Today we are interested in the LEGO Batman set 76119 Batmobile: Pursuit of The Joker (342 pieces - 29.99 €), a box whose name is a little misleading: what suit LEGO is talking about? The Joker is on foot and he won't get far.

In short, in this set, it's about building a Batmobile that will bring back memories to fans of Tim Burton's Batman and to the happy owners of the very successful set. 7784 The Batmobile Ultimate Collector's Edition marketed in 2006.

But let's not dream, at 30 € a box, the version of the vehicle offered here is only 24 cm long and will not clutter your shelves. However, this Batmobile does not deserve with a very correct finish and even some features that bring a little playability.

I will spare you my opinion on "the construction experience", the 300 parts of the vehicle are assembled very quickly. In terms of fun features, the rear engine spins as the vehicle moves. Said like that, it seems trivial, but on a set at 30 € it's already not so bad.

Two Stud Shooters are placed on the sides of the Batmobile and they are even retractable. It borders on the overbidding of features without disfiguring the machine, well done for that. The cockpit is rather detailed and can accommodate Batman with his mask on his head without having to force the roof of the vehicle. It's a detail, but on some sets the cockpits are not always so spacious.

The hubcaps of the Batmobile are pad printed, there is also no sticker in this box and it is important to underline it. If you lose a hubcap, LEGO will provide you with an extra copy in the box. LEGO does not forget in passing to deliver us about fifteen Batarangs in all sizes, one of which serves as a mobile grille under which are hidden two air intakes.

The ground clearance of the vehicle is very low, which is also what gives it looks but it is a detail that can affect the playability depending on the surfaces on which you will have fun with it. The finish is exemplary, nothing sticks out and there are only the few tenons visible on the body which betray the fact that this is a LEGO model and not a model.

In short, there is no reason to go without this very successful and relatively affordable Batmobile. It can be displayed alone on the corner of the shelf where you store your comics and / or be associated with the Batcave of the set 76122 Batcave Clayface Invasion which we will talk about shortly. LEGO could at least have provided at least one bike for the Joker, just to live up to the title of the set.

As for the minifigs provided in this box, I'm a little less enthusiastic. There is undoubtedly a little weariness towards Batman whose multiple copies and other variations accumulate in my drawers. The same goes for the Joker.

The Batman minifigure delivered here is new but it is also identical in the four new boxes (ref. 76118 to 76122) marketed for a few days. The character's face suffers from the usual problem that LEGO encounters when it comes to pad printing a light color on a dark background. It is really disappointing. The torso is successful, but we have the impression of having seen this type of pattern already a hundred times in the past.

The torso of the Joker minifigure is also new and really exclusive to this set, at least for now. For those wondering where they've seen this version of the character before, it's the one from the LEGO DC Super Villains video game launched in 2018, minus the designs on the arms.

LEGO had the good idea to use a purple torso and pad the green elements on it which are roughly the same shade as the character's arms. The jacket is therefore perfectly matched to the legs and the minifigure is visually very successful. The head is not new, it is that of the character delivered in the Juniors set 10753 The Joker Batcave Attack (2018)

In summary, this is arguably one of the most successful Batmobiles in the history of the DC Comics range that LEGO offers us here. The model is compact but it is roughly on the scale of minifigs, it pays homage to a cult set and it takes me back a few years back to the time when Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson donned the Batman and Jack costumes respectively. Joker. Just for that, I say yes.

Note: The set shown here, supplied by LEGO, is included as usual. To participate in the draw, all you have to do is post a comment (avoid "I participate, I try, etc ..." be a little more constructive) on this article before the July 7, 2019 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory.

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.

Today we are quickly interested in the LEGO Harry Potter set 75948 Hogwarts Clocktower (922 pieces - 99.99 €), a box which is at the same time a new extension of the modular Hogwarts version System launched in 2018 and which is also a set based on the Christmas ball (yule ball) seen in the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with eight characters delivered in the gala outfits appearing in this scene from the film.

