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Here is my review on Jurassic World Dominion 76946 Blue & Beta Velociraptor Capture: THE GOOD: Both raptors are great. This Blue is probably the best looking version in all the versions released. Very nice printing for the minifigures torso. THE NOT SO GOOD: The price is very high considering the volume of this set. Maisie should have used mid legs. Overall, I like this set and I think it's a pretty accurate representation of what's depicted in the movie (if you have seen the latest trailers). The raptors are the highlight and my reason for buying this. I think this version of Blue is the definite version of all Blue released so far. The baby Beta is adorable. While the minifigures have very nice printing, I wish Lego used medium sized legs for Maisie. The pick up truck is fine, nothing standout but have some nice design to it. The biggest draw back is the RRP, it's indeed very high. I would still recommend this set though if you like Jurassic World and want a baby raptor, and discount for this set is fairly common.

Lotus isn't the only new British car brand to join the Speed Champions theme this year. We also get a dual car pack from Aston Martin, with another set said to come out in August. While it's not the first Aston Martin set LEGO has released, it is the first minifigure-scale one. Despite only have 28 more parts than the Mercedes double pack, this set costs a whole $10 more in the US. Is it worth the price or should you stick with some of the other sets? Read on to find out! Set Number: 76910 Name: Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro and Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Theme: Speed Champions Year of Release: 2022 Ages: 8+ Pieces: 592 Price: £34.99 / $39.99 / 39.99€ Online Shop description: The Box The front of the box shows the two Aston Martins racing each other down a straight race track. I'm not familiar enough with race tracks to know which one it is supposed to be, if any, so if you recognize it, let me know in the comments. The back depicts a similar scene with the two cars driving off into the sunset together. How romantic! There are also close-ups of their noses as well as reference images of each car. Like on the Mercedes set, the top of the box has various translations of the set's name (which is giving the Mercedes set a run for its money in terms of length), although they're a bit more justified here since they actually use the word "and" instead of an ampersand on this one for some reason. The "official licensed product" mark from Aston Martin is printed on the box for this one instead of being a holographic sticker like on the other sets. There's not much to say about the bottom and the other side. Contents Inside the box there are two instruction booklets, two sticker sheets, and four numbered bags. One odd thing about this is that the little baggie with the hubcaps is inside one of the large numbered bags rather than separate like in the other sets. Another is that the numbers on the bags are all printed at random heights. I wonder why. Instructions The instructions are very "explosive" as we get more star explosions and sticker bombs. They are relatively easy to read, although the gray tones are still a bit hard to distinguish sometimes. Notable Parts This set comes with more of the new style of wheels and hubcaps in black, although after all these sets they are not that rare anymore. We get two printed windscreens in this set and one of them is even a new mold! The Valkyrie's windscreen is 6x7 studs and basically a longer version of windscreen 18973 with sloped sides which should become a useful part in the future. Other printed parts include a 1x2 plate with an Aston Martin logo printed on the side, 2x2 round tiles with dark silver rims, and the headlights. The headlight wedges come in two new colors, dark gray and lime green. Not only that, but we also finally get an unprinted pair of them in lime green, making this the only set so far to feature them without prints. There are also several parts in interesting new and rare colors including 1x2 plates with horizontal clip and 1x1 plates with horizontal tooth in translucent colors or a propeller blade in red. Minifigs This set comes with 2 minifigs as expected. The Vantage GT3 is driven by a nerdy guy with spikey brown hair while the Valkyrie is driven by what looks like Nya from Ninjago with dyed dark brown hair. They both have new Aston Martin AMR racing suits with the same print in different color schemes that continue onto their legs. Their design is similar to the one you can buy from Aston Martin's website for the "low" price of £4,385.59. Interestingly, each of their suits has the color scheme of the other driver's car, which is kind of sweet when you think about it. I'm totally 'shipping these two. Sorry, Jay. Both of them have the same kind of back printing too. What's a bit disappointing about these torsos is that the "Aston Martin" writing under the logo is not very well defined and quite hard to read, especially on Nya where it just looks like two solid lines. The torsos in the previous set had a lot more legible writing for the most part, so why not these? The Build The build of the Valkyrie AMR Pro is very unique. Like the Formula 1 car from the last set, it uses the Speed Champions wheel bearings part as the base, two of them even. The shaping of the front and back are also very different from any other car. The Vantage GT3's build is a bit more standard, using the usual car base and similar shaping to that of other cars like the Evija and Project One, although there are some interesting SNOT techniques used in the tail section. Spare Parts The extra parts consist of the usual small bits and the 5-spoke hubcaps that you can use to customize the Vantage. Nothing exciting. The Complete Set Here are the two finished Astone Martins. The Valkyrie AMR Pro looks quite bizarre and almost more like a spaceship than a car. The Vantage GT3 looks similar to other Speed Champions cars of the 8-wide era and seems almost boring next to the wild Valkyrie, but I love its color scheme. Lime green is my favorite color, so it's great to see a set with not just one, but two cars that use this color. Both give the impression of a powerful, modern sports car. Why don't we ever see James Bond drive an Aston Martin like these? The Valkyrie AMR Pro seems to be based on an early concept art (which you can see below) with the larger headlights and wavy spoiler, but uses the color scheme of the car that Aston Martin actually ended up producing. I think the designers recreated the unusual shape of this concept car about as well as they could. The Vantage GT3 is pretty spot-on at first glance when compared to the real car. I really like how they created the lime outline around the Vantage's grill using brackets and fangs, although the studs that are left exposed under the bumper are a bit unsightly. The use of car doors to represent the two thin walls in the grill of the Valkyrie is clever as well. It's a bit sad, though, how these parts which were very common in the 80's and 90's are rarely used as actual car doors anymore. The designers recreated the wavy spoiler of the Valkyrie nicely using curved slopes and boat studs. I also really like how they did the taillights on the Vantage the way they are sticking out by half a plate and are topped off by a sideways panel and upside down cheese slopes, although the trans-black 1x2 plates that they used to hold those cheese slopes in place look odd and shouldn't be there. The Valkyrie looks very cool and aerodynamic from the side. It has a neat fin in the back like the Mercedes-AMG ONE from the last review which happens to be one of the Valkyrie's main competitors. Perhaps it's not a coincidence both of these concept cars appear in the same wave. The Vantage on the other hand looks more angular than it should and I don't like that half-plate gap that is left between the front bumper and fenders. As you can see in this top view, the Valkyrie is a whole 3 studs longer than the Vantage and other Speed Champions cars like it. Its long spearhead shape and the angled gaps behind the front wheels have been recreated quite well. The printing of the windscreens on both of them is quite good as well, so they don't look out of place. While I like the use of a propeller blade for the Valkyrie's fin, I wish they would have filled in the gaps next to the blade like they did on the Project One. Both car interiors can be accessed by removing the windscreen and look pretty decent. However, the light gray parts on the Vantage and the Technic connector that holds the fin on the Valkyrie look out of place, and the steering wheel of the Vantage is off-center. The stickers on the center consoles add some nice detail though. Ratings Design: 8/10 The Valkyrie looks very cool and unique while the Vantage is a bit boxy and generic. Build: 6/10 Starts out very interesting with the unusual build of the Valkyrie, but becomes more and more standard with the Vantage. Playability: 7/10 You can seat the minifigs, customize the rims, and race them against each other. Figures: 8/10 Despite the usual generic heads, both figs have nicely printed new torsos and legs. Parts: 9/10 Several new and rare parts, including new prints, unprinted new wedges, and a new windscreen mold. Price: 8/10 While it's not as good of a value as the other double pack in the US, it's still good price for 592 parts. Overall: 8/10 This one is a bit of a mixed bag. While the Valkyrie is a very cool and different addition to the theme, the set is bogged down a bit by the Vantage which is kind of just okay. However, the detailed, exclusive racing suits, the new/rare parts, and the very reasonable price still make this a good buy. It may not be the best Speed Champions set, but you definitely won't regret getting it. Thanks for reading and thanks to TLG for sending me this set for review. What do you think of the set? Let me know in the comments and in the poll above. The set will release on March 1, 2022: https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/aston-martin-valkyrie-amr-pro-and-aston-martin-vantage-gt3-76910 By the way, did you know that the Valkyrie is the product of a collaboration between Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing? Speed Champions March 2022 Wave: Final Thoughts Overall, I think this is a very strong wave! Speed Champions just keeps getting better and better and they really took it up a notch with this batch. Aside from some printing issues and minor design flaws, these are all very good and accurate looking. I'm hard-pressed to even pick a favorite (although it's probably not the Lambo). LEGO is clearly trying to compete with the die cast market, and for the most part I think they are getting pretty close to that level of detail. The only downside to these for me is the lack of any scenery or extra builds that were so common in Speed Champions' early years. Those always added a lot more playability to the sets, but with the cars taking up more and more parts now, I'm afraid we won't see something like an entire Formula One pit again any time soon. I guess we can't have everything. Still, these are great sets and I recommend you go and pick some up. I hope you enjoyed this review series. See ya, and drive safe.

Here is my review on 80036 The City of Lanterns: THE GOOD: Looks great, the fact they gave a set full of open backed facade type build so much depth is sensational. Excellent frame with train using roller coaster piece. Great selection of shops which reflects Chinese culture very well. The shops are extremely well thought out as well. Great playability. Some awesome graphics design on the stickers too. Lots of design and techniques I like from other notable sets are being utilised in this set. THE NOT SO GOOD: Some stickers are extremely difficult to apply. Overall, this is probably in my top 3 of Monkie Kid theme. I enjoyed the building experience and absolutely love the end results. The fact they execute a collection of facade type builds and gave it so much depth is unbelievable. As a person who has a chinese background, the details of the shops & grahics design blew me away. The highlights for me are the Karaoke box, the bubble tea store, Hot pot restaurant & the lego store. The little details they incorporated in such small build are awesome. It's also nice to see Lego utilising roller coaster pieces as train is also smart. The possibilities to rearrange the whole build is endless, this just highlight how versatile the frame design and even when everything put together, it's also very secure. As with most other Monkie Kid sets, this set also come with some excellent minifigures. The only things I did not enjoy was that some of the stickers are extremely hard to align properly. Other than that, this is a set I would recommend to everyone and the pricing is surprisingly reasonable if you compare with other sets in the Monkie Kid theme.

Preface In line with my promise to keep making reviews on UFO space theme I present to you the biggest UFO set by piece count and one that was very high on my wanted list for more than a decade. The purpose of this review is to make as comprehensive review of the set as I can and also provide some useful information to any collectors, who might want to buy this set either used or sealed by taking a lot of pictures of the box from different angles which are rather hard to come by in a good quality. As a bonus, I'll also provide a short comparison between this set and the 2nd biggest UFO set, 6979 Interstellar Starfighter, a review of which you can find here. A disclaimer: I intentionally avoided the word »unboxing« in the title of the review because the set I got had its seals already broken, but the contents inside were intact. It's a small thing but one I will adhere by. Any feedback is welcome and if you have any questions just let me know by posting it below. Enjoy the review! Information Set name: Alien Avenger Set number: 6975 Number of pieces: 351 Year released: 1997 Minifigures: 4 Price (then): 60.00 USD Theme: U.F.O. Introduction to the theme There are 3 main sources of this theme's backstory, those being German, UK and US promotional materials and sometimes local magazines. Unfortunately, there seems to be little uniform backstory details, that only being the planet from which the aliens come from – Zotax (sometimes referred as planet Humoreless). Even the nature of the aliens is different from region to region, but they are usually presented as evil or at least neutral. This was especially the case in the US, where the aliens were supposed invaders of Earth. This also translates to Insectoids theme, which was a theme that came immediately after U.F.O. theme in 1998. In that story line, the protagonists also come from planet Zotax but were forced to leave due to turmoil on the planet and seek refuge on a different planet which was home to large insects. In order to blend in they adapted their vehicles' appearances to look like bugs, hence the name and the gist of the theme – insects in space. If you are interested in more details, I recommend you check an excellent Brickipedia article here. I personally like the idea of Zotaxians being neutral – just look at their head wear and overall appearance. They don't look like the good guys to me Another interesting titbit of information - U.F.O. theme was also featured in a famous Lego Racers video game from 1999. There was a racing map where both U.F.O. and Insectoids themes were interlaced and it took place on the planet Zotax. There was also one playable character from the theme, also serving as an NPC. Not only that, but according to Brickipedia, this very set was featured in the game – floating in the air above the race track next to the finish line. There are 11 main sets in this there, some with different packaging (poly-bag/box variation or as a part of value packs/bundles) which have their own set number. You can check the U.F.O. set list here on Bricklink. Introduction to the set I got the set via Bricklink. The box was in good condition with no dents and with slight print wear, something to be expected for its age. Both seals were broken already but the contents of the box were still in their original, unopened packaging. You can check Bricklink listings for this set here. The box Here's the front view of the box. Some slight print wear on the edges is present, but not too much. This is the front of the box, with its flap up, a common packaging for the 90s. A single transparent window showcases some of the parts, sealed in a special plastic tray. A closer view of the underside of the flap. A closer view of the transparent window. Parts being showcase are (left to right, top to bottom) 2 trans-neon circular panels, Alpha Draconis minifigure, grey alien helmet, black alien helmet, Techdroid I minifigure and a trans-neon green windscreen at the very bottom. Similarly to 6979 Interstellar Starfighter, Alpha Draconis and a droid were chosen to be the two minifigures showcased in transparent window, along with 2 alien helmets on display which are meant for aliens only (black one for Alpha Draconis). Both figures and helmets have exact same position in the transparent window in both sets. I'm beginning to see a pattern but I will probably never understand why Chamon or Commander X were not chosen to be in place of the droid, since one of their helmets is on display. Below are additional pictures of the box. The top of the box. Left side of the box. Right side of the box. Bottom side of the box. A closeup of legal and product information on the bottom of the box. The set was made in Billund, Denmark. The back of the box, showing alternate builds. Below are pictures of the only 2 seals found on the back left and right side of the box. Mine were already broken but due to their placement and relative small size I think it's not that big of a deal. In practice I think it's not that easy (nor cheap!) to come across the same set with seals intact after such a long time. On the other hand, I think you are more likely to come across 6979 Interstellar Starfighter set with its seals still intact, since the box opens differently and the front flap partially protects the seals, while seals on 6975 are fully exposed. On top of that there are 4 seals on 6979 set, which are really long (covering most of the box sides), further increasing probability of having intact seals. Some pics of comparison between 6979 an 6975 box sizes below. A surprise for me is the fact that set 6975, despite having bigger piece count, has a significantly smaller box than 6979. Another difference, as you'll see in the next chapter, is the fact that 6975 has no internal compartments like 6979 has, separating bags with pieces and big circular »free-floating« pieces. This could be a bad thing for 6975 set, since these circular pieces can collide with each other in the box (since they are not held in place by a compartment) and this can potentially cause scratches. Luckily for me, no significant or noticeable scratches were on circular pieces in my 6975 set. »Unboxing« The box opens from either left or right side like most of present Lego boxes. All bags with pieces and free-floating pieces are contained within a green cardboard tray, that slides out of the box. On top of the cardboard tray sits a plastic tray, containing showcase pieces. Instructions and catalogues are located on the very bottom of the cardboard tray, under all bags and free-floating pieces. There's an imprint present on the inside of the cardboard tray. Mine reads: 4107370 Here are all box contents on a table. These are: a plastic tray with showcase pieces, a reflective sticker sheer, 6 plastic bags with pieces (5 bags with holes and one without holes), instructions, 2 1997 catalogues, 4 big grey circular pieces and 2 small grey circular pieces, all 6 of which are not packed in any plastic bags. Picture above shows all printed pieces in the set, exuding minifigs and their accessories. Here is a closeup of the plastic tray. If you are observant you'll notice that there is something in this tray that can't be seen from the front box window – those being 6 magnets in the bottom left-hand side corner of the tray. A closeup of all 6 cylindrical magnets. These are all stickers in this set – 4 in total. 2 separate black thermal stickers on the left and 2 reflective stickers on singular sticker sheet on the right. I was pleasantly surprised that none of the stickers gave me any trouble when I applied them to pieces. The glue seal was in perfect condition and it felt like these stickers were brand new, not 24 years old! I wonder how it will feel to apply modern stickers from current year in 24 years. One thing is for sure, they will not apply better than these old-school stickers! Minifigures Blue UFO Droid/ Techdroid I This is the only minifigure in the set without a helmet or a shoulder armour. It's the only robot in the set and one of only 2 in the whole U.F.O. line. Printing is only present on the front of the figure but is quite detailed, especially for 1997. U.F.O. logo is present on the top left-hand side of the torso, with remaining printing looking like exposed wires. Below are additional pictures of the figure from remaining angles. Blue UFO alien/ Commander X One of 3 aliens in the set (and also the whole U.F.O. line), also referred as Commander X by August 1997 edition of Bricks 'n Pieces magazine, published in the UK. The figure has a grey alien helmet, with black shoulder armour (identical to Chamon, another alien in the set). Blue colour is used for legs and arms of the figure. Printing is only present on the front of the torso and legs. The helmet sports iconic »brain« print on the front angle which the U.F.O. line is known for. Below are pictures of the minifigure with helmet and shoulder armour from all remaining angles. This is Commander X without his shoulder armour and helmet. The face and head look very insect-like to me, transparent green only adding to the vibe. The printing on the torso and legs looks more orderly than that of TechDroid I. The leg printing pattern is the same as that of Chamon and Alpha Draconis but in different colours. U.F.O. logo is present on the top right-hand side of the torso. Below are remaining angles of the figure without its accessories. Red UFO alien/ Chamon The second and the most common alien of the U.F.O. line, being featured in 5 sets. Chamon is very similar in design to Commander X, the most obvious difference being a red colour scheme for legs and arms. The figure has identical helmet and shoulder armour to Commander X. Below are pictures of the figure with its accessories from the remaining angles. This is the minifigure without its accessories. Like with all figures in the set, printing is only present on the front of the figure. U.F.O. logo is present on the top right-hand side of the torso. Below are pictures of the figure from different angles. Alpha Draconis The commander of the Alien Avenger and the most consistently named character of the U.F.O. line. Promotional materials are not in agreement on many things regarding the role of the characters but it is believed that Alpha Draconis is some sort of the leader of Zotaxians. His character is also featured in a video game Lego Racers from 1999, where he is both an NPC (the only one to represent U.F.O. line) and also a playable character. He is immediately recognised by his black helmet with gold print and grey, instead of black shoulder armour. The leg printing pattern is the same as Chamon's and Coommander X's but with a different colour scheme. I have a small gripe with the helmet of this particular figure – the print of the brain seems misaligned a bit and smudged a bit towards the front. The best indicator of this is the gold line that runs on the sides of the front helmet angle – it's quite thick on the left-hand side but it gets significantly thinner on the right-hand side and almost disappears at some point. The same figure I got in 6979 Interstellar Starfighter had a significantly better helmet printing. I digress – below are remaining pictures of the figure with his accessories. Lastly, here is the figure without a helmet and shoulder armour. Printing is only present on the front of the figure. Torso print is a bit different, since the U.F.O. logo is aligned in the centre and there are no wires or other electronic parts visible. A very clean torso design indeed. The remaining pictures of the figure without its accessories are below. Building the set Building the set was not complex and did not take a lot of time. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that these instructions are of the old-school type. This means that you don't get any separate parts list required for each step and new pieces are not highlighted in the build. Effectively, every step feels like a game of find all the differences between current and previous step. This requires more focus that modern Lego instructions. Again, I'm proud to say that I found all differences and was left with the right amount of space bricks. I'm starting to like this style of building more and more but I still prefer modern instructions The back of the instructions. Assembled set This is the assembled set, containing all minifigures and smaller vehicles inside. One of the side crew compartments in visible with Techdroid I in it. Side view. Back view – or is it? I'll touch on this in a moment. Another crew compartment is visible with Chamon in it. Another side view with the crane assembly. A view, more level with the ground. You can see 4 landing gear legs and a central engine in the middle. Keeping the tradition of the U.F.O. theme, most sets are meant to be looked at from above. Top view. Base section One of play-features of this set is that the saucer can separate into 2 section – a base section we'll take a look at in this chapter and a command module, which will be presented in one of the next chapters. Top view of the base section. Front view of the base section. In the middle, there is a planetary rover with a crew member manning it. The rover has a magnet on it, which can be used to connect with the magnet on the crane. The crane can then be used to deploy rover or store it back onboard the Alien Avenger. A closer look at the central compartment where planetary rover is stored. Note 2 circular magnets on the left and right of the central compartment – this is how command module attaches to the base section. The connection between modules can happen regardless of whether the rover is in base section or not. At the side of the central compartment there are 2 containers, each with a 1x2 printed tile inside, representing some sort of a hand-held device. On the side of the base there is another compartment. It houses a small buggy. A closer look at one of the two crew compartments. Techdroid I fits quite nicely. The other crew compartment houses Chamon. His helmet and shoulder armour make him more difficult to fit which means that his legs have to be bent somewhat. Here comes the dilemma – I'm not actually sure what's the front of the base and what is the back! The two pictures above both show candidates for the front side. The last picture above shows 2 rotating black thingies, which may very well be the engines or weapons while previous picture shows the side with 2 stationary beam emitter-looking contraptions. I assume marketing team at Lego did not know the difference either, since their promotional materials are not consistent – examples below. Promotional picture, showing rotating thingies as engines. The front of the box and instructions, showing rotating thingies on the front, reinforcing weapons theory. You may assume this ends the debate (if you, like me, thought that they got this sorted out for the actual product) but... This is the last step in the instructions, again showing rotating thingies as engines. Aargh! Were 90s Lego sets always this confusing about pointless details? Jokes aside, it doesn't really matter what's the front and the back of this set since it is circular and can be switched up at any time. If I had to guess I would say that it makes more sense (despite what instructions say) for rotating thingies to be weapons. I think it makes more sense for weapons to rotate than engines. This is of course looking more from play-ability perspective. In the end I'll leave it up to you to decide. Maybe there is no front or back? Now that would truly be extraterrestrial! ...getting back on topic. Here's the underside of the base. Not the best looking part of the set. Command module Command module attaches to the lower base section using magnets. The command module has 3 out of 4 stickers on total (2 reflective stickers on the side and one of thermal stickers on top of the cockpit canopy) in this set and is assembled using 2 small circular grey and 2 circular trans-neon green panels. 2 antennae are on the side of the module. The overall appearance of the module is very similar to the top portion of 6900 Cyber Saucer set of the same U.F.O. line. The main difference being the number of antennae – 6900 Cyber saucer has 4. There's room for only 1 minifigure in the command module. Gotta reinforce the chain of command. A closeup of the first reflective sticker. A closeup of the second reflective sticker. Thermal sticker before activation. To activate it, just hold a finger on it for a couple of seconds. Thermal sticker after being activated by heat. Notice the colour change to green and revealed pattern – a U.F.O. logo. Underside of the module. Notice 2 cylindrical magnets, used to connect to the main base. Planetary rover The rover has the second thermal sticker on it, right next to the magnet that connects to the crane, which is used to move rover on and off the Alien Avenger. The rover is controlled by one pilot at the very front . At the back there is a printed 2x2 tile with U.F.O. logo. Overall design is somewhat similar to certain vehicle designs from Lego Racers video game in my opinion. I love the black barrel wheels. Below are pictures of the buggy with a pilot and from different angles. Small buggy There's not much to say about the small buggy – has 4 wheels, fits 1 sitting minifigure, has 1 printed control panel and is small. Comparison with 6979 Interstellar Starfighter Size comparison bestrewn some U.F.O. sets. Left to right: 6979 Interstellar Starfighter, 6975 Alien Avenger and 6900 Cyber Saucer. When comparing 6979 and 6975 I think it's safe to say that 6975 feels more compact and overall takes up less space. It's also packed with more play-features than 6979, although it has no electronics, which 6979 has. Both sets feature some sort of detachable crafts that use magnets to connect to main base/ship. 6975 has more parts than 6979 but it doesn't show that at the first glance. 6975 also has 1 more figure and has all aliens of the theme, which is rather nice. The build process of both sets felt quite similar to me and I cannot really draw any definite differences here. Both sets feel appropriately »alien« to me but 6975 feels »more alien«, since it is shaped like a stereotypical pop-culture UFO. I like both sets very much but I think I like 6975 a bit more, since it's the flagship of the theme, has more play-features and has more minifigs. If you're deciding on which of these sets you should get (new or used) I would advice you go for both. But maybe go for 6975 or at least start with it. Also note that if you want these sets in new condition you will want to set aside some budget as well. They are not cheap sets to get in new condition but 6979 is usually a bit cheaper than 6975. Also,like I mentioned before, you are more likely to get 6979 perfectly sealed than 6975 if that is important to you. Conclusion Opening and building this set meant a lot to me. This was the flagship set I was always looking at in 1997 catalogues I had laying around. This is THE U.F.O. set – the flagship of the theme. Like I already said in my 6979 review, it's hard to be objective for me when reviewing sets from this theme but I tried my best. The question of price is always present, but, like I already stated, I'm ready to pay this price now. If you are a die-hard fan of the theme I think you have already made your mind regarding what condition you want your set to be in. For others I always advise to grab a used set in good condition. It is an interesting set from a wacky theme but don't spend too much money on it if you don't feel it's worth it. Hopefully you enjoyed the review and got interested in the theme. If you did then my job here is done and I'm happy. ... also go check another review of the same set here to get a separate take on the same subject. Design: 9/10. I dig the shape of the set and its many play-features. Underside of the UFO could have been handled better. Parts: 8/10. A lot of big circular parts, lots of printed parts and a lot of trans-neon green. Build: 5/10. Despite my somewhat growing love for old-school instructions (for the sake of challenge) I also find it frustrating at times. I still prefer modern instructions. Minifigures: 10/10. U.F.O. line has in my opinion one of the best looking minifigs ever. The detailed prints, shoulder armour and helmet combo – it just works. And you get all but one minifigure from the entire line in this set! Play-ability: 9/10. A ton of play features, much better than 6979 set. I can see kids having a lot of fun with this set. Price (New Complete): 6/10. Despite the set not being perfectly sealed I still paid pretty penny for the set. I can't complain too much but the price can always be better. I only recommend buying this set new if you are a big fan of the theme. Otherwise go for a used set in good condition which will set you back a lot less financially. On display. My fleet grows stronger...

