REVIEW – After having the opportunity to review the JMBricklayer Orchid, I was excited to be asked to review the brand new addition to their Botanical Collection. The JMBricklayer Sunflower set takes the floral building to the next level by creating a 3D display piece inspired by one of the greatest artists of all time, Vincent Van Gogh.
What is it?
The JMBrickerlayer Botanical Collection The Sunflower is a LEGO-compatible building block set (model 70004). Made by Wekki and distributed by JMBricklayer, this 3D block flower bouquet building set inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” with a motion-activated lighting feature with 2 ways to display: wall hanging or freestanding.
What’s in the box?
- 1,166 pieces
- A brick separator
- An 81-page manual
- Battery box with sensor-activated light wire
- 2 traceless hooks
Not included but needed:
- 3 AAA batteries
- Screwdriver
Specifications
- Product Dimensions: 18.7 x 9.25 x 8.66 inches
- Item Weight: 3.91 pounds
- Suggested age: 14 years +
Design and features
I was thrilled to discover, that unlike the Orchid set, The JMBricklayer Sunflower set was organized, packaged and numbered by major sections of the build. There are a total of 6 large numbered bags (that had smaller bags within them for the smaller pieces) that are labeled 1, 2 or 3, a smaller bag labeled 3 and an unnumbered bag which went with build section 1. I love this organization and feel this makes building the set go much faster and eliminates some of the searching time when all the pieces are mixed together. This particular set is made by Wekki and JMBricklayer is the distributor, so unsure if this is why it was unlike the Orchid set, however whatever the cases may be, this should be a standard norm for all sets in my opinion.
Overall, it took me about 4.5 hours from start to finish to build the JMBricklayer Botanical Collection The Sunflower. If you ask my son, he could’ve done it in half the time, which is probably not inaccurate, as I’m very much a building novice. Nevertheless, it’s great to have the organized stopping points with the 3 labeled building bag sections- 1, 2 and 3 along the way.
The user manual starts by giving the suggestion to pre-sort the colors of bricks first, as there are similar colors, particularly the yellows. There are many shades of yellow colors throughout the building process from brighter yellow to golden yellows. I would highly recommend following this suggestion when beginning building, as I found myself questioning which shade of yellow the manual wanted me to use on several occasions throughout the build.
Section 1- estimated completion time: 2 hours
In this first step you are building the base and backdrop for the piece. You will also string the lighting part in this step. Unlike LEGO, I do feel like you need to really push together the bricks to make sure they are connected enough during this section of the built. Many times I would have things come apart and have to really put some muscle into making sure the bricks were really sealed together. Once they were, I never had issues with it coming apart.
The bricks in this set are perfectly compatible with LEGO bricks, which came in handy when I got to step #54. Here are some photos to help explain what it looked like. After following the directions, I get to the spot where I’m going to finish off the border of the blue background. However, when trying to connect these blocks, I realize that the base row to connect these blocks to is too low to clear the tunnel bricks for the lights. I reviewed all the steps and I really feel like there is indeed a row missing on the instructions and those blocks are also not included in the kit. Again, I am going to say that I’m a novice and it is possible that it is user error, however, I really think it was followed the steps and it needs one more row when you are building during steps #35 & #36.
To complete the set, I added a row of the flat LEGO bricks along this border edge and that was all it took to line up correctly how it was intended to be. To their praise, I reached out to JMBricklayer and they are sending me those pieces no questions asked. I would be interested in knowing if you too have this issue or if indeed I need to hang up my brick building hat.
Section 2- estimated completion time: 1.5 hours
Finally after all that “busy work” we get to start putting together the flowers! This is my favorite part. I love that each flower came together a little differently and used different pieces and techniques. This made for a fun build going forward. Below you can see just how different and fun each individual flower is. Just like any of the botanical flowers I have built, LEGO or JMBricklayer, they are very delicate, so when placing them on the background pieces can and will pop off so be prepared.
Section 3- estimated completion time: 45 minutes
Now that I made it to the last section of the build, it was time to finish up the flowers and all the finishing touches.
The JMBrickerlayer Botanical Collection The Sunflower offers 2 ways to display the final masterpiece. You can use it as a wall hanging or use the stand you build in the last steps of the manual to use it as a picture frame on a flat surface, making it a versatile addition to your home decor. If you are wishing to hang the creation, you will use the traceless hooks included in the set. The hooks simply slide into the black pieces on the back and hammer the steel nails into the wall. I am very much a minimalist when it comes to putting things on the walls in my house, so I will not be displaying using the wall mount, but rather the stand. I will say that the completed piece is quite heavy, a little under 4 pounds, so I cannot attest to if these included hook anchors are strong enough to hold your art on the wall or not.
One of the unique features highlighted is the model’s drawer. You could maybe store a photo or folded piece of paper and not much more in there. Although it really isn’t much of a drawer, the main purpose is the discreet sensor hole (through that notch in the drawer) that activates the light function.
Unlike the drawer, the lighting feature is much more impressive. The Sunflower is backlit beautifully adding even more dimensions when viewing the final masterpiece with the lights on. Even better is that you do not have to worry about turning the lights on or off. Remember that sensor I mentioned? Well, when you approach your JMBricklayer build, that nifty sensor turns those lights on illuminating the art. After 15 seconds of no activity, those lights then just gracefully fade away.
The light box does require 3 AAA batteries which are not included (a little mistype on page 77 on the manual that states AA). When it comes to replacing the batteries eventually or if you wish to switch the light feature off, access to the battery box is rather simple which I appreciate. You pop off those few couple of bricks in the above photo and slide the battery box right out to do what you need.
To provide you with a little price comparison, LEGO offers a 3D LEGO brick version of Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” (model 21333). This set contains 2,316 pieces and retails for $170. It is larger in scale and a much different type of build then this model. Comparatively based on price per piece, these models are very similar in cost at about $.07 a brick.
What I like
- Great design and variety of pieces and building techniques
- Easy to follow user manual
- Motion-activated light feature
What I’d change
- Correct any issue with instructions/bricks pertaining to step #54 (if applicable and not builder error)
- Cost point should be less than LEGO comparable
- Include batteries or advertise on the box that they are needed and not included
- Maybe add a little screwdriver
Final thoughts
The JMBricklayer Botanical Collection The Sunflower is set of LEGO-compatible bricks bringing Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” to life. While the colors are very vibrant and the quality of the pieces are good, the blocks are not quite as good as genuine LEGO sets. Overall, I enjoyed building this model. It was just challenging enough and organized in 3 great stopping points along the way. I do feel like the price point should be closer to $60 after comparing it to the LEGO alternative Van Gogh “The Starry Night”, only because the quality of bricks is a little less. I love the lighting option and would love to see more sets include this added bonus. I hope to be able to create some more options soon and encourage you to check out the JMBricklayer collection for a great LEGO alternative option, especially the Home Decor.
Price: $79.99
Where to buy: JMBricklayer’s Online Store (Save 15% with code: VIPGAD15 expires 12/31/2023) Amazon (Save 15% with code: VIPJMBJU15 expires 12/13/2023)
Source: The sample of this product was provided by JMBricklayer.
