Today we quickly tour the LEGO Star Wars set 75278 DO (519 pieces), a novelty that will be available on the official online store from April 19 at the public price of 74.99 € / 89.90 CHF.

As was already the case for sets 75187BB-8 et 75230 Porg, it is about assembling an exhibition model of one of the many mascots that the LEGO Star Wars universe imposes on us over the episodes of the saga. DO is therefore the character we love or hate in the latest episode and LEGO offers us an adaptation based on bricks that we sell as a product for collectors accompanied by its presentation plate.

The assembly of the model is rather interesting with some original techniques which allow to realize the wheel of the droid. The "belt" of parts threaded onto flexible tubes which must then be bent to obtain the tread is well thought out and even if one doubts for a moment the reliability of the solution imagined by the designer, it must be recognized that everything is fits correctly when it comes to connecting the two ends of the headband to the inner part of the wheel. Two side panels showing the various details seen on the screen on the body of the droid finish filling the spaces and the whole is mounted on the presentation stand. At this point, we obviously understand that the wheel does not turn on itself and that's a bit of a shame.

The droid's black neck is then set up via an offset arm attached to the wheel. It is consistent with the version seen on the screen and so far the result is aesthetically convincing with in particular a few tubes which circulate between the wheel and the stroke of the character. The DO head is for its part composed of half-cones at the base of which is fixed the black plate equipped with antennas via a through axis.

It is at this stage of the assembly that an aesthetic detail seems annoying to me: the head is only fixed to the wheel via an axle plugged into the black neck which turns on itself and, from certain angles, we really have the impression that she is not united with the rest of the droid. I understand that the use of the two white half-cones for the head here requires this type of offset mounting, but I find the solution a little disappointing. Regarding the little green half-cones used for the droid's head: the injection points are really very visible on these elements (the light spots visible in the photos) and it's a bit unsightly.

This droid only has two features, if we can call them that: The head rotates on itself via a first wheel placed on the side arm and it can be tilted forward or back via a second wheel placed lower. Since this is a pure exhibition product, we can consider that these functions only make sense to vary the presentation poses. No one will play with this droid and after a few turns of the dial to put it in the desired position we quickly move on. I wish I could have tilted the whole droid forward slightly to put it in a more dynamic position and create a displacement effect.

Note that there is only one sticker in this box, that of the presentation plate. The three black bands of the head and the grille of the muzzle are pad printed. The presentation plate is also irrelevant, it only lists some basic information and LEGO could have made an effort on this point, just to strengthen the collector's side of the thing.

LEGO also provides a droid minifigure in this box, it is the one already seen in the sets 75249 Resistance Y-Wing Starfighter et 75257 Millennium Falcon in 2019.

In short, despite the questionable aesthetic compromise at the level of the head, I already know that this exhibition product will necessarily find its audience among those who like to exhibit the various reproductions of droids from the Star Wars universe. DO will take place on a shelf alongside R2-D2 and BB-8 but you will have to deal with the different scales imagined by LEGO: the BB-8 version of the set 75187BB-8 is 25cm tall for a droid who is actually over sixty centimeters tall. The LEGO version of DO will therefore slightly exceed its pal with its 27 cm high for a real screen size of only 30 centimeters. Too bad for the consistency of the duo.

The set is now referenced on the official online store and it will go on sale on April 19. My advice: wait wisely for May 1 and the launch of the offers of May the 4th operation before having fun.

Note: The product presented here, purchased by me, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at April 30th 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 take a quick look at the LEGO Marvel Spider-Man set 76147 Vulture's Trucker Robbery (93 pieces - 24.99 €), a box flanked by the 4+ logo which is therefore aimed at an audience of very young fans of the Marvel universe.

Even if it is self-sufficient with a very balanced content that allows three young fans to stage a clash between Spider-Man on his motorcycle, Vulture and his mechanical wings and the armored van to escort, I see this box as a nice addition to the set 76149 The Menace of Mysterio of which it takes again the general framework, the robbery, and some elements like the white chests containing ingots and precious stones. It will be necessary to accept the idea that Spider-Man is duplicated but the two sets together allow for really fun.

Looking more closely, we see that this set is a good example of recycling many elements already used more or less frequently in the past: The armored van is logically composed of a few large parts including the gray frame which was already used as a base. for the vehicle from the LEGO Juniors Jurassic World set 10757 Raptor Rescue Truck in 2018 and for the garbage dumpster from the LEGO CITY set 60220 Garbage Truck in 2019.

The big green hood is a bit rarer, it had not been seen in a set since 2008, when it was used for the CITY set truck 7733 Truck & Forklift. We especially remember the two green panels stamped with a diamond and the windshield holder already used for the green locomotive from the LEGO CITY set 60198 Freight Train (2018) but also for the truck of the set 76015 Doc Ock Truck Heist marketed in 2014.

The red motorbike also returns regularly in different sets since 2016, including some LEGO CITY and DC Comics boxes. Despite the inevitable assortment of colors reminiscent of the Spider-Man costume, here it lacks a few designs that truly identify the vehicle as Spider-Man's. Designers usually put it everywhere, so this bike without specific decoration seems a little too neutral to me.

