As promised, we quickly tour the LEGO set 10275 Elf Clubhouse (1197 pieces - 94.99 €), the festive product which joins this year the universe of Winter Village.

Those who are used to investing each year in these pretty buildings with snow-covered roofs and a little loaded decoration will be on familiar ground here. This new building, which obviously serves as a home for the elves when they are not on duty in Santa's workshop, is filled with furniture, accessories and decorative details which explain the presence of nearly 1200 rooms in this little set.

The assembly is entertaining with many techniques that punctuate the essential sequences of stacking bricks and plates for the construction of the walls and roof of the pavilion. Among the various toys to assemble, there is a pirate ship and a piano which obviously refer to the LEGO Creator sets. 31109 Pirate Ship and Ideas 21323 Grand Piano marketed this year. We also get (again) a decorated tree with a different design from those already delivered in the different sets of the range Winter village. It became a gimmick which does not facilitate the creation of a coniferous forest within the dioramas, each designer goes for his version.

Designer Chris McVeigh at work this year does not forget to give a nod to his past as an MOCeur with a buildable computer that sets the standard to his many creations on the subject of computing. It will be just one more detail for many fans, but I find this mini model to be very successful.

Two "big" functions are available here: The mechanism which allows to tilt the bunk beds installed upstairs by turning the button disguised as a clock and the waffle dispenser integrated into the fireplace with a tilting tray to recover the treat evacuated by the machine. We're not going to complain about being able to have a little fun with this set, in my opinion it's always good news when the designers make the effort to offer us assemblies that offer a certain interactivity, even anecdotal.

As with many other constructions on the same theme, this half-house is therefore above all a playset, with its open side which allows you to enjoy the different rooms and their fittings. We could debate the interest of providing us with a half-construction while the model is more intended to take pride of place in the middle of a winter village that emerged from the boxes on the occasion of the end-of-year celebrations, but I find that the house here remains sufficiently "closed" on three sides to be able to be exposed from certain angles.

The light brick supplied to install under the roof does not work miracles. It softly lights up the elves' chamber, and only if you hold your finger on the remote button. We cannot repeat it enough, it is time for LEGO to offer a light brick with an on / off button that would allow more successful staging.

I also hope that the "official" lighting kits project Lego night mode vaguely tested at the start of the year will quickly lead to something concrete. The manufacturer is lagging behind on this subject while many third-party brands have been offering lighting solutions for a long time to integrate into buildings and the two false light garlands placed on the edges of the roof of this clubhouse really deserved to be functional.

The reindeer with non-detachable flexible antlers is based on the same mold as the one supplied in the version patronus in the LEGO Harry Potter set 75945 Expecto Patronum (2019). The figurine is very successful, I would have gladly exchanged one of the four elves for a second copy of the deer. Hopefully, next year LEGO brings us a Santa's sleigh pulled by four of these pretty minifigures, those in the set 10245 Winter Village Santa's Workshop (2014) made of bricks are getting a little old.

The four minifigs are all dressed in the same torso, wearing the same hat with built-in ears, and only two of them feature alternate facial expressions. No character with slightly different outfit identified for example as the team leader, it's a shame.

There are only five stickers to stick in this box, including a portrait of the four elves with their employer, two direction signs, one of which leads to the workshop, a calendar and the computer screen. It's more than the three stickers from the Gingerbread House but it's still reasonable. I notice some differences in color on the bricks in Sand green which constitute the walls of the first floor. The problem is therefore still not resolved, we will have to do with it.

To sum up, this elf house is really on the theme, it is fun to put together, it contributes to the overall context by partnering with Santa's workshop and it can even be transformed into a simple mountain chalet by removing the few festive attributes visible on the facade.

The comparison with the construction of the set 10267 Winter Village Gingerbread House (1477 pieces), which had set the bar very high, is not to the advantage of this new building, less spacious but sold at the same price. The set proposed last year and still available on the official store, however, only allows us to obtain two gingerbread characters, against four minifigs and a molded reindeer this year.

If you are one of those who like to bring their sets out of the universe Winter village at the end of the year, I think this new reference will not disappoint you with an original and well-finished product that will integrate perfectly with the rest of the collection. 94.99 €, it is as often a bit expensive for a small construction of about twenty centimeter high, but it is the price to pay to complete without waiting for a Winter village which grows a little more each year and not having to line the pockets of dealers in the aftermarket when it is too late.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at 4th October, 2020 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 continues new product announcements today and finally "officially" presents the Star Wars set 75318 The Child (1073 pieces) that almost everyone has already seen via social networks.

In the box, enough to assemble a figurine with movable ears of the one that almost everyone has nicknamed Baby Yoda since his first appearance in the series The Mandalorian, with a construction process similar to that of the LEGO Star Wars set 75255 Yoda (1771 pieces - 109.99 €) marketed since last year. Big difference between the two figurines, this one seems to me much less creepy than Yoda's.

LEGO does not forget to include something to highlight the construction with a small display on which the character microfig already seen in the set is enthroned 75292 The Razor Crest (139.99 €) and a presentation plaque reminding us that we don't really know where Baby Yoda came from, that he is 33 cm high, that he is 50 years old and that his favorite toy is the pommel of a lever of the Razor Crest. The figurine to build in this box is also not to scale, it measures about twenty centimeters high, but it does have its toy in hand.

Pre-orders are open today on the official online store with delivery announced for October 30. Public prices: 84.99 € in France, 79.99 € in Belgium and 109.00 CHF in Switzerland.

We will obviously talk about this set again during a "Review ".

