Bricks and Minifigs Situation...

[anothergol]

14 minutes ago, Black Falcon said:

Pretty sure they can actually. Not stopping people overall from using it, but in general, I would say it is actually used less than a few years back, nowadays I see people talking about interlocking Bricks, building blocks and so on, whereas a few years back it was like way more people calling it Lego.

Both are actually bad for Lego, but I don't know what's worse, between Lego becoming genericized and Lego not being the default bricks anymore.
"interlocking bricks" doesn't cut it, though, as small-sized ones have become popular, and it's not "legos" if it's not compatible.
I know I've recently switched from "LEGO MOC" to just "MOC" in my titles since I went all brands.

3 minutes ago, Shiva said:

Well, that is your opinion. Maybe you believe everything Candace Owens tells too?

he doesn't just tell, he (& others) proves

[JesseNight]

6 hours ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

I think there is enough information out there now to take a stance and not just fence sit. Yeah some of Bens methods weren't particularly effective but they're also not morally wrong in my opinion.

Maybe not morally, but lawfully some were on the edge and that can be used against him in court, not to mention it undermines how seriously a judge is gonna take him.
 

6 hours ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

Part of what Reckless Ben does, is stand up for the little guy who doesn't necessarily have the legal power to fight back. What else were they supposed to do when B&M said "we're gonna drag this out in court until it cost you more than the Lego?" The one who should be in trouble with the police is B&M for stealing the Lego, Ben's crimes were minor compared to that, but obviously the American Fork police are corrupt. I forgot the exact number from Coffeezilla's video.

That's indeed a problem in today's capitalist economy, where big businesses are becoming too powerful. Ironically when I talk to people about that, it seems to be what people want. Don't ask me to explain, I don't quite get it myself.
 

1 hour ago, Black Falcon said:

Pretty sure they can actually. Not stopping people overall from using it, but in general, I would say it is actually used less than a few years back, nowadays I see people talking about interlocking Bricks, building blocks and so on, whereas a few years back it was like way more people calling it Lego.

On websites and in articles they obviously gotta be careful about using licensed names. I was just referring to people using it verbally.
 

1 hour ago, anothergol said:

So much has been filmed & documented in other ways in this story. All we've seen from Ben's side is... film & documents. All we've heard from the other side is... "trust me" (while they ALL also film & have documents). Except from the Police's "oopsie" (if you can believe that) that worked against them. And information found by third-parties that also has worked against the crooks. 

That's true, but if he has so much evidence I would think he must/could have a dang straight case against B&M. And with the money from the GoFundMe of which only a small percentage already covers the Lego that was still unaccounted for, that shouldn't be a problem either?
But there's still so many unknowns. Who's the correct party to sue? Who has the missing Lego? (the franchisee after Chrystal no longer works for B&M either at this point)
I'm not knowledgeable on how to proceed, that's where legal advice comes in and the first step (just advice what your options are) is usually cheap or even free.

[Black Falcon]

29 minutes ago, JesseNight said:

On websites and in articles they obviously gotta be careful about using licensed names. I was just referring to people using it verbally.

I am well aware of that. But with it beeing used on websites, articles and even TV shows (at least in my country, it was used in Lego Masters too) aswell as all other companies marketing their products as building bricks and such, it is way more commonly used by the normal folks too, because they hear and read it everywhere. ;).

[Darth_Bane13]

2 hours ago, Shiva said:

Well, that is your opinion. Maybe you believe everything Candace Owens tells too?

I don't watch Candace Owens, nor is this relevant to the discussion. Once again, Reckless Ben has backed up his statements with proof and evidence, which B&M have failed to do repeatedly. To straight up call  Ben the villain in this situation is pretty unhinged.

[Shiva]

54 minutes ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

I don't watch Candace Owens, nor is this relevant to the discussion. Once again, Reckless Ben has backed up his statements with proof and evidence, which B&M have failed to do repeatedly. To straight up call  Ben the villain in this situation is pretty unhinged.

I did not call Ben a villain. I wrote: "Ben not a villain? couple mistakes? I would say that he did more than mistakes.", as a reply to one of your posts. Complete post is on page 4.

 

[Darth_Bane13]

11 minutes ago, Shiva said:

I did not call Ben a villain. I wrote: "Ben not a villain? couple mistakes? I would say that he did more than mistakes.", as a reply to one of your posts. Complete post is on page 4.

That sounds like you're Implying ben is the villain. This whole time you've been arguing against Ben, haven't seen you say anything against B&M.

[Shiva]

1 hour ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

That sounds like you're Implying ben is the villain. This whole time you've been arguing against Ben, haven't seen you say anything against B&M.

Read again. Things are not Black and White.

Against B&M? " B&M has it made worse".

Others have made their comments against B&M loud and clear. And many been quite one sided, you included. 

I certainly would not call Reckless Ben a hero in this case. I'm not the first to write "villain" in this thread, but I am the first to write "hero".

And regarding the gofundme? Seems it is a really good cash cow for Bryan and Ben Mansell. Right now $490,100 of $500,000 USD.  Was it in late may that gofundme was created?

