Review: LEGO 10328 Bouquet of Roses

December 30, 2023 | 11

For those that love LEGO Flowers and the Botanical Collection, you can now build the ultimate declaration of love with 10328 Bouquet of Roses, which is set to be released on 1 January 2024, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

The set does exactly what it says on the box, letting you and your (hopefully LEGO-obsessed) paramour build a dozen LEGO Roses, which are startingly realistic and could pass off as the real thing, except these won’t wilt and die.

As LEGO’s Botanical collection blooms into its 3rd year of existence, it makes a lot of sense for LEGO to expand 40460 Roses and give it the proper LEGO Icons treatment, and the release is also timed to perfection as LEGO hopes this will be a popular gift and build with Valentine’s Day only 6 weeks away.

Is there a lot to love about 10328 Bouquet of Roses or are they like Roses on Valentine’s Day – cliche and slightly overpriced? Let’s see in my review, and also how it compares against a proper bouquet of roses.

See below for regional pricing and product pages

• 10328 Bouquet of Roses [US] – US$59.99
• 10328 Bouquet of Roses [AUS] – AU$99.99
• 10328 Bouquet of Roses [UK] – £54.99
• 10328 Bouquet of Roses [EU] – €59.99
• 10328 Bouquet of Roses [CA] – CAD$79.99

Who is this set for? The ultimate romantic and someone that wants to make a declaration of love, or a cute Valentine’s Day gift. Not designed for fans who enjoy nice parts usage, and unique elements during the build

If you’re thinking of ordering the LEGO Bouquet of Roses, please consider using these affiliate links as I may receive a small commission with each purchase that helps support the work I do here on the blog.

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set for this review!

10328 Bouquet of Roses Set Details

Name: Bouquet of Roses
Set Number: 10328
Pieces: 822 pieces
Price: US$59.99 / AU$99.99 / £54.99 / €59.99 / CAD$79.99
Exclusive to: N/A
Theme: Icons
Release Date: 1 January 2024

The Build Experience

Like any good love story, it’s always better when it’s a shared experience and the LEGO Bouquet of Roses is designed from the ground up as a Build Together set.

There are 3 separate instruction booklets, one for each type of rose – Rose Buds, a Blooming Rose and a Rose in Full Bloom (plus Baby’s Beath), so you could share the build with 2 other people.

The build experience isn’t as good as other LEGO Botanicals, mostly because you’re working predomiantly with red, and dark green, and there’s only one flower species you’re building, unlike the plethora of options that fans are accustomed to with 10280 Flower Bouquet or 10313 Wildflower Bouquet.

There’s also a lot of repetition here, as you build 4x of each type of rose, and without the usual plethora of interesting elements, and recolours to surprise and delight during the build, this is definitely not a set that you buy to savour the build.

That said, if you’re building with a lover or a crush, you could probably spend the build talking and getting to know each other.

The completed LEGO Bouquet of Roses

10328 Bouquet of Roses does what it says on the box, build you a dozen boring but beautiful LEGO Roses. I kind of like the pure red colour scheme, which is broken up by some small bunches of Baby’s Breath as it’s less busy and truly let’s the design of the roses shine.

To begin, here’s a look at the Baby’s Breath, to give the Bouquet some volume, as well as introduce some small white flowers to break up the dominating use of red in the boutique.

The stalks are really flimsy, which were quite annoying when trying to hold the bouquet, as I found them snapping really easily. They look pretty, though.

Here’s a look at the Rose buds, which look tightly held together with that distinct vase-like silhouette.

The use of a round 2×2 brick’s base, where you get a view of the anti-stud is quite clever visually, and there are also some rose sepals (the green structures that encase the buds) at the side make for some interesting visual elements.

The next stage is the blooming Rose, which is now starting to take on a more curvaceous appearance, with the petal spirals on the inside starting to fully develop.

I really like the technique used here, as well as the round 2×2 brick carried over from the previous stage for continuity, and just how plump and organic it looks. At certain angles, the Roses don’t look like they’re made of LEGO at all.

And finally, we have the Rose in full bloom, with the petals opening up to create the distinctive and iconic look of the world’s most recognisable flower.

Again, I really like how the spirals open up, ever so slightly, as well as the shoulder pieces recoloured in red for the outer petals to give it a voluminous look.

The one clever parts usage here, and it is an inspired one is the LEGO Whip in red, which is just the perfect element to capture the spiral at the heart of a blooming rose.

Here’s a look at all 3 different stages of the LEGO Rose.

Comparing the LEGO Bouquet of Roses to Real Roses

I had to buy my very own bouquet of roses to compare the LEGO one to the actual thing and I was incredibly surprised at how good the LEGO Roses look alongside the real thing.

Mind you, actual roses are expensive, and I can imagine they will be even pricier come Valentine’s Day, so the LEGO alternative might actually be a really cost-effective alternative, especially with the added bonus that they’ll look great forever and not wilt and die.

Let’s pile them up to each other as a testament to the designer’s incredible work in bringing these LEGO Roses to life.

The size, spiral petals and vibrant colours do a damn good job at replicating the real thing, and while these are ornamental plastic flowers that you build yourself, I was surprised at how good it looks.

Which would you prefer? LEGO Roses or real roses?

Oh, and a LEGO Heart is included in the set as well, which is super cheesy, but super cute.

What I liked:

• LEGO Roses look incredible true to life
• Makes for a romantic and fun group activity
• These roses will never die

What I didn’t like: 

• Boring and uninteresting build
• Feels like poor value
• Bereft of the usual nice parts usage we’ve come to expect from LEGO Botanicals

FINAL THOUGHTS:

LEGO have set out to do one thing and one thing only, replicate a real-life bouquet of a dozen roses in LEGO form, and on that merit, I think the set is a success.

I was startled at how good the LEGO Roses look next to the real thing, and that in itself is a really tough design challenge which deserves to be commended.

At its core, this product feels a lot like Valentine’s Day – a product conceived to take advantage of a specific season, add on a huge markup for no particular reason and ultimately feels cliched.

I get why LEGO have produced 10328 Bouquet of Roses – the LEGO Botanical Collection is one of their flagship best-sellers, and this is a really cute and thoughtful gift, especially for Valentine’s Day or for a loved one, but it really lacks the intrigue and surprise that you get with most LEGO Botanical sets.

If you like roses, or have a loved one that will love to receive a bunch of LEGO Roses, sure, this set will be a good buy, but if you’re like me and appreciate the LEGO Botanical sets for cunning build techniques and element usage, this is one to skip.

That said, if you ever want to brighten up your living spaces with a vibrant bouquet of roses that will never die, these will definitely do a job.

Rating and score: 2/5 ★★☆☆☆

Build [2] – Simple, repetitive and uninspiring
Real Value [2] – These really should be priced at US$49.99 and not the same as other bouquets
Innovation [3] – Gets some points for realism but again, this feels very cliche
Coolness [2] – I prefer the personality and uniqueness of other Botanical Sets, personally
Keepability [3] – Not the most interesting LEGO Botanical to display

Thanks so much for reading my review of 10328 Bouquet of Roses

10328 Bouquet of Roses will be released on 1 January 2024, just in time for Valentine’s Day!

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set over for an early review!

What do you think of the LEGO Bouquet of Roses? Does it live up to the other sets in the Botanical Collection?

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