When one thinks of building sets, vehicles and castles often come to mind. However, lately, there are more sets designed for display and home décor. These include models of plants and flowers. JMBricklayer, a new company in the building set market, has released its own Botanical Collection models that are enjoyable to build as well as beautiful to display. Plus, no sunlight or water is needed to keep these plants alive and thriving. Let’s take a look at three of their new sets.
Butterfly Orchid
The Butterfly Orchid building set comes with 581 plastic building pieces, which can be assembled into a flowering plant complete with a vase. It is suggested for builders ages 14 years and up and has lots of small pieces. Of the three sets I reviewed, this one was a bit more difficult to build since it was one model instead of several individual models. However, I think it is also the most beautiful. As a veteran of building sets, I liked experiencing new shapes of pieces and construction technics. The Butterfly Orchid building set is currently available directly from JMBricklayer as well as the JMBricklayer store on Amazon for the suggested retail price of $29.99. The company has provided a special coupon code for GeekDad readers to save 30% for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Use code VIPgeekday30 on Amazon for November 24-28, 2022 to get it for only $21! You do not need a code for their site during this time period to get the discount.
Rose
The Rose set is made up of 633 pieces and is also suggested for builders 14 years and up. Unlike the Butterfly Orchid, this set consists of seven different models, each with its own instructions. The pieces for each model also come in separate bags, so you only need to open the bag for a specific model at a time. What is interesting about this set is you build the container, which looks like a gift bag, and then you build each flower individually. The flowers and greenery can then be arranged inside the container however the user wishes. As such, this one allows for a bit more creativity and personalization of the final display. The Rose building set can be purchased from the JMBricklayer site or from their store on Amazon for a suggested price of $36.99. It also has codes for Black Friday and Cyber Monday of 30% off, making this set only $26. The Amazon code for this deal is VIPMichael30.
Succulent Set
The Succulent set lets you build nine different models from the 750 pieces included. Like the other sets, it is suggested for builders who are 14 years or older. I liked that each model had its own directions and a separate bag of pieces. Instead of building them all at one time, this set offers the possibility of extending the fun as you assemble just one one model each day. The models are all unique and have a variety of colors. Even the containers they are “planted” in have four different shapes. The succulent models can then be displayed together, in groups, or separately around your home. This was definitely my favorite set to build because I felt like I had nine different sets each with a unique way of putting the pieces together. The Succulent set sells for $36.99 and can obtained from either the company website or the Amazon store. This set is available for 30% at the JMBricklayer site through November 28th.
Also, these sets will continue to have discounts after Cyber Monday. Use code MichaelVIP15% at the JMBricklayer site or code 3KQ4F6TA for Amazon for 15% off the price through December 31, 2022.
JMBricklayer is a relatively new company that produces a number of interesting and varied building sets. This company was founded by some self-proclaimed “building set freaks” who met each other through the hobby. They were looking for something to provide more creativity and individuality than was available in current building sets. Therefore, they decided to create their own line of building sets.
The Botanical Collection is my second experience with their products. I previously reviewed their 3-in-1 Medieval Weapon building set and was very impressed with it. While the plants and flowers in the Botanical Collection are completely different from constructing a catapult, I still like the quality of the pieces and the easy-to-follow design of the directions. Each step usually only adds a few pieces, and they illustrate how smaller constructions are then added to the main model.
My daughter and I enjoyed assembling these models and did not have any problems. For the Rose model, we removed a few pieces from the stems of a couple of the flowers so they would sit lower. However, that is an example of how a builder can customize the models in that set to get their arrangement how they like it.
Another reason I like JMBricklayer’s products are their price. They are less expensive than the big-name brand building sets, yet the quality is comparable. Plus, with their discounts for Black Friday through Cyber Monday (and then the continuing discount through the end of the year), this is a great time to try out their models.
Plus, these products make great gifts. They are fun to build and then display. I am already planning on taking these models from the Botanical Collection to display in my classroom.
Disclosure: GeekDad received a sample of these items for review purposes.
