Before the Star Wars wave scheduled for this weekend, a brief return to The LEGO Ninjago Movie universe with the set 70613 Garma Mecha Man (747 pieces, 4 minifigs, 64.99 €).

Might as well raise the suspense right away, at this price it is obviously a simplified version of the mech seen in the film trailer. Really simplified.

There isn't much left of the massive and menacing aspect of the legged shark piloted by Garmadon in the LEGO version. Instead, we assemble a somewhat clumsy robot about thirty centimeters high with a few details that vaguely recall that of the film.

By assembling this mech, I said to myself that next to it, the model of the set 70615 Fire Mech would almost pass for a faithful reproduction of the film version. There, we come close to the off topic.

Exit the menacing shark side in samurai armor, he looks like one of those rubber villains with flat feet straight out of an episode of Bioman, X-Gold or Spectreman and which would move by waddling from one foot to the other.

No knee joints, we'll do with it. LEGO took care to try and give this robot fake knees anyway and it's ugly. Lots of stickers to stick on (20), but you're used to it. The shark cannon fires missiles.

The few good ideas in the set, like the thrusters on the back of the legs or the aquarium mounted on the back of the robot that feeds the fish cannon, fall flat because the design of this robot is so disastrous. Minimum service on the pilot station side, no levers or seats for Garmadon. A sticker acts as a control panel.

Come on, let's not waste our time with this set, it's a caricature more than an interpretation. There had to be a middle ground between this thing and a UCS from the Garma Mecha Man, even if it means adding about twenty euros to the public price. Even my 8 year old son was laughing to his feet when he found out. There are a lot better in The LEGO Ninjago Movie range and for less.

Bonus: This mech also doesn't look like the promotional visual below. By the way, LEGO did not see fit to provide us with the rather nice ax on this poster. we must be content with yet another copy of the fake laser pointer, the ultimate weapon.

If you still want to have two robots to stage a titanic fight, turn to theUltimate Mech Kit bearing the reference 5005410. You will save 28 € on the separate purchase of the sets 70613 Garma Mech Man et 70615 Fire Mech (111.98 € the lot instead of 139.98 € if you buy the two boxes separately).

The minifig endowment struggles to save the furniture with Pat the paparazzi, an evil man-shark, Lloyd and Garmadon.

Finally, I say no without forcing myself. This is by far the worst set in the The LEGO Ninjago Movie range in my eyes, especially at this price ...

Note: We do as usual, you have until September 7, 2017 at 23:59 p.m. to manifest yourself in the comments.

Update : The winner was drawn and 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.

Small foray into the LEGO Architecture range with a set that will inevitably speak more to the public of this blog than the usual reproductions of buildings located on the other side of the planet.

The reference 21036 The Arc de Triomphe makes it possible to reproduce a well-known Parisian monument with just over 380 pieces.

It's a LEGO Architecture product, with the scale to go with it and the opportunistic symbolism of some of the pieces used to represent the different elements of the monument. And that's where the microfig, a very practical LEGO element for designers, comes into play.

The four artistic high reliefs are here replaced by microfigs and the LEGO designer has chosen to place them in a niche that absolutely does not exist on the monument. I understand the approach: to create some semblance of volume around the minifigure using depth and a different color, but the effect falls a bit flat.

The six bas-reliefs disappear altogether and are embodied by the underside of gray pieces. It will take some imagination to visualize them.

It is precisely the purpose of this range to reproduce monuments on a scale which requires diverting the main use of certain pieces to make them embody architectural details, but here we obviously reach the limits of the concept and the symbolism becomes a little cartoonish.

To console ourselves, we can judge that the flame of the Unknown Soldier in LEGO sauce is rather successful ...

Everything is assembled in fifteen minutes flat. Due to the architecture of the monument, some sub-assemblies have to be reproduced in several copies. Inevitable but not really exciting. Some interesting techniques to discover, in particular to reproduce the upper cornice.

If you like the hinge bricks (LEGO ref. 393701), rejoice, you will get 30 copies in this box.

From a certain distance, the one that separates you from the shelf on which you display your sets, the whole will create an illusion. Despite its approximate proportions and the liberties taken by the designer, we recognize the monument at first glance. It was already less obvious with Eiffel Tower from set 21019...

