Today we quickly tour the LEGO Technic set 42124 Off-Road Buggy, a box of 374 pieces that will join from January 1, 2021 all LEGO products that benefit from the Control + motorization ecosystem. The promised interactivity and the presence of the Hub Powered Up (88012) and two L engines (88013) increase the retail price of this product to 129.99 €.

Those who spent long hours outside with their Nikko Dictator or Dominator in the 80s will be able to treat themselves to a nice breath of nostalgia here. The designer did his homework well and we find the aggressive look of the small radio-controlled cars of the time: the big wheels with white rims, the notched tires, the antenna with its white ball, the fins and other spoilers, the colored markings. , everything is there. The comparison and the homage unfortunately stop there.

The vehicle is assembled in less than half an hour, including the installation of stickers, and those who have had a copy of the set in their hands 42109 App-Controlled Top Gear Rally Car will quickly understand that this new vehicle equipped with elements of the Control + ecosystem is nothing more than a new version of the Top Gear rally car on which we add front and rear suspensions, all packaged in a different packaging. We therefore quickly understand that this buggy will not stand the comparison with the cars of our childhood from which it is inspired.

As with the Top Gear rally car, LEGO is reworking some overly optimistic illustrative visuals and displaying a description that evokes the "off-road" possibilities of this new vehicle. In fact, it is already so sluggish on flat and perfectly smooth ground that a simple passage over gravel or in the grass is enough to slow the machine considerably. It lacks torque and the 650 gram buggy (batteries included) is too light to really take advantage of the integrated front and rear suspensions when attempting to cross.

The lower surface of the Powered Up Hub which accommodates the six AA batteries necessary for the operation of the vehicle is not protected but the ground clearance of this buggy is sufficiently substantial to avoid friction and scratches during outdoor use. However, this toy remains a product to be used indoors, it will adapt more to a very smooth parquet than a dusty path.

The Control + application will be updated to offer a control interface dedicated to this buggy. The proposed skin is ergonomic and allows a quick grip of the machine. It's no frills but it's within everyone's reach. As usual, some uninteresting challenges will be offered and a few additional buttons allow sound effects to be broadcast via the smartphone speaker. Smartphone under iOS or Android essential as for the other sets which make use of this dedicated application.

In short, if you were hoping to finally get an agile and fast machine, it's once again a failure: this set is far too expensive for the construction experience and the driving sensations it has to offer. The same thing without motorization but with a replica of the vintage remote control, all for 60 or 70 €, I took without thinking to add this buggy with the successful aesthetics on a shelf next to the NES.

There, at 130 € for a joke, I will wait patiently for this box to be taken out of stock at one of the brands that are used to slashing prices on this type of product. Nostalgia is priceless, but a little bit all the same.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 27, 2020 next at 23pm. "The" I try, I participate "are automatically deleted, make an effort.

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 interested in the set 75301 Luke Skywalker X-wing Fighter, the other chestnut tree in the LEGO Star Wars range with the Tie Fighter which also returns in 2021 in the set 75300 Imperial Tie Fighter. On the menu, a variation a little less ambitious than usual of Luke's X-wing which is content here with just over 450 pieces and which allows to obtain 4 characters, all for the modest sum of 49.99 €.

The figures speak for themselves and so do not expect an ultra detailed X-wing in this small box at a reasonable price which will in fact make the ship accessible to a wider audience. We could almost believe in the return of the much missed format Midi Scale with this model which reuses the pad printed canopy of the set 75273 Poe Dameron's X-wing Fighter (2020) and which optimizes the use of the 450 parts supplied.

Overall, the 31 cm long and 28 cm wide ship does not suffer too much from this economy of parts in terms of scale: for comparison, the version of the set 75218 X-Wing Starfighter (2018) was 34 cm long and 30 cm wide. On this slightly more compact interpretation, the general appearance is there, the distinctive signs of the X-wing are well represented and it is necessary to take a closer look to detect the real aesthetic shortcuts that make it possible to reduce the inventory and therefore the price. product audience.

It is obviously much better than the "4+" but a little less good than the previous versions of the vessel, particularly in terms of the engines, the cockpit and the nose of the aircraft which only really gives an illusion when it is seen from above. The tail of the ship is detailed enough even if the rear block is in my opinion a little too cubic to really pay homage to the reference X-wing. The wings do not have to redden from the passage of the wringer, they lose thickness but they retain the usual curves. The three landing gears are not retractable and the shoe of the one placed at the front will tend to come off regularly, be careful not to lose it.

