LEGO Icons NASA Artemis SLS rocket & pad independent review! 10341

[@JANGsLEGOreviews]

To clarify my dig at the end, I had no idea what other reviewer(s) was/were responsible for the "it's too repetitive" movement (I don't watch them at all these days), but I could tell by the very repetitiveness of the view itself, practically copied & pasted by one live build chatter after another, that it came from 1 or 2 review videos that had a ton of viewership, which almost automatically means the messaging was from LAN because they get the sets long before you & I can buy them. There are a few factors that have little to do with morals that I've seen sometimes contribute to what I feel is unwarranted *negative* product feedback in sponsored reviews. 1) LEGO Marketing sometimes offers products to its contractors without fully indicating what the products are -- there's a theme listed, but not a name -- and occasionally a reviewer will receive something they literally don't want, but they have to cover it anyhow. Reporting metrics of your content is part of your job in the LAN. If you don't do your job, you can be let go. No more thousands of dollars of free sets per year plus hundreds to thousands of dollars of additional freebie allocations nobody ever even talks about. No more ability to repost premade official "designer reviews," "in hand" videos, and fully edited reveal content at the very moment of the company's own 6:00am PST product announcements to maximize viewership, subscriber growth, and most importantly, ad revenue. 2) All of us social media creators are under constant pressure to produce content under threat of obsolescence due to competition or platform changes, so even without the obfuscation of situation #1, sponsored reviewers will strive to cover each of the biggest & most hyped sets even when their schedules are strained or they'd prefer to prioritize differently. 3) There's growing (and of course understandable) viewer concern that sponsored reviewers are biased strongly in favor of their sponsors to the point of shilling, whether or not it's fully true on a case by case basis. Trying to counter this, some reviewers who are naturally overwhelmingly positive about the products (whether subconsciously trying to keep the freebies coming, or just *genuinely* loving this stuff like many do) will occasionally go out of their way to "prove" to skeptics that they're unbiased by overcompensating on the negative side, making a huge deal out of a relatively trivial flaw. Sometimes it's almost a subconscious, reflexive defense tactic, but it's a tactic that really works. I've seen it countless times, the viewer comment "You know person X is honest because they said something negative." In a swipe, swipe, swipe world, creators aren't often rewarded for being thorough, genuine, and honest (including if that means being exceedingly positive all the time because they're positive people who enjoy what they're doing). All that matters is skin-deep appearances, and this isn't even the fault of creators themselves, it's driven by viewer behavior and social media algorithms. I'd just really like to see more average fans viewing & listening actively and critically, not copying & pasting what one person says just because there's a big number next to their name (that includes mine). Critique critique itself, as well as praise. Recognize context. Form your own opinions.

[@pbsraptor]

It’s a really good point. I sometimes sense that some sponsored reviewers are so caught in the loop of building and reviewing to make a living that they get annoyed at sets when it’s not really warranted and is out of step with general consumer sentiment. It was very worth pointing that out.

[@SO-ym3zs]

Well said. I've found it best to ignore/unsubscribe all the LAN channels and just stick with independent channels. You tend to get a much healthier, happier, balanced, more interesting view of the hobby that way. I've found that some of the biggest Lego-themed channels a) fall prey to the sort of lowest-common-denominator hype and extremism and clickbait that drive the social media algorithms and/or b) have superficial, shoddy reviews--never mind the potential ethical compromises of being in bed with Lego behind the scenes. It's a shame that a lot of viewers can't even differentiate between what is clearly more a PR puff piece than an actual in-depth review.

[@petergoodmann9034]

Oh my gosh Jang you are so right. Nobody could have possibly said this any better. And that is why you are the GOLD STANDARD of this business.

[@stevwal]

Great review. I would like to repeat what you mentioned about those reviewers who receive these expensive sets for free directly from LEGO and are contractually obligated to create content about it... The fact that this isn't how you (JANG) operates, is why so many people appreciate your channel so much. You pay for the product, just like a regular consumer. (This is why I personally have stopped subscribing to those other channels now.) Bravo on another good review sir.

[@samwalker8893]

They are contracted to create content BUT lego is very clear. LAN feedback and reviews must be honest and your actual opinions.. they are not contracted to promote or provide only positive feedback

[@wile.e.coyote7666]

@@samwalker8893 ...perhaps, in a perfect world. BUT they often feel concerned about their future presence in LAN and tend to be very very comprehensive - not to say compelled to deliver positive if not biased reviews. They fear to loose LAN membership and thus having to pay for all sets, which represents a huge budget. That's why I unsuscribed to major US Ytubers and have a huge respect towards Jang who pays and feels free to be honest, REALLY honest. MAJOR difference. I don't believe in Santa anymore as we say in EU.