From the outside, the construction fits perfectly into the overall model imagined by the designers. We logically find the same architectural style as in the sets 75953 Hogwarts Whomping Willow, and 75954 Hogwarts Great Hall, the same walls, the same roofs and the same stickers for a perfect visual continuity between the different constructions which come together to form a Hogwarts both visually convincing and playable.

As usual, the stickers that must be stuck on the walls are still not the same color as the rooms on which they are placed. Too bad for a toy at 100 €.

As this is a set of characters in ballroom attire, LEGO logically includes the mini-ballroom with rotating merry-go-round which allows the minifigs to be staged two by two on the supports provided and to bring everything to life. manually by rotating the gray plate placed under the various white platforms.

It's minimalist and not really fun, but as usual, we know it's there in reference to the scene concerned and that will suffice for most fans. There were probably several possible solutions to integrate a discreet mechanism that would have allowed the merry-go-round to turn without putting your fingers in it, but the designer chose to ignore this possibility.

The rest of what one might call the "ballroom" is materialized only by a few tables on which are placed glasses and crystals and by a snowy fir tree. These different elements are not directly connected to the main construction, while a simple white or gray base plate covered with Tiles could have given the place a little more flair.

The fragile parts are slipped into the same bags as those which are less afraid of displacement and jolts, this results in some very annoying scratches on some of them. I know the brand's customer service is very good, but it's always unpleasant not to have a product in perfect condition the first time. My copy is no exception to the rule and it is the small clock which has suffered some damage.

The crank accessible from the infirmary side allows the hands of the big clock to move. The two hands are integral with each other, so you must first choose the minutes before changing the hour.

The construction being planned to enlarge the basic version of Hogwarts, we find here new emblematic spaces of the cinematographic saga including the school infirmary with its blue screens. The furniture present is well made and the place is large enough to place minifigs, but it is as usual at LEGO a very symbolic representation of the place. We can regret the absence of Madam Pomfrey in this box, knowing that the infirmary occupies an important place of construction here.

Below is the room in which the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes take place, or rather the only office which serves as a symbolic representation here. There is also a book with a page representing the Levitation spell. It's too minimalist to be really convincing, but I note that an effort has been made on the layout of the place with many accessories.

Aldus Dumbledore's desk is oddly placed under the roof here, and the LEGO version doesn't quite pay homage to the spacious circular desk seen in the movies with its book shelves and side stairs. Dumbledore cannot sit down due to the piece used to represent the character's tunic and therefore cannot sit properly behind his desk. Fawkes and the Sorting Hat are present in the office, but only via two very large stickers on the walls.

The prefects 'bathroom passes here from the fifth floor to the ground floor, no password is needed to enter it, the building overlooks the courtyard of Hogwarts ... No golden egg and that' is a shame but fortunately the stained glass with the stylized mermaid in LEGO sauce (it's a sticker difficult to apply correctly) is however very successful.

Barely playable walls, roofs and micro spaces that refer to iconic locations from the Harry Potter cinematic saga, that's good. But a big assortment of new minifigs is even better. And as the Harry Potter range is very popular with minifig collectors, we are entitled to quibble a little about the finish of these figurines.

LEGO delivers eight characters in this set: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Fleur Delacour, Cedric Diggory, Viktor Krum, Albus Dumbledore and Madame Maxime. It is a very correct endowment even if on closer inspection the finish of certain figurines is very approximate and if obviously Parvati Patil is missing in this box ...

Harry Potter is here in a ball gown and the minifig features the mid-size articulated legs that make for a figure roughly on the scale of the other characters in the set. The character is dressed in a simple costume but faithful to the outfit seen on the screen. The white of the shirt and the bow tie fades against the black background, it's a shame. The same goes for Cedric Diggory's minifigure with a slightly dull shirt.

Viktor Krum's hair is much too trimmed compared to that of the character in the film. The holding of the minifig is very well done but this hair detail seems a little disappointing to me.

Ron Weasley's minifigure is relatively faithful in terms of the character's costume design, but the colors of the tunic seem poorly chosen to me. Bonus,. it is difficult to distinguish the patterns of the jacket which are almost tone on tone.

Neutral black legs for these four characters, it's a bit drab but it's in the spirit of the scene depicted.

