I finally got my copy of the book LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia New Edition pre-ordered since July 2019 and this is the opportunity to quickly tell you about the book itself and the exclusive minifigure that comes with it.

For those who do not know the principle of this format entitled "Character Encyclopedia", more than an encyclopedia in the proper sense of the term, it is above all a non-exhaustive dictionary of minifigs in a range with very large photos surrounded by some information and other anecdotes on the character concerned.

This new edition of the book based on the LEGO Star Wars range logically leaves a large place for minifigs from content available since the previous edition, which dates from 2015. The characters seen in the films Rogue One, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi ou The Rise of Skywalker which have been declined in minifig format are therefore present in this update, like the protagonists of the animated series Rebellious et The Clone Wars.

With the exception of a few generic minifigs that appear in several contents, you will not find in this book any figurines based on the important characters of the animated series. Star Wars Resistance or from the series The Mandalorian, but the selection of around 200 minifigs obviously includes some great classics from the LEGO Star Wars range.

The information and anecdotes provided in this 220-page book are for the most part interesting, although the most seasoned collectors will not learn much as the pages turn. For each minifig, the author specifies the date of marketing, the first set in which the figurine appears and the film or series that features this character.

The photos are very nice and they are indeed photos of the real minifigs and not digital renderings as was the case in other similar books. The counterpart to the use of real photos of the minifigs: some pad printing defects are really visible on several characters.

Even though the book is interesting, we all know here that most of those who are going to acquire it will be doing it to get the exclusive Darth Maul minifigure inserted in the cover. The character has his unconditional fans and his regular appearances in several contents of the saga (films, animated series, comics and novels) help to maintain his popularity. Darth Maul is here in his Crimson Dawn version, named after the criminal organization of which he is the leader. We therefore find the pendant which takes the logo of the organization on the character's tattooed torso.

The accessory that plugs into the head of this minifigure is not a new and exclusive element to this version, it is the one that already equips the other variations of the character in the LEGO Star Wars range. The head is however new, it ignores here the grimacing smile seen on other versions of the character and is satisfied with a variation around the tattoos and the look. Darth Maul's mechanical legs are here embodied by pad-printed patterns on a classic pair of legs. The pattern is in my opinion convincing with a well-managed graphic transition between the character's tunic and the mechanical elements.

Overall, we get here a version of Darth Maul based on the very brief appearance of the character in the film. Solo: A Star Wars Story and the most assiduous collectors should not hesitate long before spending the twenty euros requested by Amazon for this book.

With a little patience, this English version should as usual finish at a knockdown price within a few months and this exclusive minifigure will not cost you much. It is not yet known whether a French version will emerge, but if so, its public price will be much higher than that of the English version anyway.

The publisher Dorling Kinderseley has updated the sheet of the book LEGO Harry Potter Magical Treasury at Amazon and we discover the exclusive minifig that will accompany this 96-page book filled with anecdotes about the LEGO Harry Potter range, its sets and its minifigs.

So it's Tom Marvolo Riddle (or Tom Elvis Riddle here) aka Lord Voldemort in his younger years, a character that until now was only available in the set. 4730 The Chamber of Secrets marketed in 2002. The minifigure which will be inserted in the cover of this new book is advertised as exclusive, so there is no chance of seeing it reappear identically later in a box of the range.

This new book is currently on pre-order from Amazon with availability announced for July 7 or September 3 according to the Amazon reference.

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Today we discover two new books to be published in 2020 from the prolific publisher Dorling Kindersley: above, LEGO Minifigure: A Visual History which is the updated version of the book published in 2013 and which will add characters from ranges marketed since. This is not an exhaustive encyclopedia, rather it is a selection of the best minifigs that have marked the history of the plastic figurine since 1978.

To accompany the 256-page book, the publisher provides an astronaut Classic Space orange which will join the versions of the small set The LEGO Movie 2 70841 Benny's Space Squad (blue, yellow, pink and white) and the set LEGO Ideas 21109 Exo Suit (green).

Below, the book LEGO Disney Princess Enchanted Treasure which will offer on 128 pages to discover the universe of the Disney princesses and which will be accompanied by a mini-doll of Moana (Vaiana) identical to that of the sets 43170 Moana's Ocean Adventure et 43183 Moana's Island Home marketed this year.

These two books are already on pre-order at Amazon with an availability announced for October 1, 2020:

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We now know the exclusive minifigure that will be included in the cover of the next update of the Character Encyclopedia LEGO Star Wars: This is an exclusive version of Darth Maul with his double lightsaber.

Darth Maul is here delivered in the version briefly seen on screen in the movie Solo: A Star Wars Story. Is a new and exclusive minifigure based on a very short appearance on the screen of a character enough to motivate the purchase of a 224-page book sold for around twenty euros? For the majority of fans of the LEGO Star Wars range, obviously yes. For the others, it is up to them to see if the editorial content of the book which is in fact a non-exhaustive dictionary of minifigs sold in the Star Wars range justifies the expense.

The book is currently on pre-order with availability announced for March 19, 2020.

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If you like LEGO books, especially when they are accompanied by one or more minifigs, know that the book LEGO Batman vs. The joker is announced for August 2020.

In addition to the 128 pages of the book, the publisher includes two minifigs which are obviously not exclusive. The Batman minifigure and the one seen this year in the sets 76118 Mr Freeze Batcycle Battle, 76119 Batmobile: Pursuit of the Joker, 76120 Batwing and the Riddler Heist et 76122 Batcave Clayface Invasion.

The Joker minifig is the one available for a few months in the 4+ set 76138 Batman and The Joker Escape. Until now, it was exclusive to this box, this will no longer be the case next August.

The book will be a collection of the different sets marketed in recent years, all staged with a story that will serve as a common thread and a pretext for the staging of the content of these different boxes.

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