Received today the January / February 2012 issue of LEGO Magazine. Nothing very exciting for AFOLs, but we are not the target of this support.

However, I note the presence of a short but nice 4-page comic strip on the Star Wars theme (of which I put a photo above) and in which we find the X-Wing of the set 9493 X-Wing Starfighter, the Tie Fighter of the set 9492 Tie Fighter as well as the minifigs of Luke and Jek Porkins.

This allows me to bounce back on the news of brick set about the release of a specific LEGO Magazine for girls highlighting the new range LEGO Friends.

I'm not sure what to think of this new range, but LEGO's strategic choice to divide the communication media according to the type of target does not seem to me to be wise. Bringing girls into the world of LEGO involves integration into the community of children who are LEGO fans, not by sectoring them into a pink universe populated by ice cream, puppies and pretty sports coupes.

You will tell me that the border between the two universes is porous and that the girls will be able to interact with the boys in the City universe for example. But I don't believe it, and the choice to design minifigs that are completely different from the ones we know may frustrate girls who show interest in classic LEGOs.

The future will tell if LEGO made the right choice, but as we have seen with other projects in fields such as video games, for example, LEGO is testing many concepts and will ultimately only keep those that are prove profitable over time.

The Friends range comes up against Petshops, PollyPockets, Zhu Zhu Pets and other Barbie dolls in a market that has its own codes and trends. The success of the range will largely depend on the possible contagion effect in schoolyards.

Here is what we already know concrete about the second wave 2012 of sets of the LEGO Super Heroes range which will be based on the Marvel license and on the movie The Avengers, on the universe of Spiderman (not the movie) and on the X-Men universe (not the movies) as indicated by the list of minifigs officially communicated by LEGO (see this article).

The sets that will be released (the list is confirmed) with my estimate of the maximum selling price and the minifigs potentially delivered in each set (which is only my responsibility):

 4529 - Iron Man (around 14 €)
4530 - Hulk (around 14 €)
4597 - Captain America  (around 14 €)

6865 - Captain America's ™ Avenging Cycle (around 20 €) - Captain America, Nick Fury (+ a motorbike)
6866 - Wolverine's ™ Chopper Showdown (around 40 €) Wolverine, Deadpool, Magneto (+ a motorbike)
6867 - Loki's ™ Cosmic Cube Escape (around 40 €) Loki, Thor, Captain America 
6868 - Hulk's ™ Helicarrier Breakout (around 80 €) - Hulk, Black Widow, Iron Man, Captain America
6869 - Quinjet Aerial Battle (around 100 €) - Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Iron Man (+ the Quinjet)
6873 - Spiderman's ™ Doc Ock ™ Ambush (around 55 €) - Spiderman, Doctor Octopus

Some sets are already listed on Amazon.fr but without any indication of price or deadline for the moment. 

Regarding the Quinjet and the Helicarrier, they are partially visible on the poster below (assembly of the different movie teaser posters, click to enlarge): The Quinjet above Black Widow and the Helicarrier between Hawkeye and Nick Fury. If you want to know a little more about these gears, check out these two articles:

6869 Quinjet Aerial Battle: Kesako?

6868 Hulk's Helicarrier Breakout: Playset or Vessel?

This is a question which will make more than one jump but which deserves to be asked.

A set review is good, it allows you to see more closely a model, minifigs, a box ... but more and more, these reviews are botched, spoiled by those who offer them with blurry photos , the carpet in their living room or the checkered tablecloth in the kitchen. In addition, the high-definition visuals offered by LEGO, retouched or not, circulate regularly well before the sets are actually marketed and are of much better quality than those offered by fans.

What the fans think? Personally, I skip this part more and more often: these hasty reviews are mostly decorated with two lines of text, which, when they are not full of spelling mistakes, do not have no interest other than describing what you see in the photos. I would not come back here to the rating at the limit of the debility granted to sets by certain sites or forums .... These ratings have no interest and for good reason: they are not indexed to anything, correspond to nothing and are used just conclusion to reviews that have no such as the name.

On one side we find the Awesome Reviews, those where everything is brilliant, incredible, top-notch, grandiose, with notes to make a college student green with envy and a conclusion that recommends buying the set in question immediately on pain of being a looser for life.
On the other, we find the pathological reviews, with dozens of pictures of the box, instructions, stickers, the box, the inventory of wisely aligned parts, the box and more of the box .... All served with an over-analysis of the content, even if it means falling into obsession. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against discovering pictures of a set I'm looking forward to, quite the contrary. But I am a big boy and I make my own opinion without having to go through the usual logorrhea of ​​superlatives. And above all, I want to keep certain sensations for my own unpacking with the discovery of the contents, the bags, the parts ... The ridiculous ritual but essential for any self-respecting AFOL.

