The next promotion at the LEGO® Store is the Easter Basket GWP (gift-with-purchase). The LEGO® Group graciously sent me an early copy of the set to play with, and I built it earlier this week live on YouTube. In case you missed the stream, you can watch it through the link below. As for the GWP, expect to see it at the LEGO® Store from March 16 – April 9, 2023 (while quantities last). As I write this, the Canadian price point for getting one remains unknown. However, I do know that you will have to spend $70 USD to get one south of the border. Consequently, expect to spend around $100 CAD in Canada.
Update: After publication, the LEGO® Group revealed the Canadian price point for this set is $90.
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Easter Basket GWP Details:
- NAME: Easter Basket
- SET #: 40587
- THEME: Seasonal gift-with-purchase
- COST: Free with purchases ($24.99 CAD value)
- BRICK COUNT: 368
- MINIFIGURES: None
- RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2023
EASTER BASKET GWP QUICK REVIEW
- VALUE: 100% (Free bricks and build time.)
- BUILD: 95% (Nice build reminiscent of the Botanicals Collection.)
- MINIFIGURES: N/A
- ENTERTAINMENT: 80% (Nice set with decent display potential.)
- OVERALL SCORE: 92% (Very good gift-with-purchase.)
| What I liked | What I liked a little less |
|---|---|
| Build techniques remind me of the Botanical Collection. Easy to repurpose as a display after Easter. | Lacks a “wow” factor that makes me want to rush and get it. I don’t really like the rabbit (I know I’m probably a minority) |
VALUE: 100%
As a gift-with-purchase, you can’t really go wrong in terms of cost-per-brick. These are free parts and build time you get with a purchase you were probably going to make anyway. As such, I will rate the value at 100%. However, for curiosity’s sake, if you bought the Easter Basket at the recommended $24.99 in Canada, the cost/brick works out to about $0.07. That is nothing short of amazing. I can’t really accurately judge the build time because I assembled this set live while reading and responding to comments. Consequently, I think I was building much slower than usual. However, the live stream lasted just over one hour.
BUILD: 95%
Do you remember when Icons sets were labeled as Creator Expert? That wasn’t so long ago, right? Back then we had Creator Expert and Creator 3-in-1 running concurrently. We got the amazing modulars in the Expert line, and some interesting albeit less detailed town buildings from 3-in-1. Why am I babbling about this? Well, the Easter Basket feels like the 3-in-1 version of an expert botanical set. Some of the techniques are markedly similar, namely the pot. I definitely felt like I was assembling a simpler version of the Bird of Paradise base. In this case, you employ quite a few hinged bricks and plates around a central support structure to achieve an octagonal form. Plates covered with arched tiles cover the base structure and make it rounder.
As for the pot fillers, there are no loose bits to worry about spilling (or dusting). The rabbit is nothing to write home about, but it has a cutesy appeal for people into that sort of thing. I would just as soon leave it out and add more plants. The flowers feature a simple but very effective design. I can see myself using this to construct jungle scenes. If you’re building Pandora with your Avatar sets, this simple design will go a long way to filling out your forest. The flowers work well in any tropical forest setup, or even a Minifigure botanical garden. Overall, I like this build more than I thought I would. I rate it at 95%.
ENTERTAINMENT: 80%
Seasonal GWPs are generally fairly popular. Personally, I am neither here nor there about most of them. I like to get new Minifigures, and the Easter Basket doesn’t provide any. Additionally, I have enough Easter related sets from previous years. As such, I was not overly excited about this offering. However, building it swayed my opinion a little. I really like the Botanical Collection, and Easter Basket reminded me of building one of those. If I remove the rabbit and add more of the easy-to-build plants, this set offers display potential beyond the Easter holiday. I can’t say the same for past promos like the Carrot House. I rate the entertainment score at 80%.
OVERALL SCORE: 92%
I like this set more than I anticipated I would. The build techniques are interesting, and the brick selection is good too. If you like the Botanicals Collection, Easter Basket will be right up your alley. Additionally, unlike past seasonal promotions, this set offers good year-round display potential if you modify it a little by removing the rabbit and adding more flowers. Finally, it comes at an excellent price point. In fact, it is the best GWP price point we have seen this year for a kit in this value range. Would I rush out and make a purchase just to get it? Probably not. However, if I had a purchase in mind anyway, this is a solid set to get as a freebie. What do you think of the Easter Basket GWP? Will you get one? Let me know in the comments below or reach out on social media.
Until next time,
-Tom
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