"Roses are red, baby's breaths white, this set is NOT for play, but for sight."

The Build:

My 7-year-old and I spent about an hour on this beautifully elegant bouquet of roses. How did we love building these flowers? Let me count the ways. First, the instructions are very spartan, there is no "wow" factor with three separate, thin, generic-looking books. However, they are very practical--it easily allowed us to split the build between us. Second, the build was a quick, if repetitive, process. Finally, there are a couple of cool part uses here, namely the different ways petals come together. But there's nothing too complicated here, and it certainly does not earn an 18+ label.

The Parts:

There are some very neat parts that, unfortunately, will likely never get used for anything else. For example, as I built my batch I wondered what on earth this weird petal part was. I had to look it up and was very surprised to find its only prior use was printed... as a buildable fig face! The red whip piece is cool, although I can't see myself ever having a real use for one, much less four of them. And let's be honest, these parts combined look so great as roses, that at the end of the day, it's hard to envision disassembling them. They will just come back to the dining room table every Valentine's Day (any real flowers I buy the wife sit at our kitchen table).

The Finished Product:

Placed in a vase, the set comes to life. I can verify that my wife loved their look (although she immediately asked me if I was getting her anything else, so guys, plan ahead). They look surprisingly realistic. My youngest daughter kept grabbing them as we were building them and ran around showing them to everyone, playfully offering them to others. So while they may not be the most playable set, they have at least some playability and certainly make up in display value. As a bonus, the builds are surprisingly solid. While a few parts do want to fall off, most stay put even when handled in bundles by children. Kudos to the designers for making a sturdy product out of mostly Lego-built sticks.

The Value:

Is this set worth its high cost considering the lack of prints or minifigures? Depends on how you look at it. If you are a floral enthusiast who is buying up all the botanical sets, it's a fantastic addition. For more casual Lego fans, this set may still find value in decorating for Valentine's Day (and possibly other occasions) year after year. Keep it well-stored, so it doesn't accumulate dust, and it should look shiny and new every time. What it will not be, in my opinion, is a good parts pack.