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010 - Lego Razor Crest
Episode 1010th December 2023 • Brick Magnate with Mike Morrison • Mike Morrison
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In this episode of the Brick Magnate podcast, I dive into the review of the Lego Razor Crest set from the popular Star Wars spin-off TV series, The Mandalorian.

Despite initially vowing not to buy the set, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the build experience and the end result. Join me as I share my thoughts on the set and discuss its value for money.

Transcripts

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Well, hello there. Welcome to episode 10 of the Brick Magnate podcast. I'm

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your host Mike Morrison aka the Brick Magnate, and this is the

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show where I get to share my love of Lego with my fellow brick

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building enthusiasts and review some of my favorite

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sets and recent builds and just talk about

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this little plastic, bundle

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of obsession that we all share. So this

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week I'm gonna be reviewing a set that I I

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did swear I was never going to buy, and that is

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the Lego Razor Crest from the Mandalorian

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TV series, which for anyone not familiar

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is, one of the most popular probably the most popular

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Star Wars spin off TV series, that there's

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ever been. It's where baby Yoda is from. Like, if you're not a Star Wars

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fan, you probably still know baby Yoda. Right? Let's not

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get into whether that's an accurate name or any of that because this isn't a

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Star Wars podcast. Although if you're looking for a Star Wars podcast,

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check out Spark of Rebellion from my very good friend, Mark Asquith,

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and, his cohost, I think it's Gary. They've

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got a great podcast on Star Wars if you're into that. But

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if you are a little more on the LEGO side and you wanna know

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what I thought of the razor crest then Stay tuned for this episode. We're

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gonna dive into the review very very soon. Before that though, if it's your

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first time listening or if you've caught a couple of episodes, but you've not

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yet taken the leap, Then make sure you hit that subscribe or

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follow button in your podcast app to ensure that you get

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your hands and your ears on each and every episode

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of the show. And you gotta find out about the sets I'm working

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on and get my reviews of Pretty much

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everything worth reviewing when it comes to

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awesome awesome Lego. So the

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Razor Crest. This was the set that I said I was never

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going to buy. I talked about it

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probably episode 3, episode 4, like, a while back.

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And I I was chatting about

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sets that you've that part of you feels you should have,

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but you just can't get excited about, and you just can't justify,

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spending the money on. And it's not just about the money. Things like

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the, the iron gauntlet, Lego set

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from Avengers. Like, again, that's that's one of the ones I wouldn't

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buy because it's it's just the infinity gold, and it's just with different color

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bricks, and, you know, I don't know if it's a printable thing or if it's

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a variety thing, in terms of not wanting to repeat the same

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build. But, yeah, that put me off, and Razor Crest was the one I was

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never going to buy because for me it just isn't iconic

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enough in the Star Wars world to justify paying

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such a significant amount for an ultimate collector

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series set. Those UCS series, They're

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big, and they're expensive. And for as much as

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I spend on this shared obsession of ours, Anything

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north of £500, $500, what have you, really

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needs to be something special for me to throw down that kind of

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money. And for me, The Razor Crest wasn't that. Don't get me wrong. I

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loved Mandalorian, especially the first, series.

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The first series is still probably the best. A lot of it's on the

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Razor Crest. It looks cool, but just wasn't

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iconic. Like, I was thinking about sets like the

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UCS Millennium Falcon, which I have and which is

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epic. Even the UCS AT AT, the, the AT

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AT Walker, the imperial destroyer, like, Those

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are iconic Star Wars vehicles,

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but I, you know, I I chose not to buy those, the AT and T

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and the Imperial Destroyer, because I just wasn't feeling it. Didn't think there'd be fun

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builds. Didn't know where to put them. So, you know, I

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already kind of have a high bar for Star Wars UCS

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sets, And if I wasn't buying the AT AT and the

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imperial destroyer, I definitely wasn't gonna buy the Razor Crest.

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Right? I had no choice, no chance. After all, it's just from a TV

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show, not the original movies or even the sequels or prequels, and

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hell they blew up the the Razor Crest. Like, they blew the

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thing up in the 2nd series. I would say spoiler alert, but it's been out

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for years. If you haven't seen it, you're not gonna watch it. They blew

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it up, and they switched to a totally different ship for the Mandalorian.

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So Even in the world of the TV show, the Razor Crest isn't all

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that important. I mean, imagine them blowing up the Falcon in Empire Strikes Back.

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Right? So I absolutely 100% was not buying this, and I

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felt good about that decision. I didn't feel I was missing out. Didn't feel I

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regret but then there was a lull.

