Maybe the LEGO X-Mansion couldN'T have been better?

[@stefankarolidis4915]

They aren't reusing the figures because they are coming from different factories. It becomes a logistics challenge where they want to assemble the set in a certain location and cannot get the CMF figures there cost-effectively to pack it together.

[@JANGBRiCKS]

Why must you be so logical. This is the Internet. It's not allowed.

[@joevictor53]

I feel like you nailed it. If we look at the requirements put in place before the set was designed, the designers had no chance of giving us the mansion we all wanted. I really wish it could've been done as a standalone building like the Home Alone house. Others like the Bugle, Sanctum and Avengers Tower make sense for the typical modular style because they're in the middle of the city and have buildings nearby. But the X-Mansion is this lone building with only trees and grass nearby. They shouldn't have forced the designers to make it a modular. I don't care what the adult modular fans say. I'm worried about the rumoured $400 Arkham Asylum and whether they'll do this same stuff with that

[@tano1236]

I think this set would have been 2 times better if wasn’t a modular. A stand alone building akin to the Home alone house or the Simpsons house would have worked much better, but I understand why they made it modular.

[@JANGBRiCKS]

I have to strongly agree with ya there. The required form factor really limited the whole thing.

[@joevictor53]

I totally agree. Although I have seen certain adult fans whining about the Ideas botanical garden not being a modular and I feel like they would've been complaining if Lego did that here too

[@Chi-bricks]

As a designer, the business requirements help focus the design work, but can also limit the "creative canvas" so to speak. Sometimes that can be very frustrating, or sometimes it can be a fun challenge of imagination and creativity depending on the person, perspective and project. Thanks for this video and the different perspective, Jang!

[@Joramee]

Jang I really love this multi-cam setup you have now, the top-down camera and the side cameras and all the overlaying you do, very professional and informative. And yes, it was probably doomed from the start, they need to bring back those large pieces again that incorporate a lot of pieces so that kids can also be in reach of these types of sets.

[@mattelder]

I think the 'constraints' have changed in recent years. Put next to the Daily bulge being a tad bit more expensive with more minifigures and general 'stuff', and if they are both done on a like for like design basis, something is way off. Inherently if the designer is given an arbitrary price point to meet, and there is no flexibility to that, the process is fundamentally flawed. Having done designed products, as a designer I was always pushing back against arbitrary constraints that meant you end up with an inferior product that the customer won't like. Its not easy but if you know you are putting a compromised product out to market, 99% of the time, the customer will know and it devalues your brand. So many AFOLs are having conversations around the ongoing drop in quality, upping the price, cutting back, not championing the product and looking at alternatives. It is impacting but LEGO probably don't care ... until its too late.

[@Moonraker_6]

More Jang talks please! Love this kind of content.

[@pierre-luco9056]

Let's admit it: Lego is becoming a tier lower in term of overall quality in comparison of competing brand. Given the huge net profit they are generating each year, it's not like it would be impossible to keep up. The reality is that the brand name is carrying them. If I purchase a Lego set, build it and want to sell it at a later date, I know it's way more easier. Also, after years of meh off brand, peoples are still skeptical of other brands bricks quality. Lastly, and it may just be me, there is a psychological barrier at the thought of using non-LEGO and LEGO bricks shuffled together when doing MOCs. LEGO know all of that and are fine lowering the quality to increase the profit margin, let's not fool ourselves. And as someone who is planning to buy the Endurance coming at the end of the month, I am not better than anyone else. However, I am looking more and more at other brands with an interest I didn't had before because of the little drop of quality in LEGO which keep pilling up (bad prints, too many stickers, brick color variation, injection marks more visible, price increase, etc.)

[@galaxygamer247]

I’m looking at other brands also because there is a larger selection of what’s available for example speed champions, minibricks makes more types of cars.

[@grandmastersensei28208]

I’ve spent thousands of dollars on different Lego themes over the years but I stopped after the release of 75381, what a joke, with stickers?? Picked up the Black Series instead and wow, for display, day and night! I’m done feeding the beast.

[@joevictor53]

I feel the same way. I'm still buying Lego but less than I used to and I'm branching out more and looking at other brands. You're right about it being easier to sell Lego sets and I don't want to mix my Lego and non-Lego bricks up. But yeah other brands are getting better while Lego is starting to slack off more. The big thing they have going for them is the brand recognition and the number of licenses they have.

[@saltylemonton5537]

​@joevictor53 but I dont even like the licensed themes! The only ones I kinda like are Star wars and Lord of the rings yet Star Wars has fallen from grace regarding the show/movie quality. I just want space, adventure, castle, and pirate, is that too much to ask for?

[@rocketpunchgo1]

An seperate Danger Room (rather than Danger Closet) would make for both an excellent playset for kids and an excellent "museum" set for AFOL. A ton of cool play effects, minifigs, and they could even still keep the sentinel (perhaps in a cool half "VR" style colorway).

