As promised, we quickly go around the set LEGO Ideas 21319 Central Perk (1070 pieces - 59.99 €), a box that joins the LEGO Ideas set 21302 The Big Bang Theory in the department of derivative products which feature a popular cast in one of the emblematic sets of the TV series concerned.

Regarding the TV series Friends, there were two possibilities to pay tribute to him and please the fans: Monica's apartment or the Central Perk, the fictitious bar in which the gang of friends squat on the central sofa throughout an episode. The lego ideas project which serves as the basis for this new box being based on the bar, the official set therefore allows us to obtain the Central Perk, with in passing a nice work by the designer on the walls and furniture of the filming studio.

We could quickly conclude on the observation that this box sold for 60 € is a product only intended for nostalgic fans of this series which still regularly makes the heyday of several TNT channels which do not take any risks in terms of programming (C ' is Friends or The Simpsons ...). In my opinion, that would be a mistake, because on closer inspection this set has much more to offer than a handful of more or less successful minifigs staged in a cardboard setting filled with various and varied pieces of furniture.

The presence of the two side uprights adorned with projectors is in my opinion the detail that also gives character to the set by bringing it back to what it really is: the reproduction of a filming studio with a minimalist exterior, almost neglected. and an interior filled with the many accessories and furniture seen on screen.

By assembling the contents of the set, we quickly see that the official designer has engaged here in a real exercise in style on the various furniture and other accessories that fill the Central Perk. Carpets, curtains, sofas, counter, piano with pad-printed keys, coffee machine, crockery or even shelves hung on the walls, those who are used to Modulars Indeed, you will find here the many accessories and elaborate construction techniques that are the heyday of the range of buildings emblematic of the LEGO universe. The initial project posted on the LEGO Ideas platform had found its audience in substance but the form left many LEGO fans a little bit hungry. The official set, largely revised and improved, should therefore reassure them on this point.

Fans of the series will also have something to have fun with some references reserved for them such as the small panel "Reserved"placed on the table which partly explains why the characters can regularly occupy the place at any time of the day without having to wait patiently for another group of friends to release the sofa or the poster placed near the door. wink at the men's lipstick ad Ichiban of which Joey was the star.

Contrary to what the official visuals of the set might suggest, the glass with the Central Perk sign visible both from inside the premises and from the street is here provided pad printed on one side only. In the instruction booklet, LEGO recommends flipping this clear part according to your needs. Although most fans will display the set with the sign facing inward, I find the process a bit petty. However, it was enough to apply an intermediate layer of white behind the logo and to pad the other side in the right direction to obtain a double-sided sign without even touching the cups. The world's leading toy manufacturer must be able to do this while freeing itself from any technical constraints ...

Even if many elements including the drinks list are pad printed, there are still some stickers in this box. It's hard to know why these graphic elements are printed on stickers instead of pad printing.

On the minifig side, the designer and graphic designer who worked on the set are doing honorably: the context helping, fans will recognize each of the characters delivered here with outfits seen on screen, such as the green shirt and Gunther's colorful tie Rachel's waitress outfit made from different jackets in jean seen throughout the episodes or Monica's suspender pants.

Regarding the latter, the intention was laudable but the achievement is far from convincing with a flagrant difference in color (and retouched on the official visuals) between the legs and the top of the pants pad-printed on the chest. As usual, the official retouched visuals are also a bit too optimistic about the flesh color pad-printed on Rachel and Chandler's torso.

Although they may seem totally new at first glance, these minifigs are actually an assemblage of parts with a lot of novelty and a bit of recycling: Gunther uses Luke Skywalker's features, Rachel takes on the neutral female face used recently for Black Widow, Jyn Erso, Padme or even Mera and Monica displays the smile of Sally Ride and Tina Goldstein.