Preface It's been around a year since I made my last UFO set review, time really flies doesn't it? I've had this set sealed for quite some time actually but never quite had the courage to open it and I think it's obvious why – the packaging is really unusual and unique – I don't think I've ever seen a similar odd-looking packaging. But then again I'm no expert on Lego packaging so this may not have been that unusual in the past. But one can only wait for so long and I intended to open and build this set at some point and the moment has arrived. To those who haven't yet read any of my previous UFO set reviews (which are 6979 Interstellar Starfighter and 6975 Alien Avenger) I owe you a short disclaimer – this is my favourite theme and I may look at it with rose-tinted glasses so please keep that in mind. Nevertheless I'll try to be as objective as I can with my conclusions. As always, I'm looking forward to any feedback, critique and I'll gladly answer any questions about the set or the theme you might have. Enjoy! Information Set name: Cyber Saucer with Promotional Mask Set number: 6999 Number of pieces: 109 Year released: 1997 Minifigs: 1 Price (then): 20.00 USD Theme: U.F.O. Introduction to the theme For the introduction to the theme I kindly invite you to check it in my 6975 Alien Avenger set review, as I have nothing more to add to it. The theme was short lived and the small amount of lore is inconsistent at some points (mostly stemming from different marketing materials between regions). Nevertheless, the aesthetics are some of the best in my opinion and the minifigs the best looking to-date. The theme was second-to-last in the continuous space themes releases, ending with Insecoids theme in 1998, which shares some of the lore with U.F.O. theme. There are 11 sets in the U.F.O. theme, which you can check here on Bricklink. Introduction to the set I bought the set via Bricklink. The box was in good condition with minimal amount of scratches and wear which is something you can expect on a set that is a quarter of a century old. All the seals were unbroken and contents of the box were still in their original, unopened packaging. You can check Bricklink listings for this set here. The box/ packaging This is the front of the packaging. It holds the mask on the left hand-side and the Lego pieces in the compartment on the right-hand side. The wear is minimal and in line with set age. These next few angles should provide a better idea of packaging shape. The back of the packaging show alternative builds and a kid with both the mask and the set in action. On the bottom right-hand side is the demonstration of the thermal sticker. More on that soon. This is the profile view of one side of the packaging with the mask dominating the picture. The profile view of the opposite angle is different due to the compartment with pieces being located on the right-hand side and obscuring the mask. A closeup of legal and product information on the packaging. The set was made in Billund, Denmark. Here are a few more closeups of mask-part of the packaging only. It's held in by 2 pieces of the packaging (front and back of the packaging cardboard), with the mask being held in between them. I wonder how easy it would be for a kid to rip the mask out back when these sets were widely available in stores? A closeup of stickers on the mask. Did I forget to mention it is based off the helmets that the aliens of these theme wear? Looking through the eye holes, you can see a piece of instructions or catalogue in the mask compartment of the packaging. Otherwise no backs with pieces or other paper materials are in the mask compartment. Packaging seals are located on the top and bottom of the packaging and hold together both parts of the packaging. The picture above shows top seal of the pieces compartment. Interestingly, there are actually 3 seals in the picture, one applied over the other. I suspect this was done to increase seal strength, since this is a very unusual packaging shape. All seals on the packaging are reinforced with at least another seal over the original one. I also don't think this was done by a third party, since all additional seals look identical, in the picture above you can also see that both additional seals have their own number (2817 and 2517). They also look of the same »style« to me, all with a black bar in the middle and none look broken. A different angle of the same seal grouping on the top of the pieces compartment. 2 seals on the bottom of the bottom of the pieces compartment. Interestingly there are no numbers on these seals. Front view of 2 top mask compartment double seals. Back view of 2 top mask compartment double seals. Back view of the 2 bottom mask compartment double seals. The sides of the pieces compartment have no seals but are instead glued together. A slightly different angle. Unboxing Unboxing for this set happened in 2 parts – first I opened the top of the prices compartment and built the set. Afterwards I broke all the remaining seals ion the top and bottom to release the mask. The mask review will be presented in a separate chapter. These are the contents of the packaging. A total of 3 bags, instructions, a poster and a catalogue. And the mask, of course. From left to right: instructions, a poster and a catalogue. The poster is of the same design as the one I got in 6979 Interstellar Starfighter. A side-note – I found this code on the top left-hand side of the poster. Does anyone know what the code represent? The catalogue. The back of the catalogue. The 3 bags containing all of the Cyber Saucer pieces. A keen eye will notice an elastic band in one of the bags – this is to be able to attach the mask to the head. Minifigures Blue UFO alien/ Commander X This is the sole minifigure in the set and one of the main characters of the theme. He is named Commander X in August 1997 edition of Bricks 'n Pieces magazine, published in the UK. The figure has a grey alien helmet, with black shoulder armour (identical to Chamon, another alien of the U.F.O. theme). Blue colour is used for legs and arms of the figure. Printing is only present on the front of the torso and legs. The front angled helmet print represents the brain which is one of the trademark looks of the U.F.O. theme. Below are pictures of the minifigure with helmet and shoulder armour from all remaining angles. The top view of the helmet. The front angled print extends to the top of the helmet where electronic interface of the helmet can be seen. Commander X without his shoulder armour and helmet. Top right-hand side of the torso sports U.F.O. logo. The leg and torso printing is very detailed, especially impressive due to the fact this was made in 1997. Below are remaining angles of the figure without its accessories. Building the set These are all of the pieces used in the build. Building the set was easy, since it isn't big anyway and because it uses very unique looking and big pieces. Picture above show all the big circular pieces that form the main body of the saucer. Here's what an underside of one of the circular piece looks like. This is the only other printed element in the set, besides the minifigure and 2 circular pieces of the saucer body. There is only 1 extra piece in the set – a transparent neon-green 1x1 circular plate. The 2 sticker sheets in the set. I'm pleased to say that the glue didn't dry out and the stickers stuck to the pieces with no issues and are not falling off. On the top of the picture are 2 reflective stickers and below is one thermal sticker, which changes colour if exposed to heat (from finger) and reveals U.F.O. logo. The colour changing can be seen on pictures below (starts with green, turns to brown-bronzeish and then dies out). The front of the instructions. The back of the instructions, showing alternative builds. Assembled set Here is the assembled set. It is composed of the landing gear with thrusters and the main circular bods with cockpit. In between is a turntable which allows you to spin either the main bod or landing gear. The cockpit opens and has space for 1 minifigure which is accommodated on a red seat. The heath sticker is applied to a smooth 2x2 plate, which attaches to the top of the cockpit. Reflective stickers are applied to, what look to me, 2 side-flaps attached to the main body. There's a safe-box located on one of the landing gear feet which contains the printed 1x2 smooth surface element shown earlier. I assume a handheld scanning device or perhaps a power source of the saucer? This is the saucer, flipped upside-down with landing feet in the air. A different angle of the flipped saucer. The set was definitely made to be looked at from above, as almost all the sets in the U.F.O. theme. And lastly, the side view of the saucer. This angle too, isn't too flattering. The mask Now comes the special part of the review and a part I'm not sure I personally encountered in any other set so far – the promotional mask, which represents the alien helmet of the U.F.O. theme, more specifically Alpha Draconis' helmet, since his is the only one being black. It's a single moulded piece with a ginormous sticker on the front angle and on the top of the mask. The mask has 2 elongated eye holes. I'm not sure why eye-holes have this shape but I assume it has to do with the mask shape itself and different sizes of kids' heads that this was supposed to be fitted on. Otherwise, there's not much to say about this helmet. It's plain black on the inside and has 2 holes on the side that the elastic band in the set is supposed to be tied to. Below are additional pictures of the helmet form different angles. Here is the mask next to the set. Next to the minifig helmet. And lastly, the included elastic band. I didn't really try to fit the mask on my head (or rather, my face) since I already saw it wouldn't fit comfortably. The eye holes were a bit too low for me. It's going to make a nice and interesting collector's piece. No pictures of me and the mask though. Instead, here is the picture of what a dog would look like with the U.F.O. mask. Conclusion Having the opportunity and privilege to open a sealed U.F.O. set always means a lot to me. It's my favourite theme after all and my collection is getting bigger. With these reviews it's always hard for me to be unbiased but I'll always try my best. These sealed sets are always expensive and to put is shortly – are not worth it for an average person. For a collector and a fan like me though, that might be a different story but I'll let you be the judge of that. If you feel like it's worth it and can actually afford to pay for a sealed set then I'd say go for it but you can always find these sets used and in pretty good condition, although if it's the mask you're after, these are not quite common, even in used condition. I hope you enjoyed this review and hopefully leaned something new. If that's the case then the purpose of this review has been fulfilled. Design: 9/10. I'm a sucker for a classic UFO shape and this is as classic as you can get with the theme. Big pieces don't bother me at all – they are essential to the U.F.O. theme. Parts: 9/10. All the necessary parts are present, which for a nice and eye-catching set. Build: 5/10. Not complex at all and all big pieces make for a fast build. Low score because of my gripe with old-school instructions which don't show you needed parts and where they fit in every step. Minifigures: 9/10. Could always use more aliens but 1 figure still seems fair. Play-ability: 10/10. Along with the mask, this must've been a blast to play with back in 1997. Price (sealed): 5/10. Very pricey for what it is. As always, I recommend buying this set sealed only if you are a big fan with a budget to spare. Otherwise there's nothing wrong with used sets just make sure you buy them form a reputable sellers and ask for pictures before buying it. My fleet is resting. For now... Trivia I believe this Cyber Saucer was featured in 1999 Lego racers video-game – it was the saucer at the start of the Alien Rally Asteroid track, whose beam, when it hit a racer, caused them to move backwards. Interestingly, only the saucer part, without landing feet is present in-game. Screenshot below is from YouTube channel MedalOHonor123. Another rendition of the saucer can be found at the end of the track but it' just hovering above the track, doing nothing but giving off cheesy alien sounds. A full model of the saucer also appears on PC box cover of the game but not on all versions, at least form my quick google search where I was only able to find one example.