[@brutonstrange7444]

I think it's really important to realize how much this set suffered from being modular compatible! Like you said, having to put it on a base plate really forced the designers' hands on a lot of these choices. Having it be free standing would have given them so much more freedom to give components the space they needed. Sets like Arkham Asylum and The Joker Manor (can you tell I like Lego Batman?) aren't perfect, but they let the designers arrange things in a way that made sense. Being able to unfold sections, as opposed to taking them apart in static chunks, can help sets feel like they have way more space then the piece count might imply. Modular compatibility works great for some themes. The Ninjago Cities are a great example: they have an atmosphere of everything being crammed together and stacked up, which aligns with the demands of the base plate. But for something like this, where it's a sprawling estate with a ton of well-known and much-loved design features, having to sacrifice accuracy and space in favor of compatibility results in a pretty weak set. Also, thanks for making this type of video, Jang! It's really important to remember that there is so much more to Lego then the sets on the shelves, and that so much of what we get is influenced by the bureaucracy, not the designers.

[@joevictor53]

I'm worried about the rumoured Arkham Asylum that's supposed to be coming next year. If they make that a modular, it'll be the same issue I think.

[@metroid767]

I think this is why, as you alluded to in the review, that people were asking this to be $500. They weren’t asking it be just $500 full stop. They were asking it to be budgeted AROUND a $500 set so there would be far less compromises.

[@SO-ym3zs]

The points discussed here should be a given: Lego is a giant corporation, and they exist to make a profit, not to make some ideal X-Men playset. They will only do what's perceived as ideal if they think it'll make them more money. Lego doesn't exist to please fans, it exists to take their money, and the execs and their accountants run the show, not the designers.

[@3021오승주]

Mega-expensive playset like the Joker Manor might have been better... I think with current Lego standards there are limits to making an impressive manor, and the modular format forced the overall scaling to get smaller, which I find to be greatly disappointing. One aspect of the grandeur of Modular bulidings I thought came from how much more massive they were both in scale and as a whole compared to a typical Lego set, but the scaling here feels like a playset, and while I think the smaller scaling worked for lines like the NC sets, it feels awkward here, especially side by side with other modulars, including ones from marvel. I still thing Marvel Modulars was a great, novel idea... but I feel they shouldn't have clinged onto their format here

[@joevictor53]

Yeah when I first saw this, it looked to me like a playset blown up in size. Like if someone had bought 2 or 3 copies of that playset and put them together rather than an actual 18+ set

[@Tarriq]

I think the mansion would be out scale with the marvel modulars if they made it taller

[@craftedbyorre]

Great that your are bringing attention to this, Jang! I’m constantly amazed at some people’s ignorance about basic business principles, and are just focused on how an ideal product would be for them. I saw on Facebook that a small scale chocolate factory that sold their products online were going out of business. One of the comments on their post asked why they could not just sell their products at the big retailers, and preferably at a lower price 🤦‍♂️

[@mtwi]

I think Jang started now the challenge for the MOC Masters to show if anybody can come up with something better inside the same restrictions

[@DanielPopovic-w9p]

Totally agree with the sentiment. As someone who works in VFX, we see this same sentiment towards our work all the time, blaming "bad cgi" for a film's lack of success. We realize our work may be aesthetically or technically lacking, but at the end of the day we are bound by budget, time, and someone else's vision. The director/studio get what they ask for. Not to say we shouldn't hold Lego or VFX or any other products we buy to high standards.

[@blakelocke07]

This makes a lot of sense, but I am still confused as to the discrepancy between this and the Daily Bugle, which had way more figures and more pieces. In general, I don't tend to blame designers for the flaws, when most of the blame can be laid at either the given budget or production quality (e.g., prints).

[@animatedblox7461]

The figure difference is mostly due to how the Lego Superheroes line is structured. In any given year, you'll have at least 4-8 new Spider-Man sets released that the modular team can pull from for new figures. Meanwhile, the X-Men hadn't gotten a dedicated set in a solid decade before this year (not counting like Mighty Micros and Mechs). Pair that with the fact that the exclusive figures from the Bugle reused a lot of parts/had minimal prints while pretty much all of the X-Men have complex leg printing and/or head printing and you get the perfect storm for one set to have 20+ minifigures and another to have 10. As a massive X-Men fan, I wish this wasn't the case but it's how things have shaken out.

[@HiattAllen]

The Daily Bugle was developed before the $50 price hike. It's likely that Lego decided to have a uniform price hike instead of different price changes for each set they raised prices on and the Daily Bugle would be more like $400 today instead of 350

[@matheuslara1670]

I agree with the points, but among those I think the alley deep is the only one that hurts the outcome of the set, and only in the Danger Room section, as that segment feels really crowded with all the traps projected from the walls. But that’s more of a brand decision as you pointed out. In regards to the possible 3rd floor, that’s a delusional complaint imho. It would set a completely different price point, and there's not much missing in room themes to explore, which leads me to my only complain at the designer. Cerebro needed to be it's own room. It’s next to the Danger Room the most iconic section of the X-Mansion. Imho, they should had dropped the Lab, make that upstairs middle section the classroom, and have Cerebro be a small room on the left side of the mansion.

[@berenthebear1313]

I buy sets from any company if I like the set. The build and how much I like it is what matters to me, especially if I can get it for cheap haha.

