Racingbrick Explains how to fix LEGO Technic, Powered Up, and More

[Unbrickme]

In an in person interview I did with the legendary racingbrick, I asked him many questions regarding powered up, technic itself, gearboxes, and much more. I strongly suggest to watch it, since it provides a ton of useful information. 

 

 

[SaperPL]

I really like this video because for the most of the time, most of the videos reviewing sets from Lego are focusing on specific details of those sets and not the issues with Technic series in general.

And that's a kind of weird niche where reviews are always or mostly about one brand of the product (like with Apple products for example) and there's hardly ever comparison to competition doing something better or just different, it's mostly comparisons to previous sets or from time to time to some custom MOCs. But it creates that feel that there's rarely any constructive critique towards the whole product lineup or the company itself. And if it's not there, we don't really know if our annoyances with the product lineup are just ours only or is there someone who might be in contact with Lego giving them feedback about such issues. And if topics like this are brought up, it should spur discussion on them among community and hopefully it'll get more attention from the company.

That's why I feel like videos like this are really important. And that was a really good talk. I especially liked the part where you made a division of where gearboxes make sense and where they don't as it's often just about squeezing more features into the build even when those specific features are not that playable, especially when they'll end up on a shelf in a display piece set.

[nerdsforprez]

Ooof.... not sure we need this?  Is there a statement here?  A comment? Something to discuss other than just the promotion of your video?  

Better idea, type out the gist here for discussion.  IMO it appears a little too self-promotion-y... 

Edited July 14, 2023 by nerdsforprez

[Toastie]

1 hour ago, nerdsforprez said:

Ooof....

Well, felt the same ...

Best,
Thorsten

[Bartybum]

17 hours ago, nerdsforprez said:

Ooof.... not sure we need this?  Is there a statement here?  A comment? Something to discuss other than just the promotion of your video?  

Better idea, type out the gist here for discussion.  IMO it appears a little too self-promotion-y... 

Idk, I think it's nice to see multiple creators in the same video from time to time, so I thought it was generally fine.

I will say though (and I'm curious to hear what others' views are on this), I think this video is probably better suited for a YouTube than Eurobricks Technic audience, namely because most if not all the opinions raised in the interview are already pretty well known here and have been talked about for the past couple years at least, like the discussions of function vs form, physical C+ controllers, size of sets, etc. Given that, I'm not sure I was the target audience  In any case, I'm sure that newer members will find the interview very valuable

I also kinda dislike the titling, and can't help but feel it's a bit clickbaity. I didn't feel like there was much discussion of how Technic should be run, at least from the perspective I think I'd like, but then again I think it's a pretty drawn out topic so I'm generally left feeling unsatisfied by any discussions of that too.

Regardless, I like the effort of bringing content creators together. On a tangent, it kinda makes me wonder what a monthly Technic-related podcast would be like, where people come together to build, drink and discuss the latest happenings of the Technic theme and community

Edited July 15, 2023 by Bartybum

[aFrInaTi0n]

Too clickbaity to even considered to be watched by me. I better keep my mouth shut for people trying to surf on others reputation for their own good.. but only my personal opinion and there may be others :)

[astyanax]

I enjoyed the vid  but it would've helped if you'd insert pictures of the sets being talked about at the moment they're mentioned, there's plenty room on the sides. 

[kbalage]

We had a nice chat with @Unbrickme, but I have to agree with the others. This forum has many talented and knowledgeable people from the Technic universe, there's no need for the exaggerated titles and expressions. 

[allanp]

TBH I'm starting to feel a little bad for unbrickme. Every time he posts anything here we seem to jump on him, whether it be for pulling weird faces or self promotion or whatever, I mean, we share our MOCs and reviewers share their reviews so why not share his interview with racing brick? While I do agree with others to some extent, I'm not sure the page of negative comments is equal to his "crime" so I also want to balance it out a little, so thanks for sharing @Unbrickme. He's clearly excited to share his stuff with us so maybe unbrickme could start a new topic called "unbrickmes YouTube happenings" or something like that, which he can keep updating with whatever he wants to share with us?

