Today, Branko takes a look at another type of set featuring floral builds: a Disney Botanical set, specifically 43237: Isabela’s Flowerpot. This set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes at our request.
The LEGO Group have been releasing more and more variations of non-wilting flowers over recent years, kicking it into high gear with the Botanical Collection in 2021. We’re currently buzzing with excitement of the release of the 21353 LEGO Ideas Botanical Gardens (€329.99 / £289.99 / $329.99 / 429.99 CAD / 499.99 AUD), but today we would like to have a look at yet another botanical theme I would loosely call ‘Disney Flowerpots’ consisting of two sets to date:
43237 Isabela’s Flowerpot (AU$69.99/£39.99/$39.99/€44.99)
and 43252 Moana’s Flowerpot (AU$69.99/£39.99/$39.99/€44.99)
The set based on Moana was released a few months after Isabela suggesting that this may be an ongoing series of sets based on Disney characters. Today, we will explore Isabela’s Flowerpot to see what it offers to the ever-expanding field of botanical LEGO sets.
Encanto’s flowers, courtesy of Isabela
Jumping straight in; the main plant displayed in this flowerpot appears to be a purple orchid so it’s seems fair to compare it to the other orchid set (10311 Orchid), that will cost you about 50% more than this one. Clearly that set is significantly taller and has 6 large flowers of the two that come with Isabela. Unfortunately one of the purple orchids with Isabella turned out to be a bit limp, with one of the large petals persistantly drooping a little.
The main striking difference in details is in the pot itself, or rather closer to the surface of the pot. Both of these plants come with an elegant pot for displaying (a shortcoming with some of the other flower sets), but the surface of Isabela’s pot if filled with fixed details that feel a bit more intentional than the large leaves and loose bricks in the Orchid set. The weaving pattern on Isabela’s pot is a nice example of using bricks to create texture, especially with the dark red edge at the top.
Close to the surface of the pot, we can see a butterfly, a cactus, several pinkish-coloured flowers in various sizes (my attempt to name the colour would put it as ‘coral’) and a little windmill! The Botanical Collection 10300 Orchid orchid set features… loose bricks and a few giant leaves.
But wait, there’s more! [There is?] Of course there is!
This set isn’t called Isabela’s flowerpot for nothing, we get Isabela with this set! In case you don’t know, Isabela is Mirabel’s sister (in the Disney movie Encanto, seen on the bottom right corner of the box). According to Mirabel, Isabela is a bit of prima donna with the magical power to create beautiful flowers for everyone. That is, until she confesses she is miserable and wants something for herself and creates cacti by accident. At that moment, she matures and discovers beauty in things other than flowers and she finds happiness. I am pleased that this set seems to represent Isabela’s later stage and a cactus is included in this set.
Isabela’s appearance with perfect waving ‘shampoo-commercial-grade-hair’ fits her role as prima donna successful sister-of-the-hero-but-actually-not-so-confident. Her dress shows off her theme with flowers and the colour matches nicely with the main orchids. Wow, that hair.
Altogether this makes this set a worthwhile addition as a flower display. But wait, there is even more! [Really? Even more?] The flower pot opens to reveal several references to the movie Encanto. On one side is a sleeping place for Isabela, for when you want to give her a break from showing off the beauty of these flowers with neatly patterned flower wallpaper, representing her ‘neat and repressed’ origin. On the other side is a little shrine showing a small cactus and colourful splashed wallpaper representing her free spirit after she has her magical hug with Mirabel. This hug is shown on the image behind the candle that provides… never mind, just watch the movie. It’s a magic candle.
Conclusion: orchid yourself some flowers
I like this set. I expected it to provide a nice flower to display, and it did, but it provided more. It gave me a reason to watch Encanto (highly enjoyable), and appreciate all the references hidden in this build. I like that some if it’s hidden when on display as a flower, but it’s there to be discovered when you want.
I give this set an arbitrary 4 out of 5 praise units, especially for anyone who likes LEGO flowers.
Have I tempted you with this set? 43237 Isabela’s Flowerpot is now available from LEGO.com, priced at AU$69.99/£39.99/$39.99/€44.99. If you use this affiliate like to purchase your LEGO, the Rambling Brick might receive a small fee, and it will cost you nothing. Along with the minidoll, the set comes with 631 pieces. We will take a look at them below.
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Until Next Time,
Play Well!
Appendix A : the build
If you’re still here I guess you want to know about the build. The build started with one side, Isabela’s bedroom, so she could have a nap during the construction process. This first part provided me with some challenges because the printed colours didn’t match the actual pieces very well and I had to deduce the correct pieces rather than just see it. In particular the stickers on Isabela’s wallpaper were a challenge (what tile should I place the stickers on?) but I managed to infer it from the number of pieces in the set.
Once one side of the flowerpot was done we moved on to the other side with the shrine with the candle.
Both sides were then connected with a flexible mechanism allowing the flowerpot to open and close easily.
This then brought us to the final part: the plants to fill the flowerpot.
There were a few mildly repetitive parts during the build, for the outside of the basket, the orchids and the cactus, but only very minor.
Appendix B : the pieces
You are persistent. Okay see below the pieces in this set. There are four bags and only a small sticker sheet which contains a few of the critical references to the movie (the pictures of Mirabel with Isabela and the different wallpapers). There is a nice variety of colours, different shades of pink/purples and greens and some variations of brown. Even as a parts-pack, I think this is a neat collection.