As for the public price, 34.99 €, it is much too expensive for this souvenir to assemble yourself. And LEGO has not even made the effort to integrate content in French in the instruction booklet contrary to what is indicated in the very emphatic product sheet on the LEGO Shop. The only words in French are Arc, de et Triumph... For a set that honors a French monument, it's a shame.

Note: We do as usual, you have until September 5, 2017 at 23:59 p.m. to manifest yourself in the comments.

Update : The winner was drawn and 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.

Ninjago City is the other main actor of The LEGO Ninjago Movie. The vertical metropolis in the streets of which the young ninjas, Garmadon and Godzichat clash, therefore deserved an adaptation worthy of the name in LEGO sauce, even if it was condensed and necessarily caricatured.

I built the set 70620 Ninjago City sold at the public price of 299.99 € on the LEGO Shop and in the LEGO Stores and I give you here some thoughts on what I retain, that I like or that I like less. This is not a guided tour, it is just my opinion.

Ninjago City is running out of space. So we build up and we end up with three distinct levels that stack up over the years called the Old World, the Street and the Skyscraper (It's LEGO that says it). Everyone will find there a resemblance or an inspiration coming from the universes that they know: Blade Runner, Total Recall, the 5th Element, Star Wars, etc ... Each overcrowded urban environment made up of social and architectural layers flanked by illuminated signs will do the trick to draw a parallel with this set.

The LEGO version of this city takes the characteristics of this cartoon Hong Kong to the letter, compressing spaces and themes in the process, and the whole set of more than 4800 pieces fits on a gray 32x32 base plate. So much the better for those who lack space on their shelves. So much the better also for those who will want to make the thing enthroned within their city based on Modulars. LEGO has also thought of these by integrating the necessary connection points.

No question of making here the usual comparison between the set and the film from which it is inspired. The set does not claim to reproduce Ninjago City, it offers a selection of what is there, arranged to put as much as possible in the available space. It's a best-of.

It's really Ninjago for grown-ups. And this is the marketing stroke of genius of this box: to bring teenage or adult fans to a world where they would not necessarily have set foot via a box that meets their requirements and that uses the codes and format to which all those who collect Modulars for years are now accustomed.

For once, we can really say that there is fan service on all floors. Winks to the Ninjago universe developed in the TV series, references to old ranges that only the oldest will have known (M-Tron, Galidor, Adventurers, Fabuland), parts diverted from their usual function, etc. .. The designers have conscientiously set out to seduce the adult fan, even to the point of overdose. The set becomes a tailor-made product to appeal to a very specific clientele. Whether it is a Ninjago product becomes almost secondary.

I am not going to make you a Prévert-style inventory here of what you will find in each area of ​​the set. It is the privilege of those who will offer it to themselves to discover all this during the assembly. I could also tell you that it is an exceptional product, that you absolutely must buy it, that your life will not be the same after assembling it and that it is the product of the year, end Of the history. But no, you know that I like to go there with some very personal remarks on the weaknesses of the sets that I have the opportunity to test.

For those who will not buy it and who will therefore be content to watch it from a distance, the reviews which spoil you all the content abounds. As the other would say, at € 300 a set, it can be eaten in small slices to make the most of every detail and every reference that the designers have disseminated to the four corners of the set. The real fun is there. We come to the end by telling ourselves that it is unfortunately already over and that we would like more.

Ninjago City will pass some of your others Modulars for simple suburban pavilions with its 63 cm high. It's up to you to see how to combine all this so that the whole retains an acceptable aesthetic appearance, especially at the level of the canal that circulates under the city that will have to be extended in one way or another.

This set is also a real Structure, it really has all the attributes: removable floors, access to each of the rooms and systematic filling of each of the available spaces with a multitude of furniture and accessories. Some fun features to wrap the whole thing up and the fan of Modulars will not be disoriented despite the specific theme of this construction.

The only notable difference with the Modulars usual, it is in fact a miniature city and not a single building. Everything is compressed to the extreme with inevitably some freedom in terms of surface area allocated to the different spaces to force everything to fit on a 32x32 base plate. When a bathroom is bigger than an apartment, you have to deal with ...

The pleasure of construction is very present, we quickly get caught up in the game of discovering ingenious techniques (roof tiles, visual rendering of the depth of the canal) and there will always be something acquired for future creations.