Unless Benjamin Paul Schneider runs away with that cash. Not that likely, right? Even if Reckless Ben gets a "finders fee" of 10%, Bryan And Ben Mansell, will have done quite the deal of this.

What was the high estimate of the collection? 200,000USD? Others say it was more like 100,000USD?

[anothergol]

6 hours ago, Shiva said:

Unless Benjamin Paul Schneider runs away with that cash. Not that likely, right? Even if Reckless Ben gets a "finders fee" of 10%, Bryan And Ben Mansell, will have done quite the deal of this.

I think the mcneff would like all of it to go into their & their lawyer's pockets, and I wouldn't be too surprised if it ends up that way. I think for safety the Mansel should have created the gofundme, not Ben.

[JesseNight]

7 hours ago, Shiva said:

Unless Benjamin Paul Schneider runs away with that cash. Not that likely, right? Even if Reckless Ben gets a "finders fee" of 10%, Bryan And Ben Mansell, will have done quite the deal of this.

What was the high estimate of the collection? 200,000USD? Others say it was more like 100,000USD?

Nobody knows for sure, but I've seen estimates well under 100k. The total collection's worth was roughly GUESSED about 200k on a first impression by Chrystal, later verified to be more around 100k give or take, but the part that was still owed and unpaid to the Mansells is what matters here and that was a lot less because it's (1) only a percentage for the sets that are sold, and (2) some have in fact been paid already.

Whether or not they get a good deal out of this is going to depend how things turn out in court. Let's not forget that Ben and Bryan are still sued by B&M for over a mill damages to the brand, and that story is not over yet. He just can't cover it anymore since he's forbidden to speak about the company in the media. No clue when that's gonna go to court and whether someone else is close enough to cover it.

[Shiva]

Yeah, Mansell should have created that gofundme and with a bit different wordings than what Reckless Ben did. 

Brand damage? that is big. Even the B&M franchisee's are affected. And their employees too.

[anothergol]

 

[Trekkie99]

On 6/12/2026 at 11:06 AM, danth said:

I love this because "he's no angel" is literally a meme that pokes fun about how bad people will go through a good person's entire life history to find any imperfections in order to assassinate their character. Like when cops shoot a kid, and then find out the kid got detention once in school, and release that to the media. 

I think of Restless Ben as "chaotic good" -- his heart is in the right place but he uses any means necessary to fight. I kinda wish more good guys were like this actually... 

And of course, part of why he does this stuff is to make a name for himself, and get clicks. Everyone has to pay the bills somehow. 

^
There's a reason this played out the way it did and it was literally explained by BAM themself when they threatened to draw out a lawsuit against them to the point of it being financially unviable for Bryan.

Does Ben "do a little trolling"? Yeah.
Was it justified to bring attention and serve justice assuming the usual routes would fail? Abso-fricking-lutely

The systems put in place to protect people have been gamed to hurt some and benefit others (this is true for so many things that are a billion trillion times more serious than some Lego). You're gonna have to break a few eggs to fix it or at the very least serve justice in a case by case manner.
Anyone can recognize this is systemic, including the now upset benefitters.

[danth]

14 hours ago, anothergol said:

 

What is really interesting about this video is that he calls out the Lego youtube community as a bunch of cowards. Both this guy, and Bryan Mansell, got no help from Lego youtubers since so many of them were afraid to piss off BAM. 

So I don't want to hear another word disparaging Reckless Ben unless we first address all the youtubers who were too chickensh*t to help. 

Edited June 15 by danth

[JesseNight]

2 hours ago, danth said:

So I don't want to hear another word disparaging Reckless Ben unless we first address all the youtubers who were too chickensh*t to help. 

If you look at how much trouble it got Ben into, I'm not surprised not everyone wanted to risk that. Some people have more to lose than others, especially if their content is their main source of income.

[Shiva]

7 hours ago, danth said:

What is really interesting about this video is that he calls out the Lego youtube community as a bunch of cowards. Both this guy, and Bryan Mansell, got no help from Lego youtubers since so many of them were afraid to piss off BAM. 

So I don't want to hear another word disparaging Reckless Ben unless we first address all the youtubers who were too chickensh*t to help. 

Is it totally OK to drag down all Bricks and Minifigs franchisees? That's what some do. Ok, more than a few.

And what was really the cash amount of the unsold sets?

Myself, I would NOT want the type of help Reckless Ben gives. But, who knows, there might be some that still would want it.

 

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/12/and-now-basically-everyone-in-this-lego-dispute-looks-sketchy/

After reading that. The whole thing is a mess. With Reckless Ben making it even worse. For, everyone that was in the mess from the beginning. And those that has zero to do with it. 

I won't disparage Reckless Ben, I would virtually keelhaul him. No not IRL and no, not on internet either.

The Last Relic , that was left with half a mill USD in debt? His shop looked a bit.... interesting. You can watch that video for yourself.

[Darth_Bane13]

12 hours ago, Trekkie99 said:

^
There's a reason this played out the way it did and it was literally explained by BAM themself when they threatened to draw out a lawsuit against them to the point of it being financially unviable for Bryan.

