I told you a few days ago on the occasion of the announcement of the fifth series of characters to collect from the Super Mario universe (ref. Lego 71410), the days of minifigs delivered in the usual plastic bags are soon over. The manufacturer has already been working for many months on this transition, which should finally take place no earlier than September 2023 and the series of minifigs to collect in bags as we know them will then be delivered in a cardboard box that will no longer allow them to be identified. by handling the packaging.

LEGO does not plan to make life easier for fans: even if the manufacturer willingly admits having noticed over the years that the possibility of identifying the different characters in a series by handling the flexible bag has become a very popular activity. customers, there is no question of adding a code to these rigid packaging or any possibility of identifying their content.

As usual, LEGO declares that it does not rule out reviewing its copy later, but this necessarily implies that sales of minifigs individually or in complete boxes would have to drop significantly for the manufacturer to take into account. take this parameter into account and finally change your mind. Which will probably never happen.

What we do know, however, is that this new packaging will be sealed and not resealable after opening, that its contents will not be accessible without destroying the cardboard, that the boxes containing several series will always be composed of 36 units and that LEGO does not plan to modify the unit retail price of the product, i.e. €3.99.

LEGO could have used the principle of the box already used for the Bandmates of the VIDIYO range, but experience has shown that customers do not hesitate to open the boxes in stores to check the contents and the manufacturer has concluded that we had to imagine a more secure packaging.

I'll spare you all the talk about the need to save the planet that coats this announcement, LEGO obviously highlights the recyclable side of this new packaging and maintains that it is therefore necessary to sacrifice in passing a possibility of identification that simplified the life of many customers but which was in any case not envisaged by LEGO when launching these series of collectible minifigs. It's for the planet, make an effort.

You will find above and below some visuals illustrating the different avenues of reflection envisaged by LEGO around this new packaging with several prototypes. The final version of the packaging should be the one last seen in the gallery below. The possibility of a paper bag was quickly abandoned and the work mainly focused on the need to move from a flexible bag to a rigid container which unfortunately no longer allows you to try to guess the content. The manufacturer even claims that during the test phases with a sample of parents and children, more than 70% of those polled chose the new packaging over the old one. Planet first, take LEGO at its word.

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Ideas set 21332 The Globe, a product inspired by the project Earth globe submitted by Disneybrick55 (Guillaume Roussel) on the LEGO Ideas platform in early 2020 and approved in September 2020. A year and a half later, LEGO finally gives us the official and definitive version of the idea in question, with an inventory of 2585 pieces and a public price fixed at 199.99 €.

Unlike other "ideas" largely reworked, or even completely reinterpreted by LEGO, the official version of this globe remains very faithful to the original project, both in appearance and in the proportions of the object. After all, those who voted for this idea shouldn't be disappointed to get exactly what they showed their support for.

Personally, I was hoping on the contrary that the handling of the project by a designer from Billund would allow us to obtain a more successful product, but this is not really the case, apart from a few details. The initial idea is however very interesting and I was one of those who imagined that LEGO was going to put all its know-how to work to convince us that it is possible to make a beautiful round ball out of bricks. Even a year and a half later, it is not so. On the bright side: Guillaume Roussel will be able to autograph a box containing a product that visually conforms to the idea he proposed.

LEGO does not forget to throw a few flowers from the first pages of the instruction booklet by associating this product with its various initiatives in terms of environmental protection and, by extension, the planet. Why not, even if it is ultimately a plastic product delivered in a box too big for what it contains with a large handful of plastic bags and a large paper booklet. To go through with this discreet recovery of the product to promote its efforts, LEGO could have thrown in the box some of the new paper bags to replace the plastic ones, it was the perfect opportunity to introduce this evolution. logistics, hitherto reserved for the set 4002021 The (Ninjago) Temple of Celebrations offered this year to employees and partners of the group, to the general public.

