This is a question which will make more than one jump but which deserves to be asked.

A set review is good, it allows you to see more closely a model, minifigs, a box ... but more and more, these reviews are botched, spoiled by those who offer them with blurry photos , the carpet in their living room or the checkered tablecloth in the kitchen. In addition, the high-definition visuals offered by LEGO, retouched or not, circulate regularly well before the sets are actually marketed and are of much better quality than those offered by fans.

What the fans think? Personally, I skip this part more and more often: these hasty reviews are mostly decorated with two lines of text, which, when they are not full of spelling mistakes, do not have no interest other than describing what you see in the photos. I would not come back here to the rating at the limit of the debility granted to sets by certain sites or forums .... These ratings have no interest and for good reason: they are not indexed to anything, correspond to nothing and are used just conclusion to reviews that have no such as the name.

On one side we find the Awesome Reviews, those where everything is brilliant, incredible, top-notch, grandiose, with notes to make a college student green with envy and a conclusion that recommends buying the set in question immediately on pain of being a looser for life.
On the other, we find the pathological reviews, with dozens of pictures of the box, instructions, stickers, the box, the inventory of wisely aligned parts, the box and more of the box .... All served with an over-analysis of the content, even if it means falling into obsession. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against discovering pictures of a set I'm looking forward to, quite the contrary. But I am a big boy and I make my own opinion without having to go through the usual logorrhea of ​​superlatives. And above all, I want to keep certain sensations for my own unpacking with the discovery of the contents, the bags, the parts ... The ridiculous ritual but essential for any self-respecting AFOL.

There are more and more excellent quality video reviews posted on Youtube by passionate AFOLs or on sites like The Brick Show who have made these mini-shows their trademark. And it is not worse. They have the merit of showing the set and the minifigs from every angle in less than 3 minutes, with a minimum of unnecessary comments (you can always mute the sound) and possibly detailing the various features of the model. I ask no more.

I posted you recently on Brick Heroes video reviews produced by Artifex. They are a good example of clean, efficient work that gets around a set in minutes. Difficult to do better, the technical level of the realization is high. I also spend a little time skimming Youtube to watch some videos of the young French-speaking scene which presents sets in the form of clips of a few minutes. The production is amateurish, the commentary hesitant, the credits annoying, but we generally learn more than a review of 15 photos and three lines of conclusion.

I don't wait for a review to decide whether or not to give me a particular set. In the worst case, we get so many images of the new stuff coming out that my idea on the matter is settled long before anyone decides to post some pictures.

 And you, what is your opinion on this subject? Do not hesitate to post your comments....

I'm enjoying these two photos posted by Huw Millington (Brickset) on his flickr gallery to come back to the great novelty of this set 9492 Tie Fighter : the new conical piece on astromech droids.

R5-J2 is one of those droids decked out in this dome that opens up new possibilities as to the models that may be offered in the future. This droid, seen a few seconds in theEpisode VI: Return of the Jedi, was assigned to the second Death Star.

In 2012 we will also be entitled to R5-D8, another droid equipped with the same dome, in the set 9493 X-Wing Starfighter. This Droid was in the service of Jek Porkins and his X-Wing during the Battle of Yavin ( Episode IV: A New Hope).

The series of astromech droids are easy to distribute: those with round dome are of class R2, R3, R4, R8 or even R9, those with flat conical dome are of class G8, R5 or R6 and those with pointed conical dome are of class R7.

In the R5 series, the best known models are arguably R5-A2, seen around Mos Eisley on Tatooine in theEpisode IV: A New Hope, R5-D4 bought by Owen Lars from the Jawas in the same episode or even R5-M2 seen during the Battle of Hoth in theEpisode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

In fact, the different episodes of the Original Trilogy are peppered with astromech droids in many scenes and some don't even have a specific name or bio.

So many models, which could now become reality and integrate our collections of minifigs even if they are not necessarily significant in the Star Wars universe.

By the way, if you like astromech droids, go to this site, you will be served ....

With the release of the new sets of the LEGO Super Heroes DC Universe 2012 range comes the procession of new minifigs of characters already seen at LEGO and that the oldest of us know well. Most of them are reissues of minifigs released in 2006 in the Batman range.

These minifigs released in 2006, 2007 and 2008 are now sold on the second-hand market at often very high prices, and many of you are wondering if it is worth spending a few hundred euros to acquire these versions. while LEGO offers re-editions of these characters.

eric_maniac, photographer of minifigs in his spare time (see his flickr gallery), will help you to make up your own mind with these pictures featuring each new minifigure and its version of 2006. If for some the new version embodies an era or a different vision of the character, for others we go quickly take into account that this is above all a refreshment, often welcome.

Once again, the prices on Bricklink for the 2006 minifigs are high, especially if one is looking to acquire a new version. It is often necessary to add substantial shipping costs in the case of a purchase abroad and the final cost can be discouraging.

Click on the photos to view a large version.

