Valentine’s Day is on its way. As usual, LEGO has released a set to commemorate the occasion; this year it is 40462 Valentine's Brown Bear. I want to judge this set for any interest group, regardless of your love-life, so rather than looking at this as just a Valentine’s set, I’ll also be looking at its part selection.
The Parts
Retailed at $14.99 / £13.49 / €14.99, the price per part comes out around 6 cents, making it a relatively cheap set.
As you can see, Reddish Brown is the most-used colour in this set, followed by Bright Red/ Red and Brick Yellow/ Tan. There is a nice large selection of sloped bricks and curved bricks, as well as 7 types of SNOT bricks and brackets.
There are no new moulds or recolours to be found in the set. There are a few otherwise-interesting parts:
- 1x Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 2 Inverted in Cool Yellow/ Bright Light Yellow (6296485 | 99207) is previously found in just two 2020 sets, and also makes an appearance in the 43191 Ariel’s Celebration Boat from the January 2021 wave.
- 1 x Plate 2 x 2 in Bright Light Yellow (6316265 | 3022) also appeared in only two 2020 sets, but starts 2021 with 4 new appearances.
- 1x Plate Angled 3 x 3 with Heart Shape in Red (6276193 | 39613) was in 2 earlier sets, and also shows up in the 2021 set 41448 Heartlake City Movie Theater.
- 2x Plate 3 x 3 in Tan (6115031 | 11212) is a borderline case, with 4 previous appearances in 2020 sets.
The Build
The build starts out with the base which is actually hollow, and has a hidden message inside.
Of course, you can give your own spin to this message. For instance, for a wedding proposal: Hide a ring inside, or if you want to announce a pregnancy, you can add a date and a baby. Just make sure you don’t overdo it ;-).
The hidden message gets sealed off, and a blanket and some flowers are added to set the scene.
We move on to the bear. Its body hides a nice selection of SNOT bricks that get covered in the Reddish Brown slopes and curves. The legs and arms are added, with a pretty micro-build heart to hold.
Comparing the heart with the official set art (above right), it seems someone needed an extra cup of coffee before starting the shoot.
Next up is the head. I love this design. It’s such a cute bear!
Once it’s added to the base, we are done.
Conclusion
This set really works for me. It’s just cute. I’m glad that this year, LEGO didn’t go for another Brickheadz, as this design captures a bear much better. Don’t get me wrong, I do like the 40379 Bear, but the added details of the 40462 makes it stand out some more.
The hidden message in the base is a great extra feature, that you can use to personalise your build. And if you’re not into the Valentine’s Day stuff, leave out the hearts and just have a cute bear. And if you can’t even bear the design, the set is also a good parts-pack with a selection of SNOT, curves and slopes.
Massive thanks go to our 'Vibrant Coral' patrons: Megan Lum, Markus Rollbühler, Jorgito Mozo, Mevits Bricks, Font Review Journal, Baixo LMmodels, Andy Price, Anthony Wright, Chris Cook, London AFOLs, Gerald Lasser, Big B Bricks, Dave Schefcik, David and Breda Fennell, Huw Millington, Neil Crosby, Antonio Serra, Beyond the Brick, Sue Ann Barber & Trevor Clark, and Kevin Gascoigne. Vale Iain Adams, a great supporter of New Elementary.
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If you can't bear the design... Nice one ;-)
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