Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Marvel set 76247 The Hulkbuster: The Battle of Wakanda, a box of 385 pieces which will be available at the retail price of €49.99 from January 1, 2023. Even if the two products have a different approach to the subject matter and definitely do not play in the same league, it is impossible not to make a comparison direct between the proposal of this box and that of the LEGO Marvel set 76210 Hulkbuster (4049 pieces - 549.99 €).

In both cases, it is indeed a question of assembling a reproduction of the armor with on one side a high-end model for adult fans and on the other a simple toy for children. Those who had a little trouble with the aesthetic choices of the big model will perhaps find in this new less ambitious model something more faithful to the reference armor, even if the format imposes some limitations with a construction that does not measures on arrival only about fifteen centimeters high.

I think for my part that this interpretation of the Hulkbuster does not demerit, far from it. The armor looks great with a globally coherent "anatomy" despite the presence of gray joints that many will find too inconspicuous and it is far more convincing than that of the set 76104 The Hulkbuster Smash-up (375 pieces - €34.99) marketed in 2018 or that of the set 76031 The HulkBuster Smash (248 pieces - 34.99 €) dating from 2015. The four limbs here are thick enough to embody the volume expected of armor and the various joints whose finesse could have ruined the impression of corpulence are generally well integrated.

The assembly is done very quickly but it offers some sufficiently complex and satisfying sequences for the youngest to have the impression of taking up a construction challenge that goes beyond the simple stacking of parts. The fastening of the helmet with the new pad printing remains a little fragile with its two droid arms simply clipped on, but this is the only notable point of weakness of the product.

The object is easily taken in hand, nothing comes off inadvertently during the manipulations which allow this armor to strike a pose. As you can imagine, the knees are fixed because it is not a "Action Figure" and the manufacturer invokes in the product description the need to guarantee this toy a certain stability.

This rigidity of the lower limbs of the Hulkbuster is however not too penalizing, it remains enough to make him take a dynamic pose by combining the rotation of the hips with that of the arms. The size is also fixed, impossible to orient the trunk of the armor a few degrees to the left or the right to refine the pose.

The cockpit is only accessible by moving the helmet of the armor, there is no mobile element on the chest as is sometimes the case on certain mechs which offer the possibility of installing a minifigure in control but Bruce Banner slips easily into his slot.

Note that the transparent pieces in "Blue Opal" used for the ARC Reactor, the repulsors or the inside of the knees of the armor are not phosphorescent. These are the elements usually available in the DOTS and Friends ranges. The armor does not escape a large handful stickers that allow to slightly raise the overall level of finish, I would have liked to be able to do without them but they seem essential to me to obtain a visually convincing product.

As for the four minifigs provided, there is enough to please collectors who like the variants of existing characters with a somewhat generic Bruce Banner but which at least has the merit of being equipped with a new head with two faces and two Outriders whose facial expression is from 2019 but both come equipped with the same never-before-seen torso. The latter is only a slightly refined graphical variation of the 2018 version, but it is well presented as a new reference within the product inventory.

The Okoye figurine is not new, however, it reuses the elements already seen in the LEGO Marvel set 76214 Black Panther: War on the Water, whose torso has a slightly pale black area that has trouble fitting perfectly with the character's legs.

To sum up, at 50 € the armor and probably a little less as soon as the resellers seize the product, there are not many questions to ask. The finish/size ratio of this Hulkbuster is excellent and if you only have to display one version of the armor on your shelves while staying within a reasonable budget, in my opinion, it is this one. You will easily find the best possible angle to erase the few aesthetic shortcuts used and you can even have a little fun with this little model if you feel like it. My conclusion is therefore obvious: the Hulkbuster is finally entitled to the accessible and sufficiently successful derivative product that it deserves.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at December 26, 2022 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 very quickly interested in the other seasonal promotional product which will be offered by LEGO from 150 € of purchase from December 1 to 24, 2022, the reference 40565 Santa's Workshop with its 329 pieces that make it possible to assemble what vaguely resembles Santa's workshop.

LEGO sells us the complementarity between this box and the other small seasonal set offered on the occasion of the VIP weekend and Black Friday, the reference 40564 Winter Elves Scene, but it is obvious that the manufacturer plays on the desire to collect these little thematic sets more than on the real desire to coordinate the two products which can still be placed on a shelf.

Those who collect these products especially because they are flanked by the seal "Limited Edition" can hardly ignore, the box is pretty and it is matched with the other references of the same type.

