It was time, the publisher Dorling Kindersley (DK for his friends) finally decided to decline his concept of Visual Dictionary around the Marvel universe with a book to be published in September 2023 and which will be accompanied by an exclusive minifig of which we do not know much for the moment.

Do not rely too much on the provisional visual above, posted by the brand Book Depository, the cover of this 160-page book is provisional and the outline of the mystery minifig is not a reliable clue to its identity.

Below is the pitch of the book:

LEGO Marvel Visual Dictionary: With Exclusive LEGO Iron Man Minifigure

24.65 €

BUY

Notice to fans of the LEGO Harry Potter range who like to collect everything that comes out around the license, the book LEGO Harry Potter: Magical Year at Hogwarts will be available from October 12, 2023 and it will allow you to obtain three minifigs: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The three characters will reuse the pretty torso already available in a dozen boxes in the range since 2021.

For the rest, we are promised 80 pages full of facts and other anecdotes as well as a set of parts to assemble three festive micro-models. The book is already up for pre-order on Amazon:

Discount -24%

LEGO® Harry Potter™: Magical Year at Hogwarts (with 70 LEGO bricks, 3 minifigures, fold-out play scene and fun fact book)

28.33 € 21.59 €

BUY

As announced in the pages of the previous issue released in December 2022, the March 2023 issue of the Official LEGO Batman Magazine is available on newsstands today for €6.99 and comes as expected with a "biting tire" Batcycle. with space to install a minifig not included. This magazine is also switching to laminated paper bags from this issue.

This magazine seems to resume a normal periodicity after the winter break and the next issue is announced for April 28, 2023, it will allow you to obtain a minifig of...Batman with his "Jet".

For those who are interested, I remind you that the instructions for the various mini-models delivered with the magazines published by Blue Ocean are available in PDF format. on the publisher's website. Simply enter the code on the back of the bag to obtain the file, 212325 for assembly instructions for the Batcycle delivered with this number.

Today we take a quick tour of the content of the LEGO ICONS set 10317 Classic Land Rover Defender 90, a box of 2336 pieces which will be available as a VIP preview from April 1, 2023 at the retail price of €239.99. You already know it since you follow, Land Rover is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year and it was therefore an opportunity to collaborate with LEGO to pay tribute to one of the legendary models of the brand. The choice fell on the Defender in version 90, a vehicle marketed between 1983 and 2016.

This product will allow its buyers to assemble three versions to choose from: a version with a V8 engine and its flat bonnet, a five-cylinder Turbo Diesel version and its domed bonnet and an "Expedition" version which makes use of all accessories provided. The necessary modifications are documented in the instruction booklet which, after assembling the structure common to the three vehicles, allows you to go directly to the next section according to your preferences. Going back from one to the other later will be a little more laborious, you will have to play the game of the seven differences a little.

If the two motors supplied are interchangeable without having to disassemble anything, this is not the case for the front cover and its support, which will have to be modified to integrate the curved area. Some parts also come to block the spaces left on the bodywork to fix the luggage rack there, they will have to be removed to switch to "Expedition" mode. The over-equipped version seems visually coherent to me, but that's a little less the case with the two standard versions: the Defender then seems to me aesthetically a little too high on its suspensions.

Everyone will agree, the subject treated lends itself rather well to an interpretation based on LEGO bricks. The Defender is a "cube", so the LEGO version is inevitably stunningly realistic except for a few aesthetic shortcuts. The lines are there, the new wheel arches are very appropriate and the angles linked to the use of certain parts are not chosen here out of spite, as is sometimes the case on other models.

This Land Rover Defender of 32 cm long by 16 cm wide and 16 cm high is here delivered in a color Sand Green, a choice that may seem relevant, this color being close to the idea that we have of this vehicle when it is mentioned. But regulars of this color at LEGO know that it often involves rather unsightly color variations and this is once again the case here, especially at the level of the doors. The visible junction between the pieces already breaks the uniformity of the flat surfaces, but it makes sense since these are LEGO bricks, and these color differences only reinforce this effect.

As far as I'm concerned, I would have preferred a Camel Trophy version of this Land Rover, the over-equipped version of the vehicle would in my opinion have been more credible and more attractive for all those like me who only knew the Defender in their youth. with its ocher color and stickers on the doors. Especially with the two sand removal plates provided which obviously evoke the rally-raid and the desert.

This vehicle from the ICONS range, or Creator Expert for those who knew this defunct label at LEGO, is an almost surprising mix of classic parts and many elements drawn from the Technic universe. These allow to obtain some notable refinements such as a functional steering, a playable winch as well as a complete set of suspensions. This last technical detail is significant on a show model which in principle is not intended to do too much under its bodywork apart from a few openings and simple moving parts, especially for an all-terrain vehicle.

