Review: LEGO 80110 Lunar New Year Display

In some regions, the 2023 LEGO Chinese New Year sets will go on sale on Christmas Day, and following on from my review of the excellent 80111 Lunar New Year Parade, I’ve also had the opportunity to check out 80110 Lunar New Year Display, a really unique but niche LEGO set.

This is LEGO’s 5th year releasing Lunar New Year sets, through its Chinese Traditional Festival theme, and while these sets are designed for the Chinese diaspora, specifically those that celebrate the Lunar New Year, this theme has mostly been incredible opportunities to share Chinese customs and traditions with Western audiences.

80110 Lunar New Year Display is perhaps the most niche Lunar New Year set yet, that’s a cross between a LEGO Art and Botanical set. There are no minifigures but these 2 buildable Chinese New Year displays offer a unique experience, and are quite exquisite display pieces.

Check out the local pricing and release dates below:

80110 Lunar New Year Display

• 80110 Lunar New Year Display [US] – US$89.99 (10 January 2023)
• 80110 Lunar New Year Display [AUS] – AU$129.99 (1 January 2023)
• 80110 Lunar New Year Display [UK] – £69.99 (10 January 2023)
• 80110 Lunar New Year Display [EU] – €79.99 (10 January 2023)
• 80110 Lunar New Year Display [CA] – CAD$119.99 (10 January 2023)

If you’re thinking of buying the set, please consider using these affiliate links to purchase, as I may receive a small commission with each purchase.

Special thanks to The LEGO Group for sending this early review set

80110 Lunar New Year Display Set Details

Name: Lunar New Year Display
Set Number: 80110
Pieces: 872 pieces
Price: $89.99 [US] | £79.99 GBP [UK] | AU$129.99 [AUS]
Minifigures: 18
Exclusive to: N/A
Theme: Chinese New Year / Chinese Traditional Festival
Release Date: 10 January 2023 (US), 1 January 2023 (AUS), 25 December (UK/EU)
Designer: John Ho (@icedpluscoffee)

So the context behind these displays – it’s a tradition to decorate homes with ornaments, and displays for Chinese New Year, with these motifs usually being red, with items like golden ingots, and coins to usher in prosperity, and banners with festive phrases and sayings on them.

The most common decorations are typically made of paper, and are hung on walls, but in some homes, you’d often find elaborate table settings with decorations just like 80110 Lunar New Year Displays.

These diamond-shaped displays aren’t a typical sight, but they blend many elements together into a three dimensional ornament that makes the most out of LEGO as a medium to relay key Lunar New Year motifs.

The build was highly engaging, and begins with these diamond-shape bases that you slowly layer and attach elements to. If I were to describe it, building 80110 Lunar New Year display feels like a cross between an Art set and a Botanical set.

The manuals are pretty simple, but there are 2 useful pages with translations for each display, and some context behind the elements built, and their significance to the Lunar New Year.

Here’s a look at the Golden Ingot display, which features themes of wealth and prosperity throughout the design.

When completed and placed upright, they’re fantastic display pieces, and despite there being quite a number of elements attached to the display, never feels busy. Red and orange is featured generously throughout each display, as they are colours typically associated with wealth, prosperity and good luck.

There are no stickers used in the set, and each decorative element here is printed, which is always welcome.

Each display has four 2×2 round tiles printed with Chinese characters. The characters 招財進寶 mean “Zhao Cai Jin Bao”, which is translated to “let riches & treasures enter the house”. In simpler terms, hoping you get rich!

Two brick-built koi fish are present. Koi in art and drawings typically signify abundance and prosperity, and these are pretty cute and give this display some cutesy LEGO animals.

There are also these 2×3 red packet which are also printed. During Chinese New Year, one of the most well-known traditions is the giving of these red envelopes (also known as angpaus), which contain money, as a symbol of prosperity and good luck.

At the base of the displays are also these golden ingots, which again, are the ultimate symbols of wealth and abundance.

A really subtle detail is these dark azure wavy lines, which provide a nice pop of colour, and thematically work nicely with the swimming koi fish.

Here’s a look at the back.

And a look at the base stands, which connect to the diamond-shaped displays via Technic pins.

The Moutan Peony display is my pick out of the two, with a gorgeous pink Moutan Peony in full bloom.

This display embraces many of the techniques used in LEGO’s Botanical Collection to craft a realistic-looking flower that’s just stunning to behold.

Here’s a look at the printed tiles, 花开富贵 “hua kai fu gui” which loosely translates to “when flowers bloom, prosperity follows”.