This year, LEGO has added British car manufacturer Lotus to its roster of car brand licenses! The first car we get from this brand is the Evija, Lotus' first electric sports car. It's good to see TLG highlighting more eco-friendly vehicles such as this considering the state of the environment right now. It's quite ironic that they are doing so in a plastic toy, but the sentiment is still appreciated. Is this newcomer a worthy addition to the theme or will it be left in the dust by the other car brands? Buckle up and let's find out! Set Number: 76907 Name: Lotus Evija Theme: Speed Champions Year of Release: 2022 Ages: 8+ Pieces: 247 Price: £17.99 / $19.99 / 19.99€ Online Shop description: The Box The box art on the front of the box shows the Evija driving away from the Goodwood House, an estate in England that serves as the venue for the Goodwood Festival of Speed. I can't think of a more fitting scene for a British Speed Champions car, so kudos to the box designer for this neat detail! The back shows a lovely rear view of the car driving down a country road during fall (or should I say autumn?). There is also a close-up of one of the headlights and some concept art of the Evija that this set is based on. The top, the bottom, and the sides of the box are similar to those on the Ferrari 512's box, so there is not much more to say about it. I'm not gonna deeplink all the pictures every time to avoid repetition and save time. These sets are all about speed after all! Contents Inside the box there are two numbered bags, a small bag with wheel covers, a loose car base, a sticker sheet, and one instruction booklet. Instructions Despite all the dark colored parts, the instructions are fairly easy to read. Like all instructions this year, they have the gray progress bar at the bottom and an explosion of stars at the end of the build of the minifig and the car. I'm beginning to wonder if LEGO hired Michael Bay to direct the instructions for this year. Notable Parts You may have wondered why they showed a close-up of a headlight on the back of the box. The reason for that is likely because not only are the headlights printed, but they are on a brand new mold! This wave of Speed Champions introduces 2x3x1 wedges which in this set come in dark green. The fact that the headlights are printed is both good and bad since it means that you don't have to apply more stickers, but it also means that it makes these cool new parts less versatile. The windscreens are also printed and the hexagonal windscreen that serves as the rear window comes in trans-black for only the second time. We get several parts in dark green for the first time here such as a snowboard, tall fenders, 3x4 wedges, 1x2 brackets, triangle tiles, as well as 1x2 tiles which haven't been seen in dark green since the Clone Turbo Tank in 2005/2006 and a Creator crocodile in 2010! There are other parts in rare colors like a 1x3 jumper plate and Mixel joint sockets in dark gray. The latter has appeared in several sets before, but compared to the hundreds of sets where it comes light gray, it's relatively uncommon. I really don't understand why they don't make these joints in more colors. The wheels and hubcaps in this set are also rare as they are the new style that was introduced last year with the tire molded onto the wheel and 9 spokes on the hubcaps. Both are pearl dark gray which is a color they only appeared in two other sets in. Minifigs As usual, there is one driver minifig included in the set. I like to call him Bob since he remind me of fellow EB reviewer @Bob De Quatre. Bob sports an excellent new Lotus-branded racing suit. It is very nicely detailed with a Lotus logo on the chest and a silver spiderweb pattern going down all the way to his legs and onto his back. I did a Google search, but I couldn't find a suit that looks quite like it, so I'm not sure if it is based on any real suit. If you know if it is, let me know in the comments. It's a bit of a shame the helmet isn't dark green as well, but the black still fits with the Lotus color scheme. The head and hair are as generic as all Speed Champions heads, but that's more excusable here than in the Ferrari since this set isn't based on one particular car driven by a specific person. He comes with a wrench to help him change out the hubcaps if so desired. The Build The build of the Evija is a bit more standard than that of the Ferrari as it uses the usual Speed Champions car base, but that doesn't mean it's boring. In the contrary, the tail section especially has a lot of sideways and even upside down building techniques. The use of the snowboard as the spoiler is pretty clever, although Bob seems to prefer using it as an actual snowboard. Spare Parts At the end of the build, you are left with the usual small bits, plus the extra set of 5-spoke hubcaps. The Complete Set The finished hypercar looks great with its dark green and yellow color scheme and expertly shaped body. I couldn't find the concept art with the green and yellow paint job that the designers were using as reference, so here is a yellow Evija for comparison. The car has a lot of curves and organic shapes and the designers did a reasonably good job of recreating them with bricks. The new headlight wedges look great on the front of the car. The upside down bumper with the little 1x2 gap is also pretty cool. The Lotus Evija has very unique taillights which are basically two giant holes in the back of the car with glowing outlines. Here is a reference image of the rear of the car with the spoiler retracted. Huge props to the designers for taking on the ambitious task of trying to recreate such an organic shape using bricks instead of just using stickers. The result doesn't look quite accurate as the lights have a much more angular shape and don't go all the way around the holes which are represented by a dark gap, but I think it's about as good as they could make it and it exhibits some excellent shaping techniques. I love me a well-shaped rear. A car rear, I mean. Get your head out of the gutter! The large air intakes on the doors of the Evija are recreated nicely using a variety of wedges and tiles. While the use of the snowboard as the spoiler is NPU, having it upside down exposes the rough underside of the snowboard which doesn't look very good in my opinion. The exposed studs above the mudguards also ruin the the smooth look of the car a bit. Also, the dark green 1x2 tiles are a slightly darker shade of green than the other parts which is disappointing. Maybe that's why they haven't made that piece in this color in over a decade. On a brighter note, while the stickers were a pain to apply, the dynamic lines that they add to the top of the car look undeniably great. You can seat the minifig inside by removing the windscreen. Bob can fit comfortably into the car and a sticker on the center console adds some nicely detailed button designs. Ratings Design: 8/10 A cool-looking and reasonably close recreation of an ambitious vehicle design with some great shaping. Only the spoiler and exposed studs make it look a bit rough. Build: 8/10 The build starts out basic, but ends up having lots of interesting techniques. Playability: 5/10 You can roll the car around and seat the minifig inside. Figures: 8/10 A great new Lotus racing suit, but with the usual generic head. Parts: 8/10 New wedge molds and several new and rare recolors, plus plenty of dark green! The color inconsistency on the latter is disappointing though. Price: 9/10 Not as good of a value as the Ferrari, but 247 parts for 20 bucks is still a good deal! Overall: 8/10 It is quickly becoming clear to me that the Speed Champions sets are not to be underestimated when it comes to the build. I never would have thought that an official set of a complexly shaped car such as the Evija would turn out looking this good at such a small scale! If you want to experience the advanced building techniques of the large 18+ sets in an affordable $20 set, this is one to pick up. Thanks for reading and thanks to TLG for sending me this set for review. What do you think of the set? Let me know in the comments and in the poll above. The set will release on March 1, 2022: https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/lotus-evija-76907 In my next Speed Champions review, we're going back to the groovy 70's again!

Here is my review on 75324 Dark Trooper Attack: THE GOOD: Cheaper way to get more Dark Troopers. The dark troopers are the same variant, so you do get 3! Nice interior location build. THE NOT SO GOOD: Wish it comes with hair piece for Luke. RRP not really friendly for army building. The elevator door feature doesn't work that well if Luke is holding the light saber. I have been waiting for this since the rumours started floating around late last year. It doesn't disappoint. I really wanted the dark trooper minifigure but previously it was too expensive. The cool thing is instead of giving you 2 of the same plus a different variant like battle packs in the past, they actually include 3 here. Luke is also great but what I like about this set is the location they chose. It looks pretty decent to create the scene and the building experience was not bad at all but I guess the size of it bring the price up which the really the down side of this set. Current RRP doesn't really suggest you can build an army of dark trooper easily. Including hair piece for Luke would be a plus and the elevator feature doesn't allow you make a dramatic entrance for Luke if he is holding the light saber. However, this is still a cool set based of The Mandalorian and would recommend this if you like the show and keen to get Dark Troopers without spending hundreds of dollars.

Today we’re going back to the 1970’s to take a look at another Italian classic from that era, the Lamborghini Countach! It’s best known for featuring in the 1981 movie Cannonball Run. The car in the movie was black and modified for the US market, so some might be disappointed that the LEGO version is the original version in white, although considering how terribly sexist, racist, and just plain boring the movie was, perhaps it’s for the better. So, did TLG recreate this iconic vehicle as well as the last two cars we reviewed? Let’s find out! Set Number: 76908 Name: Lamborghini Countach Theme: Speed Champions Year of Release: 2022 Ages: 8+ Pieces: 262 Price: £17.99 / $19.99 / 19.99€ Online Shop description: The Box The front of the box depicts the Countach speeding down the riverside across from the Castel Sant'Angelo. It's a lovely scene, but I fail to see the connection between the Lamborghini and the Mausoleum of Hadrian other than that it is located in Italy, home of Lamborghini. If anyone knows why they chose this particular location, let me know in the comments. The back has images of both the real and Lego Countach parked on the streets of Italy, looking sexy as heck. The top, the bottom, and the sides of the box are similar to those on the other sets I reviewed, except that one side has a sticker of authenticity from Lamborghini Contents Inside the box there are one instruction booklet, a sticker sheet, and two numbered bags, one with a white stripe and one without. I could never figure out the logic behind which bags get the stripe and which don't, or what the point of it even is. If you know, please enlighten me in the comments. Instructions The instructions are easy to read and feature the gray progress bar at the bottom like in the other instructions. The illustrations of all the black, white, and red parts provide a nice contrast. Notable Parts Like the Evija, this set comes with the new style of wheels with the fixed tire, although in this set they are black, and instead of molded hubcaps, it comes with printed 2x2 tiles to cover them. While a new mold for the hubcaps would have been nice, the prints look good and do the job just fine. The windshield is printed too as always, but there is something off about this one. Let's discuss that later. There are also some parts in rare colors such as a 1x3 jumper plate in red and 2x4 wedge plates in white, but not much else of note. Minifigs The minifig included as the driver for the Countach has yet another generic head with stubble and the same hairpiece as Bob from the Evija, except in dark brown. And like Bob, he comes with a plain black helmet and a wrench. The only thing of note about this guy is his Lamborghini branded jacket. This torso is different and a bit more detailed than the one(s) included in set #76899 as it features a silver zipper, dark blue wrinkles, pockets and a thicker collar. Unfortunately, his pants don't have any printing like those of the drivers in the previous two sets, although their dark blue color matches the wrinkles on his jacket nicely. Now that's the face of someone who is lucky enough to own such a legendary sports car! Lambo Guy is the only minifig in this entire wave to feature a double-sided head. The back of his jacket is printed too, although my copy has a small scratch on it unfortunately. The Build Like with the Evija, the build starts out on the standard Speed Champions car base, but uses some interesting techniques for the shaping of the front and back of the car. The curved slopes in the back are attached at an angle by sticking a dark gray nipple tile into a Technic connector and lowering that into the car. Very unique. The front bumper is attached by sticking it onto two small bars similar to the taillights on the Ferrari 512 M. Note the headlight stickers which are facing up and are later covered by the hood. Spare Parts The leftovers are the usual small bits. Some standouts are a round plate with handle in black (which I forgot to mention among the parts in rare colors), an unprinted gray microphone, and one of the dark gray nipple tiles. It's good to get an extra of those because as my weird uncle always says, you can never have too many nipples. (He doesn't get invited to family gatherings very often.) The Complete Set Once you attach the spoiler, hood, windscreen, and tires, the Lambo is finished! The overall shaping of it looks great and aside from the six studs on the roof, it is studless and smooth. However, there is something off about the look. Can you tell what it is? Comparing it to the real Countach, the designers did a great job recreating the iconic shape of this Italian speed machine. One of the coolest design features of the set are the headlights. The orange that you see is actually a reflection from the sticker below which is a very clever way of recreating the slim turn signal lights of the Countach. The Lamborghini Countach has a very uniquely shaped rear and the designers captured that iconic angular look excellently with angled curved slopes hugging the trans-red cones that represent the taillights. The "lamborghini countach" sticker adds the finishing touch. The dark recesses where the door handles are located on the Countach are recreated nicely by leaving a gap over a curved slope. It's a shame the doors don't open like the iconic scissor doors on the real Countach. According to this interview on New Elementary, the designers did try to incorporate opening doors, but had to abandon the idea since they couldn't find a good way to execute it and because none of the other Speed Champions sets have opening doors which is fair enough. Unfortunately, this is where we have to start talking about the negatives of the set. You may have already noticed what one of the main issues of the set is from previous pictures, but it is unmissable when looking at a top-down view of the car: The white printing on the windshield is far too dark, making it look more like light gray and stick out like a sore thumb. It really ruins the clean white look of the car, and judging by other reviews of the set, my copy isn't the only one that has this issue. Very disappointing. To seat the minifig inside, you have to remove the ugly windscreen. The interior feels a bit tight, the steering wheel is off-center, and the only nice detail is the use of a microphone as the shift stick. Not very impressive. Oops! Looks like Lambo Guy had a little fender bender. Another big issue of the set is stability. All of these angled sections look great, but due to the fact that most of them are only attached by one or two bars, they get easily misaligned during play or when you just pick up the car which is not ideal if you're buying this for a child. I have a hard time keeping the air intakes in the back to sitting on the car without a gap showing underneath. Ratings Design: 7/10 The car looks very cool and recognizable, and the reflected headlights are very creative, but the design is a bit unstable in parts. Build: 8/10 Some interesting angling techniques on a standard base. Playability: 4/10 The unstable design makes this better for display than play. Figures: 6/10 A nice new Lambo jacket, but otherwise a very generic fig. Parts: 4/10 No new parts and not many rare colors. Poor windscreen printing ruins what is an otherwise great looking design. Price: 9/10 Again, not as good as the Ferrari, but better than the Evija. Overall: 6/10 Sadly, this one was a bit of a letdown for me. The first two cars in this wave were great and this one looked to be just as good from the official images, but it doesn't look or feel so good in person. While the design is still pretty good, the poorly printed windscreen ruins the look and the easily misaligned angled sections make you not want to touch it. That along with the lack of interesting parts or minifigs makes this one set you can skip. Thanks for reading and thanks to TLG for sending me this set for review. What do you think of the set? Let me know in the comments and in the poll above. The set will release on March 1, 2022: https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/lamborghini-countach-76908 In my next Speed Champions review, we are going to the Formula 1 race track!

Here is my review on 76399 Hogwarts Magical Trunk: THE GOOD: The trunk is great and surprisingly cool locking mechanism. Awesome selection of both old and new minifigure parts! Lots of cool small builds too, I love the chessboard under the sofa even though it's a sticker. Interesting build and tons of fun. THE NOT SO GOOD: The bottom of the trunk is definitely not for display. This is a great set, both in terms of display and playability. The whole build & customise concept has been executed perfectly. The ideas on having the ability to customise your own Hogwarts student is great and it is very generous LEGO included a variety of minifigure parts. It reminds me on some big lego town minifigure pack back in the late 80s/90s. There are also lots of small details and builds integrated into the trunk which allows you to recreate different scenes. The trunk is great and the locking mechanism works surprisingly, although I must admin the bottom side of the trunk is a bit lacking but then I doubt they can make it happen with this size and price if they make a perfect trunk. Since I bought this with a discount, the price ain't that bad but full price can be a bit pricey, but anyway this is a set I will recommend to anyone given its level of execution in the whole build and customise concept. Now I wish they do similar sets for other themes too.

Here is my review on 76398 Hogwarts Hospital Wing: THE GOOD: Awesome Clock Tower mechanism. Lovely looking hospital beds. Excellence minifigures (especially the head gear for Madam Pomfrey, I wish Lego do one with black and white =P ) BABY SKULL!!!! THE NOT SO GOOD: Looks empty by itself. I personally not liking the hollow flooring. Overall, it's a fairly good set if you just started collecting Harry Potter sets. However, I can't help but it really looks empty by itself. You really need a few of the modular extension for this one. But the clock tower build and play feature is awesome. I also like the genuine hospital beds design. The minifigures are excellent, you pretty much get all 3 main characters in this one set, but the new headgear for Madam Pomfrey is nicely done. It could easily moulded to be a Lego Nun head piece but of course LEGO won't do it =P. I personally bought just because of the baby lego skull, it does not disappoint. The new chest lid is also nice. I will probably only recommend this set if you have specific piece you want here or you just started collecting Harry Potter sets.

Here is my review on 76205 Gargantos Showdown: THE GOOD: Great Gargantos build and it looks menacing just because the size of it is actually bigger than the pictures shown. Excellent minifigures, great printings on all 3 characters. Great choice to use medium legs for America Chavez. Super heroes sets not based with a facade build nor repetitive vehicles. THE NOT SO GOOD: Can't think of any. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness is probably one of my most anticipated movie of the year, and this lego set made me happy. It turns out to be way better than expected. I think Gargantos is very well done is is a lot bigger than the product pictures online. The build is fun too and I did not encounter the connectivity issue which some other reviews have highlighted. The minifigures are excellent, love the details on American Chavez and the use of mid legs here. Always good to have more Wongs and Strange. This strange though has excellent printing, the only thing I wished happened is re-use to the first Strange's effects. That has more details and represnet the magic spell more compared to a clear colour piece. I recommend this set to any marvel fans and I think it's great and good to see small sets not based on facade builds nor vehicles. Interestingly, Wanda is missing and she is still on the packaging so I guess the rumors of another set coming are true. Will just have to wait and see.

here is my review on this year City 60326 Picnic in the Park: THE GOOD: 2 squirrels! and they are great. New minifigure parts, I love the new hair piece. Small but interesting builds, personally I like the maintenance karl a lot. Good price in current climate. THE NOT SO GOOD: none. This is a great cheap set which includes a lot of cool stuff and I really like it. Having 2 variations of squirrels and new minifigure elements in such small set is pretty rare these days. The squirrels of course are great but I also like the maintenance kart as well. Can't find anything that is negative about this set. In fact, buying multiple of this sets during discount season might be a better value compared to order squirrels from Brick & Pieces if you are interested in building an army of squirrels. A set I will recommend to everyone.

