Review: 10329 Tiny Plants
Posted by Huw,
The Icons botanical collection has appeal far beyond LEGO's usual customer demographic, so it comes as no surprise that new additions are forthcoming, including 10329 Tiny Plants.
The collection of nine small plants in flowerpots will be released in time for gifting to the green-fingered members of your family at Christmas.
Summary
10329 Tiny Plants, 758 pieces.
£44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 | 5.9p/6.6c/6.6c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
An original and highly attractive addition to the botanical collection
- Nice parts usage and recolours abound
- Plants are not to scale and most are not life-sized
- More pot than plant
- Some questionable colour choices
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The collection is divided into three groups: tropical, carnivorous and succulent. Each group comprises plants in small, medium and large pots and, thanks to separate instruction manuals, they can be built by three people concurrently.
The instructions helpfully identify the species modelled, giving scientific and common names for them all. In this review I have not necessarily used the common name that LEGO has because other names appear to be more, er, common.
Tropical plants
Purple (or false) Shamrock (Oxalis triangularis)
This perennial plant is native to South America. Its edible leaves look like three-winged purple butterflies, so recoloured versions of the relatively new LEGO piece were an obvious choice to use for the foliage, although those on the real plant are much larger.
Money plant (Crassula ovata)
A very common houseplant here in the UK which is so named because its fleshy petals resemble coins which are represented here by dark green minifig caps. They certainly look something like the real thing, although regular green would have been a better approximation of their colour, and they are far too small.
The larger petals are held in place with an espresso plate affixed into the holes of 1x1 bricks with 5 studs.
Flamingo flower (Anthurium andraeanum)
Red conch shells are used for the deep red spathe leaves of this specimen, and a stack of light yellow 1x1 flowers form the protruding spadix. The result is very eye-catching.
The whole of the real plant is toxic to all mammals, so this plastic version is far more suitable to display in the house.
Like the others, though, it's much smaller than life-sized: the red spathes should be 8cm or so long.
Carnivorous plants
Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)
This fly-eating specimen is probably one of the more familiar species in the set. The prize for 'best nice part usage' must surely go to the lime green cake toppings used here to approximate the traps and the 'marginal spikes' surrounding their red innards.
Unfortunately, it does not close any more than I have shown it here without modification of the hinges underneath.
Red sundew (Drosera brevifolia)
This native to the USA species is a tiny plant that grows to about 5cm across. They digest insects using the mucilaginous glands -- that secrete a thick glue-like substance -- on their leaves. These are represented here by minifig hair brushes.
The pink pirate epaulettes forming the flower head are new and will look splendid on Captain Redbeard and his crew!
Yellow pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava)
Upside-down lime green broom heads and spring yellowish green pith helmets together make a wonderful approximation of these fascinating plants that are native to the south-eastern US states.
On a real plant, the lids above the rolled leaves prevent the digestive secretions within from becoming diluted by rain. That delightful concoction is present and correct in the helmets, represented by a 1x1 transparent plate.
Succulents
Giant Chalk Dudleya (Dudleya brittonii)
The purple-tinged fleshy leaves of this succulent form an attractive rosette and this is a great approximation of a young specimen. The entire plant is built upside down and held to the base using spring yellowish green 1x1 plates with shaft and hole, which are extremely useful for stud reversal.
Prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa)
Opuntias are one of the most common cacti which are found in ther native America and across the Mediterranean, growing on wasteland at the sides of roads. This particular species is a relatively small one, reaching about 30cm tall.
The plant utilises the only printed pieces in the set: round 2x2 sand green tiles decorated with a spiky pattern to represent the barbed bristles on its segments.
The model is certainly recognisable, but once again, it is far smaller than life-sized.
Pincushion cactus (Mammillaria crinita f. zeilmanniana)
The largest of the trio of succulents is closer to life-sized and employ an ingenious construction technique to position the lime green 2x2 dishes at 45 degrees in the corners. Consequently, it has a nice rounded shape like that of the real plant, although ideally it would be covered with more spines. Dark green would have been a more appropriate colour, though.
Pot construction
The pots are cleverly constructed, particularly the large ones, which use the relatively new 1x4 tile with curved top to fill the gaps in the corners.