[@anonymousperson8475]

I really don’t understand why this one had to include the street and back alley. It’s supposed to be out of town, no? It’s not on the street in any source material?

[@JANGBRiCKS]

Because of the exact reasons I stated in the video. It has to be compatible with the other buildings. Tons of AFOLs have streets lined with unmodified modulars. Almost none have upstate New York style woods several baseplates deep with space for a private school to be dropped.

[@herowither12354]

Because it's a modular building. If it wasn't a modular, it wouldn't need the alley and sidewalk.

[@MachaLatte123]

⁠@@JANGBRiCKSif that’s the case they violate their own modular rules by making the building too short and too shallow. I think it all comes down to greed with LEGO having record profit and still hiking up prices. They forgot that their primary mission is to bring joy not disdain from the fans.

[@JANGBRiCKS]

It's a business. Its primary mission is to make money. Always has been, too, even "back in the day" when they were "better."

[@FunnyMonkeyJr]

What’s unfortunate is that the z mansion is so much smaller than the natural history museum. Although the x mansion has a far more detailed interior, the details cannot be appreciated because of how small it is

[@chriskaufmann655]

I don’t know about other people, but I have fallen out of love with Lego recently. It feels so corporate, and the charm it used to have seems to be gone. The first time I’ve been excited about a building toy recently is when I found out about FunWhole from your cyberpunk review!

[@felixpoldermans8373]

I could have accepted the mansion being small, but only when the minifigures were peak or even more of them. We need a Nightcrawler, Toad or at least Jubilee. When they're not included and the ones that are are meh, it really spirals down and can't live up to the expectations. Unfortunate.

[@A-Ner2]

very insightful video, definitely helped to make me understand the reasoning behind the sets limitations, while not explicitly excusing them. that nuance is something i've noticed the LEGO community online seems to lack

[@bromance_y]

Thank you Jang, you really cleared some things up for me. I just graduated from chemical engineering and the product development methodologies you mentioned deeply resonated with me lol. Any product or process or even chemical plant development in my case has rather strict limitations. The concepts of the gap - what is missing, the constraints - unambiguous budget, size, time limitations, the objectives - the measured way to tell the design does well, the service environment - active play/ display piece, the stakeholders - adults/kids, etc. really flashed in front of my eyes as I was watching. Finally convinced that all lego designers need an engineering degree because t the concepts I mentioned above are the foundation of any design solution. Thanks for the great video

[@nicholasjmarrero5704]

I get what Jangs saying about the design process, But there are some things that make me think otherwise, examples: there is no reason the Hoopty and the Blackbird should have been so expensive, secondly Both Bara-Dur and the X-Mansion, in the Lego Shill days videos, the designers in the interview, keep saying to buy 2 or more, to make a bigger building.

[@HiattAllen]

Lego has picked up on people buying a second set to make a bigger version. It's not that surprising that they would lean into it officially and encourage it. Especially on the AFOL sets, which don't sell as well as most AFOLs think they do. They do great with the target market but that market is smaller than the traditional market of kids.

[@lokohugol]

The sentinel and personally think they used a lot of pieces on things that were not needed. Main focus for me was the mansion and its such a big let down. Completely changed my focus towards the Daily Bugle. Small, not many figs, overpriced.

[@jkdubs5602]

Definitely easy to blame the designer but your definitely right, when they decided this needed to be a modular it was already not gonna have enough space. It worked for the avengers tower and daily bugle because they could just build upwards and add more room if needed but for a horizontal build it’s a lot more confined

[@Krypto_Bricks]

I totally agree that the “marvel modular” limits backed this set into a corner. It almost seems like it’s original intention was an open back play set that then was adapted to meet the modular limits

[@xinlu2806]

I believe, as you touched on too, that this also suffered from being a modular. It is an Estate, not a city building. Thats why it seems small in a lineup, despite being pretty well proportioned. But not making it a modular would have gotten people complaining too. At the end of the day it is fine imo, apart from the price.

[@elliot_rex]

I definitely agree the designers probably did the best they could here with keeping the building proportions and details given the standards/budget constraints. As others have mentioned, I really wish they had made this a standalone set instead of a modular because the mansion isn't supposed to be directly on the street anyway and that would have opened up a lot more possibilities!

[@TheGW923]

I think the issue is that they chose to include so much lawn. It just doesn’t leave the building with enough depth and they’re already dropping it into a more urban setting anyway. The comparison to the museum really kills this set, and I can’t help but feel like it would’ve been better with a similar footprint. Obviously to make it deeper would require more pieces though. I wonder if people would have been happy sacrificing the sentinel and/or a figure or two for a deeper mansion. Could’ve released them in a cheap standalone set later down the line. Ultimately the set of the building should really be putting all of its effort into the actual building.

[@rhymingbecktionary]

You're absolutely right that the designers were boxed into making this set this particular way. A lot of the problems come down from the mandate this needed to be a modular building, which is kind of insane as the mansion has never depicted as being in a city. I get that city builders want more modular buildings but if you're catering to them you're going to be stuck making a product trying to be everything to everyone which ends up being a product that is for no one. Like if people will argue this needs to be modular, why not start arguing Yavin Base should have been modular? Why not Jabba's Palace? The "Up House" was in a city, should have been modular.

