Review: 10280 Flower Bouquet
Posted by Huw,
LEGO is rapidly diversifying its product portfolio in an effort to appeal to people who would not normally give its construction toys a second look.
The company's latest attempt is a range of adult-oriented life-sized botanical sets, which includes the 756-piece 10280 Flower Bouquet that will be available at LEGO.com and other retailers on January 1st, priced at £44.99/$49.99/€49.99.
The set contains ten flowers and five foliage stems constructed using a multitude of rare and recoloured parts:
- Three roses
- Two daisies
- Two snapdragons
- One California poppy
- One aster
- One lavender sprig
- Two bushy stems
- Three leaves
Of particular note among the parts are 32l Technic axles and surfboards in sand green, 3l axle connectors in dark green, the new 5-wide steering wheel introduced with the ECTO-1 also in dark green, and four types of element cast in light nougat which, until now, has only ever been used for minifigures, mini-dolls and a few other figure parts.
Rose and daisy parts:
Aster, lavender and foliage parts:
Snapdragon and poppy parts:
We'll have a complete picture of the unique elements in the set once the inventory has been published in January.
Rose
Roses come in virtually every colour under the sun so it's slightly surprising that the extremely rare light nougat was chosen for them here. They are each built using four of two different types of 4-wide car bonnets forming the petals which are clipped to the new 5-wide steering wheels.
To be honest, I can't say I like the colour of them: I don't think it's very harmonious with the other flowers' colours. They didn't fit with the other flowers in the vase I am using, so I left them out for the lead picture but actually I think they look better on their own.
It's certainly an interesting use for pterodactyl wings!
The stems are constructed using 10 or so 3l axle connectors, and two of them include angled ones.
There's a separate set being released, 40460 Roses, which contains red roses, so that is probably why red wasn't used in this set. Personally, I think a regular pink would have looked better.
Snapdragon
These grow wild in woodlands in the south of England where I am and I can't say I've seen them used in bouquets, but these LEGO replicas do look impressive and instantly recognisable.
They are built around a core of parabolic rings and 2x2 round plates with vertical bars in sand green. Like the roses, their stem is built using 3l dark green axle connectors.
The three shades of pink and the spring yellowish green at the top are used to good effect showing the flower heads in the different stages of their lifecycle.
Lavender
Gold is an interesting choice of colour to use in the sprig of lavender but the crowns and leaves actually look pretty good and contrast pleasantly with the lavender flower heads.
It doesn't look much like the plant we grow in our garden, but it's attractive nevertheless.
Aster
The aster head is built using 34 medium lavender leaves connected to a parabolic ring and a 5-wide steering wheel using 20 medium lilac clips, new in that colour.
Daisy
Two daisy stems, each with three flower heads, are the simplest of the builds but are still very effective. 48 of the useful 1x2 plates with rounded ends form the petals. The black pieces look a bit out of place, but they are largely hidden when the flowers are in the vase with the others.
California poppy
I am not familiar with this flower but a quick Google suggests that this is a pretty good representation, as some varieties have four petals.
Once again the 4-wide car bonnet piece has been put to good use here for the petals.
Foliage
Five stems of green foliage are provided to help balance the bouquet. Note the sand green surfboards used to provide a point to the leaves.
Also notice how some of the stems have been lengthened using additional axle connectors: this can be done as needed to all the flowers when arranging them, much like you'd cut real flower stems to length, but the advantage with LEGO flowers is that you can add length, as well as remove it!
In total there are 10 32l axles and 65 straight axle connectors in the set.
Verdict
This is a wonderfully attractive set that demonstrates that LEGO is so much more than vehicles, buildings and minifigures.
It's fun to build, contains copious quantities of rare and unique parts in bright colours, and I have no doubt that it will appeal to a new audience. It's the sort of thing that parents might buy themselves when shopping in the LEGO store with their kids
It will also make a great gift for your partner or spouse for Valentine's Day, even if they are not AFOLs. It could be the last bouquet you need ever buy them!
One thing that puzzles me slightly is the choice of shades of green. Those chosen have given it something of a subdued look overall and I do wonder whether regular green would have been preferable to sand green. Surprisingly, there is only small handful of regular green parts in the set.
