IF you haven't seen this visual yet, know that the LEGO ICONS set 10341 NASA Artemis Space Launch System is currently available in the LEGO Store at Taipei Airport (Taiwan) and we therefore obtain a first visual of this product which will probably be available from mid-May 2024 at the public price of €259.99. In this large box of 3601 parts, enough to assemble a reproduction of the launcher which should one day allow the return of human beings to the Moon.

Today we continue with the play according to the usual mechanics of a copy of the set 10332 Medieval Town Square, a large box of 3304 pieces currently available for sale at the public price of €229.99.

To validate your participation, as always, simply identify yourself via the interface below and follow the instructions provided. As usual, it is a question of finding information on the official online store and then answering the question correctly. At the end of the participation phase, the winner will be chosen by lot from the correct answers. Participation is free and without obligation to purchase.

Your details (name/pseudo, email address, IP address, postal address and phone number of the winner) are only used in the context of this competition and will not be kept beyond the draw which will designate the winner. As usual, this competition without obligation to purchase is open to all residents of metropolitan France, DOM & TOM, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

The prize at stake is generously provided by LEGO France via the annual allocation allocated to all members of the LAN (LEGO Ambassador Network), it will be sent to the winner by me upon confirmation of their contact details by return email.

As always, I reserve the right to disqualify any entrant who has attempted to defraud or hijack the entry system in order to increase their chances of winning. Grumpers and bad losers abstain, the others will have a better chance of winning.

For information: the name / nickname of the winner is displayed in the participation interface once the draw has been made. I also notify the winners by email, but remember to check anyway.

Two clarifications: all the products involved are physically in my possession and are shipped by me, no risk of having to wait weeks for the brand to send the batch. The products are shipped very quickly to the winners, those who have received their prize in the past can attest to this.

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.

LEGO today unveils a new addition to the ICONS range, the benchmark 10332 Medieval Town Square with its 3304 pieces, its 8 minifigs, its animals and its public price set at €229.99. Those who already have a copy of the LEGO ICONS set in their collection 10305 Lion Knights'Castle, still available at the public price of €399.99, will be able to expand their medieval diorama by adding an animated village playset, the two models being perfectly matched.

Those who missed the marketing of the set 10193 Medieval Market Village in 2009 will find in this modernized homage something to satisfy their desire for products on this theme, this new interpretation being in all cases more accomplished and in colors more suited to an association with the castle marketed to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the brand and the LEGO Ideas set 21325 Medieval Blacksmith launched in 2021 and now removed from the manufacturer's assortment.

On the program in this new version, a tavern, a cheese factory, a painting workshop, a guard tower, a carpentry and a weaving workshop. Two features are integrated: a crane and a water mill.

Availability announced in Insiders preview for March 1, 2024 before global marketing from March 4.

10332 MEDIEVAL TOWN SQUARE ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO ICONS set 10327 Dune Atreides Royal Ornithopter, a box of 1369 pieces available since February 1, 2024 on the official store at the public price of €164.99. As usual, there is no question of revealing too much about what this product has in store for you; you have to give everyone who spends their money in these boxes the privilege of discovering the techniques and surprises that they offer. Just know that this model from the LEGO ICONS range has a little more to offer than a simple static construction destined to collect dust on the corner of a shelf.

We could indeed have been satisfied with a relatively faithful but static reproduction of the machine flying across the desert of Arrakis seen on the screen, many fans would not have been choosy. The designer has gone a little further here in treating his subject and we are not going to complain about it with on arrival a real pleasure in the assembly process and a real satisfaction in the discovery of the reasons for the complexity of certain construction sequences.

It will also be necessary to remain vigilant during certain phases so as not to be disappointed at the end of the thick instruction booklet, but we can say here without having the impression of being in the emphasis that the assembly of the product offers a truly unique experience for a product in this range.

This is indeed a set intended for adult customers looking for a model with an accomplished design, but the model intelligently combines bricks considered "classic" and numerous elements from the LEGO Technic universe to offer a little more than just a tasteless ornithopter.

