Any Reddit users out there? Yesterday, a fan emailed me saying that they've set up an entire subreddit for R.R. Slugger! ❤ The link to join is right here: www.reddit.com/r/rrslugger/
@@donsanchodelapanza Indeed - it seems like Discord is headed the same direction with it's username nonsense too. 😕 At least TH-cam will always be a user-friendly haven! ...right? 😅
@@RRSlugger honestly I'm hoping for some decentralised platforms to start taking off like Peertube, Lemmy, Mastodon... admittedly, haven't really gotten into them myself yet
I really like the idea of sets like these, designed to encourage creativity within loose parameters rather than just one specific build. It feels more in the spirit of what LEGO fundamentally is. But I'm very much against tying it into digital media. Not only is it far more ephemeral, as you pointed out, but vast percentage of my time is spent looking at a screen already, for both my work and recreation. When I'm building a LEGO set, I want it to be a chance to take a break from computer screens, and I'll always prefer the tactile experience of turning the pages of a physical instruction book over scrolling a digital version on my phone.
My main gripe about the premise of digital-only instructions is the idea of having to specifically *_install_* an app for it, AND to have a tablet to do so. Not everyone has a tablet (let alone specifically an iPad), not everyone is okay with the idea of installing yet another app on their devices. If there were a web browser version that was just as functional, I'd have zero issues with it, as a desktop monitor is more than large enough for such shenanigans and it doesn't involve _installing_ something.
The Lego sets and themes tied to an app like Hidden Side and Vidiyo generally don't do well because parents look for something else to offer to their kids than spending time on a screen when they buy Lego toys, as I heard.
Kinda makes me miss the system days, when the instructions/ packaging came with images of alternate builds, but let you figure them out on your own, through trial and error, which made it more rewarding for becoming master builders.
The #1 argument against the Missions sets, the music video sets, and the "use your phone to reveal ghosts" sets was this: we give Legos to our children to get them _off_ the tablets and crap, not so they can spend _more_ time with them.
Incredible video, as usual. One of my favorite things about this channel is highlighted here. You approach every set as its own experience *and* within the context of just being a regular buyer while also touching on the Collectors perspective. The only down side is this channel has me fighting off the lego lusting demon inside me lol. I'm oh so tempted to give in!
I bought 2 of the missions sets for my 7 year old and she loved them both - they really worked in engaging her with the story and getting her to built creatively rather than following instructions.
You nailed what I feel about it - cool series with potential, that unfortunately doomed to fail from the start. I really wanted for this to be a thing for long, because it actually could've been cool "Parts packs with purpose". Thanks for video about it
I am all for physical media AND digital, with both filling in as backups. Solely relying on one or the other is limiting and can lead to lost media. Physical has the issue of the storage device expiring or braking easily, while digital depends on who runs the storage servers. Thats why having multiple working copies and storage methods is key for preservation.
It’s a shame the way these apps try to expand play but end up limiting it in the long run. I’m curious if the hidden side app still works if already installed or reinstalled from a library? LEGO Mario will probably take a big hit from this due to how much the app is supposed to support gameplay
Back in the early 2010s or so there was a range of lego books called Brickmaster (no not that one) that were very similar to that original mars mission book. A few bags of pieces, and instructions for several different models you could make with them. They had them for Pirates, Castle, Star Wars, Chima, Atlantis and probably more. Very fond memories of those
I think the Lego Group shoots itself in the foot every time they put down another set supporting app. Everyone sees that and I think it is the main reason for those app integrated sets sell much worse then they should. Everyone already knows that it won't last and part of the play features will be lost like it was with hidden side, vidiyo and probably some others on the past and future
Congratulations on your first year of being a MasterBuilder RR Slugger! Just happened to be rewatching this one and realized the date you completed each model in the book was exactly one year ago today!
The Busy City Masterbuilders set was one of my very first Lego sets! I can't believe I forgot about it! I loved that minifig with the blue cap and green vest--I took him EVERYWHERE.
The amount of oldschool pieces in that Spaceship mission set made me happy, it even had the old X-Wing cockpit shield in white. It looks like a cool set!
3059 is literally the first Lego set i ever got lol each of ur vids feels dangerous because they temp me to pickup old stuff I used to have Ps: I bought a mint condition one after commenting
I've never not build without physical instructions, except some small sets. With those I like to try to build them just off of the picture on the box. I enjoy it because it's more of a challenge I guess, and it makes the build time longer. Thank you for the video, Slugger. I was wondering what these sets were like.
I owned the 2000 Mission set as a kid and totally forgot until right now!!! Another fantastic video Slugger, thanks for letting me relive my childhood :)
Hey Slugger! Just wanted to let you know there is a (4th?) Mars Mission. In 2003 LEGO and FIRST LEGO League released the Mars Mission Challenge Set. Just a cool thing i found.
I wonder what exactly is the deciding factor that made the modern series not do as well. Is it the pricepoint? lack of paper instructions? the name? are non-licensed sets just not selling right now? I would be curious to know.
Dude, I’ve found your channel and been binging your stuff. You seem to have the same attention to small details I had and an appreciation for the same 90s-early 00s themes from my childhood. The videos evoke the memories of endlessly flipping through the 1997-1999 catalog pages and dreaming of various sets shown there, as well as getting a flash of nostalgia each time I notice a set or a piece I had as a kid. Overall, great content and great presentation, keep it up. P.S. Any love for Hydronauts and Stingrays?
