Today we take a quick look at the LEGO Technic set 42111 Dom's Dodge Charger (109.99 €), a vehicle of 1077 parts under official Dodge license whose box is also flanked by the logo of the cinematographic saga Fast & Furious.

Of the license Fast & Furious, there is not much left on the product itself apart from the license plate which directly refers to the first film of the saga, and possibly the extinguisher placed in the passenger compartment and the two bottles of NOS slipped into the trunk.

The vehicle frame is built around the new frame Technic 11x15 first seen in the LEGO Education set 45678 SPIKE Prime, delivered here in Dark Bluish Gray. The rear axle incorporates a classic differential that returns the drive shaft to the front, it is in line with the reference rear-wheel drive vehicle that inspired this LEGO version, the 1970 Dodge Charger R / T offered to Dominic Torreto by his dad.

The wheel visible at the rear on the trunk will be used to act on the direction of the front wheels, the front and rear axles are both equipped with suspensions and the center stand is connected to an interior lever a little difficult to access which will be used to deploy it to obtain a nose-up effect or an exposure dynamic.

The pistons of the V8 engine and the belt (here a chain) for driving the compressor are set in motion when moving the vehicle and this is a detail that will not completely disappear under the body parts but will remain partially visible through opening in the front cover.

About the engine of this Dodge Charger R / T in the LEGO version: I'm not a mechanic, but it seems to me that the compressor itself is missing under the air intakes, however, and one can also wonder why the gear on which the chain runs is red whereas on the reference vehicle this part is chrome or gray.

Do not try to steer the front wheels by turning the steering wheel, the latter turns in a vacuum, the designer not having seen fit to connect it to the steering. The interior finish is quite rustic: no floor for the passenger compartment or the trunk, you can see through. We will say that it is to stick to the spirit of the "modified" vehicle of the film. Fortunately, a large handful of classic parts reinforce the Technic elements to significantly improve the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle.

I believe it can even be said that the appearance of this Dodge Charger R / T is saved by the sub-assembly attached to the front face which makes the machine immediately recognizable, even if this gray outline is in my opinion too thick. .

Everything else is way too rough compared to the benchmark vehicle with overly sharp curves on the fenders giving the whole thing a Cadillac look from the 60s, wheel arches lacking a bit of finishing and the use of gray tubes loosely curved around the doors to try to make the thing look a bit. Suddenly, the Technic axles which protrude from the rims, which are themselves aesthetically irrelevant, become almost secondary ...

I quickly spruce it up on the exposed blue pines, I know some of you consider this the hallmark of the LEGO Technic range and others see it as a visual distraction without interest. I am one of those who would have preferred black pines to obtain a more homogeneous body and headlights. And I'm not even talking about scratches on parts or injection points that remain too visible on some smooth elements anymore.

No chrome on this Dodge Charger LEGO, you have to be content with gray parts for the bumpers, the windshield pillars, the side windows, the two interior reinforcement arches which also support the roof and the rods which circulate from each side of the passenger compartment. These different elements bring a little contrast to the whole but all that remains visually a little sad and the finish of the windshield really has a "tinkered" side. You will also have noticed that since the windows are "figured", the rear window is vaguely symbolized by two side fins.

It is possible to play with this product a bit, the steering being deported to the trunk via a small black dial. You can also have fun opening the doors, the front hood and the trunk. And make the vehicle pitch up by trying to reach the lever placed in the passenger compartment. I am not sure that "... the fun ramps up as fans recreate scenes from the Fast and Furious saga and bring adrenaline-fueled street races to life ..."as the official description indicates, but hey ...

We talked a lot about this set 42111 Dom's Dodge Charger in recent weeks, LEGO having unveiled it with great fanfare with an "official announcement" that highlighted the license agreement in force here. Without the logo Fast & Furious On the box of this Dodge Charger R / T, I think this aesthetically very average set with relatively limited functionality would in fact have been just another reference in the soft underbelly of the LEGO Technic range.

A product advertised and sold as under official license, in this precise case both of the vehicle brand and of a cinematographic saga in which it is present, must in my opinion be a little more successful than the proposed version here. The pretext of a variation in the Technic range is not enough to excuse the many aesthetic approximations which are not really compensated by the few functions offered. At the price of 79 € without the license Fast & Furious, I would have thought. At 110 €, it's seen everything.

As you can imagine, I also think that the product we are talking about here would rather have deserved its place in the LEGO Creator Expert range to obtain a model more respectful of the reference vehicle as is the case with the set 10265 Ford Mustang.

