Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Marvel set 76210 Hulkbuster, a large box of 4049 pieces which will be available at the public price of 549.99 € in VIP preview from November 4 before global availability announced for November 9, 2022.

Everyone will have had plenty of time to form a very precise opinion on this interpretation of the Hulkbuster since the first leaks via the usual channels followed by the official announcement of the product, but I want to go back in detail to a few points which seem important to me and which may help tip the balance one way or the other when it comes to checkout.

What I remember from this product after having assembled it, handled it and presented it to those around me, is that LEGO has not really chosen sides in this file: the construction hesitates without really deciding between an exhibition model at the certainly perfectible but detailed design and toy for children which puts in the foreground the only real integrated functionality and is then satisfied to dress all that as best as possible while not arriving on arrival to completely free itself from many technical constraints.

The possibility of installing the figurine of the set 76206 Iron Man Figure at the controls of the armor is indeed only briefly mentioned in the official description of the product but we nevertheless have the impression that it is indeed this functionality undoubtedly placed at the very top of the list of the specifications which dictated a large part of the designers' work. From the beginning of the assembly of the torso of this Hulkbuster, we understand that it is imperative to leave room for the figurine and that everything else or almost is only a consequence of this choice.

The assembly of the product is divided into three separate booklets and the progression remains rather entertaining despite the inevitable somewhat repetitive phases when it comes, for example, to building the limbs of the armor. We don't get bored, there are some good ideas, but we quickly realize that we will have to be very careful when moving the object with many decorative elements that only fit on a tenon. The fragility of the model is then quickly confirmed and it is easily annoyed when it is necessary for example to recover some parts unhooked following the rather brutal insertion of the Mark 43 version in the entrails of the Hulkbuster.

The torso is a large cage with a relatively basic structure on which we place a few decorative sub-assemblies and then fix the members of the armor. On the way, a first luminous brick is installed which will be used to highlight theFace Reactor integrated into the torso via an apparent pusher and the side sections are fixed, which are too far apart with the resulting transparency effect, the latter only being attenuated later by the insertion of the small headstock in the Mark version 43. The light brick is installed behind the Fresnel lens in the LEGO version already seen in the LEGO Ideas set 21335 Motorized Lighthouse, the element here is perfectly adapted to obtain the desired effect.

The 3.2 kg and 52 cm high figurine needs stability, so we assemble a pair of static legs filled with Technic beams and covered with decorative elements which are also often a little too far apart to convince, as if the designer had obligation to save money on this specific point by skipping a row of pieces as soon as possible. The feet are rather detailed but they are also lined with extremely fragile decorative subsets.

The arms of the armor are of the same barrel with points of articulations which remain too visible especially when they are fixed with blue pins. It may be objected that it is only LEGO and that these pins are in a way a "signature" effect of the brand, I still remain unsatisfied with the level of finish of the set.

The Hulkbuster only has four fingers on each hand and that's normal. In the palm of both hands, there is a light brick in the usual format very well integrated, you will have to press the pusher to take advantage of the promised light effect. The fingers are well articulated, it will be possible to play on the positions according to the posture that you want to present on your shelves. The mobility of the arms is however limited with decorative subsets which quickly come to a stop and which cause a little frustration.

Almost everyone agrees that this Hulkbuster has rather rough proportions, especially when it comes to comparing it with other high-end resin models inspired by the same armor seen on screen. in the movie Avengers: Age of Ultron.

It must be admitted that the shoulders or the pelvis of the armor are here far from being faithful to the reference armor with on one side the feeling of dealing with a Japanese mech or a samurai in uniform with a garment that would fall on the front and on the other the fleeting impression that this Hulkbuster is as if swaddled in a toddler's diaper. The front side of the torso lacks its volume side with two pectorals that are too flat and a waist that is too thin. Once again, I have the feeling that it is above all the possibility of sliding the headstock of the 76206 set that takes precedence over everything else.

The Hulkbuster's helmet is pad-printed and I find it aesthetically rather successful even if I would have preferred eyes of the same blue as those of theFace Reactor and repulsors installed in the palms of the hands. There is also a pattern missing on the back of the helmet, it's a bit empty. It's not its positioning on the armor that seems questionable to me, it's the shape and thickness of the sub-assemblies placed around it that gives me the impression that the helmet is in fact installed one or two studs too down.