As you can imagine, there is nothing really exciting about assembling this globe, which is neither perfectly round nor very smooth: it's a ball fixed on a support and we therefore spend our time reproducing the "slices" that successively constitute the surface of the object. Of the 16 sachets of the set, 4 are dedicated to the support, 3 to the central circle which is itself made up of identical sub-assemblies and 8 to the cover of the globe in small slices all identical in their design, with a variation on their decoration. depending on their position on the surface of the object. It's the product that wants it and it was logically difficult to escape the repetitive aspect of assembly but you will not have the best assembly experience of your life as a LEGO fan. For those wondering where the 2585 pieces of the set are, know that the cover of the globe only uses nearly 500 elements, the rest is in the support and the internal structure of which you will find an overview below.

The support is very convincing, it is aesthetically successful with a few touches of golden strapping sprinkled on a structure that imitates wood quite well. The vintage effect is there, we are in the theme. Things go a little wrong when it comes to moving on to the internal structure and the surface of the globe and this is where you really become aware of the very approximate adjustments between the different slices. This defect is obvious because we are in the process of assembling the product, it will fade a little when the globe is exposed and seen from a certain distance if the positioning of the clips which are used to connect the slices at the ends of the surface was perfectly executed.

The assembled product is solid and stable. It must be gripped by the base to avoid dropping a few plates, but the internal structure is well designed. Contrary to what some might imagine, the four wheels with their yellow rims and their tires are not involved in the rotation mechanism of the product, it is just a ballast that returns the globe to its predefined presentation position.

There are no stickers in this box and all patterned elements are therefore stamped. The oceans and continents are identified but you will not progress much in geography with this globe. The scale of the construction requires that the smallest continents be reduced to a few pieces that struggle a little to reproduce the usual curves of these terrestrial spaces. Once again, it will be necessary to take a step back and observe the object from a good distance so that the geographical simplification is less penalizing and that the identification of certain countries is possible, often by deduction. It should be noted in passing that Oceania is absent, LEGO only locating Australia in this area. The Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean are not identified.

The different small Tiles identification of continents and oceans are phosphorescent. It's not very interesting but it compensates for the impossibility of integrating internal lighting into the product as on the globes of our childhood, the external surfaces being matt. The typeface used by LEGO for these different elements seems to me a little off topic: The graphic designer has probably tried to obtain a vintage effect but we come close to Comic Sans and I find the result a bit disappointing. The fan designer of the product will at least have the satisfaction of having his initials present on the edge of the Dish white representing Antarctica (GR for Guillaume Roussel), you won't really see them when the product is assembled, but you will know it's there.

Beware of the finish defect sometimes encountered on the golden pieces, my copy of the set did not escape this problem (see photo below) but only a small 1x1 piece was concerned. Fortunately, LEGO provides many additional elements and I was able to replace the affected element. I was also missing a black piece which in principle fits on the upper part of the central axis.

The most demanding will take care to orient the cover plates and their green or beige overlay with the LEGO logo in the direction of the hemisphere concerned. I didn't have that patience but you only see tenons on arrival and it might be wise to think about this detail before starting assembly. There will remain the possibility of using these visible tenons to mark, for example, with the help of a small red piece, the different destinations visited by the owner of the object.

On arrival and as I said at the beginning of this review, we can't decently blame LEGO for having sabotaged the original idea. The official product is visually identical to the reference project and that, as far as I'm concerned, is the problem with this set. I find that LEGO confuses here "vintage", "kitsch" and "old-fashioned", notions that often overlap or are in any case very porous between them, with a rendering that generally sends me back to the 90s/2000s with their lots official sets that have often aged very badly. Too banal for vintage, too dated for LEGO.

The assortment of blue/green colors reinforces in my eyes this somewhat cheesy aspect of the object and the curves which are not really do not help, just like the empty spaces between the different sections. At 200 € the pure exhibition product intended for an adult clientele, in my opinion the whole thing frankly lacks finish and contrast between visible tenons and smooth surfaces to, for example, create a difference in texture between the continents and the oceans. The assembly does not even save the furniture, we get a bit bored with a systematic repetition of the same sub-assemblies.

I don't find either the aesthetics of a really old globe or that of the colored object that I knew during my childhood with its integrated bulb and in front of which I was bored in my spare time discovering countries or capitals. This globe is a mix between two eras and two objects which ultimately had only their round shape in common with a decorative side for one and a more educational ambition for the other.

