JMBricklayer Botanical Collection Money Tree (20008) Review

JMBricklayers have kindly sent us a new set to review in the form of a Money Tree, which for me personally is the first time trying anything Botanical. I chose this set to review as it not only looks interesting but different too, with its small brown table, white pot, winding roots and lush green foliage. 

As Stuart mentioned in his review of the Mechanical Chameleon, there is some stigma surrounding alternative brands, but I’m here to convince you and the die-hard LEGO fans out there that some brands are worth checking out, especially if the leading brand doesn’t produce a certain theme or set.

At the end of the review you’ll find offers and discounts related to this set and others by JMBricklayer.

So without further a-do, into the review.

The Box & Contents:

The box is presented in a fashionable and trending way, just like the leading brand. The dark aesthetic with the set pride of place, really works well, the logo and text have a slight emboss to them, giving the whole thing a premium feel.

In the front you’ll find details of the set, including name, number, age and piece count, which is exactly 1,000. The reverse is pretty much the same design, which is fine, but wood have preferred closeup photos of the set details.

Inside the box you’ll find 2 numbered bags that have multiple bags for each. There is also a small, quite thin, instruction manual.

The Build:

The first section to be built is the small brown table where the Money Tree stands. Working through the instructions and building felt easy and straightforward, I compared it to the leading brand a few times as it felt polished and done to a high standard. With other alternative brands the build feels labouring and sometimes I want to give up entirely, but not here, it was enjoyable from start to finish.

As you can see from the image below there is a lot of SNOT (studs not on top) building techniques. The pot is designed in a way that resembles the leading brand of bricks and again looks & feels great, there’s no dodgy stud-stacking or plate-piling here.

The finished pot looks great and all the angles and slopes cover the possible gaps and any bricks peeping through. I particularly like how the long/thin white corner parts slot into place and create a sound section of the pot.

Finishing off the first lot of bags is the start of the stem of the Money Tree, which you build upon later in the set.

This was a very interesting part of the build, the roots.they twist and intertwine with one another and the finished result looks amazing. Using two different tones of brown, the effect of nature and realism is good, look past the bricks and joins and you could easily mistake this for a real or must certainly fake (fabric) plant.

I won’t lie, adding this amount of foliage to the top of the Money Tree became a little tedious, but I’ve built worse. To be fair the small leaf elements are great and have a nice shine and texture to them, which only adds to the overall look.

The 1×2 Money tiles are a strange choice, as in to use a life-like design, I would have preferred a more cartoony look. Saying that, these notes do look the part and add something different to an already good set.

The finished product it great and one I’d happily display in my home, for all to enjoy. It’s brick-built and thats good news for those that don’t want the responsibility to look after a real plant, after all you don’t need to water this one.

For the price of $44.99 and exactly 1000 pieces, this is a perfect sized set for both beginners and more advanced builders. There’s nothing too strenuous out any or the techniques used here, which is great news, it’s pure joy from start to finish!

Thank you for reading our review, we hope you enjoyed this look at the brand new JMBricklayer Money Tree (20008) set. Below are offers and discounts related to this set and others by JMBricklayer.

Offers: