LEGO 10281 Creator Bonsai Tree

When this set was originally announced and the whole Lego flowers range started to get released I thought that this would be a very unpopular line because who wants to do gardening or planting in Lego but I was very wrong from the moment I started to see the glam shots of this Item I realized that I had to have it.The option of having the Green leaf display or the white leaves with cherry blossoms was another great thing about this build that makes it unique enough for everyone to put their own personal spin on the set. The set is that good that it is now a display piece on my bedside drawer and every day I see it I look at it for a bit and admire how good the set is.Not an overall tricky build but a few little elements that could be problematic if you don't ... MoreWhen this set was originally announced and the whole Lego flowers range started to get released I thought that this would be a very unpopular line because who wants to do gardening or planting in Lego but I was very wrong from the moment I started to see the glam shots of this Item I realized that I had to have it.The option of having the Green leaf display or the white leaves with cherry blossoms was another great thing about this build that makes it unique enough for everyone to put their own personal spin on the set. The set is that good that it is now a display piece on my bedside drawer and every day I see it I look at it for a bit and admire how good the set is.Not an overall tricky build but a few little elements that could be problematic if you don't deal with them at the point they are meant to be done. Couldn't be happier and now it makes me want to purchase the Bird of Paradise Set to have a nice floral arrangement going.Who would of thought Lego and Flowers would work but this one truly is a winner. Great Work Lego.

The final product looks lovely but rather small - even for a bonsai! Making it was not straightforward. Normally Lego's accompanying instruction manuals are excellent, but this one dropped the ball. A lot of the pieces are either milk chocolate brown or dark chocolate brown. For some bizarre reason the designer decided to have the pieces drawn in black and then infilled with the relevant colour. This meant that the dark brown pieces were virtually impossible to make out. I had to hold a light over the page to make the pieces out and how they fitted. All that was necessary was to have drawn the shapes in white! The other issue is the changeable foliage from green to pink blossom. In theory this sounds like a good idea, but trying to change from one season to another, ... MoreThe final product looks lovely but rather small - even for a bonsai! Making it was not straightforward. Normally Lego's accompanying instruction manuals are excellent, but this one dropped the ball. A lot of the pieces are either milk chocolate brown or dark chocolate brown. For some bizarre reason the designer decided to have the pieces drawn in black and then infilled with the relevant colour. This meant that the dark brown pieces were virtually impossible to make out. I had to hold a light over the page to make the pieces out and how they fitted. All that was necessary was to have drawn the shapes in white! The other issue is the changeable foliage from green to pink blossom. In theory this sounds like a good idea, but trying to change from one season to another, I found the whole top and side panel kept falling off as it's a very delicate structure and not robust enough to cope with this. I would have been much happier to have forgone the pink blossom and had the whole bonsai a bit bigger. Of all of the Lego models I have made, this is the only one that I felt was not brilliantly conceived and designed. Needs a mark 2 improvement.

I haven't played with legos in years. So I decided to help my girl rebuild her bonsai tree after moving it. At first I thought it falling over was my doing after redoing the base three times to ensure I wasn't indeed stupid. I rose the the conclusion that Lego's has declined significantly with quality and design, never had an issue when I was a kid and could barely read the instructions, but here I am going crazy over some plastic pieces not staying held together. This tree is cool, if you super glue it together or the slightest wind could topple it over. I'm honestly disappointed a company like Lego couldn't design a tree to hold together long enough just to move it around the house. I highly recommend against this, it's a waste of time and money.