LEGO STAR WARS 75318 THE CHILD ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

THE SET IN BELGIUM >> THE SET IN SWITZERLAND >>

LEGO today unveils the set 10275 Elf Clubhouse, a box of 1197 pieces which will be available as a VIP preview from September 23 at the public price of € 94.99 and which will expand the universe Winter village.

We stay in the usual theme with a snowy construction, a waffle dispenser integrated into the fireplace, a decorated tree, gifts and toys including the piano and the pirate ship that pay tribute to recent sets from the LEGO Ideas range, a reindeer with his sleigh and four elves. As a bonus, LEGO provides a light brick to light up the elves' room, which in turn has a feature allowing the bunk beds to tilt to eject the minifigs.

Designer Chris McVeigh is in charge here, he also took the opportunity to add a nod to one of his favorite themes in this snowy mini diorama: the little computer that makes reference to his many creations on the subject of IT that you can find on his flickr gallery.

Collectors who arrive late on this theme which earns us a festive set each year will have their work cut out for them if they want to collect all the boxes already on the market:

LEGO is finally bringing some details today that will certainly be very useful to all those who plan to afford a pair of LEGO x adidas A-ZX8000 sneakers resulting from the collaboration between the two brands.

To put it simply, this pair of collector's sneakers will be available from September 25 next. Afterwards, things get complicated with slightly different obstacle courses depending on the channel used to try your luck:

• Via the adidas app (Google Play Store / Apple App Store: You must register today via the Adidas app to participate in the draw which will take place on September 25 at 10:00 a.m.

If you are a Creators Club member, you should receive a notification reminding you that it is time to register for a chance to be eligible to purchase a pair for € 129.95. Then all you have to do is choose its size, select a means of payment (debit of € 1 upon registration, amount refunded if you are not drawn) and wait for the result of the draw which will be made on September 25 at 10:00 a.m. Put like that, it may seem absurd, but regulars to raffles regularly organized by shoe manufacturers to put their limited edition collector editions on sale will not be disoriented.

• On the LEGO Shop: From September 25 at 10:00 a.m., a limited number of pairs will also be available on the official online store, but it will not be possible to add them to the cart as a normal product, it would be too easy.

It will be necessary to use your VIP points to obtain a code to add to the basket. You will be billed 15 VIP points for the pair of sneakers, or the equivalent of € 600. All this of course provided that your size is still available when you decide you need this pair of sneakers. the choice of sizes will be limited: from 104 to 39 only.

You will have another possibility, a little more random, to obtain a pair from LEGO by purchasing tickets sold for 50 VIP points to participate in a raffle. You can buy up to 15 tickets per VIP account using 750 VIP points, or the equivalent of € 5.

• From 43einhalb.com : The pair will be sold at the usual retail price of € 129.99 as of September 25, 2020. Possible alert regarding upcoming availability at this address.

• At overkillshop.com: The pair will be sold for € 130 from September 25, 2020 at midnight at this address.

Today we make the tour of the LEGO Star Wars set very quickly 75281 Anakin's Jedi Interceptor (248 pieces), a remake of the set 75038 Jedi Interceptor marketed in 2014 which will at least have the merit of allowing all those who arrived in the hobby after the withdrawal of the relevant reference from the LEGO catalog to afford this small vessel at a relatively reasonable price.

We will remember the few changes made to this new interpretation of the ship, especially at the level of the two guns placed inside the wings which benefit from a more accomplished finish. The cockpit is also more comfortable with a headrest, but it is always necessary to ignore a possible presentation support that would have allowed the vessel to be exposed with its fins deployed.

Note also that the solution used to tilt the wings on this new version is different from that proposed in 2014: the plates are replaced by two hinges independent with integrated pins. The effect produced is the same and the solidity of the model does not suffer from this modification. Of them Spring-Shooters are integrated under the cabin, they are discreet and can possibly be removed if their presence disturbs you.

The canopy is a new reference to the slightly different pad printing of the element seen in 2014 in the set 75038 Jedi Interceptor then in 2016 in the set 75135 Obi-Wan's Jedi Interceptor. Two small details disappear at the front, but for the rest the part is identical, injection point placed in the middle included. The dish placed on the front of the cockpit is a part available since 2005 from LEGO.

The LEGO designers do not hide it, they try to offer reissues in which certain details are modified or improved so as not to be satisfied with releasing the same product identically. This is therefore the case here with some changes which, although they will probably not be enough to make this new box a radically different version from the previous one, will convince the most demanding collectors that it is nevertheless a variant. essential.

The ship is assembled in a few minutes, we glue the eight stickers and we move on. It should be noted that the meanness is here pushed to its paroxysm with a sticker representing the logo of the Galactic Republic to stick on the Tile 1x1 round while this same coin was pad printed on the 2014 version. As a bonus, the cutout of this sticker is not even correctly centered and the result is a bit disappointing.

The two minifigs provided in this box are not new or exclusive, they reuse parts already seen in other sets: Anakin's torso and legs are the elements delivered in 2020 in the set 75269 Duel on Mustafar, the legs and the head even dating from 2018 and then delivered in the set 75214 Anakin's Jedi Starfighter.

The R2-D2 figurine here uses the dome updated in 2020 which is also present in the sets 75270 Obi_Wan's Hut et 75273 Poe Dameron's X-wing Fighter. On the version of the set that I received, the pad printing of the dome is also slightly askew. The droid body is the one marketed since 2014.

In short, there is nothing to philosophize about this product for a long time: If you have the previous version, this new box should logically not seem essential to you and you have saved 30 €. Otherwise, you can already find this set for less than 23 euros at Amazon in Germany and it is still cheaper than the fifty euros requested by dealers on the secondary market for the 2014 version.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at 2th October, 2020 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.