We make in passing the usual point on the manufacturing defects which annoy me especially on a top-of-the-range product sold for 550 €: I do not even insist on the many scratched parts from the unpacking, they are there and it will not take do not hesitate to contact customer service to obtain their replacement if you consider that their condition is definitely not acceptable.

Worse, the set makes use of 242 elements in Metallic Gold with for many of them a level of finish that is not compatible with a resolutely high-end product (see close-up in the gallery below). After 90 years of existence, LEGO still does not manage to offer correctly covered parts and it is frankly disappointing. If this is once again about impressing potential customers by showing them what can be done with a few bricks, you might as well do it right by making sure the finish lives up to the claims. 'a manufacturer who keeps telling us he's the best.

LEGO does not hesitate to impose a very large handful of stickers in this box. Beyond the ordeal of having to stick large stickers on a top-of-the-range model intended for an adult audience and sold for €550, it is the color of some of these stickers which, in my opinion, increases the visual confusion: between the pieces in Pearl Gold, those in Metallic Gold and the yellow of these stickers, we get a little lost and the whole thing becomes a little too messy in places. Special mention for the stickers that take place on the bodywork elements used for the shoulders of the armor, they are to be stuck diagonally on a curved surface and they inevitably end up peeling off at the ends after a few hours.

The included Tony Stark minifig doesn't raise the overall level of the product, it's an ever so minimalist interpretation of the version of the character already seen in the LEGO Marvel promotional set 40334 Avengers Tower. Neutral legs, torso successful but not stunning in the absence of pad printing on the right arm, usual head: the figurine plays its role perfectly as a decorative element on the display stand provided but it does not add much to the product. The most complete collectors will obviously want to add it to their Ribba frames, but many of them will no doubt wait wisely to be able to obtain it via the secondary market instead of burdening themselves with a pile of parts sold for €550.

You will understand, I am generally very mixed about this Hulkbuster. However, I wanted to like this imposing and original derivative product and this was the case when I discovered the first visuals of the armor presented from its best angles by the manufacturer. Having since had it in my hands, I have become less enthusiastic about it both in substance and in form. I am one of those who expect at least an acceptable finish from products for which they pay a high price and this Hulkbuster pays the price for a lack of care which seems unacceptable to me.

I also readily understand the few approximations and other aesthetic shortcuts often imposed by the passage to the LEGO grinder but this model seems to me to have been a little disfigured by the desire to make it at all costs a luxury case for the doll of the set 76206. Wanting to seduce too many people with the integration of a dispensable feature, LEGO ultimately misses its main target and misses the point a little.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at November 5, 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. Figure from set 76206 is NOT included.

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

Today we take a quick tour of the content of the LEGO Ideas set 21337 Soccer table, a box of 2339 pieces which will be available at the retail price of €249.99 from November 1, 2022. As you probably already know, this product is vaguely inspired by the winning creation of a competition organized in 2021 on the platform that is used to collect ideas from fans. From the initial idea, there is not much left besides the not really obvious desire to try to reproduce a table football.

Yet that was the concept: to offer fans a playable football table based on LEGO bricks. The manufacturer has had plenty of time to assess the possibility of getting something convincing since the announcement of the winner of this contest and there are sometimes ideas that are better to reject than to insist on finally proposing an official product that no longer has much to do with the reference concept. The creation in question was only a digital rendering which did not take into account the inevitable constraints linked to the construction of an object intended to be handled roughly by four players, its adaptation into a physical product in accordance with the manufacturer's requirements could therefore reserve a few surprises and complicate the work of the designers in charge of the file.

During the Fan Media Days which took place in Billund a few weeks ago, LEGO had presented us with some prototypes respectful of the scale of the original creation and had admitted to having found no satisfactory solution to obtain a sufficiently solid football table. Various and varied Technic beams, axes connected to each other to cross the game board, the designers tried many solutions which all proved to be disappointing and too fragile.

Clinging to the idea of ​​offering a football table without investing in the design of bars that are both long and sufficiently rigid, the manufacturer has therefore decided to reduce the format of the object at the risk of disappointing all those who expected to be able to enjoy a game experience similar to that offered by a classic table football.

