Today we take a quick tour of the content of the LEGO Ideas set 21338 A-Frame Cabin, a box of 2082 pieces which will be available at the retail price of €179.99 as a VIP preview from February 1, 2023.

This new product from the LEGO Ideas range, freely inspired by the creation A-Frame Cabin submitted by Andrea Lattanzio (Norton74), is at first sight rather respectful of the work of the fan designer, but as often with LEGO everything is played on the details and the manufacturer does not deprive himself of some shortcuts and other savings.

Before going into detail, it must be admitted that the assembly experience of this product is quite interesting. It comes close to what the best offer Modulars with an intelligent alternation between the most repetitive sequences and those which allow you to vary the pleasures a little by focusing on the interior fittings.

The result is a modular product with different removable structural elements that allow easy access to interior spaces. the 2000 pieces are there, the construction using many small elements including a slew of Tiles which dresses the walls and the roof of the chalet.

The theme of the wooden cabin lost in the middle of the forest is therefore generally respected, but LEGO gets rid of the original context which featured a somewhat dilapidated construction populated by trappers and flanked by deer antlers above the entrance door. entrance to make it a second family residence with a "cleaner" appearance. Too bad for the atmosphere "RMC Découverte" which goes a little by the wayside, the official version of the product loses in my opinion a little of its cachet.

You don't have to be a keen observer to see that LEGO has also reduced the density of the surrounding vegetation. The bushy pines, and probably a little too fragile, of the initial project give way here to trunks with sparser foliage. It's a bit of a shame, we go from a slightly more austere forest context to a Disney atmosphere with its birds, butterflies and leaves in shimmering colors. This aesthetic choice will undoubtedly appeal to many fans, you have to know how to please the majority of potential customers. A family space, the cabin is equipped with everything you need to spend a long weekend there without depriving yourself of the amenities available in any modern home.

The various fittings are convincing and largely of the level of what one finds in a Structure and it is the rustic nature of the premises that limits the level of detail of certain equipment here, particularly in the kitchen. The shower installed at the back of the hut is nicely executed with its showerhead, tap, soap and towel. We can possibly see in the white door a roll of toilet paper, the presence of the shovel hanging right next to it also goes in this direction...

The hut being in the shape of an A, the floor logically offers a very limited space which simply allows you to pile up a bed and some furniture. the designer has not spared a staircase that allows you to navigate between the levels, it is appreciable.

The two roof sections are well designed, they are thick and sufficiently reinforced not to deform. It is possible to remove them and reinstall them easily, they are not fixed to the framework of the premises, but there remains an implausible ridge with a channel that would have deserved to be covered with a gutter. LEGO has logically chosen to play only on the alternation of the different lengths of Tiles and their positioning more or less set back from the treated surface to create a texture with a wood effect, impossible on an official product to leave a few pieces half sunken to reinforce the dilapidated effect. As a result, it's very smooth and a little too clean not to evoke a well-maintained Center Parcs chalet. No shutters on the roof windows and these are fixed.

The two islands of vegetation to be built can be attached to the main building or grouped together to obtain an independent display element. Why not, the possibilities that arise from this choice are interesting, I am thinking in particular of those who want to integrate the chalet into a diorama without necessarily wanting to encumber themselves with the trees provided or of those who would like to have fun reaching this small island by canoe .

The most observant will have noticed, there are only two rows of hammers left at the base of the chalet, the creator of the reference project had installed three. The railing of the exterior staircase disappears, the brick chimney is replaced here by a simple black pipe and the front door is now embodied by the most commonly used basic element. This is also the case for the windows on the ground floor, I would have rather seen sets of four small openings rather than the usual large elements. There really isn't a bad choice, but in my opinion it's all of these aesthetic decisions that significantly change the mood of the product. We'll do with it.

In the radius of easter eggs, these more or less subtle references scattered throughout the construction, we note the nod to the nationality of the fan designer at the heart of the foundations of the chalet, the presence of a micro-version of the tree from the LEGO Ideas set 21318 Treehouse in the upstairs bedroom, the use of the colors of the fictional Octan brand at the back of the house or the painting on the first floor inspired by the Blue Cottage, another project imagined by Andrea Lattanzio (Norton74). The typewriter reference from the LEGO Ideas set 21327 Typewriter is a little more subtle: the object installed on a desk on the ground floor is black and it is therefore the color of the table top that makes the link with the color Sand green of the €250 version.