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There was a quiet period where that it was earlier in the year where it

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just didn't seem like there was anything sighting being released

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or there were some exciting sets, but they were quick

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builds, and I was just getting antsy for a nice big

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set that I could get stuck into. The sort where you could

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spread it out over a couple of weeks. Does that ever happen to you? Do

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you find your Your Lego obsessed brain slowly talking you

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into buying that set that you just weren't interested in just because it

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craves those big bills, those delicious little

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plastic bricks. Please say it's not just me. So anyway I caved,

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and you know what? I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed this

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set. So let's dive into the review. So the Razor Crest comes in

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at 6,187 pieces. That's just a little

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bit shy of the Millennium Falcon, the ultimate collector series

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Millennium Falcon, which surprised me because I didn't have

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them on equal footing in terms of the

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size of the set and the scale of the build. That Millennium Falcon is

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a beast, and I didn't think any other Star Wars sets other than the out

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of the imperial destroyer will come close. I definitely didn't think the Razor Crest was

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gonna come close. So, just shy of 6,200

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pieces Cost $600 or 520,

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British pounds for myself. So it's just slightly on

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the right side of the 10¢ per piece

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line, which is very good for a licensed set

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for something with a Star Wars license. That's an ultimate collector series.

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That's that's a good Average cost per per brick

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piece. In terms of build experience,

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this was a lot more fun and satisfying than I'd expected.

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Again, my business for comparison was the falcon, which frankly

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is a mixed build experience with some very lengthy, boring,

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and frustrating spells. So I was a little bit worried it would be the

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same with the Razor Crest, but thankfully, Razor Crest

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is a lot more varied than the Falcon. And because the ship has some

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quirky angles and unique features, it makes for some pretty cool

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and satisfying build techniques that Make sure that the build never gets

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boring. I was also so relieved to find that

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you build a decent amount of detail into the interior of the

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ship too. That's perhaps one of the biggest let downs of the Falcon set.

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You've got your cockpit with a little separate area for Grogu in his crib to

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hang out. You got the section where where the cryo frozen bounties are

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stored, section with Mando's equipment up on the wall, Boba

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Fett's armor from when he salvages that.

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Just lots of cool little details that are easy enough to access

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when the whole set It's finished. They're not just kinda sealed in there.

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And for me, the most oddly satisfying part of the build was adding on those

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wings. That's the final piece of the build is getting on the wings that have

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those huge round engines attached. There was something very

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pleasing from a tactile perspective, like the feel of it,

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the bulk of it, the weight of it. Something really satisfying,

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about that part of the build, and finally kind of

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slotting them onto the main body of the ship, which you spend, you know,

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the first kind of 2 thirds of the build experience building, like,

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building out those those big hefty chunky wings,

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and then the satisfaction that comes from piecing them

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together with the main body of the ship and seeing that end result. It's really,

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really cool that part comes at the end. It's a good way of ending that

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build experience. So all in all, for such a big and lengthy build,

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I don't think I was ever bored, which is rare for sets of this

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scale. And I don't know if this is just me or if it's true or

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not, but, you know, a lot of the Lego ships, well, the

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vehicle, like, They're they're gray. There's just a lot of gray, and I think

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that affects in a lot of cases your enjoyment of the build, because there's

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nothing vibrant. And the Razor Crest

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again is a big big gray thing, but even

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so, I still enjoyed it. It didn't affect it, so I think that, You know?

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It's a it's a silly point, but maybe not as silly as, as

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I think it is. So yeah. I was never bored. I

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was never bored, which is rare for this kind of set. There wasn't anything mind

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blowing in the experience, but it was fun piecing this together

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from start to finish. So I'm gonna give this build experience a 4

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out of 5. Satisfying, enjoyable, and

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that is surprising for this size of a build,

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especially where, you know, you're building a vehicle. You're not you're not building like

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a a Hogwarts, Harry Potter Hogwarts or a Diagon Alley

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where there's lots of very distinct areas. Like, it's it's a

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big gray hunk of metal, but it was still fun.

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So it's a 4 out of 5 from me on Build Experience. In terms of

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the end result, the finished set really does look great.

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Argue over whether it's iconic enough or not. It looks

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epic as a completed Lego set. It's a good

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Satisfying size. It feels sturdy. It's weighty.

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It feels chunky. Right?

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Again, I hate to keep comparing to the Falcon, but the Falcon's probably the

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best measuring stick. Certainly, it's the best one I've got. With the

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Falcon. Anyone who's got the Falcon will will be familiar with

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this. There's always the fear that if you even look at it

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the wrong way, part of it will fall off.

