As the set is already available from Amazon and currently for pre-order from LEGO with delivery from December 1st, it's time to take a quick look at the LEGO Star Wars reference. 75251 Darth Vader's Castle (1060 pieces - 129.99 €).

This box reproduces the fortress of Darth Vader on the planet Mustafar, a disturbing construction built on an ancient Sith cave that makes a brief appearance in the film. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and which is also featured in some comics.

Note that the set is also and above all a promotional tool inspired by Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, a new Star Wars virtual reality experience developed by ILMxLAB which will be available in certain cinemas, amusement parks and hotels around the world from the end of the year.

What makes all the charm of this box is in my opinion the double scale of the giant tuning fork of about forty centimeters high with on one side a compact but visually convincing reproduction of the construction and on the other a dollhouse like LEGO knows how to do them so well with its spaces too narrow to really benefit from it. Each fan will find his account there according to what he expects from this box.

The front of the fortress will really make an illusion on a shelf, as if placed on a rock and with the lava flow passing through its foundations. It is not as majestic as the construction seen in the film, but it is quite successful and it changes us from playsets that are a little poor in scenery.

On the other side of this movie set, LEGO has piled up everything near and far can refer to Darth Vader and his fortress with in passing some creative freedoms such as the integration of a meditation room in the 2nd floor...

Under the fortress, Vader even has a hangar in which the Tie Advanced Fighter provided. This shed is also useful for the storage of the assembly even if it really lacks a base plate to facilitate the movement of the construction.

Gameplay question, it's complicated. It takes patience and skill to successfully place Darth Vader in his meditation chamber or in the Bacta Tank. Fortunately, the latter is removable which facilitates the installation of the minifig in the blue tank. More radical if you have big fingers, just remove one of the side panels to give yourself a little more space and have fun replicating a few scenes.

There are no real features in this box, apart from the Stud Shooter placed at the very top of the fortress and the two hatches hidden in the depths which reveal a Saber Crystal and a lightsaber handle.

The platform placed at the top of the fortress on which Vader and Krennic exchange a few words in Rogue One comes down here to a small round plate on which we stick a big sticker. It is a very "symbolic" representation of places, but we will do with it.

The Tie Advanced Fighter supplied is a version Chibi of the ship in which Darth Vader is a little cramped and which will bring back memories to those who already have the versions seen in the sets 10188 Death Star (2008) et 75159 Death Star (2016)

The ship is to scale to nothing, it's just designed to fit into the hangar beneath the fortress before Darth Vader casually steps up the outside staircase to his quarters.

As for the assortment of minifigs provided, it is rather correct even if I would have appreciated the presence of Orson Krennic or Vaneé, the servant of Darth Vader seen in Rogue One. But we'll do with what LEGO gives us here: A little new, some minifigs already seen elsewhere, it's balanced.

Both Royal guards provided here are far from unheard of, the LEGO Star Wars range has already allowed us to accumulate a certain quantity, particularly via the small set 75034 Death Star Troopers (2014). The cape that dresses these two minifigs is in two colors with a darker red on one side and a bright red on the other, as was already the case in the 75159 Death Star set.

When unpacking, we wonder what the Imperial Transport Pilot does in this box. It's on the VR experience side Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire that must be sought to find the trace of Athex, a rebel spy disguised as an imperial pilot whose career ends on Mustafar. Why not, even if this character will remain anecdotal in the eyes of many fans.

For those who are wondering, the character's helmet is based on the same mold as the two Hovertank Pilots in the set. 75152 Imperial Assault Hovertank (2016) based on the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Darth Vader is delivered here in two versions: In his usual outfit already seen in the set 75093 Death Star Final Duel (2015) and in a "Bacta Tank" version with a respirator whose pad printing is really very detailed. He is the minifig-star of this box.

I forgot. Palpatine makes an appearance in this set in the form of a statuette depicting the hologram plotting with Darth Vader.

To put it simply, I think this box has some nice points to make despite the tote side of the interior of the playset. This is a new, worked and original product that explores a little more the universe of Darth Vader and just for that I say yes.

At 129.99 €, it is in my opinion a bit expensive, however, especially with a small assortment of minifigs. Amazon has already cut the price of this set at 89.90 € during Black Friday (and will do it again regularly ...) which immediately makes it more attractive, provided you have patience.

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 9 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.

Today we are quickly interested in the LEGO Creator Expert set 10268 Vestas Wind Turbine (826 pieces) which for the modest sum of 179.99 € allows you to join from 23 November 2018 the 17000 employees of the Vestas brand who were offered in 2008 this imposing advertising object bearing the reference 4999.