There are also no stickers in this box, all the patterned elements are stamped such as the doormat stamped with the LEGO logo, a Tile 2x4 originally delivered in the LEGO ICONS set 10290 Pickup Truck, the blacksmith's sign from the LEGO Ideas set 21325 Medieval Blacksmith, the treasure map of the LEGO CITY set 60355 Water Police Detective Missions, the vinyls from the LEGO ICONS set 10312 Jazz Club or both front pages.

LEGO also takes the opportunity to reuse the canoe seen in the LEGO set 10292 FRIENDS Apartments, it's in the theme. As for the animals provided, the squirrel is the one already seen in several boxes since last year, the only otter provided is also delivered this year in two copies in the LEGO CITY set 60394 ATV and Otter Habitat, birds are very common, and oversized butterflies are from the set 80110 Lunar New Year (2023) Display. No net to catch these butterflies in this box, it's a shame, we had to go through with the idea.

The four minifigs provided let you imagine a family on a weekend at Center Parcs, nothing crazy, but the endowment is sufficient to bring a little life to this diorama and possibly vary the staging. The pad prints are correctly executed, I do not note any particular defect on these different figurines with common heads and two of which inaugurate torsos that we will obviously see elsewhere later in the year.

A subtle detail: on the official visuals of the product, LEGO encourages fans to swap haircuts between the different minifigs, it's up to you who will pay the black raspberry on the head, that's also the inclusiveness.

To conclude, I think that this product is a relatively convincing conversion of the original idea which it more or less respects the spirit of, even if LEGO changes the atmosphere of the initial project a little. This Structure forester is interesting to assemble, it is correctly laid out, its various interior spaces remain easily accessible and even if we lose a little of the dilapidated side of the chalet, the exercise seems successful to me. In any case, the potential customers of this product are more likely to have spent a relaxing weekend in a themed lodge than a few months hunting otters in Alaska.

This toy is sold for 179.99 €, we can't even conclude that it's a little expensive or too expensive or much too expensive, we all know here that the brand's products are sold at public prices that are difficult for everyone to access. fans and you regularly have to choose between one set or another to stay within the fixed or imposed budget. I would have appreciated the presence of a luminous brick which probably easily fit into the budget, but it's not me who decides.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at February 5, 2023 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion.

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

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Marvel set 76244 Miles Morales vs. Morbius, a small box of 220 pieces which has been available at the public price of €24.99 since January 1, 2023. This set raises in me, and no doubt in others, some questions concerning the consistency of its content: Why Miles Morales leads- he a supercar? What is Morbius doing in this box? Two questions that probably find their answer in the office of the marketing department of the Danish manufacturer more than in the Marvel universe itself.

Miles Morales obviously does not need a vehicle to move around and even less a supercar with an aggressive and not very discreet look. But LEGO knows that to sell its products, rolling or flying vehicles are a strong argument when children wander the shelves of toy stores.

We are not going to complain about having something a little substantial to build in this box, the vehicle in eight studs wide is in the spirit of those of the Speed ​​Champions range, the ultra-accomplished finish less. There are still some good ideas to achieve the proposed result, the youngest should find some inspiration there to create their own vehicles. There are no stickers in this box, the pretty symbol on the front cover is therefore stamped.

The vehicle is flanked by two Stud Shooters not exactly discreet, but you can remove them without dismantling everything if you intend to display this supercar alongside other models. Miles Morales carries two paint cans in the trunk, they are easily accessible and the wink is appreciated. The blue flames on the back can also be easily removed if you feel the build is taking up a little too much space on your shelves as it is. Everyone knows it, Miles Morales drives alone, he never has a passenger and the minifig is therefore centered in the cockpit of this vehicle which is a little too big for a figurine.

What is Michael Morbius doing in this set? Someone at LEGO will have felt that the character did not deserve a dedicated box and that it would be wise to discreetly associate it with a popular superhero to offer collectors the possibility of obtaining the minifig without risking being accused of market a children's toy based on an ultra-violent character. The recently released film will not have marked the history of cinema, but it has restored popularity to this pissed off vampire who until now was not really a leading character.

The two minifigs provided in this box do not seem very inspired to me: Miles Morales is content with a pair of neutral legs and the head already seen in the sets 76171 Miles Morales Mech et 76178 Daily Bugle around a very correct new torso but which breathes the minimum service. As it stands, the minifig still doesn't compete with the exclusive and detailed version offered by Sony in 2021 on the occasion of a competition.