There are more and more excellent quality video reviews posted on Youtube by passionate AFOLs or on sites like The Brick Show who have made these mini-shows their trademark. And it is not worse. They have the merit of showing the set and the minifigs from every angle in less than 3 minutes, with a minimum of unnecessary comments (you can always mute the sound) and possibly detailing the various features of the model. I ask no more.

I posted you recently on Brick Heroes video reviews produced by Artifex. They are a good example of clean, efficient work that gets around a set in minutes. Difficult to do better, the technical level of the realization is high. I also spend a little time skimming Youtube to watch some videos of the young French-speaking scene which presents sets in the form of clips of a few minutes. The production is amateurish, the commentary hesitant, the credits annoying, but we generally learn more than a review of 15 photos and three lines of conclusion.

I don't wait for a review to decide whether or not to give me a particular set. In the worst case, we get so many images of the new stuff coming out that my idea on the matter is settled long before anyone decides to post some pictures.

 And you, what is your opinion on this subject? Do not hesitate to post your comments....

You didn't ask me, but I'm still going to give you my opinion on these sets from the second wave 2012.

First of all, it is clear that LEGO is once again venturing into the twists and turns of theExtended Universe with two sets clearly identified (via the game logo on the box) as from the video game Star Wars The Old Republic.

LEGO had already attempted on several occasions a foray into this Expanded Universe in 2004 (10131) 2007 (7664), 2008 (7667, 7668 & 7672) 2010 (8087) with sets that will not necessarily remain in the collective memory, but which will at least have had the merit of offering something other than remakes of remakes.

In this new wave, two sets are inspired by the game: 9500 Fury Class Interceptor et 9497 Republic Striker Starfighter. Both reproduce ships that will appear in SWTOR and will play an important role there by allowing players, depending on their faction, to move around the game world.
Le Fury-Class Interceptor is very promising (see here), its line is racy, dynamic, and the first visual available augurs well for a future bestseller. We will not dwell on the finishing details yet, even if the ship already looks very well designed, because in this respect the sets will undoubtedly still evolve significantly. 

Le Republic Striker Starfighter is him a little less attractive in these images. It correctly reproduces the model from which it is inspired (see here), but its design is immediately reminiscent of the old ships from the beginnings of the Star Wars range: Angular, with too thin wings, again and again the same cockpit canopy and a front fuselage which will have to evolve further to convince. Difficult to make convincing a model of this type crammed with apparent studs where Dark Red predominates, the choice of associated colors must be judicious otherwise it will look like a bad Chinese toy if this is not the case.

Side figurines, these two sets will be delivered with unknown or little known characters, the added value on this side is negligible.

The and 9516 Jabba's Palace is correct, but not exceptional. I expected more from this remake of the 2003 set (4480). It is saved by the minifigs delivered, which are all interesting, even new for some. The palace itself is what LEGO offers when it comes to replicating buildings: a roof, a few walls, and two or three doors. Nothing to get carried away, this palace does not closely resemble the one seen in the film from a distance and it is barely enough to accommodate the Jabba figurine, white on the visual because not yet finalized. We will be satisfied with this set for the minifigs and the few cool pieces it provides to MOCeurs.

Another remake of a great classic of the range released in 2000 (7104), the and 9496 Desert Skiff  borders on the ridiculous. I put that down to the preliminary nature of the visuals while waiting for something better. The proportions and colors are more reminiscent of a prototype and the Sarlacc Pit is just laughable with these big purple pieces that have nothing to do there, this set is not a Space Police or a Power Miners ... This set is undoubtedly still at an ultra-preliminary stage. Side minifigs, classic with finally a much awaited Weequay Skiff Guard. Wait and see ...

The and 9499 Gungan Sub is also probably still a very preliminary version. The curves are strangely managed, and the finish leaves something to be desired for the moment with problems of alignment and space between the slope of the front panel which have a disastrous rendering. In view of the surface to be covered, the stickers will be there. The cockpits are also very strange ...
The and 7161 released in 1999 has finally aged rather well and in view of this visual one wonders if it had to be redone .... As for the colors, there too we will have to wait for the final version to be sure that we will be entitled to a coherent mix ... The minifigs look interesting, with Jar Jar Binks, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Padme Amidala.

