This is a fun little build and the result looks so darn' cute. I'm very fond of the set. I placed it next to my bed, so I see it early in the morning. May these adorable pots chase away the crankiness I usually get out of bed with!

The building experience is nothing out of the ordinary, but still fun. Because of the smaller size it is less repetitive than most Botanicals. The parts list is good too, though if you want to use the set for MOC'ing, it might not be easy as both pots' colours are on the rarer side.

As I already noted in the title of this review, I would love it if Lego were to start Happy Plants as a subtheme. They could surely annually release a set with one, two or three of these little guys.

It is one of those sets you'll find in many shops at reduced prices, year 'round. I got it for just 12 euro instead of Lego's 20 euro RRP. I suggest you get it! ;)

I was three when this set came out, so I don't know exactly when I got it, but I suppose it was a few years later. What I do remember, is that I simply loved playing with it. Plenty of moving parts, opening doors etc. This was years before there were flipper-parts, so using the 1x2 plates for flippers is OG style NPU in my eyes.

In 1997 I got to my Dark Ages, but Lego was on the brink of them too. There were still some nice – though nowhere near great – sets being released, but also some real crap (e.g. 6554, 6549, 6250, ...). And Idea Book 697 is a clear illustration of the direction Lego was headed for in the next few years. There are a couple of decent builds in here (especially those in the Town and Space themes) but few that compare to the ideas in Idea Books 200, 250, or 260.Same goes for the dioramas on the pages. They just look like stuff any kid could do with random bricks. In the older books, the pages were full of elaborate buildings and vehicles that were truly inspiring, something to strife for …

The decay of the Castle and Pirate series is definitely visible in this book. The idea for Pirates in here is two canoes and a rowboat connected by a rope bridge and with a stone structure on top. Who came up with that? And WHY? The Castle idea is a gatehouse that cannot be closed because of a lack of doors or fences. If a kid comes up with that, that's fine, but an adult who gets paid to design Lego?

I still collected the Lego catalogues in the next few years, but I didn't see anything in there that I would have bought, even if I had been only 10. So this Idea book was a symptom of Lego not having a clear direction. I'm glad that in the early 2000s, they got their act together and that I can now build a lot of great stuff – both new and old – with my cousins.