Too bad the "armored" van is not completely closed, as it is, it looks more like a public works truck than anything else. The designer will no doubt have wanted to facilitate access to the rear of the vehicle to allow Vulture to steal the load when arriving by air. The same goes for the driver's cabin, which is not covered. It's far from believable, even for a very young fan, but we will do with it. Small funny detail, the rear part of the van is ejectable via a very simple mechanism.

In the minifig department, we also recycle many elements: The torso of the driver of the truck who has the features of Tina Goldstein is that of the guardian of the Arkham asylum in the set 76138 Batman and The Joker Escape (2019). Spider-Man minifig is the one seen in the sets 76133 Spider-Man Car Chase (2019) 76134 Doc Ock Diamond Heist (2019) 76146 Spider-Man Mech (2020) et 76149 The Menace of Mysterio (2020)

The torso of the vulture is the one delivered in 2019 in the set 76114 Spider-Man's Spider Crawler and the character's face also appeared in the sets 76059 Doc Ock's Tentacle Trap (2016) et 76083 Beware The Vulture (2017). Only the wings also used for the character of Falcon, here delivered in L, are really new and for the moment exclusive to this set.

In short, this box is not enough to wake up a seasoned collector but it does offer something to have fun for one or more young fans of the Spider-Man universe. This is the whole point of these sets stamped 4+. The public price of this box is set at 29.99 € and it is as usual a little excessive. We will wait a few months for the price to drop at Amazon to have fun.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at April 21th next at 23pm. No emergency for the draws, the shipments 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.

I finally got my copy of the book LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia New Edition pre-ordered since July 2019 and this is the opportunity to quickly tell you about the book itself and the exclusive minifigure that comes with it.

For those who do not know the principle of this format entitled "Character Encyclopedia", more than an encyclopedia in the proper sense of the term, it is above all a non-exhaustive dictionary of minifigs in a range with very large photos surrounded by some information and other anecdotes on the character concerned.

This new edition of the book based on the LEGO Star Wars range logically leaves a large place for minifigs from content available since the previous edition, which dates from 2015. The characters seen in the films Rogue One, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi ou The Rise of Skywalker which have been declined in minifig format are therefore present in this update, like the protagonists of the animated series Rebellious et The Clone Wars.

With the exception of a few generic minifigs that appear in several contents, you will not find in this book any figurines based on the important characters of the animated series. Star Wars Resistance or from the series The Mandalorian, but the selection of around 200 minifigs obviously includes some great classics from the LEGO Star Wars range.

The information and anecdotes provided in this 220-page book are for the most part interesting, although the most seasoned collectors will not learn much as the pages turn. For each minifig, the author specifies the date of marketing, the first set in which the figurine appears and the film or series that features this character.

The photos are very nice and they are indeed photos of the real minifigs and not digital renderings as was the case in other similar books. The counterpart to the use of real photos of the minifigs: some pad printing defects are really visible on several characters.

Even though the book is interesting, we all know here that most of those who are going to acquire it will be doing it to get the exclusive Darth Maul minifigure inserted in the cover. The character has his unconditional fans and his regular appearances in several contents of the saga (films, animated series, comics and novels) help to maintain his popularity. Darth Maul is here in his Crimson Dawn version, named after the criminal organization of which he is the leader. We therefore find the pendant which takes the logo of the organization on the character's tattooed torso.

The accessory that plugs into the head of this minifigure is not a new and exclusive element to this version, it is the one that already equips the other variations of the character in the LEGO Star Wars range. The head is however new, it ignores here the grimacing smile seen on other versions of the character and is satisfied with a variation around the tattoos and the look. Darth Maul's mechanical legs are here embodied by pad-printed patterns on a classic pair of legs. The pattern is in my opinion convincing with a well-managed graphic transition between the character's tunic and the mechanical elements.

Overall, we get here a version of Darth Maul based on the very brief appearance of the character in the film. Solo: A Star Wars Story and the most assiduous collectors should not hesitate long before spending the twenty euros requested by Amazon for this book.

With a little patience, this English version should as usual finish at a knockdown price within a few months and this exclusive minifigure will not cost you much. It is not yet known whether a French version will emerge, but if so, its public price will be much higher than that of the English version anyway.

Today we are quickly interested in the LEGO Marvel Spider-Man set 76149 The Menace of Mysterio, a small box stamped 4+ which combines a very basic assembly experience with a varied assortment of minifigs but far from being able to satisfy the most demanding collectors.

As usual in the 4+ boxes intended for the youngest, the two machines delivered here are based on meta-pieces that you have to dress up to obtain simplified but frankly playable constructions. Between Spider-Man's helicopter and Mysterio's robot, we find ourselves in the Mighty Micros atmosphere, less assembly pleasure.

While the pocket helicopter will not pass into posterity despite the good idea of ​​using claws in place of the usual skates, Mysterio's robot, an enlarged version of the character's torso, is a little more interesting with his post of control covered with a bubble and its movable arms. As you probably already know, there are no stickers in these boxes, so this is an opportunity to get some pad printed elements that can be reused for personal creations.