Wowwww, the X-pod mention really brought me back. Idk if they’d be considered good by today’s standards, but the theme certainly inspired a lot of robot builds for me haha
I will always have a soft spot for the mid/late 2000s mars mission theme. It was the first theme I managed to get most of the sets for as a kid,including the big base set with the air pump. It’ll never be as fondly remembered as rock raiders or classic space,and to be fair its heavy usage of stickers across multiple parts (and the stickers themselves!) aged like milk. But the theme was cool to kid me and I missed it when there weren’t new sets coming out.
I absolutely love the space mission set! I had to get it on day one. Really love the build. But it has 2 things I'd change. Offer a PDF for the main shuttle build rather than having to go through the missions again. And it needs more generic pieces, like plates small tiles, cylinders cones wings etc. It would go a long ways to making more diverse builds. Some pieces are always going to be an engine piece if you know what I mean. It's also hard to build larger engines and wings. But I guess this encourages you to mix it with your own. I'm glad the price was dropped to 32 USD which is much better IMO. To me this set is like Lego is going back to its roots, encouraging out of box thinking and building, like the alt builds used to do on the back of the box.
3:07 I'm pretty sure I myself own 3 or so copies of Eight Legged Freaks. That on top of a copy of ice spiders and probably more giant spider movies. I'm not sure I can describe those films as "good", but I'm a sucker for anything with spiders!
Its sort of like a choose your own adventure set i love it. Imagine how cool this would be with a larger scale such as building an entire base and guiding your astronauts. It could even be an educational opportunity to learn about near future technolgies we might see in our life time
I really loved 3059 as a child. The variety of sets was extremely fun to play with and because i didn't have to buy it myself the high price luckily no impact on my enjoyment. The mention of set 6353 also threw me back to some many adventures i've had with it, incredible video.
I do not have the courage to put The Chief's teal robo-arm on other minifig bodies. I'd be too worried about breaking it and needing to drop $500 for a replacement.
While physical instructions have their place, the possibilities that come with adding story too and "game-ifying" digital instructions are insane. Not to be a stereotypical G1 Bionicle fan, but one of the reasons Bionicle did as well as it did was because you could find the sets being important characters in the story, with comics sometimes showing up in the instruction booklets themselves. Imagine if you followed the story of the character you bought, building them as they emerged from their canister, giving them their weapons and mask as they found them on the island nearby their crash site. Of course this can extend beyond the Bionicle example, but I'm trying to impart less the idea that "instructions can be more fun" and more the idea of "instructions can be a lot more than just instructions". Granted, it would kind of suck if you bought a character set and the interactive video that came with was one where they sacrifice themselves for the greater good, but maybe those can just be specials distributed elsewhere.
3059 wasn't available here in Germany, so, as a Space collector, I bricklinked the parts list. What I miss about the set is a bigger amount of simple plates like 2x4; 2x6; 1x6 or 1x8 to connect all the blocky bricks that are contained. I's really like to see the book, though, to see what LEGOs ideas were. Sadly, I haven't found any scans yet. For the modern missions: I have the space and wildlife one. Generally a good idea that was let down by an app that doesn't run stable on my "ancient" cell phone. Which is weird when you consider that the instructions of the basic models are only a sequence of pictures and the videos (available in many languages, so thumbs up here!) are streamed by Amazon services.
hey, that non-Fabuland net is actually the net from the original run of LEGO Spongebob! loved that Pineapple set and the trans-pink chef hats for the jellyfish.
I have a good sized box of instruction booklets which I have saved over the years. It is very heavy, heavy enough to hurt myself if I'm not careful when moving it. Many of the instructions are not in good condition, because I did not always treat them carefully while trying to dig up particular instructions. And speaking of which, it takes about as long to find a particular instruction as it does to find all the pieces it needs. So, I really appreciated learning that LEGO kept an archive of instructions on their website, and by extension, their app. Incidentally, it makes me feel like they will be preserved longer than many of my physical booklets could hope to be. Plus it means I don't have to move the box. It can remain in its corner, to be occasionally fed.
I'm glad this set finally gets some positive recognition... even if it's too late. The other two Missions sets don't appeal to me at all, then again I enjoy sci-fi way more than city anyway. That price to part ratio on the original Mars Mission set oof... At least you can find the modern one for about 50% off. Seeing this video in my notifications was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one!
I want to make a set called “master builder” where you get a decent amount of parts each set being bigger. You get a random selection of parts made in 3 colors plus 4 random figure parts. All it would come with is a card that gives you a prompt to make with the parts. Maybe each one would have 150-200 pieces. So there would be no way to know which one you got you just got the parts box. There would be like 6 different prompts with the entire color palette available. In addition one set that you know the prompt called the master builder academy where you get 800-1000 pieces, a dedicated master builder plus 4 other minifig’s worth of parts, a brick for the building name, then the rest could have 5 possible colors but what parts are in it are random. Meaning each one would be different from the other. Even stuff from licensed themes could appear in these sets and you work with it. It would be difficult for some less creative individuals but a good fun challenge for those who want parts or experiment. Every one will be different
The interactive story gives me a similar feeling to the dark unicorn dreamzzz set which had a pretty cool comic while building that actually did make things feel more engaging
This video prompted me to try one of these sets, thanks! My child has really enjoyed this set so far. The imaginative play potential is really high and I appreciate the "base build" + creativity concept of the series: it is something I hope Lego does more of in the future. The videos are fun and we liked the build music. The build instructions and application were (mostly) navigable without help although they did get hung up a few times on what the app was asking them to do and I had to help. In particular the "play time" thing wasn't clear to them. I wish the free build prompts had suggested some more ideas instead of just the builds like: "How will you contact the scientists at base? What will you need for animals that are only awake at night?" I really wish there was a PDF version of the instructions instead of the app. I think a comic book format would have been awesome to drop the technology requirement and would have been just as fun of a parent + child activity. They really got a sense of pride by completing the model themselves and were bragging that they "didn't need the instructions or any help!" by the end.
