Today we are quickly interested in the LEGO set 80107 Spring Lantern Festival, a box of 1793 pieces that will be marketed from January 10, 2021 at the public price of € 99.99.

The theme of the set: the traditional lantern festival that puts an end to the Chinese New Year celebrations. To put it simply, on the occasion of these festivities, the Chinese go to their city's parks at night to stroll and admire the rows of decorated lanterns installed there. The Chinese calendar being modeled on the lunar phases, so it makes sense that some of the traditional parks pay homage to the star and this is the case here with beautifully executed round doors that serve as entry points to this garden.

The theme of the Chinese New Year is therefore always present in this box, but we pour a little less into the usual clichés and we get something more cultural than folkloric as was already the case last year with the set. 80105 Chinese New Year Temple Fair. It is not to displease me, the integration of this garden in a more global context will be even easier.

As much to tell you right away, I really appreciated the assembly of this box and even if most of us will miss certain references supported to the Asian culture, the whole offers a real playful and rhythmic progression . You will understand, this park with its adapted sidewalks is designed to fit between two Modulars and the whole itself offers a certain modularity with a garden divided into two parts to be clipped between them in the direction that suits you, knowing that in one of the configurations the paved path which circulates in the garden loses its continuity.

The techniques offered are often very interesting and we take pleasure in discovering all the subtleties of the different sub-assemblies that dress the space. But some of the designer's choices induce a fairly significant fragility of several portions of the set: the roof of the pavilion, for example, poses a problem with blue clips on the Clutch Power very limited which do not really hold in place on the steering wheel which serves as the central axis. Also pay attention to bamboos when moving the model, they are relatively fragile. This garden is not a playset for children aged 8 and over, impossible to have fun with without destroying something in the process and it is simply a decorative object designed to integrate a more global diorama.

The representation of a traditional Chinese park is obviously here condensed to fit on the two base plates provided (32x32 and 16x32) and we find all the usual attributes a little piled on top of each other. The green spaces are only symbolized by a few plaques and we must rely on bamboo shoots leaning over Ball Seals gray too visible to add some vegetation to the scene.

The alleys of the park are not entirely paved with ingots, the visible tenons will allow to stage the seven minifigs provided. The small pond covered with water lilies consists of tiles transparent, some of which are pad printed with a few carp, the effect is successful. No stickers in this box and the calligraphic Chun Lian banners hanging along the fence are made of flexible plastic.

The endowment in minifigs is also very interesting because it allows to obtain a handful of modern characters in "civil" without traditional costumes or disguises. That's always taken for a city diorama in which this park will easily find its place, the set is designed for that and it is about selling it to today's fans anxious to find a product that embodies certain of the most ancestral traditions of Chinese culture but which also makes it possible to stage current families.

The pad prints are successful, the characters are relatively neutral and some of them are accompanied by original and funny accessories. A nod to the passage to the Monkie Kid universe, a pad printing of the sweater sleeves which covers a large part of the arms, a pretty sweatshirt with the 2021 logo in the "American" style identical to the two teenagers, two smartphones including one with a selfie stick, a decorated roller bunny, everything is really very successful until the use of the transparent support which was used to stage the minifigs of the DC Comics collectible character series and which here acts as a straw for the slushie.

A funny detail: the dark mark on the neck of the red statue that is visible through the transparent head is not present on the official visuals. This black area is used as a reference during the pad printing of the torsos and it has obviously been retouched so that the minifigure is visually more homogeneous. In fact, it is immediately less successful when the model is facing the front.

In short, this very nice set does not hide its desire to be stuck between two Modulars and fans will finally have at hand an "official" green space which will give a little air to their row of buildings. It will be possible to ignore the festive side of the matter and make this garden a little more neutral by temporarily removing the different rows of lanterns, even if it means putting them back in place at the end of the year (see photo above). The ox with its luminous brick which is only lit as long as you leave your finger on the button can possibly remain in place to furnish, it's up to you.

The level of detail of the places is very impressive and the compactness of the diorama reinforces the impression of getting value for the money when it comes to various and varied details. Everything is assembled in just a few hours, but you will have to take the time to savor all the often very original techniques used by designer Justin Ramsden.

In the end, we note that LEGO does not skimp on resources or creativity when it comes to dredging up Chinese customers overwhelmed with more or less equivalent products but sold much cheaper than official LEGO sets. This is good news, in turn, the other products of the manufacturers benefit directly from the ability of LEGO to offer new parts, new elements in certain colors (blue bananas ...) and quality pad printing.

This box will be available from January 10, 2021 on the official online store at the public price of € 99.99. However, this set will not be on sale at your usual toy store.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 29, 2020 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.

As promised, we are not stopping there and I am therefore offering you what we could call the Post 2020 calendar in Hoth Bricks version. On the program, a set of two sets from the LEGO Harry Potter range that will allow the winner to start or complete a Hogwarts diorama (Hogwarts) at a lower cost: the references 75969 Hogwarts Astronomy Tower (109.99 €) and 75948 Hogwarts Clocktower (99.99 €).

To validate your participation in this competition, all you have to do is identify yourself via the interface below and follow the instructions provided. As usual, it is a question of finding information on the official online store and then correctly answering the question asked. At the end of the participation phase, the winner will be chosen by drawing lots from among the correct answers.

