Review: 40679 Love Gift Box

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LEGO has developed plenty of Valentine's Day-themed sets, although 40679 Love Gift Box is unusual because this set will be available as a gift-with-purchase, beginning on February 1st with purchases of over £70, $75 or €75.

However, cute animals celebrating Valentine's Day are standard fare for LEGO and the Shiba Inu found here is no exception!

Summary

40679 Love Gift Box, 159 pieces.

40679 Love Gift Box is a satisfying gift-with-purchase, especially for the cute Shiba Inu

  • Incredibly cute dog
  • Some customisation options
  • Some unsightly grey parts

The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.

The Completed Model

The concept of this set is interesting, resembling 40587 Easter Basket, although this model is much smaller. Nevertheless, the contrast between the pink gift box and the medium nougat of the Shiba Inu inside looks good and I like the accessories placed on the edge of the box, which provide an extra dash of colour.

On the other hand, the heart-shaped chocolate box in easy reach of the dog may be cause for concern, so hopefully they know to avoid chocolate. Pink and magenta are nice colours on the box and its white base also looks reasonable, even though a continuation of pink and magenta would have been preferable.

The dog is attached with a 2x2 jumper plate, so can be removed easily. I can certainly see the resemblance to a Shiba Inu, based on the colours and the ear share, but I am not convinced it would be readily recognisable without reading the set description. Regardless, the model looks completely adorable, due in part to its charmingly small paws! I love the use of 1x1 bows.

In addition, two pairs of eyes are included, so you can swap the printed black eyes for closed eyes with eyelashes, as shown above. Replacing them also involves detaching the snout and 2x2 wedge plates, but this is quite easy. Otherwise, the tiny tail on the back looks lovely, unlike the grey elements around the ears.

A stickered 'love' message is attached behind the dog, using a trans-clear 1x2 plate with 12L bar. This gives the model some height and the brick-built heart is a welcome addition, but the 2x4 tile shown below noticeably lacks any LEGO styling in the graphics. The second message fairs better in that regard, featuring a heart built from two 2x2 coupling plates.

Other than those light and dark bluish grey pieces, the back of the Shiba Inu and their gift box looks as lovely as the front. Also, the support for the message is securely attached using a clip and then a 1x1 round plate with hollow stud underneath, so the assembly feels sturdy.

Overall

40679 Love Gift Box is standard fare for a modern Seasonal set, without any real surprises. Even so, the Shiba Ina is very charming and I like the model's vibrant colours, as well as the option to swap the dog's eyes or the message above. I wonder whether we will see animals in the same style with any subsequent Seasonal gifts-with-purchase.

Ultimately, this is not something that would encourage me to make an unplanned purchase on LEGO.com, but it is quite fun. Also, I think the spend threshold of £75, $75 or €75 is fair, given the size of the model.

25 comments on this article

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By in United States,

So it's a Shiba Inu
R.I.P. Cheems, we will never forget you

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By in United Kingdom,

From the prelims I thought it was a corgi.

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By in United States,

I should get this set!

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By in United Kingdom,

Quite a nice lil gift, though I do wish it was just a purchasable lil set rather than a GWP - would grab it as a prezzie for 10-13 quid, but I just don't have 75 quid worth of stuff I want right now so on the shelf it stays.

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By in United States,

Wait, that's a dog? I figured it was a fox or hamster from Animal Crossing,

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By in Germany,

Such love, much wow!

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By in United States,

@CapnRex101, how do we know it's a shiba inu? You seem pretty confident on that label. Is that indicated somewhere in the instructions or the box? Just curious why it couldn't be a Pomeranian, for example.

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By in United States,

I don't see everybody else's confusion--I identified the model as a Shiba Inu pretty instantly. I think the white round tiles above the eyes are doing all of the work, though, matching the dog and Japanese cartoon renditions pretty well. Without those, I'd probably be just as lost.

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By in United Kingdom,

You’d think that they would build the heart to match the sticker.

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By in Netherlands,

Very cute. What I do not understand is LEGO never made the LBF 1x2 plate with socket and DBG with balljoint in other colors?

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By in United Kingdom,

@woosterlegos said:
" @CapnRex101, how do we know it's a shiba inu? You seem pretty confident on that label. Is that indicated somewhere in the instructions or the box? Just curious why it couldn't be a Pomeranian, for example."

