2015 review: My tops and my flops

A quick look back at 2015, a LEGO year made up of both very successful sets and rather mediocre boxes. Everyone will probably have found their account but the Star Wars range has once again purred while waiting for the essential pretext for a healthy renewal. The first sets based on the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens are, if not perfect, at least refreshing with new ships and other gear accompanied by a slew of new minifigs. I look forward to the rest.

My favorite set in 2015? This is the box 76042 The SHIELD Helicarrier. We can discuss the problems of scale or finish of the thing, but this is the set that in my eyes for 2015 embodies the best that LEGO can offer us.

Too used to the laziness of LEGO when it comes to the Marvel and DC Comics ranges with very beautiful minifigs generally surrounded by machines of no great interest, I was surprised to see that for once the brick was taking control with this set of which the Helicarrier is the real star. The presence of Studs visible over the entire surface of the craft has been the subject of much discussion, and ultimately I think that's a good thing: This creation is not a model, it is a construction made from LEGO bricks.

I am still very attached to the original LEGO concept and I refuse to collect only minifigs. I need a construction, something to assemble. Minifigs are only part of the hobby, we would sometimes tend to forget that.

The box that forced me this year to transgress my principles of collectors with a non-expandable budget is the set 70751 Ninjago Temple. Once again, LEGO puts the bricks back at the center of the equation with this stunning temple and its surroundings. I have long stayed away from the Ninjago range due to the confusion of genres in this universe where fighter jets rub shoulders with dragons, and this temple is a beautiful creation that puts the Ninjago experience in a context that seems to me. more consistent.

As for the Star Wars range, 2015 will not leave me with lasting memories. The few sets based on the Star Wars Rebels series won't change that, and my long-time collector profile prevents me from marveling at the endless, barely revamped reissues of sets already released in one form or another.
The and 75094 Imperium Shuttle Tydirium is in my opinion the most successful of the 2015 wave. This box almost succeeds in making us forget the limitations of the format System.

Without competing with the UCS version of the set 10212 Imperial Shuttle released in 2010, this box proves that we cannot always hide behind the constraints in terms of number of parts or retail price to justify the mediocrity of a set: It is possible to offer something very successful. while remaining reasonable.

The two UCS sets from the Star Wars range released in 2015, the boxes 75095 Tie Fighter et 75060 Slav I, will not leave me with an unforgettable memory: These are certainly detailed versions of emblematic ships but whose multiple variations in the format System are already cluttering up my shelves.

The 2015 flops are in my opinion too numerous to list them all here, but I still give a special mention to the set 76037 Rhino and Sandman Super Villain Team-up which is for me the failed box of 2015. It perfectly embodies this laziness of which I spoke above, trampling in passing the very principle defended by the brand throughout the marketing campaign. Here, there is almost nothing to build and those who have tried to play with this box quickly realized that everything falls apart at the slightest manipulation.

In the end, 2015 will have been for me a year during which I rediscovered the pleasure of seeing construction return to the center of the concept and not be used as a pretext: My favorite sets are those which best represent this balance between bricks and minifigs.

I know there are probably as many reviews as there are boxes and I can't wait to find out which were your favorite sets of 2015.