LEGO Icons 10359 Fountain Garden review

The latest LEGO garden is a beautiful set that hides a surprising amount of complexity, which will please seasoned builders – but it occasionally feels like the whole thing has been overengineered.

The follow-up to 2023’s 10315 Tranquil Garden, LEGO Icons 10359 Fountain Garden provides builders with a tiny Mediterranean scene filled with flora and terracotta. While the new set doesn’t shine quite as brightly as the first in this burgeoning new collection, when assessed on its own merits it’s hard to fault anything on display here.

Release: January 1, 2025 Price: £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 Pieces: 1,302 Minifigures: 0 LEGO: Order now

The trouble with sequels

Considering just how well 10315 Tranquil Garden turned out, it’s hardly surprising that the LEGO Group has opted to turn what was originally a one-off set into a collection in its own right – something that could easily carve out a similar niche as the Botanical Collection, which shares more than a little DNA with these sets.

As the sequel to the 2023 masterpiece, LEGO Icons 10359 Fountain Garden suffers a little by comparison. It’s never good for a garden to be overshadowed, and this apparently is true of plastic flowers as much as real ones. The biggest problem is that where Tranquil Garden is (at times literally) overflowing with fabulous detail – a tiled river complete with printed fish, a variety of different fauna and traditional Buddhist statues, and even a tea set and a pair of slippers at the doorstep of its miniature pagoda – 10359 Fountain Garden feels, ironically, a little spartan.

Not only is this set noticeably smaller in all dimensions than the first in its series, it also feels like there are fewer little details across its garden. Where 10315 Tranquil Garden feels lived-in, there’s a degree of humanity that’s lacking from 10359 Fountain Garden. A casual glance at the set might suggest that this is a simpler build than 10315 Tranquil Garden, but it quickly becomes apparent that this isn’t the case.

Complexity for complexity’s sake

The actual process of constructing 10359 Fountain Garden will suit some people more than others – as will the stability of the finished piece. The ability to rearrange various plants and architectural features within this set carries over from 10315 Tranquil Garden, and it’s a nice way to make the set more adaptable while keeping a neat, clean aesthetic.

This set goes one step further by allowing the builder to remove each of the four quarters of the display and replace them wherever they may like. This allows for rearranging the set’s pillars and columns, as well as its topiaries, which is a nice touch.

The process of constructing these chunks of removable terrain, though, is odd. There’s a neat Studs-Not-on-Top technique utilised to achieve the correct shape, which is undeniably one of the more fun moments of the build. That said, when these sections are done, it’s difficult to understand why this complicated build technique was used when a far simpler solution would have been to stack plates in a more traditional style.

The complexity of the build will therefore be a bit polarising. For experienced builders, this offers several nice ‘aha!’ moments as things click together with some enjoyable surprises. For those who feel less confident with LEGO System, though, 10359 Fountain Garden may end up feeling a little overengineered where a simpler solution would have proven more accessible.

Handle with care

The finished set is undeniably pretty. Indeed, this is one LEGO set that looks better up-close and in-person than in photos on a phone, and it’s worth bearing this in mind. Some of the plants look a little better than others – the cypress trees, created using 64 Wolverine claws, are a highlight of the display (although unfortunately the most repetitive and painful part of the build, given how many claws need to be pushed into place). The bushes that line the paths, on the other hand, look a little low-poly by comparison: lots of straight edges, very little detail.

What is true in more than a few places, though, is that these plants can be a little fragile. Some are sturdier than others (those bushes are actually among the flimsier examples, which is surprising considering their design) and a few hanging plants wobble around awkwardly because they’re not anchored at the bottom of their columns and pillars.

Perhaps the most egregiously wobbly part of the build is its titular fountain, which takes centre stage, and features trickles of water on all sides. These elements are not actually attached to any other pieces through traditional means; instead they’re squished into place by other parts, and it’s very easy for one of these pieces to come loose and fall out of place. How often that will happen in practice remains to be seen, but it leaves a cloud of nervous anxiety hanging over the entire model.

Even the base of the set feels a little on the flimsy side, and it’s hard to keep everything flat, with corners rising up awkwardly, especially if segments of the terrain have been pulled out and put back in a few times. To come full circle, this feels like a result of the set’s occasionally barebones presentation – this base has far less weight to it than the base on 10315 Tranquil Garden, which itself is copying the design for the earlier 10281 Bonsai Tree.

10359 Fountain Garden certainly looks the part, but it’s perhaps not the sturdiest set, and as such it’s best suited to be put on display and not touched too often.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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Our honest opinion: At times needlessly complicated and fragile, 10359 Fountain Garden nevertheless looks delightful on display and will please fans of this particular architectural and arboreal style.