Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO set 40491 Year of the Tiger, a small box of 193 pieces offered currently and until January 27, 2022 if the stock allows it from 85 € of purchase. It is now a tradition since 2013, the manufacturer celebrates each year the animal in the spotlight in the Chinese zodiac with a small promotional product and it is therefore the turn of the tiger to go through the LEGO grinder in 2022.

The animal and its base are quickly assembled and the result is rather pleasant to watch. It is as usual a very cartoon interpretation of the animal but we obtain a construction perfectly matched with those of previous years. Despite the compactness of the model, this tiger still has some moving parts: the tail and the ears. The head is fixed, it cannot be oriented to allow for example a three-quarter presentation as was the case on the buffalo in the set 40417 Year of the Ox offered last year. For the rest, this tiger looks great, it does not look too much like a cat and the finish of the back of the construction is very correct.

As every year, the product includes a "red envelope" which allows you to respect tradition: in Asia people offer money to their loved ones on the occasion of the New Year celebrations and you can therefore also comply with this custom. thanks to the envelope provided which is not red on the outside but whose interior is the traditional color. The box even allows you to personalize the thing with a label on which it is possible to indicate the name of the recipient and the origin of the gift. Only problem, the envelope being in the box, you will first have to open the set to deposit the money and offer everything afterwards. The flap packaging is well resealable, but there will always be the cut-out transparent sticker.

It's not the product of the year, but if you already have the seven animals already offered so far by LEGO, you can hardly ignore this one knowing that the entire collection is based on the same principle. of "cartoonization". The minimum purchase amount required to be offered this small box valued after LEGO at €9.99 is €85 this year, as was already the case last year to obtain the set 40417 Year of the Ox. In 2020 it was enough 80 € to get a copy of the set 40355 Year of the Rat.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 24th January 2022 next at 23pm.

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

Today we quickly tour the LEGO Star Wars set 75322 Hoth AT-ST, a small box of 586 pieces available at the public price of 49.99 € since January 1, 2022.

The AT-ST being one of the many chestnut trees in the LEGO Star Wars range, you always need one in the manufacturer's catalog whether it is from the Original Trilogy, the Rogue One movie, the latest trilogy or The Mandalorian series. To furnish while waiting for better, LEGO therefore offers us a more obscure version of the machine based for this time on two very short scenes of Episode V: we briefly see an example in the background behind an AT-AT (30:22 ) then a second in the background behind the head of Luke Skywalker (32:55). Since nothing looks more like an AT-ST than another AT-ST, this one will do the trick with fans looking to add at least one copy of the two-legged contraption to their collections.

We do not change the recipe of a product that sells without forcing and the assembly of this new AT-ST in Hoth version is similar to that of other versions already on the market. Some Technic beams for the legs, blue pines which remain visible, a rotating cabin with more or less well managed angles and very restricted mobility, we find here all the characteristics of the other versions of the machine.

LEGO does not make any effort to try to improve the playability of these machines by allowing them for example to "walk", the two legs being able to be tilted slightly only towards the back. This is in fact not a problem if we consider the approach of the machine on the screen but it still strongly limits the possibilities of a little more dynamic presentation of the product. Fortunately, the honor is safe with a cabin that turns 360 ° thanks to the wheel placed at the back.

The cabin is as usual very narrow but the pilot's minifigure easily finds its place inside. The finish of this element of the set is generally acceptable even if there are still some slightly gaping spaces here and there, knowing that this Hoth version of the AT-ST is equipped with a more compact cabin than that of similar bipeds deployed in other environments. Everyone knows that we walk more easily in the snow with long legs and this AT-ST is a little more slender than its congeners with a height of 26 cm against for example 24 cm for the Rogue One version.

This AT-ST is also stable on its two slightly longer feet than those of other variants, the machine will not fall from your shelf at the slightest blow. Two ammunition can be ejected via the buttons placed at the rear of the cabin, the mechanism is nicely integrated and is discreet. The consolation prize of the set: an Imperial probe droid which "floats" above a patch of snow and which seems to me rather successful considering the scale used, it is always taken.

