While waiting to talk about the Porsche 911 RSR from set 42096, let's take a quick detour to the LEGO Technic set 42093 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (579 pieces - 39.99 €) which proposes, as its name suggests, to assemble a LEGO version of the Corvette ZR1 in its livery Sebring Orange.

And this box is really a very good surprise, if we keep in mind that this is a small set sold for 40 €. As usual with LEGO Technic sets, it is better not to get carried away by the number of pieces displayed on the box: in this set, there are more than 200 various and varied pins, i.e. more than a third of inventory.

No surprise here regarding the assembly logic. It is quickly assembled starting with the chassis which integrates the engine and the steering axis which will be finally managed via a dial placed at the rear of the vehicle. The steering wheel is not functional, it turns in a vacuum and has the sole function of dressing the cockpit.

The eight cylinders of the engine are set in motion during travel and remain visible through the two large openings in the front cover. It is aesthetically original even if it is obviously not very realistic.

The balance between the phases of assembly of the various mechanical elements and the stages of finishing using the large body parts makes it possible not to get bored. We move quickly and we can test the few features planned before having finished assembling the model. This is the ideal combination for the youngest who want to know what a particular set of gears can do without having to wait until they reach the last page of the instruction booklet, and then regret not seeing the mechanism. concerned which is found hidden under some panels and other meta-pieces.

If we could legitimately blame the Porsche of the set 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (299.99 €) its aesthetic approximations, difficult to be so demanding here. It is not a model as ambitious as the 911 which was sold in a luxurious cardboard box. This set is more of a mid-range product that will allow those new to the LEGO Technic range to place a few gears, then a few body panels, quickly and inexpensively. The Corvette will then find its place on the corner of a shelf to fill an empty space and complete a collection of supercars in LEGO Technic version. Except for the ladder freaks who might not want to pair this mini-Corvette with their Bugatti Chiron ...

Turning the vehicle over, we see that the finish is rather successful even on this invisible part without completely concealing the mechanism which allows the engine to start moving and the steering to operate. A good point, which allows you to really understand how the different movements are transmitted from the rear wheels to the engine placed in the front.

This Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 definitely has a good face, but this is especially the case depending on the angle from which you observe the vehicle. Some positions are less flattering and the profile view reveals the aesthetic limitations of the model with wheels that look really undersized (or raised) under the new fenders and a few slightly empty spaces between the doors and the front fenders. The real Corvette ZR1 has different sized wheels at the front (19 ") and rear (20"), the LEGO version overlooks this detail. No ceramic blue Brembo brake calipers visible through the rims either. For 40 €, you shouldn't ask for too much.

The stickers representing the air intakes at the front of the doors almost duplicate the gaping holes in the bodywork which in fact perform this function ... The doors do not open, the rear spoiler is fixed, the 'front is a bit too messy for my taste and while the purists of the LEGO Technic range won't necessarily agree with me, I think the visible blue pines detract from the overall rendering of this supercar a bit. Even if it means trying to offer a successful model that visually conforms to the vehicle it claims to reproduce, a few orange pins would have been welcome to ensure the connection of the various bodywork elements.

Lots of stickers to stick in this set, but the orange tint on the roof and door covers is relatively faithful to the base color of the body parts. Too bad once again that the brand's logo is also placed on simple stickers stuck at the end of the front cover and at the back. Licensed products deserve at least the luxury of offering a pad-printed logo of the brand they are promoting.

In summary, this small unpretentious set offers a good compromise between functionality, admittedly rather limited, and aesthetics. The end result may seem rather rough from some angles, but we recognize the model that served as a working basis for the LEGO designer in charge of adapting and simplifying the thing. It is quickly assembled without spending long hours to have the impression of placing only pins, the result is solid and playable, the eight movable cylinders bring a little movement. I say yes.

Note: The set shown here is put into play as usual. To participate in the raffle, simply post a comment on this article before January 3, 2019 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

Continuation and end of the 2018 LEGO Star Wars Advent calendar content in terms of minifigs with in box No. 17: a member of the Guavian Death Gang already seen in duplicate in the set 75180 Rathtar Escape (89.99 €) marketed since 2017. Not enough to cry genius, but it's still taken.