We will be entitled to another Starfighter with the set 9498 Saesee Tiin's Starfighter.
This model is based on the Delta-7B Aethersprite-Class Light Interceptor used by this Jedi Master during the Clone Wars. 
Nothing sensational about this set, two interesting Jedis (Saesee Tiin & Even Piell), a ship and an Astromech droid. And maybe a new canopy for the cockpit.

The and 9515 Malevolence is undoubtedly the master piece of this wave of sets. The ship is already visually very accomplished, the colors are well chosen and coordinated, and some parts look interesting, especially with regard to the ion cannons. The minifigs are classic and already seen, except new design really convincing (Ahsoka?), Impossible to detect on the preliminary visual. We will certainly be entitled to a mini interior piloting space with removable cover, and an integrated carrying handle as is the case on sets of this size to ensure a minimum of playability, this set not being a UCS intended at the exhibition.

LEGO had to give us a good joke in this second wave 2012, and that will be the set 9509 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2012 which promises us micro-vessels in spades, a few minifigs and even a Santa Darth Maul if we are to believe the visual of the box. Let's not sulk, this Darth Maul all dressed in red will undoubtedly be epic and ultra-collector ...

Finally, as is and unlike the first wave scheduled for January 2012, this series of sets is attractive only by the new minifigs it offers. Those who screamed on all the forums and dreamed of a UCS at Jabba's Palace are obviously at their expense ... It's not knowing LEGO to believe that such a set could come out one day ...

I would like to mention again that these visuals are preliminary images from the 2012 reseller catalog, and that one should not draw conclusions too quickly about the quality of these sets.

You probably remember a LEGO survey asking you to indicate which communities or which sites you visit regularly.

LEGO seems to have gone through this survey and the conclusion is as follows: LEGO is launching Rebrick, a social network aimed at AFOLs which will allow them, I quote: to share and discuss their creations.

No content can be uploaded to this site, it must be imported in the form of a bookmarked link from its original platform such as flickr, Youtube, MOCpages, etc ...

LEGO specifies that it designed this site, but also adds that it is not an integral part of the LEGO.com network. The manufacturer undertakes not to broadcast any advertising for its products on Rebrick.

This project, according to the manufacturer, is the result of collaboration between LEGO and the community. No commercial use of this space will be made, even if LEGO retains ownership of the concept.

This is in summary what we are dealing with.

Two possibilities:

1. LEGO has heard the appeal of the AFOLs who have regularly requested to benefit from an exchange space of this type, bringing together all the creations posted by their creators on various sites. (I'm not saying it, it's written in a post on Rebrick's blog). I quote :

... The Community Team at The LEGO group has on several occasions (at events) been told by AFOLs, that it would be great to have a website with all the great LEGO content out there. This website is now a reality! ...

The intention is laudable, the project ambitious. At first glance, there is no reason to doubt LEGO's good faith, but this space will undoubtedly be quickly diverted into a means for MOCeurs, blogs, forums or community sites to improve their visibility. This is already the case.

2. LEGO hopes to bring together in one place the entire community active on the Internet to better control its communication, have a pool of ideas, a permanent return on the products marketed and control overflows or leaks etc. ... All centralized in one place.

While the concept may seem interesting to some, there is little chance that LEGO will be able to stably and sustainably bring the entire community together in this space. Each forum, site, blog, will fight to retain its readers and other members. Eurobricks, FBTB, Toys N Bricks or Brickset for example, have huge and very loyal communities which also bring in large sums of money through the various affiliation contracts to those who manage these spaces.

Concerning the photos of MOCs, Brickshelf, flickr and MOCpages are the most used today. If Brickshelf is a space without the possibility of exchange, flickr and MOCpages are run by real communities grouped together around very specific themes.

Each MOCeur who has many comments about their creations on these platforms will not change their point of contact. He would then lose all the benefit in terms of notoriety and visibility acquired over the years. Indeed, not all MOCeurs are as well known as a Marshal Banana or an ACPin. A little narcissistic but very real.

LEGO perhaps wants more simply to bypass current and future attempts to set up such a social network by third parties. An experience is already in place with BrickLi.me started by the guys from The Brick Show. This social network is frequented mainly by teenagers fans of LEGO and does not unleash passions. No doubt because of the not very ergonomic interface and the low number of members.
Not to mention the countless existing Facebook and Google+ pages on the LEGO theme, which also brings together a large and very active community.

While waiting to know a little more, you can try to register on Rebrick via this page, and immediately start browsing through the proposed sections. Many users are already registered and the content is substantial. After validation of your account, you will be able to post photos of MOCs, comment on those of others, manage your favorites, etc ...