My thoughts on the 501st Legion set

So, recently LEGO unveiled the new 501st LEGO set, to much fan approval. This is something that fans have been wanting for ages. A successful campaign started by MandRProductions is directly responsible for this. I have some thoughts on how we went about getting this set, but first I want to give my thoughts on the set itself.


I will be honest, this set is long overdue. We have had both the 212th and 41st Legions represented in Battle Packs prior to this. And though those legions are both incredibly important in The Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith, they will never top the 501st. The last time we got a 501st trooper was in 2013, and they only came in two sets. It has been seven years since we have gotten the 501st represented in LEGO form. And honestly this is a really good set. The Barc Speeder and the At-Rt are both really nice. And you get six figures in a thirty dollar set. If that ain't a bargain, I don't know what is. Also, since this is technically not a battle pack, you get real blasters in this set. I am for sure going to try my darnedest to get a hold of this set. 

I do think that the community's methods, though effective, were ridiculous. In the vein of the Sonic movie, fans spammed LEGO on all forms of social media asking for this set. I think that it was fine for creators on YouTube to ask for this set, but a campaign to get what you want by harassing the company we love so much seems mean and downright rude. If you look at the #wewanta501stbattlepack hashtag on Twitter, you can see some disrespectful stuff. MandR called LEGO thin skinned for being irritated with his movement. And honestly, I would be too if I were the company. This and other things said by the fan community are so petty. This set would have come around eventually without butt-hurt fanboys whining on the internet. I think that LEGO giving into this was a bad decision, because success gives these kinds of people the motivation to do this again and again.

Campaigns like this can be disastrous for companies. One of the contracted studios behind the Sonic film went out of business trying to fix the film for fans. A campaign similar to this happened with the Gunship Gang movement and the LEGO Ideas UCS set vote. People straight up voted multiple times using multiple accounts to get what they wanted. Acting like this ruins the fun for other people and is incredibly disrespectful to LEGO. These sorts of campaigns can be damaging, and I think they should be avoided. I am glad we are getting this set, but I seriously hope that the LEGO community never does this again. Ashnflash did a great video concerning this movement. You can view it here

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