Note: The product shown here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at 12th May 2020 next at 23pm. the shipment of the prize to the winner will only take place when the sanitary situation allows it.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

Today we are finishing this series of three quick reviews of the LEGO Star Wars helmets "for adult fans" marketed this year with that of the set. 75277 Boba Fett Helmet (625 pieces - 59.99 €). The helmet to be assembled here is logically the most colorful of the three and in my opinion it is also the most successful, the model even affording the luxury of not using any sticker.

As with the other two models in the range, the internal structure of this helmet uses the principle of mixing colored bricks separated by plates that hold everything together. Small variation here which will be useful later during the construction process: a bar placed on one of the sides of the internal module on which the two sub-assemblies will be clipped which serve to reproduce the yellow bands seen on the reference model.

On the LEGO version there are only 12 "Jedi Kills Stripes"instead of the 14 which should have been integrated so as not to anger the most fundamentalist fans, but the reproduction of this detail without using one or more stickers is appreciable.

There is also another very appreciable detail in the upper area of ​​the model: the impact that slightly depressed and damaged Boba Fett's helmet, here reproduced with the help of a few gray parts. It is also this attention to detail on the part of the designer that makes me prefer this helmet to the other two.

The two sides of the model are not identical and the LEGO version is here too very convincing with very faithful colors and a sufficient level of detail that allow this exhibition product to be truly presentable from different angles. The range finder with holographic display placed on the right can be folded down to the face via a hinge integrated into the sub-assembly attached to the side of the helmet.

On the other hand, lovers of original techniques will appreciate the solution used to create the loudspeaker and the various details of the communication system integrated into the helmet. The back of the helmet in the LEGO version also conforms to the reference model, and the dedicated sub-assembly perfectly reproduces the red trench which serves as the cooling zone for the helmet's processor and which circulates there.

On the front, the designer is doing in my opinion honorably for such a complex model and on this scale. The two "cheeks" of the helmet clipped to the internal structure are sufficiently detailed and they frame at the right angle the central module which perfectly reproduces the lower zone of the visor.

The lower part of the helmet also uses many smooth parts and the contrast with the upper hemisphere and its visible studs is here very marked. I would have preferred a completely smooth surface for the top of the helmet, the tenons visible on the sides of the construction would have been enough to mark the "LEGO spirit" of the product wanted by the designers (see the designers interview).

Of the three available references, I think this one is the most interesting to build. We alternate the colors, we discover or we put into practice original techniques and the final result is very satisfactory. The alternation of colors on the different sub-assemblies also facilitates the understanding of the instructions and avoids the relative weariness encountered during the assembly of the two other models, almost monochrome.

Same remark as for the other two products in this range about the small pad printed presentation plate: The LEGO Star Wars logo is in my opinion superfluous here and there was probably better to do by taking advantage of the space available on the part used.

As I said during the test of the set 75274 Tie Fighter Pilot Helmet, I think this new collection takes on its full meaning when the different products that make it up are presented together.

Taken individually, the other two helmets in the range are visually a little sad and it is only when they are associated with this third reference that the whole takes a little cachet and that the concept reveals all its coherence and its potential. . However, if it was necessary to make a choice and buy only one of the three references marketed, I would be satisfied with this one.

A final criticism for the road: the packaging of these three helmets are much too big for what they contain and even if the marketing dictates its law, the logistics sometimes take care of reminding us that these very thin cardboard packaging do not support the transport.

Note: The three helmets in this collection are currently out of stock on the official online store, but I think they will be available again during the operation May the 4th which begins on May 1st.

Note: The product shown here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at 9th May 2020 next at 23pm. 

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

Today we take a quick look at the LEGO Star Wars set 40407 Death Star II Battle which will be offered from 75 € purchase at LEGO from May 1 to 4, 2020, during the operation May the 4th.

You already know if you are used to the LEGO Star Wars range, this small box uses the principle of the micro-diorama already available in two other promotional sets: the references 40333 Battle of Hoth (set offered during the May the 4th operation in 2019) and 40362 Battle of Endor (set offered during Triple Force Friday in October 2019). We could almost add to this collection the small set 6176782 Escape the Space Slug offered in 2016 by LEGO and which serves as a pioneer in the Star Wars micro-diorama.

This year, we get a scene vaguely inspired by Episode VI (Return of the Jedi) which takes place on the surface of Death Star II with here an A-Wing pursued by a Tie Interceptor. We use the principle of the exhibition base assembled in SNOT version (Studs Not On Top) already used for the bases of the scenes proposed in sets 40333 and 40362 and the diorama here takes on a little volume and consistency thanks to the pillars covered with parts Dark Red and turret integrated. No surprise, with 235 pieces in the box, assembling the three-part base and the two ships only takes a few minutes.

