11 July 2025

Review: LEGO® 40784 African Savanna Diorama Gift with Purchase

Posted by Tim Johnson

Lego stork and elephant

The current LEGO® Gift with Purchase (GwP) is African Savanna Diorama, running until 17 July 2025 or while stocks last. It's a gorgeous vignette of African flora and fauna with a pleasing parts inventory, so let's take a trip to the savannah!


Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

40784 African Savanna Diorama
  • Release date: 8 to 17 July 2025, while stocks last
  • Pieces: 287
  • Measures: over 4.5 in. (12 cm) high, 5 in. (13 cm) wide and 5 in. (13 cm) deep
  • Availability: free with purchases at the minimum thresholds listed below
Thresholds:

Other countries click here

Lego GwP 40784 African Savanna Diorama

 

The parts

There are no new moulds, recolours or decorated pieces in the set. It does have a couple of rare pieces, and a surprising number of parts in decent quantities for such a small gift set.

Rare pieces

2 lego parts

Parts in quantity

5 lego parts
  • 27 + 1 spare x Plate Round 1 x 1 with Open Stud in Dark Tan (6300322 | 85861). That's 9.4% of the inventory!
  • 19x Wedge Plate 2 x 2 Cut Corner in Dark Orange (6228840 | 26601) – more than any other set.
  • 8 +1 spare x Plant, Stem with 3 Leaves and Bottom Pin in Olive Green (6285465 | 37695), second only to 21058 The Great Pyramid of Giza
  • 7 +1 spare x Bar 1L / Stem with 3 Sprouts/Prongs in Tan (6324176 | 68211)
  • Plant, Leaves Stacked 4 x 5 x 1 2/3 (5058):
    • 6 in Green (6507840), only available in 4 other sets
    • 6 in Dark Green (6507841) – more than any other set.

Building the model

The box of Lego set 40784 African Savanna Diorama Gift with Purchase

The box is an impressive height and width, for so few pieces.


4 Lego bags of bricks and instruction booklet

There are 4 bags of bricks; mine were of the new kind using paper with plastic lining.


rounded square lego base with lan and dark orange ground and blue water

This is the result after Bag 1: the double-thickness base and first layer of elements. Already clear are the rough areas of rock and water, and the smooth surface (sand?) where the elephant will stand. 

Look carefully and you'll see that among the transparent-light blue 1x2 plates are two round 1x1s with hole. A stork will be attached to them, which an elephant will be attached to the stud of the dark orange 2x2 jumper plate.


the same model now with dozens of small plants and grasses attached

Bag 2 completes the rock and the pool, and adds a lot of small plants and grasses which were quite fiddly for my fat fingers – but the instructions are nice and clear about where they are placed. I really like the layered edges of the pool.


lego africal savannah scene with trees rocks and water

Bag 3 focuses on the 3 trees. Most recognisable is the baobab with its bulging trunk, making use of that rare reddish brown cone.  Indeed, I didn't recognise the other trees and so have just done some googling.

I'm guessing the largest tree represents the acacia, but I didn't really arrange the leaves in the iconic horizontal orientation here. That's because I really like the way the branches are built, allowing a lot of angling and rotation. 

Of course, that is the stork's egg up on the acacia!

The short tree with pink flowers looks like the Desert Rose, but if anyone with actual knowledge on this subject would like to correct me, please chime in in the comments!


Bag 4 moves on to the animals, and one final plant.

2 strange small lego models with appendages

During construction of the two animals, I did wonder if some Star Wars droids were invading Africa.


completed lego set 40784 African Savanna Diorama Gift with Purchase

Not at all: they are a marabou stork and a baby elephant! Both are created with a modicum of elements and yet are wonderful representations. I love the tusks; simply a semicircular jumper plate beneath the 1x4 dark grey curved slope of the trunk. The elephant's legs seem a bit robotic if you stand them straight, but with a little angling, some naturalism can be injected. There's also enough give in other connections, like the ears, to add further personality to this cutie.

Conclusion

birds eye view of set 40784 African Savanna Diorama Gift with Purchase

This is a delightful GwP. The model is well balanced in terms of the base and the trees, with clusters of interesting details everywhere.


rear view of the back of 40784 African Savanna Diorama Gift with Purchase. A large rock is prominent in the foreground

It even looks nice from the back!


side view of 40784 African Savanna with lego elephant and baobab tree

As the elephant is only attached by one foot, you can easily rotate it and display the model from a different angle.


side view of 40784 African Savanna with stork facing backwards

The stork can easily be rotated 180°, and if you move the transparent-light blue parts around it could be rotated 90° too. The wide variety of plants provided can also be shifted about simply, making this a fun diorama to rearrange.

It's also a great colour scheme, although I find the contrast of the small bright green plants detracts from the water. That, however is literally the only complaint I can find here. 

If you can afford the threshold, this is definitely a worthy GwP that makes a charming display or helpful addition to your parts collection. 


Available until 17 July/while stocks last, with purchases at the minimum thresholds:

Other countries click here

Lego GwP 40784 African Savanna Diorama


READ MORE: Also until 17 July: LEGO® Insiders Days double (and quadruple!) loyalty points

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