Morbius does not benefit from a finish up to what the official visuals promised us with a white area that becomes gray on the chest. The problem is recurrent, LEGO should not even try to solve it anymore because I see no other valid explanation in the face of so much negligence. The head of the character is well executed with its two faces but it still borders on the generic vampire of the defunct LEGO Monster Fighters range.

The hair provided, already seen in the set 10292 F⋅R⋅I⋅E⋅N⋅D⋅S Apartments on Gladys' head, is not in the best taste. LEGO could have done something more successful by integrating, for example, the character's pointed ears. It's not Jared Leto anyway and collectors will have to settle for this "juniorized" comic version, they will probably never get better. For those wondering, the two vials provided embody the human blood and the blue synthetic blood that the character consumes. LEGO also throws two bats in the box, it's always taken.

In short, this box is a small tote set that allows you to fit a nice car and two characters, one of which is very popular with the youngest and the other was briefly in the cinema news a few weeks ago. . The recipe is confusing but it brings together enough arguments for sales to be there. Not enough to get up at night, but at 25 € all, we will make the effort.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 16th January 2023 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion.

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

We end the tour of the three packs of LEGO BrickHeadz minifigures under license The Lord of the Rings with a quick overview of the contents of the set 40632 Aragorn and Arwen, a small box whose inventory of 261 pieces allows you to assemble Aragorn and Arwen, all in exchange for 19.99 € since January 1, 2023.

The two characters are here in wedding attire and considering the usual limitations of the BrickHeadz format, I think the designer is doing well. We recognize the two outfits seen on screen in the film The king's return, and even if Arwen's dress is a bit sad in the LEGO version, the most significant attributes of each character's outfits are there.

Three pretty pad-printed pieces are delivered to embody the headdresses of the two bride and groom and Aragorn's armor, they are all very well executed and contribute greatly to giving these figurines a little character. We regret despite everything that the golden zone on Aragorn's breastplate is a little pale, it is in any case much less contrasted than on the official visuals.

I also salute the work of the graphic designers on this product, the elements in question are very well stylized and fit perfectly on these two figurines. For the rest, it's pretty convincing except maybe for Aragorn's beard which gives the impression that the character is wrinkling a toothless mouth.

As often, these figures are assembled in a few minutes and they simply repeat the usual techniques, but LEGO delivers the two characters with separate bags and instruction booklets which makes it possible to share the experience.

The return of The Lord of the Rings license to LEGO is good news for fans, even if the latter did not necessarily expect this reboot to be done via a few figures in BrickHeadz format divided into three packs of two characters of uneven quality. We will have to do with it while waiting for better.

The simple presence of the license logo on these three boxes will however be enough to make them products in high demand, even among those who usually ignore these cubic figurines. As far as I'm concerned, the fact of being able to immerse myself in the world of the license via these few constructions will also have been enough to make me happy, that's already it. As the saying goes, "for lack of thrushes, we eat blackbirds".

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 14th January 2023 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion.

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

Today we quickly fly over the content of the LEGO Star Wars set 75345 501st Clone Troopers Battle Pack, a small box of 119 pieces available at the public price of 19.99 € since January 1, 2023.

The product is looking for a bit of an identity with a packaging that could be reminiscent of a toy derived from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) with background artwork based on the Battle of Yerbana seen in season 7 of the series but content that also seems loosely inspired by the Star Wars video game Battlefront II (2017) and logo-embossed packaging celebrating 20 years of the very first anime series Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003). LEGO therefore hits the mark so as not to forget anyone, so much the better for those who seek to attach this product to one of their favorite content.

The ultra-simplified version of the AV-7 cannon to be built here is not very interesting, we feel that LEGO is trying to add something to build in these boxes without doing too much to stay within the budget .

The barrel can accommodate a minifigure which remains in place by being blocked by the feet, it is equipped with a Spring shooter accompanied by two missiles, it is vaguely steerable and its legs are (a little) articulated. Not enough to cry genius even if the construction will easily find its place in a diorama.

The minifigs are generally successful with very detailed and well executed pad printing. The Clone Officer wears his rangefinder in the hole placed at the top of the helmet and not in a hypothetical second hole placed lower as the visual on the product packaging might suggest.