This set is also an opportunity for LEGO to launch some new elements used here for the assembly of the wings with in particular a 1x1 brick hollowed out in a cross offering a passage for a Technic axis and a tube that will be able to avoid the regular use of barrels. . These pieces, like the element that mixes a plate 1x2 and a 1x2 brick with Technic pin hole, will undoubtedly be available in many sets to come and MOCeurs will quickly find a function for them.

Each new X-wing has its own mechanism for opening and possibly closing the wings. LEGO has tried almost everything and the results are not always in the best taste. No "orthodontic" type rubber bands in this new reference, we build a sub-assembly made up of Technic elements which will be used to open the wings by pressing on the protuberance present just behind R2-D2.

LEGO has nothing planned to close the wings, they put themselves back in position. The presence of a real silent and smooth opening mechanism is still to be welcomed even if it will be impossible to expose the X-wing with the wings outstretched in the absence of a blocking solution: the simply placing the vessel on a surface forces the mechanism to close. However, we escape the violent snap heard on the X-Wing of the set. 75218 X-Wing Starfighter (2018)

Note: the parts used to raise the X-wing on the photos are not delivered in the box.

The set is entitled to a large handful of stickers and those on the (really) white background are once again not the same shade as the cream color of the pieces. It's ugly, but we will do with or we will not stick the two large side stickers.

On the minifig side, we get four characters: Luke Skywalker with the helmet and head available since 2019 and an outfit with a new design with slightly tilted ventral control box, a Leia minifig identical to the one seen in 2019 in the set 75244 Tantive IV, the classic R2-D2 droid and a new character never before seen by LEGO: General Jan Dodonna. The minifigure is successful even if the trompe-l'oeil "jacket" effect is often very symbolic and the crotch should have been beige, the character wearing his sweater tucked into his pants and not over it.

In short, we have to face the facts and show honesty, LEGO manages to offer us a children's toy that remains convincing and affordable without sacrificing too much the overall aesthetic of the thing. The wing deployment mechanism is convincing and makes this X-wing playable without having to worry about the possible replacement of the rubber bands supplied in other boxes. The most demanding collectors will be able to go their way and turn to the UCS versions of the ship, this product is not for them.

As I said during the "Review "from the set 75300 Imperial Tie Fighter which will also be available from January 1, the youngest fans who will be looking for how to optimize the use of the money they will have possibly received at Christmas will be able to afford both boxes for less than 90 € and that, c t is the very good news to take away from this new wave of products.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 27, 2020 next at 23pm. "The" I try, I participate "are automatically deleted, make an effort.

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 set 10278 Police Station, Structure expected from January 1, 2021 in the new range soberly titled LEGO Modular Buildings Collection.

You have had plenty of time and the elements to get a very precise idea of ​​the contents of this box with the official announcement which took place a few days ago, so I will content myself with giving you as usual some very personal information about this new set which will be available at the public price of 179.99 €.

This large box of 2923 pieces allows you to assemble a new 37 cm high block including the antennas placed on the roof, to be aligned with the other references of the range and in the center of which is the police station of Modular City. On each side of the building, two narrow constructions with a donut merchant on the left and a newsstand on the right.

If the first floor of the building on the left is an apartment not connected to the premises of the police station, the right part is indeed an extension of the main building, up to the roof with an attic room which serves as the evidence room.

No surprise, the construction floor is a 32x32 gray base plate on which we assemble the sidewalk portion and the base of the main structure. As you know from the product announcement, the common thread of the set is the hunt for the donut thief and we assemble from the first bags the hole under the police station that will allow the thief to escape. We won't really play the escape sequence, but it's a nice detail that helps to create a little context around the product.

As for all the others Modulars of the range, we alternate here between sequences of stacking walls and construction of furniture or decorative elements. The assembly process is extremely well thought out and you never get bored. Designer Chris McVeigh is in charge and this specialist in micro-furniture and other accessories is also having a great time: I am not used to marveling at a bed or a table. but it must be recognized that the different elements which fill the rooms of the police station and adjoining spaces are very well designed.

