Today we take a quick tour of the content of the LEGO Star Wars set 75324 Dark Trooper Attack, a small box of 166 pieces which will be available at the retail price of €29.99 from March 1, 2022. The set could only have been a simple Battle Pack too expensive but it cleverly emancipates itself from its obvious function of providing minifigs of the same faction by offering a very relative playability, we can't blame LEGO for emphasizing the fact that this product is also a " building toy".

With 166 pieces on the counter, the proposed construction is necessarily basic, even if the use of large elements gives it a little volume. This is to reproduce the scene of the arrival of Luke Skywalker aboard Moff Gideon's cruiser in the last episode of the second season of the series The Mandalorian. The scene had its small effect on the screen, LEGO could not miss the commercial potential of even a symbolic reproduction of the thing.

The playset offers a little fun with a rotating elevator shaft, a rotating platform that can be manipulated from the side of the construction and a support on a slide that allows Luke to push back a Dark Trooper using the Force. Why not, we'll play for three minutes, and we'll have to take the time to understand how Luke can take the elevator with his saber deployed in his hand like in the series: just orient the accessory upwards, a space has been planned. The level of integration of the wheel placed on the elevator is debatable, it can be removed if you do not want to keep the playset side of the product.

The ghost therefore faces three Dark Troopers who furnish the piece of corridor nicely dressed with about fifteen very faithful stickers without which the scene would be a little pale. One sticker for eleven pieces to assemble is still a lot. The droids are ten in number on the screen, you will need several boxes to obtain a less symbolic reproduction. Everything can end its career wisely on the corner of a shelf, unless you rely on this box to recover the three Dark Troopers it contains and install them in the cruiser of the set 75315 Imperial Light Cruiser (159.99 €) which provides only one copy.

The three Dark Troopers delivered here are identical to that of the set 75315 Imperial Light Cruiser and that makes sense. The sellers of the secondary market have also reacted quickly as soon as this product was announced by lowering the price charged so far for this very successful minifigure. LEGO corrects the shot here by delivering us black blasters more aptly than the gray version provided in the other set. You will have the choice to display these minifigs with or without their shoulder pads, the pad printing of the torso is almost identical to that of the accessory which covers part of it.

The Luke Skywalker minifig is new from shoulders to toes: the figure's torso and legs are flanked by new pad printing and the character's head is the one used on several occasions since 2015. The angular black hood is not not new, it is that of Ap'lek (Knights of Ren) in 2019, Palpatine (2020), Garindan (2020) or even Bone Spirit from the Monkie Kid range in 2021. The minifig is successful, difficult to make a relatively sober outfit sexier. Some might find the hook on the bottom of Luke Skywalker's torso a little too big, but it's along with the belt buckle the only significant detail in a torso that's just a few gray lines.

In short, we have here a nice little interactive derivative of the series The Mandalorian which allows both to enjoy a scene that will be remembered and a trio of Dark Troopers. What more ? Grogu hiding somewhere? A lower public price for this Battle Pack luxury? A sale in batches of two copies to obtain a more faithful scene? We could always find ways to improve this product or compensate for its high price, but this set is far from embodying the worst of what LEGO offers us in the Star Wars range. I say yes.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at March 2, 2022 next at 23pm.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.

LEGO fans often discuss issues related to the raw material used by the manufacturer for its bricks: plastic. By association of idea, we generally speak of the plastic used for the bricks, theABS or Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene. But this material is actually only used for so-called "classic" LEGO and DUPLO bricks because it notably offers the characteristics necessary for the interlocking of these elements, the Clutch Power. The manufacturer also announced a few months ago that it had succeeded in producing a brick based on PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) recycled. This prototype would a priori offer the level of quality and safety required by the manufacturer and a one-litre PET bottle would make it possible to produce ten classic LEGO 2x4 bricks.

Although the subject of replacing ABS with a more environmentally friendly alternative material is often brought up, it is however not the only plastic from the petroleum industry molded by the manufacturer and many other materials are used. by LEGO based on their respective properties and applications.

The base plates are for example designed with a plastic of the type HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene), easily thermoformable, renowned for its impact resistance and its ability to serve as a support for ABS. The gears and some connectors very present in the LEGO Technic range are made in PA (Polyamide), a material appreciated for its resistance to wear and its sliding properties even if it reacts rather badly to the driest atmospheres which can make it brittle.