I loved reading your review of the set here! Glad to hear it made your kid happy. 😊 I too was really confused by the “play time” sections. Having to click on “Play Complete” after each of them felt weird, haha. I think the idea of an offline comic book version would be cool to see - maybe we’ll get something like that in LEGO DreamZzz?
@@RRSlugger I hope beyond hope that LEGO DreamZzz's comics or novels are good. I found the show pretty terrible and don't plan to share it with my kids- for many of the reasons you outlined in your review. But, also, because quite simply, their approach to dreams is simply too scary for my 6yo. They would lose their minds to the idea that a dream could have real life consequences like the implication from Ep1 that a kid is missing from school because of a dream. Surprisingly, the New Lego Friends show is great comparatively- very useful stories to spark conversation about conflict resolution and navigating friendships.
I share your concerns regarding apps instead of physical booklets, especially since I don't have a mobile phone and can't scan those qr-codes. With the Bricklink-sets, which I enjoyed, there were also no physical instructions: a handy printer printed the digital versions for me, and thus I was able to build them with an offline printed copy instead of going online for the instructions. Such a thing would be even more difficult with this modern mars mission set, since it's not just a booklet, but a whole app-experience. I think that two decades for now, when the app will long be offline, it will just be a parts set instead of the experience that it is now.
Also, it was kind of like a sub theme within crater three in one, but there is the sets with multiple different builds more than three and one. If you look it up it’s called ferocious creatures Lego set. I actually did a video on it to
The original Mars Mission was my first ever Lego set, and I got it used in like 2006. Got a lot of fond memories with it! Kinda want to track down a sticker sheet now because it didn’t come with any lol
That stream makes a lot more sense now, wonder why LEGO city keeps funding these Mars Missions? I worry that they might be pulling an America on the local Martians
I had that original mars mission! I remember being so bummed the set didn't come with the crystals in the book. I had to wait until power miners to get them haha
Great review again. Yeah the missions are neat, if you get them in a sale. I don't know why many people are passing up on this space set. It's nearly just a creator set/
"Personally, For Me, In My Opinion" -- what, you didn't feel like breaking out the 'Hot Take' sunglasses? 😜 In the US, Lego has put the 'Missions' sets on 20% sale, from 40 USD (a shade steep) to 32 (much more palatable for 250-300 parts and an app that may or may not stick around -- including the unique elements you pointed out). Sounds like other retailers have done the same.
I have the Lego City Missions sets and TBH I only bought them for the Bionicle GWP along with a Yellow Classic box (Big waste of time I know,) but I found them to be quite fun.
Here's the thing with almost every successful theme...it takes time and many iterations before the whole theme is successful. People know what to expect out of a City Fire Department or Town Square. Also, it doesn't seem like LEGO did a good job of getting kids excited about Missions. If you think about the Missions main feature (build with Story vs instructions), they should have put that in the back seat to a box that would really WOW! kids and have them yanking their parent's sleeves for a Missions set instead of a Ninjago, Minecraft, Marvel, Friends, or whatever else catches a kids' fancy. In the end, LEGO Missions is competing for attention versus every other LEGO set out there. It's too bad, I would like to have seen more longevity in this subtheme, because it's a great direction. Hopefully they will continue/resurrect this core idea within other themes. That is...personally, for me, in my opinion.
The fact that this failed is so sad to me. I just now learned that the instructions were a whole app experience and not just incomplete instructions telling you to do whatever you want with the leftovers. I have always thought alternate builds are something the lego group should focus on, and a mission-like set for licensed themes would be amazing in my opinion. Sadly, the lego group will probably read this as a lack of interest in alternate builds as a whole, so I doubt we'll see any official alternative builds for star wars or marvel anytime soon.
@@yuotueb yeah but dreamzz also has the pricing problems. And it seems like the show didn't receive much love either, so we have yet to see how well the sets do on shelves
I don’t understand why LEGO keeps pushing for sets tied into apps when it is just proven time and time again that their customers just want physical products. Every single time the company tries to integrate apps into the products they lose money. In my experience trying to sell LEGO sets I found that not only did customers not want app connectivity but they were outright hostile towards it. They need to get that message through their heads and just stick with normal toys.
Very interesting about the masterbuilders series, I had no idea they even existed! Nice job on the video, had a very nice flow👍 I noticed your remark at 3:54, and was curious if you knew about the built in screen recorder on modern versions of iOS. I've used it for gameplay clips and my experience with the quality of captures has been positive. I use iTunes on my PC to move the file for editing, after that I've moved the video to an accessible folder like chrome downloads that both the iPad and PC can see, a bit of a pain but I might pick up a lighting thumb drive in the future to ease the process. Alternatively, Quicktime on mac can directly record the screens of iDevices, especially helpful when recording apps that have been removed from the store on older iOS versions without the screen recorder. If your app clips in this video are a stylistic choice that are here better represents the true user experience, I completely respect and appreciate that, but just wanted to let know that direct captures are possible if you ever come across such a need in the future. If you didn't already know that is 😅 9:50 rip Lego Photo iOS, I recently saw Lego's "new"ish modern mosaic kiosk at the Mall of America and it made me sad 😢 I would rather lego to just leave their apps to quitely decay instead of removing them. Even better would be to release all the materials to make them somehow, so that the could be converted into videos or pictures or something... Oh well maybe someday haha.