The micro foosball table to be built here is designed to withstand the onslaught of two players who can compete against each other: it weighs almost two kilos and it is strong enough not to disintegrate each time the four bars are manipulated. You can see it in the photos that I propose to you, the internal structure of the construction is made up of large elements and it is reinforced by some beams and other Technic pins which make it possible to avoid any deformation or dislocation. The solution used to fix the players on their respective bars is also designed to avoid losing a figurine during the game. It's rough but strong enough not to have to pull out the instruction booklet at halftime.

Of the four rows of players per team usually present on a standard football table, there are only two left here and the goalkeeper finds himself surrounded by two defenders. It's not really in the spirit of the game we know anymore and even if this shortcut won't harm the pleasure of being able to play a few games on this toy, it's far from being like traditional foosball. . The game board having been reduced in length and width, the range of movement of the bars is also greatly limited and there will therefore remain only the vague impression of playing with a foosball table without being able to take advantage of all the subtleties. usual.

One might think that it is possible to count the points easily thanks to the two rulers placed on the goals, but you have to force frankly to move the balls on the Technic axis to which they are fixed. We therefore quickly come to the conclusion that these counters are more there to imitate those of a real table football than to allow a real follow-up of the score of the current meeting. There are no stickers in this box but the only pad-printed elements are anyway the four green plates which serve as the terrain as well as the board and the Tile  Friends"I Love Heartlake City"hidden in the bowels of table football.

Very quickly, the marketing speech that was served to us in Billund around the product had also slipped towards what this box has to offer on the sidelines of this micro foosball: a very large handful of minifigs divided into two teams of eleven players with endless customization possibilities to celebrate "living together", diversity, etc. Not all the players can take their place on the ramps of the table football and it was necessary to find something to display them next to the object, the manufacturer therefore adds a display unit which allows the figurines to be installed and stored in the base heads and other additional hair provided.

LEGO is trying to distract some attention and make up for the possible disappointment of anyone expecting otherwise by building a big layer of diversity and inclusivity into this box. We therefore obtain 22 minifigs in outfit, 44 heads and 43 hair with all skin tones, some handicaps or conditions represented and the promise that everyone must find their way around. Why not, the customization possibilities are there. It is theoretically possible to use any head on a torso, the neck of the character not being stamped in a precise shade, but the most demanding will still have to take into account the color of the hands to create coherent miniatures . Or not, it's as you wish, everyone is awesome even with hands of another color.

Knowing that there are only five players per team on the board, I would have preferred LEGO to rely on actual teams per five-player batch to add some spice to the experience. After all, LEGO has already worked with Real Madrid, FC Barcelona or Manchester United and getting some nice official outfits would have been a plus. I indeed find the generic outfits provided here a little disappointing, even a fictitious sponsor on the chest would have been welcome in my opinion. Regulars of game rooms will object that the players are just as neutral on a real table football, but we are in any case already very far from a credible representation of the thing and an aesthetic digression more or less changed much more.

In short, this product, which is too expensive for what it has to offer, will undoubtedly be quickly forgotten, especially during a period during which LEGO is asking us each month with much more attractive sets, always bigger and always more expensive. It's not a playable, friendly and fun table football like many of us knew in our youth, and Thierry Henry and Marcus Rashford, called in to help promote the product in exchange a big check, pretending to have fun in the advertisements for this box, there is in my opinion nothing to marvel at this big package of minifigs at 250 € accompanied by a few parts. Next.

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

As promised, today we are quickly interested in the contents of the LEGO Creator 3-in-1 set 40562 Mystic Witch, a promotional product that will be offered on the official online store and in LEGO Stores from October 14 to 31, 2022 from €100 without range restrictions.

LEGO therefore offers us a seasonal product around the Halloween holidays with the added bonus of the possibility of building something other than the witch: the product inventory, 257 pieces, makes it possible to assemble two alternative constructions as it always is. the case in the aptly named LEGO Creator 3-in-1 range, here a cat and a dragon both wearing the same hat as the main construction of the set. We therefore understand that these are three versions of the same witch, including two where she "transforms" into various and varied creatures.

Again, I think LEGO is getting a bit carried away with its 3-in-1 set concept that promises us two alternative builds: both models only reuse a small portion of the product's inventory ( see photos below) and we end up for each of the two other models offered with a large quantity of unused parts which is a bit of a stain.

