As promised, we quickly tour the contents of the LEGO House set 40502 The Brick Molding Machine, (Limited Edition) a beautiful box of 1205 pieces that will be sold exclusively at the LEGO House Store in Billund from March 4th. It will be necessary to go there and pay 599 DKK or about 80 € to have the pleasure of assembling the reproduction of the machine which sits at the entrance of the LEGO House and which produces the bricks present in the small bags offered to visitors ( ref. 624210). For those wondering why the box bears the number 2, this is the second reference in a series of sets launched last year by the reference 40501 The Wooden Duck.

This souvenir to bring back from a trip to Billund will remain exclusive to the LEGO House and will probably never be offered for purchase through the official online store. I know that some are already imagining that LEGO could re-launch the initiative that had allowed the fastest to buy a copy of the set 21037 LEGO House on the Shop in May 2020, but the reopening to the public of the sanctuary dedicated to the brick being confirmed, there is hardly any chance that LEGO will repeat this operation.

The real injection molding machine visible to visitors to the LEGO House is identical to those installed at the brand's various production sites, the only difference being that the mold used here produces only six classic red 2x4 bricks and that the speed of the manufacturing process has been slowed so as not to produce more bricks than necessary depending on the number of people on site.

Well done to the designer, the reproduction offered is really faithful to the reference machine, down to the smallest detail with, for example, the small red bucket which collects production waste. Some features are integrated into the product, and even if this machine 29 cm long, 15 cm wide and 19 cm high with its presentation support is intended to end its career on a shelf, we can have a little fun with it.

The three side protection panels slide to allow access to the internal mechanics of the machine and a thumbwheel moves the part of the mold containing the six red bricks to the other half. The bricks are not ejected from the mold as on the real machine when the two parts of the mold are separated, but the integration of this function brings a little touch of realism to the product.

The designer insisted on this point and I therefore do the same: this set is also the first to offer doors and frames in Lime (lime) and these parts provided here in five copies should quickly find their way into other boxes. Here we find the color differences that particularly affect this color. Lime, those who have invested in the LEGO Technic set 42115 Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 know what I'm talking about. It's subtle but sufficiently present that the aesthetics of the final model suffer. It can therefore be concluded that despite LEGO's promises to try to solve this problem, no convincing solution has yet been found.

There is only one sticker in this box, it is the one used for the machine control panel screen. The three Tiles reproducing the promotional bags and those specifying that they are the machine installed at the LEGO House are pad printed. The designs of the bags are printed on Tiles nougat color which represent the paper version of the packaging soon to replace the classic polybag.

LEGO does include some information on the evolution of its manufacturing processes in the first pages of the instruction booklet, but I would have liked to know more about how this particular machine works. It's a shame, adding some technical data on the technology used would have made this product a pseudo-educational tool instead of limiting it to the role of a simple souvenir of a visit to Billund. A few inserts over the pages would have been welcome, it will be for another time.

In short, if you ever pass by Billund and this set is still available on the shelves of the LEGO House Store by then, you may be able to bring back this nice derivative as a souvenir. Just kidding, there is a good chance that this set has been sold out for a long time and you will as often have to turn to the aftermarket dealers who will be on site from March 4 to fill the trunk of their car and offer you the thing. at the double or the tripe of its public price to "amortize the displacement". It's up to you to see if this investment is justified.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at March 15, 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.

LEGO today unveils the set 40502 The Brick Molding Machine, a limited edition product that joins the sets 40501 The Wooden Duck, 21037 LEGO House, 40366 LEGO House Dinosaurs et 4000026 Tree of Creativity in the section of products that are only available for sale in the Store of the LEGO House in Billund.

This box of 1205 pieces, which will be sold for 599 DKK (around 80 €) as soon as the LEGO House reopens on March 4, allows you to assemble a reproduction of the machine placed at the entrance of the complex dedicated to bricks and the LEGO version. poster displays rather correct measurements: 29 cm long, 15 cm wide and 19 cm high.

The contents of the box also make it possible to obtain a few copies of the future paper version of the souvenir bag distributed to visitors and which contains six red bricks, in the form of a Tile pad printed. Spoiler: there is a sticker in this set.

We will talk about this product again very quickly on the occasion of a "Review ".

Those who have decided to bring together the "VIP Coins"offered as rewards by LEGO via the VIP program can as of today obtain the third of the five pieces announced with an object in the colors of the fictitious brand Octan (5006469 LEGO Team Octan Coin) very present in the streets of LEGO CITY. You have to exchange 1150 points (7.67 € in exchange) to obtain the code valid for 60 days to enter in the basket and which allows you to add the precious reward to a next order.

Note that the collective display (ref. 5006473) which makes it possible to bring together the five planned pieces has not been available for a long time and that it will be necessary to be satisfied with individual packaging or to buy the item from someone who has been more far-sighted via the secondary market.

We also know that these products are not manufactured by LEGO, they are subcontracted to Chinese company RDP like the key rings already offered through the VIP program. The first reactions regarding the level of finish of the first two of the five collectable pieces were also very mixed. It's up to you.