The most faithful position is however the one seen on the retouched visual, but LEGO is in fact content to deliver the new helmet to us with two side holes which are in the case of the use of the rangefinder placed a little too high. We can also regret the absence of a real fabric kama to avoid the somewhat ridiculous effect of the frontal pad printing of the clothing accessory which does not go around the character's waist and legs.

The Clone Specialist is the only one of the four soldiers to benefit from blue arms and he wears a pair of really well-made macrobinoculars. A second copy of the accessory is even present in the box. It may lack a touch of color so that the element is really faithful to the reference accessory, but we will do with this very convincing new mold which, moreover, in my opinion, makes the usual visors a little old-fashioned in terms of design.

The two Heavy Troopers provided also seem to me to be very successful with impeccable pad printing and a very successful backpack. It may lack directly injected legs in two colors and a side bag for these two Clones to be completely faithful to those of the Battlefront II video game.

The accessory that holds the Tile 1x1 placed in the back makes these two miniatures slightly higher than the other two, those who line up these minifigs to build homogeneous armies may find this an annoying aesthetic detail.

The pad printing of the helmets smudges a little in places on all the copies provided, LEGO obviously still has a little trouble reaching certain areas of these accessories to correctly align the different colored areas. For those who are wondering, the three identical legs are those already seen in several sets of the Star Wars range in 2020. The rest is new, except of course the usual four heads. The blue visors and the rangefinder are delivered in a separate bag which contains four copies of each of the two accessories.

This Battle Pack therefore does not really provide generic minifigs as was the case in the set 75280 501st Legion Clone Troopers (285 pieces - 29.99 €) but in my opinion there is plenty here to bring a little variety in the formed squads.

The era of €15 Battle Packs is over, it's now €20 that you have to pay to afford this handful of minifigs and the construction that accompanies them. I find it a bit expensive, but we know that the fan of the 501st Legion does not count when it comes to accumulating minifigs to build an army.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 13th January 2023 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion.

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

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Marvel set 76248 The Avengers Quinjet, a box of 795 pieces which will be available from January 1, 2023 at the retail price of €99.99.

The Quinjet is a chestnut tree from the LEGO Marvel range, you always need one in the manufacturer's catalog. Different versions have succeeded since 2012 and collectors certainly remember the sets 6869 Quinjet Aerial Battle (2012) 76032 The Avengers Quinjet City Chase (2015) or 76051 Super Hero Airport Battle (2016) 76126 Avengers Ultimate Quinjet (2019) et 76127 Captain Marvel and The Skrull Attack (2019)

With this 2023 version of the ship, it is still not an exhibition model in the literal sense of the term, this product is indeed a simple toy for children to which LEGO had the good idea to add a presentation support . I often complain about not having on hand enough to display a flying machine correctly, I feel like I have been heard this time.

I might as well tell you right away, I'm a little annoyed by this product. On the one hand, it combines excellent ideas and a very acceptable finish and on the other, it suffers from many more or less annoying flaws that remind us that LEGO is making less and less effort on the details. In terms of form, the designer is doing quite well with a ship that is more or less faithful to the reference model and without, however, overbidding the parts that would have affected the retail price of the product. The set is on arrival sufficiently detailed and functional to be both a very elaborate toy and a model that can be proudly stored on the corner of a shelf between two play sessions.

We take advantage of an easily accessible interior space, whether at the level of the cockpit or the seats placed at the rear, the canopy of the cockpit benefits from a nice finish with the addition of two side bubbles which give it a little roundness, this Quinjet is equipped with retractable landing gear which prevents it from resting on its cabin and the whole looks rather proud from almost all angles if you don't look too much at the wings with their revealing space the turbines which are sorely lacking in finish. In any case, you should not expect a perfectly faithful and refined reproduction of this product down to the smallest detail, there are necessarily some aesthetic shortcuts, especially on this scale. I simply regret the lack of pad printing on the different windows, just to correctly embody the uprights that frame these different glazed surfaces.

The presentation support provided is simple but it allows some fantasies, it can accommodate the Quinjet in different positions without the stability of the whole being affected: nose forward, take-off phase, etc... it's you who choose and you can even stow the three landing gears in the cabin to get something believable.

The vessel is unfailingly solid with its internal structure based on Technic beams and its side uprights held by plates which cross the cabin in its width. Nothing comes off during handling, but this Quinjet is also not equipped with any machine launchers. Children will have to deal with it, those who will acquire this product to display it will probably not complain.

