Review: LEGO Botanical Collection 10311 Orchid

Today we take a quick tour of the content of the LEGO Botanical Collection set 10311Orchid, a box of 608 pieces stamped 18+ which is currently in pre-order on the official online store at the public price of 49.99 € and which will be available from May 1, 2022. I am not drawing you a picture, this is about build an orchid in its vase. We can always discuss the interest of reproducing plants with plastic, it will be up to everyone to see if it is better to be content with buying real flowers which will have to be taken care of rather than contenting themselves with exposing this eternal reproduction that is only in danger of gathering dust.

The final appearance of the product does not really reflect the complexity of certain elements that compose it and the internal structure of the pot is deliberately much more detailed than what would have been necessary to achieve the same result. Good for us, the construction challenge is all the more interesting, knowing that the assembly of stems and flowers is very repetitive and has nothing very exciting about it.

The pot, whose outer surface is sober but nicely made, is heavy enough to avoid any accidental tilting of the construction afterwards, no risk at this level. It will be enough to leaf through the instructions to understand that the pot can easily be personalized to make it a little less sad, the internal structure with its pins on which you can attach Tiles allows for some creative variations if your inventory allows.

Those who have already spent their money on other products of this Botanical Collection will be on familiar ground when it comes to assembling the stems and their stakes. Nothing very exciting at this level, but if you want to reproduce the model shown on the packaging identically, you will have to be careful to respect the angles and bends of the two green rods and their ramifications.

We then assemble and install the buds and flowers, LEGO also specifies that it is up to everyone to compose their presentation by changing, for example, the length of the stems and placing the flowers where they see fit according to their mood. time or space actually available between two shelves: the construction measures 39 cm high on arrival.

Note in passing the use of the head of the Demogorgon minifig seen in the LEGO Stranger Things set 75810 The Upside Down, flanked here by a superb pad printing which really gives character to the object. These two pieces are also so successful that the six large flowers based on pieces and frogs seem almost indirectly a little too coarse.

Taking a step back, however, the whole is really an illusion and we almost believe it. The few "diverted" pieces used for the flowers such as the white forks, the shields and other shoulder pads are discreet on arrival and fit perfectly into the overall aesthetic, it's appreciable.

There are only the green leaves made from very large pieces which in my opinion spoil the overall presentation a bit, it's too coarse to convince me. The contrast between the finesse of the flowers and these large green pieces without veins is obvious, it will be possible to attenuate it by carefully orienting the leaves to make them a little more discreet.

The pot is filled with substrate to conceal the internal structure as best as possible, which remains visible from certain angles. Lego is once again content to deliver us a handful of pieces that simply have to be thrown into the pot while trying to distribute the different elements between the stems and the tutors. These pieces are not fixed, you will have to be careful when moving so as not to lose some of them. I find the process a bit lazy and disappointing, you can't really talk about "construction" anymore at this stage.

at €50 for a flowerpot, there's nothing to think about for too long: It's nicely done, the asking price is rather reasonable and the product will easily find its place in the interior of whoever will receive the product. This plastic orchid is also a little less kitschy than the fake bouquet in the set. 10280 Flower Bouquet with its car hoods or the plant of the set 10289 Bird of Paradise with its Technic body panels. The frogs present on the flowers also seem to me more appropriate here in their role as a nod to the many possibilities of use offered by certain pieces than on the Bonsai which used a hundred of them.

I think we have here the most elegant product of the entire collection of plastic plants offered by LEGO, if you only had to buy one for yourself or as a gift, this is it. The real flower requires a lot of attention and care, this plastic version will delight anyone who wants to emphasize their love or their friendship to someone without risking seeing the thing wither and disappear from the shelves too quickly.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at April 25th next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.