It is confirmed in the set description on LEGO.com.

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By in United States,

@Sjaacko said:
"Very cute. What I do not understand is LEGO never made the LBF 1x2 plate with socket and DBG with balljoint in other colors?"

IIRC the going theory is that those pieces need such precise tolerances to work properly that TLC isn't sure they'll *work* in other colors.

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By in United States,

One of my kiddos would melt over this and deem it a fox anyway, just like the tiny chihuahuas. Unplanned purchases at LEGO.com, here we come!

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By in United Kingdom,

Well that's another gwp that's going on my eBay for awhile....

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By in United States,

The third picture in the actual article (the one with alternate eyes) is curtness overload at a 117%.

Yes, I can't math. And I don't care.

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By in United States,

@Murdoch17 said:
"The third picture in the actual article (the one with alternate eyes) is curtness overload at a 117%.

Yes, I can't math. And I don't care."


Makes sense to me, if it were less than 100% the cuteness wouldn't be overloaded, would it?

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By in Australia,

Adorable! Will be even better once the ‘LOVE’ nonsense is removed

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By in United States,

@Reventon said:
"Adorable! Will be even better once the ‘LOVE’ nonsense is removed"

Are... are you a villain from a magical girl anime?

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By in United States,

Love + new Star Wars = purchase

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By in United States,

@CapnRex101 said:
" @woosterlegos said:
" @CapnRex101, how do we know it's a shiba inu? You seem pretty confident on that label. Is that indicated somewhere in the instructions or the box? Just curious why it couldn't be a Pomeranian, for example."

It is confirmed in the set description on LEGO.com."


Research, reading before writing. It's a thing.

Look it up, kids. The More You Know.....

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By in United States,

@Murdoch17 said:
"The third picture in the actual article (the one with alternate eyes) is curtness overload at a 117%.

Yes, I can't math. And I don't care."


I think you’re right! He is acting curtly!!

I thought, at first, he was cute. But after reading your comment, I see it differently. I imagine I nicely asked him to 'clean up his filthy, stinking room'. He gives me that insolent eye roll to the point where they shut and a smarmy smile that says, 'move along dude, I'm never going to do what you say.'

Ooooh! Makes me so mad! He is being curt with me!!!

Gravatar
By in Germany,

@CapnRex101 said:
" @woosterlegos said:
" @CapnRex101, how do we know it's a shiba inu? You seem pretty confident on that label. Is that indicated somewhere in the instructions or the box? Just curious why it couldn't be a Pomeranian, for example."

It is confirmed in the set description on LEGO.com."

Even if, looks more like a Corgi to me.
Or a Hamster, like others have said.

In any case not something to entice me to spend money on lego.com.

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By in United Kingdom,

"Some unsightly grey parts"

Haven't we all...

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By in United States,

@StyleCounselor said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
"The third picture in the actual article (the one with alternate eyes) is curtness overload at a 117%.

Yes, I can't math. And I don't care."


I think you’re right! He is acting curtly!!

I thought, at first, he was cute. But after reading your comment, I see it differently. I imagine I nicely asked him to 'clean up his filthy, stinking room'. He gives me that insolent eye roll to the point where they shut and a smarmy smile that says, 'move along dude, I'm never going to do what you say.'

Ooooh! Makes me so mad! He is being curt with me!!! "


Once again, my all-time nemesis, Typos, strikes! CURSE YOU TYPOS! ;-P

Gravatar
By in United States,

@Murdoch17 said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
"The third picture in the actual article (the one with alternate eyes) is curtness overload at a 117%.

Yes, I can't math. And I don't care."


I think you’re right! He is acting curtly!!

I thought, at first, he was cute. But after reading your comment, I see it differently. I imagine I nicely asked him to 'clean up his filthy, stinking room'. He gives me that insolent eye roll to the point where they shut and a smarmy smile that says, 'move along dude, I'm never going to do what you say.'

Ooooh! Makes me so mad! He is being curt with me!!! "


Once again, my all-time nemesis, Typos, strikes! CURSE YOU TYPOS! ;-P"


Just happy accidents that allow us to see life in a different possible world.

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