Madame Maxime's minifig is very correct even if an effort could have been made to represent the patterns of the lace on her chest on a flesh-colored background. The junction of the patterns between the torso and the bottom of the dress is correct, the alignment is almost perfect.

It lacks patterns on Albus Dumbledore's hat which is not the right color as a bonus and the pad printing is not exceptionally precise with a very large gap between the torso and the bottom of the outfit of the two sides of the figurine. And that's not to mention the colors applied on the purple background which do not match those applied on the white background of the torso. It missed.

Fleur Delacour's dress is successful, but it lacks the pad-printed folds on the bottom of the garment embodied here by a neutral piece. The flesh color on both sides of the torso is far too light. LEGO still hasn't found a solution to this really annoying problem.

Hermione's half minifigure is the same size as Harry Potter's but at the cost of using standard parts. The dress is rather faithful even if the short sleeves of the outfit disappear here in favor of completely bare arms. small alignment problem between the torso and the bottom of the dress at the level of the knot, but we are used to LEGO ...

Hogwarts takes its ease with this third module to associate with the first two. The budget needed to have all of this luxury modular playset is also growing and now reaches more than 280 €. Think about it before you start: if you invest in one of the three sets concerned, you will not resist long before deciding to acquire the other two boxes. And that's without counting on the potential sets to come which may come to expand Hogwarts and dig a little deeper in your wallet.

The eight minifigs shipped here have their flaws, some of which are purely technical issues that LEGO still can't seem to fix, but they're never-before-seen, event-specific versions that we likely won't be seeing again in the LEGO Harry lineup anytime soon. Potter, then we'll have to deal with it.

In short, if you are a fan of the saga and have already started collecting the boxes released last year, you don't have much choice. For the others, this set has in my opinion a little trouble to be sufficient on its own with its micro-scenes and its minifigs which refer to a particular scene and which are therefore not sufficiently "generic" versions of the characters. main.

THE HOGWARTS CLOCK TOWER SET 75948 ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

Note: The set shown here, supplied by LEGO, is included as usual. To participate in the draw, all you have to do is post a comment (avoid "I participate, I try, etc ..." be a little more constructive) on this article before the July 7, 2019 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory.

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.

We finish this overview of LEGO Marvel sets inspired by the movie Spider-Man: Far from Home with the reference 76130 Stark Jet and the Drone Attack (504 pieces - 69.99 €) which stages as its name indicates the jet of the company Stark Industries which is undergoing a drone attack here.

With a plane and two drones, there is plenty of fun and that is the objective of this box intended for the youngest fans. The buildable jet is not a feat of creativity, just stack a few pieces and stick a few stickers on for a relatively solid and playable craft.

As usual, I recommend that you check the condition of the transparent parts when unpacking. The canopy provided here is prone to scratches as it walks around in its bag along with other parts. I know the trend is towards reducing plastic waste, but since at LEGO we are no longer within a few grams between the parts and the bags, I dream of an under-packaging that would properly protect these transparent parts.

Once is not customary, the cockpit of the plane is accessible to big fingers with a large mobile section that allows three characters to easily slide inside. The finish of the wings leaves a little to be desired, but we will do with it.

At the back, there is a large compartment, also easily accessible, which allows you to embark the three bombs provided. These will be dropped on drones or whatever you want to destroy.

As for the ship in the set 76126 Avengers Ultimate Quinjet, LEGO once again forgot to integrate landing gears on this jet which would have really looked a little better with a few wheels.

Under the plane, there is the hatch that allows you to bombard your target and incidentally to allow Spider-Man to swing at the end of his web. This hatch is opened by simply pressing the gray button on the back of the aircraft.

It is well done and correctly integrated so as not to disfigure the construction while providing a little playability, but in use, we quickly realize that it becomes impossible to open the hatch if the hand of the flying the craft is placed just below. This may be a detail for some of you, but it is a defect noticed by my son after only a few seconds of handling ...

The two drones delivered in this box are rather well designed and are equipped with Stud Shooters which fall perfectly under the user's fingers. The plane is also equipped with two cannons, so that the forces present are equal when it comes to looking for the small projectiles ejected on the floor of the chamber.

