And I will take advantage of this period of calm between two Toy Fair to try to get answers ...

The photo above is typical of what has been happening for several months: The minifigs planned in sets whose official presentation has not even taken place are circulating in quantity on eBay or Mercado Libre (a Mexican clone of eBay) and end in "reviews"on flickr or YouTube.

In the picture above, the three minifigs on the left are copies bought on eBay that are not yet officially marketed ...

LEGO doesn't seem to be overly moved by this, which leads me to have a lot of questions.
The leaks got worse with the opening of the LEGO factory in Monterey, Mexico and the manufacturer can't be fooled.

Far be it for me to play the masked vigilante, but I would still like to get a reaction from the manufacturer to these leaks which are becoming almost "normal" and which no longer shock anyone.

So I will post my question on facebook, twitter, email, etc ... until I get an answer. I'll keep you posted on what I might get.

This is a trend that will undoubtedly increase in 2013: Video blogging on the LEGO theme.

For the most part you already know The Brick Show, this ancestor video channel of the discipline, hosted by Jason-I-speak-slowly-so-you-understand-me-well. Nothing personal, but I can't stand their videos anymore, especially because the host adds a little too much in the mediatico-spectacular-megalo tone, and because everything is a pretext to post a video, even the info that doesn't. is not one.

First of all, let's put things in their place: If YouTube is swarming with video reviews and channels of all kinds dedicated to the LEGO universe, it is mainly because advertising can generate substantial income. So many of them try to retain an audience hoping to earn a few dollars from their videos. This is particularly the case of YourCreativeFriends, a clone of The Brickshow, whose lobbying on LEGO blogs is intense lately. 

Others, like The Brick Queen, are ready to try to use their "charms" to attract customers. It's pathetic, but the visit counter shows that it works pretty well ... (watch this video)

Even artist recently went astray in the overproduction of uninteresting videos, notably by offering one video per slot of the Advent City 2012 calendar ...

They are also more and more currently offering video content where the host takes the stage to present his review or his news. It is generally positive, we pass fingers filmed in close-up to the face of the one who informs us on one subject or another and we at least have the impression of watching a "show".

However, if we take a closer look at the counter of these channels, we see that the audience of most of them remains confidential. One of the explanations undoubtedly lies in the fact that the average LEGO fan usually goes straight to the point and does not burden himself with the whining of a pseudo-animator who always does a little too much. 

The current fashion is to offer pseudo-reviews of minifigs stolen and sold on eBay by followers of what we will call the "Mexican industry". The subject is very promising and the visit counters are racing. We can always discuss the moral aspect of the thing: Should you make money for a guy who imposes advertising on you to make you watch a review of a stolen minifig? I'm schematizing, but that's the idea.

I would love to know what you think of this trend. Do you watch one or more video channels on YouTube? Do you have your own channel? Do not hesitate to give your opinion in the comments.

A Quick addition for all people who don't read french: Get somebody to translate for you the above text and don't bother to comment if you don't understand what this is all about.

La Jabba barge 2013 version has not finished talking about her ... For good or for bad. We should also have access to real photos of the set in a (almost) final version within a week at the New York Toy Fair 2013.

All I remember for now is that it is equipped with flick fire missiles, in keeping with the great LEGO tradition. For the rest I am waiting to see something other than the preliminary images from the reseller catalog.

In the meantime, I suggest that you get everyone to agree with this micro-barge and this micro-skiff, both around a micro-pit.

Although on reflection, even at this scale, I'm sure I can find someone to criticize the bow of the barge ... 

It is an achievement of A Plastic Infinity and other views are available on his flickr gallery.

We still do not know if LEGO will produce a minifig version of Iron Patriot and I therefore preferred to ensure my rear by ordering the custom of minifigs4u. It was also an opportunity to test their production.

I placed my order online on their site and a few weeks later I received my carefully packed minifig. No worries on that side then.

First observation: It's still a good job overall. The print is very clean, with no smudges. The overlays are well managed and the alignments are correct.

Only regret: Too much relief at the level of the screen printing. Christo manages to get out of minifigs on which the relief is much less important. 

On the design side, it's okay without reaching the finesse of Christo's creations. The minifigure is faithful to the model seen in the trailer for the film, but some features lack a bit of finesse. With a finer line, the level of detail could have been higher, especially on the face.

Speaking of the helmet printed on the head, it lacks the red piping and again Christo does better on his minifigs with a metallic gray. minifigs4u gives here a much duller and less uniform gray.

Overall, minifigs4u offers here a custom of good quality, but which remains below the official LEGO production. Only Christo currently manages to compete with the manufacturer in terms of both design and print quality.

This Iron Patriot custom is sold for $ 25.95. You must add $ 8.00 for shipping, for a total of $ 33.95.

It is also available on lapetitbrique.fr at a rate of 23.95 €.

Conclusion: It's less good than Christo, but it's also cheaper ...

This Nuremberg Toy Fair definitely does not tell us much (actually nothing) about the licensed ranges. Not a picture, not a report, nothing of nothing.

To console yourself, here are two new images of the sets in the range castle is back issues of Fedro's flickr gallery.

We see the content of the set 70404 King's Castle closer, and we discover the sets 70401 Gold Getaway et 70403 Dragon Mountain.

It's always better than nothing while waiting for the New York Toy Fair which will take place from February 10 to 13, 2013.

Traditionally, it is during this event that we discover the most novelties with the many photos published by the fans present on site.