I’m not a “car guy” by any stretch of the imagination. I couldn’t even tell you what type of engine my own car has. However, I like cool-looking sports cars as much as anyone and bought a fair amount of LEGO Racers sets back in the day. And while I haven’t bought any sets from Racers’ spiritual successor, Speed Champions, I’ve had my eye on some of the sets for a while. Each wave seems to be getting better and better, and this latest batch of sets looks especially good, so I was excited to get the opportunity to review the entire wave! So, fasten your seatbelts and join me as I do a full inspection of these race cars, starting with… Set Number: 76906 Name: 1970 Ferrari 512 M Theme: Speed Champions Year of Release: 2022 Ages: 8+ Pieces: 291 Price: $19.99 / 19.99€ Online Shop description: The Box TLG is kicking off the March 2022 wave with a classic from 1970, the Ferrari 512, and not just any version of it, but the modified one (hence the “M”) driven by Jacky Ickx when he won the Kyalami 9 hours race. The box features the same design as the Speed Champions boxes from the previous two years with the theme’s logo on a checkered flag in the upper left corner and the car manufacturer’s logo in the upper right. I’m glad they switched back to this type of background from that boring gray stripe they were using from 2018 to 2019. The flag fades nicely into the background of the box art which shows the 512 racing ahead of two other cars on a racetrack. What’s odd is that it seems to be nighttime in this scene. I don’t know during which 9 hours the Kyalami race took place, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t at night. Correct me if I’m wrong in the comments. However, they correct this potential inaccuracy on the back of the box where it shows the classic racecar driving down the track during daylight, showing off the rear of the vehicle. It also shows a close up of the cabin and a reference picture of the real car along with another Ferrari logo. The top of the box features a three-quarter view of the car, some copyright info, and one of the shiny golden wheels for scale reference, while the bottom has the usual choking hazard warnings and other info. The same image of the set is shown on one of the sides of the box along with a holographic sticker of authenticity from Ferrari. The other side only has an ad for the Lego Life app. Contents Inside the box there are two numbered bags, a sticker sheet, and one instruction booklet. Instructions This year, Lego is making the instructions for Speed Champions sets available in the Lego Instructions app. They’ve had these interactive instructions for a while now for Lego City, but I guess they have debugged it enough now that they feel comfortable branching out into other themes. And they want you to know about it. Not only does every set list this as one of the features of the set, but they also have a full two-page ad for the app at the beginning of the booklet which shows the different options for instructions using a City ice cream truck as an example. Unfortunately, the instructions for these sets have not been added to the app yet as of this writing, so I can’t test them out for you, but if they are like all the other 3D instruction in the app, they will be a nice alternative to the physical instructions, especially for visually impaired people, as they allow you to zoom in rotate around the model, although the rotating doesn’t always work the way you want. Oh well, I prefer physical instructions anyway. The instructions are easy to read, and like all 2022 sets (AFAIK) feature a progress bar that runs along the bottom and shows you how far along you are in the build. Unlike in the City sets, the progress marker is not a minifig from the set, but a generic dot. However, they still managed to give the bar a unique flavor by making it gray to match the Speed Champions branding. There is an explosion of stars at the end of the instructions for the minifig and the car. Notable Parts There are only a handful of notable parts in this set, but they are good ones. There are three types of parts that are printed in this set: the windshield, a 1x2 tile in trans-black that has the top covered In red, and the 1x1 plate with a tiny Ferrari logo on the side which has shown up in a few other Ferrari sets before. There are six of these plates in the set, even though only two of them are visible in the finished model, so you could switch out the other four with unprinted ones from your collection and use them in your MOCs. This set also comes with the highly anticipated 1x5 plate that debuted last year and shows up in red for the first time here, along with the preexisting black version! The 1x2 plate with vertical clip also comes in red for the first time, and the new 1x2 inverted arch only appears for the second time in red after debuting in the Fender Stratocaster. This set comes with the old style of wheels with the newer dotted brake rotor lines which comes in pearl gold for the first time (although its predecessor with the solid lines did appear in 3 sets in that color). Minifigs This set comes with one minifig to drive this historic vehicle and you’d think that it would be a Lego version of Jacky Ickx considering that this is his car, but if you think that, you will be disappointed. Sadly, Speed Champions sets always come with super-generic drivers which is one of the reasons why I miss Lego Racers. As awkward as their faces may have looked, it was great to get minifigs of real racecar drivers like Michael Schumacher with their respective cars back in the day. So, instead of Jacky, we get this guy with tousled brown hair and a generic smirking face. It doesn’t even come with a wrench accessory like some Speed Champions drivers do. Not only is the face boring, but also misprinted in this copy of the set. The white dots in the eyes are too high, making it look like the minifig is wearing white eye liner. No judgement if the fig likes it that way, but I don’t think it’s intentional. Fortunately, it comes with a great, brand-new Ferrari racing suit that does match Jacky’s to make up for the disappointing head a bit. It’s nicely detailed with a Ferrari logo, zippers, and lines that continue down to the legs and onto the fig’s back. The Build Since I had never built a Speed Champions set before and the only cars I have built in recent years are the crappy ones that are included as an afterthought in Super Heroes sets, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by some of the building techniques. It’s interesting how they attached the hinges for the wedge plates behind the cabin and more the headlights and some of the side parts are attached by sticking them onto little bars. The unique shape of the mudguards on the rear wheels is achieved by building sections with the 1x2 inverted arches and clipping them onto the side of the car upside down in order to un-invert them. It would have been nice if they had just made a non-inverted version of this piece, but it’s a clever workaround that works pretty well. Spare Parts There are only a few little bits left over after the build including one of the printed 1x1 Ferrari plates. There is actually one more round tile in trans-orange which isn’t pictured here as it was camera-shy and rolled away before I took the picture. The Complete Set Here is the finished car in all it’s boxy-yet-aerodynamic glory! Aside from the six studs on the wedge plates behind the cabin, there are no exposed studs on the model, making it look nice and smooth. The color scheme and shape of it remind me of the A-Wing. I wonder if Ralph McQuarrie was inspired by this car for the design of that ship? Compared to the real thing, it looks pretty spot-on. The Lego version is only missing the rearview mirror (?) on top and some decals, especially around the back, but I’m not gonna complain about not having to apply more stickers. I like that the headlights are brick-built on this model rather than stickered or printed on like on most Speed Champions cars, although the use of trans-black parts makes them look too dark in my opinion. I think trans-clear would have looked better. It’s interesting how they designed the headlights so that they go all the way to the edge of the car by capping them off on the sides with the translucent tiles with the red printing on top. Unfortunately, as is always the case when they try to print on dark parts, the red color on the print appears darker than that of the red parts around it, and there is a visible dark outline around the print, making the tiles look out of place. It’s a clever idea, but it doesn’t work very well. Otherwise, the nose of the car looks great as they recreated the wedge shape of it excellently by building the entire nose section at an angle. In fact, the entire profile view of the car looks great. Spoiler alert! The two little spoilers at the back of the car which on the real vehicle are only attached at the corners are held on by trans-clear round plates with handle which is a clever solution. What I don’t like, however, is that the back of the driver’s cabin is almost completely open. I’m not sure how they could have fixed this, but it’s not ideal. I like how they executed the air channels on the sides of the car that go down toward the rear wheels, under the hull, and out towards the spoilers. The windshield can be lifted up towards the front, so you can seat the driver inside without having to completely take it off like you do on most Speed Champions cars. This is not how it works on the real 512, but it’s a neat play feature all the same. The interior features a stickered double cheese slope with gauges which adds a welcome bit of detail. We have actually gotten this type of racecar before. Set 75876 included the Ferrari 512’s main competitor, the Porsche 917. Even though the Porsche set came out back when the Speed Champions cars were 6 studs wide and looks much inferior to this set, I think the Ferrari would look good next to the 917K. (Picture courtesy of Brickset) Ratings Design: 8/10 A slick looking vehicle that looks very accurate with only minor design flaws. Build: 8/10 An enjoyable build with several unusual SNOT techniques and not too many stickers. Playability: 6/10 The car is fun to zoom around and the windshield can be lifted up. Figures: 7/10 An exclusive, detailed body is bogged down by an inaccurate, generic, and misprinted head. Parts: 7/10 A few new recolors of fairly new molds and some printed parts. Not too bad! Price: 10/10 At 291 pieces for just 20 bucks, this is easily one of the best values for a Speed Champions set! Overall: 8/10 The March 2022 wave starts out strong with this accurate recreation of a classic LeMans racecar. It’s relatively challenging to build, fun to play with, and it looks good on display. The only things that detract from it are the generic minifig head and some printing quality issues. At such a good value, I can definitely recommend it. Thanks for reading and thanks to TLG for sending me this set for review. What do you think of the set? I’d be curious to hear from Speed Champions fans and car aficionados, so let me know in the comments and in the poll above. The set will release on March 1, 2022: https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/1970-ferrari-512-m-76906 In my next Speed Champions review, we will take a look at a type of car that has never been seen in LEGO before! Until then, may the downforce be with you.

Here is my review on Monkie Kid 80034 Nezha's Fire Ring: THE GOOD: Great Fire Ring build with the use to roller coaster tracks plus lots of flaming effects. The Nezha's minifigure. The White Bone Demon throne also great build. Some interesting details in the Evil Macaque's ride. Interesting use of some new pieces in Nezha's ride build. THE NOT SO GOOD: High Price Tag. I wish the Nezha's ride have more mobility even within the fire ring. I had a good time building this set and the end result is better than I expected. I like it overall, I do think the Nezha's fire ring could have been much better than this if they designed to have the ship/ride to even spin within the fire ring. The fire ring itself though is quite awesome. Having Nezha appears in LEGO minifigure form is another highlight, somehow Nezha wears a more traditional attire than the other characters with more modern design. There are lots of details incorporated even into the smaller builds and it's quite interesting for me. The white demon throne seat looks great and is a great desk display. Apart from the price tag, it's actually a cool lego set. May be dropping the Evil Macaque's ride would make this cheaper? However, I do like 80032 Chang'e Moon Cake Factory more just because some of the graphic designs are much more interesting compared to this one. I still recommend this set to anyone especially if you like Journey to the West or have some form of connection cultural wise.

When it was revealed that the third of the three new Star Wars helmets would be the TIE Fighter Pilot, I was puzzled. Against Boba Fett and the Stormtrooper, a TIE Fighter Pilot is hardly that iconic. Pictures looked pretty good, though, so I was left curious about this one. 75274 TIE Fighter Pilot Helmet | 2020 | 724 Pieces USD $60 | GBP 55 | EUR 60 (variable) | CAD 80 | AUS$ 90 ___________________________ This is one of four review topics for the Helmets Collection: an individual detailed build and review for Boba Fett, Stormtrooper, and TIE Fighter Pilot, and an overview review looking at the whole line including the packaging, all three together, value and the concept in general. These sets were kindly provided by LEGO but all opinions are my own. Now, let's dive into the TIE Fighter Pilot! __________________________ Bag 1 Bag 1 has quite a colourful assortment for an all-black helmet, some of the biggest individual pieces to be found in the set, and plenty of foundations for SNOT. The only semi-rare part is the blue 1 by 1 and 2/3 brick with two studs on the side in blue, and you get 14 in this set. The core of the helmet, like the Stormtrooper, is comprised of two semi-hollow levels. That keeps the beginning build moving quickly, and doesn't feel like it's cutting any corners since there's really no need for a fully solid interior. At the end of bag 1 we're left with lots and lots of studs ready for SNOTing, and a teensy bit of the top of the helmet. With Captain Rex for size comparison, you can see the model isn't going to be very big. Rex will continue with us for reference throughout as it takes shape. Bag 2 Somehow I missed taking a picture of the contents of bag 2, but it would've been a bunch of black. The build starts with the stand, which is slightly different from the Boba and Stormie stands because it has attachment points for the gas transfer tubes. It's reinforced through the centre with technic beams. The rest of bag 2 has you attach the core to the base and build the back of the helmet, which is mainly just a lot of plate stacking and not particularly interesting. The height of the model has now nearly doubled. Bag 3 Here we've got a lot of black and a few bright flashes. Some newish parts like triangular tiles, but nothing rare. The eye portion has clever direction changes using the new-ish bracket with four anti-studs on the side, and clips for angling. It turns out well. By the end of bag 3, those eyes are attached as are the tops of each side. Bag 4 Here we've got - surprise! - a lot more black, for the mouth-piece and one side. The mouth includes two of the four prints in the set: two 2x2 tiles with black lines. Almost all the different sorts of small wedge plates also make an appearance. The mouth build uses more interesting colours for no particular reason, and is attached using a dark red riot shield, which has turned into quite a versatile piece - I wonder if the part designer could've anticipated that when it was first created. The side of the helmet entails a lot more stacking with just a few direction changes. Bag 5 Bag 5 simply builds the mirrored other side of the helmet. Here's where it ends up: Bag 6 Bag 6 contains the parts to finish off the tubes, the top of the head, the plaque, and the insignia. The chin section is a fiddly little build with a bunch of small slopes and SNOT, but it comes together nicely. But there's nothing as tedious as threading 18 little train wheels onto a flex tube - twice! And with the Imperial emblems attached and a bit on top, we're done! Here are the leftovers, not much to speak of: Completed Model - Without Stickers This set only includes two stickers, to extend either side of the mouth. I wondered what it might look like without those stickers, since they're quite small and not necessarily easy to apply in an ideal position. Given that the model is so black, to me it looks completely fine without those stickers applied. It doesn't look like something is obviously missing. Completed Model - As Intended Now here it is "all stickered up". The helmet looks quite menacing, like it should, and since it's all black any blockiness or awkward stepping of the parts kind of blends together in your mind when you look at it. Here's the back, in case you're interested. While it's complete from all angles, there's nothing to see back here. The side profile is quite good, though, and shows the interesting interplay between studded and smooth surfaces. In my mind the contrast between the textures makes the studded areas read as fabric, which of course they aren't meant to be, but overall the balance is fine and doesn't look messy, which perhaps is a risk. The stepped bows leading to the tubes are a bit abrupt, and don't look great close up, but from a distance they look ok. Final Thoughts and Rating I opened by saying that on face value, a TIE Fighter Pilot helmet seems like an odd choice for an inaugural line of three Star Wars helmets. As far as subject matter goes, it feels like something that would turn up in a second or third lineup, not the first one. However, having now built it and looked at it for a while on my table from a distance, like one would with these display pieces, I have to say it's a really good choice for the medium and well done. The TIE helmet in universe has a great deal of different angles, all very smooth and rounded, which is obviously going to be hard to pull off in blocky, angular LEGO with lots of little pieces working together. But like I said, since it's all black and there's nowhere for light to go, all of those little bits meld together and look pretty seamless. The proportions aren't perfect, of course, but unless you hold up a picture of a movie still or real-life prop next to it, it looks right. And, above all, it looks cool. Parts: This rating is too subjective to give. If you like slopes, black, and/or SNOT parts, there's plenty here for you, but otherwise it doesn't feel like what I'd call a "good parts pack". Build: 8.5/10 - The majority of it is stacking stuff, and there are (necessarily) tedious sections. Also, while all new pieces each step are outlined in yellow, I found it somewhat hard to keep track of what was being added at times (though I do have a hard-wired tendency to ignore the piece callouts, but I'm not holding that against the set). Design: 9/10 - Besides the areas with the bows leading to the tubes, for which there must be a somewhat more elegant solution even at this scale, the overall design looks great. Overall: 8.75/10 - This model is good. The build isn't the most fun or instructive, but it does the job, and the completed model looks excellent. Plus, it has the most parts of the three, so value-wise it's up there. In my review of the complete series, I'll talk more about value, as well as if I think people want a TIE Fighter Pilot helmet model anyway. Looking at it on its own, I would certainly recommend it for anybody who likes the source material, or wants a cool and mean-looking all-black thing to display. Up next: the Stormtrooper helmet.

Here is my review on Monkie Kid's 80032 Chang'e Moon Cake Factory: THE GOOD: Great Bunny Mech with refreshing building experience and great look. The graphics designs are great. Expanding to characters that inspired from other Chinese tales. Awesome Minifigures. So many nice details packed in the moon cake factory build. THE NOT SO GOOD: High price tag. Not so widely available depending on the region you live in. I really like this set. For someone who has an East Asian root and love the Journey to the West, having character like Chang'e materialised is just great. To be honest, this set is not limited to Monkie Kid but would be awesome for the Moon Festival too, especially with all the moon cakes. Usually I prefer printed parts but some of the graphic designs on the stickers are great. One of the best things coming from this set is the Mech itself. I got tired of mech built lately but this bunny inspired mech is truely great, looks good and fun to build. Also fun to play with as well. Of course the moon cake factory is also great, having the whole conveyer belt incorporated into the design is just brilliant. As always, the minifigures are excellent in this set. Chang'e of course is the highlight with a modern twist but that rabbit robot, now I truely want an army of this. I'm really satisfied with this set, I can't really find any faults on the lego set itself, the only thing is not that good is really the price. Monkie Kid sets are usually expensive, if you are in AU/NZ it's also LEGO online exclusive for now which means no discounts.... But other than that, it's definitely a set I would recommend and I do hope Monkie Kid would continue with excellent sets like this. And sometimes I feel bad Monkie Kid in general doesn't sell well down here in NZ because it has some truely great sets since it's started!