At the risk of sounding like I'm repeating myself, the difference in color between the stickers printed on a (really) white background and the parts whose color turns off-white is a bit disturbing. The patterns printed on the different stickers do not blend into their backing and I would have preferred transparent stickers. The same goes for the color of the canopy, which is not really coordinated with the rest of the cabin parts.

On the minifig side, it's a bit disappointing even if Nick Fury's minifig saves the day. It is new and for the moment exclusive to this box, even if it reuses the legs of General Hux and Severus Snape.

Harold "Happy" Hogan is failed and disappointing. The minifig does not look at all like Jon Favreau with the head of Kazuda Xiono, the young hero of the animated series Star Wars Resistance recently seen in the LEGO Star Wars set 75240 Major Vonreg's TIE Fighter.

The torso of this minifig can be considered generic, it is the one already used for the minifigs of Alfred Pennyworth (76052), Eli Mills (75930) and still for a henchman in a set from the LEGO Overwatch range (75971 ).

Spider-Man minifig is identical to the version delivered in sets based on the film Homecoming, 76083 Beware the Vulture (2017) et 76083 ATM Heist Battle (2017) and in the pack 40343 Spider-Man and the Museum Break-In.

Mysterio's minifigure is identical to the one already seen in the other two sets based on the film, and it still does not come with Jake Gyllenhaal's face.

In short, for the youngest, there is plenty of fun with the jet and the two drones, but collectors who relied on this box to obtain a Jon Favreau minifig will be at their cost with the generic minifigure offered by LEGO. There is still a nice version of Nick Fury who in my opinion does not deserve to spend 70 € in this box.

Note: The set shown here, supplied by LEGO, is included as usual. To participate in the draw, all you have to do is post a comment (avoid "I participate, I try, etc ..." be a little more constructive) on this article before the June 30, 2019 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory.

Update : The winner has been drawn (sorry for the delay) and has been 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.

THE SET 76130 STARK JET AND THE DRONE ATTACK ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

It's a box whose announcement will not leave many people indifferent: the content of the set 75936 Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage (3120 pieces - 249.99 €) is divided among fans and now is the time to take a closer look to see where the 3120 pieces announced by LEGO are hiding.

It is obvious that the primary purpose of this test is to talk about what is in the box. But it is difficult not to mention what in my opinion is sorely lacking in this set which is intended as a tribute to the entire Jurassic Park saga: an example of the cult vehicle and immediately recognizable, the Ford Explorer in the colors of the park .

LEGO, which is however used not to miss an opportunity to provide us with various and varied vehicles even when it is frankly off topic, decided to ignore the 150 or 200 parts that would have been enough to compensate for the disappointment of some. I see some who hope that the motley Ford Explorer will one day be delivered in another box, but I do not really believe it. This set is in my opinion the last tribute to the Jurassic Park saga, judging by the designer's choice to include some microscopic vignettes referring to more or less cult scenes.

That being said, the set focuses on two other cult elements of the saga: the iconic gate of the park and the T-rex which is present in all the films. The and 75932 Jurassic Park Velociraptor Chase (2018) could have suggested a range of several playsets in reference to the most emblematic scenes, but this new box takes a different direction.

As was the case with the LEGO Star Wars set 75251 Darth Vader's Castle (2018), the park gate to be assembled does indeed act as a two-scale construction. On the one hand, we get an imposing and very honest reproduction of the thing, and on the other hand we discover a set of small spaces allowing to stage the minifigs provided. Better to ignore the spacing between the wheel tracks on the way to try to imagine the size of the vehicle that could have been provided. In fact, it is better to simply ignore the considerations of scale between the different elements of the set.

Unlike the Darth Vader's Castle which integrated an interior space consistent with the facade of the building, the scenes proposed here have nothing to do with the doorposts. This "artistic" choice for a product intended for adult fans is questionable, given that the vast majority of these fans will exhibit the door with the exterior side visible and that the various cavities placed on the back are not really intended for fun. We will have five minutes of fun with the different winks on offer but there is nothing to marvel at these microphones "... detailed brick decors inspired by the film ..."