The bearded man's workshop here is rather basic, there is only the bare minimum in the middle of two sections of the walls of an American barn that would have been blown over by a hurricane. There are two sliding doors (which slide), a treadmill (which slides) on which there are a few toys and a computer placed on the counter. nothing to cry genius in terms of interior design, it's minimalist.

The product does not escape a small sheet of stickers with two stickers to be installed in the workshop. The two minifigs provided are based on parts far from new, not enough to get up at night to spend the 150 € requested.

In short, if you haven't already spent too much money to take advantage of the different offers offered during the past two weekends, you can benefit from the one that will allow you to obtain this little box and add this construction to your winter village and festive. By installing this somewhat sloppy workshop with the right angle, it will almost be an illusion.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at December 10, 2022 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 ICONS set 10307 Eiffel Tower, a large box of 10.001 pieces which will be available at the retail price of €629.99 from November 25th. Everyone will have an opinion on this voluminous interpretation of the Parisian monument, and as usual I want above all to emphasize here a few points which seem important to me in order to help those who hesitate to make an informed decision.

Like many of you, I was first frankly impressed by the first visuals of this imposing model which we cannot a priori blame for much. At first sight, the object seems very faithful to the reference monument and the announced measurements have something to impress, this last point eclipsing almost all the rest of the marketing arguments in favor of the product. With a footprint of 57 x 57 cm and a height of 1 m, this Eiffel Tower is indeed an exceptional object which therefore promises to guarantee long hours of assembly and an attractive exhibition potential.

I was lucky enough to be able to assemble this big model and I had promised myself, as often, to take my time to discover and savor all the subtleties of the set. However, it seemed obvious to me from the start that the assembly was going to reserve some somewhat boring and repetitive sequences and I therefore took the precaution of dividing the "experience" into many sessions that were too short to begin to feel tired.

The product inventory may seem substantial with the presence announced on the packaging of 10.001 elements including the essential brick separator, but it is in fact made up of only 277 different parts including more than 400 flowers, 666 plates 1x6, 324 bars (1x3 / 1x4) or even 660 Bar 1L with Handle. Those who love road plates will be served with twenty copies which are installed under the tower.

The inventory is also inflated by the presence of many small items whose presence may at first glance seem superfluous. But the rigidity of the tower is ensured by the use of many short elements which could easily have been replaced by longer versions, but at the cost of a visible deflection of certain substructures. It's not me who says it, it's the designer of the set. No new parts in this box, just new colors for elements already present in the manufacturer's catalog.

A logistical detail: The sachets are all unique, there are no two sachets bearing the same number in this box and this is good news for those who are not used to the presence of several sachets bearing the same number in open for a single assembly phase. There are 74 plastic bags distributed in the three cardboard sub-packages, not counting those that remain neutral and contain additional elements such as carousel rails, flexible rods or various and varied plates. The assembly process is therefore simplified by this more rational numbering, that's always taken.

On closer inspection, we quickly realize that this plastic Eiffel Tower is in fact an "idealized" version of the monument which would draw from different eras depending on the area concerned, eliminating certain details, adding others and forcing on arrival on the idea that the tower flanked by a large French flag at the top is in fact installed in the middle of an orchard filled with benches and Parisian lampposts.

We could conclude that we are therefore moving away from the pure exhibition model to get a little closer to the product for the distracted tourist who would like to bring back a nice souvenir of his Parisian holidays, forgetting in passing the current configuration of the place with its esplanade sadly tarred, its endless queues, its slightly anxiety-inducing security system and its very insistent street vendors. Why not, the LEGO version is after all only a free interpretation of reality.

You will also have noticed that the Eiffel Tower is simply not the right color here. It has never been gray over the years, it has only come in different shades of brown. The designer admits that there have been many discussions about this internally and justifies the colorway Dark Bluish Gray used by invoking in bulk the chromatic relationship between this box and the one marketed in 2007 (10181 Eiffel Tower), the impossibility of producing the entire inventory in a new, more suitable color without penalizing other sets due to internal limitations at LEGO on this specific point, or even some vague aesthetic considerations which, in my opinion, are more like a posteriori justification than anything else.

Many will try to convince themselves and you by the way that the chosen color was the most suitable, but that does not change the fact that it is simply not the right color. The dark gray used here nevertheless allows, according to the designer, to take advantage of a welcome contrast between the object and its possible exhibition context, but I am still unsatisfied on this point. The big French flag planted at the top of the tower has as usual nothing to do there, we are no longer in 1944 when French firefighters bravely hoisted a flag at the top under German fire, but it can be removed s it bothers you.