In box N ° 23: This is the "exclusive" minifigure of this set: General Antoc Merrick (played by actor Ben Daniels), leader of the Blue Squadron who takes part in the attack on the planet Scarif in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and gets knocked out by a Tie Striker.

It is above all the combination of the parts used and the fact that the character is identified by name that makes this minifigure exclusive: The head and the hair in Dark Tan are currently exclusive to this set. The outfit is however identical to that of the generic pilot of the Blue Squadron delivered in the sets. 75155 Rebel U-Wing Fighter (2016) 75162 Y-Wing Microfighter (2017) et 75172 Y-Wing Starfighter (2017)

The Antoc Merrick helmet (without integrated visor) is also for the moment exclusive to this box and is in box N ° 24, it dresses the head of the "festive" snowman.

Too bad, this year LEGO is not providing a real festive minifig in Santa Claus outfit.

After Paris, it's now the turn of the other skyline of the LEGO Architecture range scheduled for 2019, the benchmark 21043 San Francisco (565 pieces - 49.99 €), to be the subject of a quick tour of the owner in order to give you some very personal impressions.

If I was logically able to have a critical look at the content of the set 21044 Paris (49.99 €), it is immediately less obvious with this representation of San Francisco. The designer has obviously condensed here everything that the city has of silhouettes that are a priori emblematic for most potential customers, starting with the most famous construction of all: the Golden Gate Bridge. Whether the result is too cartoonish or truly faithful, only those who live in San Francisco or really know the city well will be able to afford to have an opinion.

It is thanks to this red bridge that almost everyone can instantly recognize San Francisco and the designer has skillfully integrated the construction by creating a very successful forced perspective effect, especially when looking at the model from the front (see the last photo ).

We also find what makes the charm of San Francisco with the contrast between the alleys lined with Painted ladies, these Victorian-style houses with colorful facades that line the sloping streets, and the modern buildings in the center. It's picked up in a corner of the model, but it's successful. Everything is pad printed in this box, including the white 1x1 pieces with the small black square which are used for the Painted Ladies or the facade of the blue building visible from across the street.

The three buildings, 555 California Street, la Transamerica pyramid and Salesforce Tower, are wisely aligned behind the hill. I do not know if there is a point of view on the city which proposes this alignment, but the differences in colors of the facades and the characteristic architecture of each of these constructions are enough to make it pass.

With a little imagination, one can even spot two colorful trams running on the sloping street facing the Coit Tower, placed at the top of Telegraph Hill and whose summit offers a breathtaking view of Alcatraz.

It's hard to talk about San Francisco without talking about Alcatraz, which you probably already know from different sources depending on your generation (The Escape from Alcatraz with Clint Eastwood in 1979, Rock with Nicolas Cage in 1996 and for fans of Steven Seagal, the calamitous Mission Alcatraz of 2002).

In the linear spirit of skylines LEGO Architecture, the prison of Alcatraz is found here placed under the Golden Gate Bridge, which obviously does not correspond to reality. Nothing serious, I would rather have the island under the bridge than no island at all. The windows of the cells are represented by a few pad-printed parts, it is rudimentary but the effect is there.

This skyline is quite different from those produced so far by LEGO, the Golden Gate Bridge here occupying two thirds of the surface of the model. But if we consider that the set should reach a wider audience than the locals, it makes sense and few people would be able to list the names of the different buildings in this set anyway.

Note also the symbolic presence of the fortifications of Fort Point at the foot of Golden Gate, a place where many tourists take the photos that you find everywhere with this perspective effect from the lower part of the famous red bridge.

Thanks to the representation of Golden Gate, the set is immediately identifiable even by those who have never set foot in San Francisco and I note that the designer did not see fit to place an American flag somewhere ...

Lovers of skylines LEGO style, this set will not disappoint and it is probably one of the ones that best exploits this concept. That's a big yes on my part, especially for the very successful forced perspective effect applied to the Golden Gate.

AVAILABILITY announced for January 1, 2019 on the LEGO Shop at the public price of 49.99 €.