“BUZZ LIGHTYEAR! The world’s greatest super hero now the world’s greatest Brickhead!” That’s right, the toys are back in town as the February 2022 wave of LEGO Brickheadz brings us characters from the Toy Story franchise, and with Buzz getting his very own origin movie this summer, it only makes sense for his Brickhead to get a standalone set. But is this space ranger out of this world or does he fall without style? Let’s take a look and see what all the Buzz is about. To the review… and beyond! Set Number: 40552 Name: Buzz Lightyear Theme: Brickheadz Subtheme: Disney Year of Release: 2022 Ages: 10+ Pieces: 114 Price: £9.99 / $9.99 / 9.99€ Online Shop description: The Box The box features the same branding as the Toy Story 4 sets with the light blue rays in the background, even though it has the generic Toy Story logo, along with the usual LEGO Brickheadz logo and the name and number of the Brickhead at the bottom. The back of the box has a picture of the Bickhead from a slightly different angle that shows that it is detachable from the base as well as pictures of the Woody & Bo Peep Brickheadz. Some pretty blatant cross promotion, but it makes sense. On one side of the box, it has a picture of Buzz from the movies and another set of logos, and on the other side it has some choking hazard warnings. The top of the box features a picture of one of the wing wedge plates for scale while the bottom has some legal info. Contents Inside the box there are three unnumbered bags, a loose 6x6 plate, and the instructions booklet. Instructions The instructions are pretty easy to read and they have a progress bar going across the bottom that shows you how far along you are in the build. This is a new feature that can be found in all instructions this year and is pretty neat. Once you reach the end of the build, There is an explosion of stars behind the illustration to signify the completion of the build. It certainly helps to make the end of the build feel more eventful. And once again we have some more cross promotion with a full page ad for the Woody & Bo Peep set which matches that set’s box art. Notable Parts Like in all Brickheadz sets, all the decorations are printed. Aside from the eyes, there are the wing wedge plates and the command board for Buzz’s chest. The latter is a highly simplified version of Buzz’s chest from the movies. The Star Command logo lacks any detail and both the “Space Ranger” text and the “Lightyear” name in the name tag are missing. This is likely an artistic choice to fit the Brickheadz style, but it feels a bit too overly simplified to me. On the other hand, this makes it a more versatile piece. Especially the wings should be very useful for MOC builders. The Build The build is pretty standard for a Brickhead. One thing to note, though, is that inside Buzz’s torso there are four blue round bricks with silver tips which are meant to represent the Buy’n’Large brand batteries that Buzz has in the movies. Half of them are even placed upside down just like real batteries. These are not accessible once the build is finished, so they are just there as an easter egg. It’s a shame they aren’t printed, but it’s a great unexpected touch all the same! Spare Parts There are several little 1x1 bits left over after the build. Nothing out of the ordinary. The Complete Set After a short build, Buzz is ready to leap to the rescue! He looks fairly accurate, although he is not the most elaborate Brickhead and as I mentioned before, his command board could be more detailed. His face looks very generic as well, but I guess there is not much the designers could have improved about that except maybe if they included that little curl that he has on his chin. Funny enough, the Brickheadz proportions make this representation of Buzz look a lot more like Mini Buzz, the Fun Meal toy version of Buzz from the Toy Story Toons short “Small Fry”. Did I say that the chest is not accurate enough? Well, I take it back because the arms are way worse. The Space Ranger badge on his left arm is simply represented by an unprinted 1x1 tile while the button for the wrist laser on his right arm is lacking any of the markings around it and is offset from the lightbulb. I know that using jumper tiles to center them probably would have made the arm too thick, but maybe they could have used printed tiles instead. Anything would have looked better than this. The color blocking on Buzz’s body is a bit off as well. The plate around his neck should be lime green and so should the back of his feet. Another big problem is evident when you look at Buzz’s back. There is a big gap between the top of the wings and the jet pack. It just looks… what’s the word I’m searching for?… bad. Actually, the word I’m searching for I can’t say because there are preschool toys present. I do like how they designed the jetpack itself however, with the details on the spine and the trans-red showing through the exhausts. However, the real issue with the wings is visible when viewed from the top. They are not two, not three, but FOUR plates thick! They’re about twice as thick as his arms! I doubt Buzz could even fall with style with these things, let alone fly. Years of academy training wasted! On a brighter note, I never noticed until now that modern Brickheadz stands are built to look like a Brickhead face. That’s pretty neat. As you may have noticed, they wings are each attached only by a single clip which means that they can easily be bent back which should not happen. Everything about these wings is just wrong. The reason for all these problems is likely that the wings were meant to be easy to pop off in case you want to display Buzz with his wings folded in. It’s a nice thought that worked well for the Buzz Lightyear minifig, but if you do that here you are left with these awkward clips sticking out of the sides of the jetpack, so even that doesn’t really work. I’m not sure if this is indeed an intentional feature since neither the Shop description nor any of the images on the box or instructions allude to it. Either way, I think they should have either tried to find a better, more permanent design for the wings or omitted them altogether. I suspect that this terrible design must be the work of the evil Emperor Zurg! Here is a picture of the Buzz Lightyear Brickhead MOC that I built 5 years ago for comparison. While it’s certainly not perfect, I think its much better than the official one, especially around the wings. Ratings Design: Well, it does look like Buzz, even if an overly simplified version of him, and the batteries are a nice touch, but it’s definitely losing some points for those awful wings. Build: Fairly standard build for a Brickhead. Playability: You can pop off the wings… yay. Parts: No special or new parts, just a couple of printed ones. Price: Over 114 pieces for $10 make this one of the better valued Brickheadz. Overall: If you know me, you’ll know that Toy Story is one of my all-time favorite franchises and Buzz Lightyear is my favorite Disney character, so I had high hopes for this set, but I’m sad to say that I was let down by it. I know you can’t expect too much with Brickheadz, but I think they could have done a better job than this, especially on his jetpack. It’s a mediocre Brickhead at best, but it does have a decent amount of parts, some of which have some useful prints, so if you don’t have as high standards for a Buzz Lightyear Brickhead as me, it’s not a bad purchase. If you do want to buy it, this set will be released on February 1: Lego Shop (US) Link Thanks for reading through my little rant and thanks to LEGO for sending this set for review. What do you think about this set? Was I too harsh on it? Let me know in the comments and in the poll above. Next, I will take a look at the other Toy Story Brickheadz. Here is a little funny with one of them.

Aside from Buzz Lightyear, we are also getting Brickheadz of his friends Woody and Bo Peep in this wave. If you’ve read my review of the Buzz Lightyear Brickhead, you’ll know that I had some strong opinions about that one, so will this set fare any better? Well, grab your cowboy hat and shepherd staff and let’s find out. Ride like the wind, Bullseye! Set Number: 40553 Name: Woody and Bo Peep Theme: Brickheadz Subtheme: Disney Year of Release: 2022 Ages: 10+ Pieces: 296 Price: £17.99 / $19.99 / 19.99€ Online Shop description: The Box Like the Buzz Brickhead, the box has the same light blue background as the Toy Story 4 sets which is fitting in this case since Bo Peep is based on her appearance in that movie. It also features the LEGO Brickheadz and Toy Story logos and the name and number of both Brickheadz at the bottom. It’s wild to think that there has been over 160 Brickheadz! Interestingly, Lego seems to have sent me North American box version of the set rather than the European version like they did with Buzz as it has the extra info like the set name, number of parts, and the redundant “building toy” text that these boxes have. The back of the box has a picture of Woody and Bo with swapped positions, another that shows them detaching from their bases, and some cross promotion for the Buzz Lightyear set. On one side of the box, it has a picture of Woody and Bo from Toy Story 4 along with another set of logos, and on the other side it has the set name in different languages and some choking hazard warnings. The top of the box uses Woody’s torso tile to show the “actual size” and lists the Brickheadz’s names and numbers again. Buzz’s box didn’t have the name and number, so I wonder if this is because it’s an American box or just because it’s a bigger box with more space to display them. On the bottom of the box there is just some legal and recycling info. Contents Inside the box there are two sets of two bags and two instructions booklet. The bags numbered one are for Woody and the ones numbered two are for Bo. Instructions Like all instructions this year, the ones in this set have a progress bar running along the bottom and show an explosion of stars once you reach the end of the build. Usually the progress indicator is a minifig/doll from the set, but since Brickheadz don’t have minifigs, it’s just a generic blue dot here which is a shame. The instructions are easy to read for the most part, although the reddish brown and dark in Woody’s instructions are a bit hard distinguish. Notable Parts This set has a few more interesting parts than the Buzz set. There is a printed 2x4 tile for each character’s torso. Like Buzz’s, these are a bit simplified with the word “Sheriff” missing from Woody’s badge, but they still look fairly detailed with the fine lines and stitches. I’m not sure how versatile these are outside of this set though. We also get two new recolors in this set: a lasso in dark orange and a 8x8 round tile in reddish brown! These should be very useful for builders. There are also some parts like brackets in rare colors like purple and light blue, but they aren’t exclusive to this set. The Build As you could tell by the bag numbers, Woody is the first Brickhead you build. His build is a bit different from other Brickheadz in that the front part of his torso is built mostly with the studs not on top and the upper half of his head is empty to allow his hat to tilt backward on a hinge. Not only that, but Woody’s got guts - literally! Like his buddy Buzz, his torso is hollow and contains an easter egg in the form of a couple of ice cream scoops which represent the cotton that he is filled with. I feel like the toy repairman from Toy Story 2 as I put the fluff into Woody and put him together. Bo is also a fairly unconventional build since she has a torso tile as well and has a somewhat complex build for her hair and cape. Her build also incorporates more parts, so it takes a bit longer than Woody’s. Sadly, unlike the other two Toy Story Brickheadz, she does not have any fun references hidden in her torso, but that makes sense since she is just made of porcelain. She does, however, have the pink 2x2 brick in her (brick)head that usually represents the brain of a Brickhead. Although that makes you wonder if the toys even have brains? [ I like how Bo’s bow (“Bo-bo-bow-bo-bow!”) is attached at an angle by simply placing it across two studs on the side of her hair. What I don’t like, however, is that the 2x2 corner tile on this side of her hair is a lighter shade of yellow than the other yellow pieces. Thankfully it is mostly covered by the bow in the end, but it’s disappointing to see Lego’s quality control slip like this. Spare Parts There are lots of little bits left over after the build including another dark orange lasso. Yee-haw! The Complete Set Here we have the completed couple in their blocky glory! Woody brandishes the lasso while Bo is holding her iconic shepherd’s crook. They both look good and accurate to their on-screen counterparts. While I don’t mind the torso tiles, I feel like Woody is relying on the printing a bit too much and think that some of those details could have been accomplished with brick-built solutions instead. To show you what I mean, here is a picture of the Woody Brickhead that I built 5 years ago. As you can see, I achieved most of the same torso details without any prints. https://cdn.rebrickable.com/media/thumbs/mocs/moc-29600.jpg/1000x800.jpg?1633580431.5550563 I like how Woody’s hat is positioned at an angle, giving the impression that he is actually wearing it. I also like how Bo’s cape flows over here shoulders. One thing that doesn’t quite work is how her headband comes down in a wavey line, although I can’t think of a better way they could have accomplished this with current parts. Woody has some clever details on his back such as tooth plates as the knot of his bandana, a life preserver used as the ring for his pull string, and pearl-gold clip plates representing his spurs. I also like how they executed the three little curls of hair that stick out at the back of Bo’s head. Her cape on the other hand could have been done a bit better though I think. The two 1x1 plates stick out and ruin the otherwise smooth look of the cape, and half of the white fringe on the bottom edge seems to be missing. Also, if you look at the cape a certain way, it looks like a goofy purple monster face and once you see it, you can’t unsee it. You’re welcome. On his right leg, Woody carries a brown wedge which nicely represents his empty holster. Bo’s bow looks good too, even if it’s a bit blocky, but I guess it fits with the Brickheadz style. One thing that bugs me about Woody is how his hat is perfectly circular rather than more triangular like in the source material. It makes it look more like a fedora than a cowboy hat. Oh well, at least we got a new part out of it, and this will make it easy to modify his Brickhead into Indiana Jones if you want to. Here they are next to the Buzz Brickhead. The space ranger doesn’t look too bad next to his best friend and his old moving buddy, but he is definitely the least impressive one out of the group. Ratings Design: Very unique and accurate looking Brickheadz with the exception of only a few nitpicks like the over-reliance on printing for the torsos or the shape of Woody’s hat. The cotton is a nice touch. Build: An interesting build that is a bit different from other Brickheadz and gets more challenging towards the end with Bo’s complex hair. Playability: Ironically, these toys are not meant to be played with and are mostly just for display. Parts: A few new recolors, some printed parts, and a few parts in rare colors. Not too shabby. Price: At nearly 300 pieces for only 20 bawk-bawk-bucks, this is a great deal! Overall: You’ve got a friend in these Brickheadz! After the disappointment that was Buzz Lightyear, it was good to see some more effort put into these. Both have a good level of detail and look great on display together. Even if you are not a Toy Story or Brickheadz fan, it’s still worth getting for the parts. You can get this set starting February 1 at the Lego Shop and all Al’s Toy Barn locations. Thank you for reading and thanks to LEGO for sending me this set for review. What do you think about this set? Let me know in the comments and in the poll above. If you haven’t read my review of the Buzz Lightyear Brickhead, you can check it out here. So long, partner.

Here is my review on the new City 60314 Ice Cream Truck Police Chase: THE GOOD: New Ice Cream Costumes! These are great! Great Ice Cream Truck given its size and easily can repurpose to a genuine one (also remind me the LEGO movie one, very similar colour way) The front grill of the police car is a very interesting build. THE NOT SO GOOD: The price is high compare to the volume you get. The rear of the police car can be more streamlined. ATM doesn't really look like an ATM. I wanted to get this on 1st Jan but supply chain delay is really having an impact down here in NZ. But back to this set, I really like the ice cream truck, it's small but look great and can easily re-purpose to be a genuine ice cream truck quite easily. The highlight and main reason I bought this are the two ice cream costumes and these don't disappoint. Some elements could have been improved for example, the overall design of the police car and the ATM. However, the biggest draw back is the price, at NZ$60RRP really feel the price hike in general, even I bought this with discount still wish it further $10 cheaper. Anyway, will still recommend this set if you want to get the new ice-cream costumes and the cool ice cream truck!

A review of Ingmar Spijkhoven Building Experience Kits Introduction and Backstory Now the late Ingmar Spijkhoven was a father, husband, and a talented builder of Lego trucks and machinery. I found his Flickr site about 8 years ago when i joined Flickr with my first account there. I followed him, and he followed me which is an honor for me still to this day. Iam even using his fifth wheel design since then on a MOC truck i built at that time. (pictures of said truck down below) Couple of years later he started his own website and business https://www.ingmarspijkhoven.com/ with selling instructions for you so you can build your own truck or trailer. Soon after he started selling full "Experience Building Kits". On his site it says: "Our Building Experience Kits are exclusive sets, hand picked and packed of which only a limited number are made. Each kit has a unique limited edition serial number. The complete set comes in a luxurious high quality magnet box. It comes with printed building instructions with spiral binding and with high quality pre-cut custom stickers if required. Together with all genuine new LEGO® parts, added custom parts if required and all necessary so-called LEGO® Power Functions to remote control the model. These Building Experience Kits are complete and therefore ready to build!" They also sell accesories like brick build realistic engines, like a Detroit Diesel or Scania V8. And also sticker sheets and chrome wheels for your build, if you only bought the intructions and wanna build it with your own parts. I said to him on Flickr that sometime i want to buy one of your kits. But back then i couldn't afford it... Fast forward to mid 2019... Ingmar sadly lost the fight against ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and passed away. On his last picture i wrote again that one day i will buy a kit. So last week i did... bought 3 kits. Last week i stumbled across @ritztoys thread about his Truck T17 moc which was inspired from Ingmar's builds. And it got my attention back into the whole theme. It all went quick. Ritztoys and I wrote back and forth and i wasn't really sure if i should buy a kit. A day later, july 27th, i ordered Truck T12 in yellow and lowboy trailer Tr4 in blue, both without RC stuff. Two days later i also ordered Truck T18 with Chrome and RC stuff. Expensive week that was... Nowadays his wife Esther, and probably some family members, are running the website and do the packing and shipping. All parcels arrived a week later... With this review i hope to get some attention for these kits. They well deserve it!! Disclaimer This is my first review and feel free to write some critique, sure it is needed :D. It is based on other reviews (like Jims and Sariels) throughout this forum. I don't have any fancy photography equipment so my pictures aren't the best. I can not show too much pictures of details and how everything is built. Spijkhoven also sell instructions and want to profit from that after all! This review is not sponsored by anyone. I bought all this! Truck T18 Now lets start with Truck T18 which resembles a Mack Vision. Released: 2018 Part Count: 2606 Weight: 2,20 kg Size: 47cm x 15cm x 20cm Scale 1:17,5 Building time: 6-7 hours Price: 1240€ (cheaper without optional RC and chrome) All boxes are custom and have a magnetic lid. The lid is closed and held in place by the limited edition number label, which unfortunately you have to cut to open the box. Each box is 42cm x 31cm x 16cm in size. I got edition #29 out of 100... Now there are either 71 of this kit left, which would mean they don't sell that often when its available since 2018, or they sell it random. So the next person might get #5 or so... Once you have opened it, you are greeted by a nice letter and about a million foam peanuts. Under that you have lots of bags. Some numbered and split in sections you build, and some unnumbered. The Instructions come as a single booklet with good quality paper and metal spiral binding. Everything is relatively easy to follow and straight forward. Again relatively! They are definitly not as easy to build as an official Lego set. Sometimes it is unrepetitive, you have 3 parts for one step, and 30 for the next. At some steps you have to look really carefully since it doesn't show well where a part goes, even with arrows. You have to check the next step quite often to make sure where it goes. Still, everything is possible and 99% thought through and doable! The stickers come precut from a 3rd party supplier and seem to be in nice quality. They are thicker and better quality than Lego! It even comes with extra Mack specific decals if you wanna build it in a different color. The chrome parts also come in its own bag. I think custombricks.nl is the supplier of those. They are good quality, but on the underside you see the original part color. And sometimes you have some chrome chipped off on one spot, but you can turn that spot to the inside. These parts are for rims, bumper, exhaust, fuel tanks and other details, and replace the light bluish grey parts in these areas. Lets start with the build of Truck T18 aka Mack Vision You start with the frame, suspension, detailed engine and some interior bits. You also install a second servo motor inside the sleeper cab which is used for a mechanism to rc controll and auto-open the fifth wheel. And i can tell you right now, i don't like this feature. You span a string from the fifth wheel all the way to the servo and there is lots of backlash in that system. When the servo turns and does it's thing, nothing opens on the fifth wheel. I had the string very taut and could not get it to work properly. Also that servo is only used to turn 90° to one side. The other way is blocked and if you try to turn it that way, it stalls, which could damage it. So after taking these pictures, i took it out. Not worth wasting the servo and a second IR receiver just for that, in my opinion. I open the fifth wheel with my fingers easy. More sleeper cab wall, fuel tanks, exhaust and wheels installed Leftover parts. Everything red is used as stands to help building and get removed after you finished it. Everything light bluish grey got replaced by the chrome pack. (apart from that one dish piece which would be a chrome differential detail, which i didn't like). I had a white rubberband missing in the kit. Should not happen at this price point!! And there it is, finished in all it's glory. The included RC control. Wheels for driving and one of the lever for the fifth wheel opening. Features: Fully RC controlled tractor unit. Openable hood and doors. Highly detailed interior, exterior and engine. Very sturdy model. Yeah some detail can fall off, but the frame is sturdy and everything feels well put together. Full suspension on all axles (solid axle suspension front, walking beam suspension rear). Truck T12 Next up is Truck T12 which resembles a Mack Granite. It is available in full yellow, or in orange with red stripe and white roof, but this one wasn't available at the moment. I ordered it without RC or chrome. Released: 2017 Part Count: 1920 Weight: 1,70 kg Size: 45cm x 16cm x 20cm Scale 1:17,5 Building time: 6 hours Price: 563€ (more expensive with RC pack) The box. I got edition #8 out of 100 After opening you have some numbered and unnumbered bags. For building you have to open all bags at once, since some chassis parts where inside the bodywork bags Stickers, same quality as T18's. Also has different colors available This Truck comes with some 3d printed parts for the steering. They replace some older hard to come by parts. You start building with the frame again of course. Everything pretty straight forward. Though, i had a cracked u-joint right away. Either this was a used part, or just bad quality... An L motor would go into this build, but i didn't had those, so i used some XLs instead. Pretty easy to adapt, more torque and they look like fuel tanks. Speaking of torque. The kits comes with 3 different set of gears. So if you need more torque or more speed you can choose. Both XL motors combine to one driveshaft under the cab, but splits into two driveshafts shortly after. One for each rear axle. Cab, engine, wheels and hood almost finished. The hoods of both trucks have some interesting building techniques inside to get the half hight steps for the wheel arches. Leftover parts. Building helpers, different gear ratio gears and some bits i had to remove for the XLs. I had two missing parts: 2 black 2l beams with a bar sticking out at a 45° angle. Again, should not happen at this price point!! And there you have you finished Mack Granite. Features: Fully RC controlled tractor unit. Openable hood and doors. Highly detailed interior, exterior and engine. Very sturdy model. Yeah some detail can fall off, but the frame is sturdy and everything feels well put together. Full suspension on all axles (solid axle suspension front, walking beam suspension rear). Trailer Tr4 Trailer Tr4 is an RGN (removeable gooseneck) lowboy trailer. I ordered it without RC or chrome. It can be ordered in blue, yellow, red and black. Released: 2014 Part Count: 1440 Weight: 2,00 kg Size: 95cm x 20cm x 14cm Scale 1:17,5 Building time: 6 hours Price: 610€ (more expensive with RC pack) The box. I got edition #25 out of 100. Inside you will find only unnumbered bags. So lets go puzzle. Leftover parts. Everything red are build helpers. The other parts... i don't know. You don't really have spare parts in these kits, but i checked the instructions back and forth... And there you have your finished trailer. I have already put some LED cables inside while building. In this picture of the underside you see some axles running through the framework. These are the parking break. There are cam pieces at the front which push that long axle against the wheels when you lower the trailer to the ground. Features: -Fully RC operable lowboy trailer -Solid axle suspension on all axles -Rear lift axle -Removable gooseneck -Parking break when lowered -removable side extensions Accessories Spijkhoven also send me some smaller accessories kits with my purchase for free. I didn't order them, but it was a welcome surprise. Tanker Trailer Tr11 It's an american style tanker trailer, which resembles a model from a manufacturer called Polar. It can haul fuel, chemicals, oils or acids. Now this is not a kit. I only bought the intructions, stickers and chrome rims from Spijkhoven. Most of the parts are from me or from bricklink. So this is a budget build. Also a full kit of this trailer is currently not available, and probably won't be anymore. Soon after ordering, i received the instructions as a PDF and couple of days later, stickers and rims arrived. I also customized mine a fair bit. I didn't use anything RC in this build. Parking brake and landing gear is RC operated original, but i made them manual operated. I also added LED lights powerd from the tractor unit, and a spare wheel where the battery box would sit. Spijkhoven has this trailer (and many other cool models) on Rebrickable https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-19117/Ingmar Spijkhoven/trailer-tr11-dark-bluish-gray/#details so you can export the part list to Bricklink and just buy everything you need. I had about a third of all parts in my collection. Released: 2018 Part Count: 1430-ish Weight: 1,80 kg Size: 71cm x 15cm x 20cm Scale 1:17,5 Building time: 4,5 hours Price: about 300€ (includes stickers and chrome rims, and when you buy all parts used of bricklink) When building you start of with two frame sections. Rear with suspension and front with landing gear and king pin. Then you build the huge cistern basically from ground up. The top is on the front, so you build a giant silo and lay it on the frame. It is quite fragile while building but once everything is connected, it's very sturdy Stickers are great quality as usual. The trailer also has a parking brake. You turn the gear and some levers press on the front axle tires and blocks them. Again, this is originally a RC controlled function. Features: -fully RC operable (landing gear and parking brake, if you build it after instructions) -Solid axle suspension on all axles Are they worth it??? ...you might ask. Hmm tough question!! I'd say yes. They are well built models with cool features and building techniques from a talented builder. It really is an experience! Still, it is a stupid amount of money. If you just don't have it or don't want to spend that much money, just get an intruction and your own parts. But you won't regret it either way! Additional pictures

