This will be one of the LEGO products offered at the official store earlier this year, the LEGO Ideas set. 40448 Vintage Car is now online on the Shop with several visuals that allow a closer look at this promotional product inspired by the winning creation of a competition organized in December 2019 on the LEGO Ideas platform.

We know that the set will be offered throughout the month of January under condition of purchase and without restriction of range. Across the Atlantic, you will have to spend $ 85 to be offered this small box of 189 pieces valued at € 14.99 by LEGO, which should translate for us into a minimum purchase amount of € 85. To be checked this evening as soon as the offer is activated.

We continue with the other set of the very "fresh"  Botanical Collection which will be launched in January 2021 by LEGO: the reference 10280 Flower Bouquet which allows, as the title indicates, to assemble what to compose a bouquet of different varieties of flowers using the 756 pieces provided.

On the program for this bouquet: two daisies, three roses, a California poppy flower, two snapdragons, a lavender plant and a blue peony aster. These flowers are accompanied by three leaves and two small decorative bushes. No vase to build in the box, LEGO only provides the content, not the container.

The assembly of the set is completed in an hour with a few repetitive phases depending on the number of identical flowers, it's a bit short to really relax or unwind after a tiring day of young dynamic executive. Strictly speaking, there are no really original techniques here, it is above all the diverted use of certain parts that makes the exercise interesting.

This set is also a bit like a vegetable car show with many elements whose primary purpose is not to embody petals or receptacles. Seven copies of the ECTO-1 steering wheel in Dark Green and twelve car hoods are used here alongside more generic parts or representing vegetation. There are also three Pteranodon wings and three surfboards that take on the role of leaves.

The stems of some of these plants are Technic flexible axes in Sand green which can be "shortened" by removing the sub-assemblies threaded at the end. This possibility will eventually make it possible to create volume and to distribute the different elements of the bouquet according to the diameter of the vase used.

Rose, blue peony aster, California poppy and snapdragon seem very successful to me. The lavender plant seems to me on the other hand a little rough and the two daisies lack in my opinion of finish at the level of the length of the petals. I also found the three decorative leaves a bit too massive to really blend in with the bouquet but it is possible to minimize the effect by carefully organizing the composition.

Those who swear by the availability of certain pieces in new colors will be delighted by discovering the contents of this box with in particular a beautiful assortment of elements in Light Nougat ou in Sand green.

Some of the flowers are very fragile, so it will be necessary to handle this bouquet with care before finding a place for it on a shelf or on the dresser in the living room and regularly dusting the various flowers will probably be a very tedious exercise. It will also be necessary to find the right vase so that the bouquet is pleasing to the eye without appearing too hungry and without having to resolve to invest in a second copy of the set or in one of the "extensions" already announced, the sets. 40460 Roses (120 - 12.99 €) and 40461 ​​Tulips (111 - € 9.99).

As for the bonsai of the set 10281 Bonsai Tree (878 - 49.99 €), we could debate the interest of exhibiting plastic flowers. There are already a lot of plastic products out there that more or less convincingly imitate houseplants or flowers and I personally find that really very kitsch. Here it is a little different and you get something more stylized that does not aim to make us believe that these are real fresh flowers.

The exercise was not easy but LEGO is doing quite well with this product which manages to put elements that are not always very "graceful" in the service of a bouquet with an original aesthetic. From there to spending 50 € to install these plastic flowers in my living room, there is however a step that I will not take. Flowers are ephemeral, they live and die, this is what makes them interesting and which reminds them that it is time to replace them or to offer new ones.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 8th January 2021 next at 23pm. "The" I try, I participate "are automatically deleted, make an effort.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

Today we are interested in the LEGO set 10281 Bonsai Tree, one of the two references of the new "Botanical Collection"stamped 18+ which for the moment includes this box and the set 10280 Flower Bouquet.

Don't bother drawing you a picture, I think everyone knows what a bonsai is. LEGO therefore goes with its interpretation of the thing with a construction of 878 pieces which will be sold for 49.99 € from January 1, 2021.

One could debate for a long time the interest of reproducing a plant element using plastic parts and invoke the snub to a certain conception of environmental protection, but that is not the subject of this article and everyone will have their opinion on the matter. Note that LEGO specifies in the pages of the instruction booklet that the sheets delivered in this box are elements in biopolyethylene made from sugar cane.

