, I tend to stalk the LEGO Stores website the whole last week of each month, waiting to get my first glance at what’s on-track to happen in the stores a month or more away.

So when only a small, low-resolution image of the front of the newest calendar gets posted, it leaves me feeling pretty bummed. But having snagged the newest calendar from my local store, now I can see the complete picture of what’s on-track for October 2015–and it’s gonna be a fun month!

The headliner of this month–beyond any shadow of a doubt–is the upcoming 40138 LEGO Holiday Train promo set.

We don’t have an official piece count or image of the box for this set yet, but based on the image it’s clear that the Holiday Train will be comprised of well over 100 pieces and will certainly be a worthy holiday promotional set.

The Holiday Train 40138 kit will be free with a purchase of $99 or more from October 13th to November 13th–or while supplies last. With LEGO more popular than ever before and holiday shopping season beginning, do not hesitate if you want this festive masterpiece of a free promo set–this set will sell out fast.

And speaking of holiday sets, the refreshed reissue of the LEGO Winter Toy Shop 10249 will be available to non-VIP members starting October 1st, 2015.

It will be fascinating to see how well this set sells compares to past Winter Village sets, since so many diehard Winter Village collectors already have the original version. Will the stratagem of reissuing the most expensive of the holiday sets pay off…?

For those who need some extra incentive to purchase the 10249 Winter Toy Shop (or something else), Double VIP Points will be in effect for four days only, from October 1st to 4th, 2015!

It’s a pity that the Double Point Days don’t overlap with the Holiday Train LEGO set promo window, but I suppose that would be being greedy, wouldn’t it? =D

Another short-term offer is the LEGO Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith poster, which is free with any Star Wars purchase for  six days only from October 26th to November 1st. This does overlap with the Holiday Train set promo, but will the Holiday Train last that long…?

I could have swore I already had this poster, but I guess they’re all starting to blend together in my mind!

Considering that I had to put in actual effort to see the back of the Oct 2015 calendar, I was sort of hoping there would be some earthshaking announcements on the back. And while there aren’t (there never are), there are a couple interesting items of note.

On October 1st, 2015, new Pick-A-Model models will arrive in-store! The models available will vary by store, but the one shown on the calendar is a black-and-white pointy-eared creature which is either some type of lemur or a really deformed panda bear.

On the other end of the month (literally), you can wear your Halloween Costume into the LEGO Stores on October 31st, 2015 to get a free Scooby-Doo poster! There’s no age restrictions posted regarding this event, but I suspect that I’d look like a super-creeper going into the store in costume at this point.

Finally, we’ve got the October Mini Monthly Model Build. This monthly event has proven so popular that it’ll take place over two days in October!

The Angler Fish Monthly Mini Model Build is a really fun and unique model, too–I’m jealous of the 6-14 year olds who get to build it! (Because as always, us old-timers above the age of 14 are not eligible to participate.) I think the LEGO Angler Fish might my favorite Mini Model since last winter, too!

What do you think of the October 2015 LEGO Store Calendar, brick fans? Will you be heading to your local store to claim Double VIP Points, a free Holiday Train, the Angler Fish Mini Monthly Model Build, the Winter Village Toy Shop reissue, or anything else next month?