[@rollinjackson5784]

I think we have also created some of these constraints ourselves as fans, like you mentioned with the fans’ insistence on modular standards. The LEGO fan base is broad, and diversely and strongly opinionated. A very hard group to please. I also think there is a general trend towards hypercritical and negative fandom generally in the modern world. On the whole, given the circumstances, I still think they’re putting out some fantastic products, and more than ever. The designers still continue to stun with new parts and techniques. And it is Lego, we can still customize ourselves! My big gripes are the minifigures and the printing problems. They can and should do better, especially given their profitability and the admitted draw for unique figures. And that goes for all sets, of all sizes, especially with licensed themes. And look at the LoZ Deku tree, they can print all details, and should on these larger, collector sets. Black boxes shouldn’t have stickers.

[@bobleecooper8927]

I always love your insights into the product design and budgetary constraints of designing these sets. It's not something I am really familiar with, but it's always fascinating to see how these sets come to be, especially as they face more scrutiny from fans.

[@fifi-fifi-fifi]

Just turn it into a playset for kids-this modular building is so underwhelming.

[@thabos8]

For that money, the set could used a few hinges to fold the mansion open, for accessibility. When i compare this to a competitor, Mega, then their castle and snakemountain are far easier to acces. (due to the foldable nature) As for fitting within the city modular floorplan, who cares, it's a free standing mansion , not a terraced house.

[@rubenestradavalencia3306]

In my personal opinion also the designer is responsible. Not the graphical designer, but the one who is behind the building process. Why include the sentinels? If piece count was a problem, then they could have used sentinel pieces for more minifigures or a better look for the mansion. Also the mansion could have been deeper, just pull the building to the front without removing the walkway. And the danger room/closet? It’s bland, they could have added other rooms and release an independent danger room. After all, the danger room is usually underground. And the alley problem could have been explained just by saying the mansion is outside the city… like in most popular media depictions. I don’t want to be harsh, but there were better options for this set

[@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369]

Yeah the design is pretty good itself, given the plate system it couldn't be much bigger. Maybe an issue is probably that it's one of the first new X-men sets. No other sets to really fill the gaps, figures mainly not reused even if the characters were. They tried to make it match the price by adding so many details, but just still doesn't feel right

[@camerongodsey9847]

Design wise, my only major complaint is how squished it is. This is the big centerpiece X-Men HQ and yet it just barely is taller than the first floor of the Daily Bugle. Ultimately, this thing is a victim of the accountants and bean counters. $20 cheaper than the Bugle whilst being SIGNIFICANTLY lower in value in so many areas makes me think they wildly overpriced this, just like that ridiculous X-Jet. I know the infamous “marvel tax” is thrown around, but I feel like there was an extra “X-men tax” on top of this. This thing feels like the higher ups said the designers had a $200 budget, then slapped a $330 price tag on it after the fact. I empathize with the designers. I think any way you cut it, this thing will go down from this point on in the fan base as a massive let down, and the sad thing is that they’ll catch the blame. Meanwhile, the real party to blame here is the executives and penny pinchers (as is usually the case with Lego nowadays).

[@jasonmadwell9426]

I know nothing about design but I wonder if they made the back wall of this able to open (either coming off like the front section of Avengers Towers or swinging open like some Fun Whole sets) to give easier access to the rooms would have made people feel better about this? It would have at least added to the playability. That may not have been a possibility. I do not know how this stuff works. That is why I watch Jang. Great video.

[@thatfunkymonkey7667]

Also I feel like the parts used for the sentinel could’ve gone towards including another 3-4 figures and they should’ve just released the sentinel as a separate set

[@neilrusling-je6zo]

I have no idea how they looked at this and thought this was acceptable. It is so small and ugly...but costs stupid money. If it was going to be that thin and short then it should have been 3 baseplates wide. When the Museum makes a better mansion than the mansion, and yet costs LESS? How was this disaster looked at and considered okay when its issues are numerous and large.

[@francislevesque77]

Thanks Jang. That was a great video.

[@warrennewman5325]

Shame it wasn't same size as natural history museum or home alone set great vid jang 👍

[@njacksonkc]

Unrelated to the video topic - really liking the “greenscreen” wall and how you mix up the background in various videos. Fun stuff.

[@williamjohnson9374]

I would agree with all the constraints for the building but it would seem the figures quality and quantity should have been higher to compensate for the building lacking when compared to other sets similar in size and cost. Either the x-men license is real high compared to other Disney even marvel sets or Lego is trying really milk it for everything it has which doesn’t make sense because they are probably 500 xmen mutants Lego could make.

[@Rocket1377]

I agree about the figures. There's no excuse for them to be such poor quality in an expensive set. Wolverine, in particular, as Lego has made better versions of him in the past, and he is one of the most popular Marvel characters. I also really wish they had gotten Rogue correct. The hair is incorrectly parted at the side, which also means the white streak is in the wrong place. It makes no sense to use Dark Orange plastic for her hair, when it has always been brown in the comics, movies, and cartoons, with a white stripe on the top, especially in this costume.

