Review: LEGO ART 31204 Elvis Presley - The King

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the set 31204 Elvis Presley - The King, a new reference in the LEGO ART range which, with its 3445 pieces, allows you to assemble three portraits of your choice of the famous American singer. The combination of three copies of this product, which will be available from March 1, 2022 at the public price of €119.99, also offers the possibility of assembling a large "collector" mosaic. I remind you for all practical purposes that the instructions necessary for assembling the combined mosaic are not provided and you will have to download them in PDF format from the manufacturer's website and consult them on a PC or on a tablet.

It's no coincidence that LEGO is releasing a product this year featuring Elvis Presley: A Musical Biopic Produced by Warner Bros. will be released in theaters next June and LEGO obviously intends to surf on the simple fact that we are talking about the King again, knowing that Tom Hanks will also be in the film to play the role of Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

As much to tell you right away, I am personally not a big fan of Elvis. I therefore motivated myself to put the thing together by telling myself that, on the visual that I chose from the three proposed, the character has a false air of Dick Rivers. And that he doesn't stare at me with a quizzical look or a fixed smile.

The recipe here is exactly the same as for the other references in the LEGO ART range: the nine 16x16 plates that serve as a support for the work are linked together by a few pins and you just have to carefully follow the instructions in the instruction booklet. to assemble the chosen model. A few pieces then dress the result with a black border that acts as a frame. The visual is finally enhanced with a signature of the singer, you can also not put it and the parts necessary to plug the hole are provided.

The perception of the proposed experience is very subjective: some will see it as a guided puzzle that relaxes them a little while others will quickly be annoyed to have to settle for fixing Tiles colored circles for a few hours to finally obtain a painting of 40 x 40 cm sold for €120. The Tiles on the other hand will be difficult to remove from the modules and the supplied super brick separator is not of much help. Its use in this specific case just guarantees you to expel pieces to the four corners of the living room and the golden crowbar provided is a better ally during the operation. Choose the visual you want to assemble carefully, dismantling the whole thing is a real purge.

For those who are wondering, each mosaic is foolproof once assembled, the pine Technic provide a first level of connection to the nine modules, the whole is reinforced by the presence of the gray parts placed on the back of the model and the whole is completely secured by the installation of the frame of the table with tiles that overlap the uprights. The Tiles remain bare on the front face, it will be necessary to dust regularly or try to add a plexiglass insert.

As with the other mosaics in the range, LEGO provides two wall fixings but you can easily use only one by placing it in the center of the frame. LEGO still does not provide an easel to present the construction on a piece of furniture without having to lean it on something and that's a bit of a shame. Bonus: The finished frame does not fit in the product packaging, figure it out.

As is often the case in this range, the works on offer are only really legible with a certain distance. Moreover, it is not Pixel Art in the literal sense of the term, with its subtleties that make it a truly original artistic exercise. LEGO offers us here simple photos converted into mosaics with more or less coarse flat colors. So much the better for the vintage effect and the erasing of Elvis' facial flaws, so much the worse for the photo-realism of the thing.

As usual, we are promised a thematic podcast planned to accompany the assembly from the launch of the product. This audio track will only be available in English and is not yet downloadable at the time of this writing.

In short, if the inventory (see scanned page above) appeals to you because you love Elvis Presley to the point of displaying this painting somewhere in your home, go for it. If you want to try to transform Elvis into Johnny Hallyday or Eddy Mitchell thanks to the inventory provided, try it. Otherwise, do like me and quickly move on, the month of March will be full of new products in many ranges and you will easily find what to do with your 120 €.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at March 5, 2022 next at 23pm.

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