[@rogerhalt3991]

They certainly talk a lot about how prices are justified. Jang has a much more realistic outlook on that as well as most other aspects. Have a lot of respect for Jang

[@harrytodhunter5078]

Ive never understood why people complain about some LEGO Sets being repetitive. How do they expect the set to be built?

[@SO-ym3zs]

It's part of the very nature of Lego. Even if the structure is varied, at the end of the day, all you're doing is clicking pricey pieces of plastic together--and putting stickers on them :) And of course, real-life structures/objects involve lots of repetition and symmetry, so it's to be expected in Lego form.

[@scottborenstein8291]

Exactly.

[@DanFallon1981]

100% agree. All lego is repetitive. click one brick to another then repeat. Honestly if that bugs you get a new hobby!

[@DaveSpies-xu7jp]

To be honest, there are times I genuinely like the repetitive parts of a build, especially if it's part of a set I'm very enthusiastic about. It can become a very Zen like activity, and quite calming. Plus building a rocket is naturally a very specific shape, so it's kind of impossible to achieve the desired results without having a build experience that would become somewhat repetitive. Do people make these same claims about puzzles?

[@amckay003]

The complete model looks REALLY good and I personally think that's enough to get you through the repetitive build experience.

[@mikelalande4683]

Compared to the Eiffel Tower, the repetition in this build is no big deal.

[@welsh3453]

As a general fan of realistic space and NASA, this set is a dream come true. Hope it looks good with the Saturn V, Lunar Lander and ISS!

[@ToaPohatuNuva]

I did not expect how much I appreciated the launchpad part of the set. It looks fantastic all together.

[@MLX1401]

This set looks great and structurally very stable...but why oh why did they have to murder the NASA logo by making it a three-piece sticker 😵‍💫 Stickers in general do not belong to +200 money sets. Anyways, thanks for the great review I'm always happy to see new space themed lego!

[@TheKlausOne]

As always, your perspective as a Lego customer, actually paying for the set out of pocket, gives a completely different value to the review that I find particularly useful when considering purchasing a set. "Is the enjoyment worth the financial sting." An assessment that might be difficult to make for a reviewer getting the set free of monetary cost.

[@empatheticrambo4890]

That is an incredibly impressive structure to look at!

[@stevenreynolds8393]

I also received an extra tan 1 by 2, I think in bag 10 or so. I doublechecked and only two were required, and the third one was extra. Somewhat surprising. I haven't started on the tower yet. I understand it's the same designer as the Lego Eifel Tower, with similar techniques. I managed to get through the Eifel Tower so I should be ok here. I agree the gap over the cross braces seems quite large. I guess the designer just has to deal with limitations of standard pieces. For casual viewing the eyes/brain tends to overlook the gaps and it works. Not looking forward to positioning and aligning the stickers. I'm notoriously bad at handling stickers... even with my tweezers and such. Overall though, I really like the set and looking forward to completing it.

[@stuchly1]

So happy I caught the stream of the building process! Thank you so much for the review! I was surprised to see that even the base (sans the tower) had a whole lot of interesting techniques and NPUs used throughout, and even though that building the tower was a rinse and repeat in many obvious ways it still has some fun little details and the end result looks like a fun display piece.

[@shoua7]

I was freaked out about that leftover 1x2 piece. I checked over and over again just to make sure before moving on. I'm glad it was indeed an extra piece.

[@x-celsius5905]

Still haven't gotten this yet, but I'm hoping to get it soon!! I have the Saturn V, shuttle discovery, ISS, perseverance rover, and the lunar lander, so I gotta add this to my space collection!! Excited to have a Lego space set with an actually accurate launch pad, too!!

[@kraz007]

Looks great... part of the Honeywell when we worked on the avionics for Orion!

[@pierre-luco9056]

I am surprised how much LEGO went all in with the scaffolding/launch platform. Not a set I would personalty buy, but quite impressive! Those stickers are a shame tho.

[@knightsofn1]

I haven't bought it yet and I'm holding off, because from what I see this set looks like a launch tower with a rocket as a side build. For twice the price of the Saturn V set. I've got all the other large space sets so far, but this isn't doing it for me. It doesn't feel essential like the others did.