[@VampguyN85]

I gotta say Funwhole is looking attractive these days with the Cyberpunk Apartment and Skate Park. Sounds like the team should not have made this a modular. That's where the problem started. I'd pay at most $190 for it. It doesn't give me the 90s childhood itch I was looking for sadly. Same goes for the 97 show.

[@greymanpl]

Great video! I do not have any experience in design but it all makes perfect sense. I agree that these "soft" requirements/limitations (more focused on the design than the budget) played the key role. Even if Lego reduced their profit expectations, e.g. throwing additional 10 USD to the budget, it would have not been enough to make it much better (due the required form factor). It looks like one cannot satisfy all Afols: some will demand modular-compatibility, some would prefer a larger stand alone set. Personally, I am glad it was designed like this: I am not a Marvel fan and it's not good enough for me to buy it as a modular (like I did with Sanctum Sanctorum). 330 bucks left in my pocket! :)

[@emilyshabang]

The height and number of minifigures is the main problem to me. Im a massive X-Men fan, so I had to buy it as they've done very little in that theme in recent years. However, Im extremely disappointed in the set regardless of the price. The crazy high price for the piece count, size, and number of minifigures is another massive fail.

[@Tarriq]

I hope they make x mansion based playsets that allow you to add on to this set if we want. Maybe a facade mansion diorama but similar to the harry potter (build a hogwarts) line

[@captainfinn64]

Also I do believe that making this set was also a huge risk for lego. Its been years since any lego X-men sets were made and the few that came before didn't really sell well (Don't quote me on that its just what I've heard). Also the x-men franchise is coming back from a few years of hiatus only really returning thanks to X-men 97' and partly Deadpool and Wolverine, and lego probably didn't know if these projects were going to be successful. So the fact that the set is not huge and also may appear overpriced really reads to me as risk management on lego's part.

[@Persona_Brick]

I see where you are coming from Jang, I really feel like I am one of the only fans of this set, because of the dual uses I have for it. But from a collectors point of view I see the disappointment and how this product was constrained a lot.

[@camilocuba6927]

I think Lego let the modular audience drive this design instead of the X-men fans. I guess they were hoping to get both groups to buy it? This should have been a freestanding set. If it was Avengers mansion, which resides in NYC, then it would make sense to fit it to a modular design.

[@cedricvanduuren]

It's like Lego has decided that Marvel UCS sets would be too expensive or not profitable enough, so they are banking on the fact that Marvel or Lego fans will buy 2 or 3 sets to make their own enhancements.

[@Goose_Willis]

For me, other than the printing on the mini figures and Gambit's cards, is the depth of the mansion. just needs to be deeper.

[@thatsruffdog]

But, why did it _have_ to be a modular? I never heard anyone demanding that it had to be modular because, by the time the first rumor/leak came out about the set, they had already set the budget and limitations. Possibly even had a built a model. Even if there was obvious demand for a modular, I would want to go against that as a designer if it meant that I would be able to create the best model possible and not be held back by the limitations of a baseplate.

[@FossilBox]

My beef is rarely with the designer, though there are some. I blame the higher ups

[@MOCTurtle4911]

I think this is a great video. It explains why the set is how it is. But it makes the question, should those have been the options, like the lawn? I am okay with the alley as I have the other modulars for Marvel. And I guess it would look weird without the lawn. Also guilty of sometimes buying a set while struggling with the value. Sometimes I just want a thing. But I won't buy the X-jet so there is a line. I also agree that mixing Lego and non is some weird barrier for me. But I might try that cyberpunk apartment covered on Jang's other channel.

[@nathonso_edits]

As others have said, it was just a bad choice for a modular, should have been a big playset with an open back not on baseplates

[@saltytbone]

Interesting insight. It's a shame the mansion was put in the same "design box" as the other big sets. Needing to have the lawn while also having an alley, and being on limited baseplate size just handicaps the design process.

[@asgads]

Put some effort into the figures, include all giant xmen #1, make the building double the size and have the cerebro room. Then charge 330 for that version

[@thatfunkymonkey7667]

As unfortunate as it is to say I think the only solution for them to check all the boxes of making it fit with the Modular’s, looking big enough to be a mansion, and including all needed figures would have been to increase the retail price to $500. But I’m sure that was never going to happen as lego probably analyzed that the most amount they could profit off of an xmansion in 2024 was to set it at the retail price it sits at now. I’m sure once we get xmen movies in the mcu within the next 5 years that LEGO will inevitably give us a true size xmansion that’ll be double the size and price of this one.

[@badhareday7509]

Should've been smaller building modules which combined into one large school, like Harry Potter. I mean it's even the same concept... a school for kids with supernatural powers...

[@messerlittle6166]

Well said.

[@striderx2048]

bad design choices makes bad sets

[@shawnp4155]

Essentially the 2017 "Justice League" film of LEGO sets.

