LEGO continues its quest for the miracle material that could one day replace ABS plastic and the manufacturer today announces that it has succeeded in producing a brick made from recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate). This prototype would a priori offer the level of quality and safety required by the manufacturer and a one-liter PET bottle would make it possible to produce ten classic 2x4 LEGO bricks.

The campaign launched today is not an announcement in itself, it aims above all to confirm that the manufacturer is continuing its research and that recycled PET is one of the most promising materials among all those that have already been tested.

The formula used by LEGO for this first prototype includes PET from products intended for recycling as well as chemical additives which reinforce its resistance and make it possible to reproduce the essential mechanical properties, including the famous Clutch Power, to be able to hope one day to change the material without compromising on the durability of the product.

At LEGO, 150 people have been working for three years on the search for the material that may one day replace ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), a product derived from petroleum, and the manufacturer claims to have tested more than 250 formulations of "plastics" that would allow it to meet its ambitious goal of 100% sustainable materials by 2030.

At this point, there is no question of launching mass production and replacing the current ABS bricks, LEGO simply declares that it wants to launch an extended test phase which should last at least a year. The possible switch to a recycled PET-based material will not affect transparent parts and LEGO confirms that it is actively working to maintain color uniformity between the different generations of bricks.

New molds will also be necessary to ensure the production of bricks made of this new material. There is still a long way to go and it will be notably strewn with accelerated aging tests of the bricks in question to test the resistance of the material over time. It will remain to be seen in a few years how these new generation bricks will be perceived and whether there will be a "before / after" material change effect in the minds of consumers.

We know that LEGO has already integrated a biopolyethylene made from ethanol from the distillation of sugar cane in its catalog, but only 2% of production is concerned by the use of this material which does not offer the mechanical properties essential to conventional bricks. This biopolyethylene used for the manufacture of minifig accessories or plant elements is (fortunately) not biodegradable but it is recyclable via the same processes as conventional polyethylene.

FNAC is currently running a promotional offer that may be of interest to those who are planning to add the new LEGO Super Mario Starter Pack 71387 Adventures with Luigi to their collection: the brand is offering a nice official LEGO cover in the colors of the plumber for any pre-order of the set which will be available from August 1st.

To take advantage of the offer, simply add the two products to the basket and the cover is automatically offered, the total amount of the order remaining at € 59.99, i.e. the public price of the starter pack.

The cover can be used to store a Nintendo Switch console or a few LEGO Super Mario minifigures, but you should not expect to be able to take the entire level provided in the set with you.

71387 ADVENTURES WITH LUIGI ON FNAC.COM >>

LEGO SUPER MARIO COVER ON FNAC.COM >>

The other announcement of the day is the availability of the LEGO Builder's Journey video game on two new platforms: Nintendo Switch and PC. This game was previously an Apple Arcade exclusive, so you can now play it on your Switch via Nintendo eShop (19.99 €) or on your PC through Steam (16.99 €) or theEpic Game Store (16.99 €).

For those who do not know this puzzle game with a very sophisticated visual atmosphere developed by Light brick studio, here is the pitch:

If you want to get a better idea of ​​the gameplay before you jump in, here's a 13-minute long streak that should help you make up your mind:

LEGO has just announced the result of the third phase of evaluation LEGO Ideas of the year 2020, with a batch which gathered 25 more or less successful ideas but which had all been able to gather the 10.000 supports necessary for their passage to the stage. of review. This is the project Motorized Lighthouse submitted by Must Build Roses (Sandro Quattrini) who is the only one to be definitively validated.

Everything else goes directly to the hatch, for various and varied reasons which are not officially communicated by LEGO, even if one can easily imagine that LEGO was not going to remake products already marketed like the Colosseum, Bag End or the police station which is also available as is from a "third party" manufacturer, a Boeing 737 with a bad reputation, a board game that we do not understand anything or a very depressing MRI scanner ...

The construction of the only validated project culminates at 47 cm high, it has an interesting feature in the form of a light brick powered via a Battery Box and set in rotation by means of a motor Power Functions. LEGO should logically keep the functionality, but we are not immune to a manual model with a crank that will then have to be motorized with elements purchased separately ...

