Music Up: LEGO today unveils the next LEGO Ideas reference, the set 21323 Grand Piano.

In this box which is already listed on the official store online and will be on sale from August 1st at the public price of 349.99 € / 369.00 CHF, 3662 pieces and some elements of the ecosystem Powered Up (Smart Hub, motor and motion detector) to assemble a 30.5 x 35.5 x 22.5 cm piano capable of producing "real" music via its 25-key keyboard.

We are once again promised an ultra-relaxing and stress-relieving experience for dynamic young executives on hectic days. Be careful though to the inevitable scratches on the black parts and fingerprints that could spoil the moment.

This piano is not only an element of decoration for music lover fan of LEGO, it is also a functional instrument despite the simplification of its keyboard which goes from 88 to 25 keys and its range which goes from 8 to 2 octaves: The keys really point to the hammers and dampers, the pedals move and the effect is visible when lifting the cover.

All that's missing is the 6 AAA batteries not included and a recent Android or iOS smartphone to make you an accomplished pianist. You will understand, there is no speaker within the construction and you will have to install the application Powered Up on your smartphone to listen to the pre-recorded sound tracks.

You can also try to impress your friends with your talents as a composer, for example by pretending to play the score composed by Donny Chen, the creator of the initial project selected via the LEGO Ideas platform, installed on the model. Other scores will be offered via the dedicated application, the smartphone can then be installed on the instrument's desk. With an iPad or an Android tablet, it will be more complicated.

I will not lie to you that I am not exactly excited about the announcement of this product, but the "Review "which arrives in a few days will undoubtedly allow me to form a more definitive opinion on what seems to me above all to be a demonstration of know-how on the part of LEGO more than a consumer product.

LEGO IDEAS 21323 GRAND PIANO ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

THE SET ON THE BELGIAN SHOP >> THE SET ON THE SWISS SHOP >>

It is obviously the licensed Harry Potter calendar that should unleash passions this year with six minifigs, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Padma Patil, Parvati Patil and Cho Chang, all in the mood of the yule ball (Christmas ball) with some mini-constructions that will eventually flesh out the scene provided in the set 75948 Hogwarts Clocktower marketed since 2019. The minifigs of Harry, Ron and Hermione delivered in this calendar are also identical to those of the set in question.

The other two calendars are without real surprises with their minifigs or their mini-dolls and some more or less easily identifiable micro-things to assemble.

These three calendars are not yet referenced on the official online store but they should be available from September 1st, just like the LEGO Star Wars version whose visuals are available. at this address.

One ad chases the other and LEGO begins today a new teasing sequence that will lead us to the announcement of the next set in the LEGO Ideas range, the reference 21323 Grand Piano.

We already know that this new box will offer an inventory of more than 3600 pieces and that it will be necessary to pay the modest sum of 349.99 € to have the right to "play" with this piano based on the idea of ​​the project. Playable LEGO Piano proposed in its time by SleepyCow.

The teaser below with Beethoven's "Letter to Élise" in the background is unambiguous: this piano will play "real" music. It remains to be seen whether this will be via a built-in speakerphone or on your smartphone. You can imagine the answer.

It was one of the three novelties of the LEGO Technic range scheduled for August 1: The set 42113 Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey has been removed from the official online store while it was so far online alongside the two other planned boxes and it is difficult not to make the connection with the petition launched by the association German Peace Society - United War Resisters (DFG-VK) to obtain the withdrawal of the product and the end of the collaboration between LEGO and Boeing / Bell Helicopter.

Despite LEGO's attempt to offer a "civilian" version of the model, the tilt-rotor aircraft offered in the set in question is indeed above all a machine used by the American army since 2007. But the DFG-VK association is there. also sees a source of funding for the manufacturer of the "real" version of the aircraft: The set is officially licensed by Boeing and Bell and the two manufacturers would therefore receive royalties if the product is marketed. DFG-VK therefore sees it as an indirect contribution to the financing of companies manufacturing military vehicles.

Protest rallies are already planned in front of several German LEGO Stores and the manufacturer has already reacted more or less softly by specifying that the product had been developed with in mind a use in rescue operations but that the launch of this product featuring a device mainly used in military operations on August 1 would be subject to a "reassessment":

The DFG-VK association details in detail and across its motivations at this address. It's up to you to judge whether the arguments developed are well founded or whether it is above all a question of trying to cling to the branches and make a good publicity stunt by relying on the reputation of LEGO.

Anyway, putting all the above considerations aside, I would find it a shame that the product was not available, it was still sexier than the concrete mixer in the set. 42112 Concrete Mixer Truck or the umpteenth construction machine in the set 42114 6x6 Volvo Articulated Hauler marketed next August.

Update : LEGO confirms the definitive withdrawal of the product from its catalog and it's already the fair on eBay.