Phoebe's guitar is not a new item, the instrument was already that of the Mariachi from the 16 series of collectible minifigs released in 2016, then it was seen in the Friends range and in the Structure 10255 Assembly Square. Rachel's hairstyle is also that of the veterinarian from the 17th set of collectible minifigs (LEGO ref. 71018)

In short, at 60 € a box, there is nothing to ask many questions about the relevance of this set which can be used to wedge a series of Blu-ray or DVD boxes on a shelf. It's both a beautiful, somewhat belated homage to a cult series for an entire generation, a product that offers a compelling building experience and an interesting inventory box with plenty of accessories that are always useful. Nostalgic fans of the series will be in heaven, apprentice builders will find some original techniques and MOCeurs will fill their drawers with pieces that are always very popular. Everyone will be happy and inexpensively. For 60 €, I say yes, especially for Gunther in fact.

THE LEGO IDEAS 21319 CENTRAL PERK SET ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

Note: The set shown here, supplied by LEGO, is included as usual. To participate in the draw, all you have to do is post a comment (avoid "I participate, I try, etc ..." be a little more constructive) on this article before the August 18, 2019 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.

The sets of the range Lego hidden side are now available, so it's time to take a look at one of these eight new boxes that promise to combine the pleasure of construction with a certain dose of interactivity thanks to augmented reality.

The and 70419 Wrecked Shrimp Boat (310 pieces - 29.99 €) features a small fishing boat, some reefs, Captain Jonas and his son Jonas Jr, Jack Davids, Parker L. Jackson, Spencer the dog (ghost) of our two heroes and an albino alligator .

As it stands and without calling on the dedicated application, the set already offers a minimum of playability on condition of showing imagination: the boat is aground, the alligator is about to eat the two sailors - fishermen, the two heroes arrive in kayaks to lend them a hand, etc ... forward the stories.

Much has been said about the possibility of pairing the fishing boat provided here with the store from the LEGO Ideas set. 21310 Old Fishing Store to which it is matched, but it will first be necessary to tinker a little to remove the colored wheel located at the rear next to the engine, this somewhat unsightly outgrowth then becoming unnecessary.

As you can imagine, the set is assembled very quickly. A few stickers to stick, some on a transparent background, and you're done. The fishing boat is in two parts, assembled together via two pine Technic that you can remove when the shell is split to improve the staging.

The reefs provided serve as support for the two parts of the stranded boat and the monster hiding under the rocks only appears if you lift them. Ridding this set of its attributes connoted Hidden Side is therefore not very complicated, and it remains a very successful boat with its many details and enough room to stage two minifigs.

The kayak delivered here is not new, it is also delivered in this color in the small LEGO CITY set 60240 Kayak Adventures. The boat allows only one character to be properly installed, the one accompanying it will have to be satisfied with the few tenons placed at the back.

As promised by LEGO, this set therefore benefits from a certain interactivity via the Hidden Side application, available on iOS (version 11 mini. With ARKit 2) and Android (version 7.0 min with ARCore). The concept that makes use of augmented reality is technically convincing, it is enough to aim the boat with the camera of the smartphone for the construction to appear in a rather successful digital staging.

Difficult for me to honestly judge the playful potential of the application, I am not the target of the concept. What I take away is that while the visual embedding is very pleasant, the features offered are a bit too basic for my taste. Nothing very original, it is here to scan in turn one of the four colors of the wheels placed at the back of the boat to reveal haunted areas and ghosts to capture by tapping frantically on the screen of the smartphone.

There is even a fictitious "social networks" function within the application which pushes the player to complete as many missions as possible to see his count of virtual "fans" increase. Not sure all parents appreciate this introduction to the basics of digital popularity. For the rest, it is mainly a question of clicking, clicking and clicking again to eliminate the "glow", capture ghosts, unlock some bonuses and other improvements, etc ...

If you want to test the application without buying a set from the range, you can use the photo of the boat earlier in the article. Display it by clicking on the thumbnail, launch the application, and place the smartphone lens in front of the photo. It is not really necessary to turn the wheel to access the different colored areas, just insist by clicking repeatedly on the area concerned and it works ...

I think that the youngest will eventually find their account there, at least for a few hours. On the other hand, I'm not sure that they want to put the table back together with the eight boxes in the range, even if the environments vary depending on the content of the set being staged.