The witch is rather amusing and she offers some interesting construction techniques such as the level of the skirt or the bust, but the finish of the figurine is really basic. The back of the build is desperately flat when it would have taken just a few pieces to give the character's torso and head some volume.

The arms and hands of the witch are also very simplified, it's a bit disappointing. The cat is just acceptable with the flat back of its head and only the dragon remains to find favor in my eyes despite a head that is also flat at the back. Special mention all the same for the broom with its twisted handle and its bush at the end. I would have rather seen the same piece in beige but it will have to be done with this green broom.

We are therefore not going to gargle on the level of the constructions proposed, they will largely do the trick within a festive decoration based on pumpkins and other cobwebs but there is nothing to cry genius here creative. Be careful, if you don't already know, it is not possible to assemble the three models at the same time, you have to disassemble one to assemble another.

We can't blame this year on LEGO for its lack of inspiration for Halloween parties, even if the finish of the product remains really very basic. There is still enough to keep the youngest busy, that's the main thing. It will therefore be up to you to see if the offer which will allow you to obtain this small box from 100 € of purchase is sufficiently attractive to encourage you to spend your money on the official store.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 21th October, 2022 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate.

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

We close this series of reviews of the novelties of the new LEGO Avatar range with a quick overview of the contents of the set. 75574 Toruk Makto & Tree of Souls, a box of 1212 pieces available at the public price of €149.99 since October 1, 2022. This set is in principle the "flagship" of the range, it is therefore around it that the other boxes revolve, some of which cannot be summarized ultimately only more or less affordable extensions.

This box is therefore logically the one that allows us to obtain a little more vegetation than in the other sets. Pandora is represented here in a more credible way than in the other products of the range with three subsets which are accompanied by the Tree of Souls and the geography of the places is more or less respected with at least one of the rocky arches which surround this tree. However, it's still as poor in lush vegetation, the visual illustration of the packaging can suggest something more dense, and LEGO does not really make an effort to offer us something frankly dense in this box, however. sold for €150.

The tree does not demerit, it is relatively consistent and consumes parts from the inventory provided. The base is a stack of many elements, the trunk is relatively detailed and it will be necessary to go through the somewhat repetitive assembly of the many sub-assemblies which constitute the ends of the branches. Everyone will have an opinion on the result, I find the construction rather convincing.

The other big build on offer in this box is a Leonopteryx and LEGO is going all out on the creature's head with two nicely executed pieces. We find a very cartoon spirit as for the two Banshees of the set 75572 Jake & Neytiri's First Banshee Flight but this product is aimed at a very young audience and this colorful interpretation of the creature seeks to convince them to ask their parents to buy this box.

The wings of the Leonopteryx are here also covered with soft plastic elements covered with legal notices, I'm not really a fan of this solution which, in my opinion, is a little easy. The wings are colorful and detailed, but the combination of those large single-sided printed plastic inserts with classic pieces doesn't strike me as delivering the polished aesthetic we might have hoped for for a $150 box in which the creature in question is one of the flagship products.

Leonopteryx's wings and legs are movable enough to allow for some interesting poses and the build can be staged atop the provided rock arch. Even if the joints are a little too visible with parts whose color is not really fitting with that of the rest of the construction, it is well seen and it will be possible to display a pretty scene on the corner of a shelf between two play sessions. Speaking of having fun, we quickly realize that LEGO has designed this range as a set of essential products for each other: there is not much to do with the contents of this box without having a little opposition on hand.

Four minifigures are delivered in this set, Mo'at, Neytiri, Jake Sully in Toruk Makto and Tsu'tey mode, and we have the whole range of facial expressions and hairstyles imagined by LEGO to interpret these different characters. I won't go back on my perception of these figurines, it hasn't changed in a few weeks and I find them disappointing even if I gladly salute the effort in terms of the pad printing of faces and outfits. We also obtain here a copy of the Pa'li ​​(or Equidius) also available in the set 75573 Floating Mountains: Site 26 & RDA Samson, the molded figurine is sorely lacking in pad printing to really convince me.

As with some of the other sets in the range, I'm having a little trouble finding the equivalent of $150 worth of content in this set. The decor is certainly a little more dense, the Leonopteryx with a wingspan of 49 cm is imposing but it is still very quickly assembled and we are a little unsatisfied on arrival.

