Today we quickly go around the LEGO set 10289 Bird of Paradise, a (too big) box of 1173 pieces which will join the Botanical Collection LEGO from next June 1st on condition of paying the modest sum of 109.99 €.

It is therefore here to assemble a few Birds of Paradise, or Strelitzia Queen for botany enthusiasts. The bouquet is not overloaded, you actually only get three flowers of this dwarf variety native to South Africa, the rest being some bulky foliage-based filling.

The novelty of the product: LEGO provides here a nice pot to build, the accessory was not present in the set 10280 Flower Bouquet (756  - 49.99 €) marketed earlier this year and it was then necessary to manage to stage the construction.

The pot provided in this new box should be sufficiently weighted not to tip over at the slightest shock and designer Chris McVeigh offers a solution rich in parts and very interesting to assemble. I think we can even say that the pot is the star of the product as it is made up of sub-assemblies which are only there to both weigh things down and please fans of somewhat original techniques.

Those who want to show originality by not following the instructions to the letter can reorganize their bouquet or add a few flowers without having to show unusual creativity: the upper part of the inside of the pot is made of Technic beams in which the rods are simply inserted.

As for the set tree 10281 Bonsai Tree (878  - 49.99 €), the substrate is here composed of pieces to be thrown loose in the upper part of the pot: 200 plates round 1 x 1 in Dark Flesh and 100 plates en Reddish brown that should be mixed before pouring everything. I am not a fan of this solution although the aesthetics may seem appropriate. This shortcut does not facilitate the movement of the model and I find the process a little lazy in a high-end product intended for an adult clientele.

The stems, leaves and the three flowers are assembled very quickly. We come out a little frustrated not to have more than three copies of these pretty Birds of Paradise in this bouquet whose volume is mainly provided by leaves made up of Technic bodywork elements with a somewhat coarse rendering. The bouquet does not create an illusion for a second even from a distance, it is indeed a toy and there is no possible confusion.

The contrast is also striking between very graceful Birds of Paradise with their purple rapiers and rather well interpreted in LEGO sauce and the large leaves made up of four elements with visible grooves and holes. If we add the few scratches present on the flat surfaces of this foliage and the black pieces present at the end of the stems, the result is really very average. I think LEGO would have been well inspired to provide us with some stickers with ribbing on a transparent background to give these leaves a little relief and hide the imperfections.

Once again, everyone will have an opinion on the relevance of the product: should we try at all costs to reproduce plant elements with plastic? I am not convinced, flowers are ephemeral, they live and die, this is what makes them interesting and which reminds them that it is time to replace them or to offer new ones.

Here, it will cost 110 € to exhibit these Birds of Paradise without having to water or replace them. In my opinion, it is much too expensive both for the "experience" offered, with an accessory that cannibalizes a very large part of the inventory, only three flowers in the middle of all this foliage and an overall rendering that seems to me too rude to convince me.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 13th May 2021 next at 23pm. 

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

Today we quickly go around the LEGO Disney sets 40456 Mickey Mouse (118 - 17.99 €) & 40457 Minnie Mouse (140 - 17.99 €), two new references from the Brick Sketches range which, like the other sets based on the same concept, are directly inspired by the work of Chris McVeigh, a long-time AFOL at the origin of the idea that has since been 2020 become a designer at LEGO.

The product packaging does not change and the box is still too big for what it contains. We understand LEGO's desire to try and showcase these small sets of just over a hundred pieces, but we could easily halve these cardboard boxes without detracting from the appeal of the product.

There must be a few complete collectors who plan to collect all the portraits offered in this format and we are already there. with six different references, these two new boxes joining the sets 40386 Batman, 40391 First Order Stormtrooper, 40428 The Joker et 40431BB-8. The disappointment of some will undoubtedly come one day from an exclusive model at a convention that will have to be paid at a high price on the secondary market, the format seems to me particularly suitable for making some exclusive creations with a more or less limited edition.

The assembly mechanics here are the same as for the other references already on the market: You must both assemble the white 12x16 frame of 29 pieces which will serve as a support for the 3D work concerned and work in successive layers to obtain the promised result. the two portraits are almost identical in their construction, it is very very quickly assembled and we cannot say that we are spending a moment of pure creative madness with these two products. But it's the result that counts and these portraits sold for € 17.99 per unit cost much less than the mosaics in the set 31202 Disney's Mickey Mouse sold for € 119.99.

If you look closely at the photos below, you will notice the flaws in some parts that tend to wavy slightly or where the lower tenons are seen transparent. These flaws have been more or less present at LEGO for years but I still have the impression of noticing them more often in recent months.

I'm not going to be a bad language, you recognize Mickey and Minnie at first glance and the two small pictures to hang on the wall or to put on a dresser will be an illusion from afar. Up close, I'm much less convinced by the designer's choices: the eyes of the two mice seem a bit empty and in my opinion a touch of red is missing in the mouth. The superimposed pieces also produce a "carnival mask" effect, the four studs visible under the nose resemble teeth and the cheeks based on large ones. Tiles rounds remind me of Jigsaw for those who can see what I'm talking about. In my defense, I've always found that there is something scary about Mickey and Minnie in their historic white-skinned version and these two portraits won't change my mind.

I understand despite everything that these are simplified and figurative reproductions of the two characters and that it is up to everyone to assess whether the proposed "artistic" interpretation is convincing. I also know that many fans of these two characters will pay little attention to the finish or the "artistic" choices of the designer and that they will not hesitate to pay the 35.98 € requested just because it is Disney by LEGO.

