Review: Miniso Toys Mini City Flower Shop

I picked this up back in April after spending some time trying to figure out if it was Lego compatible or Nanoblock sized like a lot of other recent Miniso toy releases.  There are three other sets in this line -- I may review them at some point -- but I wanted the botanical parts from this one.

 

Box.  MSRP is $4.99 for a $0.05 Price per Piece.  

Instructions & Stickers.

Parts 1.  Plates, Quarter Circle Plate, 3x4 Leaves, Large Jumpers, Wedge Plate, Printed Transparent Door, Turntable Base, Round Large Jumper, Hinge Brick Top, Fence, Door, Window, Transparent 2x2x2 Round Brick, Panel, 1x1x2 Brick, Macaroni Brick, Transparent 2x2 Round Brick, Bricks, Log Bricks, Corner Tile w/Cutout, Travis Bricks, Brick w/Pinhole, Hinge Brick Base, Studless Slopes, and Tooth Plate.

Parts 2.  Dish, Turntable Top, Tiles, Jumper, Transparent Window, Tooth

Plates, Plant Stems w/Stud, Wedge Studless Slopes, Plates, Apollo

Studs, Round Plates w/Flower Edge, Clip Tiles, Bar Studs, Padlock,

Minifig Telescope, Friction Pin, Bar Bar Holders, Bars, and Tap.

   

Build.  Three 1 Hit pieces of Cover.  

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Cover.  (0)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have

  parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +15 (A).  There are some nice colors and pieces -- that 2x2x2 Transparent Round Brick is intriguing -- but there's not a lot of useful parts for building Frames.

Review: Miniso Toys HWMC7164 My Little Garden Lily

There's a second series of Miniso Toys flowers.  From the picture on the side of the box there are six in this run.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Loose in box.  Ribbon, Printed Tile.

Parts 2.  Modified Minifig Ski Poles, Triple

Wedge, 4x4 Clip Leaves, Axles, 8x3 Bar

Leaves, Tail End Section, Studless Slopes,

Plates, Cones, Round Plates, Padlocks,

Apollo Studs, Round Bricks, Bar Plates,

Bricks w/Studs on Sides, Bar, Axle Connector, Pin Connector w/Axle, 3L Axle Connector, Bushings w/Clip, Angled Axle/Pin Connector,

Tail Middle Section, and Flower Stamens.

Build.  Frame (2W), two Stations, and a 1 Hit piece of Cover.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Those Bushings w/Clip are the star of the show for me.  I also like the two different sets of Leaves.

Review: Miniso DS1020 Plante de la Vie Not Yet Lovers

I've been waiting since September of two years ago for more of the Plante de la Vie  -- or "Flower Language Series" -- sets to show up at my local Miniso store.  It only took a year and a half but they've finally materialized.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99 for a $0.06 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Round Plates, Semi-Circle Plates,  Plates, Round Bricks,

Octagonal Bar Plates, Round Plate w/Leaves, Macaroni Bricks, Round

Flower Plate, Macaroni Tiles,  Bar, Studless Slopes, Clip Plates, Plates

w/Pinhole, Round Large Jumpers, and Round Tile w/Pinhole.

Build.  Two 1 Hit pieces of

Cover and a Frame (2W).

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Not a bad set.  That is a Pale Pink though.

Review: Miniso PC8279-11 Car Model Blue

I was in a new-to-me Miniso store last week looking for more of the other line of Botanical sets I reviewed the other week when I discovered this new line of sets.  This was the only copy they had of this set so I bought it to review.  There are two other sets in this line going by the pictures on the box.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions & Stickers.

Parts 1.  Loose in box.  Pull Back Motor Brick.

Parts 2.  Tires.

Parts 3.  Brackets, Translucent Tiles, Tiles, Clip Plates, Hinge Plates,

Plates, Grille Tiles, Wedge Studless Slopes, Translucent Bar Plate,

Axle Plates, Bar Holder w/Bar, Bar Holder w/Clip, Lever Bases, Bar,

Inkwells, Translucent Round Tiles, Levers, Turntable Tops, and a Rim.

