Review: 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden
Posted by Huw,
The Gardens of the World series of Icons sets debuted in 2023 and given that 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden will be the third one to be released, I think we can assume that they are popular, appealing to the more discerning customer who also buys botanical sets.
Unlike the first Japanese garden and last year's Mediterranean scene, this one is not inspired by reality, but by story books.
Summary
11372 Autumn Cottage Garden, 1,102 pieces.
£99.99 / $119.99 / €109.99 | 9.1p / 10.9c / 10.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Another attractive entry in the GotW series that will appeal to discerning adult fans
- Attractive autumnal colours
- Compatabiliy with others in the series
- Easily reconfigurable
- Random pattern around the edge of the base bothers me
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
New pieces
The new leaf piece used on the weeping willow tree stuck out like a sore thumb in official pictures and appears to have divided opinion. The texture does not seem very LEGO-like, but it is stylistically similar to the one used on the silver birch tree, Leaf 4X5X1 2/3 which I don't recall getting such a frosty reception on its release.
As usual, New Elementary has done a deep dive into the geometry of the piece if you'd like to find out more about it.
Construction
The base is hefty, and its depth has been put to good use to create a recessed stream running through the garden. It has a asymmetrical random pattern along its sides, and I'm not sure that I like it.
In common with others in the series, there are square holes in the base into which the trees and other structures will be placed.
The tiny cottage has a fairy-tale feel to it, inspired perhaps by the tales by the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen.
Despite its diminutive size, it is very well-built with lovely details inside and out, including half-timbering, a thatched roof, stone chimney stack, shuttered windows and a hefty wooden front door.
You won't find Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother, or the wolf inside, though, just a small kitchen with a worktop and carrots cooking in the fireplace.
Thanks to some clever Pythagorean geometry, it's affixed at an angle in the corner of the garden.
This is what it looks like before the trees are added. Note the gnome by the front door, sunflowers, produce-laden cart, stepping stones across the stream, reeds growing on the bank of it. It's certainly an idyllic scene.
The cart's wheels slot into two grooves in the base and among the produce upon it is a pear, which is new this year, a dark orange gourd, and a parsnip.
Four trees are provided to plant in the garden, including the aforementioned willow and silver birch, plus a blue spruce and a unnamed deciduous tree whose leaves have an attractive if somewhat unrealistic colour gradient.
Additionally, there's a sundial surrounded by sage, made with 'Headwear Accessory Vintage Sci-Fi Antenna' which has been used on the heads of minions and collectable minifigures.
The completed model
With the tress inserted, it makes an attractive autumnal scene right out of the pages of a Germanic or Scandinavian fairy tale. Look closely, and you'll spot native wildlife: a red squirrel, a frog, a snail, a nuthatch, and a robin.
The trees can be slotted into any of the five holes to make various arrangements, and in fact the arrangement shown on the cover if the instructions differs from that on the box, so there is no 'official' way to place them. Here are a couple of alternatives:
The holes in the base are compatible with trees from the other two gardens, so you can transplant some Mediterranean evergreens to the forest, or even have a weird spring/autumn combination with the cherry blossom trees from the Japanese garden.
Verdict
Like the others in the series, it's an attractive display model that encourages creativity and reconfiguration without the need to take it all apart.
It does seem a tad overpriced, though. It has fewer pieces than last year's yet costs £10 / $20 more. Look past that though and there is much to like.
It'll be released in 1st January, priced at £99.99 / $119.99 / €109.99.
64 likes
38 comments on this article
That garden gnome is pretty special.
I do wish these were more conventionally minifigure scale; the average Lego newbie probably wouldn’t mind it being more play-ready, while the Lego nerd would appreciate more cross compatibility with other Lego sets. Clearly I’m in the minority, though.
Love how new elementary got a shoutout, it's really cool seeing small shoutouts or mentions of other prominent community teams, especially when they specialise in something like new parts.
Kind of odd. Kind of cool. I’ll definitely pick it up.
"carrots " is pumpkin according to the instructions according to elementary^^ lmao
It looks great but the price is to high
New leaves yes that is the shape of birch leaves but not perfect, Lego could have used rubber for this but won't happen
I love autumn, but this set just puts me off, I can't warm to it. I have tried, but it just doesn't work for me, although I like that that you can interchange items between each of the three gardens.
On a closer look I really like this set. The mini house looks really good. I think I would have preferred slightly darker colours for the leaves but maybe that's just the grey skies influencing my outlook!