[@jerrogs]

I feel like LEGO rushed it or Disney rushed LEGO due to the release date of the show. I believe the budget shoulda been a $499 build with more minfigs, bigger mansion and more details.

[@arghjayem]

I’m not a minifigure or city builder. I get why people wanted an X Mansion and I get why people are disappointed by the set. In my opinion the design is kind of lazy. It’s not a complex build and feels like a playset yet given the price it’s clearly aimed more towards AFOLs especially as playing with the set as a toy looks kinda hard. I think what would’ve been better as a AFOL focused set would’ve been to do a bigger more detailed sentinel in the UCS Hulkbuster style with a scenic base for it to stand on kinda like the Star Wars scene sets or the recent age of Ultron set. Still include the minifigures though but have them all over the sentinel fighting it! Or if not a sentinel a Master Mould! 🤷 I think that would’ve been way cooler as a stand alone build but also something that could be integrated into a city builder’s city! Far more appealing than a frankly dull looking building where all the interest is really out front with the figures (that even I as a non minifigure person think we’re done pretty badly). 🤷 I mean the sentinel in the set is ok, but in the comics they are meant to be three stories tall at least! And in the set they’re only just two? A properly scaled and highly detailed sentinel would have been way cooler IMHO. Something more like this with all the minifigures too would’ve been way better rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-26309/IScreamClone/x-men-sentinel/#buy_parts

[@EMCUEAY]

hi Jang, how much do you reckon the plastic bags play into the budget? Also I received a bmw m5 ad before the commencement of this video, what do you think of the more traditional kidney design?

[@BrickBuildersMD]

I honestly don’t understand them not just making it higher part count/price to make bigger, I mean with the target audience of this being primarily adult fans and nostalgia, it being 300 or 400 I feel is probably irrelevant, your either buying or not regardless, and if it was little bigger n better, more people probably would have bought it

[@FitFreshMiami]

It’s simple, guys. Just DON’T buy it and wait a year or two for Target to have it discounted by 20 percent

[@michaelmatthews6014]

You make a good and, frankly, hard to dispute point here. I know the biggest sticking point for many is the Danger Room, and there's no denying that it's disappointing, but that does raise the question of: even if this had been the full two baseplates wide, and even if the parts budget had been substantially higher, where was a nice and roomy Danger Room supposed to go given the form factor? Underneath like Gringotts and ruin the modularity? That's probably the best answer but it's still a bad one.

[@geekstudios13]

I think this was doomed if it was a Modular. It needed to be something like Hogwarts to be accurate and to the scale we want but that would be too big of a gamble

[@JulianCooke-yn5lh]

How was the Stranger Things build so clever, so desirable, so good? And then the X-Mansion, so disappointing all round. Excellent video Jang, top quality filming and editing, great discussion, but beggars the question... should they have made it? The design brief should have been changed at the start. Cheers.

[@nathanieldeclarador1466]

Lego could release a two piece set and attach a three digit number onto it, and people would still buy it. The reality is if you want the quality and the price tag and the size and the playability, you have to be in business for a century and it has to be your business. Otherwise blind eyes and deaf ears will ensue.

[@michaelreilly7106]

I watched the X-Men series when it first came out and I was reading all the comic books the show was based on before that. I’ve been building Legos back when they only had three themes. But I can’t justify buying a toy at this price with this lack of quality control. it’s a disappointment on so many levels. They needed room for a front yard yet the back of the house has an alleyway? If they bothered to read the comics they could’ve put a fence out there and a basketball hoop. X-Men 4. It’s a pretty well-known issue.

[@bmkmymaggots]

the design ist ok, but the missing prints, the low quality of bricks, the low quality of the figures makes it for this pricepoint a ripoff.

[@neilrusling-je6zo]

I hate this set with a passion. I hate that I was so excited for this set in particular, and I hate that I hate it so much when I had spent months waiting to love it, and from those first blurry pictures I hate that I still had hope when I could see that there was serious issues. Above all I hate that Lego has slumped this low that they released a set that anyone could see was bad. Companies exist to make money, but they only exist if they give VALUE FOR MONEY, and I hate that Lego has now forgotten this. Well I watched this vid twice and I cannot disagree with any of it, this is one of those, "A Camel is a horse designed by committee" situations. The stipulations laid down before the design was even started doomed it. I hate that no one stood up and said, "Sorry, but something has to give because under these regulations what you require cannot be done". I hate that no one involved told them this when it seems so obvious.

[@ashpotter4299]

With the comment about base sizes, how would that work with a larger building, like avengers tower? Surely that would have a deeper base. Same would apply to this, then make it deeper. The rooms could stay the same amount of stuff but bigger. I agree with most of the video apparently from the idea that all modular buildings can only take the same space as a 2 bedroom house

[@JANGBRiCKS]

Hard to believe the enormous Avengers Tower has *half* the footprint of this set, isn't it?!

[@ashpotter4299]

@JANGBRiCKS but why does it? Surely a square base makes more sense so it can be built around, not just the "house next door".