 

Parts 4.  Plates, Transparent Tiles, Rims, Tile w/Pin, Inverted

Slopes, Brick w/Studs on Side, Tiles, and Minifig Seats.

Build. IO Cruiser.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  I like the light Blue pieces and the Transparent Bar Plate.  The Pull Back Motor Brick is intriguing, as are the 1x1x1 Brackets.  There's a decent selection of parts too.  Now I just need to find more.

Review: Miniso Toys Flowers HWMC1016 Sunflower

Miniso now has a second line of Botanical sets.  According to the pictures on the back of the box there are nine sets in this line.  I managed to purchase three of them so let's take a week and review them.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.03 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Loose in box.  Ribbon.

Parts 2.  Round Plates, Clip Leaves, Tiles,  Stadium Tiles, Octagonal Bar

Plates, Large Round Jumper, Bar Clips, Angled Axle Connecter w/Pinhole,

Axle Connectors, Axle Connectors w/Pinhole, Bar w/Stop, Half Pins, 2L

Axles, Clip Plates, Cone, Inverted Studless Slopes, and Tooth Plates.

Build.  Frame (2W) and 2 Hit piece of Cover.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  I really like those Clip Leaves, I just wish it had more of them.  More Octagonal Bar Plates is always a good thing.  It's a great parts pack if you need any of seven different pieces in Yellow though.  :-)

Review: Miniso Toys Flowers HWMC1005 Bellflower

Miniso now has a second line of Botanical sets.  According to the pictures on the back of the box there are nine sets in this line.  I managed to purchase three of them so let's take a week and review them.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Loose in box.  Ribbon.

Parts 2.  Studless Slopes, 2L Axles, Plates, Round Plates, Domes, Large

 Round Jumpers, Round Brick, Curved Slopes w/Wing, Axle Connectors,

 Bent Axle Connector w/Pinhole, Axle Connectors w/Pinhole, Bricks w/

 Studs on Corners, Round Bricks w/3 Leaves, Bar Clips, Padlocks, Bar

 Holders w/Bar, Round Plates w/Leaves, Apollo Studs, and Half Pins.

Build.  Two Proto-Frames (2W), and a 1 Hit piece of Cover.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  I'm sure a better builder than me could coax something more out of this set.  I like the colors but this seems like more of a parts pack than a core set.

Review: Miniso Toys Flowers HWMC1006 Multiflora Rose

Miniso now has a second line of Botanical sets.  According to the pictures on the back of the box there are nine sets in this line.  I managed to purchase three of them so let's take a week and review them.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.07 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Loose in box.  Ribbon.

Parts 2.  Curved Mudguards, Hexagonal Windscreens w/Bar, Axle Connectors,

2L Axles, Octagonal Bar Plates, Studless Slopes, Half Pin, Clip Plates, Round

Plates, Plates, Round Large Jumpers, Brackets, Pin Connector w/4 Clips,

3L Axle, Clip Claws, Flowers, Bar, Angled Axle Connectors, and Plant Stem.

Build.  Two Frames (2Rh+d8/2W), and a 2 Hit piece of Cover.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  I like this set although I feel like it could do with a few more "filler" pieces to be really good.

Review: Miniso 103280 Steel Acier Blue

I found these at my local Miniso store.  I haven't been able to track down any information about these sets online though.  This is a series of four sets that can combine and transform.

Box.  MSRP is $9.99, for a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions & Stickers.

Back of the box.

Parts 1.  Studless Slopes, Wedge Plate, Wedge Tile, Corner Tiles,

Plates, Inverted Rounded Tile, Ingots, Wedge Studless Slope, Bar

Plates, Transparent Cheese Slope, Stadium Tiles, Tiles, Round Tiles,

Pins, Axles, Bar Clip, U Clips, Double Ball Joint Plates, Hinge Plates,

Minifig Binoculars, Exo Force Arms, Travis Brick, and Slope w/Cutout.

