Today we are quickly interested in the LEGO Architecture set 20151 Tokyo Skyline (547 pieces - 64.99 €), a box that will join at the beginning of 2020 the already long list of panoramas of different cities converted with LEGO sauce. Here it is Tokyo that it is about with some emblematic structures of the Japanese capital, the Tokyo Tower, Gakuen Cocoon Tower mode, the park Chidorigafuchi, a view of shibuya, tower Tokyo skytree and the exhibition center tokyo big sight all placed in front of Mount Fuji with a forced perspective effect.

La Tokyo Tower is quite convincing, we find this red and white Eiffel Tower side of the 333-meter construction visible from all parts of the city, but without the lightness of the structure which is here embodied by solid parts. So we hesitate a bit with Tintin's rocket, but it was undoubtedly difficult to do better on this scale. At the foot of the Tokyo Tower, we find what appears to be the temple of Sensoji, a pagoda surmounted by a golden element. Nothing is specified about this structure in the instruction booklet.

La Gakuen Cocoon Tower Mode is in my opinion a little less successful. The 204-meter-high structure that accommodates several thousand Japanese students is a little more elegant than the LEGO version and the pad-printed pieces with a simple geometric pattern struggle to reproduce the "nest" effect visible on the real building.

Further in the skyline, there are two emblematic places of the Japanese capital: the path of Chidorigafuchi which runs along the moat of the Imperial Palace with its cherry blossoms in spring and the intersection of the Shibuya district, an incredible place that sees thousands of people crossing the street at the same time and in all directions without jostling each other.

Even if you've never been to Japan, you must have seen this place at least once in a movie. I was able to go there during a business trip and it is a strange feeling to find myself in the middle of the flow of people who cross this simple crossing.

The LEGO version obviously does not convey any of these emotions, but the presence of this place in this set is a detail that I particularly appreciate. There are buildings with their colorful signs, giant screens that display advertisements and ground markings that make it easy to recognize the place.

At the end of the display, we find the exhibition center Tokyo Big Sight with the very particular structure of its conference space relatively well reproduced here. Just behind, we install the Tokyo Skytree, a 634 meter high structure whose LEGO version is in my opinion unconvincing.

The metallic mesh which covers the tower is symbolized here by a few flexible tubes too far apart to produce a credible effect. Once again, I am well aware that the scale of these skylines does not allow all the fantasies usually seen on the sets of the Architecture range which only feature a single construction, but I am still a little disappointed .

It's hard for me to criticize the choice of buildings that make up this Tokyo skyline, I don't live there. Everyone will have an opinion on the subject depending on what they may have learned from their visit to the Japanese capital, but from my point of view as an occasional tourist, I think the selection is quite representative of what best symbolizes this city.

I remain a little on my hunger concerning the Gakuen Cocoon Tower Mode and the tower placed to the far right of the model. Mount Fuji, despite its rough finish, brings a bit of depth to the product and helps highlight the two elements that I think are the most successful here: Chidorigafuchi and Shibuya.

Overall, this set is a nice souvenir for those who have already been able to go to Tokyo and who have taken the time to visit the city a little without spending their entire stay in Akihabara ... The district would have deserved to be included in this skyline, with a few micro-buildings adorned with illuminated signs.

Lovers of micro-constructions based on LEGO bricks will also find their account there with a set that offers varied and always ingenious assemblies. Some structures, on the other hand, are a little fragile, but as it is a pure exhibition product that you do not touch after mounting it, this is not very serious.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 20, 2019 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.

Today we are talking about the set again LEGO Creator Expert Modular 10270 Bookshop (2504 pieces - 159.99 €), a set of two constructions that will probably join the streets of the majority of fans of this range from January 1st.

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 hours ago, so I will content myself with giving you as usual some very personal information about this box.

Don't be fooled by the official visuals, this set is "only" 29cm tall. For reference, the construction of the set 10264 Corner Garage measures 32 cm high and the highest point of the set 10255 Assembly Square is 35 cm from the ground. Here no antenna or pointed roof, the whole is relatively compact.

Walls, cornices, roofs, furniture, as usual we assemble here a dollhouse for adults, s with its different more or less playable spaces, which will end up on a shelf alongside the other products of the range and which will delight all those who regularly exhibit urban dioramas all over France.

