Review: 10372 Hibiscus
Posted by Huw,
Since botanical sets were split off from Icons to their own theme at the start of the year, we've enjoyed a barrage of brick-built blooms that shows no sign of abating.
Next month the latest additions to the series, 10373 Mini Bonsai Trees and 10372 Hibiscus, the subject of this review, will be released, and I don't suppose they'll be the year's last.
Summary
10372 Hibiscus, 660 pieces.
£59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99 | 9.1p/10.6c/10.6c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Another beautiful addition to the botanical collection
- Life-sized and realistic
- Plenty of new leaf pieces
- Good-sized pot
- Building the flowers is repetitive
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The plant stands in a good-sized dark blue pot which is cleverly constructed around a stack of four 8x8 round plates connected together with 4x4 turntables between them. The second from the bottom and the top one are rotated 12.5 degrees relative to the other two, which enables 16 Technic beams to be connected around the perimeter.
The core is then clad with 16 dark blue sections to approximate a circle just over 10cm in diameter.
The stem of the plant is constructed using two tall half-mast pieces, appearing here in dark tan for the first time, with Technic axle connectors and the new long macaroni tubes forming the branches. The simple addition of a flex-tube twisted around the stem makes it look far more organic than it would without it.
The set introduces the new petal/leaf piece in bright green and there are a total of 19 supplied.
The six flower heads are identical, built, like many others, around the 5-stud diameter steering wheel. Five shells are clipped to it upside-down, then folded in to form the flower. Unusually, there's some detailing on the back of them, in the form of the green curved wedges.
Hibiscus flowers always have five petals with a prominent stamen protruding from the centre, and most have petals that vary in colour from the centre to the edges. The colour transition has been pleasingly replicated here using a bright reddish violet 3x3 dish in the centre, medium lavender 2x2 boat studs around it, and lavender shells.
Four yet-to-emerge buds (2x2x2 cones), and a couple of Spring Yellowish Green eggs representing the seed pods left once a flower head has died, complete the arrangement.
The leaves are perhaps a little on the small side relative to the flowers, but there are a generous number of them, and they contrast pleasingly with the purple hues of the heads.
A real potted hibiscus is likely to be more rounded with flowers growing in all directions and sides, but the model has a very upright appearance, designed to be viewed from the front.
Consequently, it's not a pretty sight from behind, but you can rearrange it by twisting and turning the branches, and repositioning the heads to improve the appearance from this angle if you're planning on displaying it somewhere where the back will be seen.
Verdict
This is another beautiful and realistic botanical set that, like the best of them, is life-sized and likely to be mistaken for the real thing from a distance.
The colourful plant is potted in a cleverly constructed and good-sized container, making it ready to be displayed around the home or office for all who pass to admire.
Price-wise, $69.99, £59.99, €69.99 for 660 pieces meets the 10c per piece benchmark and is on a par with other recent botanicals.
So, overall then, this is likely to be a day one purchase for fans of brick-built flowers.
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33 comments on this article
It's good-not-great. I really enjoy the Botanicals-line, but this is not the best bid. I think I almost like it better without the blossoming flowers, as the bare stem looks like a pretty convincing minifig-scale tree.
Mind you, I don't think I want to shell out 70 Euros for just a tree, you know?
Mmmh, I think "building the flowers is repetitive" might be appliable to any botanical set, as it's the very nature of he subject. On the other hand, some fans of the botanical line enjoy exactly this because it frees up their mind - and maybe even gets them into a state of zen =D.
Or I pay 10€ less for 6 flowers with twice the number of bricks from Max Premium with better brick quality and variety. Jang was stunned by Max's quality and design.
"So, overall then, this is likely to be a day one purchase for fans of brick-built flowers". That does not apply to me at all
@jkb said:
"Mmmh, I think "building the flowers is repetitive" might be appliable to any botanical set, as it's the very nature of he subject. On the other hand, some fans of the botanical line enjoy exactly this because it frees up their mind - and maybe even gets them into a state of zen =D."
If you want Zen from the Botanical line, you're looking for 10281 or 10373.
Pot looks worse than prior entries and the price has steadily crept up from $50 to $60 to now $70. I think it’s still worth a consideration on sale but this is far less appealing than 10311 or 10348.
Looks nice, but not as nice as I expected.
I like it. I think maybe with some adjustments you could get the flowers to display in different directions, but that seems to be a limitation in all sets of the botanical range.
