LEGO today unveils the Marvel-licensed set 76269 Avengers Tower, a very large box of 5201 pieces which will be available on the official online store and in LEGO Stores from November 24, 2023 at the public price of €499.99.

This will involve building a luxury playset of the famous tower 90 cm high, 25 cm wide and 34 cm deep and furnishing everything using the 31 figurines provided in the box:

Notice to collectors of thematic bags regularly offered by LEGO to members of the Insiders program, there will be a new reference at the end of the year and the contents of this polybag of 142 pieces will obviously consist of pieces around winter and associated activities .

We currently only have the two visuals present here, posted online by LEGO on its official store in Singapore et in Malaysia, and the white house used to highlight the inventory of the product is not provided in the bag which bears the reference 40610 and whose title should be of the type 40610 Winter Fun VIP Add-On Pack if we judge by the nomenclature of the existing polybags in this collection:

As you can imagine, the conditions for being offered this polybag at the end of the year or the beginning of 2024 will probably be identical to those already in force during past offers, namely being a member of the LEGO insiders program and spending at least €50 without restriction of the range on the official online store or in a LEGO Store.

Today we take a very quick look at the contents of the LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series set. 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser, a large box of 5374 pieces which will be available on the official online store and in the LEGO Stores as an Insiders preview from October 1, 2023 at the public price of €649.99.

I'm not making a drawing for you, this is a stamped product Ultimate Collector Series and this novelty therefore takes up all the usual attributes of the label in question: a high price, a pretty box, a substantial inventory, a rather long assembly process with here around ten hours on the clock, a result with measurements which will require making space on your shelves and obvious exhibition potential. We all already know the exterior appearance of the ship offered here via the official visuals available since the product was put online on the Shop, so we still have to discover what lies beneath the gray and red surface of this Venator.

Unsurprisingly, the designer uses the usual recipe which consists of creating a solid internal structure based on Technic beams and various pines (there are nearly 400 pins in this box) and we can wonder at certain stages of the assembly if LEGO doesn't overdo it with a structure of almost surprising density. We will see later that the whole thing is extremely rigid and that the solution used was perfectly justified.

As is often the case, the internal structure is colored, failing to offer some more accomplished arrangements than the inevitable tangles of beams. It is practical to have some visual cues during assembly and these shimmering colors will fortunately no longer be visible when the vessel is fully assembled.

As you can see in the photos, the set also uses around sixty orange-colored pines. Those who hoped that LEGO would include at least one internal space, even symbolic, will be disappointed because this is not the case. The manufacturer also did not deem it useful to offer us a mechanism for opening the long central red strip to access an internal hangar, as on the ship seen on the screen.

The Venator rests on two relatively simple feet which allow them to be discreet when the model is on display. Difficult to do more sober than these two black constructions which are installed at the end of the assembly of the internal structure to then be able to work comfortably on the rest of the construction, possibly moving it in complete safety between two sessions. On arrival, the Venator is perfectly stable on its supports, there is no risk of it tipping over, and no time is wasted trying to figure out how to attach it to its support after handling it. If you ever want to remove the two legs of the model to, for example, stage it in a space diorama, all you need to do is remove the four upper panels to access the pins that hold them.

The construction process includes some slightly repetitive phases and it is the subject matter that requires that. I still note an effort on certain sequences whose result will be identical or at least mirrored but whose progression is slightly different so as not to create too much weariness.

For the rest, those who are used to assembling ships bearing the label Ultimate Collector Series will be on familiar ground with large panels made up of two layers of plates which clip onto the construction frame. The adjustments are, as is often the case, a little rough in places but we will observe this Venator from a certain distance and the whole thing still looks great.

We will also salute LEGO's effort concerning the finishing of the lower surface of the ship, the manufacturer does not hesitate to highlight this detail on the official visuals as if to show that it has taken into account past criticism, although this Venator deserves better than the third top shelf in your display space. The satisfaction of knowing that this area has not been neglected will be enough to keep most fans happy and that is already very appreciable.

We could also debate the presence of numerous studs visible on the exterior surface of the ship: some will consider that it is a LEGO product and that the studs are the signature of the brand while others will regret that the surfaces are not more smooth. This debate is endless, I am one of those who prefer fewer tenons for a model appearance but tastes and colors are not up for debate.

The weak point of the product is in my opinion on the side of the Venator reactors. The latter use rims and giant wheels which are usually the delight of ranges like Legends of Chima, Ninjago or Monkie Kid connected together by a few pins and the whole thing lacks a little rigidity. Nothing serious for a pure exhibition product, but some of these reactors seem to bend under their own weight and you will have to ensure that you have secured the elements that compose them as best as possible to limit the effect. We will salute the nice contrast between the engines in Pearl Dark Gray and the cabin is always better than tone on tone or shades that are too close. No noticeable difference in color on the different parts in Dark Red, that's always what it takes.

The set does not escape a few stickers and it is frankly disappointing. They are imposing, their background color does not perfectly match that of the pieces on which they are placed and I still cannot understand how in 2023 we can offer this type of aesthetic shortcut on a high-end product at €650.

This model deserved the effort of at least pad printing the two symbols of the fleet Open Circle Present on the sides of the ship at the front, these two stickers are directly exposed to light and dust and their lifespan will be affected.

LEGO had in 2020 in the set 75275 A-Wing Starfighter tried to provide two sheets of stickers for those of these stickers which require a certain dexterity during installation, thus offering the right to make a mistake, for lack of anything better, it would be time to think about also offering the right to extend the lifespan of a product aesthetically.

