With Valentine's Day approaching, you might be considering the classic gifts of candy and flowers for your special someone. However, if you're looking for something a bit more unique and lasting, consider the Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet from the LEGO Botanical Collection. This charming set doesn't need watering to stay fresh; it just requires some assembly time and a vase to display it. It's a perfect blend of creativity and romance, ideal for LEGO enthusiasts and flower lovers alike.
LEGO Botanicals Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet
Priced at $59.99, you can find this set at Amazon and the LEGO Store. The Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet is part of LEGO's Botanical Collection, which was introduced as part of the company's lifestyle rebranding in 2021. LEGO has been integrating their sets into home decor, catering to the growing popularity among adults who appreciate the aesthetic and functional aspects of these builds.
Building the LEGO Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet
Instead of relegating LEGO sets to storage or struggling to find space on desks and tables, adult LEGO fans can now hang them on the wall or use them as decorative pieces on window sills or as centerpieces. The Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet comes in six bags, with an additional seventh bag containing long rods for the flower stems. There are no stickers or printed tiles, and the set includes a printed instruction booklet.
LEGO encourages builders, especially for these crossover sets, to use the digital instructions available online. These digital guides allow you to rotate and zoom in on the builds, making the process more accessible for those new to adult LEGO sets or those considering this as a Valentine's Day gift due to its complexity.
Each bag contains parts for different flowers, including daisies, cornflowers, eucalyptus, elderflowers, roses, ranunculus, cymbidium orchids, waterlily dahlias, and campanulas. The instruction booklet provides brief descriptions of each flower in English, French, and Spanish, adding an educational element to the building experience. For instance, the description for the *Cymbidium* orchid reads:
"*Cymbidium* orchids are documented in records from Confucius' time, around 500 BCE, making them the oldest known cultivated orchid species."
And for the waterlily dahlia:
"Symbols of elegance and grace, the decorative waterlily dahlia blossoms unfold like a luxurious firework display."
Unlike traditional LEGO sets that rely on the binding tube mechanisms to connect bricks, the flowers in this set are built using hinges. Each piece clamps to another at a single connection point, creating the impression of petals extending outward from the flower's center. This set introduced me to new building techniques, such as folding petals upward in an overlapping pattern to create the signature look of a rose. This required careful planning to ensure the petals did not occupy the same space when folded, which involved some trial and error.
Attention to detail is crucial; placing a petal incorrectly can lead to a chain reaction, misaligning the flower several steps later. This happened to me twice, highlighting the importance of precision in this delicate build.
Traditional LEGO builds start with a foundation and support structures before adding details. However, the Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet has no underlying structure; it's purely aesthetic, making it extremely fragile. It's designed for display, not play, emphasizing its role as a decorative piece.
This set represents LEGO design at its most impractical, yet the beauty achieved through this method is well worth it. The LEGO Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet, Set #10342, consists of 749 pieces and is available at Amazon and the LEGO Store for $59.99.
More LEGO Flower Sets
LEGO Icons Orchid (10311)
See it at Amazon.
LEGO Icons Succulents (10309)
See it at Amazon.
LEGO Icons Wildflower Bouquet Botanical Collection (10313)
See it at Amazon.
LEGO Icons Flower Bouquet (10280)
See it at Amazon.
LEGO Icons Bonsai Tree (10281)
See it at Amazon.
LEGO Icons Dried Flower Centerpiece (10314)
See it at Amazon.