Transparent parts such as windshields, lightsaber blades, or plates transparent are made of MABS extension (Methylmethacrylate Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), a plastic cousin of ABS which allows transparency. Flexible rods and other flexible elements are made of MPO (Metallocene Thermoplastic Polyolefin), a thermoplastic resistant to bending and torsion, the parts provided with Ball Seals and more generally those involving the use of ball joints are made of Polycarbonate (PC), a material resistant to shocks and to deformations linked to constant stress (creep).

Elements such as plants are made of Polyethylene (PE), a flexible material available in two variants depending on the level of flexibility required (HDPE and LDPE) and now made from ethanol obtained from the distillation of sugar cane. This biopolyethylene is not biodegradable but it is however recyclable via the same processes as conventional polyethylene.

The pins and rigid axles of the Technic universe are made of Polyoxymethylene (POM), a hard plastic with a low coefficient of friction and very resistant to traction, Polypropylene (PP) is used for elements that must withstand a certain level of deformation such as sabers or handcuffs, Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) which combines the resistance of a classic plastic with the flexibility of silicone is used for certain animals or for example for the bracelets of the LEGO DOTS range.

LEGO tires are made of Styrene-Ethylene-Butylene-Styrene (SEBS), a plastic similar to rubber and suitable for outdoor use and the LEGO brick separator as well as many transparent elements are made of Thermoplastic Polyester (TP), a very strong material that can also provide a good level of transparency as needed.

LEGO don't hide it, each type of element is made from the most suitable material according to the mechanical and aesthetic constraints and the list is long. The quest to replace conventional plastic with a more environmentally friendly material is therefore far from over and sooner or later it will be necessary to find suitable solutions to gradually replace other materials of the same type present in the manufacturer's factories. Easier said than done.

The Irish brand Minifigure Maddness is currently offering some offers that may be of interest to those who have late collectible bags on three series of minifigs, two of which are no longer marketed via the official online store:

The batch of 2 boxes of 36 sachets of the series 22 of minifigs collectible (ref. LEGO 71032) is available at 232.00 € with the code HOTH140

The box of 60 Harry Potter minifig series 2 sachets collectible (ref. LEGO 71028) is available for 249.00 € with the code HOTH142

The batch of 2 strips of 36 bags of Marvel Studios figurines (ref. LEGO 71031) is sold for 279.00 € with the code HOTH144

From €300 of purchase, the brand offers a copy of the LEGO Creator polybag 30582 Birthday Bear with the code HOTH146

Finally, a subscription to the brand's newsletter allows you to obtain a reduction coupon worth €5 to be used on a future order.

As usual, there may be cheaper elsewhere and it's up to you to see if these offers are able to allow you to complete your collections by sharing the contents of these boxes or by reselling the duplicates they contain. .

Notice to all those who no longer believed in it: regularly out of stock since its announcement in May 2021, the LEGO Marvel set 76178 Daily Bugle is currently available on the official online store at its usual retail price of €299.99. No restocking in progress, no endless delay, it's available.

If you haven't added this set to your collection yet, you've had plenty of time to assess the value of its content and it's probably time to take action before you have to choices between this big set"hard to find" of 3772 pieces which makes it possible to obtain 25 minifigs and the many new features expected for March 1st.

LEGO MARVEL 76178 DAILY BUGLE ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

(The link to the shop redirects to the version of the official shop for your country of connection)

A little reminder for those who were waiting for the last moment to take advantage of the best price: LEGO is currently getting rid of about fifteen references from the now defunct VIDIYO range with an immediate reduction of 30% on the usual retail price of the products concerned.

We thus find the rather cool set 43114 Punk Pirate Ship at 48.99 € instead of 69.99 €, the excellent set 43115 The Boombox at €69.99 instead of €99.99 and the very colorful Bandmates series (43101 Series 1 & 43108 Series 2) at €3.49 per unit instead of €4.99.

You accumulate as usual VIP points for the purchase of these products in destocking, it's always taken and at equivalent price elsewhere it is a significant advantage. Don't come and tell us in a year"Who wants to sell me a Boombox at an AFOL price?", it will be too late and it will be double the current price.

I do not list here all the sets concerned by this spring cleaning, you will find all the references at the address below:

CLEARANCE LEGO VIDIYO ON THE LEGO SHOP >>