No stickers in this box, the machine didn't really need them and that's always good news.

LEGO adds three minifigs to the box: an imperial pilot for the AT-ST, a rebel soldier and Chewbacca.

Chewbacca's fur is here embellished with some snow stains. Why not, it is always one more unseen figurine and it is in keeping with the film. The traces of snow on the feet are very successful.

The rebel soldier's torso is the one already seen in the small set 40557 Defense of Hoth (14.99 €), it is fitting. The fighter's head is also Ajak's head in the LEGO Marvel Eternals set 76155 In Arishem's Shadow and we will no doubt see this generic face again in many more sets in the future. Too bad for the white legs, some patterns would have been welcome or at least dark legs with the same traces of snow as on Chewbacca's feet.

The pilot of the machine is new, and it has the defect of all the figurines which mix light color pad printed on a dark background and color tinted in the mass. The combination of legs and torso is therefore far from being as successful in real life as on the official retouched visuals. the helmet of this pilot is a new reference whose pad printing is identical to that of the helmet of Veers in the sets 75313AT-AT et 75288AT-AT. Too bad for the difference in color which spoils a figurine which is still very acceptable.

In summary, this AT-ST does not revolutionize the exercise and it takes over from other versions which had more or less the same qualities and faults. Continuity is therefore essential for this machine very popular with fans, LEGO is not taking any risk by trying to make it more mobile.

Younger people will probably laugh to know that this version only appears on the screen briefly and in the background, collectors will be delighted to get a variant rather than a reissue. Everyone will find what they are looking for, now you just have to wait for the set to be available for a few euros less elsewhere than at LEGO, so as not to pay a high price for it.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 18th January 2022 next at 23pm.

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 Ideas set 21331 Sonic The Hedgehog Green Hill Zone, a box of 1125 pieces sold at the public price of € 69.99 vaguely inspired by the project Sonic Mania - Green Hill Zone posted by Viv Grannell on the participatory platform.

There is actually nothing to ask too many questions about this product derived from the legendary video game that has accompanied many fans since the 1990s, its rather reasonable public price avoids wondering whether to crack or not.

Assembling the set is a bit laborious, unless you like to chain stack the 1x1 pieces together and try to line them up neatly. But it is at this price that we get the famous iconic pixel effect of the Green Hill level and we can not deny that it is successful. The construction experience is therefore in my opinion nothing very attractive, but it is the finality that prevails here with on arrival a nice exhibition product 36 cm long by 17 cm high and 6 cm depth.

I regret a little that all the elements of the set are not grouped or associated with each other, in particular to facilitate the display and movement of the product. Here, you have to find how to present the level itself, the small display with the emeralds of chaos and Robotnik installed in his Egg Mobile. Small funny detail that brightens up the laborious assembly of the product: the different Chaos Emeralds are obtained at each end of the assembly step and they are then installed on the intended display.

The four modules of the level are associated with each other over the stages and are then held by the black border which circulates at the foot of the building. It is technically possible to change the arrangement of the level, but the task is complicated by the presence of Technic axes which cannot be extracted from their respective modules without a little disassembly and some of which are too long to allow a perfect adjustment. between two modules. It's a bit of a shame, especially for those who would like to line up several sets and who would like to reorganize the level along its entire length without complicating the task too much. A real modularity thought out from the start would have been welcome.

The playability of this pure exhibition product logically remains very basic: a platform allows Sonic to eject to allow him to reach the three rings placed nearby and the transparent supports can be folded back to simulate the capture of the rings. . It is not possible to fix Sonic upside down in the heart of the loop, nothing has been planned in this direction.

Two sheets of stickers are necessary to dress different elements of the product and the background of some of these stickers does not always match the color of the parts on which they are placed. LEGO even went so far as to impose two stickers on us for the Motobug's facial expressions. The manufacturer who usually doesn't skimp when it comes to pad printing dozens of different items in the LEGO Super Mario line-up disappoints here with these two stickers that really feel like they're looking to save the money.

