4 ms·

Lego Ideas: Insect Collection – Botanicals meets animals

76 points by sohkamyung 3y ago

digging 3y ago
I've been thinking about this kit since my partner came across it the other week. Neither of us are huge LEGO fans, as I generally prefer non-plastic anything and have an actual collection of insects. But... well we both love insects, and model building in general is quite fun. Thanks for the informative review, I think we'll look for this after release.
- rtkwe 3y ago
  LEGO has a lot of really neat "display" sets available now for the more adult audience along with their traditional play sets for kids etc.
- r00fus 3y ago
  My office at work is huge on these kinds of legos as they display well, are fun to inspect/play with while desk-visiting your colleague, and they have some geek cred. At first I was skeptical (loved legos from childhood, but hey - this is work!) and then I capitulated with their succulents collection.
  - digging 3y ago
    I wish they could make them out of wood or something. I mean, I understand why they're plastic, it just feels bad to me to put more plastic in my house. Truly a pointless struggle, though: I'm aware no amount of self-denial I do can clean up the oceans or my bloodstream.
    - r00fus 3y ago
      I was about to say that Legos are all very durable and not likely to degrade like other plastics (80% ABS, which last hundreds of years with minimal microplaslic generation), then after researching found out I had no idea how many types of plastics they used: https://www.lego.com/ms-my/sustainability/product-safety/materials?locale=ms-my https://www.lego.com/ms-my/sustainability/product-safety/mat...
      - araes 3y ago
        @digging above, based on the link just provided, you have less to worry about. Anything that looks plant-like in LEGO is made from 98% renewable sugarcane polyethylene. IE, LEGO plants are actually made from plants. Now LEGO just needs to make the insects from ground up insect shells.
dexwiz 3y ago
The fact they got the butterfly wings right, and didn’t default to dead and on display shows such great attention to detail. https://www.emilydamstra.com/please-enough-dead-butterflies/ https://www.emilydamstra.com/please-enough-dead-butterflies/
- digging 3y ago
  Excellent article, thanks for the link.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
ModernMech 3y ago
Ugh, I’ve restricted myself to only buying robot, space, and architecture legos (I will never not add the “s” at the end) because otherwise I’d buy too many. I want Bowser, but I can’t justify it. But I had a pet praying mantis as a kid, so I can’t not get this one. Damn you Lego! As an aside, I call legos my adhd medication (nothing helps me focus better), and I really wish I could use my hsa funds to buy them lol!
- mcphage 3y ago
  > I want Bowser, but I can’t justify it. They have a Rivendell model, and it looks absolutely beautiful, and I can't justify it to myself. Ah, well.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    If it helps, it’ll probably sell used for more than it costs new now. Or buy two! Build one and save the other. (Not investment advice$
AnotherGoodName 3y ago
We got the birds version of this since we're bird watchers. A fun little kit and decently accurate in the confines of lego. A fun couples activity to build it and sits nicely on the shelf. Wish there was more and they were a little cheaper.
agumonkey 3y ago
Wow, beautiful out of the box ideas.
philips 3y ago
The designer has a delightful YouTube channel and “reviewed” their own set. https://youtu.be/eFB8mHx1wAI?si=dA_NzI5Z_sC0ANC5 https://youtu.be/eFB8mHx1wAI?si=dA_NzI5Z_sC0ANC5
benrmatthews 3y ago
In celebration, I'm going to plant $US $79.99 worth of wildflowers that are supportive of butterflies to breed in their natural environment. I hope many others who read this do the same.
- jbm 3y ago
  I spent nothing and instead choose not to mow my back yard. Bees and other insects enjoyed the products of my sloth. There is no need to consume product in order to do right by the environment.
  - meristohm 3y ago
    Most of our yard was cat's ear (more aggressive relative of dandelion and lettuce), so spending some money on a pound of native-ish seed mix from meadows in this region and converting some of the yard to this no-mow, rarely-water (I water it sometimes because it's near the food garden) patch of pollinator catnip was worth it. Bees here generally don't go for the cat's ear if there's anything else nearby. We don't water the yard, in any case, and are slowly converting it to meadow and forest, with a fire buffer around the house.

