It seems that merch for the holidays shows up earlier and earlier every year. Case in point, LEGO has revealed their Valentine’s Day themed holiday set – LEGO 40522 (Love Birds). We don’t know the price yet, but based on the 286-piece part count and the 2021 Valentine’s set, we’re guessing it’ll be in the $15-20 US range. We’ll find out for sure when on January 1st when this set is officially released! In the meantime, we can take an even earlier look at this offering and see if the love shines through or not.
UPDATE! These cuties are now available for US $12.99 | CAN $16.99 | UK £11.99 and they’re called “Valentine Lovebirds”. Good to know!
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Unboxing the parts and instructions
The set comes packaged in a small thumb-punch box. As you can see there is very minimal information provided about this set on the box – but you do get a very nice look a the contents: Two adorable love birds perched on a display stand. The age range is set at “8+” which is fair, but there’s very little challenge to this build.
Inside the box are six numbered parts bags and two center-stapled instruction booklets. The different sub-builds are bundled with 1-2 being the first bird, 3-4 for the display stand, and 5-6 for the other bird and the “floating” heart. Packed loose are a 6×8 tan plate and a clear rod. There are no stickers included with this set.
The birds
The construction on the birds reminded me a lot of the core of a BrickHeadz model. The lower body is pretty much just “studs up” construction, with the upper body and head with a core of SNOT styling. There are a lot of bright colors in play, with flame orange and bright orange playing against the standard and lime greens.
The first completed parrot is just super cute. Mixel 1×1 round tiles work well for the eyes, with the red roof brick a good choice for the beak. The detail lover in me was happy to see a wealth of 1×1 tooth and quarter-circle tiles, as well as some curved edge slopes.
The parrot also looks good from the side and rear. LEGO could probably have found a way to go with a completely studless look, but I think leaving a couple of them exposed helps remind the causal viewer that they’re looking at a brick-built model.
The second bird has identical construction to the first, but the colors are shuffled around to create some good visual distinctions between the two.
Side by side, you can clearly tell these birds apart. The one on the left, obviously, is Warren.
The branch
The display stand is a bit less Easter-egg ridden than last year’s offering, but offers a more naturalistic setting for our Love Birds. A reddish brown branch is built on a tan plate base, with a smattering of heart-shaped flowers growing out of it.
The final bit of stand is a floating red heart. I’m not thrilled with the shape of it, as it seems a bit too pointy to me. I’ll probably replace this in my copy with a stack of a 3×3 and 6×6 modified heart plate attached to the same rod.
The finished model
The assembled Love Bird set is very adorable. The birds are mounted on 2×2 turntables, allowing for a limited amount of posing. But no matter which way you turn them, they still feel like they’re having a great time together.
From the rear things don’t look as great – again that heart just doesn’t seem as polished as the rest of the set.
But whatever. They’re just totes adorb.
Conclusion and recommendation
Without knowing pricing, I have to base my recommendation on “If I saw this on the shelf, would I be tempted to get it? Would the people I know be tempted?” And to that, the answer is very much “Yes”. The parrots are cute, the build is quick and fun, and there are a lot of great colors and parts to reuse later. Assuming LEGO doesn’t put a ridiculous markup on “cute”, then I think there will be a lot of love birds sharing Love Birds over the coming year.
LEGO Iconic 40522 Valentine Lovebirds will be available January 1st from the LEGO Shop Online for US $12.99 | CAN $16.99 | UK £11.99 It may also be available via third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
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