Gosh, you know, I wasn't expecting RR Slugger to request that all paper instructions for Lego products to be rounded up and destroyed! But, hey, I guess that's just his opinion! (Just kidding RR! I use the PDF instructions all the time since I like building at my smaller desk setup and I wouldn't have room for the book.)
The fact that lego is still trying to do alternate builds is at least commendable, hearing that it’s not selling well in slugger’s area is disappointing as my area seems to have theirs for a while then poof it’s gone! It’s concerning that most people aren’t buying them when the whole lego community is wanting alternative builds again yet it doesn’t do well. Whenever I go to the toy aisle people automatically go get a Star Wars set or something else like hot wheels than anything else but it still ends up being full of products with a couple of people at most.
I think modern Missions suffers from two things: One, app integration isn’t something that most consumers look for in Lego. And two, the price is high enough that it competes directly with larger sets, how many kids are really going to pick this over the gaming tournament truck or the mobile crane set? The novelty of the app definitely has value, it’s just not the type of obvious value you’d get from a lager set with a dedicated gimmick and that makes Missions a harder sell.
I have a few lego vidiyo minifigs, I never cared for the app I just bought them because they were on sale and in my opinion looked cool. The bright colours reminds me of how computer parts used to look in the early 2000s and it's a look I'm very fond of, I find the minifigs also pair really well with lego Chima and lego Monsterfigters which are two other themes I really enjoyed Soo yknow, at least they succeeded in something
It feels to me like they went 75% on the freedom and creativity that they've lost focusing on the licensed themes, restoring the original take on a theme and in a sense, alt builds for inspiration and variety. But, that last 25% fell flat the moment a computer got involved. I'm no Luddite, but for something aimed at children, I have a much greater appreciation for the tangible. When we were young, we learned quickly that if we wanted to keep our instructions around, we needed to take care of them. I can imagine the frustration instead of not understanding that Lego didn't want to pay to keep your instructions around. To really complete the creative angle, I feel hand-drawn/cartoon, or even short story driven instructions would've been more on target. I'd save the development and hosting costs and pay an artist and storyteller instead.
"There will come a day when the missions experience is gone for good." Software *really* doesn't have to erode faster than physical media like that. I can still play Doom or Caesar 3 or, like, Ken's Labyrinth whenever. It's a problem with some recent things being so terribly cloud-reliant and living in walled gardens like Apple's iOS
The new set has indeed fleeting experience. Got that set since I'm really into the new city/space sets. App couldn't install on phone and I gave up. Nice parts tho
Yeah, i bought animal rescue missions just for animal pieces, but i was really suprprised how good was the app part, and extra points for language localisation and full Polish dubbing. Overall it was nice 60-90 minutes experience and i bought exact one for my nece/nesse (don't mnie how to spell right "my sisters doughter)
Any Reddit users out there?
Yesterday, a fan emailed me saying that they've set up an entire subreddit for R.R. Slugger! ❤
The link to join is right here: www.reddit.com/r/rrslugger/
Cool ill join
Neat
Pity about the whole API debacle tho
@@donsanchodelapanza Indeed - it seems like Discord is headed the same direction with it's username nonsense too. 😕
At least TH-cam will always be a user-friendly haven! ...right? 😅
@@RRSlugger honestly I'm hoping for some decentralised platforms to start taking off like Peertube, Lemmy, Mastodon... admittedly, haven't really gotten into them myself yet
I think the space one is the best because there’s so many shapes a spaceship can have but the others are just a boat and a trunk
I have a strong sci fi bias, but yeah - the other two didn't appeal to me that much.
Animal one has 3 unique animals
@@Lordodragonss Hmmm good point!
The trunk got almost all of the 6 animal genuses idk mammals birds reptiles amphibians and fish
Crocodile a lot of extra pieces and some other sruff
I really like the idea of sets like these, designed to encourage creativity within loose parameters rather than just one specific build. It feels more in the spirit of what LEGO fundamentally is.
But I'm very much against tying it into digital media. Not only is it far more ephemeral, as you pointed out, but vast percentage of my time is spent looking at a screen already, for both my work and recreation. When I'm building a LEGO set, I want it to be a chance to take a break from computer screens, and I'll always prefer the tactile experience of turning the pages of a physical instruction book over scrolling a digital version on my phone.
My main gripe about the premise of digital-only instructions is the idea of having to specifically *_install_* an app for it, AND to have a tablet to do so. Not everyone has a tablet (let alone specifically an iPad), not everyone is okay with the idea of installing yet another app on their devices. If there were a web browser version that was just as functional, I'd have zero issues with it, as a desktop monitor is more than large enough for such shenanigans and it doesn't involve _installing_ something.
how to counter the asteroids: just dont build them
Loved the MiniSlugger cameos.
The Lego sets and themes tied to an app like Hidden Side and Vidiyo generally don't do well because parents look for something else to offer to their kids than spending time on a screen when they buy Lego toys, as I heard.
Kinda makes me miss the system days, when the instructions/ packaging came with images of alternate builds, but let you figure them out on your own, through trial and error, which made it more rewarding for becoming master builders.
Ninjago brickbox has them!
I know that the 2014 Minecraft crafting box has those as well, i definitely remember i tried, and succeeded to build one of them.
The #1 argument against the Missions sets, the music video sets, and the "use your phone to reveal ghosts" sets was this: we give Legos to our children to get them _off_ the tablets and crap, not so they can spend _more_ time with them.
I really appreciate the positivity in this video, especially towards ephemeral experiences.
I sure could use some of that!
Still the best lego yt channel by FAR
Incredible video, as usual. One of my favorite things about this channel is highlighted here. You approach every set as its own experience *and* within the context of just being a regular buyer while also touching on the Collectors perspective.