Local stores put this on shelf earlier than expected and here is my review on 2022 Chinese new year set, 80108 Lunar New Year: THE GOOD: Good concept and enjoyable building experience despite the base of each section are the same build. The mandarin tree is one of the best plant build in recent years. God of Fortune minifigure is awesome. Some fun call backs to previous sets in the form of stickers. Some great new minifigure parts. Love the sleeping dad face. Each tradition can be displayed on its own based on your preference. Some great new printed parts. Designed to be a fun family building experience. THE NOT SO GOOD: The modular stacking is not as easy as it seems. Can be a bit flimsy too when stacked up. The central piece has a few decorations but you can't really see if all connected. It doesn't look that good on its own. Overall, this set exceeds my expectation. Originally, I was more into 80109 but after building this set I started to appreciate this a lot. The concept of small section with LOTS OF DETAILS that can stack up in a modular way is great. And some of the small details in each section just blew my mind. (the mandarin tree). Once again the CNY theme delivers excellent minifigures and parts. The god of fortune is really authentic. Now I really hope all these new parts can be ordered from B&P from 1st Jan. Having each section to be built separately and having individual instruction booklet for each really promote the whole family fun idea. While this is a great set, I did find the stacking do not work as smooth as I would hope. However, the set is still too good to not recommend to everyone. The price is a bit high but I do believe the enjoyment and satisfaction from this set overweights the price. Highly Recommended.

Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, an AFOL lived in California all by himself under the username of Oky, which means that he had the username over the door in gold letters and lived under it. One day, his friend Winnie-the-Pooh came over from Disneyland where he lived. "Good morning, Oky," he said. "Good morning, Winnie-ther-Pooh," said Oky. "I wonder if you've got such a thing as a camera about you?" "A camera?" "Yes, I just said to myself coming along: 'I wonder if Oky has such a thing as a camera about him?'” "What do you want a camera for?" Oky said. Winnie-the-Pooh looked round to see that nobody was listening, put his paw to his mouth, and said in a deep whisper: "Honey!" "But you don't get honey with a camera!" said Oky. "I do," said Pooh. “How?” "It's like this, " he said. "When you go after honey, the great thing is not to let the bees see you. Now, if they had an interesting review to read, they would be distracted and wouldn’t see me take their honey, so I figured I’d make a review of my house for the bees to read." "Wouldn't they look up from the review and notice you?" Oky asked. "They might or they might not," said Winnie-the-Pooh. "You never can tell with bees." "Then you had better make sure it’s a really good review," Oky said. “Yes,” said Pooh. He thought for a moment and said: "The thing is, I don’t really know how to take pictures… or write for that matter. Will you help me take pictures of my house and write a review about it, Oky?” "Silly old Bear!" Oky laughed to himself. “Sure, I will help you.” And so he did. Set Number: 21326 Name: Winnie the Pooh Theme: Ideas Year of Release: 2021 Ages: 18+ Pieces: 1265 Price: £89.99 / $99.99 / 99.99€ The Box As you may know, I’m about as enthusiastic about the boring black boxes that LEGO uses for 18+ sets as Eeyore is about anything. They look depressing and usually don’t suit the subject matter, and this set is no exception. It just doesn’t fit the bright and colorful world of Winnie the Pooh, although I’m glad that in this case they at least hinted at a more fitting background by having some illustrations of flowers, fences, and bees showing from behind the set. If only the whole box looked more like that. Oh bother. The back side of the box looks a bit more interesting as it features a large picture of the interior of Pooh’s house, a couple of close-up scenes, and a blueprint drawing of the set with dimensions, along with a brief explanation of how the LEGO Ideas process works. The top of the box shows a nice lineup of the minifigs along with the 100 Acre Wood sign, a few logos, and a “Hunny” pot fittingly serving as the size reference. The bottom only has some info about the packaging and trademarks. As always with these “Adults Welcome” boxes, there is a strip of various LEGO pieces going around the whole bottom part of the box and all over the bottom. The strip is colored honey-yellow in this case which does fit the set very well. There are several pieces in there that have not been released in yellow yet. Could this be a hint of things to come? Probably not, but one can hope. The right side of the box has a lovely illustration of Pooh Bear holding on to a balloon as he is known to do drawn in the style of E. H. Shepard’s art from the original book. The other side has some more legal jargon along with the French version of the Winnie the Pooh logo. It reads “Winnie l’ourson” which translates to Winnie the teddy bear. Not very imaginative, and I’m not sure why they felt the need to change the name in France, but c’est la vie. Like many Ideas sets, this one has an opening lid. I really like this type of boxes as they can be reused for storage. The bags are stacked neatly inside and are even almost in chronological order. The instructions and stickers lay freely in the box, with the stickers placed between the bags, but fortunately none of them were damaged. Contents Inside the box there are seven numbered bags, two sticker sheets (one reflective, one not), and one instruction booklet. The cover of the instructions features the same picture of the minifigs walking in a line, but this one has nice watercolor background like you would see in a Winne the Pooh book. This is exactly what the boxart should have looked like in my opinion, but I digress. Instructions The instructions book is full of nice illustrations of Pooh and his friends like the one that is on the side of the box as well as a map of the 100 Acre Wood. The first few pages of the booklet feature background info on the characters, stories, and fan designer Ben Alder, along with a few words from Ben and the LEGO designers about the creation the set. The instructions themselves are pretty clear and easy to follow. The colorful build really pops against the light gray background. There is another lovely illustration of Pooh with Christopher Robin heading off into the sunset which is a perfect image to end the build on. It is accompanied by that oddly ordinary French title. Notable Parts As is the norm for Ideas sets, there are now new molds in this set (besides those on the minifigs), but here are still a few notable parts. This set sees the debut of the large macaroni part in medium nougat, the coral piece in bright green, that Technic piece with 4 clips in reddish brown, and an unprinted minifig head in dark orange. Santa’s sack also appears for the first time in an official set in white. Another piece that is new to me even though it has appeared in a few sets already is the 2x4 double jumper plate. There are a few other parts in rare colors that have only appeared in one or two other sets which you can see here, and several more which have only appeared in four other sets which aren’t included in this picture. Also, while most of the graphics are stickered in this set, some of the parts are printed. Aside from the large and small tree stump tiles and ladybug tile which have been in several sets before, there is a new bee tile, the Mr. Sanders sign, and the honeypot with the “Hunny” label. It’s hard to see in these pictures, but there is a slight metallic gold shine to the “MR SANDERS” letters. Minifigs While Ben’s original submission was comprised of a mix of minifigs with preexisting headpieces and brick-built characters, LEGO apparently decided to go all out on this set and created minifigs with new molds for all the characters, something that is unprecedented in an Ideas set and is much appreciated. Unfortunately they omitted Owl and Christopher Robin from the lineup, but they kind of out of scale, so I can see why they did it. Kanga and Roo are missing as well, but they were not in the original submission either, so that’s fair. We do get 5 excellent figs of the most important characters from the 100 Acre Woods though. Let’s take a closer look at them, Starting with Pooh himself, his BFF Piglet, and Rabbit. Pooh bear’s belly and part of his chin are printed onto his torso which looks a tad odd, especially since the yellow on the print looks darker than that of his head and limbs, so I wish they would have put a bit more quality into the printing, but otherwise he looks great, especially his dual-molded arms. Piglet also looks spot-on and just as adorable as he should, but he is way too large in my opinion. He is nearly as tall as all the other characters and therefore feels out of scale with the rest of the set. Being a small animal who is afraid of anything bigger than him is, like, his whole thing, so I think he should have been a trophy-sized microfig, but Piglet fans will probably be happy to get a full minifig of him. Rabbit looks nearly perfect. His torso printing features dark hip curves that are usually reserved for female minifigs. I guess having Pooh constantly eat all his honey and living off his vegetable garden helps him maintain a girlish figure. The only thing that looks a bit off are his somewhat derpy eyes. This rabbit looks like he has seen some stuff. If I’m not mistaken, he is the first minifig to come with light yellow arms, legs, and hands, so between him and the dark orange minifig heads, this set should make monochrome fig collectors happy. All three have back printing which in Pooh’s case is just as off-color as his front unfortunately. Next, we have the two long-tailed characters, Tigger and Eeyore. Both look outstanding, especially Tigger whose body suits the minifig proportions perfectly. It seems that being a minifig is what Tiggers do best! His top isn’t made out of rubber and his bottom isn’t made out of spring, but he is just as bouncey-trouncey-ouncey-pouncey-fun-fun-fun-fun-fun as the real thing! But the most wonderful thing about Tigger is, he’s the only one with arm and leg printing, heeee’s the only one! (Let me know if you read all that in his voice) Tigger has the same feline tail as other cat-like minifigs and back printing, both with scribbly tiger stripes on them. Eeyore’s tail is sadly not detachable, although the bow on it is. Which is probably a good thing since he is quite “attached” to his tail. Winnie the Pooh and accessories too! Each character comes with a fitting item: Pooh has a red balloon for getting honey, Piglet comes with a scarf and an umbrella for cold, rainy autumn days, Tigger has a cleverly built bindle for when the gang goes on one of their “expotitions”, and Rabbit has one of his beloved carrots. Yes, every character comes with an accessory. Well, all except poor Eeyore (unless you count his bow). The Build The first thing you build is a small patch of grass with some leaves, a honeypot, and a sign for the 100 Acre Wood on it. It’s a quick and simple build, but it makes a nice addition to the set and the use of the 3x3 heart plate as a base gives it a nice organic look. The build is pretty straight-forward, starting from the bottom of the tree and going up to the top, but it involves several interesting SNOT techniques, such as the hills with slopes pointing in all directions and leaves attached to their corners. The fact that the designers chose to make most of the filler bricks bright yellowish orange like honey is a nice touch. Here is the build after the first two bags. After bag 3, Pooh’s house starts to take shape. At this stage, you can get a good look at what the interior of the house looks like when it is closed. Once you finish the walls of the house, it’s on to the tree. The lower branches of the tree are sandwiched between the front and back of the trunk and angled slightly upward using an interesting Technic connection which also strengthens the stability of the tree. The top is built on a turntable which held in place at an angle by four offset studs under the round plate which is an interesting technique I didn’t know about until now. Bag 7 includes all the parts for the treetop, beehives and front yard details. Building the treetop involves building six of the same branch section which means that you need to attach 3 leaf pieces to each of the 24 green coral pieces in the set. Needless to say, this is a bit repetitive. Rabbit may enjoy such tedious plant work, but me not so much. The Complete Set Here it is all put together! It looks abso-posi-tutely terrific! It's unlike any other set and all the bright colors make it look very friendly. The house looks pretty accurate when compared to the source material, aside from maybe the missing hills around the back of the house. There are lots of nice details around the front door such as the door knocker and bell, the little mushrooms built out of red Porg heads, and the big log where Pooh can sit by the fire and think. However, my favorite detail has to be the tiny 3-piece snail on the side of the house that uses a swirl piece as the shell, even though red is an odd color for a snail. I also really like how the tree is made out of a mix of nougat and dark tan parts. It looks really nice and I hope to see more trees in this color in other sets. The use of corals for the tree branches is also NPU. The shingles on the roof of Pooh’s house are made of cheese slopes which is not a new technique, but always looks nice, especially with those leaves scattered over them. It’s clever how they built the chimney out of hinges, a BB-8 head, and an ice cream cone. The only thing that bugs me a bit is how there is a small gap between the roof and the dark red bars in the back of the house, although I’m not sure how that could have been avoided. Also, it’s interesting that they chose to use modified tiles instead of actual shutters on the windows. I think it would have been better if they would have used shutters that you can actually close instead, especially since we haven’t gotten them in dark red yet. The back of the tree and house is a bit bare. I think they could have added a bit more foliage to fix that. However, I like how they hid they gray parts that hold the house closed with a wooden board and plants. As you probably saw on the back of the box, Pooh’s house can split open in the back to allow you to play inside. The house is held together by a single clip that inserts into a click-hinge which works pretty well while also making it easy to open the two halves without much force. The interior is stuffed full of detail! On the left there is a furnace, a picture of honeybees, a comfy-looking chair, and a table with a teacup and a honeypot. Next to the front door, there is also a sideboard with another teacup and a teapot as well as a map of the 100 Acre Wood on the wall. I especially like how they made the brick-built curtains. The chair is only connected by one stud, so it can easily be removed to seat a minifig in it or move it elsewhere. On the right is Pooh’s bed which cleverly uses roller skates as detailing on the bed ends along with a small table with a candle. In the rafters above the bed are various honeypots just in case Pooh wakes up at night and is hungry for a smackerel of honey (i.e. the entire pot) which I imagine happens every night. On the wall next to the bed hangs his Pooh-coo clock which tells him when it’s time for his stoutness exercise. The standing mirror in front of which he does said exercise is to the right of the front door along with a brown Technic pin connector that serves as an umbrella stand. It works surprisingly well as such, although the umbrella tends to get a little stuck in it. While I really like how the Pooh-coo clock is constructed, I think it could use a clock face, even if it was a sticker. Pooh’s house is filled with references and easter eggs! The rafters on the left side of the house carry a box of Poohsticks, the game that Pooh invented in one of the stories where two or more players drop a stick from one side of a water bridge and see whose stick comes out first on the other side of the bridge. The back of the box has the initials C.R. which presumably stands for Christopher Robin. Next to the box is a pearl-gold heart-shaped tile which represents the locket that Tigger found in The Tigger Movie and hoped to find his family with. The book on the bed is meant to represent a Winnie the Pooh book which is pretty meta. Inside the book, there is a nice Lego-fied silhouette of Pooh holding onto a red balloon. LEGO Graphic Designer Ashwin Visser added Ben Alder’s name on the inside of the cover which is a lovely shoutout to the fan designer of the set who enjoys reading these books to his children. Another detail that’s worth noting is that the honeypot on the kitchen table and the one above the bed have a stack of trans-yellow pieces to represent honey, a detail which Pooh much appreciates. There are some play features as well. Do you hear that noise? That buzzing-noise means something. You don't get a buzzing-noise like that without it meaning something. If there's a buzzing-noise, somebody's making a buzzing-noise, and the only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee. That’s right, there are two identical beehives in the tree, each with four bees around it. The bees are mounted on a frictionless Technic pin, so you can make them fly around their hive like a mobile. Of course, a new bee mold would have been more realistic than printed tiles, but then again, maybe these really are just pictures of bees hanging from the hive. You never can tell with bees. Since each of the six treetop sections are mounted on ball joints and each of the branches is attached by a clip, the tree is surprisingly posable, so you can adjust it however you want or make it look like there is a lot of wind. Happy Winds-day everybody! Spare Parts Aside from the teal brick separator, there are many little parts left over after the build, including the small printed tiles, an extra Poohstick for a third player, an extra teacup in case clumsy Pooh breaks one, a pile of Pooh poo, and some extra trans-yellow honey pieces which should make Pooh bear very happy. Ratings Design: The tree and house look unique and colorful, and it’s faithful to the source material. Lots of great details. Build: An enjoyable build various interesting SNOT techniques, but with some repetition. Playability: There aren’t really many play features, but there are enough characters and accessories to play out many scenarios. Figures: All 5 look spot-on, feature new molds, and are new and exclusive to the set. Aside from Piglet’s scale, Rabbit’s derpy eyes and some quality issues on Pooh, they’re great. Parts: No new molds, but several parts in new or rare colors. Price: $100 for 1265 pieces including 5 new minifigs is a pretty good deal. Overall: Nine honeypots out of ten! This is a nearly flawless set. Disney/Pooh fans will love the minifigs and all the easter eggs while Lego fans will appreciate the unique, detailed, and fun-looking build and rare, useful parts. It's more of a display piece than a playset, but it has enough features to have plenty of fun with it too. While Winnie the Pooh was never my favorite Disney franchise, it was my sister’s and we both grew up watching The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh along with the other Disney Afternoon shows. Besides, I am a Disney fan in general and a huge fan of Jim Cummings who voices both Pooh and Tigger these days, so when I saw Ben’s excellent LEGO Ideas project, I supported it immediately, and I am very happy that it was turned into such a good set. Thanks for taking a look back at this 2021 set with me and thanks to LEGO for sending it to me for review. What do you think of the set? Let me know in the comments and the poll. And don't forget to check out some of the other Revember reviews! TTFN - Ta-ta for now! PS: You didn’t really think I would end the review without a Tuxedo Pooh meme, did you?