My advice: take your time, enjoy the successful integration of the built-in mechanisms and don't hesitate to test how well they work along the way. Don't worry about the wing moving function, it will seem almost inactive during the first few editing sequences and you may wonder if you have made a mistake at some point. other, you will understand what makes it so satisfactory at the end of the process when it comes to attaching the flexible wings to the cabin.

The amplitude of the movement is in fact very small at the fixation points and it is the extension of the different appendages which causes the expected movement. You have an overview of the different functions in the reel below:

 

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The mechanism which synchronizes the deployment of the landing gears with that of the access ramp to the ship is also perfectly designed, the offset wheel on the side of the machine makes it easy to handle and we will have fun for a few minutes with just for the pleasure of enjoying the elegance of the solution used which allows you to obtain a quite stunning effect.

The cockpit glazing is packaged separately and this is the assurance that the large panels will not be too scratched on arrival even if it is not perfect in my case. As usual, do not hesitate to contact the brand's customer service if the condition of the parts you received does not seem to meet your requirements in relation to the price paid for this box.

I know that some will consider that this model leaves too many studs visible to really convince, I myself had this impression, particularly at the level of the tail of the device which seems to me almost a little too basic compared to the rest of the model. the model. You end up getting used to it after a few hours and the smooth wings visually compensate a little for this impression of a too pronounced presence of tenons in certain places.

Same remark for the numerous red colored elements which remain clearly visible on the body of the device: some fans will consider that it is an almost essential "signature" effect of the LEGO Technic universe whereas others will only appreciate moderately this visual “pollution” on a high-end model. Everyone has their own perception and tolerance regarding the limits of realism in LEGO products.

On arrival, the 57 cm long and 80 cm wingspan model with its wings extended is strong enough to be handled without losing parts, so it is also a toy for adults that will hold up without any problem. to repeated activations of integrated mechanisms. The product is obviously reserved for a category of fans of the treated universe who also like LEGO sets but in my opinion it sets a new milestone by redefining what a LEGO model can be which really takes advantage of all the possibilities offered by the ecosystem of available elements combined with the know-how of the most motivated designers.

If Dune is not your cup of tea, don't look away, the assembly of this machine remains in my opinion one of the most accomplished experiences to date of what we find in this range and you might be missing out on a few very entertaining and satisfying hours.

The supply of minifigs in this box is relatively substantial with 8 characters but it seems almost anecdotal to me, we discover each of the characters through the bags and we quickly put them in a corner to take advantage of the machine. The casting is well chosen, fans of Zendaya (Chani), Timothée Chalamet (Paul Atreides) or Jason Momoa (Duncan Idaho) will be served but I personally remained focused on the ornithopter more than on the presence of this handful of figurines which are graphically very well executed.

You already know since the announcement of the product, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is perched on a transparent support which allows the toga which covers the minifig made up of neutral pieces to be lowered. It's visually interesting although I'm not a big fan of these capes and other clothing attributes that aren't made of plastic.

The pad prints are all very accomplished, we feel the care taken in the creation of these figurines and the result seems very convincing to me except for Lady Jessica whose "real" rendering is a little less flamboyant and contrasted than in the very promising official visuals. but obviously retouched.

What is perhaps missing is a small display stand to place the figurines on and not be forced to simply line them up around the model. No one will play with them and they would have deserved a real highlight with, for example, a colored support Tan (beige) reminiscent of the dunes of the Arrakis desert. Some will also regret the absence of an identification plate giving some facts about the machine, just to give character to this toy for older children.

You will have understood, I am nevertheless really won over by this proposal which in my opinion brings together the best of both worlds when it comes to LEGO models: A very acceptable finish based on "classic" bricks and the integration successful elements of the Technic universe which makes it possible to offer some real functions to a machine which could, for example, have been satisfied with a manual wing deployment system without anyone being offended.

This product risks making me even more demanding in the future, especially with the LEGO Star Wars range which would cope well with some creations of the same barrel, it sets the bar very high and embodies in my eyes what a set should be for adults in 2024, without compromise or shortcuts.

I'll say it again, if you intend to fall for this box, keep the pleasure of discovery and don't spoil too much which is the whole point of it. Take my word for it, you will not be disappointed with both the assembly process and the final result, the 165 € spent will seem justified to you. This is not always the case at LEGO.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 14th 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.