Take your time for assembly, this will be the only opportunity you will have to take full advantage of certain details of the set ... This is also the principle of Modulars : the fan will be content to know that this or that detail is there, even if it is no longer really visible or easily accessible after assembly.

You will have at your disposal three thick instruction booklets, one for each level, embellished with some preliminary sketches already seen online a few weeks ago and a few blurbs of the city and minifigs (in English). You will soon be able to download the French version of these instruction booklets in PDF format at this address.

As is often the case with this type of construction at LEGO (and in real life), the front is much more dressed than the backyard. Nothing annoying here, the whole forms a street corner and the rear has some interesting features, especially for navigation (acrobatic) between the different levels. However, the elevator would have deserved better than an apparent rack (Unless it is a faithful reproduction of the one in the film) and a simple platform that must be moved by hand.

This set lacks lighting and mobility elements to make it a product offering a minimum of interactivity. Pushing a joystick, turning a crank, moving an elevator by hand, it's like being in one of those playsets from the 80s with its rubber bands that maintain basic mechanisms.

I read a lot of fiery statements regarding the integrated cash dispenser next to the comic book store. Calms you. A manual pull tab pushes each coin from a stack of 13 bills recessed into a wall. You will withdraw 1300 legodollars once to verify that it works.

The famous "sushi conveyor belt" only moves if you activate the large lamp-shaped wheel above it and the crab oven which unleashes passions is satisfied with a mechanism that turns on itself to present two crabs of different colors depending on the degree of doneness. These functions at least have the merit of existing, but you will not play cook for long. Not a replacement rubber band, it's petty.

Two or three bright bricks would have been welcome, this condensed and colorful representation of Ninjago City and its many signs deserved better than a few stickers. Being able to light up restaurants and shops without having to go back to the cash register would have been a real plus. Like all cities of the same type, overcrowded and overcrowded, Ninjago City reveals itself after dark. Here, it's pitch black.

As for the stickers, you will have to be patient, there are more than fifty in this box. Impossible not to paste them, the general appearance really depends on these illustrations, which are otherwise very successful. Some stickers are printed on a transparent background and that's good even if they are still a little more difficult to apply due to their extreme finesse. The advantage: no difference in color between the support and the sticker.

In the end, I understand the general enthusiasm for this box. It is visually very attractive, there are a multitude of more or less obvious references to other LEGO ranges, some of which date back to Greek calendars and above all it is a Crossovers successful between a popular range (Ninjago) and a successful concept (Structure).

It does not take more for this set to be unanimous, at least on the internet. As to whether those who cracked on the first visuals will go to the checkout after reflection, that's another story.

This set is indeed a product of the Ninjago range, but it is above all a Structure moreover disguised in the colors of the film. It is only intended to flirt with adult fans and it is not a playset that can be manipulated by the youngest. The cash machine, sushi conveyor belt, and crab oven aren't very exciting features for epic adventure seekers anyway ...

Those who would like to make it Chinatown of their LEGO city will have to deal with the surreal side of construction. It is a 32x32 digest of the imaginary city from the animated film. It will therefore be a question of refining the thing to reduce its caricature side.

The few "integrations" that I have been able to discover so far are not really convincing, the set is placed in the city without taking into account any visual or technical transition. I'm waiting to see the creation of the one who will have been inspired by this condensed neo-Japanese-futuro-ninjagesque architecture to create a whole city on the same theme.

On the minifig side, this set is well supplied. Lots of civilians, a little less ninjas (Jay, Kai and Lloyd) is also good when it comes to populating a city. LEGO is providing a Neutral Head Ninja Outfit for Lloyd and the mannequins in the store will give you two sets "Spinjitzu Training"extra. Only one villain in uniform.

Among the "civilians", we get Misako (Lloyd's mother), young Tommy and Sally, Guy the guy who likes to show off, Juno who likes fashion and Ivy Walker.

You also get Konrad the crab fisherman, the old frog trader villager, Severin Black the chef who gets confused all the time with his brother known as the king of sushi, officer Noonan who rules the law, Mother Doomsday who sells comics and Sweep the maintenance robot that keeps the city clean.

If you want to meet Severin Black's brother, you will have to lift Garmadon's bathroom. Understand who can.

