Lego Star Wars Youtubers

[Lego Nostalgia]

MandR hate is so forced, guy makes good content and I enjoy it, everyone else praises Lego for everything and defends the laziness, he doesn't  feel like a company owned channel

[Darth_Bane13]

1 hour ago, Lego Nostalgia said:

MandR hate is so forced, guy makes good content and I enjoy it, everyone else praises Lego for everything and defends the laziness, he doesn't  feel like a company owned channel

Yeah MandR hate seems to stem from people unable to handle any criticism about Lego. When I watch a review I want to see every potential flaw and/or positive attribute in the set to know if it's worth my money.

[Mandalorianknight]

11 hours ago, Llewop said:

when you look at it from theory alone it’s an amazing year

I would argue that even from theory it's a rough year simply from the lack of variety. In theory it was a good year for clone fans, though in execution it fails. But for anyone wanting pretty much anything else, it's a rough year. Again, this is the first year time either in 25 years or EVER that we haven't had an OT imperial trooper in a single standard retail set. Obviously any sequel fans who want standard sets continue to drown. Mando actually's had a rough year as well, which is surprising, he had what, only the 4+ set? And of course you gotta shout out the prequel fans who just want stuff besides clones.

But it's not even just the clone frenzy that's the issue. This year has, I think, the worst ratio of 18+ to standard retail sets the theme's ever had. I know we have a lot of location playset fans out there, and I don't think we got a single location retail set this year, which isn't super uncommon but is something to note.

Basically, if you aren't gobbling up any clone that appears or someone filling their shelves with buildable statues, this is a rough year from concept alone.

15 hours ago, AD_Bricks said:

Also, I don't really like Mandr's new favourite thing to say that he came up with recently, that "if we had gotten these clone troopers 10 years ago they would have been the best versions possible". Like, sure, the kamas that we were getting would have been good to still get now, and there were printing issues on some of the 2022-2024 clones (e.g. Fox and 212th), and a couple of other things, but the 2013-2017 clones weren't perfect by any means. The skin colour change is something that he's said himself was an improvement, so he must have just forgotten about that I guess? Plus they added foot printing, and helmet holes which add customisation and therefore extra fun for anyone who can get past the holes (which is most people), and the overall design change in the helmet/armour printing/design is completely subjective, but I personally consider that a drastic improvement, as I was never in love with the old design for them, especially the chest printing and the p2 helmets. And the fact that he keeps repeating this like it's dogma or something is getting a bit annoying, especially considering that it's wrong due to the aforementioned reasons.

Totally agree. Helmet holes are a major upgrade for clone trooper figures, they've made them a lot more customizable. I love being able to give them rangefinders, visors, and even stuff that doesn't *technically* fit like motorcycle visors for flash visors, or goggles.

The dogma-like thing is also an excellent point. It's the new talking point that's going to be rattled on for eternity because even the children watching can't be conned into thinking that lego hates the prequel era anymore. 

2 hours ago, Lego Nostalgia said:

MandR hate is so forced, guy makes good content and I enjoy it, everyone else praises Lego for everything and defends the laziness, he doesn't  feel like a company owned channel

I don't think this is accurate at all. The most popular lego youtuber I'm aware of outside the clone bros is Jangbricks, and, I mean... c'mon. Unlike most lego youtubers, he doesn't receive sets free from lego. He buys everything himself, he's ruthlessly critical when necessary, he relentlessly criticizes lego for both actual set issues like the prices, smaller things like characters not having both helmets and hair in situations where it makes sense, and even stuff like the lifestyle photos being taken in a concrete bunker. He's probably the most critical one out there, though I'm not sure how exactly you'd quantify that.

Even the other youtubers I've seen who get sets from lego, like Ashnflash and Duckbricks, absolutely criticize lego when they think something is overpriced or poorly done. They're just, like jangbricks, able to do so in a mature and measured way.

15 minutes ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

Yeah MandR hate seems to stem from people unable to handle any criticism about Lego.

You know this isn't true. This is a cheap statement that attempts to discount any criticism of MandR with the old "everyone who doesn't like my guy is a corporate shill" argument, which, again, you know is not accurate. Who here hasn't criticized lego and also dislikes MandR? Do you have any examples?

