It's still empty apart from the three images that scroll in a loop, but LEGO announces the color with the upload ofa dedicated mini-site : Legends of Chima will be entitled to high-end marketing packaging, as is the case with many LEGO ranges.

And it would be better if someone explains to us what it's all about, because with the announced sets (grouped below), I have trouble for the moment to visualize where LEGO wants to take us ... have understood that Speedorz are a species of vehicle that will have to be propelled with launchers similar to those of spinning tops, but I still have not understood why wolves, eagles, crocodiles and cats move with devices that they also look like animals.

I'm probably exaggerating a bit, but I'm looking forward to the cartoon that should be released on Cartoon Network in 2013 and which will tell us how we get there. This new range would almost make me regret the imminent disappearance of ninja fighter pilots ...

 (Click on the image to access the photo gallery)

Back to the moment of Festi'Briques 2012 where I spent part of the day. Nice atmosphere, it circulates well around the tables, exhibitors available and answering all questions from visitors, welcoming volunteers, I do not regret my 5 hours on the road, a good part of which is in the snow. 

The 1000 m2 gymnasium that hosts the event is well occupied and there is a lot to see. I was able to find Domino 39 and R5-N2 who came to present their MOCs, the Rochefort station for Domino 39 and Vader's barge for R5-N2, also seen at Fana'Briques this year. Friendly and relaxed meal in the company of Daftren, who came as a visitor, his young brother-in-law who is also passionate about LEGO and R5-N2.

Lots of MOCs presented, with superb achievements especially on the Cars or City themes, with a pinch of superheroes in the heart of the city to stick to the main theme, cinema. The team Bionifigs was present in force and offered a few creations including one on the Transformers theme which reconciles me a little with the Bionicle / Hero Factory theme. 

Large crowds also around the Technic stand on which were gathered all the official sets released between 1977 and 1990 surrounded by some nice MOCs. 

Many amazed children there, accompanied by their parents who clearly understand that we can do very beautiful things with LEGO. An observation in view of the reactions of the children: It must move or that it flashes to attract their attention. A running train, a helicopter with the rotor in action or a few light diodes are enough to attract them to an MOC.

As for the Star Wars range, a Hoth diorama, a battle of Endor where the Gungans (undoubtedly from Naboo, history of a change of air) come to lend a hand to the Ewoks and some UCS on display, including the most recent, the 10227 B-Wing set.

A dedicated space allows children to play with DUPLOs made available to them, the older ones can discover some LEGO board games including the famous 853373 LEGO® Kingdoms Chess Set.

If you are in the area, you can go and discover it all tomorrow Sunday at Châtenoy-le-Royal (8, Avenue Georges Brassens - Gymnase Alain Colas).

Otherwise, you can have a preview of the event with the photo gallery that I have posted for you on this page. 

Small precision about the diorama representing the Deep of Helm: It was apparently not planned to present it like this, but JeanG, the president of Festi'Briques confirmed to me that the 3000 Orcs envisaged could not be obtained , they were to form an imposing army in front of the walls and the soldiers in black who are here present outside the fortress were originally to ensure its defense.

The association's website is at this address.

It's confirmed : The Empire Strikes Out becomes with us Bulk Empire and will be broadcast on France 3 as part of the LUDO youth program on Friday, November 2 at around 10:10 a.m. just after the (re) broadcast of The Padawan Threat (9:45 p.m.).

We won't have had to wait long to get a French version of this animated short film, the action of which begins just after the Death Star explosion. Hopefully the humor present in the dialogues of the original version is also present in the French version.

Just like The Padawan Threat, The Empire Strikes Out should be released later on DVD / Blu-ray, with why not, an exclusive minifigure ... 

(thank you to Galaad for his confirmation in the comments and to Durge Bu on facebook) 

In a few lines, here are figures from professional reports that help to better understand the state of the current toy market in France as well as the place and strategy of LEGO.

Over the first 8 months of 2012, the toy market in France was negative at -4% in value and -8% by volume. Where the Action Figures (or action figures) is in sharp decline with a decrease of 27% of the turnover generated compared to 2011, the construction games market (incorporating LEGO) is up 18% over the same period.

In the market of Action Figures, only the Spider-Man licenses (+ 380% with the help of the film), Power Rangers (+ 696% thanks to the return of the license via Power Rangers Samurai), Pokemon (stable), Avengers and Batman are doing well .

Regarding the Friends range, LEGO communicates a few figures: The LEGO brand is considered mixed until the age of 5 via Duplo. After this milestone, only 14% of female customers acquired to the cause. This is why LEGO flooded the media with advertisements in 2012 in order to create notoriety around this new range as quickly as possible. LEGO believes that the potential of this range is at least equivalent to that of the City range over the 5-8 year range.

During the period from January to June 2012, LEGO is part of the Top 10 Advertisers in France with € 4.856.000 of invested budget (launch of the Friends range) and is in third place behind the two giants Mattel (€ 9.858.000) and Hasbro (€ 7.179.000). MEGA Brands is not present in this ranking, but the press relations manager I met at NYCC 2012 confirmed to me that the group would be more present in 2013 to highlight its licenses (WoW, Halo, Skylanders, Power Rangers Samurai).

The advertising budget allocated by LEGO over the same period in 2011 was € 3.162.000, i.e. an increase of 53.6% in 2012. For comparison, Playmobil invested 1.194.000 € in 2012, reducing its budget by 7.1% compared to 2011.

TV advertising represents 82.8% of the total advertising investments made over the first six months of 2012, all brands combined. 11.1% of the sums were invested on the internet, and cinema, radio and the print media share the rest.
The biggest advertising investors in 2011 were Hasbro, Mattel and Giochi Preziosi (Gormiti).

No reliable information for the moment concerning the licenses for 2012, but as an example, know that in 2011 the Top 3 consisted of Beyblade, Cars and Hello Kitty.

In the ranking game of the most sold licenses on the toy market and carried by a film we find Cars (2011), Spider-Man (2007), Star Wars (2011), Toy Story (2010) and Ratatouille (2008).

Regarding distribution channels, a few figures: Between 2009 and 2011 the market share of supermarkets / hypermarkets increased by only 1%, where the pdm of specialized brands increased by 7%. The biggest increase is to the credit of online merchants with + 47% pdm in 3 years.

Regarding the sale of collectible products in sachets, it is a huge market: Products under 5 € represent 40% of the volumes sold in France thanks to a price adapted to the children's budget and to impulse purchases. By way of reference, the PetShop brand launched in France in 2005 has already offered more than 2000 different references with the success that we know. Enough to whet the appetite of LEGO, Playmobil or MEGA Brands with their figurines in sachets in this segment.

The Lord of the Rings LEGO set 9474 The Battle Of Helm's Deep isn't fundamentally bad, but it still seems unfinished, much like all LEGO sets that consist of pieces of facades, portions of walls or somewhat skeletal interiors.

Eurolock did not let itself be defeated: He quite simply undertook to dress the fortress himself by creating what is missing, while respecting the original scale and the spirit of the official set.

The end result is really excellent, he got a believable fortress and he even integrated an interior in the heart of the mountain on which the building is leaned.

To see more, visit Eurolock's flickr gallery.