On the other hand, the designer did not forget to "sign" his creation via the scoreboard which mentions Viv Grannell (VIV), Lauren Cullen King (LCK) who worked on the graphic aspect of the product and Sam Johnson (SAM) the chief designer on this file. Five other stickers embody the different bonuses that Sonic can get and LEGO obviously provides the Tiles on which they take place. It will then be necessary to change these Tiles on the level according to your mood of the day. The possibility is there, but LEGO does not provide the supports which would have made it possible to complete the level with all the bonuses provided. As usual, everything that is not on the two sheets of stickers that I scanned for you is therefore pad printed.

As soon as the product was officially announced, many fans were enthusiastic about the presence of the two Technic pins at the end of the level. Let's not get carried away, until proven guilty, these two pins are only there to possibly combine several copies of the set and fill a shelf along its entire length. It is not me who says it, it is visuals lifestyle of the product. If you only plan to display a single copy of this product, you can simply remove these two pins for a "smoother" finish.

We could also discuss the buoys that embody the rings. As I said during the official announcement of the product, it is compatible with the accessory included in the LEGO Dimensions pack 71244 Sonic The Hedgehog Level Pack, even if the effect obtained here is a bit poor and a new, more suitable gold coin would undoubtedly have been appreciated by the fans.

The only minifigure in the set, Sonic, is successful. It is technically more accomplished than that of the LEGO Dimensions set 71244 Sonic The Hedgehog Level Pack and those who had not invested in the extension of the late video game launched by LEGO will have a minifigure of the character at a lower cost. As often, the official visuals have been retouched and the pad-printed flesh-colored area on the chest is a bit pale.

For the rest, it is necessary to compose with assemblies of bricks more or less convincing: Robotnik is in my opinion frankly failed. I think the character would have deserved more attention from the designers, for example with a cast figurine or at least a more accomplished head. As it stands, it is not worthy of an 18+ stamped set which is only intended to satisfy the nostalgia of an adult clientele who can afford this type of derivative product. The Egg Mobile is doing a little better, but the machine would have in my opinion also deserved some additional efforts. The Crabmeat is very correct, the Motobug is totally missed, it has absolutely nothing of a beetle mounted on a wheel.

On arrival, this product derived from a cult video game franchise does not demerit, in particular because it is sold at a reasonable price. I still have the impression that LEGO has applied a lot to the packaging to the detriment of certain elements of the product itself. The spirit of the initial idea submitted by Viv Grannell is however there and we find the first emblematic level of the Sonic universe, even if the Robotnik of the initial project seems more credible to me than the one delivered here. LEGO hasn't betrayed the idea that fans got excited about on the LEGO Ideas platform and that's already a good thing. For 70 €, it does not have much to think about anyway if nostalgia invades you to the point of wanting to exhibit this product with the very correct finish and limited space.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 16th January 2022 next at 23pm.

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

We are finishing the cycle of reviews of the 2022 novelties of the LEGO Ninjago range, in any case the references that LEGO has kindly sent, with the set 71761 Zane's Power-Up-Mech EVO. 95 pieces in the box, two minifigs and a public price set at 9.99 €, this little set probably does not deserve that we spend hours on it. It is a question here of assembling a mech for Zane, the young ninja being faced with one of the enemies of this "timeless" wave planned for the first half of 2022.

The mech to build here is similar to Kai's delivered in the set 71767 Ninja Dojo Temple, it makes use of the new fixed part which symbolizes the joints on different models. The Ball Seals integrated on the hips, shoulders, hands and feet still allow some interesting poses and this product is probably the ideal complement to boxes with more substantial content. Once the point of balance is found in focntion of the orientation of the torso and the arms, the mech remains very stable on its legs and does not tip over. This is undoubtedly a detail, but this is not the case with all the LEGO mini-mechs marketed so far.

The title of the product takes the mention EVO, seen on other boxes of this first wave 2022, with the promise of a progression in the dressing of the mech which would pass from the simple "companion" stage of Zane to that of weapon ultimate in the service of the young ninja. As I said before, this concept is a bit artificial, the mech appearing a bit gaunt without all the decorative attributes provided, in this case the few golden pieces provided and the belly plate.

