Official visuals for the LEGO Star Wars small set 40407 Death Star II Battle which will be offered under condition of purchase on the official online store on the occasion of the operation May the 4th are now available from LEGO. This 235-piece box uses the principle of the two references already offered at LEGO in 2019: 40333 Battle of Hoth (set offered during the May the 4th operation in 2019) and 40362 Battle of Endor (set offered during Triple Force Friday in October 2019).

You will have to spend at least € 75 on products from the LEGO Star Wars range from May 1 to 4, 2020 to be offered this new box which features an A-Wing pursued by a Tie Interceptor on the surface of Death Star II.

Today we take the tour of the LEGO Star Wars set 75276 Stormtrooper Helmet  (647 pieces - 59.99 €), a product clearly identified by LEGO as intended for an audience of adult fans, or at least major. The objective here is to start a collection of helmets from the Star Wars universe, a collection which currently consists of three references and whose future will probably depend on the commercial success of the various products launched this year.

The (too) big packaging announces the color, here we do not have fun, we collect and we exhibit. The product is also staged in a context a little more "luxurious" than usual with an instruction booklet with a glued square back and pages on a black background reminiscent of those in the Architecture range booklets.

Even if I stuck a minifigure next to the helmet on some photos, I think the product is sufficient on its own without the presence of a Stormtrooper figurine in the box: the target audience for these products is much larger that of LEGO fans and this attempt to appeal to an audience of fans of exhibition products based on the saga must in my opinion focus on the essentials. Despite everything, I find that LEGO was a little shy on this issue in terms of the scale of the final product: this helmet is finally only 13x13x13 cm without the base which allows it to take a little height and reach 18 cm from above.

If the finished product is relatively sober, the first stages of construction are a little more festive with an assortment of colored parts to assemble to constitute the "skeleton" of the model. Some will undoubtedly appreciate this visual distraction and the techniques used to make this part of the product before embarking on the assembly of the two-tone texture of the helmet, for my part I am very insensitive.

As for the ship in the set 75252 UCS Imperial Star Destroyer, I find that these colored insides distort the experience of assembling this collector's product a bit, but it's very personal. What is less is that several of these colored parts remain visible from certain angles on the final model, by small touches certainly, but they break a little the uniformity of the external texture of the helmet.

No big surprise here, when the internal structure is assembled, we start to add the different textured elements with large visible stud reinforcements that will gradually give its final shape to this Stormtrooper helmet. The designer is doing in my opinion honorably given the scale chosen and the curves and other hooks to reproduce. We could discuss certain angles or certain volumes, but in my opinion it is useless to seek absolute fidelity to the reference model on this scale.

There are still a few empty spaces here and there, but observed from a reasonable distance, this helmet therefore seems rather faithful to the model from which it is inspired. The tastes and colors are indisputable and some will appreciate this rendering all to the glory of the brand and its Studs where others would have preferred a slightly smoother finish.

The helmet being mostly white, it is difficult to escape two aesthetic flaws that are really obvious: the white parts are not all "the same white", with variations ranging from cold white to creamy white, and the different stickers to sticking on the model, however, they are printed on a really white background. This patchwork of hues is a bit annoying on a high-end product intended for exhibition and whose pieces can only tarnish a little more over time.

As you have noted, the black base is dressed with a small pad printed plate which reminds us that this is a helmet of ... Stormtrooper. By putting a smaller logo, there was room to possibly print a few facts on the character concerned, just to reinforce the premium aspect of the product a little.

Was there a different scale (and higher price) for these models to be considered in order to be able to fine-tune the level of detail of the product? Maybe yes. As it stands, there are a lot of aesthetic compromises that a LEGO fan will gladly forgive as they know and understand the limitations of the brand's concept. I'm not sure that a collector of Star Wars merchandise accustomed to high-end models offered by other manufacturers is so forgiving and understanding. The future will tell.

Concerning the target of the product clearly identified on the packaging via the 18+ classification, the construction experience does indeed call for some unusual techniques but it does not require any particular know-how to reach the end of the model. A child used to putting together LEGO sets will do well. The product does not offer any playability beyond the assembly phase, it is above all in the sense that it is intended for an adult audience.

In short, if you like LEGOs and the Star Wars universe, this product is for you: It reproduces an emblematic element of the saga, it does not take up too much space and it costs only 60 €. You will find a place available on a corner of the shelf to display this helmet and display your passion for the universe in question without cluttering your living room. If you are a fan of derivative products without necessarily being a fan of LEGO, this product is probably not the ultimate LEGO version mockup you were hoping for despite its large attractive box.

Note: The product shown here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at 2th May 2020 next at 23pm. the shipment of the prize to the winner will only take place when the sanitary situation allows it.

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.

