This is a paradox, but it is also an important marker of the evolution of the image of LEGO products: studs visible stamped with the name of the brand present on the Beetle of set 10187 released in 2008, make way for very smooth surfaces and the mock-up appearance of the vehicle of set 10252 Volkswagen Beetle proposed in 2016 (Available today for members of the VIP program, from August 1 for those who are too lazy to register for this free loyalty program).

It's smooth, it's clean, and even if some will regret the characteristic aspect of the sets "from before", we obtain here a product which will easily compete, on the plan of the external aspect, with the other toys of the same type, whether plastic, metal or wood.

Depending on whether we are indulgent with LEGO or not, we will find this Beetle successful and faithful to the model that served as inspiration or on the contrary we will regret a somewhat approximate rendering for a set whose purpose is to reproduce a well-known vehicle from all.

Overall, I find that the whole thing lacks a little curve despite the obvious efforts of the designer to try to reproduce the curves of the Beetle.

As far as I'm concerned, I also persist with this subliminal image of a Citroën 2CV vaguely disguised as a Beetle. Blame it on a windshield that is a little too angular for my taste, and which also lacks a little tilt. For the rest, the doubt is quickly raised and we find of course all the characteristic attributes of the Beetle with its rear engine, its wheel arches, its hood and its headlights.

That being said, even with all the approximations and compromises that confirm in passing that we are dealing with a LEGO Creator product for less than 100 € and not a high-end model, it is still a pleasure to build a LEGO vehicle.

I remain a fan of classic and standard brick, and the assembly of this vehicle is very pleasant: Not being MOCeur at heart, I must admit that I marveled at the few ingenious finds of Mike Psiaki, the designer of the set, to give all its charm and its detailed appearance to this Beetle. There are also a lot of 1x1 and 1x2 parts in this box, I forgot one on one of the front turn signals ... Be careful when unpacking, even if LEGO provides many additional parts (Spare parts).

As for the color of the bodywork, we can discuss at length the choice of this blue Dark Azure, but I think we would all agree that on a shelf alongside the other vehicles of the Creator Expert range: 10248 Ferrari F40, 10242 Mini-Cooper et 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van, this blue Beetle will make a place of choice and get noticed.

As is often the case with sets which bring together many pieces of the same color, I also notice here some slight differences in color between the different pieces in Dark Azure. It's a shame, especially at the door hinges.

The strip of the front cover, here reproduced using a pipe, would in my opinion have deserved one or two stickers, or better, a few pad-printed parts. The protrusion which results from the use of this pipe which barely matches the curve of the hood is in my opinion a little unsightly.

I am also a little disappointed by the shortcut used to round the rear side windows and create a trompe l'oeil tilting impression on the windshield: As if the designer had dropped the idea of ​​finding a basic solution. of rooms and had simply resigned himself by using simple stickers.

Regarding the stickers, I would like to point out that the small sheet of stickers is simply thrown into the box. There is therefore a risk that you will find it bent or damaged. I did not stick the different stickers, you will understand why by reading this article to the end. LEGO offers different models of license plates, it's up to you to choose the color (black, white or yellow) and apply the corresponding stickers.

This officially licensed Volkswagen LEGO Creator set has its flaws, its compromises, but under $ 100 (94.99 € in the LEGO Shop) for 1167 pieces, it's hard not to find a certain charm in it. The construction, admittedly linear (The vehicle takes shape from bottom to top, from the chassis to the roof) is a real pleasure and the end result is rather flattering.

Note: If you've taken the trouble to read this article so far, please be aware that as usual I'm giving away the set I received from LEGO via a raffle among the comments posted below. below (Deadline: July 21, 2016 at 23:59 p.m.). The box is obviously open, but the winner will save the modest sum of 94.99 €. It's always taken.

The set caused a sensation when it was officially announced and is (almost) available for sale in the LEGO Shop and in the 13 LEGO Stores located in Germany and Austria at the public price of 299.99 €: This Does the 911-piece Porsche 3 GT2700 RS keep all of its promises? After long hours of editing, here's what I think, without any pretension and on a very personal basis.

You know if you come to the blog regularly, I'm not a big fan of the LEGO Technic range and much prefer the bricks and minifigs in the range. System. But this Porsche 911 GT3 RS is more than just a set from the Technic range: It is a product that will appeal to a much larger audience than that usually targeted by this range and in particular the many fans of the Porsche brand.

This Porsche 911 GT3 RS, whose development began in winter 2013, is also the first model in a new series of sets planned by LEGO. Collector friends, you have been warned.