The minifig endowment is very correct here. We obviously get the two recurring heroes: Jack Davids and Parker L. Jackson but the minifigs delivered here are fortunately not exclusive to this box: Jack Davids is also delivered with this outfit in the sets 70420 Graveyard Mystery, 70421 El Fuego's Stunt Truck, Parker L. Jackson is also present in this form in the sets 70420 Graveyard Mystery et 70425 Newbury Haunted High School.

The pad printing is successful and the molded accessories for the cap under the hood and the cap with integrated hair are very convincing. Each of the characters is equipped with their personal smartphone, just to underline that the device is essential for capturing ghosts and the two heroes are accompanied by Spencer, a small molded dog with a transparent part that gives it a very airy side. ..

The two fishermen provided will find their place in any diorama featuring a fishing port. It's a flawless thing for Captain Jonas' minifigure, the slightly dull orange area of ​​his son's torso, however, is not really in line with the rest of the outfit.

As a bonus, LEGO delivers enough to transform the ship's captain into a ghost with a cute head, two swords and a set of tentacles to slide on the neck of the minifig. There is a mini-game in the application that allows you to scan a minifigure to reveal ghosts. You can test the functionality by aiming at Jonas' minifigure in monster version below.

For those who are wondering, the albino alligator delivered in this box is in three parts: the body with the lower jaw, the upper jaw and the mobile tail which is held by a pine Technical.

Below I have put together some screenshots for you of what you will find in the app. You can choose to play as a ghost hunter or a ghost. In the second case, you will have access to mini games which can amuse the youngest.

To activate the augmented reality feature, you must stand on the boat here, and follow the directions provided to then embark on ghost hunting. Once again, the level of finish of the application is exemplary, everything is correctly translated into French and the youngest will have no trouble quickly becoming independent thanks to the help provided. Then it's up to them to judge the interest of spending time chasing virtual ghosts by tapping on the screen of their smartphone if they have one available or by taking advantage of their parents' ...

THE SET 70419 WRECKED SHRIMP BOAT ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

Note: The set shown here, supplied by LEGO, is included as usual. To participate in the draw, all you have to do is post a comment (avoid "I participate, I try, etc ..." be a little more constructive) on this article before the August 14, 2019 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 Technic set 42099 4x4 X-treme Off-Roader (958 pieces - 229.99 €), a product that had received a rather enthusiastic reception from the fans during the leaks of the first visuals with a vehicle with an aggressive look, the use of Bluetooth which finally replaces the infrared on this type of remotely controllable product and the promise of benefiting from a management interface developed via the dedicated Control + application.

Make no mistake, this is a construction toy from the LEGO Technic range that benefits from interactive functions and not an RC vehicle intended for intensive outdoor use. We will talk about what this implies a little further down.

As you probably already know, this all-terrain vehicle is equipped with three engines (two XL engines and one L engine) and a Smart Hub Bluetooth which communicates with a dedicated application to be installed on a compatible smartphone or tablet (Android 6.0 or iOS 10.0 minimum). One could argue about the lifespan of this toy which requires a recent smartphone and a dedicated app, but I think it'll be stowed away in the back of a toy box long before your smartphone becomes obsolete or your smartphone anyway. 'application is permanently withdrawn from the various Stores...

The 950 parts of the machine are quickly assembled, what takes the most time remains the installation of thirty stickers on the body. The structure of the vehicle is made up of two modules assembled in turn, with independent suspensions and front unit mounted on two axes which allow the body to remain horizontal in all circumstances. The three motors and their respective connection points on the hub are identified by stickers and the three cables coming from the different motors are connected by cable clips which are also easily identifiable.

If you inadvertently use the wrong connector, the application will not be able to synchronize with the vehicle. This technical detail also confirms that the Smart Hub delivered is a priori pre-programmed to synchronize with the application only in the configuration provided, with the three motors plugged into their respective connectors. Do-it-yourselfers will get four copies of the new wheel hub here (ref. 6275902).

