Get Arty With JMBricklayer Van Gogh Sunflowers (70004)

When perusing the JMBricklayer website for a set to review, one from a couple of years ago caught my eye – Sunflowers by Van Gogh!

As a fan of the leading brick brand and seeing their very recent release of the same painting from the world renowned artist, I knew building and reviewing the JMBricklayer version would go down well with you, our readers.

Find for our affiliate link and discount code at the end of the review

At first glance you notice it’s smaller, a lot smaller, in fact I’d say it’s just under the size of an A3 piece of paper, which isn’t a bad thing at all as space is usually an issue for us collectors. Another difference is that this one is entirely 3D and looks absolutely stunning sat in display, especially when you walk by and the motion sensor lights jump to life and give the Vase and Sunflowers a golden glow.

The box is sturdy, bright and colourful and has a premium feel to it. Unfortunately the artwork is the same front & back but you do get a few different angles on one of the sides, there’s even a picture of Vincent Van Gogh too. Inside the box you’ll find 3 numbered bags, each with additional bags and smaller ones inside.

The parts themselves feel good quality and have some weight to them, there’s nothing worse than super lightweight bricks that feel cheap, here JMBricklayer have gone for premium pieces. There is also an instruction manual and a bag of plates and other bigger unique parts.

The build starts off with the frame and body of the set, layering off-white and gold tiles as you go. I really like the size of the frame, it’s not too chunky and really shapes the overall picture well, it doesn’t encroach too much which is what you don’t want when it comes to framing something. Being a professional Picture Framer for 15 years, I feel passionate about the whole procedure, even if it is for a block building set.

The light hit is fitted during the first lot of bags and simply threads through holes added slightly earlier in the build. It’s a simple setup but it works well, with a built-in motion sensor the lights will come on when it detects movement. It can be a little distracting when building with the constant on & off, but once built it’s a handy feature. You can remove the battery pack and turn it off but it requires a few pieces to be dismantled for it to be slide out.

The next two bags are a combination of Sunflowers and the small drawer situated under the Vase. The drawer does indeed function but it’s so shallow it wouldn’t hold much, maybe a try for the spare pieces? You might be wondering why there is a small square notch on the front of the drawer, well this is so the motion sensor isn’t obstructed  this helps with the constant on & off too and lessens it perfectly.

The Sunflowers themselves are stunning and really show of the designers attention to detail and how the flowers look in real life. Each one is uniquely made whilst utilising the same pieces, such as slopes, angled plates and studs. My favourites are the large Sunflower at the top and the surprisingly the droppy dead one bottom right – the colours of the dead leaves look great an the way it hangs lifeless is perfect.

These are made as side-builds and attached once each flower has been constructed, giving the feeling that the set comes together quickly, which it does. It’s a very straightforward process and not once did I feel bored, which surprised me as the thought of building a Botanical set seemed time consuming and repeative, this set was neither.

Attaching the Sunflowers is simple too, once built you simply pop them into the pre-placed holes and arms and away you go. These can all be positioned differently thanks to the movement in the ball joints and hinges, the optimum layout though is the one Van Gogh used, obviously, so stick with that. But there is a little wiggle room to spice it up.

There is a smaller Sunflower on the top of the drawer, along with a few fallen petals. It’s these extra details that make it look full and busy, in a good way. Without these details it would look lifeless and bland, thankfully JMBricklayer are great at filling a set out and taking it to the next level.

Displaying the Sunflowers is easy too with the included foot stand. Entirely brick-built using pins and tubes, the stand is surprisingly sturdy and has yet to break. Sadly there isn’t an option to wall hang but with a bit of initiative I reckon it can be modded using the foot stand parts. I’m not sure where I’ll finally place this beautiful set but it’ll be displayed where myself and guests can see it.

Overall the set is stunning and a real joy to put together, there were no issues with the brick quality or clutch power, no difficult parts and I managed to build it entirely in a couple of hours. For a 1,166 piece that retails for $79.99, it’s a bargain, especially if you factor in the current sale oh and our discount code.

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