 

 

Looks like this year's walmart gift set is the 2024 clone super pack, the ambush on mandalore pack, and the Rex microfighter, which is also quite rough if they're sticking with the $50 price point, as last year's pack was $85 value for $50. (Loved that one, I was tempted to buy two, great part/figure pack.) The way it is now, with the discounts on all three of those readily availible, you're losing money by buying the bundle.

[Lego Nostalgia]

5 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

I would argue that even from theory it's a rough year simply from the lack of variety. In theory it was a good year for clone fans, though in execution it fails. But for anyone wanting pretty much anything else, it's a rough year. Again, this is the first year time either in 25 years or EVER that we haven't had an OT imperial trooper in a single standard retail set. Obviously any sequel fans who want standard sets continue to drown. Mando actually's had a rough year as well, which is surprising, he had what, only the 4+ set? And of course you gotta shout out the prequel fans who just want stuff besides clones.

But it's not even just the clone frenzy that's the issue. This year has, I think, the worst ratio of 18+ to standard retail sets the theme's ever had. I know we have a lot of location playset fans out there, and I don't think we got a single location retail set this year, which isn't super uncommon but is something to note.

Basically, if you aren't gobbling up any clone that appears or someone filling their shelves with buildable statues, this is a rough year from concept alone.

Totally agree. Helmet holes are a major upgrade for clone trooper figures, they've made them a lot more customizable. I love being able to give them rangefinders, visors, and even stuff that doesn't *technically* fit like motorcycle visors for flash visors, or goggles.

The dogma-like thing is also an excellent point. It's the new talking point that's going to be rattled on for eternity because even the children watching can't be conned into thinking that lego hates the prequel era anymore. 

I don't think this is accurate at all. The most popular lego youtuber I'm aware of outside the clone bros is Jangbricks, and, I mean... c'mon. Unlike most lego youtubers, he doesn't receive sets free from lego. He buys everything himself, he's ruthlessly critical when necessary, he relentlessly criticizes lego for both actual set issues like the prices, smaller things like characters not having both helmets and hair in situations where it makes sense, and even stuff like the lifestyle photos being taken in a concrete bunker. He's probably the most critical one out there, though I'm not sure how exactly you'd quantify that.

Even the other youtubers I've seen who get sets from lego, like Ashnflash and Duckbricks, absolutely criticize lego when they think something is overpriced or poorly done. They're just, like jangbricks, able to do so in a mature and measured way.

You know this isn't true. This is a cheap statement that attempts to discount any criticism of MandR with the old "everyone who doesn't like my guy is a corporate shill" argument, which, again, you know is not accurate. Who here hasn't criticized lego and also dislikes MandR? Do you have any examples?

 

 

Looks like this year's walmart gift set is the 2024 clone super pack, the ambush on mandalore pack, and the Rex microfighter, which is also quite rough if they're sticking with the $50 price point, as last year's pack was $85 value for $50. (Loved that one, I was tempted to buy two, great part/figure pack.) The way it is now, with the discounts on all three of those readily availible, you're losing money by buying the bundle.

I like Jang however all the others are too family friendly, just no personality whatsoever

I hate ashnflash fr, basically got the youtube voice, hyper enthusiastic, won't be harsh on Lego sometimes

[BrickPrick]

4 hours ago, Lego Nostalgia said:

MandR hate is so forced, guy makes good content and I enjoy it, everyone else praises Lego for everything and defends the laziness, he doesn't  feel like a company owned channel

How is it that hate? It isn't. It's constructive criticism. One thing doesn't have ro rule out the other. Both things can be true at once. So i enjoy MandR's content for a whole while now. I appreciate the fact that he actually takes his time putting together some very good in depth-reviews. Instead of aspiring to be yet another early bird who rushes superficial stuff out for the extra clicks. Yet that doesn't mean i will agree with everything he says. In fact, i don't. And that's perfectly fine. Doesn't mean i hate the guy or anything in the slightest.

2 hours ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

Yeah MandR hate seems to stem from people unable to handle any criticism about Lego. When I watch a review I want to see every potential flaw and/or positive attribute in the set to know if it's worth my money.

The emphasis is on "seems". Because i think a person capable of rational thought won't see it that way. To me, it sounds like "you don't think everything was better in the good old age and therefore you must be a blind Lego fanboy." Whereas in reality it certainly isn't that black and white. At the very least, by thinking in extremes, ain't how some actual nuanced conversation can happen. But only a Sith deals in absolutes. 