Le Smart Hub remains easily accessible even when the vehicle is covered by the bodywork element to start it up and start synchronization with the dedicated application. To change the six AA batteries required for the toy to function properly, it will however be necessary to remove the bodywork element held by three fixing points (one at the front and two on the sides). The autonomy never exceeded the big half an hour during my tests with six standard rechargeable batteries before feeling a glaring lack of power. Too bad that in 2019 and on a high-end toy sold for 230 €, LEGO does not offer a rechargeable battery without having to disassemble the Smart Hub.

As I said above, even at 230 € a box, it is not an RC all-terrain vehicle that we buy here. It is a machine to be built by integrating three engines in order to then benefit from the interactivity offered by the dedicated application, nothing less and nothing more. It's as usual at LEGO, painfully slow, but since it is a machine dedicated to crossing obstacles, we do it with hope we can have fun otherwise.

Unfortunately, the engines struggle to provide enough torque and power to engage in a real incline or attempt to climb over a large set of rocks. As soon as an obstacle impassable by the vehicle's wheels appears, the Smart Hub stops the motors forcing the user to reposition the machine on a less cluttered surface.

I quickly gave up my experiences in difficult terrain to be content to ride on flat and a little sandy surfaces. I should have suspected it, the demonstration videos of the different product possibilities present in the application only show indoor examples where the vehicle is content to pass over a book or a few bricks ...

The ground clearance of the vehicle may seem really very important at first glance, but the problem will not come from the friction of the bodywork with the obstacles encountered: at the front of the vehicle, the lowest point is located 3 centimeters from the ground , the rear being placed at about 3.5 cm. It's too low to consider crossing substantial obstacles and we quickly understand that the machine has no "4x4 X-treme Off-Roader"as the name. It touches, it rubs and you may even leave a part or two in the passage, I think of the four 3M Surveys (4223767) placed at the front, two of which came off during my handling outdoors.

During your adventures, you also risk losing the two headlights placed at the front and the blocks of parts representing the rear optics. These elements are easily detached, they are respectively held by two tenons. These are a priori the only elements that come loose from time to time and that it will be safer to remove before going to have fun in the rubble.

The Control + app is pretty well designed. It offers a pleasant and didactic interface which allows immediate handling of the machine. It is possible to control the vehicle with two hands via the standard interface or to switch to piloting mode with one hand by pointing on the screen in the direction in which the machine must move. LEGO has also incorporated a tutorial disguised as a succession of small, simple challenges to accomplish. It's fun and all the potential of the set is actually based on this application designed to bring all the interactivity promised to the toy.

In short, you will understand, there is no need to do tons of it around this product and despite its look of an extreme backpacker, this vehicle remains a simple indoor toy much too slow to provide real sensations and too little responsive to live up to its aggressive appearance, which nevertheless left one imagining great crossing capacities. Everything therefore relies on the dedicated application which offers some fun challenges and a visually very successful piloting interface.

As usual, we will wait until the price of this box drops well below the 200 euros mark to be tempted and scare the cat by chasing it through the different rooms of the house. For real sensations outdoor, it will be necessary to turn to products really designed for this type of activity.

THE SET 42099 4X4 X-TREME OFF-ROADER ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

Note: The set shown here, supplied by LEGO, is included as usual. The parts damaged during the various "stunts" of the video will be replaced by new elements. To participate in the draw, all you have to do is post a comment (avoid "I participate, I try, etc ..." be a little more constructive) on this article before the August 11, 2019 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.

[amazon box="B07ND6CFHZ"]

We continue to tour the boxes marketed on the occasion of the 80 years of the vigilante of Gotham City with a quick tour of the LEGO Batman set 76120 Batwing and The Riddler Heist, a box of 489 pieces sold at the public price of 54.99 €.

This set highlights a new bat-vehicle, the Batwing, but it also allows to assemble two other means of locomotion which guarantee a good playability to the whole. If we add the four characters provided, the inventory of this box seems to me rather balanced.

The main course of the set is obviously the Batwing delivered here in a new version which features two new cannons placed on the wings in addition to the usual ones. Stud Shooters present near the cockpit.

