Today we are quickly interested in the contents of the LEGO Marvel Infinity Saga set 76200 Bro Thor's New Asgard, a small box of 265 pieces sold at the public price of 29.99 € which vaguely reproduces the interior of the house occupied by Thor, Korg and Miek in the Norwegian village of Tønsberg now New Asgard.

Even if this is only a small sticker of 12 x 12 cm, the overall availability of this box is rather good news: we have no doubt escaped what could have been an exclusive set at a convention. US like for example the San Diego Comic Con.

The build is a pure exhibit product that nods to a scene from the movie Avengers: Endgame. No one will really play with this product which freezes a very successful scene and which changes us a bit from the various and varied clashes, ships and vehicles that populate the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes range.

The representation of the interior of the house occupied by Thor, Kork and Miek is here more than symbolic, the designer having simply piled up accessories to embody the ambient disorder that reigns in the place. On arrival, the mini diorama reproduces the atmosphere of the place well and even allows you to obtain the sign located at the entrance of the village.

We narrowly escape references to alcohol thanks to a few empty bottles, LEGO knowing how to stay within the limits of what is acceptable for a product advertised as intended for children aged at least 7 years. The sheet of stickers is quite substantial for a set of this size with seven stickers including three for the lids of pizza boxes lying around and a screenshot of Fortnite in a LEGO version. We also obtain two console levers and two statuettes in dark Blue, the element being present only once in the diorama but it is provided in duplicate in the box.

The interest of the set, which is in fact only a small decorative sticker, also and above all resides in its endowment of characters made up of two "real" minifigs and a more minimalist figurine.

And looking at it more closely, all this is still very approximate. Korg's minifigure may seem successful if you don't remember the movie too much. However, apart from the colorful shirt, the portrayal of the character lacks a bit of detail.

The legs are not the right color, not to mention the absence of textures that would have allowed to reproduce the relief of the creature seen on the screen. The same goes for the arms which, on the other hand, are the right color from the slightly too empty sleeves of the shirt but which also frankly lack texture. The head is decent although the angular cup gives it a bit too much volume for my taste.

Thor's minifigure is visually quite faithful to the character seen on screen with a very apt face, hair and legs, but the portrayal of a paunchy Chris Hemsworth is technically flawed. The color of the belly which extends over the hips does not match that of the torso and the black line which emphasizes the lower belly only reinforces this offset effect.

The official visuals are often extensively retouched and the promise is once again not kept technically. For a manufacturer who has been in the business for decades and who has had plenty of time and money to perfect their pad printing process, it is really time to start considering rolling up their sleeves a bit.

LEGO skipped a long plastic beard for Thor by simply pad printing the character's head and it's a wise choice that saves us a minifig in Santa Claus mode whose face is drowned under the plastic. No dark glasses on Thor's other face, LEGO uses same item as in sets 76192 Avengers Endgame: Final Battle et 76193 The Guardians' Ship.

What about the Miek figurine, except that the solution based on a very successful head that surmounts two flowers is quite disappointing. A dedicated mold would have been welcome even if we know that LEGO does not grant this privilege to everyone.

We are therefore not going to complain about being able to add two new characters and a variant to our collections even if the finish leaves in my opinion overall a little to be desired. Fortunately, the nod to a memorable scene from the film is there, and it's always more interesting than yet another motorcycle or a mech that is a little too minimalist.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 1er October 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.

LEGO has just added three bundles grouping sets from the LEGO Super Mario range on its official online store and it is a priori a good idea which should logically allow fans to get a few sets of boxes at a preferential rate.

But I had to pull out the calculator only to find that these bundles are just retailing to the penny, with no discounts whatsoever. There isn't even a small polybag offered with each of these set packs, yet it was the least that had to be done to justify the creation of these high-priced packs.

I put below the detail of each of these packs with the prices of the boxes concerned, it's up to you:

Update : LEGO has clarified its offer with a bonus of VIP points offered for the purchase of each pack of sets, i.e. 4650 points for the pack 5007062 The Ultimate Bundle, 1987 points for the pack 5007061 The Creative Bundle and 1800 points for the pack 5007060 The Team-Up Bundle.

The Italian company Percassi, which manages the LEGO Certified Stores established in France, Italy and Spain, is currently recruiting staff for a new boutique which will soon open its doors in the aisles of the Les 3 Fontaines shopping center in Cergy-Pontoise (95).

At this point, Percassi is looking for a store manager et a deputy manager. If the adventure tempts you and you have the required qualifications for these positions, do not hesitate to apply.

Note that recruitment is also in progress for Certified Store which is due to open in the Alma shopping center in Rennes (35).

Please note, as LEGO indicates, these shops set up by the Percassi company are not spaces directly managed by the brand: "... These LEGO® stores are owned and operated by approved independent third parties. Offers, promotions, prices and inventory may vary. Also, the LEGO VIP loyalty program will not be available. Returns of products ordered from the LEGO.com online store will be refused. For more information, please contact these stores directly ..."

We know that LEGO will soon launch a test phase for expansion of the VIP program to these stores but the generalization of this support for the program and its advantages to all Certified Stores established in Europe is not on the agenda for the moment.

(Thanks to Pascal for the alert)

As promised, today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO set 71395 Super Mario 64? Block, a box of 2064 pieces which will be available via the official store at the retail price of €169.99 from October 1st.

This product aims to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Super Mario 64 video game marketed in 1996 and then playable on Nintendo 64. Those who have walked the different levels of this video game that has become cult for a whole generation and who still remember of its content will have quickly noticed that the set makes a significant difference: the Surprise Block ( Block?) to be built here was not present in the game, we had to wait for games like Super Mario Galaxy or New Super Mario Bros to see it appear in this form and in this color.