The gameplay of the set does not only depend on the possibility of a confrontation between Spider-Man, associated with Ghost Spider on his skateboard, and Mysterio at the controls of his robot: There is an additional stake with a bank to rob.

Here too, the construction is really very basic, but despite the cartoonish aspect of the thing the functionality of opening the trunk by removing the thick door on which the handle is located is interesting. The three fingers of each hand of the robot can grip objects or characters and Mysterio can therefore remove this element to allow access to the two small chests placed inside.

On the minifig side, of the three characters provided, two are not unpublished and are also delivered in sets marketed in 2019 and 2020. The Spider-Man figurine appears in four other sets: 76133 Spider-Man Car Chase, 76134 Doc Ock Diamond Heist, 76146 Spider-Man Mech and 76147 Vulture's Trucker Robbery and Ghost Spider was already present in the set 76115 Spider Mech vs. Venom (2019)

The big flaw of the Ghost Spider minifigure: The black color pad printed on the white background of the torso which tends to turn gray. It's far from fitting with the legs and on this specific point, the version of the set 76115 Spider Mech vs. Venom seems more polished to me.

The only truly new minifig in this box is that of Mysterio with his minimalist torso and his neutral head in Light Aqua placed under the globe which also served as a helmet for Mr Freeze in 2019. All the parts used here work quite well and we find a comic version of the character very faithful. Too bad for the legs which remain hopelessly neutral instead of benefiting from the basic yet basic pattern present on the torso.

The minifig is here equipped with a purple cape which covers the pad printed pattern on the back, with a piece of cape. It's a bit strange to find this piece of cape printed on the back of the figurine, but we'll do with it.

Finally, this little box does not deserve despite its public price a little too high (34.99 €) even if the most assiduous collectors of minifigs will be hungry for a single new character. There is plenty of fun here and, for the little ones, get your foot in the LEGO-style Spider-Man universe with simple builds but instant playability.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at April 13th next at 23pm. No emergency for the draws, the shipments 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 quickly tour the LEGO Marvel set 76143 Avengers Truck Takedown (477 pieces - € 39.99), one more box based on the Marvel's Avengers (Square Enix) video game whose release was initially scheduled for May 2020 but has finally been postponed to next September.

Here, too, the Avengers face the AIM troops (Advanced Idea Mechanics) and for the occasion Captain America and Hawkeye are at the controls of a modular truck with a slightly strange look. The machine is based on four (too) small wheels and it opens to store the rear Stud Shooter competition mounted on Technic beams.

Why not, even if the vehicle would in my opinion have benefited from being mounted on large wheels or tracks, just to make it more homogeneous. Just press the latch at the back to open the two body panels that hide the weapon, it's always taken for playability, and the cockpit of the truck is also a little strange but it has the merit of being able to accommodate a minifigure in uniform under the mobile canopy.

With its look and its blue / gray color and by simply changing the stickers, the machine could also just as well integrate the LEGO Jurassic World range and I think that this truck is not really up to what could have invented Tony Stark to make life easier for the band of superheroes. For a more successful product, LEGO could in my opinion have added a motorcycle that it would have been possible to store in the rear compartment for Captain America, the barrel then being fixed above the driving position.

Opposite, the AIM troops had to be content with a more modest three-wheeled machine, but they were assisted by a combat drone armed with Stud Shooters which is attached to the back. We find at the front a rim identical to those seen on the Black Panther motorcycle in the set 76142 Avengers Speeder Bike Attack. If the truck struggles to convince me, this very simple three-wheeled motorcycle seems more consistent with the universe developed here thanks to its aggressive look and its use justified by the transport of the combat drone.

As usual, we stick some stickers on the truck and on the motorcycle with the bonus of a license plate which also serves as the signature of the designer of the set: NA811 for Nabii aka Mark Stafford.

On the minifig side, we get here two members of the Avengers. Captain America benefits from a brand new double-sided face and torso, shield and mask previously seen in the set 76123 Captain America: Outriders Attack (2019) and a pair of neutral legs. The white of the torso is not really white as usual but the design of the piece is very faithful to the video game version although it lacks a few patterns on the arms to make it perfect. LEGO is kind enough to deliver hair for the character, it's nice.

Hawkeye benefits from his side of a torso and a new head, all plugged on neutral legs and with hair in Medium Dark Flesh already used in the past for Thor, Newt Scamander and a handful of other generic minifigs. Nice graphic work on the torso, too bad the legs have not received the same attention.

Finally, the two AIM agents delivered here are identical to the one seen in the set 76142 Avengers Speeder Bike Attack. One of the two agents is equipped with a flamethrower and a jetpack, why not, these elements will bring a little variety when it comes to forming a small squad intended to populate a diorama.

As for the set 76142 Avengers Speeder Bike Attack, there is fun here by getting some new minifigs and everyone should find something for themselves. Even if the "Avengers truck" will probably not go down in history in the same way as a Quinjet, this box sold at the public price of 39.99 € is a product that makes the effort to be self-sufficient with what fun for two or three without having to go back to the checkout. It's already that.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at March 29, 2020 next at 23pm.

Update : The winner was drawn and 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. Shipment of the batch as soon as the sanitary situation permits.