Today we quickly tour the LEGO Speed ​​Champions set 76902 McLaren Elva, a 2021 novelty that will be available from June 1 at the public price of € 19.99. For the occasion, this small box of 263 pieces is here accompanied by the variation of the vehicle available in the polybag 30343 McLaren Elva, a bag of 86 pieces referenced on the official online store as "free item"but without precision for the moment on a possible promotional offer to come.

This is to assemble the 2020 version of the speedster and even if the manufacturer has since produced a variant of the vehicle in the colors of the lubricants manufacturer Gulf which would undoubtedly have been more attractive in the LEGO format, we will make with this blue livery a little sad.

In my opinion, the designer is doing quite well on this file knowing that the format of the vehicles in the Speed ​​Champions range involves some constraints and does not allow all the fantasies in terms of curves and other aerodynamic surfaces.

The windowless speedster is interpreted relatively well here and we find some of the most characteristic attributes of this supercar. The absence of glazing on the reference vehicle in fact avoids the presence of the usual generic LEGO canopy and that is rather a good thing.

The McLaren Elva is also this clearly visible white upholstery and LEGO has chosen to deal with the subject by pad printing a pattern on the two parts responsible for embodying the back of the seats. The intention is good, it helps to limit the number of stickers to stick, but the result is unfortunately far from being as flattering in real life as on the official visuals of the product and we end up with a slightly bland color that does not is not fully matched with the color of the headrests. The seats have no seat, the pilot is plugged into the visible tenons of the chassis.

There are some good ideas on this model which also uses the new slick tires directly molded on the rims, especially at the rear of the vehicle with two metallic spark plugs and two ax blades in Trans Red used to embody fires. It is nicely integrated, and it is also for this type of often ingenious and sometimes surprising solutions that we appreciate this range. There are two metallic headlights and the rest of the curves of the vehicle make heavy use of Wedges with 45 ° cutout, it was necessary to pay homage to the curvaceous reference vehicle by composing with the inventory available at LEGO.

The endowment in stickers is rather limited on the model of the set 76902, it concerns only a few bodywork details, the headlights being, as indicated above, based on parts. The 8-inch touch screen which serves as an interface for adjusting vehicle functions and as a multimedia center is reproduced on a Tile 1x1 pad printed supplied in two copies. The printed design is sketchy but sufficient and the item is presented on a minifig stand discovered with the DC Comics Character Series in Bags (71026).

The 86-piece polybag vehicle does not benefit from this level of refinement, it does not even have a steering wheel and is content with sticker-based headlights. The micro-version of the McLaren Elva in 5 studs in width is not unworthy, even if the wheel arches are simple square spaces embedded in the body.
The air path on the hood which ejects the flow sucked from the front of the vehicle to create the bubble which surrounds the driver and his passenger is present on both versions of the vehicle, it is more symbolic on the polybag model but it is still represented by a Tile black.

The driver provided in this box is as usual delivered with a head of hair in addition to the helmet, and the torso flanked by the McLaren logo is unique. For those who still wonder: the adjustable wrench supplied in all these boxes is not an indicator of the potential level of failure of these different vehicles, it is there to facilitate the removal of the hubcaps attached to the rims.

The McLaren Elva is a rather surprising vehicle due to the total absence of glazing and the LEGO version logically gives the impression of a slightly flat vehicle which is missing something. The eight-stud width accentuates this lack of relief a little more and this vehicle will probably not be unanimous among fans of brick-based supercars. For my part, I find it rather successful, with its original solutions and despite its aesthetic approximations. The polybag is necessarily more basic but it does not demerit.

Collectors who already have sets on their shelves 75909 McLaren P1 (2015) 75880 McLaren 720s (2017) et 75892 McLaren Senna (2019) will no doubt be delighted to see that the partnership between LEGO and the brand is expanded this year with a new model. For others, this McLaren Elva will undoubtedly not be a priority, there are other supercars more emblematic and better known to the general public than this model in the Speed ​​Champions range.

Note: The sets presented here, provided by LEGO, are as usual put into play. Deadline fixed at 7th June 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 is going there from today with a new promotional offer with a second polybag from the LEGO DOTS range offered: the bag bearing the reference 30557 Picture Holder Cube (109) is automatically added to the basket from € 40 of purchase of products from the LEGO DOTS, Friends and / or VIDIYO ranges.