Those who invest their money in the products of this range are generally demanding on the techniques of construction and on the misuse of certain parts. They shouldn't be disappointed here, the photos speak for themselves. We stay in the tradition of sets which offer sub-assemblies about which we sometimes wonder where the designer is going before realizing that the solution used is perfectly suited to the desired result. I am not a MOCeur and although I will not remember much of these creative techniques, I had a great time assembling the contents of this box.

The police station is crossed by a rather well thought out staircase, it is composed of crenellated bricks 3x3 and 4x4 and the technique used here saves a few tenons and others tiles and to avoid having a staircase too thick and intrusive. No tiling on the floors in the upper floors and that's a bit of a shame.

As often with the Modulars, the interior spaces are cramped and the designer takes care to impose on us the addition of the furniture before mounting the walls. The impression of dealing with a dollhouse that is difficult to reach is therefore a little attenuated even if it will be difficult to return to move something later without going with your fingertips. As I often say, the collector of Modulars laughs a little at the playability of the product and is happy to know that the furniture is just fine there, inside the build.

The usual toilet gimmick is once again present in this box, and in two copies: a toilet in the cell, another in the police station. Among the technical solutions that will make you smile, we will notably note the addition of the toilet paper roll in the toilet on the first floor via the right column of the facade. The roof cornice is particularly successful with the use of the part used this year for the head of the wolf in the LEGO Minecraft set 21162 The Taiga Adventure, installed here in several copies and which allows to deport the upper plate with a nice effect.

The rear of the construction is as usual more basic than the facade, but the whole remains coherent and realistic. The few windows, the door and the ladders are enough in my opinion to furnish so as not to have the impression that the back side is sloppy, although it may be regretted that the construction is not deeper and uses a few rows of additional tenons.

The whole can easily be transformed into an ordinary building, town hall or even a bank if you do not really want to have a police station in your street. With a second box, the simple replacement of the bricks Medium Lavender et Sand green, that is to say a little more than 250 pieces, which constitute the walls of the two adjoining mini-buildings will also make it possible to create an additional block to stick to a first copy of the set by varying the colors of the facades.

If there was a flaw in this product to be underlined, it would once again be the differences in color at the level of the sides of the construction. Shades Medium Lavender et Sand green are not completely uniform. With a little bad faith, we could console ourselves by saying that the effect is very appropriate here but the fact remains that it is a technical fault which is not really worthy of the first manufacturer of toys to the world.

No stickers in this box, everything is pad printed until the large poster in two pieces which dresses the side of the building and which undoubtedly refers vaguely to the laundromat seen in the set 10251 Brick Bank. Fans of pad-printed pieces to reuse will have at their disposal a few new pieces here, including two telephone dials, a typewriter keyboard, two large donuts and the tile bearing the inscription "Police".

The minifig endowment is correct, it sticks to the pitch of the set with three policemen, the donut thief and the saleswoman who reuses the torso already seen on other sellers and in the Monkie Kid range.

The torso used by the two police officers is new, that of the chief of police is borrowed from the LEGO CITY set 60246 Police Station marketed this year. The two caps are elements regularly available in the CITY range since 2014 and the thief does not make originality, he reuses the torso of Jack Davids, the young ghost hunter from the Hidden Side range.

In short, it is generally not necessary to try to convince those who collect the Modulars invest in the annual version and it will be difficult to motivate those who remain indifferent in front of these buildings to line up on a shelf. I can only tell you that the 2021 vintage should not disappoint the most demanding of fans: I have never been very impressed with this range but I have to admit that the few hours spent putting this set together have been very entertaining. The result would suit me well for a Gotham City police station by adding a Bat-signal on the roof.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 25, 2020 next at 23pm. "The" I try, I participate "are automatically deleted, make an effort.

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.

I received the VIP "bought" reward for the modest sum of 950 points a few days ago: the VIP metal key ring in its blue box. When the offer is launched, the rewards center only offered one visual of this promotional product and I, like many others, dared to imagine that it was a keychain with a large 2x4 metal bricks.

I was a little too naive on this file and it is in fact a simple plaque with tenons flanked by the brand logo. You will tell me that it is more practical than a big brick for a keychain and you will probably be right.

The thing weighs 32 grams on the scale, it is not manufactured directly by LEGO but by the company RDP, a Chinese structure specializing in the design and manufacture of derivative products that works for many brands, and I can't help but think that LEGO could have offered this product rather than "selling" it to us in exchange for some- some of our precious VIP points.