[@adrianporter5749]

The tower expands upwards and has one large room on the bottom-the X Mansion goes outwards and has three- the main problem came from fitting not just the mansion but the front lawn too into a pre-existing modular base template. People have been saying “make a modular X-Mansion” for years and didn’t think about what that actually meant. Things like the Baxter Building, the Tower, the Bugle, the Sanctum- are based in NYC and their designs are tailor made for a modular. The X-Mansion is not. Same goes for the Avengers Compound, same goes for Arkham Asylum, Wayne Manor- these buildings do not lend themselves well to modulars because they’re not meant to be in cities. And unfortunately building it higher in addition to how wide it is already would mean a substantial price increase.

[@submersivemedia9995]

"The alley behind the mansion" is not a thing anyone has ever said ever, because mansions don't have alleys behind them. Why can't it be a modular that doesn't include the alley? God forbid! That's what the other Marvel sets do? Cool. The other Marvel sets are all buildings that are canonically in New York City. The X-Mansion is on Long Island on a giant lot. You lose the alley, you cut that front lawn in half, and add an extra 10 studs to the depth. If that means it needs to be $500, then that's what it needs to be. But then you get a solid building and not a facade. There needs to be a moment when someone says "Hey, this building *does not work* given the constraints we've given previous Marvel modulars. Can we sit down and have a think about this?" Clearly, no one did. I don't think you're making excuses. I understand we don't live in a fantasy world, but also this is not The Pentagon. This is not curing cancer. Lego breaks their own rules all the time. It's not inconceivable that they could make exceptions to certain rules (specifically the useless back alley) for a building that is different than all of their other modulars.

[@JANGBRiCKS]

To your last question, they did. They explicitly said they did. The decision was made, by the group, to stay the course and maintain the standard for now. If they did not make decisions like this and by default erred on the side of innovation and set-specific optimization in vacuums, there would be no Modular Buildings line and most LEGO cities wouldn't exist, as there'd be no standards at all. They also, for example, would have switched from baseplates to plates at the same time they did for City, which was 2013, and every AFOL with earlier modulars would be up in arms about the change to this day. These are choices that have consequences. I don't agree with all of them, but they're nod all made out of utter stupidity or spite for fans or whatever other nonsense most rage-posters are quick to assume because it's easy to be mad and difficult to think things through.

[@submersivemedia9995]

@@JANGBRiCKS I'm not a rage poster - I wouldn't buy the set either way because I don't particularly care that much about Marvel lego. I certainly don't think they did it out of stupidity or spite. I still think it was entirely the wrong decision, and choosing to go off-script with one modular for very specific reasons does not equal chaos, human sacrifice, and dogs and cats living together. Lego changes course all the time (see the decision to include the one clone guy in the micro fighter set after that fan outcry). This isn't the Titanic (the real one, not the lego one), where it's impossible to turn the thing. I worry that a "welp, nothing anyone could do" POV lets them off the hook for making wrong choices by asserting that there was in fact never a choice to be made. This is the richest toy company in the world. They can do more or less whatever they want.

[@JANGBRiCKS]

Apologies for my wording; I didn't mean for you to be included in the "rage poster" group -- that was more a reference to... well the large number of loud people who earn the title. I agree with a lot of what you've said. I myself frequently rage about LEGO changing their standards on a whim, like the change of scale in the Creator Expert cars which rendered some real classics incompatible with everything after. Behind the curtain, though, it's the way teams, committees, & bureaucracies work. They're stubborn over stuff they shouldn't be, but play fast & loose when it seems right to stand firm. And it all makes sense to some of the folks making the decisions in the moment. It doesn't make the end result any less infuriating to us consumers, but it's the way it is. The best thing we can do is fill out the customer feedback surveys, leave honest reviews on LEGO.com, and vote with our wallets.

[@submersivemedia9995]

@@JANGBRiCKS indeed, keep fighting the good fight. love your content.

[@galaxygamer247]

Hello @Jangbricks sorry this isn’t related but what is the black ship on the stand in the background by the AT-AT?

[@lanefaulhaber1824]

Regardless of the constrains the designer may have had, I still think this set was poorly designed and the designer failed in a lot of ways. A lot of the building techniques are awkward or over complex for what they are trying to achieve, and a lot of parts seem to be used to create what would be simple features in a lot of other sets. I personally just do not think the part budget was used very intelligently with this set. And on top of that, the minifigures are a big disappointment.

[@villelepoaho4105]

It's honestly a shame that LEGO seems to be going downhill, at least in my opinion. Prices are going up, quality is going down. I wanted to buy so many sets this year, but only ended up getting the retiring Mos Eisley Cantina.

[@BrunoStierli]

Really disappointed with this set. We waited so many years and despite me being a hige X-Men fan I have assed in this immediately when I saw it in person. It feels so tiny inside. And the lack of a third floor and more minifigs didn’t help either. I will transform my Museum into a proper big X-Mansion.