This is not a mistake on the part of the designers who also assume this large gap in the pages of the instruction booklet. It was necessary to pay tribute to the game launched in 1996 but it was also about wrapping everything in an object immediately recognizable by fans of all ages and this version of the Block? is arguably the most iconic and the most popular.

The rest of the set refers directly to the game Super Mario 64 with five levels rather well interpreted if we take into account the chosen scale. The four "visible" levels are Peach's Castle (game intro), Bob-omb Battlefield (level 1), Cool, Cool Mountain (level 4) and Lethal Lava Troublelevel 7). The fifth level, Bowser in the Dark World, is hidden behind a "secret" hatch. This is the level in which Mario faces off against Bowser on a rotating platform.

The internal structure of the 18 cm cube is quickly assembled, it is satisfied with a few amounts made up of various and varied parts with large elements that save the designer a few bricks. The interior remains empty, it must later accommodate the block of levels which comes to be stored in the available space.

We also install the front door, the return of which is provided by two red rubber bands, and I'm still a little skeptical about the presence of these rubber bands in a high-end product. It is really time for LEGO to innovate a little on this point and replace these consumables with springs or jacks a little more consistent. The surprise of the hidden level does not last long in the assembly process, the flapper with its notched wheels, rotating platform and the Bowser figure are very quickly present in the instruction booklet.

The assembly of the different levels will undoubtedly bring back some memories to all those who have played Super Mario 64 for a long time, others will simply see reproductions of levels as there are in many other games of the license. Many of the elements of these different levels are minimalist but the atmosphere is there and the theme of each space is immediately recognizable: King Bob-omb, a Chain Chomp and some cannons in the Battle of Bob-Omb, the penguins, the snowman headless snow and the slippery slopes of Gla-Gla Mountain, the puzzle, the volcano, the Bullies and Mr I in Fatal Laves and the castle of Princess Peach with its paintings seen in the intro of the game.

No stickers in this box, all decorative elements, even the smallest, are pad printed. We also add a sticker to scan using the Mario or Luigi figurine from the sets 71360 Adventures with Mario et 71387 Adventures with Luigi to take advantage of the relative interactivity offered by the set. In fact, it is simply a matter of walking the figurine on the different levels to provoke some reactions and collect around ten Power Stars: pass over the bridge Bob-omb Battlefield, make jumps, face Bowser, etc ...

The level block also uses two rubber bands that automatically deploy Peach's castle as soon as the two side flaps are removed. Here too, I would have liked to see two springs or in any case a more credible solution than these white rubber bands. The block is then installed on the cube, it is connected via two Ball Seals side which will allow it to perform the rotation necessary for its deployment and storage.

From the first use of the product, a fairly loud squeaking was heard when the level block was rotated. I checked several times that I was not mistaken during the assembly but I finally had to face the facts: this squeak came from the Ball Seals. A few sprays of WD40 later on the two ball joints, everything was back to normal and the friction between the ball joints and their seats had disappeared.

The mechanism works perfectly and every time. Just press the back of the top platen to start the block spinning and it's five minutes fun. Storing the levels in the bowels of the cube is also very easy and the block disappears leaving only a yellow surface. Tilea on the upper area of ​​the object.

Access to level Bowser in the Dark World is done via a hatch hidden in the back face of the cube, just lift it and press on the Bowser figurine to trigger the hatch opening and access the level. Too bad for the black support, a little pad printing would have been appreciable to reinforce the impression of dealing with a real bonus level and not with a somewhat anecdotal functionality.

You already know, we should not rely too much on LEGO to offer us real minifigs of Mario, Luigi, Peach and all the other creatures that inhabit the different levels of the game. As in the other playsets in the range, we must so here assemble the different characters. Mario and Peach are uninteresting nanofigurines that are all the same in keeping with the format of the different levels. Bowser is a bit more plush, but still less convincing than a cast figure. I specify it for all useful purposes, the interactive figurine of Mario present in the photos is not provided in this box.

Personally, I would have gladly contented myself with a simple Bloc? to build without all the additional elements provided here, to put on a shelf and sold for 30 or 40 €. However, we must remain honest and we can not blame the manufacturer for wanting to offer a product that uses the possibilities offered by the LEGO concept by integrating a very convincing mechanical functionality.

Nostalgia for the Super Mario 64 game, considered by many to be the best of the license, will obviously be a trigger that will motivate many fans of the Mario universe to buy this LEGO product. This cube with indisputable decorative potential is therefore aimed at a much larger audience than that of LEGO fans, I have no doubt that it finds its audience very quickly.

Those who would like to acquire the thing only to display the cube in a corner of their office or their room will probably think twice before spending the 170 € requested by LEGO. There are many reproductions of the Bloc? without features but very well made and for much less elsewhere.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at September 30, 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.

The September 2021 issue of the official LEGO Batman magazine is currently available on newsstands and, as announced in the previous issue, it allows you to obtain a Penguin minifig accompanied by his remote-controlled penguin. The minifigure is obviously not new or exclusive, it is the one already delivered in 2020 in the set 76158 Batboat: The Penguin Pursuit (9.99 €) and in the pack of minifigs and accessories 40453 Batman vs The Penguin & Harley Quinn (€ 14.99) in 2021.

The next issue will be released on December 10 and it will allow us to obtain a minifigure of Batman already seen in many sets with his two Batarangs. Not enough to spend € 6.50.