No stickers in this small box, all patterned elements are pad printed. The pretty collectible banner is only available in this box, the other seven are distributed among the different products of the range. The big Shuriken in trans blue is identical to the one seen in 2019 in the set 70673 Shuricopter.

Two minifigs are provided in this small box sold for € 9.99 and this set is the best option to get Zane if you don't want to spend the € 84.99 requested by LEGO for the set. 71765 Ultra Combo Ninja Mech or the 39.99 € necessary to afford the extension 71764 Ninja Training Center. Like his acolytes, Zane is dressed in a pretty new kimono with a sober design that I find really very successful. The character's head and hair are elements already seen in many other sets. We will also remember that the wicked cobra is equipped with the new version with a more modern look of the Stud Shooter Manuel.

In short, this affordable little box will make a nice economical gift and it will be within the pocket money of the youngest fans. From a more global point of view, this first wave 2022 of products in the LEGO Ninjago range probably does not reinvent the concept but it puts products with a very "generic" atmosphere within the reach of those who land in this universe. and who do not want or cannot break the bank in the secondary market. A temple, a few dragons, several mechs, a car, everything is there to fully enter this range while waiting for products based on the future seasons of the animated series.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 5th January 2022 next at 23pm.

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

We end the cycle of reviews of new LEGO Marvel products more or less inspired by the latest Spider-Man trilogy to date with the reference 76184 Spider-Man vs. Mysterio's Drone Attack. This little box of 73 pieces loosely based on the events of the film Spider-Man: Far From Home is stamped 4+, so it is sold at a high price to parents who want to offer only the best to their offspring, with a public price of € 19.99.

Young LEGO fans who have just emerged from the DUPLO universe can assemble an SUV, a drone and three minifigs here. Everything is done to make it easier for them, while trying to get them to really build something. The instructions are super detailed, it's impossible to go wrong, and you don't need to get help. No stickers to stick, all patterned elements are pad printed.

What LEGO presents as an SUV is actually a simple four stud wide police vehicle that is assembled in 15 seconds flat. This is the concept 4+ which wants that, the vehicles of this range are generally composed of a few parts and wheels to be placed on a monobloc chassis. No SHIELD logo on the body of the vehicle, that's a bit of a shame.

Mysterio's drone is summed up in its simplest form, yet LEGO had offered us a more faithful version in the set. 76174 Spider-Man's Monster Truck vs. Mysterio. All that remains here is the color of the machine which for the rest has little to do with the version seen on the screen. The designer will have judged that this is sufficient for a four year old child. No Stud Shooter, but one Disc shooter with three ammunition is integrated into the drone so that toddlers can have a little fun.

The minifig endowment here is quite correct with three characters: Spider-Man, Mysterio and Nick Fury.

The Spider-Man minifigure in outfit "Upgraded"is an assembly of previously unseen parts: The torso and legs are currently only available in this box and the head is also used on the figurine of the set 76185 Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop and Zombie Hunter Spidey from the Marvel Studios Collectible Character Series (ref. Lego 71031).

Mysterio is new for the torso and legs, the smoked globe was already provided in 2021 in the sets 76174 Spider-Man's Monster Truck vs. Mysterio et 76178 Daily Bugle. Under the globe, a neutral blue head. As it stands, it is the most visually "loaded" version of the character among the five figures already offered over the years. We will appreciate the presence of a cape with a single hole completed by a matching pattern that embodies the folds of the fabric on the upper torso.

Nick Fury is not new or exclusive to this small box, it is the figurine already delivered in the sets 76130 Stark Jet and the Drone Attack (2019) et 76153 Helicarrier (2020)

We are not going to lie, this product will find its audience especially among collectors of minifigs in the Marvel universe with two new figurines. If you have kids, buy the box, remove Spider-Man and Mysterio, and give them the rest explaining that Nick Fury is fighting a drone. It's petty, but it's the best solution to please everyone by spending only 20 €.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 3th January 2022 next at 23pm.

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