INTRODUCTION From the first episode it was clear that The Mandalorian was going to be uniquely special in the realm of new Star Wars media. Two seasons later you'll be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't love the live-action western-samurai-sci-fi inspired show. Lego has released a total of 8 sets inspired by The Mandalorian so far, and the Imperial Light Cruiser is the largest of them all. It also provides the setting for the climax of the 2nd season. If you haven't watched The Mandalorian Season Two yet, be warned that there are potential spoilers in this review SET INFORMATION Number: 75315 Title: Imperial Light Cruiser Theme: Star Wars Released: 2021 Part Count: 1336 Box Dimensions: 58.2 cm x 37.8 x 8.7 cm Weight: 2304 gram Set Price (RRP): 159.99 EUR / 149.99 GBP / 159.99 USD / Price per Part: 12 EUR / 11.2 GBP / 12 USD / Links: Brickset, Bricklink THE BOX The box is very standard for Star Wars sets these days. The front shows the ship in space. While the back shows off the play features. CONTENTS OF THE BOX Inside you'll find bags numbered 1-9 and a bagged set of instructions and stickers. More on the stickers as we get into the build. Here's the obligatory picture of the bags. Does anyone like these shots? How did it become normal for us to include them in reviews? Anyway, moving on to the build! THE BUILD Bag 1 Our very first bag gives us the main hero and villain of the set. I'll come back to the minifigures later. Side note, this is my first time trying to arrange the pieces of each bag in an aesthetically pleasing shot. So please forgive me if some of the pieces aren't perfectly aligned! Completing the first bag gives you a solid start on the main structure of the ship. While finishing the first bag you are instructed to apply the stickers to create some computer consoles. I have a love/hate relationship with stickers and Lego. Sometimes I'm glad I have the option whether or not to use a sticker on a part if I'd rather use the element elsewhere un-stickered. Printed parts don't give you that option. But in this set most of the stickers are great for Star Wars MOCs and I'll certainly use them again. But because they are stickers I'll always be worried about whether they are going to fall off. This is the most expensive set for The Mandalorian so far. I wish Lego would have printed more parts for it. Bag 2 The second bag has a bunch of Technic and hinge pieces. So you can already guess that we'll end up with more of the angled Star Destroyer shape by the end. And that's exactly what we get! Bag 3 More Technic and a whole bunch of plates. 3 bags in and were still just working on the core structure. But for a ship of this size that's needed so you can swoosh it around when you're done building it. Bag 4 A lot more plates in Bag 4, but also the elements for our first round of greebling. The end result is very satisfying. Lego designers have managed to add greebling to Star Wars ships in a simple but effective way over the past few years. And what we get in this set follows that excellent trend. Using a simple plate w/clip attached to a plate w/bar greebling panels are added to the rear of the Imperial Cruiser. We also get the micro TIE Fighters with their fantastic printed windscreens. More on those later. Bag 5 Half-way in and we get our 2 female minifigures in the set and the parts to complete the command tower. Also in this bag is the most frustrating sticker application of the set. Trying to line up the windows with 5 different stickers is certainly not as frustrating as trying to put stickers on curved Lego pieces. But it comes close. I really wish Lego would have at least given us the 2x2 brick with windows printed on all sides. That could have allowed for multiple copies of the pieces to be used to create all manner of Imperial bridges. Thankfully I managed to get the windows lined up enough that I won't start twitching every time I look at them. And Lego has always been good to send replacement stickers (and the parts they go on) when you mess up. So while it's not ideal, Lego does make the it the best possible bad scenario. The finished command tower also doubles as a carrying handle for the set. The Technic structure inside the tower is very stable and also easily grab-able! Bag 6 After all those angles we get a bag full of round pieces needed to build the cylindrical engines. There are some really great techniques used throughout this set to achieve the various shapes. Here in the back we see click hinges used to create the housing around the center engine. Simple, but oh so effective! And here's where we're at by the end of the bag. Bag 7 Nearing the end we get the parts needed to build the interior of the Cruiser as well as the angled panels and front greebles. Here you can see the clever techniques used to get the lower, angled sections attached using Technic. The mandibles get their top hull plating finishing off Bag 7. Bag 8 Our second to last bag has a lot of plates and the only Dark Trooper in the set. Finishing it gives us 2/3s of the top hull plating. Bag 9 Our final bag gives us the parts for the other 1/3 of the hull as well as what we need for the laser canon turrets. We also get the most highly sought after minifgure of all time, Grogu! Wait, you're telling me you already have 5 copies of Grogu? And even if you didn't you could buy him for $5 on Bricklink? Moving on then... Completing the ninth bag gives us the finished ship. This is a properly imposing Imperial vessel. Lots of angles and light grey make it obvious which side the ship fights for. The back of the ship looks decent too. Ship Analysis While the Light Cruiser looks amazing at first glance, there are some unsightly areas. The insides of the front mandibles have a lot of exposed blue Technic pins. This is a set, not a MOC, so it's understandable that there are some Technic elements visible. But, it would have been nice if they could have done greebling on the inside to cover all the blue. You can also see how far into the "bridge" the play-feature, TIE launcher extends. It's not a great play feature as you have to have the hull panels lifted to reach the plunger. And when you place a TIE in front there is nothing holding it in place. There is room between the jumper-plate wings and the plate w/rails so friction doesn't hold it in. You just have to balance things perfectly to achieve a successful launch instead of a fumbled drop. The TIEs themselves are cute. The fact that the solar panel wings are square instead of hexagonal is unfortunate, but understandable at this scale. But, you only get 2 in this set. If you want to launch one from the front, you have to remove it from the side docking bay to do so. The back portion also has gaps under the panels. A couple inverted slopes could have solved this easily. THE MINIFIGURES The lineup of figures in the set is certainly going to be a big draw for Star Wars fans. First up we have the "good guys." Fennec Shand is exclusive to this set so far. She has an exclusive head, dual molded helmet, leg printing and arm printing! Lego could have added a braid to the back of the helmet, but that would have limited it's re-usability so I'm glad they didn't. Fennec is pretty much the epitome of Star Wars minifigures. Cara Dune is exactly the same as her other 2 appearances in Star Wars sets. She has a head exclusive to her character (Lego is infamous for re-using female heads so this is a big deal) and leg printing so she's still a decent fig. Din Diarin, the Mandalorian himself, is also a repeat. Like in 75299 he has arm and leg printing. Grogu, or baby Yoda, is also a repeat. Next up are the really, really bad guys: a Dark Trooper and Moff Gideon. Both are exclusive to this set and look outstanding. The Dark Trooper uses the new armor mold that's been appearing in Star Wars sets this year. And Gideon has a newer-fabric, dual-color cape. The fact that the Dark Trooper has leg printing while Moff Gideon doesn't really makes his plain legs stand out. Neither has arm printing which also stands out next to Fennec's and Din's amazing prints. Minifigure Analysis There are some real knockouts in this set. And as the most expensive Mandalorian Lego set you would expect nothing less. Fennec and the Dark Trooper have great prints, unique parts, and just look great overall. Din, Cara, and Grogu are all repeats which is fine. But Moff Gideon could really use some arm and leg printing. And at $160 it seems cheap of Lego not to include a 2nd Dark Trooper. That figure alone is going for $50 on Bricklink right now. So what would it look like if Lego dialed these minifigures up to 11? Here's my customization of the figures using only purists methods. OVERALL Most people will be buying this set to add to their display, for the figures, or both. And in those categories this set performs pretty well. From most angles the Light Cruiser looks both Imperial and imposing. Just watch out for those blue Technic pins. And the figures are certainly worth getting. If you wanted to get the exclusive figures by themselves to save on buying the whole set it'll cost you $30 for Gideon, $35 for Fennec and $50 for a Dark Trooper going off the current averages on Bricklink. That's already setting you back $115. For an additional $45 you get 3 more minifigs and a pretty cool ship. The price per part on the set is a little high, but the end result doesn't feel like your getting shorted at all. SCORE How do I rate this set? 8 DESIGN The set looks like an Imperial Light Cruiser. It's very sturdy. And it uses clever techniques to get all the angles. It's only brought down by the few unsightly areas that could have been easily fixed and the unfortunate use of stickers for things like computers and windows. 9 BUILDING EXPERIENCE I really enjoyed building this set. It doesn't feel repetitive at all. And seeing all the cool techniques used to get angles and greebling is fun. 8 FEATURES There are not many features I would ask for to begin with in a ship of this size and scale. We get an area of the bridge to recreate scenes from the show. We have a handle to carry the ship with. The missile launchers are well integrated. What really drags this score down at all is the TIE launcher. The set should have included a 3rd TIE that fit more snugly into the forward bay. And the launching mechanism should have been accessible from the underside of the ship instead of the inside play area. 9 PLAYABILITY  Even with it's impressive size this ship is swooshable! And the interior play area allows for great scene re-creation. It would have been nice to have a doorway for characters to enter and exit the bridge. But at this scale that would have been hard. 7 PARTS There are no unique molds or colors outside of the minifigures. Though the molds for Fennec and the Dark Trooper certainly drive this score up! The best parts for Star Wars builders all come as stickers, which is a bummer. But, if you don't have a lot of grey or Technic to MOC your own Star Wars ships then this is a good set for those parts. 9 VALUE FOR MONEY  If this set had 2 Dark Troopers then this would be a perfect score. The set may not be at that golden 10 ppp, but the end result feels like it is. FINAL SCORE: 8 If you can afford this set, you should absolutely go buy it! This set was provided for review purposes to Eurobricks by The LEGO Group. The opinions presented in this review are my own and do not reflect those of The LEGO Group.