Impossible to miss these two new appendages launchers of Tiles 1x1 rounds whose integration lacks a little discretion for my taste between the gray of the barrel and the brown of the part that must be pushed to eject in turn the four projectiles stored inside the weapon. The mechanical operation of these Rapid-Fire Multi Shooters does not pose any particular problem. It's effective and you just have to think about renewing the stock of ammunition from time to time.

I find the Batwing very successful visually. The cockpit is spacious and can accommodate Batman without having to force the canopy, the wings take more or less correctly the shape of the emblematic logo dating from 1966 and present since on the majority of the derivative products and the two stickers to stick on the fuselage bring a appreciable finishing touch. The cockpit is dressed in a sticker that at least has the merit of being in the tone of the rest of the ship. The assembly is easy to handle by holding the vessel from below. Nothing falls, no part comes loose.

The enemy of the day, The Riddler, tumbles here in a pocket helicopter to steal a safe. Why not. The machine is in the colors of the villain with a perfectly assumed cartoon side. The whole thing lacks a little finishing especially at the level of the bubble which closes on the cockpit with some open spaces a little unsightly on the sides.

Two missiles placed just above the skates add a bit of playability to the machine which also has a chain to hang the safe coveted by the super-villain.

The safe received special attention from the designer. It is very well designed with a simple but effective mechanism disguised as a code system that allows the door to be locked. Too bad the sticker to be glued on the round piece is not perfectly centered, you have to compensate by shifting the sticker to obtain a convincing effect.

To assist Batman in his hunt for the Riddler, LEGO puts Commissioner Gordon behind the wheel of a Gotham City Police Department (GCPD). The vehicle is rather successful even if in profile it seems to me very crushed. Gordon has no problem at the controls, that's the main thing.

You don't reach the level of detail of a Speed ​​Champions range vehicle, but the finish of the car is very honest with a bull bar up front, a simple but effective grille and even a spotlight attached to the left mirror.

As for the color of the background of the stickers, it is almost in line with the color of the body parts. One more effort and there we are.

The minifig endowment is very correct here. The supplied Riddler is not exclusive to this box because it is also delivered in the set 4+ 76137 batman vs. The Riddler Robbery sold for € 9.99. If it's just this minifigure you're interested in here, better buy the other box. The realization of the torso is very clean with a beautiful black shirt effect under the green suit. The face has only one expression because of the bowler hat that leaves visible the back of the head of the minifigure. No regrets, the head of this minifigure is in my opinion particularly successful.

Shazam is identical to the version of the 30623 polybag, the distribution / marketing method of which is not yet known, but the character is here equipped with a white hood since he does not need to look like Zachary Levi. White cape, nice torso, two convincing expressions for the face, it is very correct.

Things get tough with Commissioner Gordon's minifigure, the upper part of which is however really very successful. Under the hairstyle also used in the LEGO Harry Potter range for Cédric Diggory, the two faces of the characters are superb and the torso benefits from a perfect pad printing, LEGO even managing to provide us with an almost white shirt under the jacket, as in the visuals set officials.

Unfortunately, the minifigure is a bit spoiled by the pair of legs on which the two sides of the jacket are pad-printed. It is neither seamed nor aligned with the torso and the effect in all cases only works from the front. Too bad, it was almost flawless.

Finally, we find in this box the inevitable Batman, identical to the one already seen in other boxes with its pale face and its too fine pad printing which is erased according to the manipulations of the mask of the minifigure. I understand the desire to keep a common thread from one box to another, but LEGO could have made the effort to provide us with different outfits for this character whose 80th birthday we are celebrating all the same this year.

In short, this box offers both something to have a little fun with two flying machines and a police car and enough to fill the Ribba frames of minifig collectors with three new characters out of four. It's already very good, especially since its selling price is already below 50 € on Amazon. I valid.

THE SET 76120 BATWING AND THE RIDDLER HEIST ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

Note: The set shown here, supplied by LEGO, is included as usual. To participate in the draw, all you have to do is post a comment (avoid "I participate, I try, etc ..." be a little more constructive) on this article before the August 8, 2019 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 Technic set 42097 Compact Crawler Crane (920 pieces - 99.99 €), a box that features a spider crane and that LEGO presents as a product intended for the youngest fans who discover the wonderful world of gears and pine Technic.