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Today we quickly follow up with another 2021 novelty from the LEGO Monkie Kid range: the set 80023 Monkie Kid's Team Dronecopter (1462 - 139.99 €) which offers us, as the title of the product indicates, to assemble a drone capable of transporting the young hero and his friends.

And the model actually looks like a drone with its four propellers that the designer has chosen to present in a protective arch like, for example, a Helicarrier. The colored drone can take the two containers which serve as a mobile den for the Monkie Kid and his friends and we find here the principle of modular playset already seen in the large box of the range marketed since 2020, the set 80013 Monkie Kid's Team Secret HQ (1959 - 169.99 €). The two containers open to free access to a living space and an arcade room, you can also store a few minifigs.

A third container is included, it hides a cannon under the orders of Spider Queen. LEGO provides the minimum union in terms of opposition in this box, it will be necessary to invest in the set 80022 Spider Queen's Arachnoid (1170 - 109.99 €) to obtain an enemy machine at the height of this very large drone.

Be careful with the game phases with the two containers attached to the drone, they only hold via two simple clips at the CLuch Power a bit hit and miss. While handling the product, one of the two containers of the copy presented here, for example, came off.

It is possible to easily remove the four legs of the drone to play without being encumbered by these appendages. I often criticize LEGO for not providing a suitable exhibition solution for certain products, I will not complain here that I find something to present this drone in a more interesting position than to let it rest on the edge of the wings and on the integrated handle at the back.

The machine is a bit heavy, especially when it loads the two containers, but the designer has planned everything to facilitate the handling of the thing. As for the apparatus of the set 80019 Red Son's Inferno Jet (299 - 29.99 €), this drone is both a vehicle for minifigs and a handgun. The large black handle placed at the back of the construction makes it possible to grab the drone and use it like a pistol thanks to the trigger integrated under the body of the machine which triggers the expulsion of the two ammunition placed in Spring-Shooters.

The functionality seemed very interesting to me on the Red Son jet but the two ammunition here seem too undersized to really stick to the wingspan of the machine which measures 40 x40 cm. Projectiles identical to the one seen for example recently in the LEGO Marvel set 76170 Iron Man vs. Thanos would have been welcome.

One can ask the question of the interest of transforming machines for minifigs into weapons on a human scale via the integrated functionalities. We know the success of the product line that Hasbro marketed under the NERF name that turns lethal weapons into colorful children's toys, and LEGO is clearly trying to go into that field with these sets.

The look of these handguns in the LEGO version is obviously much more diluted so that they do not look like machine guns or shotguns but the principle of the grip and the trigger remains present and clearly visible. Whether this drone or the Red Son jet goes too far in this area or not is up to everyone to see, knowing that for many children the functionality will be immediately understood and used extensively.

The assembly phase of the model is rather pleasant, we alternate between a little repetitive sequences and construction of the a little more complex mechanism which allows to put the central turret in rotation and to trigger the firing of the ammunition. The instruction booklets are also really very well designed with readable perspectives and extremely detailed assembly sequences which increases the number of pages in the process. We feel that LEGO wants to take care of its new Asian clientele by fine-tuning these types of details.

We do not escape a very large sheet of stickers but most of them are easily applied and even if they greatly contribute to the aesthetics of the model, it is possible to do without some of these stickers without disfiguring too much. the machine.

The grip of the drone also makes it possible to manage the orientation of the upper turret via the integrated dial just above the handle. It is well done, the wheel falls just under the thumb even with children's hands. My son immediately thought of NERF's Terradrone with which he had fun for a long time tracking my dog ​​through the apartment.

The minifig endowment is fairly balanced with Monkie Kid, Mei, Mr Tang, Fei, Sandy and Mo the cat on one side and Spider Queen, Huntsman, Syntax and Red Son on the other. There is plenty of fun without having to go back to the cash register immediately even if Spider Queen seems a little helpless without her mechanical spider.

As with the other sets in the range, LEGO deploys all its know-how in pad printing and molding here. The usual technical faults such as the pallor of certain white pad-printed areas on dark parts are there, but the finish is generally very satisfactory. The Spider Queen cape is a rigid plastic element, the rendering is and the lifespan of this accessories take advantage of this technical choice.

Again, it will be difficult to really get attached to the different characters without seeing the animated series that features them and develops their personality a bit. As it stands, we understand who the good guys and the bad guys are, but the real issues will no doubt escape the youngsters beyond the relationship between the forces of good very colorful and those of evil with darker and threatening hues.

The products in the Monkie Kid range are also a bit expensive and you will have to pay 140 € to afford this box. Note that this wave of sets will not be marketed in LEGO stores, it will only be sold online and only on the official store.

It's creative, the subject dealt with here is interesting and it mimics a modern machine rather well converted to make a transport drone more attractive than the usual ships or classic planes. The modularity allowed by the fixing of the two containers on the sides of the drone will appeal to the youngest even if the fixing system seems a little light to me. Now it's up to you to see if the barely "hidden" function of this drone fits your philosophy when it comes to children's toys.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at March 12, 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.