As you will have understood, I am personally not convinced by this globe which I find a little coarse and falsely vintage. We know that LEGO sometimes has trouble producing curves with square pieces, this product which frankly lacks finish in my eyes is a new brilliant demonstration of this and it's a bit of a shame. The initial version of the project had already roughed the file, yet all that was missing was an effort on the finish to convince me.

Other "imitation" products from the LEGO lifestyle universe, such as the typewriter in the set 21327 Typewriter, the piano of the set 21323 Grand Piano or the guitar of the set 21329 Fender Stratocaster all benefit from a finish that allows them to deserve to be proudly displayed. In my opinion, this is not the case with this globe. As it is, it seems that the designer in charge of the project did not want to spend too much time on it and that LEGO thought that the technique used for the surface of the globe was sufficiently accomplished to deserve ending up on the shelves. some stores.

Either Guillaume Roussel aka Disneybrick55 had indeed found the best possible solution to produce a globe based on LEGO bricks and the official designer could not do better, either LEGO wanted to get rid of the file quickly and settled for the bare minimum. We know since his participation in the first season of the LEGO Masters show that Guillaume Roussel is a talented creator, my first guess may be the right one. Whatever the explanation, it will be without me, especially at 200 €, a price range in which we find products with a more accomplished aesthetic and a much more entertaining assembly experience.

Tastes and colors are indisputable and this product which gathered the 10.000 supporters necessary for its passage in the review phase and then was definitively validated by LEGO will obviously find its audience. Complete collectors of the very heterogeneous LEGO Ideas range will find it difficult to ignore this new reference and there will inevitably be a few lovers of decorative products to find a place of choice for this globe in their interior. You have my opinion, it's up to you to make yours.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 27th January 2022 next at 23pm.

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

The two LEGO Super Mario promotional key chains probably weren't worth talking about in more detail, but since I've received several questions about them, I'm answering everyone at the same time.

It will be remembered that these two key chains can be obtained via two different channels: that of Luigi via the VIP rewards center by redeeming 500 VIP points and then using the code obtained when ordering on the official online store, that of Mario using 400 Platinum points on the Nintendo Store and by paying the shipping costs for this "free" article, ie 6.99 €.

You might as well tell you right away, if you plan to collect all the variants of these key rings, you may miss two of them on arrival: in addition to these two standard versions, two golden key rings are displayed. game by LEGO and Nintendo on their respective platforms and you have to buy participation tickets with your VIP points (50 per ticket / 50 tickets max.) or Platinum (10 per ticket / 3 tickets max.) to hope to be part of the winners.

The two slightly more accessible key rings presented here are not exceptional objects, they are subcontracted to Chinese company RDP like all the other key rings already offered via the VIP program and their finish is far from exemplary. They are simply packaged in paper bags and the manufacturer has contented itself with integrating slightly pixelated photos of the two characters in real size on the metal support which tends to rust on the edges as soon as they are unpacked.

The rendering is far from being the level of a real collector's product with some printing defects more or less visible, spots, more or less dull areas, etc ... It is mass production of low-end promotional items, in my opinion, LEGO does not come out of the distribution of such products.

Too bad also for the screen on the belly of the two characters which is replaced by a simple neutral rectangle whose color does not even match the rest, there was probably a way to furnish with an illustration based on the many reactions displayed on real interactive figurines.

In short, these two derivative products probably do not deserve that we spend too much energy and money to get them, paying 6.99 € to receive Mario's from Nintendo is also a bit annoying. , even if I know that the transport is not free and that we must pay those who deliver our packages.

Note: The two products presented here are in play (the interactive Mario figure is not provided, do not abuse). Deadline set at September 20, 2021 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.

As promised, we quickly tour the contents of the LEGO House set 40502 The Brick Molding Machine, (Limited Edition) a beautiful box of 1205 pieces that will be sold exclusively at the LEGO House Store in Billund from March 4th. It will be necessary to go there and pay 599 DKK or about 80 € to have the pleasure of assembling the reproduction of the machine which sits at the entrance of the LEGO House and which produces the bricks present in the small bags offered to visitors ( ref. 624210). For those wondering why the box bears the number 2, this is the second reference in a series of sets launched last year by the reference 40501 The Wooden Duck.