I would point it out for those who would not have followed everything from this change of raw material for certain elements manufactured by LEGO: This biopolyethylene is (fortunately) not biodegradable but it is recyclable via the same processes as conventional polyethylene. It should also be remembered that the use of sugar cane does not change either the manufacturing process or the mechanical and aesthetic properties of the plastic obtained at the outlet.

It is therefore proposed to us to assemble a bonsai, here a Japanese cherry tree, judging by the alternative foliage during flowering. If you are looking for where are the 878 elements of the set, know that 200 of them are to be poured loose in the pot, that there are 33 green leaves and that we also have 100 pink frogs and 40 flowers for branches in the process of flowering.

The assembly of this bonsai does not present a real challenge at the level of the base, the pot and the branches. There is hardly that the trunk which proposes some original techniques to obtain the desired "wood" effect. From a distance, this trunk with its shades of brown and its roots that plunge into the pot will be an illusion.

The 200 pieces that make up the substrate, a mixture of fine gravel and potting soil in real life, are to be poured loose into the pot. A bit lazy but the visual effect is convincing. Be careful when moving the model, avoid overturning the pot otherwise you will have to run after the pieces scattered around the living room.

The set allows you to vary the pleasures by replacing the branches with their green leaves by appendages in full bloom. It is not necessary to replace the sheets one by one, it is sufficient here to remove four sub-assemblies, three of which are identical, and to install the alternative modules so that the tree changes its appearance. This express modularity of the product is appreciable, it makes the change of season less tedious.

The cherry blossom tree is covered with pink frogs, which in principle represent the buds. I must admit that I have a little trouble with these hundred frogs scattered on the foliage: a few specimens around more classic flowers could have been a snap, here it is the visual overdose even if from a distance this dressing based on amphibians is an illusion.

In short, for around fifty euros, this product should please those looking to put LEGO as decoration on their shelves without having to expose ships or castles and this is a purely product. lifestyle which seeks to seduce an adult clientele not necessarily nostalgic for pirates or knights.

In my opinion, the real question should be asked: should you invest in a real bonsai or be content with this 18 cm high plastic imitation (support included) which vaguely pays homage to the traditional art of dwarfing of plants, an activity that requires real know-how and a lot more patience than putting together the 878 pieces in this box.

There is also a chance that you will one day find this product at Nature et Découvertes or on the shelves of another brand of this type, LEGO having announced a few months ago considering placing corners products for adults in stores that until now have not necessarily sold sets of the brand.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 7th January 2021 next at 23pm. "The" I try, I participate "are automatically deleted, make an effort.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

Penultimate step of the Post 2020 calendar in Hoth Bricks version with two very beautiful boxes from the LEGO Technic range put into play: The sets 42115 Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 (379.99 €) and 42107 Ducati Panigale V4 R (59.99 €): the common point between these two sets, they both have color difference problems on some parts that annoyed many fans and the winner will probably have to call customer service to obtain elements of replacement. But since he saved the modest sum of 439.98 €, he will certainly do so with a smile.

To validate your participation in this competition, all you have to do is identify yourself via the interface below and follow the instructions provided. As usual, it is a question of finding information on the official online store and then correctly answering the question asked. At the end of the participation phase, the winner will be chosen by drawing lots from among the correct answers.

Your contact details (name / nickname, email address, IP) are only used within the framework of this competition and will not be kept beyond the drawing of lots which will designate the winner. As usual, this no-obligation competition is open to all residents of mainland France, DOM & TOM, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

A big thank you to LEGO for allowing me to offer the series of pretty sets brought into play at the end of the year. The prize will be sent to the winner by me and by Colissimo, followed with insurance and signature on delivery (and suitable packaging) as soon as their contact details are confirmed by return email.

As always, I reserve the right to disqualify any participant who has attempted to defraud or hijack the entry system in order to increase their chances of winning. Hateful and bad losers to abstain, the others will have more chances to win.

Good luck to everyone !

Note: If you choose to identify yourself in the participation interface via facebook, be aware that in the event of a win, the personal information (name / first name / photo) linked to your account will be displayed in the widget.

Also in the official catalog pages that circulate on social networks, we discover the visuals of the four boxes based on the film Eternals which will launch a new phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe and whose theatrical release is scheduled for November 2021.

Angelina Jolie (Thena), Salma Hayek (Ajak) and Kit Harrington (Dane Whitman / Black Knight) will notably be showing. These four boxes will bring together Ajak, Kingo, Sersi, Ikaris, Thena, Makkari, Gilgamesh, Druig, Phastos and Sprite.

The public prices for France indicated below are to be confirmed.