The only down side is this channel has me fighting off the lego lusting demon inside me lol. I'm oh so tempted to give in!
I bought 2 of the missions sets for my 7 year old and she loved them both - they really worked in engaging her with the story and getting her to built creatively rather than following instructions.
Awesome! ❤️
You nailed what I feel about it - cool series with potential, that unfortunately doomed to fail from the start. I really wanted for this to be a thing for long, because it actually could've been cool "Parts packs with purpose". Thanks for video about it
I am all for physical media AND digital, with both filling in as backups. Solely relying on one or the other is limiting and can lead to lost media. Physical has the issue of the storage device expiring or braking easily, while digital depends on who runs the storage servers. Thats why having multiple working copies and storage methods is key for preservation.
"Personally, For me, in my opinion" I laughed so hard 😂 Great review and Comparison as always!
Live, Laugh, Love! Haha, thanks! 😊
It’s a shame the way these apps try to expand play but end up limiting it in the long run. I’m curious if the hidden side app still works if already installed or reinstalled from a library? LEGO Mario will probably take a big hit from this due to how much the app is supposed to support gameplay
Back in the early 2010s or so there was a range of lego books called Brickmaster (no not that one) that were very similar to that original mars mission book. A few bags of pieces, and instructions for several different models you could make with them. They had them for Pirates, Castle, Star Wars, Chima, Atlantis and probably more. Very fond memories of those
oh yes, I had the Atlantis and Ninjago ones, and thought of them when they were first mentioned in a video
I had the pirates one; unfortunately I don't remember much of it, but nowadays it lives in the bin
I think the Lego Group shoots itself in the foot every time they put down another set supporting app. Everyone sees that and I think it is the main reason for those app integrated sets sell much worse then they should. Everyone already knows that it won't last and part of the play features will be lost like it was with hidden side, vidiyo and probably some others on the past and future
Congratulations on your first year of being a MasterBuilder RR Slugger! Just happened to be rewatching this one and realized the date you completed each model in the book was exactly one year ago today!
The Busy City Masterbuilders set was one of my very first Lego sets! I can't believe I forgot about it! I loved that minifig with the blue cap and green vest--I took him EVERYWHERE.
That's awesome!!
I have been quite interested in those three sets, but have been waiting for a price drop. I haven't seen it happen at any stores local to me, though.
The amount of oldschool pieces in that Spaceship mission set made me happy, it even had the old X-Wing cockpit shield in white. It looks like a cool set!
3059 is literally the first Lego set i ever got lol each of ur vids feels dangerous because they temp me to pickup old stuff I used to have
Ps: I bought a mint condition one after commenting
Great content! I challenge you to do a mars mission masterbuilder speedrun in an upcoming live stream with splits for each build 😂
It's on my to-do list for sure! ❤
I've never not build without physical instructions, except some small sets. With those I like to try to build them just off of the picture on the box. I enjoy it because it's more of a challenge I guess, and it makes the build time longer.
Thank you for the video, Slugger. I was wondering what these sets were like.
Love the use of the studless baseplate in the thumbnail!
I owned the 2000 Mission set as a kid and totally forgot until right now!!! Another fantastic video Slugger, thanks for letting me relive my childhood :)
Me too
Hey Slugger! Just wanted to let you know there is a (4th?) Mars Mission. In 2003 LEGO and FIRST LEGO League released the Mars Mission Challenge Set. Just a cool thing i found.
Hey, good call! I don't know anything about it, but it's there and it's got the name Mars Mission on it, haha! 😊
I LOVE the one off nautica reference. Low key one of my favorite lego themes, period!
the trooper ending got me
Love me some Canadian classic rock! ❤
FYI if you're in Canada this set is on sale for $40 at Walmart
31 in america
I wonder what exactly is the deciding factor that made the modern series not do as well. Is it the pricepoint? lack of paper instructions? the name? are non-licensed sets just not selling right now? I would be curious to know.
Blame the app
Blame the app, it’s not even real instructions anyways
Me personally, I loved the experience and the build! The meteors especially. I consider it one of my favourite (top 50) sets of nowadays.
Dude, I’ve found your channel and been binging your stuff. You seem to have the same attention to small details I had and an appreciation for the same 90s-early 00s themes from my childhood.
The videos evoke the memories of endlessly flipping through the 1997-1999 catalog pages and dreaming of various sets shown there, as well as getting a flash of nostalgia each time I notice a set or a piece I had as a kid. Overall, great content and great presentation, keep it up.
P.S. Any love for Hydronauts and Stingrays?
Thanks! Glad you found the channel! ❤️
I’m sad to say I don’t have a single Hydronaut or Stingray set. ☹️
@@RRSlugger me neither! Maybe one day, heh
Wowwww, the X-pod mention really brought me back. Idk if they’d be considered good by today’s standards, but the theme certainly inspired a lot of robot builds for me haha
I'm going to dive into the X-Pods in a future video, for sure! I'm a big fan of the board game too!
Few things are as satisfying as opening and closing an x-pod repeatedly.
I will always have a soft spot for the mid/late 2000s mars mission theme. It was the first theme I managed to get most of the sets for as a kid,including the big base set with the air pump. It’ll never be as fondly remembered as rock raiders or classic space,and to be fair its heavy usage of stickers across multiple parts (and the stickers themselves!) aged like milk. But the theme was cool to kid me and I missed it when there weren’t new sets coming out.
that life on mars bit at the start really got me
I absolutely love the space mission set! I had to get it on day one. Really love the build. But it has 2 things I'd change. Offer a PDF for the main shuttle build rather than having to go through the missions again. And it needs more generic pieces, like plates small tiles, cylinders cones wings etc. It would go a long ways to making more diverse builds. Some pieces are always going to be an engine piece if you know what I mean. It's also hard to build larger engines and wings. But I guess this encourages you to mix it with your own.