Small funny detail, we find the torn arm of Ray Arnold in the micro-compartment which features Ellie Sattler ... It is also the only explicitly "gore" reference in the set.

Regarding the "build experience", if I had to choose between the gate and the T-rex, my preference would be for the T-rex. The assembly of the park gate quickly becomes repetitive. The structure of the two uprights in mirror mode is logically identical and there are only a few small scenes to provide a little distraction during the assembly. It remains the pleasure of seeing the door rise to reach about forty centimeters high. The patchwork of vegetation placed at the foot of the door is welcome, it really contributes to the finish of the whole.

Even though the two door leaves can be opened simply by pushing on each of them, a rotating mechanism is integrated in the upper area just behind the park panel. It's always what it takes to open the door like in the movie without putting your big fingers in the middle of the scene.

During the construction process, the assembly remains relatively fragile and difficult to move. It is only when the reinforcement bars and the upper transverse strip are installed that the rigidity becomes sufficient to move the door without risk of destroying something in the process.

As usual with LEGO, the different "playable" spaces are really very small and placing a minifigure in them is enough to fill each space. The nods to the different scenes are obvious and some of them even confirm what could have been done in bigger (play) sets.

It is also difficult to explain the presence of the toilets when the minifig of lawyer Donald Gennaro is not provided ... The vignette which features Dennis Nedry is for its part a little minimalist, the cult scene in question during which the character flees in a Jeep and meets a dilophosaurus arguably deserves better than the micro-mudslide with the shaving foam bomb.

We can not escape here the usual sheet of stickers which contains the sign of the park, the three screens of Ray Arnold's office and a large sticker in the style of those of the sets Ultimate Collector Series from the LEGO Star Wars range which details here some characteristics of the T-rex.

This last sticker adorned with the Jurassic World logo (apparently a choice of the license holders for reasons of consistency of the range of derivative products) seems a little superfluous to me and in my opinion it is only present to artificially render this produces even more "collector". This sticker also confirms that the T-rex is 5.2 meters high and that it is therefore not really the scale of the park gate, nor of the minifigs.

Another annoying detail: the Word PARK is divided into two stickers and the spacing between the letters A and R is different from that of the other letters of the word. Some may never notice it, but as far as I'm concerned, it's disappointing.

This buildable T-rex for its part offers a very interesting assembly experience, it would be bad faith to say the opposite. Was it absolutely necessary to offer a brick creature instead of throwing a copy of the usual molded figurine in the box and in turn reduce the price of the set by a few dozen euros? Nothing is less certain and we return once again to the absence of the Ford Explorer which could then have found its place in this box without inflation of the public price.

The fact remains that all those who have never experienced the different creatures to assemble usually available in the Creator range will find something to enjoy here.

We will also remember the presence of a frog in the entrails of the T-rex, in reference to the film where the holes in the DNA sequencing of the dinos are replaced by different elements from other more or less close animals.

Those who swear by the sacrosanct concept of a construction toy may prefer this brick T-rex that sits proudly on the living room dresser to a cast figure. This T-rex, which at first glance looks like a backyard chicken with its gray legs, only really takes shape when the creature's head is in place even though my first reaction to the completed model was to think of Rex from Toy Story ...

I am a bit disappointed with the leg attachment system. The rotation mechanism is well designed but the four black pins that hold everything in place tend to come off unexpectedly during different manipulations.

The tail is very well designed and it can be swiveled in different positions to polish the T-rex's staging or to save space on a shelf. No risk of accidental destruction on this element, Ball Seals do their job properly. The designer has done his homework and the T-rex is balanced by the weight distribution between the head, body and tail.

Be careful, the legs are not articulated, they remain in a fixed position regardless of the orientation of the T-rex's body. The construction is pretty stable regardless of the position and the creature remains modular for quick storage, just unhook the two legs, head and tail. The reassembly only takes a few seconds.

The assortment in minifigs here is a bit disappointing. There are some cult characters from the saga, but Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) have already had their minifigs: Grant and Sattler were delivered in the set 75932 Jurassic Park Velociraptor Chase (2018) and Ian Malcom was available in a variant delivered in the exclusive minifig pack marketed / offered at the end of 2018 (ref. Lego 5005255).

