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

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Another LEGO Chinese Lunar New Year set has had official images revealed and added to LEGO.com, introducing the Money Tree (40648)! The release date for the LEGO 2023 Chinese New Year sets will be on 25 December 2022 onwards, depending on where you’re at in the world The set offers no playability, but it does make a lovely display model, particularly when placed between the two parts of 80110 Lunar New Year Display. Additionally, If stripped of its decorations, the tree could have utility as a normal tree in your LEGO city. It’s complex enough to be an introduction to the LEGO Botanical Collection and has enough details to sit alongside them without being overshadowed

Coolness [4] – Easy to display and makes for a fun gift or decorative piece, especially if you celebrate Lunar New Year 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. 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. 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 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.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! These sets were revealed at the 5th annual China International Import Expo (CIEE) in Shanghai. 80110 Lunar New Year Display 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.

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. The completed model stands about 17cm tall just about every frond is laden with either fruit, envelope or coin. 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. Dimensions – The Money Tree measures over 6 in. (16 cm) high and can be given as a gift for LEGO® fans young or old 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!

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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”. 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! Money Tree is now available on LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store, and as its priced quite accessibly, might be a good set to add to your to-buy list when the rest of the January 2023 releases become available! 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 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.

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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. 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.