I'm glad the price was dropped to 32 USD which is much better IMO.
To me this set is like Lego is going back to its roots, encouraging out of box thinking and building, like the alt builds used to do on the back of the box.
I got his set recently and had a nostalgic jab hearing LEGO Universe music used in the app, it’s carrying the legacy of the ill-fated MMO to this day.
I had no idea that’s where the music originated! 😮
"Physical instructions shouldn't be a thing anymore"😱🤯🤯 really the app is super helpful for cataloging all the sets you own!
Brickset is better and more complete
10:07 GAWWWWWWWDDDD DAMNN SLUGGER REALLY LET HIS CANADIAN OUT HERE HEY PAL MAYBE A WARNING NEXT TIME?!?
Hahaha, sorry! #CANCON 😆 🍁
Wow good video it's refreshing to hear you liking a new set and I have to agree the preservation of this set is on a time limit
3:07 I'm pretty sure I myself own 3 or so copies of Eight Legged Freaks. That on top of a copy of ice spiders and probably more giant spider movies. I'm not sure I can describe those films as "good", but I'm a sucker for anything with spiders!
Its sort of like a choose your own adventure set i love it. Imagine how cool this would be with a larger scale such as building an entire base and guiding your astronauts. It could even be an educational opportunity to learn about near future technolgies we might see in our life time
I really loved 3059 as a child. The variety of sets was extremely fun to play with and because i didn't have to buy it myself the high price luckily no impact on my enjoyment.
The mention of set 6353 also threw me back to some many adventures i've had with it, incredible video.
I have the spaceship one, cool build.
I do not have the courage to put The Chief's teal robo-arm on other minifig bodies. I'd be too worried about breaking it and needing to drop $500 for a replacement.
Haha, that's why I bought a spare from Bricklink! Teal arms aren't rare like the old days anymore. 😊
@@RRSlugger wait, what??? Ooooohhhhhh good to know.
While physical instructions have their place, the possibilities that come with adding story too and "game-ifying" digital instructions are insane. Not to be a stereotypical G1 Bionicle fan, but one of the reasons Bionicle did as well as it did was because you could find the sets being important characters in the story, with comics sometimes showing up in the instruction booklets themselves. Imagine if you followed the story of the character you bought, building them as they emerged from their canister, giving them their weapons and mask as they found them on the island nearby their crash site. Of course this can extend beyond the Bionicle example, but I'm trying to impart less the idea that "instructions can be more fun" and more the idea of "instructions can be a lot more than just instructions". Granted, it would kind of suck if you bought a character set and the interactive video that came with was one where they sacrifice themselves for the greater good, but maybe those can just be specials distributed elsewhere.
great video as always! i loved watching your streams and following this video’s development too. :D
3059 wasn't available here in Germany, so, as a Space collector, I bricklinked the parts list. What I miss about the set is a bigger amount of simple plates like 2x4; 2x6; 1x6 or 1x8 to connect all the blocky bricks that are contained. I's really like to see the book, though, to see what LEGOs ideas were. Sadly, I haven't found any scans yet. For the modern missions: I have the space and wildlife one. Generally a good idea that was let down by an app that doesn't run stable on my "ancient" cell phone. Which is weird when you consider that the instructions of the basic models are only a sequence of pictures and the videos (available in many languages, so thumbs up here!) are streamed by Amazon services.
I love Troy. Watch it every night before bed.
I thought about it before as well and I never use the paper books anymore. I always pull out my iPad to build sets.
Nice to see the master builder set show up in a video! I thought the stream where you built them wasn't that long ago but it's already been a month
hey, that non-Fabuland net is actually the net from the original run of LEGO Spongebob! loved that Pineapple set and the trans-pink chef hats for the jellyfish.
My kid loved the animal rescue mission set. I was skeptical as an early 90s lego fan but they loved it.
That’s great to hear!
I have a good sized box of instruction booklets which I have saved over the years. It is very heavy, heavy enough to hurt myself if I'm not careful when moving it. Many of the instructions are not in good condition, because I did not always treat them carefully while trying to dig up particular instructions. And speaking of which, it takes about as long to find a particular instruction as it does to find all the pieces it needs.
So, I really appreciated learning that LEGO kept an archive of instructions on their website, and by extension, their app. Incidentally, it makes me feel like they will be preserved longer than many of my physical booklets could hope to be. Plus it means I don't have to move the box. It can remain in its corner, to be occasionally fed.
Side note: putting the "googly eyes" on the Star Wars 'Gallimimus' looks fantastic.
I'm glad this set finally gets some positive recognition... even if it's too late.
The other two Missions sets don't appeal to me at all, then again I enjoy sci-fi way more than city anyway.
That price to part ratio on the original Mars Mission set oof... At least you can find the modern one for about 50% off.
Seeing this video in my notifications was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one!
I want to make a set called “master builder” where you get a decent amount of parts each set being bigger. You get a random selection of parts made in 3 colors plus 4 random figure parts. All it would come with is a card that gives you a prompt to make with the parts. Maybe each one would have 150-200 pieces. So there would be no way to know which one you got you just got the parts box. There would be like 6 different prompts with the entire color palette available.