The packaging announces the color: This is a luxury product, the sale price confirms it, and LEGO has gone all out to provide a high-end showcase for its plastic toy. The box is luxurious, the instruction booklet of more than 570 pages is a clever mix between presentation brochure of the vehicle that served as a model, laudatory summary of the Porsche legend and staging of the construction experience promised to the purchaser of this box.

You might as well warn you right away, the editorial part of the booklet is only available in English and German. For the French version, manage to download it from the brand's website. Too bad for a box at this price ...

If I am talking to you about the box, while I regularly brocade the "reviews" which conscientiously describe the packaging of the products concerned, it is because in this specific case it contributes to the customer's packaging: We are not simply going to assemble a lambda car wrapped in gears and plastic bars with holes in them, we will see the birth before our astonished eyes an exceptional vehicle.

In short, let's forget about marketing, and let's get down to business, it's time to assemble this Porsche 911 GT3 RS that we are promised to be packed with incredible functions.

Before you can get something that looks like a Porsche, you have to build the chassis, the engine, the suspensions, etc ... It's laborious for those like me who are used to assembling their sets by doing a half - dozen other things at the same time: We quickly shifted or inverted a few pieces and it was the drama. Go back, partial dismantling, we start again.

We focus and we finally get a functional chassis. The instructions are clear and very detailed, even a builder new to the art of assembling a product from the Technic range like me is easily found.

And then we test the different functions: The wheels turn (a little) if we manipulate the steering wheel, we can "shift gears" with the "paddles" and their somewhat ugly white rubber bands, we can shift "reverse gear", and we can incidentally have fun bouncing everything on the exclusive integrated red suspensions.

I can't seem to marvel at these very anecdotal features, but like I said above, the Technic line is not really my cup of tea. I just tell myself that with 2700 parts (including more than 900 pins of all kinds) on the clock, luckily the steering wheel directs the wheels ...

The rest is more rewarding for those who finally want to see the long-awaited Porsche appear: We assemble the seats, the dashboard, and the entire upper structure that will accommodate the body. Finally, we install the orange panels that complete the look of Porsche 911 GT3 RS to the vehicle. Flexible tubes [Hdare / Soft Axle] oranges soften the lines of the body.

The assembly is deliberately split into different very distinct phases to make "like at the factory"or Porsche makes the real 911, with little transitional text and nice illustrations in the instruction booklet and separate boxes for the parts.

The rims are magnificent, they are adorned with a central pad printed "RS" which gives them a look of hell. The front fenders are also pad printed. The plate bearing the unique serial number, hidden in the glove box, is however engraved.

Even with this product wrapped in marketing borrowed from the biggest luxury brands, LEGO can't help but slip a sheet of stickers pompously called "Collection of authentic stickers"in the description of the set ... It's petty, especially concerning the Porsche logo, printed everywhere (on the box, on the instructions) except on the parts ...

In the end, it's pretty, detailed, but in my opinion a little rough in places: Some "holes" in the body, the brake calipers are yellow like on the 2006 version instead of being red like on the model released this year, the headlights would have deserved to be more oval than round, on the side of the color, it is still that of the 2006 model and not the color OrangeFusion of the current 911 GT3 RS, but the basics are there.

We then zoom in for five minutes, open the doors, try to access the engine, store the travel bag in the front trunk and the experience ends at the corner of a shelf, as is often the case. the case with LEGO models whose purpose is not to "play" with.

I readily agree, I took great pleasure in assembling this Porsche, but I did not become an absolute fan of the Technic universe in the process. I prefer brick-based vehicles, like Creator Expert sets 10242 Mini-Cooper ou 10248 Ferrari F40 even if it means sacrificing the few anecdotal features present here.

You will understand, I am more mixed on the final aspect of the vehicle. Is it worth the 300 € requested by LEGO? Everyone will judge according to their means and priorities, but the effort of LEGO to offer this plastic toy in a high-end (cardboard) box at the height of the Porsche legend is commendable.

Note: If you have bothered to read this article so far, please be aware that I am giving away the set I received from LEGO via a raffle among the comments posted below (Deadline: on June 8, 2016 at 23:59 p.m.). The box is obviously open, but the winner will save € 299.99. It's always taken.

Minecraft, we like it or we hate it, but it is impossible to deny the fact that this video game is a real phenomenon, even if I see more the cubic graphics of video games like Wolfenstein 3D or Doom (first of the name) and a playability of unparalleled poverty ...

