Red Maple Bonsai (LEGO 10348)

About this set

This is LEGO 10348 Red Maple Bonsai from the Botanical Collection, a 474-piece build rated 5/5 in difficulty, making it one of the tougher sets in its range. The finished model is a brick-built bonsai tree: the trunk is shaped into a curved line, the foliage is layered from red and orange pieces for an orange-red canopy, and the base is a square green build, with beige and green accents giving the display a clear color contrast on a desk. The challenge is mostly in the canopy. The leaves are not one large panel but clusters fixed onto the branches, and the red and orange parts need to alternate so the tree does not look flat. I would press the curved trunk and green square base together first, then build the foliage branch group by branch group, and adjust the angles at the end. With 474 pieces, many of them small, sorting by color and branch group saves a lot of digging. This suits builders who have already done smaller Botanical Collection sets and want a more involved canopy, or anyone into bonsai subjects who does not mind spending time on leaf placement. Given the 5/5 rating, set aside a full session rather than moving a half-finished tree around.