31/12/2011 - 00:13 Reviews

He does it again, Artifex offers us the review of the set 6860 The Batcave in 4 minutes and 20 seconds with close-ups of the minifigs, assembly of the set in stop motion, detail of the functions of the Batcave and the vehicles included to finish by the integration of a kit of LEDs (sold by Artifex) which gives a exceptional look to this playset.

Nothing to say, I am a fan of the work of this guy so much it is clean, efficient, precise and fast. Treat yourself :

 

 

30/12/2011 - 23:59 In my opinion...

Marvel Studios-Avengers

Here is what we already know concrete about the second wave 2012 of sets of the LEGO Super Heroes range which will be based on the Marvel license and on the movie The Avengers, on the universe of Spiderman (not the movie) and on the X-Men universe (not the movies) as indicated by the list of minifigs officially communicated by LEGO (see this article).

The sets that will be released (the list is confirmed) with my estimate of the maximum selling price and the minifigs potentially delivered in each set (which is only my responsibility):

 4529 - Iron Man (around 14 €)
4530 - Hulk (around 14 €)
4597 - Captain America  (around 14 €)

6865 - Captain America's ™ Avenging Cycle (around 20 €) - Captain America, Nick Fury (+ a motorbike)
6866 - Wolverine's ™ Chopper Showdown (around 40 €) Wolverine, Deadpool, Magneto (+ a motorbike)
6867 - Loki's ™ Cosmic Cube Escape (around 40 €) Loki, Thor, Captain America 
6868 - Hulk's ™ Helicarrier Breakout (around 80 €) - Hulk, Black Widow, Iron Man, Captain America
6869 - Quinjet Aerial Battle (around 100 €) - Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Iron Man (+ the Quinjet)
6873 - Spiderman's ™ Doc Ock ™ Ambush (around 55 €) - Spiderman, Doctor Octopus

Some sets are already listed on Amazon.fr but without any indication of price or deadline for the moment. 

Regarding the Quinjet and the Helicarrier, they are partially visible on the poster below (assembly of the different movie teaser posters, click to enlarge): The Quinjet above Black Widow and the Helicarrier between Hawkeye and Nick Fury. If you want to know a little more about these gears, check out these two articles:

6869 Quinjet Aerial Battle: Kesako?

6868 Hulk's Helicarrier Breakout: Playset or Vessel?

Marvel Avengers

30/12/2011 - 18:07 Lego news

9493 X-Wing Starfighter

We do with what we have, and in this case we will have to be content with the review of cei on Eurobricks as for the set 9493 X-Wing Starfighter.

Few surprises, the minifigs are excellent, the vessel rather well designed and the elastics still present at the level of the opening and closing mechanism of the wings.

The final rendering is correct, undoubtedly one of the most faithful to date in this format System, and I just regret the use of the eternal cockpit seen and reviewed throughout the set. LEGO could have refreshed this element to make it less cubic, especially on the flat part at the back of the canopy which is not as long on the model of the film.

The guns are well rendered, I already like the studded wings less, they are thin (too much?) And remind me of the old versions of this ship.

The engines are very well rendered, they are long and protrude widely from the rear of the ship like those of the original X-Wing. Too bad for the stickers on these engines.

To see more, visit the dedicated topic at Eurobricks

 Following the comment of Revolution, I put here the video comparing the X-Wing of set 9493 and the X-Wing of set 6212 and which clearly presents the new wing opening mechanism (7 min in the video).

30/12/2011 - 17:29 Lego news

6858 Catwoman Catcycle City Chase

This is a question that inevitably arises for all those who buy the set. 6858 Catwoman Catcycle City Chase and who discover out of the box that Batman comes without a cape.

Some theorize that the presence of the jetpack justifies the absence of a cloak in this chase scene with Catwoman.
This explanation seems a little short to me, Batman without his cape is like Superman without his red cape: the character has no interest and loses one of his main attributes, even equipped with the most beautiful jetpacks ... .

Especially since if we look carefully at the presentation of the set on the official LEGO catalog, the minifig put forward like the one in the set does sport a blue cape. The image of the Batman minifigure could very well be that of the version common to this set and the set 6860 The Batcave, and in this case LEGO would have used the same visual for both presentations.

So, forgetting on the part of LEGO or the assumed choice not to put Batman's cape in this set? No one has yet obtained a real answer to this question, but for the AFOLs that we are, this image is a bit like false advertising ...
A manufacturer of the stature of LEGO must not make this kind of mistake.

You will find below for download the original double page of this catalog in pdf format: 2012 LEGO Catalog.

 

30/12/2011 - 13:21 Rumors

Spiderman vs. Doc Ock

Well, the title is a little pompous, because it is undoubtedly a novelty for 2012 in the LEGO Super Heroes Marvel range, but we do not know anything about this set except that:

- It bears the reference 6873
- It will contain at least Spiderman and Octopus
- It is scheduled for 15/08/2012
- Its price in Australian dollars is 69.99 AUD
- It is referenced on Mr Toys Toyworld, Australian online toy retailer

Wait & see therefore, while waiting to know a little more about this set which could be a remake in the spirit of the sets released in 2004 in the Spiderman range with at the time no less than four different versions of Doc Ock ...