History to give maximum visibility to this box, LEGO has dispatched some pallets of the set 21128 Minecraft: The Village from different sites including this one and so I spent a few hours assembling the 1600 pieces of this big box, just to see what a toy inspired by a video game whose concept is itself close to that of the toy in question (we spin a bit in a loop) has to offer.

I played very little Minecraft, but I regularly contribute a few games where my youngest son asks me to do some weird chores to help him, like crafter of dispense, building an oven, etc ... However, I played enough to instantly recognize the village in set 21128 and its various elements, or at least to make this cubic architecture familiar to me.

If you want a menu description of the box, its different sides, the shape of the logo, the thickness of the cardboard and the noise the bags make when opening them, go your way. All the official visuals and the full description of the box are already available at LEGO at this address.

On the other hand, what I can tell you is that like in the game, we are there to stack big bricks. Nothing very technical, nothing to marvel at in front of the ingenuity displayed by the designers of the set. There was a visual charter to respect, it's done. Special mention for the vegetable garden and its carrots: I don't really know why but building this part made a very monotonous assembly process a little livelier.

To stay in the spirit of the game, LEGO provides, in addition to the basic instructions, a separate booklet with modifications allowing to transform the main model into a fortified village without having to dismantle everything, it is good quality and it is in the spirit of the license.

No stickers in this box, it's become so rare that you have to underline it and shout it out loud and clear. Everything is pad printed and that's good, the parts concerned will survive much longer with hands full of Nutella of the youngest.

On arrival, we get a small village, with several miniature biomes [game regions], a watchtower, a blacksmith's workshop, a library, a butcher's shop, and a market. You can have fun with the different characters and animals provided (11 in total), invent adventures, but it's less fun than with a controller in your hand and in survival mode.

The different modules that make up the village can be organized as you see fit. It's modular and even if some seem to marvel at it, it's still the least of things for a LEGO product. You can even build something else with the parts if you feel like it ...

Let's be honest, even with a lot of imagination, we will quickly tire of walking the few characters provided in the streets of this village. Going from the screen to the living room table involves some concessions and sometimes generates a little disappointment.

at 219.99 € the box, You have to be very motivated to invest in this luxury derivative product which could possibly serve as the backdrop for some videos in stop motion. Collectors of the range will have no choice and die-hard fans of the game will not be disappointed. The others can afford other sets with a more interesting quality / price ratio with 220 €.

There are quite a few new pieces in this box, like the one, a white 2x1 plate with a minifig neck instead of the usual stud, used to fix the head of the Iron Golem and which is compatible with minifig heads. The set is also full of color pieces "nougat"Used especially for roofs of houses and fences of enclosures. Again, if you want or need these parts, no need to spend $ 220 to get them, there is Bricklink for that.

In summary, this set is a nice derivative product, plush and faithful to the world of Minecraft, to reserve for unconditional fans of the game.

As my son told me, the funniest thing to do with this set, outside of the assembly phase, is still trying to reproduce the village in the game. The circle has come full circle. Back to the controller and end of the story.

This set is on sale at the LEGO Shop and in the LEGO Stores at the retail price of 219.99 €.

Note: If you have taken the trouble to read this article so far, please be aware that I am giving away the set I received from LEGO via a raffle among the comments posted below (Deadline: on May 30, 2016 at 23:59 p.m.). The box is obviously open, but the winner will save € 219.99. It's always taken.

To tell you the truth, I am currently in Billund as part of the LEGO Inside Tour 2015. I will wait until I have completed the entire program to give you a report and give you a (very personal) opinion on this. journey to the land of LEGO.

So far, so good, as the other would say.

The program is busy, the visits, presentations and meetings follow one another at a steady pace and I must already go back ...

Artifex has posted its review of the set LEGO DC Comics 76023 The Tumbler, and this video, which uses the usual stop-motion assembly technique perfectly mastered by the author, is also an opportunity to compare the official LEGO version with the MOC of the Tumbler with integrated Batpod marketed for several years by the one who is also a talented MOCeur.

The comparison between the two models, however, only makes sense from an aesthetic point of view, the LEGO version consists of more than 1800 parts where that of Artifex only includes less than 500 parts.

I'm not sure this review will convince you to spend more than $ 200 on set 76023 if you've already decided that the price of this box is too high for your budget or for what it has to offer. But it's always a pleasure to see a set assembled in a few minutes and in a fluid way, the design of which seems to be unanimous among fans.

(Thanks to Laulo_973 for his email)