Today we quickly go around the set 43242 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' Cottage, a box of 2228 pieces which will be available as an Insiders preview from March 1, 2024 at the public price of €219.99. The product caused a sensation when it was announced, and we need to come back to it with a clear head to check if it finally lives up to my expectations and the price requested.

The assembly of the three constructions delivered in this box is relatively entertaining, with two small secondary models rather well presented embodying the wishing well seen on the screen and the glass coffin and the main course: the house with yellow roofs . We quickly see that we will have to come to terms with the facade of the premises, the construction not being closed on all its sides. If the facade is promising, the other side of the house is a little less so with large openings which reveal the fittings. We are once again in the cinema setting more than in the accomplished representation of the subject treated but this is the lot of many LEGO products which favor playability over the model aspect. It's hard to blame the manufacturer for offering its customers the opportunity to have fun with their toys.

We can console ourselves by saying that the other side offers a beautiful view of the layout of the premises which is of a very good standard with numerous pieces of furniture and other diverse and varied accessories, but I know that many of us regret not being able to obtain in a product clearly marked "18+" a "complete" house intended for exhibition instead of an ersatz playset with which no one will really have fun knowing that there is no bonus no stairs to access the floors and the different spaces are difficult to access unless you use your fingertips.

The pretty roof is obviously the most laborious section to assemble, it will be necessary to be vigilant and not to mix the parts to maintain the appearance desired by the designer. I won't spoil the process for you, you will discover it if you invest your money in this box, but it is convincing on arrival with a very realistic texture and the possibility of removing a section of the roof to take full advantage of the spaces that it covers.

The central hinge which connects the two sections of the cottage makes it possible to slightly improve the accessibility of the premises but it does nothing aesthetically because it significantly changes the layout of the building and the house is not necessarily ricochet then more truly faithful to that seen on the screen. This feature, however, remains interesting for anyone who would really like to take advantage of the furniture piled up in the different rooms and possibly install the dwarves around the table in the main room or in their respective beds identified by stickers.

Don't expect too much to be able to install the seven dwarves realistically around the large table in the main room, the short legs do not bend and they will therefore at best be installed standing on their chairs. On the other hand, they fit into their respective beds even if the room is not a spacious suite and all the furniture is crammed in with forceps.

The facade of the house is also in my opinion very successful with textures and details which give it the very rustic appearance of the cottage seen on the screen, the work provided on this precise point is appreciable with a truly satisfactory result. We will take pleasure in going into the detail of the different elements of decoration or layout with at the end some good ideas for the benefit of all those who are passionate, for example, about medieval-style creations.

You already know that the fireplace on the ground floor is equipped with a luminous brick which undoubtedly contributes more to raising the price of the product more than to heating the dwarves' food and the use of which will require as much habit of holding the must pressed on the button which protrudes from the foot of the facade. It's a system from another age without much interest and I would have happily done without this specific element for a public price falling below €200, but that's not an option.

The vegetation surrounding the house is welcome, it's not the thick forest seen in the animated film but it's a good start to recreate some context. Everything here is more symbolic than totally respectful of the reference film, you also have to make do with a small handful of small animals while Snow White is accompanied by a much more substantial menagerie on the screen. Even at €220, we feel that LEGO is struggling to maintain its margin and cutting back on the details that could make the product something more accomplished and more complete than the somewhat inexpensive representation offered.

We obviously cannot escape a large sheet of stickers but there are still a few pad-printed pieces in this box such as the two Tiles flanked by the inscription "Snow White" which take place on the sides of the glass coffin and which quickly disappear under the vegetation present around the object. French speakers are rarely at the party at LEGO and here, as is often the case, we have to make do with the English names of the different characters.

The supply of figurines is correct with Snow White, her stepmother The Queen, Prince Florian and obviously the seven dwarves. Nothing to say about Snow White and the Prince, two figurines already delivered identically since last year in the set 43222 DisneyCastle, the two characters are successful and conform to those seen on the screen with their usual faults in terms of the superpositions of light-colored pad printing on a darker background.

The rest of the casting seems much less convincing to me with on the one hand a Queen who looks like Palpatine, already seen in the set 43227 Villain Icons and which still seems to me to be so sloppy graphically and technically and on the other hand the seven dwarves with their faces, some of which graphically seem a little disappointing to me. The torsos of the different dwarves are very appropriate, the hats and beards match, but some of the facial expressions seem off to me.

This is very personal, but perhaps we are simply reaching the limits here once again when it comes to making a face look puffy or inflated on a classic minifig head and I find some of these dwarfs without noses and artificially chubby, a little ridiculous.