[@dyriten]

I dont get why every Lego enthusiast wants to have the biggest Lego sets possible. What makes the bigger sets better really? They take up alot of space and they are super expensive. Or is this just a very loud minority

[@leighbird8220]

I don’t know anything about design or what goes on in that process… All I know is I don’t think I’ve ever had such a 180 on a set. I was CONVINCED, this was going to be a day one purchase when it was announced and now I wouldn’t even buy it heavily discounted, it’s just awful on multiple accounts 👎🏻

[@bossrossvlogs5601]

Jang, thank you for going over the mansion portion when it comes to edits made to this set. I did not buy this set Day 1; however, I would consider buying this set on sale later on down the road if it goes on sale. Your points were all very accurate and on point. 👏🏻💯😊

[@JANGBRiCKS]

Right on. What do you think is a fair price for this as it is? I'd love to see $250 USD or 25% off, but I don't know if it'll ever go that far.

[@bossrossvlogs5601]

@ 25% off might happen on Amazon if anything, but 20% seems to be more realistic if we are talking about the sales that Lego likes to run on these types of larger and more expensive sets. If you use Insiders points, that 25% off price tag becomes a lot more likely. 👍🏻

[@SO-ym3zs]

I'd suggest to people to vote with their dollars. Whatever constraints led to this poor, overpriced set, don't support it if you feel the same. I've seen people saying they'll buy it because it's X-Men even though they know it's bad. And that teaches Lego all the wrong lessons.

[@WaterCarrier07]

Capitalism dictates limitless growth They have to: - reduce manufacturing costs I.e. drop the quality of parts Or - up the price Sadly

[@Cedric-g5k]

Hi Jang, I fully agree . It makes perfect sense. This might just be a test to see if there is a market for a UCS -line dedicated to the Marvel cinematic universe (MCU-UCS). I think that also explains the difference between the Blackbird - and the Milano- / Benetar sets. Love your work !!!

[@cedricvanduuren]

It's like Lego has decided that Marvel UCS sets would be too expensive or not profitable enough, so they are banking on the fact that Marvel or Lego fans will buy 2 or 3 sets to make their own enhancements.

[@greenhill004]

ShouId make a series of sets Iike hogwarts.

[@Rocket1377]

X-Men isn't anywhere near as popular as Harry Potter.

[@NikkiKuehnemund]

Let say that the first thing Lego says to their designers is that we have to make a set within this budget, and the profit has to be this much. Well, they stumbled right at the get-go.. In my mind, it would be so much better if Lego said, "Come up with some ideas for a set for this line, building or whatever" We will then pick out the set that we think fits the idea best. Not laying down all the criteria before even a single thought is thought.. By doing this, they will end up with a much wider and even better sets that the other way.. I know that companies and businesses have to make a profit to stay alive, but there has to be at least one person at Lego who thinks like this: "Maybe we don't have to charge top dollar for this.."If we set the price lower, with a little less profit, more people will enjoy our products" This way, they will still make a profit, and people would be more happy to spend their hard earned money. But what do I know..

[@joevictor53]

I have no problem with them setting the price first and having designers work to that. Designers can't just be let loose to make whatever they want at any size. But I feel like Lego needs to be willing to bend their rules sometimes. Like the foosball table. That was a joke. They tried to make a full size table and it didn't work. So instead of bringing the price down and making a smaller one, they kept it up and made a smaller one with unnecessary builds and minifigure pieces thrown in to justify the high price they'd set. And guess what? The set flopped hard, was always on sale and retired after a year

[@HiattAllen]

Lego starts from the marketing side--what do people want and how much will they pay for it--because that was one of the big innovations that saved the company in the early 2000s. At the time, the design process was more insular and they weren't asking kids, parents, and certainly not AFOLs, what they wanted and liked. They were creating themes that bombed because no one actually wanted to buy them. Of course the failures of this set is the problem that the marketing-first process creates on the extremes: if asked, marvel AFOLs would probably say they wanted modular buildings, but in actually this set would be better without the modular format.

[@NikkiKuehnemund]

@joevictor53 Yes, I agree. I should have stated that with the price. They should say, "Make something within this price range." You are right, Joe. My bad.

[@nwestra]

Lego knows exactly what they’ve done with the mini figures. They know that if they put a high quality mini figures in sets like these or the same ones as the CMF, nobody will want to purchase the CMF series. It’s all about the $ with Lego. You want a quality mini figure, you’ll have to buy it separately. You want a bigger X-mansion, you’ll have to buy two and make your own. It kind of reminds me of when Lego released the horizon express and teased this super cool, long train. If you buy two……,

[@JANGBRiCKS]

Kinda the opposite of that with the minifigs. To maximize profits they would want to put the most desirable figures in big multi-hundred-dollar sets like this with big margins. Making the cheap & accessible CMFs the best versions is actually shockingly pro-consumer (not that this was their intent). Check out the concept of Hanlon's Razor though. It's pretty solid, even if not what we like to hear.

[@Brickster6745]

Theres no real way they could have maid it better than it already is without doubling the price.

[@JANGBRiCKS]

I mean, I've heard a fair number of people say without a single hint of sarcasm, "I wish this had been a $500 set tbh." To which I have no reply, for reasons that should be self-obvious.

[@Brickster6745]

really it actually baffles me how people can say hole heartedly I want the set more expensive it's ridiculous btw great points in the video jang.