Nevertheless, when placed in a beautiful vase it looks stunning! This one, incidentally, came from Gibraltar.
My wife had fun arranging the flowers, changing their lengths to suit and finding the most aesthetically pleasing arrangement (although I've probably messed it up since!)
Once the Christmas decorations are put away we'll be finding space for it to go on permanent display in the lounge or dining room at which point I'll take some 'lifestyle' photos.
Thanks to LEGO for providing this set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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46 comments on this article
These look fantastic. As someone who used to work in a greenhouse I'll definitely be grabbing these one day.
Interesting change of direction for LEGO. The Valentine's Day present suggestion is a good one.
Thanks for the review.
They look nice, until you get a little closer... then you realise they don't look at all like their real-life counterparts: I'm not convinced by the snapdragons, the lavender is completely different to what grows in my garden, and the daisies look like fried eggs! I'm also concerned by the experiment into mutated pterodactyl wings! This is a pretty, but nevertheless easy, pass for me.
It looks like what it is - cheap plastic. Just an exercise in bad taste like those cheap artificial flowers you can buy at certain deko stores. And the individual species look nothing like their real counterparts. Gonna pick it up for the recolored parts, but that's about it.
These look very nice. Even if the colors aren't perfectly realistic, I like to think that the slight deviation makes it more unique and interesting.
Thanks for the speedy review!
Those different stages of the snapdragon are brilliantly done, even if I wouldn't have guessed snapdragon unless told.
I just hope 'n' pray all those delicious sand green bits are available from Bricks & Pieces...
Looks great... would have been a day 1 purchase along with the bonsai tree and modular, had it not been for the local Lego shop being closed due to covid, and deliveries from lego.com to the U.K. currently being suspended due to brexit (hopefully only for a couple of days though). Fun times!
I think these flowers are wonderful. Of course they don’t match the colors and forms in real life. But does it really matter? No, of course not.
They look pretty and i will buy this for my wife someday - i buy too little flowers - and these will scream “i think of you, and of course of lego too” x-D
@sjr60, the header image of the new arrivals page at Amazon.co.uk, https://amzn.to/3aUk2Z2, suggests that the botanical sets will be available there so that's looking like a better place to buy them from on the 1st.
That is a beautiful vase, for the record.
I don't know about all this. I can see the appeal of the bonsai plant, but I'm not a flower-kind of a guy. So the concept of flowers is a bit lost on me.
And while I do appreciate the creativity involved here, and Lego trying something a bit different and unsual, I don't know. Something about it just seems ... off, somehow. This is just all a bit too strange for me.
Now I need to build a Lego Mr Gumby, for GUMBY FLOWER ARRANGING! GET IN!!
To explain, here is the Monty Python sketch: https://g.co/kgs/knCwYD
Interesting set along with the tree. I can see it as a day one buy and it looks fairly appealing. Now that botanical is released, what are the chances we are going to see a weed like a dandelion or poison ivy? Flowers and a tree are great, and my next recommendation would be a venus fly trap.
I adore that we’re finally getting light nougat parts! BrickHeadz would look so much better in this shade!
These along with the Bonsai look great, and I’m pleased Lego is expanding their product range and focus.
The question is, what next? More individual flowers to add to the bouquet? A larger ‘indoor’ plant?
Thanks for the review. Your pictures are really good, Huw. The flowers look great and I do think that vase is helping them in the bouquet shot. The line "It's certainly an interesting use for pterodactyl wings!" made me laugh out loud!
Wonderful looking set. So imaginative. Hope we get to see more like this!
@Huw said:
" @sjr60, the header image of the new arrivals page at Amazon.co.uk, https://amzn.to/3aUk2Z2, suggests that the botanical sets will be available there so that's looking like a better place to buy them from on the 1st."
Yes, depending on whether lego.com has an unmissable GWP!
I'm hoping that they might start shipping again on the 1st as DPD are currently only stating a 2 day freeze for senders to update paperwork for brexit (although there'll be a weeks backlog to shift!)
Thanks for your comments, particularly about the vase! I remember my wife buying it in Casemates Square in Gibraltar while on a cruise and me having to cart it back to the ship. Looks like it was worth it after all...
These look wild.
I can see myself color-changing a lot of these; an all blue and purple-shaded arrangement is already in my head. And yes, I totally agree about the color choice of the rose; to me it looks like a faded flower that is nearing the end of its days.
