Review: LEGO 40524 Sunflowers

December 6, 2021 | 1

It’s finally time for me to jump in and begin contributing to the deluge of 2022 LEGO set reviews hitting the internet, and we’re starting small with a quick review of 40524 Sunflowers, a brand new addition to LEGO’s Botanical Collection.

40524 Sunflowers will be released on 1 January 2022 and will be available from LEGO.com and LEGO Stores, and is a fun, inexpensive addition to 2021’s 40460 Roses and 40461 Tulips – LEGO’s collection of small buildable flowers that can also complement the best-selling 10280 Flower Bouquet.

Read on to see more of the LEGO Sunflowers set!

Special thanks to The LEGO Group for sending this set for early reviews.

40524 Sunflowers Set Details

Name: Sunflowers
Set Number: 40524
Pieces: 191
Price: $12.99 [US] | £ 11.99 GBP [UK] | AU$ 19.99 [AUS]
Exclusive to: N/A
Theme: LEGO Iconic / Creator
Release Date: 1 January 2022
Designer: Dan Squirrell (@dansquirrell)
Buy from LEGO.com [USA] [AUS] [UK]

As a 191-piece set, this is a fairly inexpensive set that doesn’t take long to build.

The build was very straight forward, although having to assemble the Sunflower’s petals was slightly tedious as you had to make about 48 of them, for both flowers.

The finished product is quite effective and attractive – you get 2 Sunflowers, which aren’t quite identical, one has only 2 leaves, whereas the other has 4, and the heads are angled ever so slightly differently.

Designed by Dan Squirrell, he makes great use of 24 yellow oar pedals to re-create the Sunflower’s unmistakeable look, with a simple brown round plate in the middle to represent the unopened disc flowers, and 12x leaves, which make an appearance in Bright Light Orange for the first time ever.

Always great to see new plant elements in new colours, and there are 24 of these leaves in total!

The petals are clipped on to a steering wheel element, and are able to be angled slightly, allowing you to slightly alter the shape of the Sunflower.

Here’s a look at the leaves, which are the same as the ones from 40460 Roses.

Like all LEGO flowers, these are great because they don’t die, and if you get bored with them, you can always harvest them for parts.

They are unmistakeable as Sunflowers, and if you have a vase or glass bottle handy, these are a fun way to spruce up any living space. I only had an empty bottle of whisky on hand, but it still works pretty well.

What I liked:

• A brand new bright light orange 3-leaf element in abundance
• Small, accessible build that makes for great gifts or a quick build
• Design works really well, and is the largest flower so far

What I didn’t like: 

• Build is quite tedious, especially attaching 48x oar paddles
• Petals can sometimes be knocked over when arranging the flowers

FINAL THOUGHTS:

For a small set, this will definitely appeal to you if you are a fan of the LEGO Flower Bouquet, and Roses, and Tulips. The Sunflower is a great choice for an addition to LEGO’s lineup of buildable flowers – it’s one of the most recognisable flowers that aren’t roses, and are extremely bright and cheery.

The designer Dan Squirrell has done a great job adapting the Sunflower’s appearance, and I especially like how abundant the petals are, and the use of oars clipped to a steering wheel allows you to give the Sunflower’s face an uneven look – much like a real sunflower which never looks picture-perfect.

The duplication of oars creates a very organic-looking effect, and the brown disc florets in the middle with visible studs, ensure that this bears all the hallmarks of a LEGO build.

Overall, I like these – it’s a fun floral build that’s great in a pinch, and I imagine due to its price-point, will be a very popular gift, especially to non-LEGO fans.

Rating and score: 3/5 ★★★✰✰

Build [3] – The build was a little tedious and repetitive with the petals
Real Value [4] – An affordable set, and the addition of new bright light orange leaves are nice
Innovation [2] – Not much that is groundbreaking here, or interesting part usage
Coolness [3] – Won’t set the world on fire, but it’s effective at showcasing what can be done with LEGO.
Keepability [3] – As LEGO are creating even more Botanical/Flower sets, this will be great as a collectible, especially sealed

40524 Sunflowers will be released on 1 January 2022 and will be available from LEGO.com and LEGO Stores

Thanks for reading! I’ll be sharing more 2022 LEGO reviews in the coming days (if the postman comes on time), so be sure to keep an eye out for more reviews soon!

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