In 2008 Beyoncé taught the world a very important lesson; if you like something then you should put a ring on it. The same is true for Christmas. If you like Christmas then you need a wreath.
In years past your options for a wreath were limited to plants or fake plants. Now LEGO is here to help with 40426 Christmas Wreath 2-in-1.
So, should you buy it?
Maybe. But you might not be able to anyway.
40426 is a brick built LEGO wreath with a heap of plant elements and an Australian RRP of $54.99.
Do not go in to this one expecting that you are going to have a very exciting build. This is an official Bricking Around warning that this one is pretty dull. Why? Well the main body of the wreath is comprised of 16 segments, and 15 of those are identical.
The first of the 16 is only about 3 pieces different to the rest and that’s only for the loop of string. Any build with that much repetition is not going to be the most engaging.
Once you’ve got through the build of the ring, you start to add the plant elements. Firstly you’ll need to put the small plant elements all the way around the inside. Oh yeah more repetition.
Thankfully things get a bit more interesting after that as each segment gets a generous arrangement of plant elements. This mixes things up thankfully so its not the same elements in the same position on every segment.
Once you have got all the greenery in place you build a really cute red bow to place on top of it. The bow was a more interesting build but perhaps it just seemed better after having to work through the first part of this one.
This is a 2-in-1 build so you can alternatively rebuild this into more of a table centrepiece style with 4 candles to represent the 4 weeks of advent. I liked the design of the standard wreath so personally didn’t bother with the second version.
Overall I like the end result despite not loving the journey. I’m actually tempted to take this in to work to decorate my desk as we get closer to Christmas.
Is it worth the $54.99 asking price? Honestly I don’t think so. You do get a lot of plant elements but it’s not the best build and it’s not super huge. If it was $10 cheaper I’d be happier. As this is a LEGO exclusive you are not going to have much luck getting this below RRP.
Availability
It’s time for the elephant in the room – you might not actually be able to buy this one anyway. It’s currently sold out on LEGO online and I haven’t been able to confirm if it will actually be back. You might have better luck at a LEGO Certified store but that still means a lot of people are out of luck.
This set was provided to me by LEGO. Opinions are my own.
If we accept that every Lego set is at a price premium and going to be difficult to find, then the answer to your question is yes ;).
Got this one on release. Michael’s review is spot on about the repetitive build, but if you like a house full of trinkets at Christmas, this is a must.
Chermside store had them in stock and still gave it a pass. It feels like a good $10-20 overpriced for an unlicensed set.
Another case of ANZAC – Australia and New Zealand Auxiliary Cost. I think its a nice decoration and certainly a lot more useful then previous sets.
Personally I prefer the table decoration, it just looks nicer with candles and while of course one can hang this anywhere you want, a wreath is really meant to be hung on the front door which I wouldnt risk doing with Lego.
Maybe a little expensive but as a Christmas display that can be used for years it was an easy decision for me.
That said I’m not building it until December.