And LEGO does well to mention that this set is aimed at a young audience because complex mechanisms should not be expected here. Each available function is independent and allows a single action to be performed. Lovers of functionalities combined via very elaborate sub-assemblies will therefore be left hungry.

I specify it for those who do not really know the LEGO Technic range and who wonder where are the 920 pieces of the set: there are here more than 270 pine of all kinds and the elements used to assemble the two tracks of the machine are delivered in 60 copies.

Assembly is relatively easy with a very explicit instruction booklet which details each of the 274 assembly steps in pine near. We start with the mobile base of the crane with the installation of the various rotating elements that will allow the arm and the four stabilizers to come into action. The crane base cover is fairly basic but this is the price to pay to be able to observe the operation of the various mechanical subassemblies. At this point, you still have the choice between continuing to assemble the set to get a construction machine or let your imagination run wild and turn it into a tank with rotating turret ...

You have to stick a few stickers in the process, and even if some of them are purely decorative, several of these stickers allow you to clearly identify the function accessible via one of the many knobs distributed on the crane frame. Not to mention the lever which allows the base of the arm to be slightly raised to prevent the latter from getting stuck between the two rear stabilizers when the boom is deployed.

The boom is also deployed using a wheel which sets the linear actuator in motion and the crane then reaches about fifty centimeters in height when the extension fitted with a rack is fully extended (via another wheel ). The raised rotating base cannot make a full turn on itself, you have to settle for an angle of 180 °, enough to have a little fun but the angle seems too limited to me to reproduce the possibilities of this type gear in real life.

Just to put the four stabilizers in place, you have to seriously grind. Too bad these elements do not raise the body of the crane, it seems to me that it is however the principle of these compact machines which are useful on sites where the accessibility of lifting equipment is a problem.

Each stabilizer is deployed independently of the other three and it is therefore necessary to repeat the same operation four times via three distinct phases: orient the stabilizer according to the desired angle, tilt it and then mill to make between the support in contact with the ground via a screw endless circulating on a rack. I'm not a specialist in this type of gear, but pairing the stabilizers two by two seemed to me to be a little more interesting.
The stabilizers must be stored in a sequence that allows them to be stored in sets of two on the crane deck.

As if there were not enough wheels in this set, LEGO adds one to deploy the dummy control panel (a sticker) placed under the frame of the machine when it is retracted. It's quite realistic, these Spider cranes not having a cabin for the operator. The statistics will perhaps make smile the purists but one counts besides "only" 53 gears in this box of which 17 are used only of wheels.

Small aside: For those who thought that I was perhaps doing a little too much about the sewing thread that serves as the thread in my review of the set LEGO Ideas 21318 Treehouse, the thicker, stronger cable provided here (P / N 6219044) might well have done the trick.

In short, this set sold for a hundred euros has a real "didactic" side with mechanical sub-assemblies that are easy to assemble and whose correct functioning can be checked along the way so as not to have to disassemble everything in order to to correct any error. Each wheel corresponds to a single feature well identified with the help of the stickers provided and it is an opportunity for those who would like to embark on more complex models to discover the basics of the LEGO Technic system.

However, a crane is still a crane and we will quickly tire of deploying each stabilizer in turn between two trips on the hard plastic tracks. There is arguably more fun and less expensive in the LEGO Technic range unless you are passionate about public works and then you plan to invest in more complex models like for example the motorized crane of the set. 42082 Rough Terrain Crane (2018), the set 42055 Bucket Wheel Excavator (2016) or the enormous 42100 Liebherr R 9800 Excavator (4108 pieces - 449.99 €) expected for the start of the school year.

THE 42097 CRAWLER CRANE COMPACT SET ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

Note: The set shown here, supplied by LEGO, is included as usual. To participate in the draw, all you have to do is post a comment (avoid "I participate, I try, etc ..." be a little more constructive) on this article before the August 5, 2019 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.