Good luck to the children who will have to sleep with these things on a shelf in their bedroom. Mickey and Minnie are watching you kids, think about it. Even in the dark.

Note: The lot of two sets presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at March 3, 2021 next at 23pm. "The" I try, I participate "are automatically deleted, make an effort.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

Today we are quickly interested in the set 10278 Police Station, Structure expected from January 1, 2021 in the new range soberly titled LEGO Modular Buildings Collection.

You have had plenty of time and the elements to get a very precise idea of ​​the contents of this box with the official announcement which took place a few days ago, so I will content myself with giving you as usual some very personal information about this new set which will be available at the public price of 179.99 €.

This large box of 2923 pieces allows you to assemble a new 37 cm high block including the antennas placed on the roof, to be aligned with the other references of the range and in the center of which is the police station of Modular City. On each side of the building, two narrow constructions with a donut merchant on the left and a newsstand on the right.

If the first floor of the building on the left is an apartment not connected to the premises of the police station, the right part is indeed an extension of the main building, up to the roof with an attic room which serves as the evidence room.

No surprise, the construction floor is a 32x32 gray base plate on which we assemble the sidewalk portion and the base of the main structure. As you know from the product announcement, the common thread of the set is the hunt for the donut thief and we assemble from the first bags the hole under the police station that will allow the thief to escape. We won't really play the escape sequence, but it's a nice detail that helps to create a little context around the product.

As for all the others Modulars of the range, we alternate here between sequences of stacking walls and construction of furniture or decorative elements. The assembly process is extremely well thought out and you never get bored. Designer Chris McVeigh is in charge and this specialist in micro-furniture and other accessories is also having a great time: I am not used to marveling at a bed or a table. but it must be recognized that the different elements which fill the rooms of the police station and adjoining spaces are very well designed.

Those who invest their money in the products of this range are generally demanding on the techniques of construction and on the misuse of certain parts. They shouldn't be disappointed here, the photos speak for themselves. We stay in the tradition of sets which offer sub-assemblies about which we sometimes wonder where the designer is going before realizing that the solution used is perfectly suited to the desired result. I am not a MOCeur and although I will not remember much of these creative techniques, I had a great time assembling the contents of this box.

The police station is crossed by a rather well thought out staircase, it is composed of crenellated bricks 3x3 and 4x4 and the technique used here saves a few tenons and others tiles and to avoid having a staircase too thick and intrusive. No tiling on the floors in the upper floors and that's a bit of a shame.

As often with the Modulars, the interior spaces are cramped and the designer takes care to impose on us the addition of the furniture before mounting the walls. The impression of dealing with a dollhouse that is difficult to reach is therefore a little attenuated even if it will be difficult to return to move something later without going with your fingertips. As I often say, the collector of Modulars laughs a little at the playability of the product and is happy to know that the furniture is just fine there, inside the build.

The usual toilet gimmick is once again present in this box, and in two copies: a toilet in the cell, another in the police station. Among the technical solutions that will make you smile, we will notably note the addition of the toilet paper roll in the toilet on the first floor via the right column of the facade. The roof cornice is particularly successful with the use of the part used this year for the head of the wolf in the LEGO Minecraft set 21162 The Taiga Adventure, installed here in several copies and which allows to deport the upper plate with a nice effect.

The rear of the construction is as usual more basic than the facade, but the whole remains coherent and realistic. The few windows, the door and the ladders are enough in my opinion to furnish so as not to have the impression that the back side is sloppy, although it may be regretted that the construction is not deeper and uses a few rows of additional tenons.

The whole can easily be transformed into an ordinary building, town hall or even a bank if you do not really want to have a police station in your street. With a second box, the simple replacement of the bricks Medium Lavender et Sand green, that is to say a little more than 250 pieces, which constitute the walls of the two adjoining mini-buildings will also make it possible to create an additional block to stick to a first copy of the set by varying the colors of the facades.

If there was a flaw in this product to be underlined, it would once again be the differences in color at the level of the sides of the construction. Shades Medium Lavender et Sand green are not completely uniform. With a little bad faith, we could console ourselves by saying that the effect is very appropriate here but the fact remains that it is a technical fault which is not really worthy of the first manufacturer of toys to the world.

No stickers in this box, everything is pad printed until the large poster in two pieces which dresses the side of the building and which undoubtedly refers vaguely to the laundromat seen in the set 10251 Brick Bank. Fans of pad-printed pieces to reuse will have at their disposal a few new pieces here, including two telephone dials, a typewriter keyboard, two large donuts and the tile bearing the inscription "Police".

The minifig endowment is correct, it sticks to the pitch of the set with three policemen, the donut thief and the saleswoman who reuses the torso already seen on other sellers and in the Monkie Kid range.

The torso used by the two police officers is new, that of the chief of police is borrowed from the LEGO CITY set 60246 Police Station marketed this year. The two caps are elements regularly available in the CITY range since 2014 and the thief does not make originality, he reuses the torso of Jack Davids, the young ghost hunter from the Hidden Side range.

In short, it is generally not necessary to try to convince those who collect the Modulars invest in the annual version and it will be difficult to motivate those who remain indifferent in front of these buildings to line up on a shelf. I can only tell you that the 2021 vintage should not disappoint the most demanding of fans: I have never been very impressed with this range but I have to admit that the few hours spent putting this set together have been very entertaining. The result would suit me well for a Gotham City police station by adding a Bat-signal on the roof.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 25, 2020 next at 23pm. "The" I try, I participate "are automatically deleted, make an effort.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.