In addition one set that you know the prompt called the master builder academy where you get 800-1000 pieces, a dedicated master builder plus 4 other minifig’s worth of parts, a brick for the building name, then the rest could have 5 possible colors but what parts are in it are random. Meaning each one would be different from the other. Even stuff from licensed themes could appear in these sets and you work with it. It would be difficult for some less creative individuals but a good fun challenge for those who want parts or experiment. Every one will be different
The interactive story gives me a similar feeling to the dark unicorn dreamzzz set which had a pretty cool comic while building that actually did make things feel more engaging
This video prompted me to try one of these sets, thanks! My child has really enjoyed this set so far. The imaginative play potential is really high and I appreciate the "base build" + creativity concept of the series: it is something I hope Lego does more of in the future. The videos are fun and we liked the build music.
The build instructions and application were (mostly) navigable without help although they did get hung up a few times on what the app was asking them to do and I had to help. In particular the "play time" thing wasn't clear to them.
I wish the free build prompts had suggested some more ideas instead of just the builds like: "How will you contact the scientists at base? What will you need for animals that are only awake at night?" I really wish there was a PDF version of the instructions instead of the app. I think a comic book format would have been awesome to drop the technology requirement and would have been just as fun of a parent + child activity.
They really got a sense of pride by completing the model themselves and were bragging that they "didn't need the instructions or any help!" by the end.
I loved reading your review of the set here! Glad to hear it made your kid happy. 😊
I too was really confused by the “play time” sections. Having to click on “Play Complete” after each of them felt weird, haha.
I think the idea of an offline comic book version would be cool to see - maybe we’ll get something like that in LEGO DreamZzz?
@@RRSlugger I hope beyond hope that LEGO DreamZzz's comics or novels are good.
I found the show pretty terrible and don't plan to share it with my kids- for many of the reasons you outlined in your review. But, also, because quite simply, their approach to dreams is simply too scary for my 6yo. They would lose their minds to the idea that a dream could have real life consequences like the implication from Ep1 that a kid is missing from school because of a dream.
Surprisingly, the New Lego Friends show is great comparatively- very useful stories to spark conversation about conflict resolution and navigating friendships.
I share your concerns regarding apps instead of physical booklets, especially since I don't have a mobile phone and can't scan those qr-codes. With the Bricklink-sets, which I enjoyed, there were also no physical instructions: a handy printer printed the digital versions for me, and thus I was able to build them with an offline printed copy instead of going online for the instructions. Such a thing would be even more difficult with this modern mars mission set, since it's not just a booklet, but a whole app-experience. I think that two decades for now, when the app will long be offline, it will just be a parts set instead of the experience that it is now.
Wow those masterbuilder book/sets really take me back, I loved them!
8:16 I think almost every sticker sheet is set exclusive😂
Hahaha, you know what? Good point! I never thought of that! 😂😅
Not in those days; they reused sticker sheets more
Then just make them prints bruh@@timewarpdrive77
7:15 I’m pretty sure I have one of those without the stud I’m pretty sure it came in one of the Atlantis sets so maybe it has more history?
Also, it was kind of like a sub theme within crater three in one, but there is the sets with multiple different builds more than three and one. If you look it up it’s called ferocious creatures Lego set. I actually did a video on it to
The original Mars Mission was my first ever Lego set, and I got it used in like 2006. Got a lot of fond memories with it! Kinda want to track down a sticker sheet now because it didn’t come with any lol
I'm shocked to see the come back of the classic x wing cockpit piece in white, just, wow!
It was in a black panther ship last summer. Nice to see it return!
I just noticed these when I saw them on clearance at Walmart yesterday. It actually looks pretty interesting, so I'll probably buy one
Love your videos slugger, you’ll always have at least one sub from me
❤❤❤
That stream makes a lot more sense now, wonder why LEGO city keeps funding these Mars Missions? I worry that they might be pulling an America on the local Martians
I had that original mars mission! I remember being so bummed the set didn't come with the crystals in the book. I had to wait until power miners to get them haha
5:53 omg what’s the cat’s name?
Zuko! 😊
@@RRSlugger omg what a peecious one 🥺
Thanks for sharing some lego sets I didn’t know about
Great review again. Yeah the missions are neat, if you get them in a sale. I don't know why many people are passing up on this space set. It's nearly just a creator set/
Thank you for this video.
I think I will pick one up for the pieces
"Personally, For Me, In My Opinion" -- what, you didn't feel like breaking out the 'Hot Take' sunglasses? 😜
In the US, Lego has put the 'Missions' sets on 20% sale, from 40 USD (a shade steep) to 32 (much more palatable for 250-300 parts and an app that may or may not stick around -- including the unique elements you pointed out). Sounds like other retailers have done the same.
I have the Lego City Missions sets and TBH I only bought them for the Bionicle GWP along with a Yellow Classic box (Big waste of time I know,) but I found them to be quite fun.
Here's the thing with almost every successful theme...it takes time and many iterations before the whole theme is successful. People know what to expect out of a City Fire Department or Town Square.
Also, it doesn't seem like LEGO did a good job of getting kids excited about Missions. If you think about the Missions main feature (build with Story vs instructions), they should have put that in the back seat to a box that would really WOW! kids and have them yanking their parent's sleeves for a Missions set instead of a Ninjago, Minecraft, Marvel, Friends, or whatever else catches a kids' fancy.
In the end, LEGO Missions is competing for attention versus every other LEGO set out there. It's too bad, I would like to have seen more longevity in this subtheme, because it's a great direction. Hopefully they will continue/resurrect this core idea within other themes.
That is...personally, for me, in my opinion.
RR SLUGGER FOREVER RAHHHH
The fact that this failed is so sad to me. I just now learned that the instructions were a whole app experience and not just incomplete instructions telling you to do whatever you want with the leftovers.
