Today we take a quick tour of the content of the LEGO Star Wars set 75352 Emperor's Throne Room Diorama, a box of 807 pieces currently in pre-order on the official online store at the public price of 99.99 €, as well as at Amazon et FNAC at the same price and Auchan at 84.99 €, and whose official availability is announced for May 1, 2023.

I'm not drawing you a picture, the scene reproduced is emblematic enough for the context to be obvious at first glance. The stunned will as usual have before their eyes the logo of the LEGO Star Wars range, a line of dialogue in English and, as is the case for the other diorama expected on May 1, a pretty pad-printed brick that makes perfect tribute to the 40th anniversary of the film Return of the Jedi.

Once again, this box intended for an adult clientele will replace any diorama made up of children's toys already marketed on the same theme, such as sets 75093 Death Star Final Duel (2015) or 75291 Death Star Final Duel (2020) by a frankly less voluminous staging but also a little less coarse.

The product offers a fairly satisfying building experience with a base that takes into account the rest of the model from the start of the process, such as the stairs or the back wall, which will be dressed in very convincing sub-assemblies surrounding the magnificent pad-printed canopy provided.

I am much less convinced by the frontal covering of the perimeter of the niche which accommodates the throne of Palpatine, the whole lacks in my opinion a little finesse especially on this scale and we visually graze the crossover with the stargate of Stargate . The use of darker gray pieces might have helped to highlight the niche and make this large crown of pieces visually "disappear" a little.

For the rest, and even if we lose a bit of the gigantism of the room seen on the screen, it is all the same nicely executed with some refinements such as the very correct throne of the Emperor, the railings with their arms of metallic droids, the two control stations with their colored micro-screens or even the solution used to surround the 10x10 canopy with two flexible tubes and 13 sub-assemblies made up of windows with their frames to clip onto these tubes. Impossible to completely place Luke in one of the two control stations as in the film, they are not hollowed out.
The rear view of the diorama reveals the mounting and reinforcement solutions used to make this display product a sufficiently robust unit, nothing serious, the construction is intended to be displayed from the front. Perhaps more embarrassing for some fans, there is still a little void visible on the sides of the stage at the level of the stairs as well as between the steps, this will have to be done.

Watch out for scratches on the big dish pad-printed, LEGO does not protect it and it is simply thrown in a bag. This is the centerpiece of the product, I was hoping for a little more care from the manufacturer in a high-end set sold at a high price and targeting an adult clientele necessarily more demanding than the usual young clientele.

We will remember that Palpatine's two lightning bolts can be stored under the removable forecourt of the room, it's always better than losing them and not being able to get your hands on them again if you ever want to change the setting a little on stage. LEGO has also provided four visible studs on the floor of the room to allow the minifigs of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader to be positioned without the risk of them falling each time the object is moved, it is well seen.

Three minifigs are delivered in this box: Darth Vader, Palpatine and Luke Skywalker. Vader is not new, it is the version available since the beginning of the year in the LEGO Star Wars set 75347 Tie Bomber (64.99 €). It was not necessary to modify this figurine, it seems perfect to me in this configuration with the pad-printed arms and the face which I find rather successful. I would have appreciated a plastic cape with a nice draped effect for the occasion, especially at €100 a box.

Luke Skywalker is finally enjoying a hairstyle that matches the haircut seen on screen, it was time for LEGO to look into the subject and it's very well done. All previous versions of the character in this outfit are therefore definitely getting old with this new hairstyle. The character's torso is yet another variant of the outfit seen on screen, it's faithful but LEGO can't resign itself to removing the too white area of ​​the neck which still doesn't match the color of the head. The legs remain neutral.

Palpatine is also a little "updated" with white pupils that are no longer really in line with the look of the character in the film and an evolution of the graphics of the outfit, but he retains the fabric cape and the angular hood worn by the character since 2020. Difficult to do better in the context of the scene presented here even if we could discuss the slightly too yellow tint of the character's face and that a metallic buckle under the neck could have in my opinion brought a little finesse to the somewhat dull design of the outfit.

To conclude, I find this diorama very convincing despite its few flaws, it perfectly symbolizes the scene concerned in a contained volume and it offers some very interesting assembly techniques as a bonus. The public price of the product does not seem to me justified, however, and as usual we will have to wait for the various retailers to offer us a sufficient reduction in this price to crack.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at April 19th next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. 

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Star Wars set 75353 Endor Speeder Chase Diorama, a box of 608 pieces which is currently in pre-order on the official online store at the public price of 79.99 € with effective availability announced for May 1, 2023.

Those who follow already know the principle of Diorama Collection LEGO Star Wars, these are reproductions of more or less cult scenes from the Star Wars saga intended for adults and these pure exhibition products are presented on a base decorated with the logo of the range and a line of dialogue in English relating to the scene in question.

This collection was launched last year with the first three references still available for sale, the sets 75329 Death Star Trench Run (€ 69.99), 75330 Dagobah Jedi Training (89.99 €) and 75339 Death Star Trash Compactor (89.99 €).

Many collectors therefore find in these boxes something to replace their existing dioramas often made up of sets intended for a young audience, they obviously gain in finish but sometimes lose in potential playability due to the relative fragility of certain assemblies. This will be the case here with two Speeder Bikes nicely executed but more fragile than the different versions of the machine marketed so far in boxes for children.

