The Ninjago universe will be entitled to an update of its character encyclopedia in March 2021 with a new version of the work already published in 2012 and then in 2016.

As with each new edition, this non-exhaustive 224-page encyclopedia will bring together a selection of around 200 characters with various anecdotes and others. facts. The book can also be useful for minifig collectors who would like to know which set a specific version of a character appears in.

We know from the provisional cover above that the book will be accompanied by an exclusive minifigure which has not yet been unveiled. No trace of a French version of the work on amazon, it will probably be necessary to be satisfied with the English version.

This new version entitled LEGO Ninjago Character Encyclopedia New Edition is already in preorder at amazon for a little less than 20 €. You will also find the two previous editions there along with their respective exclusive minifigs: Jay in his outfit Techno Silverstone and a copy of Starfarer for the 2016 version and Lloyd ZX (Green Ninja) with the 2012 edition:

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If you like activity books with a more or less educational vocation, know that the publisher Klutz offers this year the box "Lego gear bots", a 64-page book accompanied by 62 LEGO elements which will allow, from August 1, to assemble 8 different kinetic models and to discover the joys of transmission by cranks, axles and other cams.

Those who have heard of the LEGO FORMA set 81000 Koi or who own a copy of the animated carp marketed in 2018 via a crowdfunding campaign and then destocked in 2019 via the official online store will find here some mobile creatures in the same spirit.

The box contains only about sixty plastic pieces and pours a little into origami with a slew of paper elements that come to dress the different models offered. Everyone knows that paper is less resistant to the test of time and handling than plastic and it will therefore be necessary to be very careful and organized to be able to take advantage of the models offered in this new box beyond a first assembly.

This is not the first box of this type to be offered by this publisher, other similar products with a more or less questionable educational interest have been marketed in the past and I gave you my opinion in 2018 on the French version of one of these works accompanied by some parts.

There is undoubtedly something here to have a little fun for the youngest by discovering some mechanical principles, but the experience will cost you a little more than 23 euros. It's up to you.

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We will briefly talk again today about the book to be published next September and which so far logically generates more interest for the exclusive minifigure that accompanies it than for its editorial content: LEGO Minifigure A Visual History New Edition, an update of the book published in 2013 which will add new characters from ranges released since.

Amazon having updated the product sheet, we discover several examples of the different categories of minifigs that will be in the spotlight over the 256 pages with for each of them some information and anecdotes that make the book a reference to consult from time to time to relax more than an exhaustive dictionary of what LEGO has to offer in terms of minifigures.

Too bad that the publisher is content to publish "official" visuals in digital version rather than offering real photos for the most recent minifigs, it seems that the technical effort has only been made for the oldest minifigs . We can understand this decision, especially when it comes to not dwelling too much on the technical flaws linked to the increasing complexity of pad printing which make some of these recent minifigs a little less sexy in reality than they seem to be on. official visuals.

As for the prices currently charged for the various pre-order possibilities, the best offer is that of Amazon Germany which offers the book at 22.90 €. At Amazon France, it is currently necessary to pay 35.36 € and at Book Depository (which belongs to Amazon) the displayed price is 29.90 €.

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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