The endowment in minifigs is excellent, there is something to liven up the city. Ninjas, Sensei, Garmadon and other villains are anyway provided en masse in the other sets in the range.

Should we invest € 300 in this set? If you are looking for a nice display product with a maximum of references that will flatter your longtime fan ego in a minimum of space, I say yes. You will get what you pay for and you will really have fun putting it together. As a bonus, you will have a souvenir set really representative of the atmosphere of The LEGO Ninjago Movie that does not take up too much space.

If you have kids and are looking to treat them to a few boxes based on the movie to have fun with, go your way and instead look to the mechs and other gear available in the same range.

For the rest, you know what it is with LEGOs. We only really get excited about what we have not yet added to our own collection. As soon as a set hits our shelves, we already look to the next one. It's up to you to see if this box really deserves your 300 € while waiting for the next sets that LEGO prepares for us.

Note: We do as usual, you have until September 3 at 23:59 p.m. to manifest yourself in the comments.

Bonus: Following a comment, here is a photo made with the means at hand which highlights the different elements trans neon of the set under black light.

Update : The winner was drawn and 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.

LEGO fans love boats. It's like that. And when LEGO stops making sets featuring pirate and their ships, fans are content with the ships marketed in other ranges. The and 70618 Destiny's Bounty (2295 pieces, 7 minifigs, 164.99 €) therefore leaves with significant sympathy for amateurs. Almost everything has already been said about this set since the appearance of the first official visuals. It was generally well received by fans, with some even calling it "UCS with Ninjago sauce".

Don't be discouraged by the retail price of this box, this set is already available at a much lower price. at amazon: 120.73 €. At this rate, it's a great deal.

After the mechs and other vaguely Japanese-style robots, we are back in a more "traditional" Ninjago atmosphere with this big three-sail junk of more than 2000 pieces, which floats and flies.

This is not the first representation of Sensei Wu's floating apartment and two other boxes from the Ninjago range already featured this boat, on a more modest scale: 9446 Destiny's Bounty (2012) et 70738 Final Flight of Destiny's Bounty (2015)
This new interpretation is more opulent, more loaded with various and varied accessories and it is also logically more generous in space thus offering excellent playability.

While some will be content to display this imposing boat (55 cm long, 17 cm wide and 45 cm high) for the pleasure of the eyes, others will be able to find plenty of fun. The thing is also modular with elements that can be removed to access the bowels of the hull with a flat bottom.

Everything fits together perfectly and it is rather stable. The front part of the deck which can be removed to access the boat's toilets (!) Is a little more difficult to handle but with little fingers it works.

This set is therefore almost a Structure floating (which doesn't really float, don't try to launch it) with maximum detail and nods to the square centimeter and the ability to access the lower layers of the construction for maximum playability .

there is a little more room for fun here than in the set 70617 Temple of The Ultimate Ultimate Weapon. The bridge is wide and the different spaces available leave enough to place a minifig without having to force it in.

The two bow dragons that frame the landing platform have their effect. Some may see it as a tribute to the famous Chinese type junk Red Dragon very popular with pirates at the end of the 18th century and from which this Destiny's Bounty seems to be inspired. I note that LEGO designers are very fond of bananas right now, they are putting them everywhere.

A good point for the sails, the material used is a little more rigid than the soft fabric seen in particular in the set 71042 Silent Mary. Despite everything, I remain convinced that plastic sails would greatly simplify the maintenance of the set. These sails are a little undersized compared to the size of the ship and are only printed on one side, it's a shame even if we still distinguish the patterns by transparency. On the other hand, LEGO has taken care to put its legal notice clearly on each of the sails. not very discreet ...

Small regret, the sails are not identical to that of the film: We do not find on the LEGO version the characteristic slats of the rigging of traditional junks as in the model of the film. These slats are here simply indicated by a simple printing effect.

Among the features offered by LEGO, I especially retain the possibility of dropping the anchor and sliding a minifigure in the bed of the room. The system used for the bed is really ingenious. The bamboo roof that covers the junk's gangway can be rolled up to clear the space, that's fine.