Verdict
Together, the pots make an attractive and varied display. There are clever construction techniques and 'nice parts usage' abound, with some interesting and potentially useful recoloured elements among the set's 758 pieces. Many of those are used for the pots though, and it is 'more pot than plant', but they are of course necessary.
My only complaint really is that very few of the specimens are life-sized, and they are all different scales. Part of the appeal of previous botanical sets, which are generally close in size to the real thing, is that they can be mistaken for the genuine article from a distance, but that's not necessarily the case here.
I guess the clue is in the name of the set: tiny plants...
The price of £44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 seems entirely reasonable for the size of it, and I can see people buying two of them and using one set of flowerpots to re-pot their succulents into something more typical and realistic.
It can be pre-ordered at LEGO.com now and will ship on 1st December.
144 likes
29 comments on this article
Love the inventiveness of the parts usage.
The pincushion-cactus, flamingo-flower and pitcher-plants are the heroes of this set as far as I'm concerned. But then, most of these plants look pretty good, and there's plenty that could feasibly be used as scenery for minifigures and/or minidolls. You could safely chuck a few of these in your expanded Botanical Gardens, for instance.
I'm not sold on the Venus Flytrap, though. It wasn't too long ago that City Jungle gave us https://brickset.com/parts/6203673 (alright, okay - six years, dang), and those can't be beat. On the other hand, I get that one of the biggest draws of these sets is the creative parts-usage. I don't know, I just keep seeing green Playmobil-hairstyles there.
Aww, dang. This is going to be another one of those "I said I'd never buy it, but..."-sets, isn't it.
@AHYL88 said:
"The more pots than plants con also has another concern related to it; did it seem repetitive to assemble three sizes of pots three times each?"
Yes, of course there is repetition but it didn't bother me.
I think the pots will be a draw, since you can always chuck the plants and build your own, but this is the only source for parts to build those ubiquitous clay pots.
The smaller pot is constructed similar to the engines on 10497 except these pots are more brick built and the galaxy explorer is technic based.
Huw, Think if you get 2 them you could do review what that look like?
seems entirely reasonable for the size of it, and I can see people buying two of them and using one set of flowerpots to re-pot their succulents into something more typical and realistic.
Poor ladybug (or ladybird) getting overlooked! Ignored as one of the prints in the set!
Maybe a picture with this set in combination with other botanical sets will do the size (or the lack of it) justice? In my mind they still seem reasonably sized
@Brickodillo said:
"Maybe a picture with this set in combination with other botanical sets will do the size (or the lack of it) justice? In my mind they still seem reasonably sized"
H: 7" (16cm) W: 4" (10cm) D: 3" (6cm)
Dimensions
pic on website looks size hand
Huw (error?)
curious lego website says H: 7" (16cm) W: 4" (10cm) D: 3" (6cm)
Dimensions
Prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa) 30cm tall
I'm confused?
Thanks for the review!
I've noticed these tend to sell out quickly, but bounce back in stock 1-2 months later with a 20% off on Amazon, which should be an excellent price point even if you only want it for the parts. Not the strongest Botanical Collection set, but a welcomed addition to the family none the less.
@missedoutagain said:
"Huw (error?)
curious lego website says H: 7" (16cm) W: 4" (10cm) D: 3" (6cm)
Dimensions
Prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa) 30cm tall
I'm confused?"
The actual plant grows 15-30 cm tall.
Think you've been a bit harsh with your judgement here Huw. As you state yourself at the end, the clue about the size issue is right in the sets name. As for the plant to pot ratio, I'm guessing you don't have many houseplants as most you buy from various stores these days have very similar proportions so it doesn't look out of scale at all to me.
I do agree that lego has some better colour choices that could have been employed here for realism, but I'm guessing its partly to do with the overall looks of the set as a whole so that we don't have too many that look samey.
Personally, I love these designs and given their reasonable price, will be adding them to my growing collection of botanicals asap.
Do the instructions have pictures of the real plant to compare the LEGO model with?
I'm actually hoping they do not have pictures of the real plants because carnivorous plants are terrifying in my opinion. I'm actually glad these plants are tiny for that reason.
@Agent00Z said:
"Do the instructions have pictures of the real plant to compare the LEGO model with?
I'm actually hoping they do not have pictures of the real plants because carnivorous plants are terrifying in my opinion. I'm actually glad these plants are tiny for that reason. "
Yes
@Huw said:
" @Agent00Z said:
"Do the instructions have pictures of the real plant to compare the LEGO model with?