Like the majority of "non-essential" businesses, the LEGO Workshops History in Bricks distributed throughout the territory are currently closed and the chain therefore has a substantial stock of products that are lying dormant on the shelves of the various shops.

To prepare for "after confinement" by selling this stock of sets in order to recover cash and renew its offer, the brand is offering a 20% reduction on the usual public price of the products concerned, listed in the file. PDF accessible from the link below.

To take advantage of the offer, all you have to do is find the references that interest you in the list and express your interest in the products concerned by email at the address s.cankaya@epicure.fr in order to obtain the total amount to be paid by Paypal or bank transfer. The discount percentage will be even better if you opt for payment by bank transfer, which will allow the brand to avoid Paypal fees.

Shipping costs by Colissimo Monitoring are fixed: 8 or 15 € per shipment depending on the volume of products ordered and the brand announces a delivery time between 5 and 15 working days, current situation requires.

Please note, stocks are limited and reservations are made by email, it is possible that you miss a product that is still on the list. The PDF file to be downloaded via the link below should be regularly updated to take into account orders already placed and confirmed.

DIRECT ACCESS TO THE LIST OF SETS ON SALE >>

As announced, some new additions to the LEGO Star Wars range are now available on the official online store:

Today we quickly tour the LEGO Star Wars set 75278 DO (519 pieces), a novelty that will be available on the official online store from April 19 at the public price of 74.99 € / 89.90 CHF.

As was already the case for sets 75187BB-8 et 75230 Porg, it is about assembling an exhibition model of one of the many mascots that the LEGO Star Wars universe imposes on us over the episodes of the saga. DO is therefore the character we love or hate in the latest episode and LEGO offers us an adaptation based on bricks that we sell as a product for collectors accompanied by its presentation plate.

The assembly of the model is rather interesting with some original techniques which allow to realize the wheel of the droid. The "belt" of parts threaded onto flexible tubes which must then be bent to obtain the tread is well thought out and even if one doubts for a moment the reliability of the solution imagined by the designer, it must be recognized that everything is fits correctly when it comes to connecting the two ends of the headband to the inner part of the wheel. Two side panels showing the various details seen on the screen on the body of the droid finish filling the spaces and the whole is mounted on the presentation stand. At this point, we obviously understand that the wheel does not turn on itself and that's a bit of a shame.

The droid's black neck is then set up via an offset arm attached to the wheel. It is consistent with the version seen on the screen and so far the result is aesthetically convincing with in particular a few tubes which circulate between the wheel and the stroke of the character. The DO head is for its part composed of half-cones at the base of which is fixed the black plate equipped with antennas via a through axis.

It is at this stage of the assembly that an aesthetic detail seems annoying to me: the head is only fixed to the wheel via an axle plugged into the black neck which turns on itself and, from certain angles, we really have the impression that she is not united with the rest of the droid. I understand that the use of the two white half-cones for the head here requires this type of offset mounting, but I find the solution a little disappointing. Regarding the little green half-cones used for the droid's head: the injection points are really very visible on these elements (the light spots visible in the photos) and it's a bit unsightly.

This droid only has two features, if we can call them that: The head rotates on itself via a first wheel placed on the side arm and it can be tilted forward or back via a second wheel placed lower. Since this is a pure exhibition product, we can consider that these functions only make sense to vary the presentation poses. No one will play with this droid and after a few turns of the dial to put it in the desired position we quickly move on. I wish I could have tilted the whole droid forward slightly to put it in a more dynamic position and create a displacement effect.

Note that there is only one sticker in this box, that of the presentation plate. The three black bands of the head and the grille of the muzzle are pad printed. The presentation plate is also irrelevant, it only lists some basic information and LEGO could have made an effort on this point, just to strengthen the collector's side of the thing.

LEGO also provides a droid minifigure in this box, it is the one already seen in the sets 75249 Resistance Y-Wing Starfighter et 75257 Millennium Falcon in 2019.

In short, despite the questionable aesthetic compromise at the level of the head, I already know that this exhibition product will necessarily find its audience among those who like to exhibit the various reproductions of droids from the Star Wars universe. DO will take place on a shelf alongside R2-D2 and BB-8 but you will have to deal with the different scales imagined by LEGO: the BB-8 version of the set 75187BB-8 is 25cm tall for a droid who is actually over sixty centimeters tall. The LEGO version of DO will therefore slightly exceed its pal with its 27 cm high for a real screen size of only 30 centimeters. Too bad for the consistency of the duo.

The set is now referenced on the official online store and it will go on sale on April 19. My advice: wait wisely for May 1 and the launch of the offers of May the 4th operation before having fun.

Note: The product presented here, purchased by me, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at April 30th next at 23pm. the shipment of the prize to the winner will only take place when the sanitary situation allows it.

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.