The armory is well stocked, LEGO has scattered weapons all over the place in addition to those supplied with each of the minifigs. There is also reading on board with books, maps, etc ... In short, something to have a little fun by varying the scenarios with a dojo, a room (... make Seinsei Wu sleep ...) and even a bathroom (... Lloyd is seasick ...): It's up to everyone to invent the story that goes with it ...

On the minifig side, it's satisfying for anyone who wants to kill two birds with one stone: You get the six ninjas and Sensei Wu. It's enough to reproduce the action of the film.

It seems to me that the boat is used to go in search of the ultimate weapon to fight against Godzichat (the laser pointer, provided for the return trip) by the fine team who will later fall on Garmadon when they arrive at the set bridge 70608 Master Falls. We also find in this box the card seen in set 70608.

Small regret concerning the finish of the whole, the dressing of the edge of the hull at the level of the upper deck leaves some rather unsightly empty spaces at the front and at the rear. Nothing crippling.

Aesthetically, it's loaded. It's the least we can say. By purifying the thing a little, you can still get a pretty junk model less typical of Ninjago. Add tables and chairs to the deck and you have a Chinese floating restaurant. It's up to you.

In the end, I say yes. This set is both a good exhibition product, a modular floating (or almost) and a real playset with enough space to really have fun. And then it's a boat and these days, a LEGO boat, you can't refuse.

Note: We do as usual, you have until August 31, 2017 to manifest yourself in the comments.

Update : The winner was drawn and 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.

We return to The LEGO Ninjago Movie universe, a film that does not feature LEGO products but rather people who play with LEGO products (more on that ...), with the set 70612 Green Ninja Mech Dragon.

Dragons are like boats, LEGO fans love it. And in this specific case, it is a dragon-robot that it is. It's even Lloyd Garmadon's mount, The Green Ninja, The Chosen One, The Master of Energy, son of Garmadon and Misako.

You will have noticed by watching the trailer for the film, LEGO offers us once again a (very) reduced model of the version of the threatening creature that gracefully slips through the streets of Ninjago City. Here she becomes a big green lizard decorated sparingly so that it looks about the model it was inspired by.

I know that LEGO necessarily calculated the parts (544) / price (49.99 €) / playability ratio of the thing and adapted it accordingly so that young fans have a chance to be offered this set without having to work for it. a whole quarter and play with it with one hand. As an adult fan that I am is a little disappointed with this probably inevitable shrinkage.

Let's get rid of the few details that fans won't fail to note right away: Yes, there's a banana under the dragon's eye. Well done LEGO, Nice Part Usage, etc.... And the language is a pennant.

But this dragon doesn't spit rockets, unlike the one in the movie. Not even a few round pieces, just to be able to reproduce this feature which could have been rather fun. Pity.

The LEGO version has a little less allure than that of the film, it is undeniable but it will be necessary to be satisfied with it. Dressing the skeleton struggles to conceal the joints which allow it to take various and varied poses. If the upper part is almost an illusion, the belly of the creature is very poor in decorative elements.

Another detail that symbolizes this low-cost version of the dragon from the film: The legs of the LEGO version have only two claws against three on the original model.

Significant detail, the tail is completely free to move, you just need to gently shake the dragon for the tail to whip the bad guys in its path.

The movements are cushioned by two rubber elements placed in the center of the abdomen. It's ingenious and it doesn't disfigure the creature. So some will have fun carefully lining up an entire army of bad guys before settling their score with this devastating appendix (I did).

A few thing launchers are placed on the dragon's paws and since it is a dragon-robot that has no wings, it is equipped with reactors. An entire program.

The mechanism used to retract these motors is simple but effective. You will therefore have the choice between a more "organic" appearance of this dragon or a more "look"Transformers"of the thing.

Overall, not enough to cry genius, but at 49.99 € and with four minifigs including Lloyd, his father and Sensei Wu, this set remains an interesting box. And a LEGO dragon, even with the air of a big lizard, you can't refuse.

The villain is named Charlie, we'll see later who this guy is. As a bonus, the box still contains a copy of the ultimate weapon that will be useful against Godzichat: the laser pointer.

In short, this set 70612 Green Ninja Mech Dragon looked more promising to me when I first discovered it. After mounting it, I am left unsatisfied. The youngest will probably find a little fun there. I pass.

Note: We do as usual, you have until August 26, 2017 to manifest yourself in the comments.

Update : The winner was drawn and 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.