Here are the first images taken from a video published by the site atamaii.com and who unveil the set 9499 Gungan Sub so far we only had a preliminary photo of the box and no real visual of the Queen Amidala minifigure.

We discover here the machine, which I find moderately successful despite an obvious effort on the curves. The evolution since the model released in 1999 in the set 7161 Gungan Sub is welcome, but there is still a lot of space on the side curves ...

We also discover the most anticipated minifigure of 2012: Queen Amidala. From what we see in the image, it looks successful. Anyway, given the general expectation, I believe that no one will criticize this minifigure, whatever the end result ...

The official description of the set:

Jar Jar Binks guides his friends Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn through the watery core of planet Naboo in the elegant Gungan Sub. Built to resemble some of the many creatures that inhabit the underwater world, the Gungan Sub features a large cockpit, cargo bays, storage boxes, rotating tail propulsion, missiles and even a mini-sub with harpoon. Includes Queen Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Jar Jar Binks. (465 pieces)

Some have been waiting for it for weeks, others don't care, but all want to see what LEGO has been able to produce in response to the success of the minecraft project on CUUSOO.

The and 21102 LEGO Minecraft Micro World will be officially unveiled at the next event organized by the LEGO CUUSOO team with the presence of Minecraft editor Mojang as part of the Lego world copenhagen which will take place from February 16 to 19, 2012.

This will therefore be the third set from the concept BEWARE after sets 211001 Shinkai 6500 Submarine et 211011 Hayabusa.

This is without a doubt the most anticipated set of the second wave LEGO Star Wars 2012: the set 9516 Jabba's Palace is revealed a little more with these photos (probably unauthorized) from the Nuremberg Toy Fair 2012 which was held a few days ago.

The Jabba figurine promises to be simply exceptional with a very successful screen printing. The set as a whole doesn't look as dire as the preliminary visual hinted at. We cannot repeat it enough: we must not draw conclusions too quickly from the preliminary photos which circulate long months before the official marketing of the sets. They allow you to get a vague idea, but rarely reflect the final aspect of the set in question and the minifigs it contains.

As a reminder, the official description of the set:

At Jabba's Palace on Tatooine, Princess Leia is disguised as Boushh as she tries to rescue Chewbacca and carbonite-frozen Han Solo. Can she get past the roof-mounted missiles (????), defense guns and surveillance equipment to reach them? Or will Jabba and his motley band of followers capture the princess and entrap her beneath Jabba's sliding throne? Includes 9 minifigures: Jabba, Salacious Crumb, Bib Fortuna, Gamorrean Guard, Oola, Han Solo, Princess Leia in Boushh outfit, Chewbacca and B'omarr Monk. (717 pieces) 

And as a bonus the video with the commentary of a LEGO employee:

It is now a habit, periodically LEGO invites a few visitors to discover its premises in Billund, Denmark. Following these organized visits, the web is teeming with clichés showing the side Ikea cool et google like, of these premises in which designers work dressed as if they were going to cover the La Redoute catalog.

It is the portal of Free which publishes this time a series of photos with slides, sofas, ultra-design spaces, etc ... in short, a nice communication stunt that allows LEGO to cultivate its side cool-hype-studious atmosphere-respect for employees, etc ....

On one of these shots, the slightly psycho-rigid AFOLs that we are can notice a few gear wisely aligned in a showcase judiciously highlighted by the photographer who is no doubt very inspired. We thus discover a bust of Watto (blue circle), a UT-AT (green circle) or Unstable Terrain Artillery Transport seen in theEpisode III Revenge of the Sith , a probe droid and a medical droid (white circle) as well as the now famous-but-never-marketed set Yavin IV (orange circle). Prototypes awaiting validation, failed tests of sets never marketed, products to come in the near future or not? Who knows....

The window in question is also full of pretty things that I let you discover by clicking on the image. To see the rest of the photo report, go to the Free portal or site dezeen.com.

The success of minecraft project on BEWARE has pissed off some ... It is indeed the only project to reach 10.000 supporters and in less time than it takes to write it. The rest of the community watched with suspicion and envy this initiative, well carried out and supported on all the sites, blogs and forums on the planet dedicated to Minecraft.

Today, the AFOLs are trying to restore the balance with a grouped initiative of the big English-speaking forums to try to carry the western project of marshal_banana and make it reach 10.000 supporters as well. Thus, Eurobricks, Brickset and The Brothers Brick encourage their members to vote en masse for this project which remains in my opinion difficult to achieve. Some advance the modular nature of this project, with the possibility of separate sets which would each offer a building. Why not .... But that would require the return of the western theme to the LEGO range, and I don't really believe in it. Even though 10.000 AFOLs, boosted by their respective community leaders, would support this project, I think that LEGO has other fish to fry and other licenses to market right now.

I think this is mostly a matter of pride. The AFOL community (English-speaking) is openly annoyed by the Minecraft wave, with its thousands of enthusiastic supporters, its motivation, and the endorsement given by LEGO to the project in partnership with Mojang, the game's publisher. current sprinkled with a spirit of revenge is nothing more than a burst of pride which aims to restore balance. Leading sites and forums want to reaffirm their supremacy and show that they are capable of mobilizing thousands of people just on a post on their home page.

Let us understand well, the MOC of marshal_banana is nice, nothing to say about it. The concept and the theme are interesting and the realization is impeccable. But the sudden rise of this project is visibly artificial and motivated by a need to reaffirm a certain legitimacy with regard to LEGO and the concept. BEWARE. Some do not hesitate to use this argument by claiming loud and clear that if Minecraft did it, the AFOLs must also bring THEIR project to the threshold of consideration by LEGO for possible commercialization. .

If you want to support this initiative, go to the page of the project in question and vote for this MOC. Otherwise, you can always wait and see if the community is responsive enough to rally 10.000 voters and get a reaction from LEGO on this concept. Reaction which will undoubtedly be interesting: I wonder what LEGO could answer to the 10.000 AFOLs who want to see the western theme emerge in the form of modular buildings ...