LEGO just gives us the same hat for Hammond and Grant. Yet in the film, the two accessories are differentiated by a colored band at the base of John Hammond's hat.

Besides the other slightly disappointing technical details, I note the difference in color between the head and the torso of Ian Malcolm, so do not be fooled by the official visuals presented a few days ago which are digital versions or retouched photos.

There are three unreleased minifigs left: John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), John Raymond Arnold (Samuel L. Jackson) and Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight). If the first two are quite faithful to the characters of the film, the minifigure of Dennis Nedry seems to me completely missed. How, at LEGO, did we come to the conclusion that Nedry and Arnold have the same hairstyle?

I'm also not a fan of the return of white hue on the inside of Ray Arnold's bi-injected legs and the unbuffered area at the very top of the hip element that keeps the legs in place. This lack of finish somewhat spoils the overall rendering of this minifigure, the design of which is nevertheless very faithful to the outfit of Samuel L. Jackson in the film.

If we have to go into even more detail, I think the logo printed on the torsos of Nedry and Arnold does not match the one seen in the film. Even if it means going to the trouble of pad printing a micro logo, you might as well do it correctly and with the right background color (yellow with red border) ...

Regarding Dennis Nedry's minifig, she does have an alternate face smeared with the venom projected by the dipholosaurus, she does wear the yellow hoodie seen on the screen, but unfortunately LEGO does not provide the Jeep Wrangler with which Nedry fled ... Another missed opportunity to offer us a vehicle with a few parts that would have made the fans happy.

Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck) is also missing in this box. Too bad for the fans who hoped to gather a large part of the cast.

In short, all is not perfect in this very large set of more than 3000 pieces at 250 €, even if it offers some good moments of construction with the T-rex whose appearance is a little spoiled by the gray legs. The park gate is successful and, from the front, it will have its little effect on a shelf. In my opinion, the micro-vignettes placed on the back do not add much to the set and some are too incomplete to be really effective.

As usual, it's up to you: It's up to you to decide on this pure display product for adult fans that mixes everything up and on different scales deserves the honors of your shelves. Even though I had a lot of fun putting together this set, it will be without me. I really like the Jurassic Park / World universe but this derivative product seems to me really too incomplete for the space it takes.

Note: The set shown here, supplied by LEGO, is included as usual. To participate in the draw, all you have to do is post a comment (avoid "I participate, I try, etc ..." be a little more constructive) on this article before the June 30, 2019 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory.

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.

THE SET 75936 JURASSIC PARK: T.REX RAMPAGE ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

A few weeks before the availability of the first sets benefiting from the LEGO Technic concept controller +, I take this opportunity to quickly introduce you to a product that most LEGO train enthusiasts and fans of the LEGO Technic range are already familiar with, but those who only occasionally buy motorized products may discover for the first time. I say this because it's important: the product and the associated application have largely reached their maturity since their initial launch and you will not be acting as beta testers.

LEGO has invented almost nothing with the sets Powered Up ou controller + : the smart SBrick Plus brick has been making it possible for several years to take control of your various elements Power Functions using a dedicated application on a smartphone or tablet.

This brick communicates with your motors and other sensors via Bluetooth with a range of up to 50 meters under optimal conditions. The Plus version of the SBrick, which succeeds the basic model, can also control the sensors of the LEGO Education WeDo 1.0 range. If it is the educational aspect that interests you, know that this product is compatible with different programming languages: Scratch, Apple Swift Playground or even Javascript.

To put it simply, this product therefore allows you to take advantage of all your elements Power Functions under conditions similar to those proposed by the new system Powered Up and free yourself from the limitations of the concept Power Functions, especially related to the use of infrared with the problems of range and connection that we have all already encountered at least once.

The Sbrick also adopts a similar format (4x4 studs) to the official LEGO infrared receiver and it will therefore easily replace it on motorized models via different elements of the range. Power Functions.

It can also be placed inside the model, the use of the Bluetooth protocol does not require leaving any sensor visible by the remote control. The possibilities of integration are therefore almost limitless, the SBrick being 100% compatible with official LEGO studs and pins.