[@kibavee3295]

I love the level of detailing this set has. This would look right at home in like a small museum even.

[@joshuabrickman1641]

This set looks like lots of cool angles and grateful to actually get some form of launch pad like we used to get back in the day with lego fig sets. Love the review and saw new angles from your footage so I really do appreciate what you do.

[@cyanah5979]

I built it these days, and being a space enthusiasts I clearly can recommend this set. Repetition was not that bad for me, stickers of course are a big let down, especially when there are a lot of prints, too. It's bizarr when you have to apply stickers onto a pre-printed part. However, the end result is stunning and truly makes it an iconic set. Thanks for your great review!

[@radical_dog]

In my eyes, this makes the Saturn V seem like an unbelievably good set. It's taller, it fits on a shelf more beautifully, it's a clever and fun build, and was £105 for 1968 pieces. Or you can spend 2x as much and get a chunky but much less beautiful launch pad, and much smaller rocket - covered in stickers!

[@Rexaburg]

Its huge! Gosh i already imagined how am i gonna clean it, if it get dusty

[@scottborenstein8291]

I use a can of compressed air for cleaning keyboards for my LEGO collection. You should keep them in a room that is as dust free as possible.

[@BIOHAZARD_V2]

The stickers are kind of a dealbreaker to me personally. Saturn V felt like a much better value imo

[@WizardOfOss]

Great review! I'm still on the fence about this set, in part because of those stickers. If only those had been clear backed. And I had rather seen that N AS A logo a bit oversized but without those gaps.... But there's also another issue I have with this set, that might just need some time to be resolved: the Artemis program itself. It just doesn't mean anything to me. At least not yet. The Saturn V and the Lunar Lander, the Space Shuttle, the ISS, all legendary spacecraft that earned their place in history. Artemis still has to do that. For that reason alone I would have rather seen some Soviet spacecraft instead, though I get why that right now would never happen.

[@MrHumbuck]

Thanks for the review Jang! It's not a price I'd be willing to pay for a set, but I can kinda understand why it costs that much. It's very impressive!

[@chrislorusso433]

Seeing this makes think that a minifig scale Mercury Redstone or even a Mercury Atlas would be possible.

[@MOCTurtle4911]

Commented on the wrong video initially. Great coverage of the issues like the gap in the triangle supports, the door for scale and some gapping.

[@davidfisher5507]

Whilst I'm not really a fan of this type of subject this set looks spectacular to me. The base and the tower looks amazing. Would love to build it but can't justify the spend I'm afraid. Great review Jang, as ever.

[@casaito1562]

Love this review! Only 8 minutes on a 3,000 part set YES!👍 just feels like a review from 2017 which I love!

[@nachoreview77]

Having just the rocket assembly and display plaque at a 1/3 of the price would be nice, but the deluxe platform is certainly impressive! Thanks for another great review, Jang

[@michaelyoung7261]

It’s a cool set, almost as good as watching a live launch.

[@greenhill004]

Most launch pads have cutouts because the heat needs to be vented. It looks mostly fine, minus stickers, but I'll stick to my Saturn V.

[@bobgruner]

You mentioned not getting good feedback from the instructions for the sticker placement. Would using the electronic instructions (LEGO Builder), where you can zoom in and out, spin the model around, fix that issue?

[@derek2479]

At 3:10. This wrecks it for me. Do you think that one could buy longer bar pieces and cut them to the right length to make them connect with the bottom of the next layer? They're supposed to be support beams like in the real tower.

[@firefly4f4]

I haven't built my SLS kit yet, but having built a knock-off Saturn V launch tower i can still guarantee that the SLS tower will be a FAR better experience than that was. I'm still haunted by the memories of building that.

[@veganguy74]

Nice review. Once again will implore LEGO to release a command module to go with the Lunar Lander. Probably a little late now, but it’s an obvious companion piece. Interestingly, I’ve had my Saturn V since shortly after date of release and I assembled it shortly thereafter. No obvious signs of yellowing but I do keep it in a basement rec room. Maybe I was lucky to have no issues.

[@wings9925]

Always appreciate your insights. Thank you. One I'll pick up at some point, to go alongside the Saturn V, Lander and Shuttle

[@nukers1234]

Looking forward to buy,build and put it on my Lego NASA shelves 😊

[@colincunningham6385]

Beautiful set, I have some FOMO since I never got the Saturn V. On the fence with this one because of the stickers on the rockets. Great vid as always Jang!