@Lvl said:
"Pot looks worse than prior entries and the price has steadily crept up from $50 to $60 to now $70. I think it’s still worth a consideration on sale but this is far less appealing than 10311 or 10348."
I agree with you unfortunately. Still planning to purchase, but looked way better when it was first announced.
I like this a lot, including the rather nice pot. RRP for a non-exclusive set is a bit of a moot point. I'll certainly get this when it hits around £45.
It's a great set, but this focus on sets for adults is partially responsible for the price increases.
It looks really nice. They did a good job with it. But it isn't $70 nice and I'd have to wait for a major markdown (which will likely never happen since I never see sales on these sets). So I just won't worry about it.
The Botanicals usually get discounted 20-25% at Walmart and Amazon. I got the Japanese Red Maple Bonsai for $45 ($60 retail) at Costco and it was just released.
All I need is 10373.
I expect to get 10372 in 3-6 months.
Got 10342, 10347, 10348 and 10349 yesterday from Amazon for 15% to 31% off... I'm sure a bit more patience would have seen bigger reductions!
I actually like the pot on this one. It looks good from the front, but I'm disappointed that the flowers are not all the way around by default. Rotating some of the stems to cover the back will surely make the overall plant look very sparse. For $70 I think they could've included at least one more flower or more leaves to fill the back somewhat. (Both 10345 and 10370 are full-round models.)
@twentythree said:
"The Botanicals usually get discounted 20-25% at Walmart and Amazon. I got the Japanese Red Maple Bonsai for $45 ($60 retail) at Costco and it was just released."
You talking about 10348? Hm, that's a decent price. My Costco doesn't have that yet. Ergh. Hoping Costco gets this set as well... $70 normally gets marked down to around $56.
Also, speaking of Costco, 10345 is currently on sale for $59.99, at least in the NE USA.
Why the complaints? It's an amazing model, and one of the most realistic in the range!
Yeah what the heck this is one of their best, why are there so many complaints
Husband and I aren't liking this one. Maybe if the leaves had been one of the darker greens. It's a competent model otherwise, we're just not feeling it.
@Maxbricks14 said:
"Why the complaints? It's an amazing model, and one of the most realistic in the range!"
@fourstud said:
"Yeah what the heck this is one of their best, why are there so many complaints"
The question is the answer. There are complaints because there are complaints. You seem puzzled by the definition of this word, I will endeavour to help:
"complaint /kum'pleint/ (noun): a statement that something is wrong or not satisfactory"
I have so much to give.
@BLProductions said:
"I actually like the pot on this one. It looks good from the front, but I'm disappointed that the flowers are not all the way around by default. Rotating some of the stems to cover the back will surely make the overall plant look very sparse. For $70 I think they could've included at least one more flower or more leaves to fill the back somewhat. (Both 10345 and 10370 are full-round models.)
@twentythree said:
"The Botanicals usually get discounted 20-25% at Walmart and Amazon. I got the Japanese Red Maple Bonsai for $45 ($60 retail) at Costco and it was just released."
You talking about 10348? Hm, that's a decent price. My Costco doesn't have that yet. Ergh. Hoping Costco gets this set as well... $70 normally gets marked down to around $56.
Also, speaking of Costco, 10345 is currently on sale for $59.99, at least in the NE USA. "
I was just at Costco in mid USA and it was $79. I'd love it at $59!
Personally I think it looks lovely, although the mini bonsai trees and the acer are higher on the priority list! I'll be waiting for a discount certainly. I'm also a little surprised at the amount of negativity on here for this one!
@BLProductions said:
"I actually like the pot on this one. It looks good from the front, but I'm disappointed that the flowers are not all the way around by default. Rotating some of the stems to cover the back will surely make the overall plant look very sparse. For $70 I think they could've included at least one more flower or more leaves to fill the back somewhat. (Both 10345 and 10370 are full-round models.)
@twentythree said:
"The Botanicals usually get discounted 20-25% at Walmart and Amazon. I got the Japanese Red Maple Bonsai for $45 ($60 retail) at Costco and it was just released."
You talking about 10348 ? Hm, that's a decent price. My Costco doesn't have that yet. Ergh. Hoping Costco gets this set as well... $70 normally gets marked down to around $56.