I have always thought alternate builds are something the lego group should focus on, and a mission-like set for licensed themes would be amazing in my opinion.
Sadly, the lego group will probably read this as a lack of interest in alternate builds as a whole, so I doubt we'll see any official alternative builds for star wars or marvel anytime soon.
Dreamzzz has alternate builds / modifications integrated into the concept
@@yuotueb yeah but dreamzz also has the pricing problems. And it seems like the show didn't receive much love either, so we have yet to see how well the sets do on shelves
Lego battles made mars mission one of my favorite themes, bad release timing tho, pirates, castle, and mars were dead around the time it came out
This had completely went under the radar for me. Might just have to pick one up and take a look at it. Great video as per usual!
My biggest problem with the space mission set was the trunk on the ship! It kept popping off instead of opening or closing right
Yeah it's easy to overtilt the trunk and rear window to the point where they pry eachother off
I distinctly remembering buying one of those old sets at a book fair lol
I don’t understand why LEGO keeps pushing for sets tied into apps when it is just proven time and time again that their customers just want physical products. Every single time the company tries to integrate apps into the products they lose money. In my experience trying to sell LEGO sets I found that not only did customers not want app connectivity but they were outright hostile towards it. They need to get that message through their heads and just stick with normal toys.
Very interesting about the masterbuilders series, I had no idea they even existed! Nice job on the video, had a very nice flow👍
I noticed your remark at 3:54, and was curious if you knew about the built in screen recorder on modern versions of iOS. I've used it for gameplay clips and my experience with the quality of captures has been positive. I use iTunes on my PC to move the file for editing, after that I've moved the video to an accessible folder like chrome downloads that both the iPad and PC can see, a bit of a pain but I might pick up a lighting thumb drive in the future to ease the process.
Alternatively, Quicktime on mac can directly record the screens of iDevices, especially helpful when recording apps that have been removed from the store on older iOS versions without the screen recorder.
If your app clips in this video are a stylistic choice that are here better represents the true user experience, I completely respect and appreciate that, but just wanted to let know that direct captures are possible if you ever come across such a need in the future. If you didn't already know that is 😅
9:50 rip Lego Photo iOS, I recently saw Lego's "new"ish modern mosaic kiosk at the Mall of America and it made me sad 😢 I would rather lego to just leave their apps to quitely decay instead of removing them.
Even better would be to release all the materials to make them somehow, so that the could be converted into videos or pictures or something... Oh well maybe someday haha.
9:02 what's the asterisk next to the Astro Lab time for?
The use of illegal performance enhancing drugs. (You’ll just have to watch the live stream archive) 😉
Gosh, you know, I wasn't expecting RR Slugger to request that all paper instructions for Lego products to be rounded up and destroyed! But, hey, I guess that's just his opinion!
(Just kidding RR! I use the PDF instructions all the time since I like building at my smaller desk setup and I wouldn't have room for the book.)
That title is totally not an allusion to a tale of two cities at all ;)
The fact that lego is still trying to do alternate builds is at least commendable, hearing that it’s not selling well in slugger’s area is disappointing as my area seems to have theirs for a while then poof it’s gone! It’s concerning that most people aren’t buying them when the whole lego community is wanting alternative builds again yet it doesn’t do well. Whenever I go to the toy aisle people automatically go get a Star Wars set or something else like hot wheels than anything else but it still ends up being full of products with a couple of people at most.
Keep in mind, there's a Poland exclusive lego missions set, which is themed after space, galaxy and all that. But... It's more modern and neon-ey
That sounds exciting! I’d love to know more!
I think modern Missions suffers from two things: One, app integration isn’t something that most consumers look for in Lego. And two, the price is high enough that it competes directly with larger sets, how many kids are really going to pick this over the gaming tournament truck or the mobile crane set? The novelty of the app definitely has value, it’s just not the type of obvious value you’d get from a lager set with a dedicated gimmick and that makes Missions a harder sell.
This review has interested me in the set; hopefully I can pick it up for a good price
I have a few lego vidiyo minifigs, I never cared for the app I just bought them because they were on sale and in my opinion looked cool. The bright colours reminds me of how computer parts used to look in the early 2000s and it's a look I'm very fond of, I find the minifigs also pair really well with lego Chima and lego Monsterfigters which are two other themes I really enjoyed
Soo yknow, at least they succeeded in something
It feels to me like they went 75% on the freedom and creativity that they've lost focusing on the licensed themes, restoring the original take on a theme and in a sense, alt builds for inspiration and variety. But, that last 25% fell flat the moment a computer got involved. I'm no Luddite, but for something aimed at children, I have a much greater appreciation for the tangible. When we were young, we learned quickly that if we wanted to keep our instructions around, we needed to take care of them. I can imagine the frustration instead of not understanding that Lego didn't want to pay to keep your instructions around. To really complete the creative angle, I feel hand-drawn/cartoon, or even short story driven instructions would've been more on target. I'd save the development and hosting costs and pay an artist and storyteller instead.
"There will come a day when the missions experience is gone for good."
Software *really* doesn't have to erode faster than physical media like that. I can still play Doom or Caesar 3 or, like, Ken's Labyrinth whenever. It's a problem with some recent things being so terribly cloud-reliant and living in walled gardens like Apple's iOS
The new set has indeed fleeting experience. Got that set since I'm really into the new city/space sets. App couldn't install on phone and I gave up. Nice parts tho
Yeah, i bought animal rescue missions just for animal pieces, but i was really suprprised how good was the app part, and extra points for language localisation and full Polish dubbing. Overall it was nice 60-90 minutes experience and i bought exact one for my nece/nesse (don't mnie how to spell right "my sisters doughter)