 

To confuse a mere disagreement with "hate" is all the rage on the internet nowadays. As if you put strong words on the fridge as a joke or something. It just loses all meaning. So stupid. 

Edited 13 hours ago by BrickPrick

[Darth_Bane13]

3 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

You know this isn't true. This is a cheap statement that attempts to discount any criticism of MandR with the old "everyone who doesn't like my guy is a corporate shill" argument, which, again, you know is not accurate. Who here hasn't criticized lego and also dislikes MandR? Do you have any examples?

Then why do people dislike MandR? He makes good quality content and seems like a good person from what I can tell. Also how am I supposed to know who here likes MandR or not??? I haven't even seen his name brought up on this forum once before, nice bait argument and I don't keep tabs on every Eurobrick user. I have seen lots of people on various social media defend Lego on certain issues and get upset when MandR calls out the issue.

1 hour ago, BrickPrick said:

How is it that hate? It isn't. It's constructive criticism. One thing doesn't have ro rule out the other. Both things can be true at once. So i enjoy MandR's content for a whole while now. I appreciate the fact that he actually takes his time putting together some very good in depth-reviews. Instead of aspiring to be yet another early bird who rushes superficial stuff out for the extra clicks. Yet that doesn't mean i will agree with everything he says. In fact, i don't. And that's perfectly fine. Doesn't mean i hate the guy or anything in the slightest.

The emphasis is on "seems". Because i think a person capable of rational thought won't see it that way. To me, it sounds like "you don't think everything was better in the good old age and therefore you must be a blind Lego fanboy." Whereas in reality it certainly isn't that black and white. At the very least, by thinking in extremes, ain't how some actual nuanced conversation can happen. But only a Sith deals in absolutes. 

 

To confuse a mere disagreement with "hate" is all the rage on the internet nowadays. As if you put strong words on the fridge as a joke or something. It just loses all meaning. So stupid. 

You clearly aren't on reddit which is probably a good thing but I can assure you there are plenty of people who genuinely hate MandRproductions.

[AD_Bricks]

1 hour ago, BrickPrick said:

How is it that hate? It isn't. It's constructive criticism. One thing doesn't have ro rule out the other. Both things can be true at once. So i enjoy MandR's content for a whole while now. I appreciate the fact that he actually takes his time putting together some very good in depth-reviews. Instead of aspiring to be yet another early bird who rushes superficial stuff out for the extra clicks. Yet that doesn't mean i will agree with everything he says. In fact, i don't. And that's perfectly fine. Doesn't mean i hate the guy or anything in the slightest.

Fully agree. I also want to clarify that my wordy paragraph earlier where I was criticising one thing he keeps saying again and again (which may have been what started this mini-discussion up again) wasn't a critique of him overall, just that one specific thing. I generally like his videos, and watch most of them. I agree with most of his criticism of LEGO, just not every single thing, nor do I love it when he acts as if his opinions are universal (i.e. animated design/live-action mashup clone designs or helmet holes), which is kind of what that last post of mine was about. But that's kinda it. He's a good LEGO youtuber imo.

[Mandalorianknight]

1 hour ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

Then why do people dislike MandR? He makes good quality content and seems like a good person from what I can tell. Also how am I supposed to know who here likes MandR or not??? I haven't even seen his name brought up on this forum once before, nice bait argument and I don't keep tabs on every Eurobrick user. I have seen lots of people on various social media defend Lego on certain issues and get upset when MandR calls out the issue.

Your argument is "people dislike him because they're lego shills", and when asked to support that, saying "they're shills because they dislike him but he's great." There's literally no way to argue the point if going off of your premise that he's objectively great and there's no reason to dislike him. It's not a bait argument to ask you to back up the claim that the only reason people would dislike a youtuber or his content is that they're company shills. 