76 points by sohkamyung 3y ago

I've been thinking about this kit since my partner came across it the other week. Neither of us are huge LEGO fans, as I generally prefer non-plastic anything and have an actual collection of insects. But... well we both love insects, and model building in general is quite fun. Thanks for the informative review, I think we'll look for this after release.

rtkwe 3y ago
LEGO has a lot of really neat "display" sets available now for the more adult audience along with their traditional play sets for kids etc.
r00fus 3y ago
My office at work is huge on these kinds of legos as they display well, are fun to inspect/play with while desk-visiting your colleague, and they have some geek cred. At first I was skeptical (loved legos from childhood, but hey - this is work!) and then I capitulated with their succulents collection.
- digging 3y ago
  I wish they could make them out of wood or something. I mean, I understand why they're plastic, it just feels bad to me to put more plastic in my house. Truly a pointless struggle, though: I'm aware no amount of self-denial I do can clean up the oceans or my bloodstream.
  - r00fus 3y ago
    I was about to say that Legos are all very durable and not likely to degrade like other plastics (80% ABS, which last hundreds of years with minimal microplaslic generation), then after researching found out I had no idea how many types of plastics they used: https://www.lego.com/ms-my/sustainability/product-safety/materials?locale=ms-my https://www.lego.com/ms-my/sustainability/product-safety/mat...
    - araes 3y ago
      @digging above, based on the link just provided, you have less to worry about. Anything that looks plant-like in LEGO is made from 98% renewable sugarcane polyethylene. IE, LEGO plants are actually made from plants. Now LEGO just needs to make the insects from ground up insect shells.

dexwiz 3y ago

The fact they got the butterfly wings right, and didn’t default to dead and on display shows such great attention to detail. https://www.emilydamstra.com/please-enough-dead-butterflies/ https://www.emilydamstra.com/please-enough-dead-butterflies/

digging 3y ago
Excellent article, thanks for the link.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

ModernMech 3y ago

Ugh, I’ve restricted myself to only buying robot, space, and architecture legos (I will never not add the “s” at the end) because otherwise I’d buy too many. I want Bowser, but I can’t justify it. But I had a pet praying mantis as a kid, so I can’t not get this one. Damn you Lego! As an aside, I call legos my adhd medication (nothing helps me focus better), and I really wish I could use my hsa funds to buy them lol!

mcphage 3y ago
> I want Bowser, but I can’t justify it. They have a Rivendell model, and it looks absolutely beautiful, and I can't justify it to myself. Ah, well.
- bombcar 3y ago
  If it helps, it’ll probably sell used for more than it costs new now. Or buy two! Build one and save the other. (Not investment advice$

AnotherGoodName 3y ago

We got the birds version of this since we're bird watchers. A fun little kit and decently accurate in the confines of lego. A fun couples activity to build it and sits nicely on the shelf. Wish there was more and they were a little cheaper.

agumonkey 3y ago

Wow, beautiful out of the box ideas.

philips 3y ago

The designer has a delightful YouTube channel and “reviewed” their own set. https://youtu.be/eFB8mHx1wAI?si=dA_NzI5Z_sC0ANC5 https://youtu.be/eFB8mHx1wAI?si=dA_NzI5Z_sC0ANC5

benrmatthews 3y ago

In celebration, I'm going to plant $US $79.99 worth of wildflowers that are supportive of butterflies to breed in their natural environment. I hope many others who read this do the same.

jbm 3y ago
I spent nothing and instead choose not to mow my back yard. Bees and other insects enjoyed the products of my sloth. There is no need to consume product in order to do right by the environment.
- meristohm 3y ago
  Most of our yard was cat's ear (more aggressive relative of dandelion and lettuce), so spending some money on a pound of native-ish seed mix from meadows in this region and converting some of the yard to this no-mow, rarely-water (I water it sometimes because it's near the food garden) patch of pollinator catnip was worth it. Bees here generally don't go for the cat's ear if there's anything else nearby. We don't water the yard, in any case, and are slowly converting it to meadow and forest, with a fire buffer around the house.