In fact, apart from a few details, these two sets are identical and that of 2008 was free except for those who agreed to buy it back for around € 400 from employees who are not very sensitive to the joys of construction based on plastic bricks.

One can also wonder if this box really deserves its place in the LEGO Creator Expert range, with its 826 pieces, its construction techniques from another age and its somewhat sloppy finish. LEGO could have launched a range called "Legacy"for these re-editions of sets, as is the case in the LEGO Ninjago 2019 range, to classify these boxes in a tribute series without any other pretensions.

You might as well tell you right away, this one meter high wind turbine does not produce electricity. On the contrary, it consumes it. It is paradoxical but it is like that. To stir up some air, LEGO provides a set of elements Power Functions which will obviously have to be supplied with half a dozen batteries. The cables are rather well hidden in the base and in the pillar of the wind turbine. The whole is an illusion.

The bad idea: to use the LEDs supplied to illuminate the entrance to the cabin rather than to reproduce the light markings placed at the top of the real wind turbines ... The effect would have been much more interesting, especially for lovers of dioramas. The LEGO designer preferred to propose a solution that very simply highlights the production of electricity by the wind turbine. It's logical and understandable, the whole set is an ecological pamphlet to which the few trees made from bio-polyethylene come to contribute.

These three trees have also created confusion with some media who have wrongly claimed that LEGO produces a set here, all of the parts of which are in bio-polyethylene made from the distillation of sugar cane. It is not so.

The detail that shocks me here is the presence of a house right at the foot of the wind turbine. This is obviously totally inconsistent but we will do with it because we had to show us what we do with the electricity produced by this type of installation. Reissue requires, here we are entitled to this cabin worthy of a set from the 70s which is not really the level of what we can expect at LEGO in 2018.

We can see it as a tribute to the first LEGO constructions but I still consider that the manufacturer could have made the effort to update the previous version to make it aesthetically compatible with other LEGO Creator sets of the moment.

This set is, like the reference 4999, an advertising object, for the Vestas brand whose logo appears on the box, on the wind turbine, on the maintenance van and even very large on the torso of the two employees. And that's without counting all the promo for the brand distilled over the pages of the instruction booklet.

I said it before, but I would have preferred a product in the colors of the (fictitious) Octan brand. In this case, LEGO could have boasted of bringing its own brands into an era where respect for the environment matters a little more than before.

The minifigs of the two employees of the Vestas company are also simple promotional items. No effort has been made on the torso and legs, LEGO is limited to pad printing a huge blue V on each of the characters, probably to pay tribute to the stickers in set 4999.

Another point of detail that annoys me, the extreme flexibility of the green base plate provided. It is time for LEGO to market slightly more rigid plates, even if it means that they are a little thicker, to allow the movement of the content they support more easily. By the way, if you did not know, the base plates are not manufactured directly by LEGO but by an Austrian subcontractor, the Greiner company which has factories pretty much everywhere LEGO has a presence.

In short, the only real good news here is that LEGO shows once again that no set is really safe from a reissue and that with a little patience it is possible to offer some past references at a more reasonable price than on the secondary market. Unfortunately, I remain convinced that many fans would have preferred to get a revisited version of this box rather than a simple reissue.

In short, if you like sets with a little vintage look, you will find what you are looking for here and for half the price of the aftermarket. Otherwise, you can go your way, this set is in my opinion a bulky (and noisy) paid advertising product which is far from highlighting all the know-how of the brand.

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 2 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 hesitate to invest in the French version of the second Ninjago volume of the collection "Build Your Own Adventure", today I offer you a quick overview of what this big box has to offer for € 26.95.

As for the other titles in the collection, we find here the very thick cardboard box in which slip the 80-page booklet and the cardboard insert which contains the 72 pieces supplied. This illustrated sub-packaging which houses the bag of parts could possibly serve as a background for a staging.

On the menu, what to assemble a hover-bike "exclusive" which transforms into a motorbike and a minifig of Nya which is not unpublished, it is the one delivered in the set 70641 Ninja Nightcrawler released this year, the skirt and the epaulet less. If you are a complete collector, know that the parts are delivered in a neutral sealed bag bearing the reference 11915.

The model to build is nice but nothing exceptional, it could also have been found in a large polybag sold for a handful of euros. Fortunately, this set has a little more to offer and the booklet is full of building ideas. I have scanned several pages for you so that you can get a more precise idea of ​​the content offered.

Please note, this is not a simple collection of assembly instructions, only those allowing to assemble the hover-bike de Nya are provided and for those who are wondering, they are really on the level of what LEGO offers in classic sets.

There is also a rather well-done little lexicon on two pages which summarizes the main elements of the LEGO bricks range. A little pedagogy never hurts.