The set consists of two separate buildings logically placed on their respective 16x32 base plates, a solution that has disappeared from the range since the set 10218 Pet Shop marketed in 2011. You can also arrange the two constructions in any order you like, it works. By reversing the placement from the solution presented by LEGO, the floor lamp ends up under the birch but it is easy to remove or move.

When it comes to tiling, you shouldn't be too demanding with this set: only the floor of the bookstore is tiled, the other parts are in "visible tenons". It is convenient for planting furniture or minifigs in it, but in my opinion it is not up to the level of finish that one can expect from a product of this range. You will tell me that anyway, apart from the window of the bookstore, you can't really see the inside of the different rooms from the outside. And that's true, but I would have liked to have had smooth floors, a floor, etc ...

On the other hand, the exterior finish of the two constructions is impeccable. The ornaments on the facade are nicely done and the two buildings display very different styles and colors. We dream of a street complete with facades in the same style. The sides and the back of the two buildings are as usual more basic, we can detect here and there some differences in color between the parts in Medium Dark Flesh which make up the walls of the bookstore, but it's more homogeneous than usual and it seems to me that LEGO has made some progress on this point. On the other hand, I am not a fan of the bricks of different colors which are visible on the outside of the walls, in particular at the level of the chimney of the blue building.

The sign of the bookstore is pad printed and it will be necessary to be satisfied with an English version. For those who are wondering what "Birch", it is the English translation of the word birch, the tree which is just in front of the shop. This tree also takes advantage of the white notches present on the parts which constitute the trunk: no more the trouble of turning them to Conceal them, they perfectly embody here the variations in color of the bark characteristic of this type of tree.

A few yellowed leaves on the branches of the tree and on the ground and the autumn atmosphere of a street in a quiet residential area of ​​London or San Francisco is there. Good luck to integrate this new Structure in a street where buildings with very different architectural styles already rub shoulders. The most judicious seems to add the set 10243 Parisian Restaurant whose facade seems to me rather to match that of this new set. On the other side, the set 10255 Assembly Square will do.

The bookstore is obviously filled with ... books. Or rather small assemblages that reproduce the presence of books on the shelves of the store. It's a shame, we get here only one "real book" LEGO, a copy of Moby brick whose cover is also nicely pad printed. In the end, for a set called Bookshop, there are not many books in this box even if the substitute assemblies are largely illusion on the shelves.

The floors of the two buildings are more or less attic rooms, there is not much except a double bed and a chest of drawers on one side and a single bed with an aquarium on the other. No sink, bathroom or toilet. The blue house benefits from a cellar which lacks a little depth but it is an interesting detail which also makes it possible to raise the construction to justify the very successful staircase placed at the entrance. There you will find a mousetrap, a folding ladder tucked away in a corner, and a hobbit gate in the back.

I tried to turn the first floor of the building which houses the bookstore 180 ° and it also works with a balcony which therefore overlooks the street. It's a detail, but it will allow an interesting variation if you install several copies of the set in your LEGO town.

The other rooms are loosely furnished, and the stairs, including a rather successful spiral version, take up a significant portion of the available space. I would gladly exchange these for some extra furniture and some real chairs. At LEGO, we almost sit on the floor and that's a shame.

The endowment in minifigs is very correct here with a handful of ordinary civilians to stage. The little boy plays with his plane which ends up in the tree, the bookseller comes to help him, his wife is busy in the shop while the parents of the reckless kid are gardening. Forward the stories.

In the end, I think we get here a very nice Structure more generic than the gas station or the typical 50s Diner of the last few years and that's a good thing. The business on the ground floor is discreet and we really have the impression of having residential buildings.

Those who will acquire this box will not be disappointed by the many techniques used here to refine the facades of the two constructions. They will get their money's worth both during the assembly process and afterwards with a superb display set, although one can still regret the lack of finish and furniture on the floors.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 18, 2019 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.

Today we take a closer look at the contents of the LEGO Creator set 40337 Mini Gingerbread House, a small limited edition box of 499 pieces that will be offered by LEGO from December 6 to 24, 2019 from 100 € / 115 CHF of purchase without restriction of range.