[@scottborenstein8291]

Just built the 1st bag today, I’m looking forward to a great addition to my collection.

[@Benjamin0119]

Good review, JANG, thanks. That is a well done rendition of the the Artemis SLS rocket, pad, and tower. Sure, it could be in scale with the Saturn V, but the rocket might not be interesting enough on its own. I hope the missions end up being successful! We already have the LEGO set now and everything. 😄

[@BrickHQ]

Awesome set I wish some of the details on the rocket weren't stickers

[@wojtekdunaszewski4741]

I belive You could add some kind of "De-dusting Irritation Level" meter to Your reviews. Because looking at that platform...

[@slugbiker]

thanks for the detailed review. the use of stickers is disappointing, especially in comparison to the saturn v set.

[@jeremymnemonic5226]

Very cool seat and wonderful review as always!

[@FluffiestWalrus]

Ha I love that LAN dig thrown in there. There are a lot of benefits of that program, but it is absolutely not without some clear faults

[@LittleBearRomero]

This looks like an awesome set!!! Lots of cute little details it looks like :)

[@carllawson5043]

I deff gotta find place to put this, so when/if i can get it i already know where it is going

[@alestar22]

thanks for the review , quite low price i would say for such a large set

[@mike22vienna]

Hi! I am just wondering, why are you missing one black ring on the one booster at the top?

[@warrennewman5325]

Looks fantastic great detail awesome review jang 👍

[@joevictor53]

It does look good but the real thing is just a bit too new for me to have any feelings about it. When they made the Saturn V, I was already fond of the real thing. If they'd made it as 2 separate sets with just the rocket for a certain price and then the launch tower as an extra one for die hard fans, I probably would've got just the rocket. But I don't think I want to spend so much when 2/3rds of the pieces are going towards a launch tower I don't care for

[@raidri8500]

I also had that extra 1x2 plate 😁

[@SO-ym3zs]

Thanks for a smart, fair review. Thanks even more for staying independent.

[@sapphir8]

The plaque says 3 minutes to orbit? That's markedly wrong. SLS reaches orbit in a little over 8 minutes from launch. No rocket can go that fast to orbit since the g-forces would be too much to handle. I'd like to know where they got 3 minutes and 40 seconds from.

[@RandomJoeseph]

Haven’t built mine yet. What Orion craft can I load?

[@moonshoes11]

This is an impressive set. I like it. Can’t afford it, but I do like it. 👍

[@legobrickabrac]

Its not to bad, not sure its for Me however as I'm not much of a Nasa fan for multiple reasons. Great review Jang I'll watch your videos even when its not a Lego set I'm interested in.

[@343Films]

I would gladly pay an extra $10-15 dollars just to have the set include entirely printed parts. The overall build looks incredible, but those NASA stickers ain't it...

[@tjzp]

I'm holding off building my D&D Set until Jang reviews it, but not sure if this is coming :( All NASA sets are pretty cool though, by definition, so thank you for the detailed video as always!

[@napkinx4341]

really am not fussed with space at all but even i really want this, think it would look fun with space babies on it

[@ranosian1135]

I watched the tail end of the stream where he built this

[@jasonjtg21]

I think it looks great! Absolutely picking it up.

[@JMartinni]

Oh, it's mostly stickers, that's unfortunate. The launch pad looks really good though.

[@jakubmaly9011]

This only shows that Saturn V was imo one of the greatest Lego sets of all time. And a great value for money (was It really just $100?). This just looks small and boring to me. I have a bunch of space sets, but I'm skipping this one. Also, they jumped the gun a bit. Whether this thing actually goes to the Moon is a BIG IF.

[@roccociccone597]

Darn it... Looks like I gotta buy some new legos :D

[@SO-ym3zs]

I would probably get this if it weren't for the stickers. There's no way something so expensive should come with stickers instead of prints.

[@straythorn0117]

Beautiful set

[@lotto77102]

I really love the look of this, the scale is a bit unfortunate but entirely possible to live with. What really kills it for me is the price, $450 AUD is just too much. I'm really getting sick of the huge markups Lego and other toy companies are putting on toys merely because we're off in the middle of nowhere as far as they're concerned. I wish the ACCC could actually do something about price gouging but we're stuck in this horrible cycle of "Just buy it smh" At least Lego isn't pulling a Hasbro *yet* and marking up their big flagship sets here by nearly 100%. Yet.