The Lunar New Year also coincides with the coming of Spring, and so the connection between blooming flowers and blossoms and the Lunar New Year is an extremely strong one, and why you will notice plum and cherry blossoms being staples of Chinese New Year decorations.

Included in this set are 2 printed butterfly elements. We’ve had these LEGO butterflies before, but this is the first time they’ve been decorated and look incredible. I can’t help but want to add plenty of these to my LEGO Botanical sets.

The Moutan Peony is just stunning, with its petals in full bloom, which some really inspired part usage such as layered LEGO Scallop shells, and pink “splat” elements for the inner petals.

It’s delicate, complex and just striking from each angle and one of the most enjoyable LEGO flowers I’ve had the pleasure of building.

This feels like it’ll easily belong in LEGO’s Botanical Collection, and with these masterful techniques and part usage, I’d love to see designer John Ho take on a LEGO Botanical set.

I also really like these branches and smaller buds and blooms on the side which introduce more pops of colour that contrast nicely against the red and orange bases.

And here’s the completed models, which look great next to each other. They’re quite large, but compact enough that you can easily display them without much fuss.

I love the blending of two different design styles, and the organic elements like the Peony, butterflies and Koi Fish really create a really interesting aesthetic that still has that signature LEGO playfulness DNA to it.

Here’s how they look displayed next to my other LEGO Botanical sets. I love how well they contrast against the mostly green botanicals, and just how bright and vibrant they are.

What I liked:

• Great display pieces that are lovely reflections of Chinese heritage and culture
• Engaging, accessible and interesting build experience
• All elements are printed
• Wonderful hybrid of LEGO Art and Botanicals

What I didn’t like: 

• The most niche Lunar New Year sets yet
• A little on the pricey side

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Five years on, I’m glad to see LEGO still innovating and surprising with 80110 Lunar New Year Display, which offers an incredibly novel experience and models.

For those who of us who grew up celebrating the Lunar New Year, these displays will feel familiar and almost homely, evoking vivid memories of setting up New Year decorations in your own home.

The designs are lovely and sophisticated, with a very well-balanced mix of builds that all have important significance. The build was quite engaging, but at the same time, relatively accessible without any tricky sections, making this a suitable build for those who don’t usually build with LEGO.

I really like that these blend the best of LEGO Art and Botanicals, so for fans of either, you’ll likely value what LEGO have done here.

Unlike other Lunar New Year sets, 80110 Lunar New Year Display is without a doubt the most niche set yet, and really feels like it was designed with the Chinese diaspora in mind.

In a way, this narrow focus limits its appeal, especially to those in the West, or who are unfamiliar with the subject matter, but on the flip side, these are brilliant pieces to help you learn and immerse yourselves in Lunar New Year customs.

The set is a little on the pricier side of things, but I guess that’s the price to pay for all-printed elements included. In all honesty, because of the set’s extremely niche appeal, I’d say unless you want it immediately to decorate your home for Chinese New Year, it’s safe to wait for it to go on sale, as I think these will not sell well, especially in Western markets.

That said, I think 80110 Lunar New Year Display makes for a really thoughtful gift. As you can build both displays in tandem thanks to individual instruction booklets, it makes for a great family/group activity, especially for those who travel back to their hometowns or family homes for the Lunar New Year.

For me, I immediately thought of my own mum, who has plenty of these types of Feng Shui-esque decorations in her home all year round, but especially during Chinese New Year. I’ll be buying this set for her, as I think she’ll appreciate it, and will hopefully enjoy the build too.

It’s not often that LEGO sets are suited to share with parents, especially those of us who have Chinese heritage, but this one hits the mark for me. If you’re a big LEGO fan, I can see this being a great introduction and gift to LEGO to older generations.

Rating and score: 4/5 ★★★★✰

Build [4] – Unique and engaging build with plenty of variety and interesting elements used
Real Value [3] – Feels on the pricier side, so it’s safe to wait for a discount/cool GWP
Innovation [4] – This feels fresh, and I love the mix of Art, Botanicals and Lunar New Year
Coolness [4] – This set is culturally relevant to me, so I think they’re cool and most importantly, look incredibly classy
Keepability [4] – Great to display for Lunar New Year, and something that you can either keep all year round, or bring out during the festivities

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Thank you so much for reading this review of 80110 Lunar New Year Display, and I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into the set, and the significance behind these displays!

Be sure to also check out my review of 80111 Lunar New Year Parade which has broader appeal, and is an excellent minifigure-heavy set!

80110 Lunar New Year Display will be available from LEGO.com on 25 December (UK/EU/China), 1 January (Asia Pacific), or 10 January (North America).

What do you think of the Lunar New Year Displays? Does this set appeal to you?

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