The principle of staging does not change and consistency with the other sets in this collection is retained: a black base embellished with a few metallic pieces on its different sides and which serves as a "sandbox" for the scene in question. It's easy to move, nothing or almost nothing protrudes and it is therefore possible to line up all these dioramas wisely on a shelf to obtain a very satisfactory result.

This is to reproduce the pursuit on Endor with two Speeder Bikes circulating between the trees of the forest moon. Of the gigantic trees seen on screen, only two trunks remain here that are a bit skinny, and some may find that LEGO has been a bit sparing on the vegetation.

However, I think that the whole works rather well, it was still necessary to leave enough to admire the two machines present without visually polluting the diorama too much. The designer has forced on the foliage and the ferns present on the ground to compensate for the cubic and a little rickety aspect of the trunks and their foliage, it is in my opinion thick enough to be credible knowing that the scene occupies a surface of 28 cm long by 18 cm wide and 20 cm high.

The two Speeder Bikes are similar except for one detail: that of Leia and Luke is logically designed to accommodate two figurines where that of the Scout trooper is satisfied with a single seat. These two machines are significantly more detailed than the versions already seen at LEGO but it is at the cost of a certain fragility which will not allow too much manipulation. Nothing serious, this set is an exhibition model.

The transparent supports installed on the floor of Endor can be moved and oriented as you see fit in order to modify the dynamics of the scene or to adapt the angle of presentation of the Speeder Bikes according to the orientation of the diorama on your shelves . This possibility is even documented in the product's instruction booklet, just to reassure those who are sometimes reluctant to improvise by deviating from the design provided by LEGO.

On the side of the three minifigs provided, we therefore obtain a Scout Trooper identical to that available in the set 75332AT-ST and two new minifigs: Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. Too bad for the black arms of the Scout Trooper, a two-color injection to reproduce the shoulder pads of the outfit seen on the screen would have been welcome on a high-end product like this. There was no need to modify the rest of the figurine, but the addition of an additional finishing detail would undoubtedly have been very appreciated by the fans.

The figurines of Luke and Leia are successful, the tampograhies are detailed and in the end only the ponchos worn by the two characters on the screen are missing. These ponchos are well symbolized on the chest of the characters and you can imagine that I prefer this graphic solution rather than two pieces of shapeless fabric which would undoubtedly have difficulty resisting the onslaught of time and dust.

No stickers in this box, everything is stamped, including the pretty brick which celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Return of the Jedi.

All is not perfect in this diorama, but it should never be forgotten that the creativity of designers is limited by the marketing constraints imposed. It is their public price and the profitability expected by the brand that defines the limits of the content of these products and you have to deal with or embark on modifications that will involve the purchase of additional elements, such as adding a third Speeder. Bike or flesh out both trees.

We could therefore discuss the public price of this product and wonder why LEGO relieves us of 80 € for a box of 600 pieces, a significant part of which ends up in the base of the product.

The answer undoubtedly lies in the target identified on the packaging, an adult clientele who can afford these toys but who does not want to have fun with their LEGOs and who prefers to be satisfied with products from exhibition more compact and discreet than the usual toys. It will obviously be possible to find these boxes a little cheaper at the usual retailers in the weeks following their effective availability.

Update : the set is also available for pre-order at Amazon (€ 79.99), Auchan (69.99 €) and FNAC (79.99 €).

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at April 18th next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. 

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.

Also back from the usual LEGO promotional operation at Cultura with an immediate 50% discount on the 2nd LEGO set purchased from a selection of boxes. On the menu: more than 170 products concerned in the LEGO Star Wars, Marvel, Ninjago, Disney, Super Mario or even CITY and Friends ranges. It's still not the offer of the year, but it allows you to afford a few boxes at an attractive price. The offer is valid until May 7, 2023.

As usual, it is the cheapest product in your basket that benefits from the advertised reduction and in the best case you can therefore benefit from a 25% discount on your entire order, if you buy twice the same product or two products sold at the same price.

DIRECT ACCESS TO THE OFFER AT CULTURA >>

Return of the usual LEGO promotional operation on FNAC.com with an immediate 50% discount on the 2nd LEGO set purchased from a selection of boxes. On the menu: more than 240 products concerned in the LEGO Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, Technic, Super Mario or even CITY and Friends ranges. It's still not the offer of the year, but it allows you to afford a few boxes at an attractive price. The offer is valid until April 30, 2023.

As usual, it is the cheapest product in your basket that benefits from the advertised reduction and in the best case you can therefore benefit from a 25% discount on your entire order, if you buy twice the same product or two products sold at the same price.

DIRECT ACCESS TO THE OFFER ON FNAC.COM >>

If you like to be knowledgeable about the LEGO brand and its products on social networks or during evenings with friends and you never hesitate to go there with one or more anecdotes about your favorite products, the book The Big Book of LEGO Facts now available is for you.

No plastic bricks with this big, lavishly illustrated 240-page book, but its editorial content justifies the expense in my opinion with hundreds of facts, anecdotes and statistics verified by the author on the LEGO universe, its ranges and its products.

This book is now available from Amazon for just over $24. It's expensive for a book without bricks or minifigs, but for once, the content seems a little more elaborate than usual:

The Big Book of LEGO Facts

24.64 €

BUY