I know that some of you will not fail to compare this product with the two rather interesting ideas on the same subject proposed and rejected at their time on the LEGO Ideas platform, the debate will not take place anyway and that is LEGO which decides when and how certain products which have been in the pipeline for many months are marketed. There will therefore be no point in crying out for plagiarism, the recovery of the idea or the need for a petition; it is the manufacturer who has control and he alone.

On arrival and putting aside the slightly excessive price of this pretty box, I think that there is something here to please fans of the Disney universe who will be lenient with the savings made and the few approximations techniques and aesthetics observed. The house really has character, it will easily find its place in an interior decoration decorated with the main characters and a line of dwarves returning from work, that's the main thing. Building what this box contains while watching the 1937 animated film for the hundredth time promises a great evening that the most nostalgic fans will surely appreciate.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at March 4, 2024 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO ICONS set 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna, a box of 693 pieces which will be available from March 1, 2024 at the public price of €79.99. Those who were in front of their television on Sunday afternoon in the 80s already know who Ayrton Senna is, others will quickly launch a search to discover this extraordinary pilot with a tragic destiny who excited an entire generation of fans of Formula 1.

LEGO therefore pays here a tribute to the driver by associating him with a single-seater long considered the fastest on the circuit, the McLaren MP4/4, and which allowed him to become world champion in 1988.

We may be surprised by the reduced inventory of this box, knowing that it allows the single-seater to be assembled but also a podium to display the minifig provided as well as a support to present the vehicle from a rather flattering angle favoring exploring integrated mechanical details.

The main construction of the product, however, remains very detailed and on an acceptable scale to benefit from the various aesthetic refinements offered by LEGO which make this vehicle measuring 3 cm long by 17 cm wide a real exhibition model and not a simple product in the Speed ​​Champions spirit vaguely oversized for the occasion.

LEGO has also made the effort to feature here some new elements used wisely with four wheels injected in two materials whose rims and tires cannot be separated, as well as new suspension triangles. Everything is really at the service of the construction by making it possible to keep the vehicle very close to the ground like the real single-seater and contributes to giving it character by refining the model aspect and these four new wheels are finally perfectly adapted to the subject treated even if they are all the same size and that the rear wheels would have benefited from a greater diameter and thickness.

There are also several pad-printed elements in the box, but you will also have to put up with a large sheet of stickers. Unfortunately, the pad printing of the white color on a red background of some body parts is a failure with a "too white" white which turns pink as well as several stickers whose white background is far from matching the color of the parts on which they take their seats.

Everything you don't see on the sheet of stickers that I scanned for you is therefore pad printed, such as the Tag Heuer logo on the cockpit canopy. The Marlboro logo is logically left out and LEGO has not even kept the pointed design of the white and red pattern. This is understandable, but loyalty to the reference vehicle takes a hit.

I will not detail the entire assembly process, the photos speak for themselves without revealing too much, those who checkout should in my opinion retain the privilege of discovering the different techniques used here.

The public price of the product seems reasonable enough to me to put it within everyone's reach, we are not talking here about a box inaccessible for fans on a limited budget even if it still offers nearly two hours of pleasure assembly taking your time.

Just remember that the vehicle is well equipped with suspensions but that they only rely on the very limited flexibility of the new wishbones used, that the steering is functional via the steering wheel in the cockpit and that the Honda V6 engine remains accessible by removing the bodywork element placed just behind the driver's head.

These different features undoubtedly remain a little anecdotal on an exhibition model but they add a little spice to the assembly by making it a little more complex and above all more interesting for the target adult audience. The single-seater is obviously not on the scale of the minifig provided but the latter can still be installed at the controls to have a little fun.

LEGO is also content to provide us with one of the two drivers of the single-seater in question, obscuring Alain Prost to support the tribute to the Brazilian whose nationality is also highlighted several times during the assembly process via the association of pieces in the colors of the national flag of Brazil.

Adding the French driver would have been in good style and in my opinion would not have diverted this product from its vocation, many fans would have appreciated obtaining these two legendary drivers who drove this car on the same circuits. 0n will be satisfied with the pretty new minifig delivered with its hair and its helmet very faithful to the reference accessory which allows you to vary the scenes.

The pad printing of the figurine obviously suffers from the same defect as the red parts of the car flanked by a white pattern and the small podium almost seems a little sloppy but it serves as a support for the sticker which highlights a sentence spoken by the associated driver with a visual and a signature. Why not.

The single-seater display is flanked by a large gray sticker listing some technical data, it's in good style and gives character to the model. Too bad for the name of the McLaren brand stamped on the nose of the car with a space between the “Mc” and the “Laren”, LEGO could have paid attention to this type of detail.

The nose of the single-seater will also seem a little too flat to be completely faithful to the reference vehicle but the rest of the bodywork is rather well executed and in my opinion we quickly forget this point of detail. I find it more difficult to forgive the errors in terms of pad printing which spoil the appearance of this model at a low price but still presented as a high-end product. The official visuals are, as is often the case, very optimistic and we have the impression of being tricked when unboxing.