Your contact details (name / nickname, email address, IP) are only used within the framework of this competition and will not be kept beyond the drawing of lots which will designate the winner. As usual, this no-obligation competition is open to all residents of mainland France, DOM & TOM, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

A big thank you to LEGO for allowing me to offer the series of pretty sets brought into play at the end of the year. The prize will be sent to the winner by me and by Colissimo, followed with insurance and signature on delivery (and suitable packaging) as soon as their contact details are confirmed by return email.

As always, I reserve the right to disqualify any participant who has attempted to defraud or hijack the entry system in order to increase their chances of winning. Hateful and bad losers to abstain, the others will have more chances to win.

Good luck to everyone !

Note: If you choose to identify yourself in the participation interface via facebook, be aware that in the event of a win, the personal information (name / first name / photo) linked to your account will be displayed in the widget.

The year 2020 will have definitely been very eventful and the time has finally come to enjoy a moment of festive respite with family or friends. So I wish you all an excellent New Year's Eve and a Merry Christmas.

As I remind every year, if you find that Santa Claus has not brought you everything you asked for, remember that you are still lucky, certainly more than others. If you're with family or friends around you and you're toasty warm, the basics are there. The rest is really just a bonus.

I also have a thought for all those who are alone on this evening which is meant to be festive and family. If you know that a neighbor or a friend is alone tonight, it is not too late to knock on their door or give them a call and invite them to come and share a moment with you. Surely there is enough turkey for everyone anyway and you can show them your collection. Also remember to protect the most fragile by respecting what we now call "barrier gestures".

Be careful on the road for those who travel and have a good New Year's Eve everyone!

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Technic 42123 McLaren Senna GTR set, a box of 830 pieces, expected in January 2021 at the public price of 49.99 €, which allows to assemble a reproduction of the hypercar presented for the first time in 2018 at the Geneva Motor Show and since produced only 75 units.

LEGO is careful not to include an overall visual of the real McLaren Senna GTR on the packaging and is simply content with a view of the rear of the vehicle which is arguably the part of this LEGO toy that is most faithful to the model of reference. To put things in context, I remind you that the McLaren Senna GTR is it:

The LEGO version is a product of the Technic range and we therefore find under the hood a few assemblies based on axes and gears: a V8 engine whose pistons start to move when the vehicle is moving as LEGO has already proposed in other sets, a generic steering wheel that turns in a vacuum but a steering with a remote wheel on the roof and that's it. I'm not counting the two dihedral opening doors that pivot on a simple pine tree. Those considering a show model career for this vehicle will be able to remove the wheel placed on the roof, this is an "option" that simply improves the playability of the product.

The dilemma here is the same as for other LEGO reproductions of existing vehicles with a curvaceous and curvy design: how to pay homage to the reference model with a relatively limited inventory, there are over 300 pins here out of the 830 pieces of the set, and ensure that the LEGO product maintains a family link, however distant, with what is promised on the box.

The stickers sometimes fly to the aid of designers by skilfully masking some aesthetic shortcuts and the flexible axes are also often used to round off shapes. This is the case here with a cockpit and wheel arches whose curves are visually emphasized by several of these parts.

Some details and other refinements are obviously overlooked on this scale: no brake discs, suspensions or shock absorbers, but we still keep two mirrors. An effort on the rims would have been appreciated, but LEGO is content to provide us with generic versions, wider at the rear. Too bad for the axles which clearly protrude from the rear rims and which are not the same color on both sides.

The rear spoiler is almost convincing, it just lacks a bit of tilt to be truly faithful. The front is really very messy with a big gray sticker a little off topic and the need to imagine the headlight glasses here replaced by emptiness.

Fans of the LEGO Technic universe never fail to point out that it is not the point of this range to provide us with pretty models that really look like the reference models. By force of circumstances, we can actually say that this is often the case and rare are the products which are really faithful to what they are trying to represent.

The scale used here does not help: with a vehicle a dozen centimeters wide and 32 cm long, you inevitably end up being entitled to a few rough sub-assemblies that will require some imagination. , or a little bad faith, to find them convincing. The aesthetic both aggressive and graceful of the real McLaren Senna GTR is therefore overlooked in favor of a reproduction that vaguely pays homage to the reference vehicle. Let's not lose sight of the fact that this is simply a children's toy sold for 50 €.

Many will be satisfied with it, they are not looking for a model making activity with this range and mainly concentrate on the elaborate assemblies which in principle make the salt of this universe. Speaking of model making, we reached here records for a set of this size with 46 stickers to stick.

For those who want to get a better idea of ​​the impact of these stickers on the assembly experience: With 220 assembly sequences in the instruction booklet, we stick on average one sticker every 5 steps. The only two pad-printed parts in the set are the front fenders.

Come on, for 50 € and undoubtedly a little less in the months which will follow its marketing, this small set which one especially much spoke about because it is under official license will easily find its public among those which want to garnish the trailer of the set. 42098 Car Transporter. The latter already hosts the muscle car blue supplied with the truck and the orange Corvette in the set 42093 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, all these models displaying the same width of 12 cm.
Those looking for more convincing replicas of vehicles and who can afford to spend more will look to the big sets in the LEGO Technic range sold for up to several hundred euros.

Note: The set presented here, purchased by me, is put into play. Deadline fixed at 5th January 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.