[@gregm963]

Having so many of those little square stickers that feel impossible to put on straight is unfortunate. The fact that you have to place them equidistant on four quadrants of a cylinder is unforgivable.

[@allonewordcaps]

Great video. Missed the twitch stream. See you at the next one.😊

[@NirateGoel]

All the stickers on the set is a bit excessive given how many of them seem to be a fair few that are repeated, that should be prints for what is a fairly expensive set.

[@mabey8048]

Seems like a cool display but not to sure about having to build it, doesn't seem too interesting to build

[@hyperionhelios190]

To me, this feels like so much less value than Saturn V. Saturn was entirely printed, and only $150 CAD brand new. I bought two! Alas, a different time for LEGO.

[@logansmith2703]

For some reason I just don't like this set as much as the Saturn V. It isn't the launchpad either because I'm fine with repetitive builds.

[@Starfield-Guy]

I’ll buy it on sale, seems too much for me and the stickers are a joke

[@OmGThisIsNuckingFuts]

looks great

[@jordanhoughton1948]

To more lego debt ...and beyond!

[@gregorhi2]

No, this isn't a good deal with those stickers. The set deserves better.

[@GeeEmm81]

Dont even bother with other LEGO channels. Your the only one who tells it like it is. Good or bad.

[@Beer_Dad1975]

It's such a shame that the Artemis program relies on Starship, which is doomed to fail. At least now some brave aerospace engineers are starting to point out the folly of the Starship HLS system - too late to get all those wasted billions of dollars of taxpayer money from SpaceX though.

[@aksel8228]

Hello

[@wolfpackfan10]

Saturn V still clears.

[@spencerroush431]

SPACESHIP!

[@janetspinosa7334]

🚀

[@undead.rising]

I'm honestly surprised you bought this one - since you are under no contract to do so. There are just soooooo much more interesting sets out there. Even Friends and Monkie Kid are 10000x more interesting, despite their narrow appeal. It's funny how Lego works that way - some of the more interesting concepts will be ignored just because of the theme it has been released under.

[@JANGsLEGOreviews]

If more than 20 or 30 of my viewers were interested in Monkie Kid I'd review the theme. After the initial wave, nearly all buzz in the Western world died off. It's exactly why brick & mortar retailers in the West stopped ordering Monkie Kid sets altogether. Has nothing to do with "how LEGO works" -- it's just common sense. Time is limited, money doesn't grow on trees, and the whole point of this channel is to provide a valuable service to as many viewers as possible.

[@undead.rising]

@@JANGsLEGOreviews I re-read my comment, and I realise that I may have come across as having a dig at you, or being negative in some way or another. I'm sorry if I came across that way. I watched your review last night just after coming home from a long shift at work, so I probably wasn't as aware of myself as I should have been. What surprises me about this set is that to me, is all I see is a great big mass of very average pieces in very average colours. I never thought that this set would have had the appeal that it has gotten. Thank you for taking the time to reply to me. Quick question: do I comment on your videos too much? Sometimes I leave multiple comments on the same videos, and I don't know if that is irritating for you or not.

[@JANGsLEGOreviews]

No worries, no irritation perceived here! On the contrary, to my point about time being limited, I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.

[@Goat4459]

Wowza

[@daxbashir6232]

❤

[@GIenniator]

Wow

[@pcc404]

yay :)

[@sebastianthomsen2225]

🚀😊👍

[@Zenlore6499]

Ooh, yeah, those are some valid worries about the stickers and repetition. Bring in a friend to help, folks!

[@fractalelf7760]

Sadly, this program is likely headed for cancellation…. But honestly a few microfig astronauts would have been nice.

[@tylergagnon1613]

Lego models that are over 1k is going to be repetitive. I am someone who does the big sets. The bigger the set the more repetitive it will feel

[@c-samleystudios1573]

It looks great, but the build does not look fun at all. There are also some awful stickers.

[@Lordodragonss]

Oh look... another huge expensive nasa set 🙄

[@undead.rising]

Hard pass for me. It's just not that interesting - no new pieces, and nothing that really makes you go "wow!" This is one of the few times that the good price value of the set is appealing, but that's all it has going for it. Is it well done? Yes. Is it an interesting build? No. At least I'm not convinced.