This "juniorization" of the Avatar universe may disappoint some fans, but I think that sooner or later we will be entitled to a more detailed set aimed at the brand's adult clientele. The first film was released in 2009 and those who enjoyed it back then are now 13 years older and perhaps waiting for a more detailed spin-off to display as part of their collection. On the other hand, I have no illusions about the next wave of LEGO derivative products which will be inspired by the second part of the saga, we will find there the many molded parts created for this range and continuity will logically be in order.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 18th October, 2022 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate.

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

Today we take a very quick tour of the content of the LEGO Marvel set 76214 Black Panther: War on the Water, a box of 545 pieces sold at the public price of €89.99 since October 1, 2022. It's war on the water. The title is very explicit, it is a war on water.

We therefore deduce that the big thing to build is a boat. This is also confirmed by the official description of the product which tells us that it is the Royal Sea Leopard, the royal leopard of the seas. It's a boat. A little reassured by this confirmation that the thing floats, we therefore calmly build the boat with the false air of a futuristic yacht knowing that it is the big boat whose sides we briefly see in the first teaser of the film. Unless it's just the tip of a submarine. On a different scale.

And this boat doesn't have much to offer apart from the few Technic beams that make up the bottom and the large elements that form the hull. There is indeed a cell there which, according to the official visuals, allows King Namor to be locked up, but that's all. The rest softly evokes the bow of a larger ship and the cockpit is here hidden behind the front of the machine. I also took a little time to realize that the transparent parts at the front are intended to allow the driver to find his way.

The boat is obviously powered by two reactors using technology exclusive to Wakanda and there are all the tools and accessories necessary to repair things or put out a possible fire with the usual bag containing a cross for removing car wheels, a spanner knob, an oil can or a screwdriver and two fire extinguishers. It was necessary to include something to "play" a little with this product.

It looks like a piece of the boat is missing or at least something on the deck, but we'll have to wait to see what this product derived from the film is really inspired by. Black Panther Wakanda Forever to get to the bottom of it. It is quite possible that the LEGO version is really very faithful to the reference boat. No just kidding. I was able to meet the designer of the set during the Fan Media Days which were taking place in Billund a few days ago and he was not very sure of himself. He worked from information provided by Disney and by his own admission, the pitch was very thin.

Either way, there's not much to do here beyond a few minutes and there's none for $90 even with the two supplied "pop-up rotor" drones. The two mini-constructions flanked by stickers are identical but I do not know, the designer either, who they are aiming with their Stud Shooters side. It's confusing, but we can imagine Namor attacking the yacht and ending up in a cell.

We have a big handful of minifigs left to collect in this box with Black Panther, King Namor, Ironheart MK2, M'Baku and Okoye. The assortment is interesting, there is enough to fill a few boxes of your Ribba frames with these different characters or variants. The Namor figurine is identical to the one available in the set 76213 King Namor's Throne Room (355 pieces - 34.99 €), the other characters are unpublished in this form.

Fans of Riri Williams alias Ironheart are served with a variant of the character who is here equipped with her armor in Mark 2 version. These are therefore already two figurines of the young heiress of Tony Stark who join our collections after the Mark 1 version of the set 76211 Shuri's Sunbird (355 pieces - €49.99). Riri is here provided with a hair that allows you to enjoy the character without a helmet, a one-piece molded accessory already used to the limit by LEGO but nicely stamped for the occasion. We will obviously be entitled to the Mark 3 version of the armor of the character introduced in this film with a series which should arrive soon on the Disney + platform.

The figures of M'Baku and Okoye seem successful to me, the outfits are convincing despite the neutral legs and the faces are rather detailed. Too bad for the lack of pad printing on the legs, even Black Panther pays the price for this economical choice.

We're not going to lie to each other any longer, everyone will have understood that it's Shuri who wears the Black Panther costume in the film. The front of the box tries to leave a little suspense but the back of the packaging sells the wick with the girl's head resting on Black Panther's chest. This new variant of the character does not demerit with a well-executed torso and mask, it will join the previous versions in our collections.

In short, not enough to cry creative genius with this box which ultimately only has the merit of offering us a handful of new characters and rather well interpreted. It's already good, but 90 € for that, it's way too expensive. We will therefore wisely wait for a brand to offer us this derivative product at a much lower price before cracking.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 12th October, 2022 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate.

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