You have noticed in the photos, I present this product to you in a pretty custom-made display case which was kindly provided to me for the occasion by the musehome company, a structure based in Troyes and specialized in the production of tailor-made boxes for all types of valuable or collectible products.

This PMMA or acrylic glass display case is assembled and glued by hand in France, there are no visible screws or hooks. The case is therefore delivered already assembled and it disappears in favor of the object it highlights. This product therefore seemed perfectly suited to this combination with an exhibition set which requires this type of scenario.

Do not hesitate to contact them if you are looking for something to showcase your most precious sets, the creator of the brand is himself a big fan of LEGO and you will find an attentive ear to your requests.

In my opinion, this product definitely deserves your attention if you are a Formula 1 fan, even if it is a car from another era. It offers a good compromise between the scale chosen and the level of detail offered, even if I know that some will only see a supercharged Speed ​​Champions reference which does not necessarily merit spending €80 on it.

I will make the effort, Ayrton Senna is part of my childhood memories and I spent long hours dozing in front of races where I waited for the overtake that would wake me from my torpor and fuel schoolyard discussions next week. For that alone, this tribute to Ayrton Senna and his 1988 single-seater will make me happy.

We are not going to complain about being entitled from time to time to accessible products in the LEGO ICONS range, the adult target must also be able to have fun for a reasonable budget.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, as well as the showcase graciously provided by the company musehome are as usual put into play. Deadline set for 1er March 2024 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.

Today we quickly take a look at the contents of the LEGO Harry Potter set 76429 Talking Sorting Hat, a box of 561 pieces which will be available from March 1, 2024 on the official online store at the public price of €99.99.

We cannot say that the hat, 20 cm in diameter and 21 cm high (excluding base), was unanimously appreciated by fans when it first appeared, the promise of having a more or less interactive product in their hands. did not really stand up to the questionable aesthetics of the thing and its announced public price considered by many to be too high.

It is very quickly assembled with on one side the exterior surface of the Sorting Hat and on the other the internal mechanism which will trigger the sound sequences either by pushing on the tip of the hat or by pressing on the growth which protrudes under the hat. 'object. The assembly process remains interesting and there are only two stickers for the damaged parts of the hat.

The four coats of arms placed around the black base are therefore pad printed and they are nicely executed. The sound brick is embedded in the planned mechanism which will also synchronize the movements of the eyebrows and the opening of the mouth, it will then remain accessible via a hatch which will allow the three LR44 batteries provided to be replaced. I doubt you'll ever have to change them, we'll probably only play with this Sorting Hat for a few minutes before putting it away in a corner.

We can discuss the aesthetics of the object, I personally find it very ugly and a little sloppy but it's very personal. The fault undoubtedly lies in the chosen scale which does not really allow us to go into the detail of the texture of the hat and which requires us to simply interpret the broad outlines in a somewhat crude manner.

The base of the accessory is too flat and smooth and the rest reminds me more of the Great Crado from Fraggle Rock to the Sorting Hat seen on screen in the Harry Potter saga. The textured and pleated fabric or leather effect is definitely not there and the eyes are too symbolic when they are in reality made up of folds of the material of the object.

The classification of this product in the "18+" category therefore seems a little pretentious to me, we are far from having on hand a convincing reproduction of the Sorting Hat and I have the impression more of being dealing with a vaguely interactive toy for very young children. The latter will also be the only ones able to place the object on their little heads to reenact the scene; this hat is much too compact not to appear ridiculous on the head of an adult.

Inside the Sorting Hat, the designer still managed to slip in a more or less explicit nod on this scale to the relics of the four founders of Hogwarts with Godric Gryffindor's sword, Helga Hufflepuff's cup, which vaguely resembles Rowena Ravenclaw's tiara and Salazar Slytherin's "locket". These artifacts will still be visible after assembly if the need arises, but some parts will have to be removed.

The sound brick combines 31 different sequences ranging from a simple grunt to a few sentences indicating in which house the students concerned will find themselves, including a singing sequence. These are combinations using reference sounds recorded in the brick to produce audible sentences but of far from impeccable quality.

If you only know the different houses via their French names, you will have to get used to hearing Gryffindor instead of Gryffindor, Slytherin instead of Slytherin, Hufflepuff instead of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw instead of Ravenclaw. The sound brick only “speaks” in English and you will have to make do with it.

The Harry Potter minifigure in the first year student version only offers one new part: the head with its two facial expressions including a face with closed eyes. The torso was already delivered in the sets 76390 Advent Calendar 2021 et 76405 Hogwarts Express Collector's Edition and the Sorting Hat is a rather common piece within the range.