The support which allows you to display the two figurines provided, the usual plate decorated with a few facts and the pad-printed brick which pays homage to 20 years of the animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars is not attached to the feet of the model and it is without frills: we make do with two plates black ones on which we install all this. We have seen LEGO more inspired on this point.

The pad printing of the plate which presents some information about the vessel is well done but as usual it reveals the large injection point placed right in the middle of the element concerned. It will be difficult for LEGO to find a solution to this technical detail, the injection of this type of large part must allow uniform distribution of the material in the mold and the positioning of the injection point is strategic. The solution proposed here is nevertheless still more interesting than the large sticker that is difficult to position correctly and which has been supplied until now and which ages very poorly under the effect of light and heat.

The two new figurines, and undoubtedly exclusive to this box, are well executed, with Captain Rex on one side and Admiral Wullf Yularen in his younger years on the other. The pad prints are correctly applied, I do not note any major technical faults on these figurines. At the risk of getting booed, I would have preferred LEGO to develop a plastic shoulder pad for Rex rather than the usual piece of dust-collecting cloth. The manufacturer knew how to do this for the Batman and Doctor Strange capes, there must be a way to create an element adapted to these Clones.

This is obviously not a matter of trying to convince you or dissuade you from investing €650 in this plastic vessel weighing around ten kilos, this type of high-end product cannot be described as "good deal” or “must-have product”. It is aimed at a clientele of fans who can afford this category of sets and in my opinion they will get their money's worth if the subject fascinates them.

This Venator is indeed a pretty model with an accomplished aesthetic, and with a little patience it will be possible to find it for much less expensive than at LEGO as is the case every year for references of the same type. Think about it, check whether you really need a 109 cm long Venator in your home and take your time.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at September 25, 2023 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.

Today we take a very quick tour of the content of the LEGO Marvel set 76232 The Hoopty, a box of 420 pieces currently for pre-order on the official online store at the public price of €94.99 with effective availability announced for October 1st.

The announcement of the set by the manufacturer last July did not unleash passions, most of those who then discovered this product derived from the film the marvels expected in theaters next November were mainly content to note the incredible price of this little box.

It is indeed difficult to criticize the product on its merits, it features a ship whose scale is necessarily reduced and proposes to obtain the main cast of the upcoming film, namely the three expected heroines.

The (or the) Hoopty seems to have a rather original look in the few shots of the trailer where we see it briefly, the children's toy offered by LEGO is a summary respecting the general appearance of the ship in a slightly more crude way but it This is already the lot of many other ships in all ranges.

No creative bias specific to this box, the usual LEGO mechanics are simply applied to the letter. The thing is also assembled and furnished in ten minutes and there is obviously nothing here to live an extraordinary experience in terms of construction.

The interior of the ship is properly furnished taking into account the space available with three locations to pile up the minifigs, a mini-laboratory which can also accommodate the three cats provided and a bed at the end of the corridor. It's basic, but we can salute the effort of not offering a simple empty shell and of offering relative playability in the absence of enemies to shoot with both Stud Shooters integrated at the front under the hull.

Access to the ship is from the front by lifting the entire upper section of the hull and its attached canopy, it's practical and little hands can easily enjoy the place. We feel that the two rear fins and the reactors have not benefited from all the creative genius of the designer, it is overall very summary at this level even if the symbolism is there.

Not a single metallic piece in sight, the official product visuals, very contrasting, almost seemed to promise the most distracted something other than the somewhat sad gray delivered here. However, we must be honest, the "lifestyle" photos of the product confirmed the real color of the product, so there is no deception on the merchandise if we go a little further than the first images present in the set sheet on the official online store.

There are, however, a bunch of stickers to stick on this little ship, with 13 stickers in total, or one sticking phase for approximately every 30 pieces installed. These stickers are all on a transparent background with a glue which will leave some clearly visible traces and repositioning is almost impossible without leaving a mark under the sticker concerned. Some of these stickers seem almost superfluous, it will be up to you to decide whether or not to install them when assembling the set.

For €95, LEGO simply includes three minifigs in the box: Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), Photon (Monica Rambeau) and Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan). It's frankly meager if we take into account the announced price knowing that two of these figurines use neutral legs which no longer cost LEGO much. Someone at LEGO must have imagined that the film will be a hit and that fans will in any case jump on this derivative product which for the moment is the only set officially announced around the film.

These three figurines are, however, new and rather convincing: each of these three characters has already been released at least once as a figurine by LEGO but the trio benefits here from an update of the appearance and outfit of each of the heroines to stick as best as possible to the costumes of the film. The pad prints are well executed, the faces are very appropriate both in terms of color and facial expressions, and the haircuts seem well chosen to me.

Minimum service for Captain Marvel and Photon: nothing on the arms or legs. I will only buy this box anyway because Ms. Marvel is a character that I like and I am really satisfied to see that the figurine is very accomplished here with a superb outfit whose pattern runs on the torso and legs without a false note.

I forgot, LEGO includes three cats including Goose the Flerken and his two little kittens without much interest, in any case not enough to justify the public price of the product.

Everyone will agree to conclude that this box is much too expensive for what it really has to offer despite content which could have seemed rather correct with a more contained price, but even the possible addition of a character such as Nick Fury would not have changed much of this observation. In my opinion, we will therefore have to wisely wait until this box is available at a much lower price elsewhere than at LEGO, which in any case will end up happening one day, or at least take advantage of a future operation to double Insiders points before to crack.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at September 21, 2023 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.