Does Ben "do a little trolling"? Yeah.
Was it justified to bring attention and serve justice assuming the usual routes would fail? Abso-fricking-lutely

The systems put in place to protect people have been gamed to hurt some and benefit others (this is true for so many things that are a billion trillion times more serious than some Lego). You're gonna have to break a few eggs to fix it or at the very least serve justice in a case by case manner.
Anyone can recognize this is systemic, including the now upset benefitters.

Well said.

9 hours ago, danth said:

What is really interesting about this video is that he calls out the Lego youtube community as a bunch of cowards. Both this guy, and Bryan Mansell, got no help from Lego youtubers since so many of them were afraid to piss off BAM. 

So I don't want to hear another word disparaging Reckless Ben unless we first address all the youtubers who were too chickensh*t to help. 

No no you don't understand, putting a fake sign over the real B&M sign is just as bad as stealing Lego sets from an old man in the hospital. 

2 hours ago, Shiva said:

I won't disparage Reckless Ben, I would virtually keelhaul him. No not IRL and no, not on internet either.

?

[TeddytheSpoon]

5 hours ago, Shiva said:

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/12/and-now-basically-everyone-in-this-lego-dispute-looks-sketchy/

After reading that. The whole thing is a mess. With Reckless Ben making it even worse. For, everyone that was in the mess from the beginning. And those that has zero to do with it. 

That article is a good summary: everyone seems to have their own vested interest in this situation.

Ben is the person that comes out of it the best, but I maintain that the way he's gone about it (at least publicly) could've been handled in a smarter way. I don't have a problem with his methods per se, but maybe just allude to the more dodgy aspects rather than spelling it out for the court!

12 hours ago, danth said:

What is really interesting about this video is that he calls out the Lego youtube community as a bunch of cowards. Both this guy, and Bryan Mansell, got no help from Lego youtubers since so many of them were afraid to piss off BAM. 

I don't love the co-opting of the #MeToo hashtag, but otherwise good video. I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear more stories about B&M's dodgy business practices surface as the weeks go by.

[JesseNight]

15 hours ago, Shiva said:

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/12/and-now-basically-everyone-in-this-lego-dispute-looks-sketchy/

After reading that. The whole thing is a mess. With Reckless Ben making it even worse. For, everyone that was in the mess from the beginning. And those that has zero to do with it. 

Yeah it's a mess. Too many people try to pick 1 side to put all the blame on, while there's plenty of blame to go around.
Props to the writer of that article for the objective approach.

[Shiva]

4 hours ago, JesseNight said:

Yeah it's a mess. Too many people try to pick 1 side to put all the blame on, while there's plenty of blame to go around.
Props to the writer of that article for the objective approach.

What you wrote, is a good short summary of it.

[Darth_Bane13]

18 hours ago, TeddytheSpoon said:

Ben is the person that comes out of it the best

How? He's hiding out in Mexico because he has a warrant out for his arrest. He couldn't even post part 3.

Edited June 16 by Darth_Bane13

[danth]

And now the video I've been waiting for.

 

[TeddytheSpoon]

6 hours ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

How? He's hiding out in Mexico because he has a warrant out for his arrest. He couldn't even post part 3.

From a 'morals' standpoint, I mean. For sure his actual situation is less than ideal.

(Though as stated above, and bad police forces notwithstanding, being a bit more ambiguous when talking about some of the stuff he was doing probably would've helped his case!)

[SpacePolice89]

I find it totally unbelievable that some people even try to defend B&M and say things that there is always two sides to a story when we have solid proof that the owners have been lying and that the Mormon cops are corrupt. What they are doing is criminal in several ways. Some of the tactics used by Reckless Ben are maybe not the most ideal ones but at least he's doing something. 

[JesseNight]

6 hours ago, SpacePolice89 said:

I find it totally unbelievable that some people even try to defend B&M and say things that there is always two sides to a story when we have solid proof that the owners have been lying and that the Mormon cops are corrupt. What they are doing is criminal in several ways. Some of the tactics used by Reckless Ben are maybe not the most ideal ones but at least he's doing something. 

Because the case in its entirety is more complex than that. The business model, the franchisees, and who even has the LEGO in the end? A lawsuit only works out if you know who is guilty and serve the right person with the right accusations (and evidence obviously). If nobody knows where the LEGO is, and franchisees, ex-franchisees, and overlapping B&M Corporate all start pointing fingers at each other it becomes a difficult story. Wish it were simpler... (ftr I'm not defending B&M but also not blindly pointing at one single party)
 

9 hours ago, danth said:

And now the video I've been waiting for.

I haven't watched it yet, but I'm already lmao that another is joining the YT "fame" and using the long proven false $200k number 
[Edit] Thought it was serious LOL

Edited June 17 by JesseNight

[danth]

On 6/15/2026 at 10:25 PM, TeddytheSpoon said:

Ben is the person that comes out of it the best

17 hours ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

How? He's hiding out in Mexico because he has a warrant out for his arrest. He couldn't even post part 3.

I think @TeddytheSpoon is saying Ben comes out looking the least scummy. 

And @Darth_Bane13 interpreted "comes out the best" as "getting the most benefit" and pointed out that Ben didn't seem to benefit at all. 

Edited June 17 by danth