And it looks like we're taking it to the next level: It's no longer a minifig every once in a while but full handfuls that our Mexican employee friends at LEGO sneak out of the Monterey factory. Honestly, I don't care a bit, so much the better for those in a hurry and for the Mexican workers who can make ends meet without pledging allegiance to the local cartel.

But on the manufacturer's branding side, it's very average. See thus exposed on the Mexican eBay, in this case Free market, about twenty minifigs normally intended to be marketed a little later in the year in the set 6873 Spiderman's Doc Ock Ambush, it is nevertheless revealing of the quite relative probity of the employees of the plant in question .... (Thanks to achu in the comments)

Huw millington continues its series of reviews on brick set with the set 9472 Attack on Weathertop.

On the menu, ruins, a pretty staircase, many pieces useful to MOCeurs, Frodo (also available in the set 9470 Shelob Attacks), Merry (only available in this set), Aragorn (also available in the set 9474 The Battle of Helm's Deep) and two faceless Ringwraiths on their black horses.

The ruins module opens to reveal a playable space with, among other things, a weapons rack.

The horses are superb, but their personalization (red eyes, decorated bridles) will limit their use by purists in other more classic universes.

To see more, it's on Huw Millington's flickr gallery that it happens.

I'm generally a good customer when it comes to the LEGO Star Wars range. And not always very objective, I readily admit. But unlike some, I don't worship Jabba and his minions or his palace without limits. 

This remake, which awakens a certain nostalgia among the oldest collectors among us, is not what I expected. The minifigs of this set 9516 Jabba's Palace are exceptional, on this side there is no doubt. The new version of Jabba benefits from a real improvement on the aesthetic level and it will appeal to the youngest who did not have much affinity with the green plastic end of 2003.

It is on the side of the pseudo-palace that things get complicated. I have the impression that it was tailor-made for the Jabba minifigure, with a big concern for saving parts and space. On arrival, I can't help but sketch a wry smile when I look at the visual above: Everyone is crammed into this rather rickety mini house, cut in two, decked out from one tower to the next. floors a little unnecessary and not even raised to benefit from the trap door located under the Jabba support.

Someone at LEGO must have confused while translating Jabba the hutt en Jabba's Hut.

So I want to understand all the explanations given here and there by those who want to justify the manufacturer's choices, but a few additional parts, a little air and four piles would not have endangered LEGO and its profitability ...

The tastes and the colors, that is not discussed ... or rather if, we can discuss it when LEGO abuses a little too much on the mixtures. This set 9497 Republic Striker-Class Starfighter isn't fundamentally bad, it even has some cool features (see this article). But the more I see it, the more I find that the manufacturer should have remained sober to avoid falling into the Christmas tree effect.

I remember the presence of Satele Shan, charismatic female character from The Old Republic saga, the bizarre astromech droid T7-O1 and the courageous Jace Malcom, boss of the Havoc Squad. For the rest, we quickly forget the incongruous storage space of the lightsaber between the two reactors (??) or the ridiculous weapon of Jace Malcom that LEGO could have created in the form of a new mold.

A set on which few fans will rush, but which has the merit as I have already said to bring a little revival in the Star Wars range. It's flashy, a little simplistic, not very well finished, but it's new. So I say yes, but on sale or on sale.

We continue with these few images from of the amazon.fr file of the set 9515 Malevolence. The set combines the advantages: A well detailed ship, full of minifigs, an integrated playset function and a retractable handle system making everything easily transportable. Fans of The Clone Wars will be in for a treat, the younger ones too. 

We find here a real playability as is the case with the set 7665 Republic Cruiser from 2007 or 8039 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser released in 2009: Good big ships relatively solid, easy to fly and which allows to have fun. The principle of a toy in fact ...

On the design side, this Malevolence (I can't say Malevolence ...) is pleasing to the eye. Beautiful curves, a color scheme that works well, and a massive side that doesn't displease.

Ah yes, a desire not satisfied all the same, a mini-version of Soulless One de Grievous would have been good in this set. But we can not have everything....