Note: The set shown here is put into play as usual. To participate in the raffle, simply post a comment on this article before December 30 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

If you didn't know it yet, LEGO now sells a few small sachets filled with various and varied accessories that can decorate a city, a beach, a park or any other diorama.

A new reference will join the XTRA range from January 1, 2019, it is the polybag 40341 ​​Sea Accessories (24 pieces) sold at the public price of 3.99 € and which contains some elements related to aquatic activities, a shark, a shell, a parrot (already seen in the waiting room of the veto of the last Structure 10264 Corner Garage), a blue fish and a treasure map.

The theme is a bit of a mix of modern elements and older accessories, but I want to classify this bag in the category "High risk treasure hunt".

Each parrot is almost unique, the mixture of the two colors being random on the production line. If you want to collect all the variations, good luck to you on this quest that promises to be epic.

It will therefore be the sixth polybag of this range which is available on different themes (not counting the three playmats). Single price set at 3.99 € for all these polybags, the number of parts of which varies according to the subject addressed. Reduced to the price of a kilo of plastic, it has to hold up.

LEGO has sent me a complete set of bags from the XTRA range, below you will find a quick overview of the contents of each of them.

Today we are quickly interested in The LEGO Movie 2 set 70836 Battle-Ready Batman and MetalBeard (168 pieces - 19.99 €) which will be available from December 26th on the LEGO Shop and in the LEGO Stores and in your usual toy store.

Nothing to rave about the content to build in less than fifteen minutes delivered in this box. Batman's mini-throne and MetalBeard's robot-crab (Steelbeard) are there to furnish and undoubtedly to reproduce a scene from the film on a reduced scale.

The construction intended for Batman has one and only feature: the pad printed sign which reads "You're Welcome"can be raised or lowered using the thumbwheel on the back of the build. Batman doesn't really fit into the hiding place under the throne due to his mask and imposing accessory with integrated half-tires. Both wings are fixed and do not move when activating the mechanism that deploys the panel.

There is a small problem with MetalBear and its robot crab. The construction is quite successful with the chest that opens at the level of the character's torso to reveal some bones and other sausages (the internal organs of the character according to the product description ...), but the whole is really annoying To manipulate. The crab's legs, which must be put in the right position so that the figurine stands upright, do not remain in place and everything sags as soon as it is touched.

The youngest who already see themselves reproducing some scenes seen in the cinema with their MetalBeard may be disappointed when they realize that the figurine hardly holds in place. Worse, if you add Maddox's minifigure into the lookout, MetalBeard often crumbles under its own weight, unless you find the perfect balance point. Even the polybag version 30528 Mini Master-Building MetalBeard seems more stable.

On the minifig side, we quickly forget Maddox, the second service knife with a post-apocalyptic pirate look. The minifigure is pretty, but not enough to make tons of it without knowing exactly who this guy is and how many seconds he appears on the screen ....

The supplied yellow star consists of a Tile pad printed which is placed on a large support with central tenon. Simple and efficient. Do not buy this box just for the star, there is the same in many other sets in the range.

Important precision these days: no stickers in this box, everything is pad printed.

The real reason to spend € 19.99 on this set is obviously the Batman minifigure Wasteland. Purists might be a little annoyed with the way LEGO and Warner twist the character and adapt him to any sauce, but this minifigure is really very successful.

The pad printing is magnificent, it is also partially masked by the torn cape and especially by the American football shoulder pad topped with two half-tires and it's almost a shame.

On the shoulder, the two half-tires are made of flexible rubber as for the other LEGO tires.

Do not think you are out of the woods with this little box at 20 €, the version of Batman provided in this box is different from the one that will be delivered in the big D2C set 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg (3178 pieces), some visuals of which are already available through the usual channels, in the company of Green Lantern and Harley Queen.

The two minifigs use the same accessories (cape, shoulder pad, mask) but the pad printing varies from one version to another, especially on the legs.

In summary, I say yes but just for Batman and on sale for less than 15 €. MetalBeard is much too fragile, it is not worthy of a children's toy at 19.99 €.

Note: The set shown here is put into play as usual. To participate in the raffle, simply post a comment on this article before December 28 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.