Review: LEGO Art 31199 Marvel Studios Iron Man

Today we are quickly talking about the LEGO Art concept that LEGO sells to us as "... a building experience that is both relaxing and rewarding ..."by being interested in the set 31199 Marvel Studios Iron Man (3167 pieces - 119.99 €).

I'm not going to give you the full pitch of these products which, taken individually, offer three (31199 Marvel Studios Iron Man et 31200 Star Wars The Sith) or four (31197 Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe et 31198 The Beatles) construction possibilities depending on the model and which can even end in a mega-fresco if you buy three copies of the Marvel and Star Wars versions. What interests me here is the concept itself which uses the LEGO brick in the service of an exercise that does not seem to me at first sight to be breathtakingly creative.

Everything is pre-mixed to try to ensure that whoever launches it does not get tired too quickly: Each painting is divided into nine sub-sections to be assembled separately before putting them together to form the final fresco and the pieces are already sorted by color . The instruction booklet completes to facilitate the task of customers in search of relaxation by guiding them thanks to a digital identification of each color concerned. Hard to be simpler, the next step was to deliver the product already assembled.

It is therefore necessary to spend a few hours aligning the pieces, grouping the 9 plates together via pins and constructing the frame which surrounds and stiffens the mosaic. We fix the two hooks that allow the thing to be pressed to the wall and it's settled. If you do not intend to mount Iron Man to the wall, you will have to manage: LEGO does not provide a stand or easel to build, for example to put the painting on a piece of furniture.

The front of the painting remains in "visible tenons", no glass or plexiglass insert to isolate the model from the dust which will not fail to slip between the rooms over time. I'm not worried, sooner or later a third-party manufacturer will provide a complete framing solution for these products.

I've seen a lot of people rave about the rather successful packaging of these products, but I think it's especially important to point out that the finished painting does not fit in the box. It's a shame, exit the possibility of carefully storing the assembled product in this large flat box which nevertheless takes up roughly the format.

LEGO indicates that it is also necessary to install nine white pieces in the center of the back of each of the modules that make up the table, I deliberately offset them so as not to force on the center of the outgrowth provided for that which seemed to me to offer more resistance than usual. I later understood why I was having trouble inserting them.

If you take a good look at the photos below, you will indeed see that some of the nine modules have a defect with a slightly depressed central part. This design flaw spills over to the back of each frame with tenons that appear to be poorly spaced. Six of the nine copies provided in the set I received are concerned and we find the ripple effect on the final mosaic when looking at it in profile. Given the high-end positioning of the product, I expected not to have to notice any major defect on the parts supplied and I find myself having to contact customer service about this ... In my case, this is not a big deal, but the average executive in a hurry to relax will certainly have better things to do.

Impossible to marvel here on a particular technique or on a precise step, it is really only at the end of the assembly and seen from (very) far that the complete model is revealed and that we forget that it's just crass pixel art in LEGO style. Some will conclude that the end justifies the means and that the assembly process is only secondary, the goal boiling down to getting a mosaic to display proudly in your living room or office. They are probably right.

As I said above, these tables are 3-in-1 products. It is indeed possible to choose from the start one of the three artworks offered by LEGO, and you can even dismantle everything later to change the visual, the inventory provided in each box allows it.

To have completely disassembled the copy provided by LEGO, it is a laborious step even with the help of the new steroid separator supplied which allows to remove four parts at a time instead of two. And if you want to embark on the assembly of a second visual, you will need at least a preliminary sorting several thousand parts whose colors are very similar.

LEGO has tried to wrap it all up in a somewhat lounge by offering users to listen to a dedicated audio track during the assembly phase. The idea of ​​accompanying the user without distracting them too much visually is interesting in theory, but I held on for five minutes before letting go and realizing that I had to stay focused on the edit without trying to understand what the different things were about. stakeholders.

The soundtrack planned for this set is indeed a simple podcast of an hour and a half available only in English and at very average recording quality with people chatting and laughing, you can listen to it. an extract at this address to get an idea of ​​the content. LEGO will therefore not have deemed it useful to offer us the entire experience in French when it was enough to invite three or four French-speaking types to discuss Iron Man to at least provide localized content. It's petty, but I think you don't miss much.

Everyone will have an opinion on the relevance of the concept, and what I retain personally after three hours of assembly divided into four sessions, is that we are a little bored. You also have to be careful not to confuse a few shades between them, but once you have visually associated the color present in the pages of the booklet with the corresponding shade, the assembly line work goes without a hitch. If you want to simplify your task a little more and get rid of the assembly phase even more quickly, you can number the cups containing each shade once and for all by respecting the table provided by LEGO.

Bravo to those who will resolve to spend three times € 120 to afford the mega-fresco that can be assembled with the content of the Marvel and Star Wars versions by having previously downloaded the essential instructions in PDF format.

You read that correctly, LEGO does not offer a paper version of these instructions, even though it was only about thirty extra pages to add to the basic booklet ... small savings. I also have a thought for the most demanding collectors who will want to be able to simultaneously assemble the three models and the mega-fresco for the Marvel and Star Wars versions, with a final bill which climbs to almost 720 €. Those who will be satisfied with the four Beatles or the four variations of Andy Warhol's famous painting will get away with just under € 480.

In short, even if the end result is aesthetically acceptable seen from quite a distance, I think that I am definitely not in the target targeted by LEGO with this type of product. lifestyle to assemble yourself. I was quite bored and even a little annoyed and the result obtained does not seem to me of sufficient originality for me to spend 120 € in at least one of the models offered. A few glossy posters will do the trick for much less.

The theoretical versatility of each of the sets also seems to me to be very overrated as soon as we add the laborious but inevitable phase of dismantling and sorting and the technical faults encountered on the test copy convinced me to skip the line. So it will be without me.

You now have my opinion on this product and if you have already fallen for one or more copies of these mosaics, do not hesitate to share yours in the comments. The concept is different enough from what LEGO fans usually buy that opinions are very mixed.

LEGO, for its part, seems to have imagined that the concept will quickly find its audience and other products of the same type will be marketed with at least two references planned for 2021: the set 31201 Hogwarts Crest which should make it possible to assemble the coats of arms of the four Hogwarts schools and the reference 31202 Mickey & Minnie Mouse.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at 10th October, 2020 next at 23pm. Defective frames will be replaced.
I say this for all intents and purposes even though it seems to me that it makes sense, disagreeing with me doesn't reduce your chances of winning.

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.