I'll tell you why I dislike him, as an example, since you can look back at literally all of my past posts and see that I am in no way bought by lego, as I very frequently criticize what sets they make, the quality of those sets, and especially the outrageous prices.. MandR infamously started and heavily encouraged children (Let's be clear- for everyone but Jang, who's hopelessly scattered and intertwined his channels to achieve this, the audience is primarily children. It's why people like Ashnflash are so "enthusiastic" and seem like they're putting on a persona, it's because they know who's mainly watching their stuff and they want to be a positive role model.) to relentlessly spam lego's social media for a specific set he wanted made. He was a major part of the "lego hates the prequels" charade, until it became literally impossible to even get children to believe it. He's had more influence on what sets lego makes than pretty much any other person on the planet outside the company, and yet he complains more than anyone else I've ever seen about pretty much everything lego does. And yet, for how relentlessly he bemoans helmet holes or what have you, he's still (to my knowledge- maybe it's changed recently and if so I'd concede this particular point) part of the buy-a-billion-clones-and-stick-them-on-grey-baseplates gang. He also uses the sporadic CAPITAL LETTERS?!?! EXLAMATION! QUESTION? EMOTIVE FACE IN THUMBNAIL? style of titles/thumbnails pretty frequently, which is clickbaity and something I find immature, but not something I would really put against him specifically much given how many people do that on youtube.

I know this is off topic, but I wasn't gonna sit by for "The only possible reason people could dislike a public person is because they're shills for a group I dislike"

Edited 10 hours ago by Mandalorianknight

[Darth Malgus]

21 hours ago, AD_Bricks said:

Also, I don't really like Mandr's new favourite thing to say that he came up with recently, that "if we had gotten these clone troopers 10 years ago they would have been the best versions possible". Like, sure, the kamas that we were getting would have been good to still get now, and there were printing issues on some of the 2022-2024 clones (e.g. Fox and 212th), and a couple of other things, but the 2013-2017 clones weren't perfect by any means. The skin colour change is something that he's said himself was an improvement, so he must have just forgotten about that I guess? Plus they added foot printing, and helmet holes which add customisation and therefore extra fun for anyone who can get past the holes (which is most people), and the overall design change in the helmet/armour printing/design is completely subjective, but I personally consider that a drastic improvement, as I was never in love with the old design for them, especially the chest printing and the p2 helmets. And the fact that he keeps repeating this like it's dogma or something is getting a bit annoying, especially considering that it's wrong due to the aforementioned reasons.

Not an apologist for MandR, however when he rolls out the Lego "Only the best is good enough" motto, he's not wrong.

I have issues with the clones from the last few years; Fox is horrible on paint apps and accuracy, Bly clearly has accuracy issues, Vaughan was just a tad lazy.  Whoever is doing the minfig research clearly isn't doing a great job in the last few years.

I know he can go on about it for a while, the kama's should come back, other themes have them and they don't affect the playability of them as a whole, if that were the case, other theme designers wouldn't use them either.

The holes are what they are, while I don't get hung up on it personally, I know some builders who aren't fans of the location where a location existed that could've been used instead of the introduction of another point on the P2 helmets. 

[CloneCommando99]

Day #88 of asking for Lego to make a Tie Avenger.

 

Also obligatory: screw MandR. All my homies hate MandR. (For ranting about helmet holes way too much. Like we get it, he doesn’t like them, he doesn’t need to spend a minute ranting every other video including non-clone sets)

[BrickPrick]

6 hours ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

Then why do people dislike MandR? He makes good quality content and seems like a good person from what I can tell. Also how am I supposed to know who here likes MandR or not??? I haven't even seen his name brought up on this forum once before, nice bait argument and I don't keep tabs on every Eurobrick user. I have seen lots of people on various social media defend Lego on certain issues and get upset when MandR calls out the issue.

You clearly aren't on reddit which is probably a good thing but I can assure you there are plenty of people who genuinely hate MandRproductions.

Because some people can't deal with other (polarizing) people that are spitting out truth bombs about things they like or love. They are personally offended by it. 

I am on Reddit every now and then for the leaks. But i don't read a whole lot of comments. Was actually referring to the postings written here on Eurobricks, where i didn't see anything that even remotely comes close to "hate". 

6 hours ago, AD_Bricks said:

Fully agree. I also want to clarify that my wordy paragraph earlier where I was criticising one thing he keeps saying again and again (which may have been what started this mini-discussion up again) wasn't a critique of him overall, just that one specific thing. I generally like his videos, and watch most of them. I agree with most of his criticism of LEGO, just not every single thing, nor do I love it when he acts as if his opinions are universal (i.e. animated design/live-action mashup clone designs or helmet holes), which is kind of what that last post of mine was about. But that's kinda it. He's a good LEGO youtuber imo.