As with the other two sets based on the same concept, this diorama is dressed in a pad printed piece which reminds us here that this is a product from the LEGO Star Wars range and that we are in 2020. Too bad for consistency with the two other scenes offered in 2019 which were decorated with a plaque referring to the 20 years of the range.

Two micro-vessels are provided: an A-Wing, probably in reference to the one in the Ultimate Collector Series of set 75275 which will be marketed from May 1, 2020 and a Tie Interceptor which one wonders what it is doing there. The ship is present during the Battle of Endor seen in Episode VI but it does not seem to me to have seen an explicit pursuit scene between the two ships presented here on the surface of Death Star II.

On this scale, no miracle, the two ships consist of a few parts and are barely on the level of those we regularly get in the LEGO Star Wars Advent calendars and as with the other two existing micro-dioramas, it do not also be too careful on the global scale. Nothing prevents you from replacing the two ships with a little more consistent and detailed versions from polybags, for example the A-Wing of the polybag 30272, the presentation base will easily accommodate constructions on another scale. .

As this new product is a promotional item offered under condition of purchase, there is no reason not to add an additional micro-diorama to your collections as long as you plan to spend your money on the official online store on the dates. planned. These small thematic sets do not take up too much space, they are aesthetically rather successful and this format changes us a bit from the usual scale of classic sets. LEGO values ​​these boxes offered at 14.99 € (see the set sheet on the official online store) and I think that even if they were sold at this price, they would find their audience quite easily.

See you on May 1st for the launch of the offer which will allow you to be offered this small set from 75 € of purchase.

Note: The product shown here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at 6th May 2020 next at 23pm. the shipment of the prize to the winner will only take place when the sanitary situation allows it.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

Today we are quickly interested in the LEGO Star Wars set 75274 Tie Fighter Pilot Helmet (724 pieces - € 59.99), one of three boxes launched this year which allow you to assemble reproductions in LEGO versions of emblematic helmets from the Star Wars universe.

After the (almost) white version of the set 75276 Stormtrooper Helmet I was telling you about a few days ago, it is a question here of assembling the helmet of a pilot of Tie Fighter and it is thus logically very ... black. Of the three models currently released, only the Stormtrooper and Boba Fett models have black background pages in the instruction booklet. Here, for the sake of legibility of the assembly instructions, the pages are with a gray background as is the case for the vast majority of LEGO sets.

The principle of the internal structure that will accommodate the different textural elements remains very close to that used for the Stormtrooper helmet with colored parts, windows, hooks to fix the nose of the helmet and intermediate plates to stiffen everything. We also find over the pages some technical solutions identical to those used for the helmet of set 75276, in particular for the nose of the model. If you follow the assembly of the two models in question, you will realize it, but the phase of assembling the various modules which constitute the external texture of this helmet proposes some variations which will allow you to quickly forget these similarities.

The presentation base on which the small presentation plate is attached is identical to that of set 75276, it is logical and consistent to maintain a range effect even if I find more and more this plate with the big LEGO logo superfluous .

The exterior texture of this helmet being black, we can distinguish here much less the colored parts that appeared between the different white sub-assemblies of the Stormtrooper helmet. The two gray pad-printed parts of the nose are bordered by two small stickers with in the end a rather hazardous alignment between the patterns of these different elements which spoils the visual rendering a little.

The other detail that saddens me about this model: the gray flexible tubes on which the 18 pieces are plugged which give their texture to the two pipes remain visible if you do not carefully distribute these pieces to hide them. There is still space when the 18 parts in question are in place and it is therefore necessary to tighten these elements on the very exposed portion of the curve to the detriment of the lower part of the pipe for an optimal rendering.

If you are an observer, you will understand that everything that is not on the sheet of stickers (see above) is pad printed. So we get two pretty Dish which attach to the front of the helmet and which largely contribute to giving a rounded (and smooth) effect to the upper part of the model.

This second helmet is one centimeter higher than that of the Stromtrooper (19 cm high, base included) and unlike the latter it benefits from an alternation between smooth areas and stepped studs on the upper part and on the back. rear of the model which I think is really beneficial for the overall aesthetic. This smooth headband accentuates the rounded effect of the helmet even if it also gives the impression that the product lacks volume in certain places, especially when viewed from the back.

As for the Stormtrooper helmet that I presented to you a few days ago, it's up to everyone to see if this profusion of tenons and the staircase effect on the curves of the model suits you. The fact remains that the designer did what he could with the chosen scale and that he did not do too badly in my opinion once again.