You guessed it, this little box allows you to assemble a compact version of the gingerbread house from the LEGO Creator Expert set 10267 Gingerbread House (94.99 €) marketed since mid-September.

With 499 pieces in the box, you can imagine that the inventory here consists of a majority of small elements that will have to be carefully assembled. The set also requires two instruction booklets for a total of 148 assembly steps. In the end, the reproduction offered here is consistent with the large model, all or almost all the attributes of the "big" house are present.

The set offers many original techniques that should appeal to all those who like to discover all the possibilities offered by the LEGO ecosystem. In this regard, this box offers a rather high-end assembly "experience", far from the simplistic polybags or basic constructions sometimes offered in certain products offered on condition of purchase.

There is only one sticker in the box, the one allowing to date the construction with the year of production of this box. You are free to stick it or not on the white part provided.

The back of the model is uniform and full. Due to the very small scale of the construction, there are logically no accessible interior spaces as on the version of the Creator Expert set 10267 Gingerbread House. This mini gingerbread house is anyway intended to end up on the corner of a shelf during the holidays or to serve as an element adding an effect of forced perspective in a snowy diorama.

In the end, I am pleasantly surprised by this small box which is not intended for sale but which still offers a real successful construction. The real downside is elsewhere: the minimum purchase to be reached to be offered this set is set by LEGO at 100 € / 115 CHF of purchase and it is a substantial amount. Evil tongues will answer me that at LEGO "for 100 bucks, you have nothing", but I can not help thinking of all those who hoped to have to spend, as in the past, only 65 or 85 € to take advantage of the offer.

An important detail: LEGO has already in the past put on sale products that were previously offered as part of a promotional offer. This small set is valued at 19.99 € on the page that describes the offer, there may be a chance that it will be possible to purchase it separately in the weeks or months to come, when your LEGO budget has found some color.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 16, 2019 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.

Today we are quickly interested in the LEGO Star Wars set 75256 Kylo Ren's Shuttle (1005 pieces - 129.99 €), a novelty launched last October which also has the mission of making us forget the ship really out of the set 75104 Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle marketed in 2015.

There is no suspense, it's mission accomplished with this new interpretation of Kylo Ren's ship that sticks a little more to the model used on the screen. The color is the right one, the integrated functions finally allow to put the LEGO version in "realistic" configurations and the endowment in minifigs is sufficiently motivating to justify the purchase of this new box.

On the assembly side, it's quite pleasant in the early stages before logically becoming a bit repetitive when it comes to tackling the wings of the ship. The cockpit is spacious enough to accommodate three minifigs without having to enter them with forceps and here we find the usual difference in scale inside / outside which allows to have a nice exhibition product that becomes a playset when you access the different interior spaces.

The cockpit seats are attached to an access ramp that can be deployed under the vessel. The functionality is a bit superfluous and this ramp is not really accessible, except to flip the model, which in itself is not very practical ...

Two Spring-Shooters are integrated under the hull of the ship and they are placed in such a way as not to disfigure the model and to annoy collectors. We also quickly assemble the mechanism that will allow the wings to deploy by gravity when lifting the ship.

It's well thought out, it works and the effect obtained during takeoff is very interesting. Even the most jaded should be taken in, I know what I'm talking about. To bring the wings to the vertical, just turn the right engine placed at the back of the ship. Here too, the mechanism is discreet and perfectly integrated.

The outer covering of the wings is basic but sufficient. Inside, it's immediately more messy with visible reinforcement pieces and the whole system that allows you to store the tip of the wing under the widest part. The mechanism designed to achieve this effect is also very well thought out, it is just not completely hidden in the thickness of the wings and the result is visually a little messy as it is.

I do not hold it against the designer, the playability of the whole really benefits from this feature and it would have been a shame to do without it for questions of finish. The same goes for the few empty spaces at the level of the Technic elements which serve as a mobile support for the upper part of the wings.

Sooner or later we'll get a UCS version of this ship anyway, and those who aren't ready to put up with the aesthetic compromises of this version should one day have an even bigger, more detailed and up-to-date ship. more successful finish.

Kylo Ren uses here the outfit and the head seen in several sets whose reference 75216 Snoke's Throne Room marketed in 2018, but it is equipped with its helmet in a "repaired" version and the accessory benefits from a really successful pad printing on its entire surface. If you buy this box only for Kylo Ren, go your way and wait for the set 75264 Kylo Ren's Shuttle Microfighter planned for early 2020: You will get exactly the same minifigure for € 9.99 instead of € 129.99.