We therefore obtain here a real top-of-the-range toy that it will be possible to evolve in rough terrain to measure the effectiveness of the four integrated suspensions. Be careful all the same when handling, some sections are just simple stacks of slightly fragile bricks, exhibition model stamped 18+ obliges.

In the standard version of the Defender, the hard-top is easily removable to allow access to the interior of the vehicle, the layout of which is very neat. It will be a little more laborious with the "Expedition" version. The upholstery is well executed and the cockpit, on the right, then becomes accessible to easily manipulate the steering via the steering wheel, it's always easier than sliding two fingers through the door to have fun with the integrated steering.

LEGO provides two small stamped Land Rover logos but everything else including the model name placed on the front of the bonnet is based on stickers. The two stickers to be aligned carefully to get the correct spacing between the letters E and N add an extra color gap to the vehicle, it's a bit of a shame.

Do not expect protected glazing to minimize potential scratches, LEGO seems to have definitively abandoned the good idea of ​​the individual protective sheet present in the sets 10300 Back to the Future Time Machine et 75341 Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder. Besides, in my opinion, LEGO misses the opportunity to create a totally flat windshield like on the reference vehicle and is content to deliver the usual glazing with its rounded edges flanked by two stickers to break the curve of the item delivered. The result is a little disappointing but we will have to deal with it.

The slew of accessories delivered in this box is interesting with a jack, a tool box, a fire extinguisher and two jerrycans whose finish is very neat even if they seem a little oversized. All these elements can be hung on the vehicle, they bring a welcome touch of color but they also contribute to inflate the inventory of the set and therefore its public price.

I'm not sure that it was absolutely necessary to hang a shovel and a pickaxe on the hood as well as two other tools on the sides of the vehicle, but the adventurer atmosphere of the machine is only reinforced even if the bodywork disappears a little more under this abundance of additional elements. Those considering doing something else with the wheels of this Defender will have on hand here not four but six pretty rims and the tires to match.

Finally, I think this vintage-looking Land Rover Defender is a nice surprise despite its flaws. It may seem a little redundant with the larger one, 42 cm long by 20 cm wide and 22 cm high, from the Technic range set. 42110 Land Rover Defender released in 2019, but it should find its audience among anyone who has ever used this vehicle or who simply wants to expand their collection of LEGO cars by incorporating this off-road machine that has become a classic.

Too bad for the color chosen and the associated aesthetic defects, I will skip it because the only version that immediately comes to mind is that of the Camel Trophy.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at March 30, 2023 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 very quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Marvel set 76251 Star-Lord's Helmet, a box of 602 pieces already in pre-order on the official online store and which will be available from April 1st at the retail price of €79.99. Via the title of the product, LEGO sells us this construction as being a helmet, it is actually more of a mask than anything else and it is not its additional function of pencil holder, put forward on the official visuals, which will contradict me.

The manufacturer therefore tries to explore the limits of the usual format which generally allows us to obtain more or less successful reproductions of various and varied helmets, we cannot blame him for this desire to try out slightly less conventional variations. , this expands the range of opportunities offered by the format.

Since it is a derivative product that features the accessory and not the complete head of the Star-Lord character, LEGO does not provide us with the hair that would have made it possible to "close" the object on its upper part. It is an aesthetic bias that allows the product to retain its status as a full member of the range of helmets and other masks, and not to become by extension a head or a bust.

The assembly process here is a little different from that of other products based on the same format: this time it is a question of pressing the different faces of the mask around the central section which will remain hollow. We could as usual discuss the overall finish of this mask but it is once again not a high-end model, this derivative product is just a modest interpretation of the accessory imagined to stay in the imposed budget, the latter being, as you have seen, revised significantly upwards.

No stickers in this box, the four elements flanked by patterns and inscriptions are therefore pad-printed. The effect obtained thanks to the two nicely executed eyes is visually very convincing and the presence of some golden pieces around the eyes contributes to give a "premium" look to the object. I'm less of a fan of the two purifiers not connected at their ends, yet it's the purpose of these accessory elements to be connected to the main structure. Be careful when attaching telephone handsets to the cheeks, they are only attached on one side and tend to come off easily.

It's hard to fault anything more than this reproduction in an 18 cm high LEGO version, the product should appeal to Star-Lord and LEGO fans who don't want to spend crazy sums to afford a very tall model. range of the thing. It's fun to assemble, easily identifiable, the finish is globally convincing with an alternation between visible studs and very balanced smooth surfaces and the whole thing will stand out on the corner of a shelf or to hold a few comics. Too bad that the base is not a little weighted, the bookend side would have been interesting if it had been fully assumed.

Impossible not to mention in passing the very high public price of this derivative product which is sold for 80 € in a 35 cm high box much too big for what it contains. It is in my opinion excessively expensive and it will therefore be appropriate to wait until the set is offered at a lower price elsewhere than at LEGO.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at March 28, 2023 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.