Review: 40524 Sunflowers
Posted by Huw,
The Adults Welcome botanical collection and the accompanying boxes of single varieties of flowers that were released earlier this year were exceedingly popular, if the difficulty in getting hold of them during the first few months of the year was anything to go by.
It comes as no surprise, then, that more sets are being added to the range, starting with 40524 Sunflowers, which will be available from 1st January.
The set builds two helianthus flowers, which are approximately 8cm diameter. Like the other flowers, dark green technic connectors are used for the stalks.
The leaves are 27262 COCKPIT 4X5X1, W/ 3.2 SHAFT, NO. 1, a piece introduced in Nexo Knights sets, which has been given a second lease of life as foliage in the botanical sets.
The flowers are each built using 24 yellow 31990 PADDLE, NO. 1 and 12 light orange 32607 PLANT, W/ PLATE 1X1, NO. 1, although you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference in colour in these photos: my camera's sensor has done a poor job of differentiating them.
The petals are held on to one of the new 5-wide 67811 STEERING WHEEL NO. 1 using orange 41005 STICK Ø 3.2 W. HOLDER so it's a fiddly process attaching them then lining them up, although the fact that it's nigh-on impossible to do so helps give it an organic look.
40524 Sunflowers is an attractive addition the series that looks great when displayed in a vase (filled with trans-clear cheese slopes) and from a distance, appears very much like the real thing.
The set is sure to delight anthophiles and gardeners alike and, at just £11.99 / $12.99, it's priced to make the perfect gift for them.
If you're planning to purchase the set, do so as soon as it's released otherwise your real sunflowers will probably have started to bloom by the time they are back in stock at LEGO.com!
Thanks to my wife and Alice for constructing them, and to LEGO for providing the set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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16 comments on this article
When am I gonna get a full sized tree botanical set tho... (not bonsai)
Interesting they used the rbrown 4c4 round plate rather than a black or dark grey. That suggests it is still in the growth phase rather than prior to harvest. Might be worthwhile to see what the darker colours look like, and LEGO could have included one to educate them city dwellers.
These look stunning! Definitely a multiple purchase at 00:00 Jan 1st. Modular building? Pah.. that'll restock much quicker than these!
Seeing as I have a black thumb, and can kill just about every living plant in my garden (apart from the weeks I want to kill) these are perfect. Looking forward to adding them to the rest of the botanicals built and on display.
@DavidBrick said:
" @MeisterDad said:
"Interesting they used the rbrown 4c4 round plate rather than a black or dark grey. That suggests it is still in the growth phase rather than prior to harvest. Might be worthwhile to see what the darker colours look like, and LEGO could have included one to educate them city dwellers."
Are you pretending to be a farmer?
Sunflowers come in all kinds of colors. But the center on popular yellow varieties will be brown. Cut flowers are clearly going to be cut in the growth phase and not when they are starting to seed and the ray flower petals are falling off."
Nope, just not a city dweller; I see these growing in fields around my area every summer. As you said, a lot of colours are possible. I prefer the black or grey middle, is all.
I learn new words everyday from Huw's reviews. Not a native English speaker though.
Anthophile. Nice.
It's good to see that we can have some everlasting sunflowers without having to cut off an ear to create them.
@MeisterDad said:
" @DavidBrick said:
" @MeisterDad said:
"Interesting they used the rbrown 4c4 round plate rather than a black or dark grey. That suggests it is still in the growth phase rather than prior to harvest. Might be worthwhile to see what the darker colours look like, and LEGO could have included one to educate them city dwellers."
Are you pretending to be a farmer?
Sunflowers come in all kinds of colors. But the center on popular yellow varieties will be brown. Cut flowers are clearly going to be cut in the growth phase and not when they are starting to seed and the ray flower petals are falling off."
Nope, just not a city dweller; I see these growing in fields around my area every summer. As you said, a lot of colours are possible. I prefer the black or grey middle, is all."
I see your point but round 4x4 plates in black and gray are pretty common, probably moreso than brown. It seems like an easy fix to me, that’s the joy of LEGO, I guess. Getting an actual sunflower that has been trimmed to go from brown to black or gray wouldn’t be quite as easy…
@shodan said:
"I learn new words everyday from Huw's reviews. Not a native English speaker though."
Same, except I am a native English speaker.
It would not surprise me if this set is a big seller in Kansas
@DavidBrick said: "I can't wait for this set to be 'released' so then it can never be in stock for me to buy it.
The roses are STILL on backorder so 'the first few months' are the first year."
The classic 60s Batmobile has been "temporarily out of stock" since January, on the Australian site. I eventually gave up waiting, and found the cheapest eBay option I could from a scalper, which still annoys me.
@bananaworld said:
"
It's good to see that we can have some everlasting sunflowers without having to cut off an ear to create them."
Hmm, maybe this flower was chosen for this coming year to co-inside with possibly the imminent release of LEGO Ideas Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night in 2022?
Can't wait to get this set!
To me perhaps the best set of 2022 of those that have been announced recently, the 3-in-1 Tiger being a close second.
I might add black 1x1 round plates to the center though, as the variants that grow in our garden all have black seeds instead of brown ones.
My wife sent this review to me before I'd seen it saying "I need these!" - these, along with last year's flower bouquet, seems we've found what will actually get her interested in LEGO!
@benbacardi said:
"My wife sent this review to me before I'd seen it saying "I need these!" - these, along with last year's flower bouquet, seems we've found what will actually get her interested in LEGO!"
That sounds to me like a licence to go all out for 2022!
Maybe MOC some botanical "GWP"s to accompany each and every one of your future purchases :D
The spares from the giant Batmobile could probably be fashioned into a passable Black Dahlia... So it's a legit 2in1... Now, are there any flowers which are UCS Star Wars grey...