So for Batman, we find the 2012 version (Gray Suit) alongside the bat001 version from 2006 (Gray Suit) supplied at the time in the sets 7779, 7780 et 7782 and sold around 20 € on Bricklink (New). To get the 2012 version, you will need to acquire the set 6860 The Batcave or the set 6857 The Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape because the minifig of the set 6858 Catwoman Catcycle City Chase comes without a cape. If you want to acquire a gray and blue version, the bat022 version (Light Bluish Gray Suit with Dark Blue Mask) from 2007 delivered in sets 7786 et 7787 is currently sold more than 50 € on Bricklink.

Regarding the versions Black Suit, that of 2012 ( 6863 Batwing Battle Over Gotham City et 6864 Batmobile and the Two-Face Chase) advantageously replaces the 2006 minifigure (bat002) seen in sets 7781, 7783 et 7785. The yellow belt is more intrusive on the 2012 minifig, but the torso design is thinner with a smaller logo. If, however, you prefer the 2006 version, it is available on Bricklink for a little over 13 €.

Robin is provided in two different versions here: The 2012 Red Robin available in the set 6860 The Batcave cannot be compared with that of 2006 (bat009) delivered in the set 7783 and sold around 20 € on Bricklink.

On the side of the villains, the new versions bring their share of changes that update these characters well and make them more attractive. Poison Ivy, The Joker or The Riddler are delivered in more colorful versions, and significantly more detailed. However, some will remain fans of the 2006 versions, also seen in the LEGO Batman video game released in 2008.

To get these three minifigs on Bricklink, you have to count about 16 € for Poison Ivy (bat018 seen in the set 7785), around 30 € for the Joker (bat005 seen in sets 7782 et 7888) and a little over 10 € for the Riddler (bat017 seen in sets 7785 et 7787 ).

In 2012 version, these 3 minifigs are available in the set 6860 The Batcave for Poison Ivy, in sets 6857 The Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape et 6863 Batwing Battle Over Gotham City for the Joker and the set 6857 The Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape for the Riddler.

The case of Catwoman in 2006 version (bat003 seen in the set 7779) is particular: its price on Bricklink exceeds 30 € (new minifig) and the differences between the two versions are not such as to justify the purchase of the old version.
For less than 15 € with the set  6858 Catwoman Catcycle City Chase, you get Catwoman and Batman. The screen printing on the chest of the 2012 version, however, adds a perspective effect around the waist that I do not find particularly successful. Either LEGO does without this type of trompe l'oeil serigraphy, or it will be necessary to produce and market torsos adapted to female minifigs as we already find on certain customs.

Regarding Two-Face, nothing to compare here, the costume presented is different and the two minifigs correspond to two distinct eras of the character. The 2006 version (bat004 seen in the set 7781) whose face I prefer to that of 2012, is sold more than 18 € on Bricklink.

The Two-Face henchmen are matched to each version concerned, with the same cap. The 2012 versions benefit from a nice serigraphy than the 2006 version (bat006 seen in the set 7781) did not have.

Should You Buy Previous Versions Of These Minifigs: The answer is yes if you can afford it and are a die-hard and compulsive collector. Otherwise, settle for the sets from the new range, the minifigs offered are more detailed and more attractive.

If you are only looking for minifigs from this new range, you will already find them for sale for a few € on eBay or Bricklink. As usual, their price will vary in the future depending on the number of sets in which they will be present over the life of the range. In general, the more a minifig is present in different sets in the range, the cheaper it is sold on the second-hand market. It is also necessary that it is the same minifigure, without variant of color or serigraphy.

Special thanks eric_maniac for permission to use his photos.

The Star Wars 2012 first wave sets are finally up for pre-order at Amazon, with an in-stock date announced for January 7, 2012.

Don't delay, prices fluctuate very, very quickly, sometimes downwards, but also upwards. The same goes for availability. The prices are those expected and initially announced when Amazon first uploaded these sets in October.

9488 - ARC Trooper & Commando Droid Battle Pack 14.40€ 
9489 - Endor Rebel Trooper & Imperial Trooper 14.40€ 
9490 - Droid Escape  26.20€
9491 - Geonosian Cannon  26.20€ 
9492 - Tie Fighter  57.10€
9493 - X-wing Starfighter 69.70€ 

Still no information on the availability of Planet Series sets.

A forumer of Brickhorizon offers us a first review in pictures of the set 9676 TIE Interceptor and Death Star of the Planet Series range. We discover the back of the box that we already know, and which reveals the planet without protection on both sides, as well as the minifig of the Tie Fighter Pilot with a screen-printed face identical to that of the Sandtrooper in the set 9490 Droid Escape.

The presentation plate is also silkscreened (if you follow, you already knew that), as is the canopy of the cockpit of the Tie Interceptor, something rather rare on models of this scale. 

In the end, a nice set which, with all these finishing details, seems really very interesting. The Death Star could have benefited from a discreet silkscreen printing, but it is still very nice as it is with its relief molding. It remains to be seen the price with us, probably around 12 €, and the real availability which begins to be delayed ....