This offer is in principle valid until June 30, 2021, unless this polybag is unleashed by the crowds and is sold out before the scheduled date. It can be combined with the one that currently allows you to obtain the LEGO DOTS polybag until May 30 30556 Mini Frame (85) from 35 € of purchase without restriction of range.

DIRECT ACCESS TO THE OFFER ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

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

The May 2021 issue of the official LEGO Star Wars magazine is available on newsstands and allows us as planned to obtain a mini Tie Bomber of 28 pieces.

Throughout the pages of this new issue filled as usual with comics, simple games and advertisements for products currently marketed by LEGO, we discover the mini-construction that will be offered from June 9 with the following issue and it This is Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi Starfighter, a pretty cool 29-piece build.

For those who would like to complete their collection of mini-bags, know that the publisher is selling them on the platform abo-online.fr at their normal price. Some issues, especially those with minifigs, sell out quickly, but issues with buildable minis are usually available several months after their initial newsstand.

Today we are quickly interested in the LEGO Speed ​​Champions set 76900 Koenigsegg Jesko (€ 19.99), a small box of 280 pieces that will allow, from June 1, to assemble the LEGO version of a vehicle of relatively limited notoriety.

Koenigsegg is a Swedish automobile manufacturer created in 1994 which bears the name of its founder and which produces only exceptional supercars. The model in question here bears the first name of the father of the founder of the brand. Sports vehicle enthusiasts will no doubt be delighted to see this brand join the LEGO Speed ​​Champions range alongside the industry leaders, hoping in the process that LEGO will one day offer us the 2020 model, the Jesko Absolut, which is an evolution of the 2019 version shown here, stripped of the imposing rear spoiler.

Don't expect a model that is very faithful to the reference model, this is LEGO and we all know that it is often difficult to reproduce believable curves at the chosen scale. Fortunately, the manufacturer has switched to a base of 8 studs wide, this change, which is not to everyone's taste, nevertheless allows frankly to limit breakage when it comes to reproducing a very compact supercar and all in aerodynamic curves.

Even in 8 studs wide, the designer does not work miracles and the LEGO version of the Jesko is a very "free" interpretation of the starting subject. Emphasis is placed on some of the significant attributes of the vehicle to make us forget that the canopy is a generic version that has little to do with that of the real Jesko and by extension gives a bit of the impression that all vehicles which use this part are of the same make.

As for the Ford GT from the set 76905 Ford GT Heritage Edition and Bronco R which I told you about a few days ago, this model uses the new wheels with the slick tire injected directly on the rim and the result is very convincing.

The front of the Jesko in a LEGO version plays a little with the shadows to minimize the impression of emptiness and it will be up to everyone to judge the relevance of this creative approach. The central fin is a butcher's chopper which finds its place perfectly, the effect is interesting. The rear wing support bracket placed in the center of the vehicle is very well integrated and in profile, the LEGO version is doing quite well.

It's Speed ​​Champions and so expect a really big handful of stickers in this box. There are actually 20 stickers to stick or one sticker for four assembly steps. The headlights are not pad printed on this model, it's a shame. Two of these stickers have for mission to extend the side glazing towards the rear to imitate the shape of the windows of the reference model, it is missed and it is ugly. We will console ourselves with the logo of the brand pad printed on the edge of a 1x1 piece placed at the rear of the vehicle.

The canopy is pad printed, so we could be satisfied with not having any stickers to install on this element, but the portion of the bodywork which in principle circulates around the glass placed in the center of the roof is here embodied by an ink strip. vaguely white which does not match the light cream shade of the other elements at all. The contrast is obvious and it is once again totally missed.

For the rest, the designer wanted to reproduce the few touches of color that dress the sills of the reference vehicle and we end up with colored spots necessarily much less discreet. Paradoxically, the green brake calipers are absent, yet I would have kept only this detail and I would gladly have overlooked the two green quarter circles to replace them with stickers. The minifig provided has additional hair, which is great for exposing the pilot with his helmet in hand. The character's outfit is sober but well executed.

In short, we note that LEGO is expanding its collection of small cars to brands less known to the general public and this is good news for all those who expect from this range an extensive coverage of the universe of supercars. The Jesko in the LEGO version remains very approximate, it really suffers from the limitations of the format and the very elegant design of the reference vehicle frankly fades during the conversion.

The few good ideas of the model will not save furniture, but collectors who absolutely want to align all the references of the range on their shelves will do with it. For the others, there are much more successful models in this range and this one does not in my opinion deserve that we spend the 20 € requested by LEGO.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 3th June 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.