Also, speaking of Costco, 10345 is currently on sale for $59.99, at least in the NE USA. "
Also, speaking of Costco $54.99 on west coast now, probably sell quick since like 50% off almost.
@Sethro3 said:
" @BLProductions said:
"I actually like the pot on this one. It looks good from the front, but I'm disappointed that the flowers are not all the way around by default. Rotating some of the stems to cover the back will surely make the overall plant look very sparse. For $70 I think they could've included at least one more flower or more leaves to fill the back somewhat. (Both 10345 and 10370 are full-round models.)
@twentythree said:
"The Botanicals usually get discounted 20-25% at Walmart and Amazon. I got the Japanese Red Maple Bonsai for $45 ($60 retail) at Costco and it was just released."
You talking about 10348? Hm, that's a decent price. My Costco doesn't have that yet. Ergh. Hoping Costco gets this set as well... $70 normally gets marked down to around $56.
Also, speaking of Costco, 10345 is currently on sale for $59.99, at least in the NE USA. "
I was just at Costco in mid USA and it was $79. I'd love it at $59!"aw
just wait i saw it at $54.99 west coast finally , east coast been months I heard has been on clearance
@twentythree said:
"The Botanicals usually get discounted 20-25% at Walmart and Amazon. I got the Japanese Red Maple Bonsai for $45 ($60 retail) at Costco and it was just released."
What part of country for bonsai? ... Been waiting for it.
anyway you can get costco item number next time you go?
@Crux said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Why the complaints? It's an amazing model, and one of the most realistic in the range!"
@fourstud said:
"Yeah what the heck this is one of their best, why are there so many complaints"
The question is the answer. There are complaints because there are complaints. You seem puzzled by the definition of this word, I will endeavour to help:
"complaint /kum'pleint/ (noun): a statement that something is wrong or not satisfactory"
I have so much to give."
You seem a bit puzzled yourself. They weren't wondering what the word "complaint" means, they were wondering why people were complaining about this set in particular. And the answer is twofold: Not everybody has the same tastes, and some people just complain for the sake of complaining.
@Crux said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Why the complaints? It's an amazing model, and one of the most realistic in the range!"
@fourstud said:
"Yeah what the heck this is one of their best, why are there so many complaints"
The question is the answer. There are complaints because there are complaints. You seem puzzled by the definition of this word, I will endeavour to help:
"complaint /kum'pleint/ (noun): a statement that something is wrong or not satisfactory"
I have so much to give."
If you're going to be smart, at least do it accurately.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Crux said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Why the complaints? It's an amazing model, and one of the most realistic in the range!"
@fourstud said:
"Yeah what the heck this is one of their best, why are there so many complaints"
The question is the answer. There are complaints because there are complaints. You seem puzzled by the definition of this word, I will endeavour to help:
"complaint /kum'pleint/ (noun): a statement that something is wrong or not satisfactory"
I have so much to give."
You seem a bit puzzled yourself. They weren't wondering what the word "complaint" means, they were wondering why people were complaining about this set in particular. And the answer is twofold: Not everybody has the same tastes, and some people just complain for the sake of complaining."
Funny how similar a supposed new person looks compared to a recently banned smart arse. Pure coincidence I'm sure!
The Botanicals line has really...blossomed.
@Modeltrainman said:
"The Botanicals line has really...blossomed."
Branched out, one might say.
@sjr60 said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Crux said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Why the complaints? It's an amazing model, and one of the most realistic in the range!"
@fourstud said:
"Yeah what the heck this is one of their best, why are there so many complaints"
The question is the answer. There are complaints because there are complaints. You seem puzzled by the definition of this word, I will endeavour to help:
"complaint /kum'pleint/ (noun): a statement that something is wrong or not satisfactory"
I have so much to give."
You seem a bit puzzled yourself. They weren't wondering what the word "complaint" means, they were wondering why people were complaining about this set in particular. And the answer is twofold: Not everybody has the same tastes, and some people just complain for the sake of complaining."
Funny how similar a supposed new person looks compared to a recently banned smart arse. Pure coincidence I'm sure! "
I just have one of those arses.
All those small flower sets are a bit samey...
The pot profile is neat, but spoiled by too many gaps. And I really don't like the colour choices for the hibiscus flowers; they clash horribly. I'd rather see a more common type based around coral or red-orange, since there are then various oranges and yellows available to finish the detail in more subtle shadings.