Gift idea | LEGO: the best Christmas bricks!

The day box of our Advent calendar is particularly busy, since it contains several thousand bricks…

During the year, we closely followed the news of LEGO, whose range “for adults” was enriched with many sets. We have selected three that we find particularly successful and that every fan of the brand must have.

Eiffel Tower

Available since the end of November, the Eiffel Tower according to LEGO is impressive in more ways than one. With its 149 cm height, it is the brand’s largest kit to date.

It narrowly beats the Titanic, which we told you about last year. This Eiffel Tower is made up of exactly 10,001 pieces, which makes it one of the sets with the most elements.

At Clubic, we were lucky enough to receive a copy. The three volumes of the assembly manual are filled with information and anecdotes about the famous monument.

There is also an excellent introduction to present the tower. Unless you are very familiar with the English language, it is possible to download the French version of the guide from the LEGO site.

The editing is long, very long, and requires a little attention to detail so as not to make any mistakes. The designers of this tower had the good idea to design it in four sections, which facilitates its transport. The level of detail is very good, and there is even the location of Gustave Eiffel’s private apartment on the third floor.

Loop: the LEGO-style roller coaster

Thrill seekers will love this LEGO set that replicates a roller coaster. 92 cm high, the tower takes passengers seated in the cart to the top of the attraction, from where it will descend at high speed down a first slope. Then comes the double loop crossed at full speed, then the return to the platform where others can embark in turn.

A crank, a few gears and a belt allow the platform to be climbed. Funny detail, it is possible to add an optional electric motor to automate the ascent.

As always with LEGO, the details are taken care of. A camera (dummy, let’s not dream too much either) is at the level of the loop, and street vendors and a bench are positioned outside.

Completing the assembly of this kit is not too complex. The only fine points are the assembly of the tower and the adjustment of the tension of the belt, which require a little attention to detail. We therefore had to reduce the number of links, because the one indicated on the instructions did not allow a correct ascent.

Atari, the video game icon

Icon of the video game of the 80s and 90s, the Atari 2600 console still has its fans. LEGO has chosen to pay homage to it on the occasion of Atari’s 50th anniversary by producing its brick replica.

To say that we were waiting for it with curiosity and impatience is an understatement, given the few hundred hours we spent in our youth on this console. We were especially wondering if LEGO would be able to reproduce it faithfully…

As much to say it right away, we were not disappointed! Of course, the console is not functional, although a handyman could surely install an emulator and a Raspberry Pi Zero on it (well… if he finds one, with the shortages). For the rest, everything is there: the switches, functional push buttons, the famous black joystick which looks like the original and the connection ports which are also part of it.

By sliding the upper face of the device, we even have the surprise of discovering the truer-than-life replica of the bedroom of an American teenager from the 90s! And nothing is missing: the posters on the wall, the ghetto blaster and, of course, the cathode ray tube TV accompanied by its video console!

LEGO accompanies its version of the Atari 2600 with the reproduction of three legendary cartridges: Asteroids, Adventure and Centipede. Each has a faithful reproduction of the original labels and a mini-diorama to represent a game scene.