Huw the only thing I can think of right now is that you need to get an Ant-Man minifigure and pose it with those flowers ASAP.
I like the idea of these as a cheaper alternative to flowers, although the roses do look off. They look the most convincing on their own, but I would have preferred a darker colouring, I think it would have suited the whole arrangement much better.
I'm not sure about the daisies either. The rest look quite good to me, like wild flowers, which seem always nicer to hothouse alternatives.
@Bowler4Lyfe said:
"(...) my next recommendation would be a venus fly trap."
LEGO's got you covered there! 11948
Pretty! I think the light nougat, dark green and sand green makes it look less toylike, so I like the colors used. My main concern is what to build with all the car bonnets when I eventually disassemble the set... Any ideas?
It's a yes from me - I want to put them in the office to brighten the place. There seems to be some very creative and inventive use of standard pieces
@Zordboy said:
"That is a beautiful vase, for the record.
I don't know about all this. I can see the appeal of the bonsai plant, but I'm not a flower-kind of a guy. So the concept of flowers is a bit lost on me.
And while I do appreciate the creativity involved here, and Lego trying something a bit different and unsual, I don't know. Something about it just seems ... off, somehow. This is just all a bit too strange for me. "
I think you put it very delicately. It's not my cup of tea either. I think the vase is more beautiful than the flowers.
late Christmas present for my mom! looks great!
This is just stupid. Whole +18 theme is joke. This shows how much hypocritical TLG is.
I like them. My wife likes them. My mother-in-law likes them. Glad to hear that a bunch of people are choosing to "pass" - maybe these won't become "temporarily out of stock" so quickly!
This is the first definite must have for me in years! Love all these new parts/recolours.
Might even buy two to make an even more impressive display.
The first flowers I can bring into the house that the cat won’t eat!
i hope to see the roses in other colours! my gran's favourite flower was yellow roses and i'd love to have some in the house that won't ever wilt. <3
The roses are the color of champagne roses, a bit unusual but I like them. This is a must get, to give to my mom. She will love it!
I like this a lot. I’ll get at least one and maybe 3 of these. Looking forward to more in this line!
Gorgeous thingies!
And really very exotic. because, you know, such things are usually associate with MOCing and such.
Woah. A nice partpack!
What flowers?
@Aneurysm_2 said: "The first flowers I can bring into the house that the cat won’t eat!"
Spoiler alert, your pets will probably still try to eat them.
Actually there are plenty of roses that match Light Nougat very nicely. The roses look more natural than the so-called snapdragons (antirhinums if I recall my English mother-in-law correctly) where the gradations of colors are nice but the individual flowers look nothing at all like the Lego version. I'd say the Lego plants are more like foxgloves or lupines--which isn't a problem at all! The "daisies" look more like feverfew and the lavender florets should be packed much closer together, but the aster's spot on.
And it's just as worthwhile an attempt to capture an unusual shape as any of the gazillions of mecha produced by TLG every year!
The use of sand green makes the whole thing unnatural and weird. Not sure why the designer(s) chose it, when the green shades as used in 40460 are so much better.
@AddictedToStyrene said:
"Now I need to build a Lego Mr Gumby, for GUMBY FLOWER ARRANGING! GET IN!!"
MY HEAD HURTS! We need Flower Bouquet 2.0 with crymanthesums.
Hi Huw. I am getting this set for the wife’s 40th in 10 days time. The vase you have is lovely, could you tell me the approx height of that vase? Would love to be able to sort a good vase to go with the flowers.
Cheers
About 24cm. They will look best in a tall one like this.
I really like these, although I don't think I'll be picking them up myself.
Side note: I recall clips being connected to wheels being labelled as an illegal building technique by Lego, hence the change in the construction of the claws in 21109 Exo Suit. Has this changed now, or is this another case of Lego bending the rules?
These look absolutely amazing. Parts usage spectacular!!! Can't wait to get my hands on these!
I usually avoid any kind of plasticky fake flowers in my house because it will collect dusks, and they are not real (for sure). If I need flowers for decoration, it has to be the real ones.
In this case I might make as exception because if these fake flowers start collecting dusks.. I will know what to do with the pieces..