Things get tough when LEGO highlights the product's customization functionality with two separate sticker sheets. The idea is not bad, for example I chose to apply the set of stickers on the theme of SHIELD to obtain a Quinjet identical to the one seen in the movie Avengers (see photo above). The result is aesthetically very successful with pretty logos and less intrusive mechanical details than on most stickers of the Avengers version.

Unfortunately, it will be impossible to easily reverse course afterwards, LEGO not providing the handful of parts necessary to transform the SHIELD Quinjet into a spaceship in the colors of the Avengers. It's petty, it was enough to throw the ten parts concerned in a bag and the proposal then immediately became more attractive and really exploitable. As it stands, a choice will have to be made and any subsequent change of mind will necessarily involve the purchase of the various necessary parts via the official store or a third-party reseller.

This product does not escape the problems that have become usual with LEGO: the canopies are all more or less scratched, you have to install a Plate dull and ugly with its big injection point in the middle of the back of the ship, one of the bags of the copy I received contained a part that had no place there and there was a missing part essential to the assembly and background of the stickers does not quite match the gray color of the cabin. And that's without counting on a defect that affects more and more minifigs with unsightly burrs around the eyes.

I will be told that there is nothing insurmountable here and that all you have to do is call the manufacturer's customer service to get the right part and the replacement of those that are scratched or damaged. But I have already received several testimonials from readers which lead me to believe that the tone is gradually changing at LEGO and that too many requests for replacement of damaged parts may one day lead to an end of inadmissibility. Anyway, I'm buying a top-of-the-range product, it must be in excellent condition right out of the box without me spending my time begging from more or less accommodating operators.

On the side of the minifigs supplied with the Quinjet, you have to be satisfied with part of the cast but here you escape, for example, an Outrider or a generic Chitauri without interest, that's already it. Everything is not new among the elements provided, Iron Man reuses for example the helmet seen in the set 76216 Iron Man Armory on a new torso and pair of legs rather faithfully reproducing the armor in Mark VII version. The character has additional hair that allows you to take advantage of the two usual faces, with or without the blue HUD.

Captain America reuses the mask already delivered in half a dozen products, but the two-faced head and the torso are new. LEGO still can't properly stamp the flesh color on a darker background, the result is once again frankly disappointing with a distressingly pale Steve Rogers. The copy of the usual shield, also already seen in several boxes and provided in the copy of the set that I received, is affected by a clearly visible pad printing defect, which is a shame.

Black Widow benefits from a pretty new torso with arms stamped with the SHIELD logo, it's very successful except for the pale area of ​​the neck which should have been flesh-colored and the desperately neutral pair of legs. This lack of color on the neck reminds us once again that we should not always rely on official visuals that are a little too optimistic. The face provided is also that of Jyn Erso, Mighty Thor, Mera, Rachel Green, or even Vicki Vale.

Loki's minifig is beautifully executed, brand new from head to toe with two very compelling faces and an additional hairstyle that allows the character to be enjoyed in two different configurations. The pad printing of the torso and the legs is rather complex and the whole is roughly connected to the junction between the two elements. For those wondering where Loki's black hair comes from, it's the element already seen in Dark Tan on the head of Luke Skywalker in Ahch-To version. The golden headdress is successful, its shiny color is reinforced compared to the examples already seen in other boxes and it is now fully matched with the supplied stick. For once, the real version conforms to the heavily retouched official visuals.

Finally, the minifig of Thor is not new, it reuses the head with its slightly ridiculous smile on one side initially marketed in products based on the film Avengers: Endgame and the beautiful, extremely detailed torso delivered so far only in the set 76209 Thor's Hammer.

As I said above, this product is annoying because it is sufficiently mature in substance to make it a beautiful, almost affordable toy, but the shape is a bit sloppy with flaws that LEGO still can't avoid. It is still the main job of this manufacturer who regularly tells us that quality has a price, and yet we often have to be satisfied with various scratches and other failed pad prints. 100 € for that is a high price even if we are all more or less used to the current pricing policy which sometimes makes us forget that we are paying these few grams of plastic at a high price.

The fact remains that this Quinjet which seems to me to be the most credible version to date will obviously join my collection, but I will wait to be able to pay a little less for it at the usual dealers and I am already ready to harass customer service to obtain a product that meets my expectations in terms of finish.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 11th January 2023 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion.

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