 

[nerdsforprez]

I didn't make my comments to be mean-spirited. I like the enthusiasm of his channel, and the interview is good.  But honestly, there are different mediums for this type of content, and I'm not sure EB is it. I don't see it a problem to place gentle reminders. FB, and plenty of other places encourage posts like this. Not sure EB needs to join in. 

Great video and content, just perhaps "goodness of fit" is the question here. 

 

 

 

[zoo]

I listened to the whole interview and found it interesting. Sure, topics are talked about here on a regular basis but for me it's nice to have a more coherent discussion without the need to read essays every time. I find some posts on here would benefit of a TL;DR section to be honest.

[Unbrickme]

4 hours ago, aFrInaTi0n said:

Too clickbaity to even considered to be watched by me. I better keep my mouth shut for people trying to surf on others reputation for their own good.. but only my personal opinion and there may be others :)

What title would you personally make for the video?

[SaperPL]

9 minutes ago, Unbrickme said:

What title would you personally make for the video?

Interview with RacingBrick where we discuss how we would like the Technic issues to be solved or something like that.

I think the problem with the current topic is that it may indicate that you're explaining what's wrong with Technic to the audience that isn't knowledgeable enough to come up with same conclusions, or even worse, explaining to Lego what they are doing wrong, rather than just discussing the problem stating your opinions on the topic (which actually happened in the video).

[Bartybum]

10 hours ago, Unbrickme said:

What title would you personally make for the video?

I got to talk to RacingBrick about Lego Technic

or

RacingBrick talks about the Lego Technic theme

something like that idk

Edited July 16, 2023 by Bartybum

[Glaysche]

For what it is worth, I thought the title was fine.  I enjoyed watching the interview.  Nothing mentioned was particularly new to the EB community but it was still good for me.  I suspect people at TLG will watch the interview and it’ll be another data point for them to understand the AFOL Technic community which is a good thing.

[Jay Psi]

@Unbrickme Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it. It didn't cover new ground for regulars of the forum, but there will always be newcomers or "Dark Age" returners who would appreciate collating most of the discussions into one place. However, I'm surprised TLG haven't (yet?) been in touch with regards to the title. While I am glad they do not stifle criticism from ambassadors, LUGs, etc., "...How To Fix Lego Technic" implies that it is broken or significantly damaged. Taking a leaf from @allanp, "How To Make Lego Technic Better" would be more appropriate to me, acknowledging what is good while addressing long-standing issues.

18 hours ago, nerdsforprez said:

I didn't make my comments to be mean-spirited. I like the enthusiasm of his channel, and the interview is good.  But honestly, there are different mediums for this type of content, and I'm not sure EB is it. I don't see it a problem to place gentle reminders. FB, and plenty of other places encourage posts like this. Not sure EB needs to join in. Great video and content, just perhaps "goodness of fit" is the question here. 

The Technic Pub thread would have been a good place for this video, if it hasn't been mothballed by now.

[Alex Ilea]

I have watched half of the video (the timestamps the were interesting to me) and I must say that I enjoyed your conversation and opinions. I don't  care about the title as people seem to care here, and at the end of the day it's Youtube, and we know the standard strategy for getting clicks, it's nothing unique. 

 

I would have liked if you talked about Buwizz with Balazs, that one would have started some sparks maybe :)

[gyenesvi]

I liked the video, it's nice to hear both of your opinions about these topics in one discussion, even though things have been discussed elsewhere before, not everybody have read thoset. And of course I suppose the video is originally posted on YT, this thread is just to draw people's attention to it, so it's fine here as well (though agree that a simpler title is enough here).

[Mr Jos]

For me it was a fun to watch video (It would have been on my YouTube feed anyway), and I couldn't agree more with the main topic.