The two Knights of Ren (Knights of Ren) may seem a bit generic but the combination of parts and accessories, including Obi-Wan's new hood that comes here in black, works pretty well for both characters. The two minifigs provided here don't reveal much of who these characters are, but I expect their contribution to the film to be boiled down to a few clashes before I see them go by the wayside for good. . To gather the whole troop, it will be necessary to wait for the beginning of 2020 with two other figurines distributed in the boxes to come.

If the First Order Stormtrooper with his new helmet was already in the set 75225 Elite Praetorian Guard Battle Pack, the other figurines delivered in this box are new, at least until the availability of the set 75266 Sith Troopers Battle Pack for the Sith Trooper whose helmet and outfit benefit from high-end pad printing. Under the helmets of these two characters, nothing very innovative: we find the usual head of angry Clone Trooper.

General Pryde's minifigure, portrayed onscreen by Richard E. Grant, doesn't look too exciting with its generic outfit but it gets the job done with a pretty successful face.

In short, here is a nice box that offers something to have a little fun thanks to some interesting techniques used to give mobility to Kylo Ren's ship. In my opinion, the set is convincing both in its quality of a really elaborate playset and an exhibition model that can sit on a shelf. It returns the 2015 version to the rank of very preliminary prototype that it is better to forget and when in addition it is sold for less than 100 € at Amazon, it would be a shame to miss out on a product that offers very balanced content.

[amazon box="B07ND9TJF6"]

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 12, 2019 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.

Today we are quickly interested in the other Batmobile that will be available from November 29: that of the LEGO Batman set 40433 1989 Batmobile Limited Edition which will be offered for the purchase of the set 76139 1989 Batmobile (249.99 €).

Valued at 29.99 € by LEGO, this small set of 366 pieces has everything of a product that could have ended up on the shelves of the DC Comics section without having to blush in front of the other boxes already on sale.

You will understand, LEGO wishes here to offer a compact version of the imposing model of the set 76139 and this mini Batmobile also inspired by the one seen in the film by Tim Burton is a high-end promotional product as we would like to see more often at LEGO.

This more or less minifig scale interpretation of the vehicle is in my opinion at least as convincing as that of the 76139 set, with some inevitable compromises motivated by the reduced scale of the model. The cockpit canopy no longer slides forward but tilts to allow access to the cockpit designed to accommodate a minifig and the two machine guns placed on the front cover, here embodied by Stud Shooters, are not retractable.

The only real complaint I can make with this model is the use of gray barrels to embody the side air intakes. As I said before, I often have a bit of trouble with the regular hijacking of these barrels to transform them, for example, into reactors and I find them inappropriate here as well. They are not even the right color and you can only see them. Some will see it as a nod to the many possibilities offered by certain elements of the LEGO inventory, I see it rather as a lazy solution that spoils the general appearance of the model a bit.

For the rest, this mini Batmobile is like its big sister delivered with a rotating support on which a small presentation plate hangs. It is also the only sticker in the box that dresses this small plate.

On the functional side, on the sidelines of the movable canopy, the movement of the vehicle causes the engine nozzle to turn at the rear. It's anecdotal but it's always good to take knowing that the youngest will have the opportunity to discover during the assembly the simple mechanism which allows to obtain this effect.

There is not really much to be said about this mini Batmobile, knowing that it is additionally offered for the purchase of a set which is also so convincing that many fans would have it. bought even without this gift.

This mini version is aesthetically very successful, it is pleasant to build and it will sit on your shelves without any problem alongside those of the sets 76119 Batmobile: Pursuit of The Joker, 76052 Batman Classic TV Series Batcave (2016)  76045 Kryptonite Intercept (2016) et 76035 Jokerland (2015). We can regret the absence of a minifigure in this box, but let's not be too demanding, Batman is already delivered in the set 76139 1989 Batmobile.

In short, if there was one more reason to fall for the 76139 set from its launch on November 29, this set should be enough to motivate you. This will be the case for me, although I would have invested in set 76139 anyway without this nice gift.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 8, 2019 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.