Review: LEGO Botanical Collection 10289 Bird of Paradise

Today we quickly go around the LEGO set 10289 Bird of Paradise, a (too big) box of 1173 pieces which will join the Botanical Collection LEGO from next June 1st on condition of paying the modest sum of 109.99 €.

It is therefore here to assemble a few Birds of Paradise, or Strelitzia Queen for botany enthusiasts. The bouquet is not overloaded, you actually only get three flowers of this dwarf variety native to South Africa, the rest being some bulky foliage-based filling.

The novelty of the product: LEGO provides here a nice pot to build, the accessory was not present in the set 10280 Flower Bouquet (756  - 49.99 €) marketed earlier this year and it was then necessary to manage to stage the construction.

The pot provided in this new box should be sufficiently weighted not to tip over at the slightest shock and designer Chris McVeigh offers a solution rich in parts and very interesting to assemble. I think we can even say that the pot is the star of the product as it is made up of sub-assemblies which are only there to both weigh things down and please fans of somewhat original techniques.

Those who want to show originality by not following the instructions to the letter can reorganize their bouquet or add a few flowers without having to show unusual creativity: the upper part of the inside of the pot is made of Technic beams in which the rods are simply inserted.

As for the set tree 10281 Bonsai Tree (878  - 49.99 €), the substrate is here composed of pieces to be thrown loose in the upper part of the pot: 200 plates round 1 x 1 in Dark Flesh and 100 plates en Reddish brown that should be mixed before pouring everything. I am not a fan of this solution although the aesthetics may seem appropriate. This shortcut does not facilitate the movement of the model and I find the process a little lazy in a high-end product intended for an adult clientele.

The stems, leaves and the three flowers are assembled very quickly. We come out a little frustrated not to have more than three copies of these pretty Birds of Paradise in this bouquet whose volume is mainly provided by leaves made up of Technic bodywork elements with a somewhat coarse rendering. The bouquet does not create an illusion for a second even from a distance, it is indeed a toy and there is no possible confusion.

The contrast is also striking between very graceful Birds of Paradise with their purple rapiers and rather well interpreted in LEGO sauce and the large leaves made up of four elements with visible grooves and holes. If we add the few scratches present on the flat surfaces of this foliage and the black pieces present at the end of the stems, the result is really very average. I think LEGO would have been well inspired to provide us with some stickers with ribbing on a transparent background to give these leaves a little relief and hide the imperfections.

Once again, everyone will have an opinion on the relevance of the product: should we try at all costs to reproduce plant elements with plastic? I am not convinced, 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.

Here, it will cost 110 € to exhibit these Birds of Paradise without having to water or replace them. In my opinion, it is much too expensive both for the "experience" offered, with an accessory that cannibalizes a very large part of the inventory, only three flowers in the middle of all this foliage and an overall rendering that seems to me too rude to convince me.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 13th May 2021 next at 23pm. 

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.