The set also explores the limits of readability when it comes to the assembly instructions divided into three booklets, certain angles are difficult to decipher and it will be necessary to remain vigilant despite the inevitable many frankly repetitive sequences imposed by the subject treated. Those who have taken the time to zoom in on the official visuals will have understood that some sections are a little fragile with braces that only hold on a single fixing point and which tend to move easily during handling. Some will therefore undoubtedly have the impression that the sub-assemblies connected on one side of the structure and which end in the void on the other spoil the overall rendering a little, especially when this tower is observed closely.

The set actually gives the illusion of a certain distance and it will be necessary to take the time to position all these braces very precisely correctly so that the effect persists closer. The regular dusting of the model with a brush must also be carried out without insisting too much, at the risk of moving some of these many crosses. You know this if you have watched the product presentation on Youtube, the four arches based on carousel rails are purely decorative, they do not support the upper structure of the tower, as on the real one.

I can't give a damn about the use of 32 sausages which are therefore now available in a previously unseen color, their presence does not seem to me to be likely to visually disturb the final result and it is always less serious than barrels that would be used to symbolize something other than their primary function. The argument of "it's too big but there are gray sausages" will allow you to create a diversion during your evenings with friends when they are looking for a place to sit in your cluttered living room.

More seriously, I still salute the work of the team in charge of designing this Eiffel Tower at LEGO, we are a long way from the basic stacking set 10181 marketed in 2007 and this new product involves many elements and techniques that make it a beautiful showcase of the manufacturer's current know-how.

I leave to all those who will make the effort to invest 630 € in this product the pleasure of discovering the different techniques used to preserve the essential mobility of the feet which allows them to be adjusted, the design of the different intermediate platforms and the connection points between the different sections, there is in my opinion enough to conclude that the designer has tried to do his best so that the fans find their account in spite of the few questionable choices of which I speak above and the lack of homogeneity of the curvature of the monument beyond the second floor. As luxurious as it is, this product remains a modest plastic model that cannot overcome certain constraints. On arrival, the model is stable, it does not wobble and the weight of the entire structure is well distributed over the four legs, as on the real one.

As for the assembly experience, it can't be called frankly entertaining, unless you like (very) repetitive sequences. There remains the pleasure of connecting the four legs together by orienting them so that they meet above the center of the base, of discovering from a certain distance the visual effect produced by the dozens of braces installed or the satisfaction to stack the four sections to obtain the final product but it will be difficult to escape a certain weariness which will precede the other problem posed by this product: where to put it once completely assembled? Let us be clear, there is no question of complaining about having the possibility of affording a large model which provides long hours of assembly, but it will then be necessary to find the ideal location to exhibit this enormous model which don't do it discreetly.

Those who have a room dedicated to their favorite hobby will quickly find a corner to display this Eiffel Tower, the others will have to learn to live with this luxury coat rack stuck somewhere in their living room. The good news is that the assembly can be moved or stored quite easily thanks to the cutting of the model into four independent sections which are simply fitted together. The base plate is also provided with four side notches which allow it to be grasped without breaking everything, it is well seen.

I won't be one of those who will buy this box, because I don't need a 1m50 high Eiffel Tower in my house, just as I can easily do without a wallpaper with the Empire State Building or large letters format the word kitchen on the wall of my kitchen, and that I wouldn't find a place for it that could really show it off anyway. On the other hand, I would have settled for a less ambitious but more compact model to obtain a more acceptable compromise between finish and size. To be totally honest, however, I do not regret having been able to have this imposing construction in my hands, the assembly of which, lasting around twenty hours, deserves to be shared with several people so that everyone can taste the different techniques offered.

LEGO once again wanted to impress its world with the "highest official product"Never marketed by the brand and the objective has probably been achieved in terms of marketing. It remains to be seen whether this announcement effect is transformed into sales volume thereafter, but even if this Eiffel Tower does not become a commercial success , it will have achieved its primary objective: to get people talking about the brand at a time of year when toy manufacturers are vying for the favors of consumers.