Yeah, i think i am on the same page as you are. And that's exactly how i perceived your posting. You criticized this one statement he is very eager to emphasize, not the person behind it. That's a fairly big difference. 

4 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

I know this is off topic, but I wasn't gonna sit by for "The only possible reason people could dislike a public person is because they're shills for a group I dislike"

Neither was i. All these "you are X so you have to be Y" claims usually don't sit right with me. They are awful quick to judgement and come across as cheap, drive-by postings to me. If i was to "hate" anyone for a simple disagreement, i would probably "hate" everyone in here at some point. Or to be more precisely, every person on the planet. That ain't hate. It's individuality. It's only natural. 

4 hours ago, Darth Malgus said:

Not an apologist for MandR, however when he rolls out the Lego "Only the best is good enough" motto, he's not wrong.

I have issues with the clones from the last few years; Fox is horrible on paint apps and accuracy, Bly clearly has accuracy issues, Vaughan was just a tad lazy.  Whoever is doing the minfig research clearly isn't doing a great job in the last few years.

I know he can go on about it for a while, the kama's should come back, other themes have them and they don't affect the playability of them as a whole, if that were the case, other theme designers wouldn't use them either.

The holes are what they are, while I don't get hung up on it personally, I know some builders who aren't fans of the location where a location existed that could've been used instead of the introduction of another point on the P2 helmets. 

I always find it funny when he calls Lego out for that and usually see the justification to do so. If you make such a cocky motto for your multi-billion company, aspire to be held to the best quality standard, claiming only that is good enough, you have to measured by that. 

I also just think some people are a little annoyed because he can sound like a broken record at times. This ongoing rambling about every tiny little clone detail might be tiresome in the grand scheme of things. Constantly hearing "clones still have this but i don't like that, or they don't have that but i want it"... yeah, we get it. Even though he often has a point, it might be the repetition of the rants that can spark some criticism. 

Like, i will forever agree that printed waist capes look abysmal, and yes, it's worth pointing out when you showcase the minifigures. Yet i think it's a little bit excessive to give us the extented edition of explaining on why it sucks so bad every single time. 

[MKJoshA]

I do not like Youtube reviews as a general rule. But I'm not in the demographic of people who usually spend time on Youtube. To be able to speak knowledgable on this topic I watched some recent MandR videos. I think his reviews are ok, the things I don't like are the same things I don't like about all Youtube reviews. However, I will say what turns me off from MandR (has in the past and after watching recent videos still does) is his other videos. He makes a point of showing off his rare purchases and doesn't hide the fact that he paid tons of money for them. Like in this video he keeps talking about his $1000 purchase throughout the video. But in those same videos he rants about all the mistakes Lego has made in design choices, minifigure designs, etc. It comes across as 1) vain (he seems to get a kick out of boasting about how much money he spends on Lego) and 2) insincere. Either you dislike how Lego handles Star Wars sets as passionately as MandR says he does or you're willing to spend thousands every month on Lego purchases. But to do both smacks of hypocrisy. 

[Lego Nostalgia]

49 minutes ago, MKJoshA said:

I do not like Youtube reviews as a general rule. But I'm not in the demographic of people who usually spend time on Youtube. To be able to speak knowledgable on this topic I watched some recent MandR videos. I think his reviews are ok, the things I don't like are the same things I don't like about all Youtube reviews. However, I will say what turns me off from MandR (has in the past and after watching recent videos still does) is his other videos. He makes a point of showing off his rare purchases and doesn't hide the fact that he paid tons of money for them. Like in this video he keeps talking about his $1000 purchase throughout the video. But in those same videos he rants about all the mistakes Lego has made in design choices, minifigure designs, etc. It comes across as 1) vain (he seems to get a kick out of boasting about how much money he spends on Lego) and 2) insincere. Either you dislike how Lego handles Star Wars sets as passionately as MandR says he does or you're willing to spend thousands every month on Lego purchases. But to do both smacks of hypocrisy. 

Could you delete this, I won't talk about youtubers anymore but a new thread isn't really worth it, it was a one time discussion

the thread I mean

[MKJoshA]

2 hours ago, Lego Nostalgia said:

Could you delete this, I won't talk about youtubers anymore but a new thread isn't really worth it, it was a one time discussion

the thread I mean

I think it's a valuable thread to have. If you would prefer, I can change it so you're not the topic starter (first post in the topic)