LEGO 40648 Chinese Lunar New Year Money Tree 9+ 336 Pieces

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The piece used for the mandarins, of which there are 20 in this set, started life as a pumpkin, 51270 VEGETABLE, NO. 3. 14 envelopes and 10 2x2 round coins, which have a new print, 101521 FLAT TILE 2X2, ROUND, NO. 1249 complete the decorations. Coolness [4] – Easy to display and makes for a fun gift or decorative piece, especially if you celebrate Lunar New Year Money Tree is a small 336-piece model of a kumquat/tangerine/mini mandarin tree, which is another common sight around Chinese New Year. There’s only one model in 40648 Money Tree and the name gives it away. The Money Tree is made up of an ornate red planter and the tree itself with dozens of branches to hang the 20 tangerines, 14 red envelopes and 10 coins. In case you couldn’t infer by that description, this is an extremely repetitive build with many of the branches being identical in structure. However, despite the nature of this model’s assembly, the final result is sizeable, detailed and suitably colourful. It’s worth the time and repetitive build process to put it together. Note that the names are loosely translated! I’ll upload more photos as they become available, and apologies if they’re a little grainy as these were screenshots off the livestream. Fingers crossed we get high resolution official shots soon!

LEGO 10411 DUPLO Town Learn About Chinese Culture introduces curious toddlers to the traditional Chinese culture. Parents can guide the little learners through fascinating aspects of Chinese traditions, from food to music, games to traditional dress.

LEGO have officially revealed its 2023 Chinese New Year sets – 80110 Lunar New Year Display and 80111 Lunar New Year Parade, 40648 Money Tree as well as a new Monkie Kid mech 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech , and a Duplo set 10411 Learn About Chinese Culture! Dimensions – The Money Tree measures over 6 in. (16 cm) high and can be given as a gift for LEGO® fans young or old Super excitingly, here’s a closer look at the villains in the set confirming that we’ll be visiting the Lion Camel Ridge from Journey to the West! The appeal may be limited unless you understand the cultural significance, but that’s expected in a set such as this It’s slightly distracting, and I wish they could’ve obscured or hidden it with more leaves or foliage to make it look less distracting.

Here’s a look at the soil, which uses a combination of tiles and layered angled plates for some texture. It’s a really interesting technique, if a little unrealistic as Kumquat Trees are usually planted in darker soil, not sand, but in this case, it helps introduce some contrast between the soil and trunk. These LEGO Chinese New Year sets being available on LEGO.com, LEGO Stores and most specialty toy retailers. This 336-piece depicts a mini kumquat/tangerine tree, decorated with gold coins and red envelopes, which are symbols of good fortune and prosperity. These little trees are a typical sight in homes of those that celebrate the Lunar New Year, and I really love what LEGO have done here, making this look like a festive Botanical set. Another LEGO Chinese Lunar New Year set has had official images revealed and added to LEGO.com, introducing the Money Tree (40648)! It’s complex enough to be an introduction to the LEGO Botanical Collection and has enough details to sit alongside them without being overshadowed

Two gold yuanbao ingots in the shape of boats which, like the tree, are symbols of prosperity and wealth, sit upon the rim of the pot and complete the model.

One of the downsides is the trunk, which isn’t really visible as its obscured by all the leaves, but despite the branches from each angle, looks a little too straight and unnatural. Money Tree is likely going to be appreciated most by those who know more about the cultural significance behind the build, but we’d be lying if we said this set hadn’t impressed us more than we were expecting despite this. While its appeal to those who don’t annually celebrate the Chinese New Year will be limited, you may understand it a little more when looking at the set as an affordable introduction to the LEGO Botanical Collection. If there’s one thing that I think could be improved, it’d be to use darker leaves as the Kumquat Trees I’m used to seeing at Chinese New Year usually have darker waxy leaves, instead of the vibrant green used here.

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For context, the Cantonese word for Mandarin is “kam”, which is also a homonym for “gold”, which is why these little shrubs are used as decorations, and Mandarins are also gifted to one another as symbols of prosperity – hence the set’s name “Money Tree”. Celebrate Chinese New Year – Build a LEGO® Money Tree (40648) to make a fun display item for any room during your celebrations The dense foliage, and generous inclusion of plenty of printed coins, red envelopes and of course kumquat fruit make for a really visually appealing model.

You get about 20 orange pumpkins, which are used to represent kumquats/tangerines/mandarins. At this scale, they work reasonably well to create the intended effect, and I also like that each kumquat has a 3-leaf element attached to it for some further foliage variety. The variety of coins, tangerines and envelopes scattered in no recognisable pattern across the tree provides plenty of colours, especially for a natural build mostly made up of brown and grey. It makes for a stark contrast to the plant-inspired creation in the LEGO Botanical Collection. Although this set isn’t an entry in that range, it could easily sit beside them or as a budget-friendly alternative to the likes of 10281 Bonsai Tree. — LEGO Seasonal 40648 Money Tree price — Money Tree is a seasonal model and one in line with the likes of the Chinese Traditional Festival range too, so don’t expect it to be available outside of LEGO.com and some LEGO Stores. The eye-catching red planter’s use of curved pieces placed on their side allows for a simple but effective piece of detailing. When combined with the dome elements, it creates a symmetrical and seamless effect that adds some much-needed shape to what could have easily been a bland and uninspired build.

Details

One of the things that the Money Tree gets right is just how dense the foliage is, without it looking too overly busy. It matches the dense leaves of the kumquat tree, thanks to the generous helping of leaves that are layered subtly and closely to one another. Money Tree has a release date of 25 December 2022 globally, and will be available from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store. It won’t likely have a wide release The build was quite straight forward, with 4 numbered bags. You begin by building the red pot, and the Money Tree from the ground up, adding the leaves as you build upwards.