This souvenir to bring back from a trip to Billund will remain exclusive to the LEGO House and will probably never be offered for purchase through the official online store. I know that some are already imagining that LEGO could re-launch the initiative that had allowed the fastest to buy a copy of the set 21037 LEGO House on the Shop in May 2020, but the reopening to the public of the sanctuary dedicated to the brick being confirmed, there is hardly any chance that LEGO will repeat this operation.

The real injection molding machine visible to visitors to the LEGO House is identical to those installed at the brand's various production sites, the only difference being that the mold used here produces only six classic red 2x4 bricks and that the speed of the manufacturing process has been slowed so as not to produce more bricks than necessary depending on the number of people on site.

Well done to the designer, the reproduction offered is really faithful to the reference machine, down to the smallest detail with, for example, the small red bucket which collects production waste. Some features are integrated into the product, and even if this machine 29 cm long, 15 cm wide and 19 cm high with its presentation support is intended to end its career on a shelf, we can have a little fun with it.

The three side protection panels slide to allow access to the internal mechanics of the machine and a thumbwheel moves the part of the mold containing the six red bricks to the other half. The bricks are not ejected from the mold as on the real machine when the two parts of the mold are separated, but the integration of this function brings a little touch of realism to the product.

The designer insisted on this point and I therefore do the same: this set is also the first to offer doors and frames in Lime (lime) and these parts provided here in five copies should quickly find their way into other boxes. Here we find the color differences that particularly affect this color. Lime, those who have invested in the LEGO Technic set 42115 Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 know what I'm talking about. It's subtle but sufficiently present that the aesthetics of the final model suffer. It can therefore be concluded that despite LEGO's promises to try to solve this problem, no convincing solution has yet been found.

There is only one sticker in this box, it is the one used for the machine control panel screen. The three Tiles reproducing the promotional bags and those specifying that they are the machine installed at the LEGO House are pad printed. The designs of the bags are printed on Tiles nougat color which represent the paper version of the packaging soon to replace the classic polybag.

LEGO does include some information on the evolution of its manufacturing processes in the first pages of the instruction booklet, but I would have liked to know more about how this particular machine works. It's a shame, adding some technical data on the technology used would have made this product a pseudo-educational tool instead of limiting it to the role of a simple souvenir of a visit to Billund. A few inserts over the pages would have been welcome, it will be for another time.

In short, if you ever pass by Billund and this set is still available on the shelves of the LEGO House Store by then, you may be able to bring back this nice derivative as a souvenir. Just kidding, there is a good chance that this set has been sold out for a long time and you will as often have to turn to the aftermarket dealers who will be on site from March 4 to fill the trunk of their car and offer you the thing. at the double or the tripe of its public price to "amortize the displacement". It's up to you to see if this investment is justified.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at March 15, 2021 next at 23pm. "The" I try, I participate "are automatically deleted, make an effort.

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 set 10278 Police Station, Structure expected from January 1, 2021 in the new range soberly titled LEGO Modular Buildings Collection.

You have had plenty of time and the elements to get a very precise idea of ​​the contents of this box with the official announcement which took place a few days ago, so I will content myself with giving you as usual some very personal information about this new set which will be available at the public price of 179.99 €.

This large box of 2923 pieces allows you to assemble a new 37 cm high block including the antennas placed on the roof, to be aligned with the other references of the range and in the center of which is the police station of Modular City. On each side of the building, two narrow constructions with a donut merchant on the left and a newsstand on the right.

If the first floor of the building on the left is an apartment not connected to the premises of the police station, the right part is indeed an extension of the main building, up to the roof with an attic room which serves as the evidence room.

No surprise, the construction floor is a 32x32 gray base plate on which we assemble the sidewalk portion and the base of the main structure. As you know from the product announcement, the common thread of the set is the hunt for the donut thief and we assemble from the first bags the hole under the police station that will allow the thief to escape. We won't really play the escape sequence, but it's a nice detail that helps to create a little context around the product.