Concerning the public price of the product, one could imagine that it is the small sound brick provided which inflates the price, but here we are faced with an accessory from another age that we already found in the talking dolls of our childhood and In my opinion, there is no truly innovative technology here that justifies making us pay a high price for the element.

It is an understatement to say that I am not very enthusiastic about this product which in my opinion does not win on any of the grounds: the aesthetic aspect is in my opinion far from convincing, the integrated functionality is technically outdated and too limited and the high price requested by LEGO seems unjustified to me upon arrival. It is not a product for adults even if LEGO claims the opposite, it is just a toy for children without great possibilities but which will undoubtedly entertain them for a few hours.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 28th February 2024 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Marvel set 76279 Spider-Man Race Car & Venom Green Goblin, a small box of 227 pieces sold at the public price of €29.99 on the official online store. Not enough to get up at night with this little set without great pretensions but there is still plenty of fun to be had with three characters all equipped with their means of transport.

Spider-Man here inherits a car which is not of much use to him because he has more than enough means to avoid traffic jams, but the car is successful with an aggressive side, room for two characters inside. interior and two Stud Shooters rather well integrated at the front. It's colorful, it's pad printed and it rolls.

The Green Goblin has his glider in a black variant, and for good reason the character is "venomized" here and his means of movement is therefore logically matched to the figurine provided. It's a success, we find all the codes of "venomization" in the LEGO way and this version of the glider will do the trick. Gwen Stacy aka Ghost-Spider is content with a modest skateboard but it is sufficient and appropriate.

In terms of the construction experience offered, we can therefore conclude that it is rather very good knowing that we obtain as a bonus a canvas already seen in the set 76261 Spider-Man Final Battle which allows you to trap a figurine and hold it at arm's length. Practical for installing Green Goblin.

Fans of new parts or new colors available for the first time will have on hand here a matte blue windshield as well as a transparent windshield in dark Blue which we will undoubtedly see elsewhere later. We will also note the presence of the banana also delivered in the LEGO Marvel sets 76275 Motorcycle Chase: Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock (€9.99) and LEGO Friends 42604 Heartlake City Shopping Mall (119.99 €).

As for the three figurines provided in this box, that of Spider-Man with his pad-printed arms is also delivered in around ten boxes since 2021, that of Gwen Stacy was also in the sets 76178 Daily Bugle et 76174 Spider-Man's Monster Truck vs. Mysterio and only Green Goblin remains here "venomized" to expand the collection of the most dedicated fans.

The minifigure is nicely executed, the partially and totally venomized double face is perfect and the torso also seems very convincing to me. It's meager as it stands for a set sold for €30 but those, if any, who don't have Spider-Man or Gwen Stacy in this form will perhaps find what they're looking for. We can also consider "sharing" the product, with the youngest inheriting the more common minifigs and the family collector stealing and replacing Green Goblin with a less desirable version.

This is obviously not the set of the year, but I find that there is still something in this box to have fun if you are old enough to invent a few chase stories between superheroes and the vehicle construction sequence remains interesting. It's up to you.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 27th February 2024 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.

Today we quickly go around the contents of the LEGO set 40712 Micro Rocket Launchpad, a small box of 325 pieces which will be offered at LEGO to members of the Insiders program from February 16 to 18, 2024 from €200 of purchase and without restriction of range then again under the same conditions and to all customers of the official LEGO store. February 19 to 25, 2024.

This little promotional set should please the most nostalgic fans of the C universeClassic Space, they in fact feature some constructions freely inspired by, for example, sets 920 Rocket Launch Pad (1979) 6950 Mobile Rocket Transport (1982) or 6803 Space Patrol (1983). These modernized micro-versions seem to me to be quite successful overall, they are quickly assembled but they will inevitably have a small impact on the target audience on the corner of a shelf. We will also note that the packaging is nicely designed to pay homage to the range concerned, this promotional product only becomes more desirable upon discovery of the box.

There are some features around this product, the rocket can for example go from its shooting range to the mobile launch vehicle, all of this obviously remains anecdotal but the designer has done his homework and is trying to offer a product that is truly up to the task. nostalgia evoked.

There are a few stickers to stick on the different elements of the set, five in total, too bad the emblematic logo of the range is not pad printed. Two instruction booklets are provided, they allow the product to be assembled as a duo, just to share some childhood memories along the way. Two microfigs are also provided, they embody the astronauts at the controls while being vaguely on the scale of the machines offered, it's cute and successful.

The minimum amount required to be offered this little box will once again be rather high, but it will be the price to pay to be able to assemble this compact but well-executed tribute to an emblematic range of the brand. A “real” minifig would have been welcome in this box, but we will have to make do with the two microfigs offered. I will make the effort.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 25th February 2024 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.