Now it's up to you whether this big adult fan toy that's also a very impressive but also very idealized rendition of the Eiffel Tower is worth moving the living room sofa to make room for it. If you intend to treat yourself to this product, don't spoil yourself too much about what makes it interesting: the different solutions used to arrive at the final result. This will be the only real reward you will get besides being able to display this great Eiffel Tower in your home.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at November 28, 2022 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 very quickly interested in the small LEGO set 40579 Eiffel’s Apartment which will be offered to purchasers of the reference 10307 Eiffel Tower (629.99 €) from November 25th. We are not going to complain about taking advantage of a small promotional product for the purchase of a very large (and expensive) box, a few additional pieces are always welcome. This is about assembling Gustave Eiffel's office located just under the bell tower of the tower and the real version of the premises was obviously more spacious than the very cluttered micro-diorama proposed here, but the general idea of ​​​​the office crossed by a beam of the structure is there.

you also have to stick a very large handful of stickers on the walls to obtain the effect of old wallpaper which in the end has its little effect. For the rest, you have to make do with a few micro-furniture and a very average micro-version of the Eiffel Tower itself with its revolvers which serve as its base. The finish of the places remains generally very basic with many visible tenons that a layer of Tiles could have easily concealed. Do not try to integrate this diorama into the big tower in LEGO version, it is obviously not possible.

The Gustave Eiffel minifigure delivered in this box is a rather common assembly of parts: the face of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the hair of Vernon Dursley, the torso of Cédric Diggory and a pair of neutral legs. Not enough to get up at night and it's a bit of a shame, this little set was an opportunity to offer us a pretty exclusive and unique figurine to please all those who have spent lavishly to encumber themselves with the imposing associated model and who may have already visited this office accessible to the public.

In short, the attention of LEGO vis-à-vis all those who will fall for the set 10307 Eiffel Tower from its launch is commendable but the execution of this small promotional product of 228 pieces is in my opinion a little too economical. It's up to you.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at November 28, 2022 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.

For once, we are now interested in a product that is not officially licensed but does not hide its intentions to take advantage of the notoriety of the brand without however infringing the rules on property. intellectual. The Chinese manufacturer Melgeek, known for its mechanical keyboards, each one more original than the next, is today launching the PIXEL model, a customizable accessory using colored bricks.

The keyboard itself is largely on par with what is currently done in terms of keystroke quality in the consumer keyboard sector and the connectivity is rather complete. It is compatible with Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS and Android, it can be used in 2.4 GHz wireless mode using the included USB dongle, in wired mode via the USB Type C cable present in the box and even in Bluetooth 5.1 mode . It has a 3100 mAh battery and the shell and keys are made of ABS plastic. The different types of connection are all perfectly functional, I haven't noticed any particular problem on this side.

The product uses switches from the Chinese brand Kailh, it's not Cherry MX but it's more than enough for a keyboard of this type which anyway does not offer sufficient ergonomics to support long typing sessions . The keyboard is not strictly speaking tiltable and it is not the few pads provided that allow it to be put in a comfortable position for the user.

Melgeek however offers to tilt it using bricks fixed under the keyboard, why not. It is also very thick and it will at least be necessary to consider adding a wrist rest to avoid hurting yourself. Typing is relatively pleasant, however, with enough key travel to confirm the action and a noise that is much more bearable than that of conventional mechanical keyboards.

Beyond its main function, this keyboard is above all an accessory that wants to be in tune with the times with its visible tenons and its compatibility with the products of the Danish manufacturer. It is possible to put Tiles everywhere or almost, even under the transparent capsules of the keys and even on the back of the keyboard. We also wonder a little what is the point of being able to customize the underside of the product, but it's possible and it's geeky so it's cool.

Le Clutch Power of the white shell of the keyboard is very correct, it is less effective on the transparent inserts placed on the studs, let the compatible bricks provided do not come off. The "official" bricks are also perfectly maintained.

The customization possibilities are also almost endless thanks to an interface specially developed to allow users to make their keyboard truly unique by creating their own design or by taking advantage of the creativity of other owners who have already taken the trouble to submit their patterns on the geekmade platform.

I will not make this keyboard without a numeric keypad my daily accessory, it does not offer the ergonomics and comfort of a classic keyboard, but the object will perhaps appeal to the youngest who will use it to decorate a little their office. The keys are interchangeable, so you can vaguely transform the object into a QWERTY keyboard even if some keys will not be in the right place in any case. However, the manufacturer makes it possible to acquire the product with neutral, non-printed touches and then customize them via the dedicated KB Tools application. This application also allows updating the firmware of the product.

This product is launched on the Kickstarter platform with delivery announced for early 2023. Please note that many customization accessories are optional and the bill, which starts at $199, increases very quickly. Three different models are offered depending on your tastes and personalization projects. However, think about the potential risk of after-sales service on these products, the manufacturer is in China. It's up to you.

Note: The product shown here, provided by Melgeek, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at November 6, 2022 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.