Parts 2.  Studless Slopes, Plates, Ball Joint Plates, Inverted Tile, Inverted

Round Tile, Double Sided Round Plate, Bar Plates (closed ends), Bar Plate

(open ends), Octagon Tiles, Round Plates, Tiles, Hinge Brick Tops, Tile w/Studs,

Double Slopes, Wedge Plates, Corner Tiles, Bricks w/Pinhole, Bricks, Hinge

Brick Base, Large Ingot, Wedge Studless Slope, Clip Plate (vertical) Clip

Plates, Hinge Plates, Wedge Tile, and Axle Connector w/Ball Joint Socket.

 

Parts 3.  Plates, Windscreen, Tiles w/Pin, Ball Joint Socket Bricks, Click

Hinge Bricks, Bricks w/Pinhole and Dual Liftarms, Ball Joint Brick, Printed

Transparent Studless Slope, Brackets, Tires, Rims, Slopes w/Cutout,

Minifig Bucket Handle, 10L Propellor Blades, and Technic Ball Joint.

Build.  Two Frames (2Rh/1B/1Gd8/1Y)

and a Station.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Two Frames and a Station with tons of leftover parts for $10 is a great deal.  The 1x4 Hinge Plates are a little fragile but the two different Ball Joint Plates make up for that.

Review: Miniso DS1014 Plante de la Vie Bit of Starlight

I was in my local Miniso store a month ago tracking down some Hot Wheels for a guy at work and I stumbled across a new line of their clone brick sets.  They're not listed on their website but it can be found on AliExpress.  There are more sets pictured on the back of the box but this is the only one that store had in stock.

Box.  MSRP is $5.99 for a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

 Parts 1.  Flowers and Flower Stems.  (53 pieces)

Parts 2.  Cone, Plate, Panels, 1L Bar w/

Stop, Round Plate, Corner Plates, Studless

Slopes, Round Bricks, Clip Bar  Holders, Tiles,

Padlocks, and Apollo Studs.  (64 pieces) 

 

Build.  1 Hit piece of Cover and a Proto-Frame.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Terrain/Proto-Frame.  (0)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +15 (A).  So there's a bit to unpack about this set.  The main issue is the parts count.  I didn't see it listed on the front of the box when I bought it -- mainly because it's in White on a Light Blue background in small type -- so I started counting the number of parts in each bag.  The count is ten off from what is listed, 117 versus 127.  The strange thing is, I'm not sure if it's meant to have the higher count.  A rough estimate of the parts usage of the build pictured on the box comes out to what I counted in the set.  So what and where are the "missing" ten pieces supposed to be and go?  The second issue is what you actually get from the set.  I'm sure a better builder could coax something from this set but as it stands I feel it needs parts from another set to fill it out more.  The third issue is the Flower Stem pieces.  They don't stack.  The "Stud" in the center of the stems is bigger than a normal Stud so the only way they attach is the Anti-Stud on the bottom.  To be fair this set does have some colors you don't normally see like Nougat and Light Aqua, and has parts in colors Lego doesn't have yet -- the 1L Bars w/Stop and the Padlocks -- so it does have good points.

Review: Miniso 1806-2 Construction 8 in 1 Crane

After the first 8 in 1 Construction review turned out okay I figured I'd keep on reviewing them.  I managed to track down four more sets so let's take a look at them.

Box. I paid $1.99 for this which gives a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions & Stickers.

The other side of the instruction booklet.  

Parts.  Turntable Base, Plates, Tile, Round Plate, Hinge Plate, Axle Plates,

Studless Slopes, String Drum Holder, Bracket, Hinge Ball Joint Holder,

Pinhole Bricks, Axle-Hole Brick, Inverted Slopes, Barrel Hinges, Bricks,

Brick w/Studs on Side, Ball Joint Hook, String Drum, Cheese Slopes, Grille

 Tile, Axle w/Stop, Axle, Ladder Plates, Translucent Slope, and Tires.
  

Build.  2Ra/2Rh/2W.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5) (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  No.  (-5)
Score: +10 (A-).  Some useful parts, and some old-school ones too.

Needs some filler parts though.