As for all the others Modulars of the range, we alternate here between sequences of stacking walls and construction of furniture or decorative elements. The assembly process is extremely well thought out and you never get bored. Designer Chris McVeigh is in charge and this specialist in micro-furniture and other accessories is also having a great time: I am not used to marveling at a bed or a table. but it must be recognized that the different elements which fill the rooms of the police station and adjoining spaces are very well designed.

Those who invest their money in the products of this range are generally demanding on the techniques of construction and on the misuse of certain parts. They shouldn't be disappointed here, the photos speak for themselves. We stay in the tradition of sets which offer sub-assemblies about which we sometimes wonder where the designer is going before realizing that the solution used is perfectly suited to the desired result. I am not a MOCeur and although I will not remember much of these creative techniques, I had a great time assembling the contents of this box.

The police station is crossed by a rather well thought out staircase, it is composed of crenellated bricks 3x3 and 4x4 and the technique used here saves a few tenons and others tiles and to avoid having a staircase too thick and intrusive. No tiling on the floors in the upper floors and that's a bit of a shame.

As often with the Modulars, the interior spaces are cramped and the designer takes care to impose on us the addition of the furniture before mounting the walls. The impression of dealing with a dollhouse that is difficult to reach is therefore a little attenuated even if it will be difficult to return to move something later without going with your fingertips. As I often say, the collector of Modulars laughs a little at the playability of the product and is happy to know that the furniture is just fine there, inside the build.

The usual toilet gimmick is once again present in this box, and in two copies: a toilet in the cell, another in the police station. Among the technical solutions that will make you smile, we will notably note the addition of the toilet paper roll in the toilet on the first floor via the right column of the facade. The roof cornice is particularly successful with the use of the part used this year for the head of the wolf in the LEGO Minecraft set 21162 The Taiga Adventure, installed here in several copies and which allows to deport the upper plate with a nice effect.

The rear of the construction is as usual more basic than the facade, but the whole remains coherent and realistic. The few windows, the door and the ladders are enough in my opinion to furnish so as not to have the impression that the back side is sloppy, although it may be regretted that the construction is not deeper and uses a few rows of additional tenons.

The whole can easily be transformed into an ordinary building, town hall or even a bank if you do not really want to have a police station in your street. With a second box, the simple replacement of the bricks Medium Lavender et Sand green, that is to say a little more than 250 pieces, which constitute the walls of the two adjoining mini-buildings will also make it possible to create an additional block to stick to a first copy of the set by varying the colors of the facades.

If there was a flaw in this product to be underlined, it would once again be the differences in color at the level of the sides of the construction. Shades Medium Lavender et Sand green are not completely uniform. With a little bad faith, we could console ourselves by saying that the effect is very appropriate here but the fact remains that it is a technical fault which is not really worthy of the first manufacturer of toys to the world.

No stickers in this box, everything is pad printed until the large poster in two pieces which dresses the side of the building and which undoubtedly refers vaguely to the laundromat seen in the set 10251 Brick Bank. Fans of pad-printed pieces to reuse will have at their disposal a few new pieces here, including two telephone dials, a typewriter keyboard, two large donuts and the tile bearing the inscription "Police".

The minifig endowment is correct, it sticks to the pitch of the set with three policemen, the donut thief and the saleswoman who reuses the torso already seen on other sellers and in the Monkie Kid range.

The torso used by the two police officers is new, that of the chief of police is borrowed from the LEGO CITY set 60246 Police Station marketed this year. The two caps are elements regularly available in the CITY range since 2014 and the thief does not make originality, he reuses the torso of Jack Davids, the young ghost hunter from the Hidden Side range.

In short, it is generally not necessary to try to convince those who collect the Modulars invest in the annual version and it will be difficult to motivate those who remain indifferent in front of these buildings to line up on a shelf. I can only tell you that the 2021 vintage should not disappoint the most demanding of fans: I have never been very impressed with this range but I have to admit that the few hours spent putting this set together have been very entertaining. The result would suit me well for a Gotham City police station by adding a Bat-signal on the roof.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 25, 2020 next at 23pm. "The" I try, I participate "are automatically deleted, make an effort.

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.