If you have time to spare, you can always try to guess who will be the winner of the next review phase, the results of which will be revealed next fall.

57 projects are in the running, there are a few more or less interesting ideas, but the vast majority of those who have succeeded in qualifying their project will undoubtedly have to be satisfied with the "consolation" endowment consisting of LEGO products of total value. $ 500 offered to anyone who reaches 10.000 supporters.

I had the opportunity to preview some of the new references of the LEGO Super Mario range expected for August 1, and today we quickly toured these boxes which now include the possibility of playing for two and therefore to finally share "the experience". This was one of my complaints about the product last year: you had to wait your turn and watch the other have fun. A year later, LEGO finally decided to add a second interactive minifigure so that two players can cooperate or compete against each other.

The very preliminary version of the application essential for updating the firmware of the two figurines and for assembling the sets was totally inoperative during the test and I had to content myself with a few round trips on the course during a video conference that was to present all the opportunities offered by the arrival of Luigi. The official application should however be updated by August 1 and it should offer introductory sequences of the new features available.

At the exit, I especially remember this possibility of no longer bickering about who will play the hero and it is already a significant evolution of the concept. The success of this range with young audiences is undeniable and the possibilities offered by these new extensions should boost sales which are already excellent since the launch of the set. 71360 Adventures with Mario Last year.

As I said above, the extensions planned this year to accompany the launch of the new starter pack 71387 Adventures with Luigi (59.99 €) are designed to take advantage of the presence of the two plumbers with rides two-seater and actions that require the presence of two miniatures to eject a villain or get coins. Simultaneous actions are rewarded and active cooperation between the two players results in the best scores. Fortunately, the new levels remain playable solo, it is above all about typing barcodes to get coins, bonuses or extra time and beating the various enemies crossed along the way.

The flagship of this new wave of sets is the set 71391 Bowser's Airship Expansion Set, a big box of 1152 pieces which allows to assemble a pretty modular boat based on very large hull elements. The boat is a playset on its own, it offers a lot of fun with a few stickers to scan to get parts or beat Bowser and the whole is really very well done. Its presence on a game board will give a little volume to the whole as the castle of the set already did. 71369 Bowser's Castle Boss Battle Expansion Set (1010 pieces - 99.99 €) launched in 2020.

The boxes that I was able to test also allow us to bring together some emblematic characters from the Mario universe with a Yoshi Rose, Boom Boom, Kamek, Lakitu, Torti Taupe, a Goomb'os, a Bill Ball and a Fuzzy.

The third series of collectible characters in a bag will allow you to obtain a Scuttle Bug (Spotted), a Swoop (Swooper), a Parachute Bob-omb (Para-Bomb), an Amp, Torpedo Ted (Ted Torpille), a Crowber (Corbek), a Galoomba, a Bony Beetle (Scaraboss), a 1UP Mushroom (1UP Mushroom) and a Boo.

As it stands, if you have two children who are fighting to play with the sets in this range, this new starter pack and its expansions are for you. If you collect the different figures to assemble available in this range to console yourself for never having been entitled to a real series of minifigs around this license, you will also be able to hardly ignore these sets because the different pad printed parts necessary for the assembly of these characters are exclusive.

The public prices charged for these products are relatively high, but with a little patience, it will be possible to afford these boxes at more reasonable prices and thus have enough to renew and expand the courses already created with the sets of the first. wave. I point out for all intents and purposes, all these new boxes are obviously 100% compatible with the sets launched in 2020 and I have the impression that LEGO has worked on the Clutch Power some new elements launched last year whose connection points seemed a little weak to me.

My advice for anyone who is hesitant to embark on this very expensive adventure: Just buy a starter pack and test the product on your kids to make sure they are hooked on the concept before you break the bank on a variety of expansions.

Note: The set of sets presented here (Mario figure not included), provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 1er July 2021 next at 23pm. For newcomers, know that you just need to post a comment to participate in the draw.

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.