I'm actually hoping they do not have pictures of the real plants because carnivorous plants are terrifying in my opinion. I'm actually glad these plants are tiny for that reason. "
Yes"
Thanks. That's good to know. I'll need to make sure to skip those pages of the instructions when I get to them.
@Galactus said:
" @missedoutagain said:
"Huw (error?)
curious lego website says H: 7" (16cm) W: 4" (10cm) D: 3" (6cm)
Dimensions
Prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa) 30cm tall
I'm confused?"
The actual plant grows 15-30 cm tall. "
Thanks Lego grows... I'm dying here :) hehe
Hang on to your fronds, Planty. We're going to save Lucy... And all of the other people who were captured.
I actually think this set will be popular with people who haven't necessarily gotten the other botanical sets. The tiny potted (real) plants sold at major home improvement stores in the U.S. are a popular item to spruce up a room with some low-maintenance plants.
I could see this set being split up into two or three groups in a room as display pieces that aren't as overbearing at a larger set would be.
I'll be doing it the other way around: repotting these into the succulents pots. They're more subtle, don't attract attention as much, put more focus on the plants, and also have the charming modularity to them.
So either I find someone to trade pots with, or I buy both sets and resell the potted succulents...
Nice review. I love it when there's a reveal and an immediately following BS review. Of course, my wallet hates it.
Nice set. Great gift idea for Xmas. TLG knows what they're doing. Goodbye sweet cashola.
"More pot than plant." I prefer my 'more hat than cowboy.' ;)
The Venus Flytrap reminds me of when the grocery store that was my first job got some in and the store manager said to one of my coworkers, "Remember, just because it's in the produce section doesn't mean you can eat it."
@Agent00Z: Why do carnivorous plants terrify you? They only eat insects, after all.
@StyleCounselor said:
"Nice review. I love it when there's a reveal and an immediately following BS review. Of course, my wallet hates it."
They don't get to keep their "Recognized Lego Fan Media" status if they reveal things before Lego gives the OK. (I guess reporting on stuff showing up in catalogs before the official reveal doesn't count as jumping the gun in this way.)
@beige said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Nice review. I love it when there's a reveal and an immediately following BS review. Of course, my wallet hates it.
Nice set. Great gift idea for Xmas. TLG knows what they're doing. Goodbye sweet cashola.
"More pot than plant." I prefer my 'more hat than cowboy.' ;)"
Please don't be so rude to the review"
Bah-dump-bump.
@TheOtherMike:
If it's a watermarked image, it's never supposed to be released to the public. Even after the official announcement, I'm not sure if they're allowed to publish watermarked images, but certainly not before. If it gets posted by _ANY_ official LEGO source, it's fair game. This includes being spotted in the background of a published video, landing on the LEGO.com website, copies that get stocked to shelves (even if it's not a LEGO Store), or being mentioned in social media. And all four of these situations have happened at least once. However, there have been a few instances where they've still issued takedown notices, and when Brickset has complied (even when they got it from a legitimate source). Usually this was probably due to a strict embargo on all reveals that was set by the studio of a licensed IP. Disney is not even a little bit forgiving about anyone breaking street date, especially when they have a lucrative first-reveal deal worked out with a major media publication.
@PurpleDave said:
"I think the pots will be a draw, since you can always chuck the plants and build your own, but this is the only source for parts to build those ubiquitous clay pots."
just wait for the parts to arrive on LEGO's pick-a-brick
@BelgianBricker said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"I think the pots will be a draw, since you can always chuck the plants and build your own, but this is the only source for parts to build those ubiquitous clay pots."
just wait for the parts to arrive on LEGO's pick-a-brick"
Going to be quite a wait--the usual pre-Christmas pick-a-brick shutdown is about to happen, and goodness knows when it will reopen in 2024. Sets are generally a cheaper source of unusual parts anyway, unless you really have no use for the rest of the set's contents.
@sklamb:
It’ll take a few months for these parts to show up, even when B&P comes back.
As a collector of the Botanical sets i think this is an adorable counterpoint to the larger, more realistic entries. I'm even thinking of getting 71426 Piranha Plant to go with them, despite not being a Super Mario fan!
Clay pots the set. Just buy some real plants.