Review: 40683 Flower Trellis Display
Posted by Huw,
LEGO continues to offer a wide variety of gifts with purchase, each designed to appeal to a different customer segment.
40683 Flower Trellis Display, which will be available at LEGO.com during the first half of April, is sure to be sought-after by the growing number of fans of the popular botanical collection.
Summary
40683 Flower Trellis Display, 440 pieces.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A bright and cheerful model but with a few minor flaws
- New varities of flower
- Sturdy and compact
- Prominent black Technic connectors
- Asymmetrical flower heads
- Not life-sized
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The model consists of several unnamed varieties of climbing plant rooted in a wicker trough with a trellis behind it.
The pink/purple/white flowers look like clematis or passionflower. The large yellow one could be yellow bells and I have no idea what the white crowns with yellow eggs in at the bottom are, although they could perhaps be the young buds of the yellow one.
Whatever they are, together they make a well-balanced arrangement.
The purple flower's petals are clipped onto a 3x3 ring which I believe is a new technique for flower heads. Unfortunately, it's not entirely suitable for the job because the clips can't be attached to where the stud connector of that piece is, which results in a large unsightly gap between two of the petals.
Technic axle connectors are used for the vines, and generally they look good except that the black 3-branch connectors stick out like a sore thumb. If the piece could not be cast in green for this set, more effort should have been made to hide them behind foliage pieces.
One slightly odd thing about the model is that there is only one stalk emerging from the soil in the trough when clearly there are at least two varieties of plant growing in it.
In my opinion, botanical sets are most successful when they are life-sized so that, from a distance, they can be mistaken for the real thing. This one clearly isn't, but nevertheless, and despite all the minor niggles I pointed out above, it's still a charming model that I think fans of the series will be eager to get hold of.
It will be offered as a GWP at LEGO.com from 1st to 16th April, and you'll need to spend in excess of £135 / $150 / €150 to acquire it.
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36 comments on this article
"Not life-sized'? How big of a trellis were you expecting as a GWP? ;-)
They could've scaled it to minifig size, though. Now it doesn't really fit in anywhere.
Wow, this has to be the least attractive Botanical set yet.
Reusing cheap existing black technic connectors just proves how much Lego values the customer.
Is the purple one passion flower rather than clematis? And I wondered if the egg one might be honeysuckle (probably not). Feels like they could've designed around the asymmetry by placing the two clematis/passion flowers notched together at an angle.
Did the review embargo get lifted at the wrong time? This set has a review before we even have images on this site.
Yet another botanical set I didn't know about. Yet another botanical set I don't need or want.
@mediAFOL said:
"Is the purple one passion flower rather than clematis? "
Yes, good call, it may well be. Hard to tell at this scale!
@R1_Drift said:
"Did the review embargo get lifted at the wrong time? This set has a review before we even have images on this site."
It happens from time-to-time.
Yeah, there’s a lot of little flaws with this set that make it a disappointment. It’s a shame because that flowerpot set they made was great.
Scala size set
I'm never not going to read that as "Flower Tetris".
TLG should have cast the black plant parts into green ones, or maybe a brown shade?
There are tan technic pins, so why not cast some in the right colours?
COME on TLG, you know you will need the colours for more future botanicals sets....
They can also be used in Ninjago, Creator, D @D Dragons and any other Creatures......
Spending threshold of €150 seems reasonable.
Build technique is nice
And the black parts are a nuisance
You could hide the black pins, provided there are some spare parts or the leaves and flowers pairing are rearranged.
FFS - How many GWPs do TLG issue a year? I'll be skint at this rate......
That’s an easy no.
I'll be getting this with the D&D set, but have no interest in it.
I suppose I can use the parts for spares but that seems a shame when someone else could actually enjoy it in its own right :~/
@Belboz said:
"FFS - How many GWPs do TLG issue a year? I'll be skint at this rate......"
In 2023 it was 48 of these 15 were Polybags.
@Zander try to sell it there will be demand
@watcher21 said:
" @Belboz said:
"FFS - How many GWPs do TLG issue a year? I'll be skint at this rate......"
In 2023 it was 48 of these 15 were Polybags.
"
My wallet just collapsed..........
A review before the set has even been announced (or at least rumored)? Strange.
Anyway, not a set I find enticing enough to buy something for.
Easy pass.
@watcher21 said:
" @Belboz said:
"FFS - How many GWPs do TLG issue a year? I'll be skint at this rate......"
In 2023 it was 48 of these 15 were Polybags.
@Zander try to sell it there will be demand"
Where? I’ve tried advertising on the Eurobricks buying and selling forum before but never get any interest. EBay’s fees are too high and even if they weren’t I refuse in principle to divulge personal information to Ebay. My view is no seller should have to and the platform should stop intruding or cease to exist.
used be monthly calendars like weeks ahead time you knew what was coming out.
@Zander said:
"I'll be getting this with the D&D set, but have no interest in it.
I suppose I can use the parts for spares but that seems a shame when someone else could actually enjoy it in its own right :~/"
Same. But, perhaps the Mrs.?
Quite cute, jury's out over whether it'll tempt me to spend £135 though
It’s crazy to me they put a $150 US spend threshold for this nothing set.
Another negative... GWP only (or pay extra on the secondary market).
It doesn't help that many of the GWP sets sell out so fast even if I already planned on buying something else.
1 botanical set I do not want...or to buy secondary market.
quite ugly to be honest
"One slightly odd thing about the model is that there is only one stalk emerging from the soil in the trough when clearly there are at least two varieties of plant growing in it." Maybe it's a graft?
@TheOtherMike said:
""One slightly odd thing about the model is that there is only one stalk emerging from the soil in the trough when clearly there are at least two varieties of plant growing in it." Maybe it's a graft?"
Or... a grift?
The flowers look like pink & yellow clematis. I don't like the black pieces, they don't make sense & ruin the look. Need to cover them with flowers to hide them. This set is a perfect size for my desk.
I see why this is a promo and not a set. Probably didn’t live up to the standards of the rest
@mediAFOL said:
"Is the purple one passion flower rather than clematis? And I wondered if the egg one might be honeysuckle (probably not). Feels like they could've designed around the asymmetry by placing the two clematis/passion flowers notched together at an angle."
I was thinking passion flower + honeysuckle too
Hmm, it does seem to have some flaws. If only there were some way to rearrange the parts and modify to one's liking...
@Zander said:
"EBay’s fees are too high and even if they weren’t I refuse in principle to divulge personal information to Ebay. My view is no seller should have to and the platform should stop intruding or cease to exist."
I'm sorry but I have to disagree completely.
First of all, ebay doesn't ask you to provide a lot of personal information in order to use their services, at least not more than any other shopping site on the net.
And they still demand fees in the UK?
In Germany they have stopped that practice, so both for buyers as well as sellers the service is completely free now. I use them frequently.
Of course you can still pay for certain extras, but the standard process of buying and selling has been free over here since the beginning of March last year.
@AustinPowers said:
" @Zander said:
"EBay’s fees are too high and even if they weren’t I refuse in principle to divulge personal information to Ebay. My view is no seller should have to and the platform should stop intruding or cease to exist."
(...)
And they still demand fees in the UK?
In Germany they have stopped that practice, so both for buyers as well as sellers the service is completely free now. I use them frequently.
Of course you can still pay for certain extras, but the standard process of buying and selling has been free over here since the beginning of March last year. "
They certainly do still demand fees in the UK, sadly. Listing is always free, but they take two cuts from the final value. If one is patient, there's usually a special offer to reduce these fees to a pound or zero.
How does eBay.de make its money...??