We will remember that the blue cardboard box with its pretty interior foam has a little effect, that this packaging will be very practical for storing this derivative product at the back of a cupboard and that the right to proudly display its membership in the LEGO VIP program. will still have cost a few points.

To be honest, even if the code generated on the rewards center is in principle valid for 60 days from its date of issue, I placed an order for products that I already had on the Shop without waiting for the novelties of January 1st are online. I didn't want to take the risk of waiting several weeks and taking the reckless risk of running out of stock on this keychain and receiving an uninteresting polybag instead. The desire to own this trinket that I paid for with my hard-earned points was the strongest. We do not remake ourselves.

Will I sleep better at night now that this keychain is in my possession? Nothing is less certain, the disappointment of having "bought" something flat instead of a nice thick brick should disturb me for a few days.

Today we quickly tour the LEGO Star Wars set 75300 Imperial Tie Fighter, a box that will be available from January 1, 2021 and which confirms to us that LEGO knows how to compromise without being extremely simplified.

This Tie Fighter of barely more than 400 pieces offered at 39.99 € has neither the presence nor the level of detail of a version which would cost twice as that of the set 75211 Imperial Tie Fighter marketed in 2018 at the public price of 79.99 € but it is doing in my opinion with the honors. The most assiduous collectors will also remember the reference 9492 Tie Fighter marketed in 2012 at the public price of 59.99 € with a Tie Fighter of 400 pieces barely bigger than this one and 4 figurines.

This new, even more affordable version of the ship is not easy, however, and offers its share of interesting assembly techniques. This is not a luxury "4+" and we especially escape the metapieces usually provided in these boxes for toddlers who have grown tired of DUPLO products.

The cockpit is a relatively complex assembly of small parts that results in a fairly convincing sphere. LEGO is also reusing the glass roof already seen in several sets since 2015 and the dish pad printed created in 2018 for the set 75211 Imperial Tie Fighter. The result makes it possible to install the pilot in command without having to go with a shoehorn, it's no frills but the essential is there.

The wings are of a design also without big aesthetic risk taking but the result is generally satisfactory. We may regret that tiles The gray ones placed in extra thickness only fit on two tenons and they will tend to unhook too easily during handling.

The two wings are fixed to the body of the vessel via three pins which plug into a unique 6x6 piece with five holes arranged in a cross, they will not accidentally come off. Note that the borders attached to the edge of the wings are only held at their ends via two clips, the ball joint central simply ensuring the fold that allows to respect the angle.

No stickers in this box, and that's good news. Of them spring shooters are integrated under the cockpit and it is sufficiently well done not to annoy those who would have done without. Ammunition sticks out at the rear, but that's the price to pay to be able to take advantage of the mechanism of these spring-loaded missile launchers.

The result: a vaguely Tie Fighter Midi Scale, a little bit of chibi with its large cockpit on the usual scale and its wings of a wingspan much smaller than the version of the ship marketed in 2018, but a product sufficiently detailed not to be likened to LEGO 4+.

The minifigure assortment may seem uninspired but in my opinion it remains relatively interesting for a young fan who is trying to build up a collection and an army. The Stormtrooper is the one delivered in several sets since 2019. The Tie Fighter pilot's helmet dates from 2015 and the torso from 2016, these are elements seen since on various pilots of the range.

The Death Star protocol droid, here named NI-L8 (for annihilate) takes the lead of the version seen in 2016 in the set 75159 Death Star and benefit in this new version of a superbly pad-printed torso. A fourth character would not have been refused, but the endowment still seems very reasonable to me for a box of 39.99 € under Star Wars license.

With this box and the set 75301 Luke Skywalker's X-wing Fighter (474 - 49.99 €) which we will talk about in a few days, LEGO finally offers two emblematic ships of the saga at reasonable prices without being petty in terms of inventory, design and minifig endowment.

It will obviously be necessary to accept the fact that these two ships are more compact and a little less detailed than their predecessors but this is the price to pay to take advantage of a more accessible price than usual. The youngest fans who will be looking for how to optimize the use of the money they may have received at Christmas will be able to afford both boxes for less than 90 € and that, in my opinion, is very good news.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 19, 2020 next at 23pm. 

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.