LEGO Star Wars The Visual Dictionary 2nd Edition: Not bad, but could do better ...

This morning I received my copy of the new edition of the LEGO Star Wars The Visual Dictionary, subtitled "Updated & Expanded".

If overall the book is of good quality and that almost everything has already been said on the minifig "exclusive" provided, however, here are a few remarks (which only bind me) on some small details that would have deserved a little more attention from the editor:

First of all on the encyclopedic side, which I find very relative and which, when a set has already been produced in the past and has since benefited from a remake, comes down to a small cartridge mentioning the existence of previous versions . It's a bit light and the evolution of the same model over the versions would have deserved a little more content, especially if we are talking about "encyclopedia"or"dictionnaire"...

The quality of the photos is still uneven at DK: While most of the visuals are very good, some photos like those of the exclusive sets offered by LEGO at the various Comic Con are barely passable. They were obviously collected on the internet and the publisher could have taken the trouble to contact the fans in possession of these sets to organize real photo sessions.

The spread featuring the work of the LEGO fan "community" is also quite minimalist. On the set of MOCs presented, we find the Mos Eisley diorama dating from 2007 and the Han "Carbonite"Solo by Nathan Sawaya already present in the original version of the book released in 2009 and I think DK could have taken the trouble to search the flickr galleries of talented MOCeurs in order to offer a different range of creations. Markus1984, MOCeur whose works I have already presented to you on the blog, sees two of his creations published in the double page of the new edition of this book and it is deserved.

There is a visual inventory of minifigs from the LEGO Star Wars range at the end of the book, and that's a good idea. Simply mentioning the numbers of the sets in which these minifigs are present would have made it much more useful and above all more encyclopedic ...

For the rest, it is obviously a book that will appeal to fans of the LEGO Star Wars range. We take pleasure in leafing through it despite the inevitable feeling of déjà vu relating to some pages logically identical to the previous version. Note that some double-pages are oriented at 90 ° requiring the book to be turned in landscape mode to access the content. I am not sure that this choice of layout is very wise.

Note also that the chronology of the sets presented stops at the first wave 2014 (75028 to 75046) with the bonus sets 75052, 75054 and 75055 expected this summer. It also includes the 75059 Sandcrawler set released a few days ago.

The sets announced for this summer (75048 to 75056) are not all present: Or find over the pages the sets 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina, 75054 AT-AT and 75055 Imperial Star Destroyer.

No 75056 Star Wars Advent Calendar 2014 set in the Advent Calendars page, no Rebels sets (75048 and 75053), no B-Wing (75050), no Jedi Scout Fighter (75051) or Snowspeeder (75049).

Vendu barely over 16 € at amazon, this book is despite its few flaws an essential purchase for any fan of the LEGO Star Wars range. Those who are allergic to English will have to wait until the start of the school year to be able to acquire the French version.