LEGO® Xtra: Inthert uses 40376 Botanical Accessories as seed parts

You may recall we recently challenged Inthert to get creative with a couple of polybags from the LEGO® Xtra range. We already published his creations based upon 40375 Sports Accessories and today comes the other bag: 40376 Botanical Accessories which has 32 pieces and is priced £3.99 / $3.99 / 3.99€.

 

For the green-fingered among you, there is 40376 Botanical Accessories (not to be confused with 2018’s 40310 Botanical Accessories).

Which parts come in 40376 Botanical Accessories?

As was the case with the sports pack, 40376 Botanical Accessories includes no new elements nor recolours but does boast an impressive variety of foliage and garden-related elements in numerous colours - ideal for MOC building inspiration!

Windmill

A chance discovery involving the provided fence element (Fence 1X4X2 in Reddish Brown – 6150305|33303) spawned my first botanical-themed build. Whilst fishing through the bag’s contents I was surprised to find the 2x2 plate with centre stud (Plate 2X2 W 1 Knob – 4565394|87580) stuck to the side of a fence panel. 

The lower protrusions on either end of the fence seem to be spaced just the right distance from the base to allow a plate or tile to connect with no resistance (that I could detect). It didn’t take long to realise I could use four of these assemblies to form the basis of a windmill’s sails.

The ‘true’ botanical elements obviously came in handy for fleshing out the surrounding countryside - no points here for unconventional parts use!

However, I did manage to use the 1x3x3 half-arch (Brick With Bow 1X3X3 in Reddish Brown – 6055086|13965) on its side to make a bridge, which I thought added a little something ‘Xtra’ to the scene!

Circuit board 

The shape and colour of the lime green leaf elements (Limb Element, Small in Bright Yellowish Green – (6268818|2423) reminded me of the patterns found on circuit boards. The splits in the branches look like intricate traces and the through studs resemble lands. 

I used the lime 1x2 plate (4164037|2023), along with a few more, to create the rest of the traces – hopefully disguising the very recognisable outline of the botanical elements. I also used a couple of flowers for the stripes on the resistor.

Gentoo Penguin

The two orange leaf elements (Plant w/ Plate 1X1, No. 1 in Bright Orange – 6188693|31576) immediately made me think of webbed feet which led me to build this inquisitive ice-dwelling fella.

I had thought of it as an emperor penguin but I’ve since found out their feet should be grey not orange! Worse still, their feet aren’t even webbed. It’s clear therefore that this is in fact a Gentoo Penguin and so I shall claim I was intending this to be the case from the start - honest!

Spaceship

Since I’m clearly out of my depth when it comes to animals, I went back to my happy place of spaceship-building with this last one.

I had expected the two Christmas trees (Spruce Tree, Small in Dark Green/ Green – 6268823|2435) included in the set to be among the hardest parts to integrate into a build. I suppose I was half-right there because while I did think to use them as engine intakes quite quickly, integrating them into a design proved harder than expected. Eventually I figured out a way to conceal one whole half of each tree, which hopefully makes their inclusion a little less obtuse.

Some other botanical elements that made it into this build are a pair of 1x1 round plates with 3 leaves (Plant w/ Plate 1X1, No. 1 in Dark Green/ Green – 6229130|32607) whose vaguely triangular shape closed up some of the gaps around the cockpit nicely.

Also used are a full set of the four 1x1 flowers (Flower 1x1 in Light Royal Blue/ Bright Light Blue – 6209683|24866) which are supposed to represent an insignia of sorts on each wing tip.

Conclusion

After a fair amount of joyful experimenting, I’m pleased to report that the elements in these polybags, sold as parts packs for theme-specific builds, also serve as an excellent jumping off point for weird and wonderful custom creations. Yay for unusual parts use! So, here’s the question: what will you build with them?

READ MORE: Interview with LEGO® Ideas 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay designers, Milan Madge and Austin William Carlson 

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