As part of Revember, I'm taking a look at a set from a line that hardly anyone seems to talk and/or care about here on Eurobricks (this one's obviously not for the stats). Some people somewhere must care about these sets though, since LEGO is in the money-making business, not the "niche products nobody wants" business. Join me as I dive into... SET INFORMATION Number: 43181 Name: Raya and the Heart Palace Theme: Disney Released: 2021 Part Count: 610 Minifiguresdolls: 2 Set Price (RRP): 79.99 - 89.99 EUR / 74.99 GBP / 119.99 AUD / 79.99 USD / 99.99 CAD Links: Brickset, Bricklink INTRODUCTION As I mentioned up top, the Disney Minidoll line (and most Minidoll sets, honestly) go oft-overlooked in our slice of the internet AFOL community, though I don't see a tremendous amount of coverage or discussion of them on the other AFOL sites I read either. But for me, a lover of eye-catching, colourful designs and unique parts, the Disney sets based on recent films provide some of the most displayable and special location-based playsets that LEGO puts out. All that makes it sound like I'm a voracious purchaser of LEGO Disney, but to be totally honest this is only the second set from the line that I own - the first being the previous time I requested to review one, 41068 Arendelle Castle Celebration way back in 2015. That's partially because the playsets they make that are NOT based on new films haven't been all that impressive to me, nothing in the intervening years based on Moana or Frozen II truly caught my eye, and my LEGO budget is still more concentrated on Harry Potter, Star Wars, and buying parts and minifigures. Still, I requested to review this set for the same reason as I requested the Frozen one six years ago: a unique, impressive-looking location set, cool parts, and bright colours. THE FILM At the time of writing this review, I have not seen Raya and the Last Dragon, nor watched any trailers, so I really know next to nothing about the story, location, or characters presented in this set. Through that lens, I will see if the details make sense or if there's anything I feel like I'm obviously missing, which might provide some fun. It also means I'll be judging the set just as a set, and not against the source material. I intend to watch the film after writing this review, and make a follow-up section or post on how the set achieves whatever it's going for. THE BOX The box doesn't let an uninitiated consumer like me in on any plot secrets. Namaari seems to be waving some swords, while looking at her (magical?) purple pet fox, as Raya arrives to the Heart Palace on a giant slug-armadillo - let's call it a slugadillo, coining it now. The back provides a tour through the set's moveable parts, features and hiding spaces. I especially appreciate the LEGO-fication of the same Raya picture as the front of the box. THE PARTS & THE BUILD Five colour-filled numbered bags greet us out of the box, along with an un-numbered bag containing the big parts used on the dome, the slugadillo, and the grey disc part which is no bigger than some of the parts that do come in the numbered bags. The instructions and sticker sheet come nicely packed in their own bag to avoid crumpleage (coining that word now too). This set has the fewest black or grey parts I can recall seeing in a set of this size - just five black and one grey - and it shows here. Pretty much every single patterned detail, besides the dome and randomly one 2x3 tile, uses a sticker. There's no use crying about it. There IS use crying about the sticker that goes on the 8x8 round tile though. I was used to that part being printed when it has a pattern, but Bricklink proves me wrong. I'm still annoyed that's not a print anyway, but at least it isn't four independent stickers applied to the one part. 1996 was a weird time. BAG 1 The first bag contains a lot of basic bricks and plates to kick off the base of the palace, plus the parts to make the saddle for Raya's slugadillo. In contrast to the trend of sprinkling figures throughout the build in minifigure sets, both minidolls come in this bag, along with the purple fox. The basic bricks in medium azure turn out to be a lot more common than I thought they would be, but the hinge parts are exclusive to this set in that colour. They remind me of Alien Conquest, though only the minifigures in that theme used medium azure. Upon completion, we get a long base hinged into multiple section plus the figures which I'll look at closely later. BAG 2 Bag 2 brings a lot more large parts, including the 4x5 panels with window exclusively in blue, and the cylinders with handle in teal that come in just three sets. You can also see the printed tile, which again I'll talk more about later. The palace now has some rooms and an elaborate throne, but is still looking more like a wall than a palace. Note the low number of leftover parts. BAG 3 More medium azure and teal here, including those 4x4 dishes that were created for the Vidiyo Beat Boxes. RIP. Our wall has some minarets now! I noticed the window sandwiched by double-cheese slopes is the same build used in the recent Chamber of Secrets, though the Vidiyo dish caps it off much more nicely than the weird thing with clips that the Chamber designer went for. They have different looks trying to be achieved though, of course. BAG 4 Woah, this is different! Suddenly lots more colours, and lots of tiny parts. One of those big Mario plates has crept out of the Mario theme for the second time (a reddish brown example did it first last year), which is nice to see, plus we get the classic Adventurers crate in dark red for only the second time. You could call this bag the detailing bag, because it has put a lot of life into the palace by way of small details. Look how many spare parts there are! BAG 5 Bag 5 feels much lighter, with parts to finish things off on the front of the palace. Notable parts include the 4x4 Mario plate in white that's been in just four sets, and the opalescent fishbowl helmet, also in four sets currently. Voila, our palace is complete - annoying sticker on 8x8 tile and all (minus one pearl gold spike I must have knocked off). I should note that those four lanterns are an intriguing build - I haven't seen an official build before requiring plates stacked at a particular angle from each other. THE MINIDOLLS Much like fleshies, stickers, the changes to the greys and brown, etc. etc., minidolls are here to stay, so there's no use raging about them if you don't like them. I'm happy to complain about the quantity of them included in sets, though. Now again I haven't seen the film, so I can't say for sure if the Heart Palace is a lively, thriving place, or a desolate palace in a remote location that only Raya and Namaari visit, but just two figures feels like not enough for an $80 USD set. From LEGO's perspective, I get it - minidolls have a lot of work put into them, and are surely more expensive to produce than minifigures, but from the consumer side it's more fun to have more figures and we don't necessarily "feel" LEGO's costs. Let's talk about how deluxe these figures are, though. Both have unique headgear designed for them, extremely fine detail, and a fair bit of personality, especially Namaari (the one without the hat, if you didn't know). Raya's face looks a bit more bland. Both figures use the same pants part, but it looks totally different given Namaari's "hips" being a different colour and her having silver boots painted on. Her foxy friend looks a bit strange though, with all that gold and tusks. Is the fox actually a boar in disguise, or vice versa? I've removed the headgear and cape for a better look at the details. Namaari has asymmetrically printed shaved hair on her head, to work in conjunction with her hair piece. Raya's torso looks exceptionally good, and this is the only set where she wears a cape and brown shoes. She's got bare feet in the other sets, for some reason. Perhaps her booting up to get serious is a big sequence in the film, I don't know. More excellent detail from the back. While Raya's hat/hair includes a pin hole for accessorizing as is standard with minidoll hairpieces, it's thankfully inobtrusive. Unlike most minidoll sets which eschew direct conflict, this set contains a few *gasp* weapons! Raya's unique sword looks nice in shaping, but is reminiscent of those creepy old Ewoks and Gungans and original Dobby that lacked painted detail and desperately needed them. Look at the front of the box and you'll see that only the handle should be green, while the blade should be metallic. It's odd because the sword already seems dual-moulded, with a solid handle and more flexible blade, so they could've at least gone with a sand green handle and flat silver blade, if not printing for the inlaid gem as well. They almost got there, but stopped short. In case you're wondering, the hairpieces work perfectly well on minifigures. I've seen plenty of people using Namaari's hair for Cara Dune from The Mandalorian, although I don't know where all those people are getting the hair piece, because I haven't seen it on Bricks & Pieces and it hasn't been very available on Bricklink (though somebody sold 93 in one go, what the heck!). And if you ever wanted to see a whole lot of Raya's cone hat on minifigures, check out Megbricks' picture. Good stuff. THE SLUGADILLO The Raya sets really include a lot of unique moulded elements. I have counted nine in total across the three sets (two hairpieces, three Ongi monkey things, this slugadillo, Raya's sword, and two parts for the Sisu dragon's head and mouth), which strikes me as a lot for a line of three sets. This guy is no small fry either. It's moulded with lots of excellent detail, while not being too detailed to the point of feeling out of place with LEGO. The face printing and little toes are exceptionally cute. All in all it bodes well for a LEGO Appa, if they ever get another shot at Avatar: The Last Airbender (please, LEGO!). The little build for Raya's saddle also looks quite cute, with perhaps a sort of rolled up blanket and a sack of food. The parts down the side represent a bridle, I suppose? And just for the heck of it, one more picture of everything in the set besides the palace itself. These are some truly fun things to play around with, and all done to a very high level of quality besides the somewhat lacking sword. THE PALACE OVERVIEW With the side dishes out of the way, let's move on to the main course: the eponymous Heart Palace. At a glance, it looks stunning. The various blues, white and gold coalesce into a model with a lot of shelf appeal. The bulbous dome stands out (the second use of that part, after Trolls World Tour), towering over the rest of the set. You can also glimpse a click hinge at the front, underneath the stickered dish. That's for adding an entranceway, included in 43184 Raya and the Sisu Dragon. Does that mean that this courtyard is technically inside the Heart Palace, and enclosed all around? Not sure, but as it is without that set the whole palace feels light and airy with no true exterior to enclose it. Like we saw in the build, the "interior" side also has a fair bit of detail and looks good as well. Let's take a tour... THE GRAND TOUR We begin in the central courtyard. I whinged about this being a sticker, but regardless it looks great. I also appreciate any set that takes up a larger footprint than its physical LEGO parts, because more space feels like more value for play and display than a densely packed but smaller model. Before I take you "inside" around the semicircle, we'll look at the sections most visible from the outside. In the centre we have an exquisite throne, which you might think is only playable from the courtyard side but in fact folds down into a relaxing daybed. What luxury. Moving over we have a section with a revolving platform, that includes the2x3 tile with a printed map that resembles the Sisu Dragon with a bunch of yellow labels. So is the Heart Palace where Raya goes for a map to find the Last Dragon? Honestly, I have no idea why this part is printed. I guess LEGO has a habit of printing maps. One last stop before the "internal" rooms: the front most rounded panels open up for spots to store Namaari and Raya's weapons while they're grabbing a bite to eat in the banquet hall. Now working our way around from left to right, the first room contains just enough space for the decorative crate, which contains a whole lot of diamonds. I'm getting more Adventurers vibes from those. Next is the banquet hall, which contains some fun micro builds like those wooden cups of water and built up food. It all looks very healthy. A couple of slight problems with this room bug me, but probably wouldn't bug a kid playing with it. For one, given the table's construction and minidoll proportions, the figures sit so low that the table winds up at chest height and the stuff on the table towers above them. Second, since minidoll feet take up more space than just two studs and can't separate, they can only be placed abutting with the table. All in all a great looking room that doesn't interact with figures as well as I'd like. Flipping past the throne room we come to the other larger room, which contains the rotating platform and some kind of zen tree with a tea-preparation station? The tree cleverly makes use of the new-ish coral piece in the coral colour. That looks fantastical, but then again the whole set looks like fantasy. Usable floor space becomes an issue once again in this room: you actually can't place minidolls ANYWHERE if you want the platform to turn. It looks like there should be plenty of space for figures, but I tried, and no dice. If you leave the platform static it's fine, but you'd assume you could both pose figures and turn the platform without issue. The final room has what looks like an apothecary, and only has studs for figures to stand on one side of the table. It's... fine. We have the dome section left to explore, containing a very spacious bedroom making great use of the Mario plate as a base. There's loads of space on the bed, a cute little reading lamp and one more of those decorative three-toned paper lanterns hanging above. Cute stickered portraits adorn the walls, though they intriguingly look like actual cartoon characters and aren't LEGO-fied. One shows the three Ongi from 43185 Boun's (Extremely Overpriced) Boat with a character I don't recognise, while the other shows Boun himself with Slugadillo. So, who lives here? Are these Raya's pictures, showing past adventures? To show just how much space there is on the bed, I've positioned Namaari and her fox-boar friend comfortably, with Raya climbing up by way of those bar pieces that serve no other purpose. The whole dome spins loosely, which can be taken as a play feature. If you wanted to see what the Heart Palace looks like with the bedroom facing out, here you go. For display this doesn't make much sense, but could be fun for a kid playing around. Show up to the Heart Palace and jump straight into the bedroom, why not. SUMMARY & CONCLUSION As a disclaimer upon disclaimers, though I requested to review this set because it looked cool to me, and there's the suspected subconscious bias that receiving a set for free will colour one's opinions, I really would've had no qualms lambasting it had I found it extremely lacking. Just look at my review of 76387 Hogwarts: Fluffy Encounter - I received that set for free to review and thoroughly walloped it. If you've managed to read through my whole review, you'll be able to tell that I feel pretty warmly towards this set. It looks great, it takes up a good amount of space once built because it has plenty of larger panels and creates empty space within itself, and it has lots to offer in the way of unique or rare colours of parts, including the slugadillo which is unlikely to ever be seen again. The design isn't perfect: most of the interior rooms are limited, including the larger ones, and even without having seen the film it's kind of obvious that the Heart Palace has been miniaturized, given the unusable windows especially. Still, for kids I think it would be a fun set to play with, and for adults it's either a unique model to display or a good parts pack. Bring on an Agrabah Palace done to this level, I say! SCORE How do I rate this set? 8 MINIDOLLS The two included are fantastic, some of the best I've ever seen, but there should have been at least one more for a set this size. 10 PIECES Amazing selection and lots of exclusive or rare parts. 9 DESIGN The Heart Palace looks great, with a good mixture of big parts to build it up and small ones for fine detail. Only the interior rooms have some design faults, which are not detrimental. 8 PLAYABILITY Overall there's a fair amount of space for play, and a couple of built-in features like the spinning platform and dome. Less figures make for less playability though, and the problems in the banquet hall and rotating platform room could annoy some other people. 7 PRICE Given there are only 610 pieces for $80 USD, the set doesn't feel as overpriced as one might expect. The palace is relatively large thanks to the larger pieces used and the shape employing empty space in the courtyard, and our friend slugadillo adds value. Still, ten units of currency less wherever you are would sit better. 8.4 OVERALL - An excellent set with a few flaws, and an easy buy at a slight discount. Until next time...

REVIEW - 42052 - HEAVY LIFT HELICOPTER INTRODUCTION Helicopters, planes...basically everything airborne is +1 for me. The 9396 - Helicopter is one of my favorite models. I own three copies, which says it all. the news about a new helicopter made me very excited. The news about twin rotors made me even more excited. Although I must admit I was hoping for a Chinook style tandem rotor, instead of a double rotor where one is positioned on top of the other. This set does come with a Chinook style B-model, so maybe that will be worth building. One thing I immediately like better than the 9396 is the color scheme. I love the bright orange-white combination. This set seems to have a huge number of panels, which is not to everyone's liking. Let's find out what's going on underneath that smooth surface! Note: All images can be clicked for hi-res versions. SET INFORMATION Number: 42052 Title: Heavy Lift Helicopter Theme: Technic Released: 2016 Part Count: 1042 Box Weight: 1831 gr Box Dimensions: 57,0 cm x 37,3 cm x 8,0 cm Set Price (MSRP): € 119,99 Price per Part: € 0,115 Links: Brickset, Bricklink THE BOX The box is fairly big, which indicates a pretty big model. Unfortunately the box was damaged. Some cracks and dents, but luckily it wasn't ripped apart, like my Mercedes box. I'm not sure if TLG sends out the sets the same way when they sell via S&H, because I would be slightly disappointed to receive my sets like this. Update: I've seen more complaints about wrecked and/or damaged boxes, so there's room for improvement in the shipping department. The front of the box shows the helicopter lifting it's load. The model is 60 cm long and 53 cm wide. It also shows the contra-rotating rotors. As you can see an M-motor and battery box are included, so there are some powered functions. BACK The back of the box shows which functions are powered. We will deal with the functions later. It also shows the Chinook style B-model, which has motorised functions too. Looking at the front of the B-model I am not very tempted to build it. It looks like a flying guinea-pig CONTENT OF THE BOX The box contains: Sealed instruction booklet with stickers 6 Helicopter Blades 1 Sealed M-Motor 1 Battery Box 2 Soft Axles 10 Unnumbered Bags SEALED INSTRUCTIONS WITH STICKERS The stickers are sealed with the instruction booklet, like we are getting used to with bigger sets. I've said it before, but TLG deserves a big thumbs-up for this! The sticker sheet is still in perfect shape! HELICOPTER BLADES This set contains six of the Large Technic Rotor Blades, first released in the 9396 - Helicopter in 2012. PF BATTERY BOX AND M-MOTOR SOFT AXLES Two Soft Axles, or Flex Axles, are delivered unbagged. 19L? Who knows! More on these later BAGS Ten bags containing the rest of the, mostly white, parts. HIGHLIGHTED PARTS This chapter describes new and interesting parts. Not sure if it's a trend, but like the 24 Hours Race Car this set also has an abundance of panels. I've counted 51 of 'em (not counting the engine covers). It does have two new panels, introduced in most of the 1H 2016 sets. As from today this set officially contains the most Technic Panels. One more than the 42025 - Cargo Plane. 42052 - 51 panels 42025 - 50 panels 42039 - 47 panels BLUE 5x3 BENT PANELS These new Bent Panels seem to be very suited to make fenders/wheel arches and seats. AXLE AND PIN HOLE The axle counterpart of the Pin and Pin Hole. YELLOW 5L AXLE From what I can tell at the moment, the yellow 6L Axle is unique to this set. I made a mistake here. It's actually a yellow 5L axle instead of 6L. RED 6L AXLE Like the yellow 6L axle, the red 5L Axle seems to be unique to this set. This will obviously change over the course of time, but for now it's the only set containing them. I made a mistake here. It's actually a red 6L axle instead of 5L. 19L SOFT AXLES Finally, the black 19L Soft Axles! A lot of people will be glad to see these being used again. Only released in the 8450 - The Mission in 1999, this part has become very rare. DRUM TIPPER Of course these are no Cement Mixer Drum Tippers (60018 - Cement Mixer, 7990 - Cement Mixer). These are Helicopter Engine Covers, and quite good looking ones. They seem to be more versatile then you'd imagine, since they already appeared in 4 other sets. GREEN 3x11 PANEL Two green 3x11 Panels, not to be confused with bright green, used in the 42039. This is the same green as the 42008 - Service Truck from 2013. ORANGE PANELS A collection of 13 orange panels. WHITE PANELS A collection of 34 white panels. WHITE 5x11 TAPERED PANEL PLATE Introduced last year in the Fire Plane, this is a relatively new panel. 2x4 PERPENDICULAR BENT PIN CONNECTOR This 2x4 Perpendicular Bent Pin Connector was introduced in 2013 and it's one of those parts flying under the radar. You won't be needing this every day, but who knows when it might come in handy. PART LIST The set consists of 1042, shown below. THE BUILD Upon opening the booklet with building instructions, I noticed the color of the pages has slightly changed. The pages are lighter blue than we're used to. Probably to increase the contrast and make the difference between the darker colors better visible. This new color is used in every booklet of the new sets. The build setup is a bit different than we're used to. Usually you start by building one side, followed by adding things inside and finished by closing up the model. This time you start by building the fuselage, after which you continue with the gear box and rotors. ROTORS The image below shows the mechanism for the contra-rotating rotors. Actually I made a mistake here. I switched the two turntables. Luckily it didn't take me long to find out. At the top you can see an Axle Connector with Axle Hole which is connected to an axle going through the turntables. This axle is only connected to one of the turntables (obviously). The first set of rotors is connected to one of the turntables, while the other is connected to the axle going through the turntable. This is demonstrated in the video below. GEARBOX Here you can see the setup of the gearbox. A basic setup with a single layer of gears (more or less). You can see the 3L Driving Ring on both sides of the model, used to switch between the different functions. CARGO BAY DOORS I found the mechanism to open the bottom cargo bay doors to be very intriguing. Here you can see three stages of moving the H-Frame down. The video below demonstrates the gearbox and the mechanism for the cargo bay doors. This video shows the gearbox mounted on the fuselage, and the contra-rotating rotors. CARGO CONTAINER The cargo container wraps up the build. FINISHED MODEL Leaving the other building steps for you to discover, we skip right to the finished model. There's always a lot of debate about panels and closing a Technic model with them. I personally love a finished look with panels. Looking at the image below, I can only compliment the designer with his accomplishment. The helicopter looks fantastic! The design itself is fantastic and the color scheme is really spot on. This helicopter looks even better than the 9396 - Helicopter, which I will compare later in this review. The Drum Tipper parts used as engine covers is very well done. You would almost think they are designed to be used in this helicopter. SIDE REAR VIEW In this picture you can clearly see the rear cargo bay door/ramp and the landing gear. The tail rudders are operated manually, which is slightly disappointing. The solution in the 42025 - Cargo Plane was much better. The landing gear is pretty clever though. Very simple, but it works like a charm, using nothing more than gravity. SIDE VIEW The side view shows how well the helicopter has been designed. The panels align very well and the model is almost entirely closed. This is a matter of personal preference, but I absolutely love it. BOTTOM VIEW Yup, there it is...the battery box. You can also see the mechanism to operate the tail wing. I find this to be a weak spot of the model. The lever is positioned very close to the wing itself, which feels a bit useless. It would have been great to operate the wing with the orange Bionicle Tooth located near the tail gate. You can clearly see which panels are used for cargo bay doors. Two 3x11 panels are used as bottom cargo bay doors, and a 5x11 is used as the back cargo bay door (ramp). Both are operated by the Power Functions motor (see features and functions). FRONT VIEW REAR VIEW ADDITIONAL IMAGES Here are two additional images from different angles. PARTS LEFT It's interesting too see TLG provided an extra 19L Soft Axle. It appears to be used in the B-model, but it somehow feels like an added bonus, since this part is wanted by a lot of builders. The 6L"]http://alpha.brickli..."color":11}"]6L Rigid Hose[/url], which is also used in the B-model, is extra too. Since the instruction booklet tells us we are only supposed to get a single 19L Soft Axle, I am not sure whether it's used in the B-model (it looks that way though). FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS This set has the following features: Contra-rotating rotors (Power Functions) Opening bottom cargo bay doors (Power Functions) Opening rear cargo bay door/ramp (Power Functions) Operating the winch Operating tail wing (Manual) Operating tail rudders (Manual) Landing gear Castering nose wheel The following video demonstrated all of the functions/features. I have added an IR receiver and I am using a PF remote to operate the powered functions. As you can see all the functions work very smooth. The powered functions work pretty fast, so there's no waiting for ages before the cargo doors open up. The winch is the slowest of them all, but that makes sense. As you could read in the review, I don't really like the manual tail wind and rudder functions. I know a designer needs to make concessions, but wasn't it possible to operate the tail wing with the orange bionicle tooth. The castering nose wheel does work properly, and so does the landing gear. Both very simple, but they do their job. SUMMARY Like I said at the beginning of my review, I am fan of flying machines. And to be honest, I am an even bigger fan of helicopters than planes or jets. This might influence my judgement. I am also a big fan of white, orange and grey, so that's another plus. And I happen to like models finished with panels. Do you see where this is going?! I absolutely love this model. The 9396 - Helicopter was one of my favorite models, but I like this one even better. The closed design is something I like a lot, as long as the model is packing some functions too. Panels alone don't cut it. Well, this set has some cool features under those panels. The mechanism for the contra-rotating rotors is pretty nifty. So are the bottom cargo bay doors. The things I like the least is are the tail wing and tail rudders. The tail wing is operated manually, but it's a simple lever positioned very closely to the actual wing. And the rudders are operated by simply moving the rudders themselves. As with the Mercedes I am not a big fan of operating a model by using the switch on the battery box. It confuses me, and you can't easily reach it. I understand TLG can't throw in a remote and IR receiver each time they supply a PF motor, but it's probably one of the modifications most AFOLs will immediately apply. That being said, I absolutely recommend getting this fantastic model! SCORE Okay, so how do I grade this set? 9 DESIGN Absolutely magnificent. 8 BUILDING EXPERIENCE Great build with some clever techniques. 8 FEATURES Great functions, but rudder and tail controls need improvement. 8 PLAYABILITY Lots of things to operate, but would work better with a remote control. 9 PARTS Contains lots of new parts and loads of white panels. 9 VALUE FOR MONEY Worth every penny. Will buy another one. 8,5 ABSOLUTE EYECATCHER BONUS COMPARISON I will end this review with a comparison between the "new" and "old" helicopter. As you can see my 9396 has a yellow and black color scheme, instead of the original yellow and red, but it will give you a clear picture on how these two compare. More pictures can be found on my Flickr page. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.