This pilot's helmet being black, it will be necessary to work on the ambient lighting to expose it in its best light. It is also when several models are exposed side by side that this new collection takes on its full meaning in my opinion: these helmets certainly have their faults and their approximations, but the concept works rather well when several models are brought together and observed. 'a certain distance. I hope that LEGO will extend the experience with many other models, the helmet of Phasma, a red helmet of Sith Trooper or even versions for example based on the helmets of the Mandalorian seen in the Disney + series and Sabine Wren (Rebels ) would ultimately be welcome.

Note: The product shown here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at 5th May 2020 next at 23pm. the shipment of the prize to the winner will only take place when the sanitary situation allows it.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

We continue the tour of 2020 novelties around the Spider-Man universe with the LEGO Marvel set 76148 Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock (234 pieces - 29.99 €). This box features a new Spider-Cycle which vaguely recalls the version of the set 76113 Spider-Man Bike Rescue (2019), but here the machine has a transformation "function". Indeed, the motorcycle includes a detachable element which allows Spider-Girl to also have a vehicle to face Octopus and try to recover the 200 dollars that the villain stole somewhere.

The initial idea is not bad, I am still interested in the modularity of a machine capable of splitting into several sub-vehicles and this is a mechanical spider separated into two elements that come to clip on the sides of the motorcycle. Overall, the "assembled" version of the bike remains acceptable, although there is only room for Spider-Man on the vehicle.

Once the mechanical spider has been removed and assembled, the bike, on the other hand, looks less proud with its visible blue pins. For its part, the mechanical spider benefits from very limited mobility and the only points of articulation are placed at the level of the "claws", the rest of the frame of the construction being fixed. No controllers for Spider Girl, she's just sitting on her spider, her arms dangling.

Only the motorcycle is equipped with two Stud Shooters placed at the front of the vehicle and the mechanical spider has no coin launcher. The gameplay is therefore a little limited even if we can pretend that Spider-Girl throws webs using the complete assortment of white pieces provided. It should be noted that Spider-Man adopts as usual a driving position that is far from natural.

The Spider-Cycle is equipped with the rims already seen on Black Panther's bike in the set 76142 Avengers Speeder Bike Attack  and on the AIM machine seen in the set 76143 Avengers Truck Takedown. This element that I find very successful will eventually arrive one day on the chassis of a vehicle in a LEGO Creator Expert box or a set from the Technic range ...

As for the three figurines delivered in this box, it is minimum service: The Spider-Man minifigure, the other very common variant in recent years with its legs injected in two colors, is the one already seen in the sets 76113 Spider-Man Bike Rescue (2019) 76114 Spider-Man's Spider Crawler (2019) 76115 Spider Mech vs. Venom (2019) 76150 Spiderjet vs. Venom Mech (2020) et 76163 Venom Crawler (2020)

The torso and head of Doc Ock are the elements already delivered in 2019 in the set 76134 Doc Ock Diamond Heist and the hair provided here already equipped several versions of the character marketed since 2004. The exoskeleton is here dressed in stickers which do the job quite well by bringing an additional level of detail to all the parts that form the mechanical appendages of the character.

The Anya Corazon (Earth-616) figurine delivered in this box is the only one to be unseen and it is currently exclusive to this box. It takes over the hair of many "civilians" seen in different sets of the LEGO CITY range and on the head of Toryn Farr (Star Wars) or Erin Gilbert (Ghostbusters). To really stick to the character's outfit and offer a more successful finish, a few white lines on the legs of the minifigure would have been welcome. The design of the torso is very correct here, but like the Ghost Spider minifigure in the set 76149 The Menace of Mysterio, the spider-shaped black area turns gray and looks a bit sloppy to me.

According to the official descriptions provided by the manufacturer, this is not the first time that Spider-Girl has made an appearance in a LEGO set. The character was indeed indicated as delivered in 2016 in the box 76057 Spider-Man: Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle, even if we remember that it was then in fact Spider-Woman in Ultimate version, more than Spider-Girl.

In summary, for a collector, this box is only of interest for the original minifig it allows to obtain, the rest being already seen or dispensable. For the little ones, there's plenty of fun with an acceptable 2-in-1 vehicle and a super villain to fight. € 30 for all that, however, is a bit expensive. As usual, patience will be rewarded with a few euros saved at Amazon and others within a few months.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at 3th May 2020 next at 23pm. No emergency for the draws, the shipments will only take place when the sanitary situation allows it.