"AndersEn", not "AndersOn". You're thinking of Keanu Reeves, and honestly, I can't say I blame you.
@Goujon said:
"Love how new elementary got a shoutout, it's really cool seeing small shoutouts or mentions of other prominent community teams, especially when they specialise in something like new parts. "
Me and Tim go way back :-)
It's a shame that cross-linking doesn't seem to be in fashion any more: everyone wants to try and keep their traffic to themselves nowadays, perhaps believing they are operating in a vacuum.
While this one is better than the previous Med garden, its nowhere near as good as the origional Japanese garden. Best bits the gnome imo.
Lovin the little details. Those snails are ace and the sunflowers.
The tree could be a Liquidambar styraciflua, sometimes known as the traffic-light tree and has maple type leaves. In a good year all 3 colours can be seen simultaneously. Though the Lego version is rather garish.
As regards the new pendulous leaves...... we'll just wait until they decide to do them in GREEN shall we :0/
I'm not interested in this line at all. Nice parts though.
The base looks like a fieldstone wall, which seems entirely appropriate for the setting. I’m also curious what indicates this is based on fairy tales rather than real life. It seems very much like something I’d expect to find in a rural countryside setting in certain parts of Europe.
@Mister_Jonny said:
"I do wish these were more conventionally minifigure scale; the average Lego newbie probably wouldn’t mind it being more play-ready, while the Lego nerd would appreciate more cross compatibility with other Lego sets. Clearly I’m in the minority, though."
This, and that they should come on baseplates rather than "build an overdone display base".
I like this series a lot, although maybe not to 'must have day 1' levels. Got 10359 today for £55 from Amazon so I look forward to getting this one for a similar price next November!
@emQ said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
"I do wish these were more conventionally minifigure scale; the average Lego newbie probably wouldn’t mind it being more play-ready, while the Lego nerd would appreciate more cross compatibility with other Lego sets. Clearly I’m in the minority, though."
This, and that they should come on baseplates rather than "build an overdone display base"."
The deep base is required to accommodate the cube-shaped sockets that allow the trees and such to be interchangeable.
@Huw said:
" @Goujon said:
"Love how new elementary got a shoutout, it's really cool seeing small shoutouts or mentions of other prominent community teams, especially when they specialise in something like new parts. "
Me and Tim go way back :-)
It's a shame that cross-linking doesn't seem to be in fashion any more: everyone wants to try and keep their traffic to themselves nowadays, perhaps believing they are operating in a vacuum."
BrickSet and New Elementary both have a unique 'raison d'être'. A lot of the others don't!
I'm not so sure customers that buy this are more discerning than customers that buy sets from other ranges.
I like the look of the new leaf piece but after reading that New Elementary article, I'm very surprised to see how incompatible it is with the LEGO System. My favorite part of new molds are seeing all the interesting ways the NE team determines their compatibility, so it's weird to see how difficult it was for this part!
The set itself looks pretty but feels overpriced at $120. I would've preferred the series continued with real-world inspirations, but that being said the designers did nail a nice European fairytale aesthetic here.
... we've got Lego pears now?
I read the NewE post earlier, so a nice shoutout. I really liked this set when it was released, and I still do. Don’t think it’ll be a “day 1” but I’ll pick it up fairly soon methinks. Great little set, love the recolors and the printed birds. And also, I agree Huw, the randomness of the base bothers me. Not a dealbreaker by any stretch, but still odd nonetheless.
@Goujon said:
"Love how new elementary got a shoutout, it's really cool seeing small shoutouts or mentions of other prominent community teams, especially when they specialise in something like new parts. "
I need to remember to visit that site more often.
I might get this, with the price being the only put-off. Hopefully a sale isn't out of the question for this release.
@emQ said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
"I do wish these were more conventionally minifigure scale; the average Lego newbie probably wouldn’t mind it being more play-ready, while the Lego nerd would appreciate more cross compatibility with other Lego sets. Clearly I’m in the minority, though."
This, and that they should come on baseplates rather than "build an overdone display base"."
Yeah, I use these, and the botanicals as parts packs. The bases, pots are unnecessary for me.
@Mister_Jonny said:
"I do wish these were more conventionally minifigure scale; the average Lego newbie probably wouldn’t mind it being more play-ready, while the Lego nerd would appreciate more cross compatibility with other Lego sets. Clearly I’m in the minority, though."