The adventure of young ninjas unrolled as a common thread serves, as usual in this collection of books, as a pretext for the staging of mini-models that the youngest can try to reproduce with their inventory.

The book features many villains encountered by young ninjas over the seasons: Anacondra, Phantom Warriors, Sky Pirates, Vermillion and even Sons of Garmadon, almost everyone is there.

It is not always easy to analyze the mini-constructions presented, but a few exploded views allow us to better understand the complexity of some of the proposed assemblies. It is also an opportunity for the youngest to call on an adult and therefore to share a moment with their children, nephews or nieces, for those who have them.

It is important to specify that all the mini-models presented have been validated by LEGO so that the techniques used and the level of difficulty are adapted to young audiences. We are obviously a little bit hungry with only 80 pages of text and (big) photos, especially when we see that this is all that is left of the thick starter set.

It is still in my opinion a good idea for a gift for a young fan of the Ninjago universe who will have already widely covered what LEGO offers and who is looking for new ideas to expand his diorama using this box set as a starting point for new creative constructions.

In the same collection, the publisher Qilinn, which is responsible for the localization in French of the works published by Dorling Kindersley, also has in its catalog several other boxes including a first volume based on the Ninjago universe and the first volume based on the 'Star Wars universe:

[amazon box="2374931048, 2374930459, 2374930041" grid="3"]

Note: The box presented here is, as usual, involved. To participate in the raffle, simply post a comment on this article before November 25 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.

Today we are quickly interested in the LEGO DC Super Heroes set 76095 Aquaman: Black Manta Strike (235 pieces - 39.99 €) which will probably remain the only derivative of the film expected in theaters on December 19.

It's hard to give an opinion on the contents of the box without having seen the film, even if it is obvious that LEGO is not taking reckless risks here by contenting itself with providing three of the main characters and a small device.

Black Manta's submarine, obviously in the shape of a ray, is quite nice. It is quickly assembled but we have two spring shooters on the sides and a rotating coin launcher at the front. What a little fun with the bonus of a large cockpit in which the minifigure is not cramped.

Whether it was absolutely necessary to put a steering wheel in the cockpit of the machine, I am not sure. There are also some stickers to stick to refine the general look of the thing a bit, but the submarine can easily do without them without being disfigured.

We know from the director of the film, James Wan, that the depiction of the Black Manta submarine in the LEGO set is directly based on the model from the film. It remains to be seen now what is the level of fidelity of the thing to be certain to obtain a product really derived from the film ...

Anyway, the youngest will find here a compact vehicle, easy to handle without destroying everything and sufficiently armed to knock out sharks or minifig at all times. Note that the two round pieces placed at the front of the engines are pad printed.

As a bonus, LEGO includes an aquatic decorative element on which the supplied shark is plugged. It is a good idea which allows to stage the shark with a suspension effect. However, it is a bit stingy in terms of the situation of the content of the set but we will do with it and it's always better than putting the shark on the ground.

The minifigs seem at first glance rather successful but there are still some annoying details that are worth highlighting. It's hard to fault LEGO for taking a few shortcuts when it comes to reproducing different characters, but Jason Momoa who plays Aquaman on the screen in my opinion deserved a darker head.

The Aquaman minifigure delivered here is different from the one seen in the set 76085 Battle of Atlantis. The content of this set released in 2017 and still available in the LEGO catalog can also be combined with that of this new box, to reinforce the aquatic context. The pad printing is very correct with a nice effect of continuity of the green part on the lower torso without big difference in shade.

Black Manta uses the same piece that combines helmet and aquatic gear seen in the set. 76027 Black Manta Deep Sea Strike (2015), but in black. I think this piece doesn't pay homage to the character's costume from the movie. It's too squashed and the eyes are too squinted. A new piece would have been welcome as would a little pad printing on the character's arms and legs to reproduce the details of his equipment.

No head under the character's mask which is plugged directly into the torso of the minifigure. It's a shame, LEGO could have made the effort to produce a new part to allow the head of actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II who plays David Kane / Black Manta to slide under the mask.

Mera (Amber Heard) is quite successful, I would have preferred really red hair, but I'll do with it. The flesh-colored neckline is perfect, it is perfectly coordinated with the head of the minifigure.

LEGO chose the color Teal for the body of the minifigure. Mera's costume oscillating between green and blue on the screen, this choice seems to me to be a good compromise.

Three characters for 40 €, it's not much and I really regret the absence in this box of Ocean Master (Patrick Wilson), the other villain of the film seen in the trailer. I doubt that LEGO will ever release other sets based on the film, so we'll have to be content with what we get here.

In short, this is a pure derivative product like LEGO in fact regularly for one license or another and if the original concept of the brand around creativity and imagination is once again a little overused, this there are always a few more pretty new minifigs to add to our collections.