I'm working at the moment on a RM3 project and ran into these same issues. It's a current gen Technic set mixed with an older gen mindstorms set (EV3), and I wanted to operate the functions with either sensors or Lego remote control. 4 motors need to be individually and all possible together be run, so the 2ch remote is out of the box. Using sensors (gyro's) also failed as they drift to much, I used 8 of my 12 gyro sensors to find 3 with 0 drift when 30seconds stationary, but they started quickly drifting after 1minute of moving the levers. Solution was using a PS4 controller, works like a charm, many buttons and gradually able to operate the model, but this makes it harder for the normal user. I got it all set up in like 10minutes total, programming the PS4 part, pairing the devices, but a first time user will struggle.

About the title I do have to admit I thought I would watch RacingBrick show how to repair broken electronics. I'm very interested into that! As I have several broken down EV3 motors. But I'm fine with it, and it did work, attention was drawn, many comments, muuuuch more as whenever I post anything. Always learned, there's no such thing as negative advertisement, it's all about bringing attention to the product. And in this case it fits perfectly in this subforum being Technic/Electronics/Mindstorms.

[johnnytifosi]

On 7/15/2023 at 11:57 AM, allanp said:

TBH I'm starting to feel a little bad for unbrickme. Every time he posts anything here we seem to jump on him, whether it be for pulling weird faces or self promotion or whatever, I mean, we share our MOCs and reviewers share their reviews so why not share his interview with racing brick? While I do agree with others to some extent, I'm not sure the page of negative comments is equal to his "crime" so I also want to balance it out a little, so thanks for sharing @Unbrickme. He's clearly excited to share his stuff with us so maybe unbrickme could start a new topic called "unbrickmes YouTube happenings" or something like that, which he can keep updating with whatever he wants to share with us? 

 

Most people here are probably too old or far up their own a$$ to enjoy stuff. Unbrickme is clearly still young and enthusiastic, probably a bit immature for this forum's audiance, but I still appreciate his content. People are too hard on him, he is still learning. This interview was fine and offered something new to Lego Youtube.

Edited July 17, 2023 by johnnytifosi

[Lipko]

That's the current trend. Very long clickbait titles with a very clickbait splash screen (or whatever it's called) with even more clickbaity annotations. The title was pretty humble according to the current trend.

The video was okay, I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't mentioned as the etalon of the verybestest Technix designers and that I could do 2x better models for half the money than TLG, but whatever

[Mikdun]

Did watch the video and it's more than OK. No problem with it, it is nice to listen to others point of view.

The title could be less "clikcbaity" though, as PoweredUp & Co was only one of the several subjects.

[Unbrickme]

On 7/17/2023 at 1:22 AM, johnnytifosi said:

Most people here are probably too old or far up their own a$$ to enjoy stuff. Unbrickme is clearly still young and enthusiastic, probably a bit immature for this forum's audiance, but I still appreciate his content. People are too hard on him, he is still learning. This interview was fine and offered something new to Lego Youtube.

I appreciate the supporrt, but I am also incredibly grateful for all the honest opinions shared about my video! The only way I can learn, improve, and make better content is if people aren't afraid to criticize me. Reading all of these comments was a nice change of pace from all the "great video" comments I typically get on all my videos. I appreciate the support of my audience, but I value honesty even more

[Toastie]

31 minutes ago, Unbrickme said:

but I value honesty even more

And that is the - in my opinion - very big difference. Valuing honesty over support of a dedicated audience is a major step forward, as far as I am concerned. There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting support. However, throughout my entire research life (> 35 years), I have learned that constructive criticism teaches me so much more and is so much more valuable than any "cool stuff" or any "this is crap" reviews I got after submitting my research proposals. LEGO is not research, but it is the exact same approach when posting in a mature and knowledgeable forum, as EB is: Learning, refining, appreciating, improving, having fun, teasing, challenging, accepting, arguing, and so on and so forth.

This is why I am here (and nowhere else) and why I am enjoying contributions from you and others, and reading the comments - and sometimes replying. And learning a lot.

All the best,
Thorsten

Edited July 19, 2023 by Toastie