Vengit offers for sale a set of four empty boxes in various colors that will allow you to fine-tune the integration of the SBrick in your different models. All you have to do is carefully open the starter box, remove the printed circuit, being careful not to damage the different sets of pins (and not to lose the small transparent plastic element that returns the light from the LED) and to reassemble everything in the case of the color of your choice.

The basic installation is very simple and takes a few seconds: just connect the SBrick to a power source, here a Battery Box official rechargeable battery, and then connect the various elements, motors, LEDs and sensors that you wish to use to the four connectors provided. At this stage, you thus obtain a complete circuit which allows you to motorize and animate your construction.

Please note, you must have an extension cable Power Functions (ref. LEGO 8886 or 8871) to connect the SBrick to the battery box or to the rechargeable battery. It is indicated on the product box and this cable is not supplied.

To put everything in motion, you then need a control interface. By installing the official application (iOS or Android) on your smartphone which then turns into a virtual remote control, you can communicate with your SBrick via Bluetooth. For owners of Apple products who have already invested in an MFI (Made for Phone) certified gamepad, you can also use the latter to control your SBrick. With a BLED112 Bluetooth dongle, the programming possibilities are open to the vast majority of current platforms, including Linux, Windows, MacOS, Raspberry PI, etc ...

The smartphone application is very well designed, it offers in particular a test tool to confirm which port a particular element is connected to. This tool will come in handy if you use all of the four available ports. The application is intuitive, its handling does not require any particular diploma.

You then need to create and activate a control profile that will allow you to activate the various connected elements. Vengit provides a rather well thought out tool that allows you to create and customize the interface of your virtual remote in a few minutes. The customization possibilities are endless and you can choose to use the various visual elements already provided or import your own buttons and illustrations.

With a few clicks, you can add the different buttons and sliders that will later have to be associated with the different ports of the SBrick. Nothing very complicated, you don't need to be an engineer or an astronaut to set up the virtual remote control. You can then choose to keep your valuable profile to yourself or you can decide to share it with the rest of the SBrick community.

The possibilities are numerous, from the addition of a simple two-channel joystick to the creation of chained sequences that can be launched and repeated by pressing a button, including the setting of the tilt detection of the smartphone associated with particular functions.

The smartphone app also offers a library of profiles already created by other fans for different existing LEGO models. These interfaces are already designed to use all the motorization elements of the models concerned, just associate the corresponding ports with each button or slider and you can take action in a few minutes.

In practice, the conversion of an existing set initially equipped with the system Power Functions will only take a few minutes before you can play with it again and the simplicity of the whole concept from the installation phase of the brick itself to the setting of the virtual remote control makes this product truly accessible to all.

If you have a problem or difficulty setting up your SBrick, be aware that there is also a very active community around this product. Help is bound to be found on the manufacturer's official forums where most of the problems that users encounter are documented and resolved.

You will thus be able to exploit the full potential of the product without frustration and enjoy all the elements for a long time to come. Power Functions accumulated through your purchases of LEGO sets. And in my opinion, this is the whole point of this product: to prolong the life of your elements Power Functions while benefiting from the few technical and aesthetic refinements reserved for owners of products equipped with elements of the new system Powered Up.

There is in fact for the moment no certainty as to the capacity (and the will) of LEGO to one day provide an adapter allowing the use of the different elements of the range. Power Functions with the new system's Samrt Hub Bluetooth Powered Up.

For its part, the manufacturer of the SBrick should offer by summer 2019 an adapter still under development that will support the new motors and sensors from the ranges. Boost / WeDo 2.0 / Powered Up, just to contribute a little more to the amortization of the 74.90 € to be invested in this product.

Note: The product shown here, supplied by Robot Advance, is used as usual. To participate in the draw, all you have to do is post a comment (avoid "I participate, I try, etc ..." be a little more constructive) on this article before the June 18, 2019 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory.

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.

SBRICK PLUS AT ROBOT AVDANCE (74.90 €) >>

PACK OF 4 BOXES FOR SBRICK PLUS AT ROBOT ADVANCE (10.90 €) >>