Note: The set shown here is put into play as usual. To participate in the raffle, simply post a comment on this article before November 24 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.

Still in the LEGO Star Wars range and its sets that can eventually end up under the Christmas tree, we are now quickly interested in the reference 75216 Snoke's Throne Room (492 pieces - 74.99 €).

No need to beat around the bush, LEGO is breaking the mood with this set: If you remember the scene from the movie Star Wars The Last Jedi during which Rey and Kylo Ren confront Snoke and his small army of guards, you most certainly kept in mind an atmosphere in red tones, accentuated by the outfit of the eight Praetorian guards who take part in the confrontation in front of large swathes of walls covered with red hangings. Evil tongues will say that LEGO was inspired by the end of the scene in question ...

At 74.99 € a box, it's already expensive without having opened it. Once the assembly is finished, the size of the playset in question only accentuates the feeling of having paid dearly for a very ... compact product: the whole in fact only measures a small thirty centimeter in wingspan. .

Forget the illustrative visual on the packaging, which is obviously presented on a slightly misleading red background. In this regard, LEGO could offer to give a second life to the cardboard box by integrating a visual that could serve as a background for the playset, a bit like it is already the case for Advent calendars.

This is therefore a playset for which LEGO promises us a certain playability extensively praised on the back of the box and in the official description: "... Snoke's Star Destroyer throne room with rotating throne, button-activated door and moving floor functions, hidden compartments for storing Snoke's weapons and treasures. .."

Let's not get carried away, most of these features are irrelevant and there is even a small problem. The designer undoubtedly thought he was doing the right thing by adding the two structures placed on the sides of the room but they prove to be more annoying than anything else in use. It becomes difficult to handle the different protagonists who already have to be content with a very small space.

The rotary elevator can only accommodate one minifig at a time, it will take two trips to take Rey and Kylo Ren, and even a third for the lightsabers. Rey can be sucked in by Snoke via a pull tab placed on the throne and the imposing Oculus seen in the film is summed up here in a modest round 2x2 room dressed in a sticker. With LEGO, you often have to lower your ambitions, we are used to it.

Nothing rocket science on the side of the building experience, the contents of the set are assembled in about twenty minutes and do not even deserve a smile of satisfaction of the task accomplished after having wisely stacked the 450 necessary pieces.

As you can imagine, there are also some stickers in this set. The installation of these stickers becomes here a real challenge for some of them that must be placed inside curved surfaces at the level of the walls of the elevator and the two adjoining walls or on the meta-rooms. of the plinth hosting Snoke's throne. They are visually essential and contribute to the general atmosphere but their implementation is really laborious.

On the minifig side, if you have skipped the set 75189 First Order Heavy Assault Walker (149.99 €) released in 2017, you will find the same Rey minifigure here for a more reasonable budget. No major alignment problem in the pad printing between the torso and the legs, but the neckline Flesh (flesh-colored) of Rey's not really successful or matched with the face of the minifigure.

Regarding Kylo Ren, this box is not the cheapest to add this minifigure to your collection. The minifig is already delivered in the Microfighter set 75196 A-Wing vs. Tie silencer (19.99 €) released this year. The pad printing is sober but faithful to the outfit worn by Adam Driver in the film. Nothing to rave about but it's okay.

Snoke's minifig is on the side identical to the one seen in the set 75190 First Order Star Destroyer (159.99 €) released in 2017. Small shift in alignment between the impression of the torso and that of the legs. It's annoying, but it doesn't show as soon as Snoke is in his final configuration ... The pad printing of the character's neck is here in the right color and continuity with the face is assured. When we want we can.

The two Praetorian Guards are the only minifigs exclusive to this box, and I really would have liked to get a few more copies. Beautiful interpretation of their outfit by LEGO, it is sober but faithful with shoulder pads that leave enough space to be able to orient the arms in all positions and a very successful draping effect on the bottom of the outfit.

The helmets are also very successful. There may be a few patterns missing on the arms to ensure the continuity of the tortoiseshell effect initiated by the shoulder pads. As you have noticed, LEGO is content to supply us with a single type of helmet in duplicate among the three different models that equip the guards seen in the film. It's a shame, it was off to a good start. No faces for these guards, a red head will do.

In short, I pass because it is far from being the set of the year, there is not really enough to reproduce in a convincing way the scene from which it is vaguely inspired and it is much too expensive for one exclusive minifigure, even supplied in duplicate. Fortunately, there is Amazon where this box is currently sold for less than 60 €.

Note: The set shown here is put into play as usual. To participate in the raffle, simply post a comment on this article before November 22 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.