About half the budget goes into the square Zen Garden-style bases bulk, which is very unfortunate since most people likely can not recognize what all goes into that. Using digital files of the japanese and mediterran gardens and deleting most of the surface area you are left with about 500 parts at 67 to 78€ worth according to Rebrickables inventory cost-calculation. Since the basic pieces in the base are not overvalued in the calculation but the specialized pieces of the plants and decorative structure are this means that the surface area is actually worth the MSRP of its set if one were to buy every piece separately, but as sets they still seem bad value because other LEGO sets usually have a larger footprint and more of the visible and important details and elements by switching the thick base structure for simple plates.
The sets would likely be at least double the footprint, maybe even triple if they were to switch the thick square bases for simple plates.
Oh, I love the asymmetrical rocky base - it feels like an old stone wall. Very appropriate. (Plus I love that they planned for the snail to be able to crawl on it. That’s just delightful.)
As a cook in France, I can say with relative certainty that white carrot shaped objects are most likely parsnips, and not turnips. I’ve only ever seen round turnips and they’re not always white. As for the dark red sphere on a green leaf, I’m at a loss. Perhaps another type of gourd?
@Zordboy said:
"... we've got Lego pears now? "
Yes. Now behold my true power, and this pear.
"we have 10316 Rivendell at home" ahh
@blogzilly said:
"That garden gnome is pretty special. "
It's my favourite thing in the whole set, and it's barely even mentioned in the review. Boooh!!!
@PurpleDave said:
" @emQ said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
"I do wish these were more conventionally minifigure scale; the average Lego newbie probably wouldn’t mind it being more play-ready, while the Lego nerd would appreciate more cross compatibility with other Lego sets. Clearly I’m in the minority, though."
This, and that they should come on baseplates rather than "build an overdone display base"."
The deep base is required to accommodate the cube-shaped sockets that allow the trees and such to be interchangeable."
It's also used to give the river actual riverbanks, which I think really helps sell the riverside setting.
@ToysFromTheAttic said:
" @blogzilly said:
"That garden gnome is pretty special. "
...and it's barely even mentioned in the review."
In a StarWars set it would likely be listed as "Minifig" and therefore be introduced (including front&back photo) as such by the reviewer.
I would argue that this IS in minifigure-scale. As in, your minifigures might wander into the woods, to find a miniature cottage that is too small for them, but perfectly sized for the gnome that lives there.
Just because it isn't minifig-sized doesn't mean it isn't minifig-scale. As far as I'm concerned, the cross-compatibility is there.
@Mister_Jonny said:
"I do wish these were more conventionally minifigure scale; the average Lego newbie probably wouldn’t mind it being more play-ready, while the Lego nerd would appreciate more cross compatibility with other Lego sets. Clearly I’m in the minority, though."
The set is a bit off-scale, but not much. I reckon you could populate it with the 71047-5 Halfling Druid, one of the dwarfs from 43242
Snow White’s Cottage, or any number of diminutive fantastical creatures that have been produced in minifigure form.
@Crux said:
" @Zordboy said:
"... we've got Lego pears now? "
Yes. Now behold my true power, and this pear."
If that's a reference to something, I'll throw in a reference of my own: "Never be cruel, never be cowardly. And never, ever eat pears!"
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Crux said:
" @Zordboy said:
"... we've got Lego pears now? "
Yes. Now behold my true power, and this pear."
If that's a reference to something, I'll throw in a reference of my own: "Never be cruel, never be cowardly. And never, ever eat pears!""
It was a reference to a VERY SECRET FIGHT in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I will be extra-careful not to mention which fight it was, I don't want to give out spoilers for a game that's only been ported nine or ten times over the last 32 years.
Also, bonus-reference:
https://youtu.be/urpaT3P6uPk?t=30
@chefkaspa said:
" @ToysFromTheAttic said:
" @blogzilly said:
"That garden gnome is pretty special. "
...and it's barely even mentioned in the review."
In a StarWars set it would likely be listed as "Minifig" and therefore be introduced (including front&back photo) as such by the reviewer.
"
Oh, this is not a Star Wars? Never mind then...
This is no more fairytale inspired than the unspoiled German villages like Bamberg, Bernkastel, Heidelberg, Nürnberg etc. etc. also definitely germannic style, not scandinavian! (Scandinavian farmhouses/cottages are rarely two stories high)