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And while there's definitely a little bit of risk of mishandling the

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razor the razor quest TV show. The razor

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crest. It doesn't feel quite so fragile which

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was a relief because that falcon is a nightmare.

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Like, anytime you try and dust it clean around it,

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something falls off. Even, like, the fact they have to,

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like, include very specific instructions of how

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to pick it up and how not to pick it up lest you

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demolish the whole thing. Like, yeah, the Falcon is a pain

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to move around in display. Whereas the Razor Crest, it just

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it feels sturdier. Doesn't feel as fragile. Like,

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if you wanted to, you could actually play with this set not just display

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it, But as a display piece, it does look seriously

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impressive and accurate to the original ship. Now there are only

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5 minuteifigures, which is a bit of a letdown for a set that cost

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$600 and is what I would consider to be the main

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signature set of the Mandalorian series. Like, it should have

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more and 5 minifigures. It's a it's an

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ultimate collector series. It should have more than 5 minifigures.

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And in fact, one of them isn't even a minifigure. It's it's it's a creature.

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Right? It's it's what I I'd I'm letting my Star

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Wars fandom down here, because I

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don't know what it's called. But it's one of those big elephant

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lizards. It's worst description. It's just a big old

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thing that 1 of the characters rides on the back of. One of the minor

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characters rides on the back of. It's not a minifigure. It's not a minifig

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in any way, shape, or form, but unless I'm

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misremembering, they've counted it as a minifigure.

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So yes. That's a bit cheeky, counting it as a

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minifigure. So really there's 4 minifigs. That feels

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like a letdown. It feels like a bit of a misstep, especially When other sets

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have figures of characters like Fennec Shand, that could easily been included

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here, you know. Unless I'm misremembering, Fennec

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Shand turned up before the razor crest was blown up, and, you

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know, she is a known character in the

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expanded Star Wars universe and is a recurring character in

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this that could have had her in it, certainly.

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Yeah. It just feels like they're they're being

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stingy on the minifigs.

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Yeah. That sucks a bit. Overall, though, this is a great looking set, and the

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fact that it has all those great interior details and it's solid enough to

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both to be both playable as well as function as a really good

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looking display piece. That really does elevate it. So I'm gonna give this a

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4a half out of 5 for end result. Looks great, feels

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great, is maneuverable, it's it's

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satisfying. It's just a satisfying to look at, satisfying to

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to hold, to carry, to play. Yeah. Great. Four and a half out of 5

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end result. Finally, let's talk value for money again.

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It's worth highlighting that this falls on the right side of that

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10¢ per piece line. That's kind of the barometer for whether a set

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is over or underpriced. And there's not a huge amount of those

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tiny 1 square pieces or dots padding out the piece count. Either

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those we listen to a few episodes, we'll know that's a bugbear of mine.

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This definitely seems a rarity for ultimate collector series sets, especially those

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with the Star Wars license. Like, that usually takes it way

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over the 10¢ line, because the license on the UCS

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angle They usually come at a big premium. So,

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yeah. I I wonder whether the slightly lower than

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expected pricing is reflective of of, you know,

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them maybe thinking, okay, this isn't it's maybe not gonna have

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as as broad an appeal as the UCS Falcon, the

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UCS AT AT, you know, stuff that, like,

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like, every Star Wars fan will recognize. Not every Star Wars fan will watch

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Mandalorian. Every Star Wars fan watched, the the

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originals, and They know what the Falcon is. Right? So maybe

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that maybe that factors in it. I don't know. Or maybe the fact that they

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blew the blowing ship up. They blew the ship up, which

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They've referenced that they've referenced that

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on the website, and I think in the the manual as well. But I

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got a feeling, like they'd started working on the Razor Crest

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set, the design of it, and then, like, not

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knowing that it was gonna be blown up in the TV show. And

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so I think that's maybe, took the wind out of the sails a

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little. I don't know. Just my theory.

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So, yeah, you you would need to make your mind up yourself on whether such

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a short lived ship in a TV series, not the movie,

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is worthy of the UCS treatment and justify

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to $600 set. But, you know, for that price, you are

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getting a substantial Impressive end result that

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comes after a fun, enjoyable, satisfying, varied

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build that will stretch over a good number of build sessions.

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The low number of minifigs is a bit stingy though, so I'm gonna give this

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a 4 out of 5 for value for money. Yes. It is pricey, but you're

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getting a lot for your money, and they've not overpriced it, which, you

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know, judging from sets released in the last year or

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so, They veered more towards overpricing than underpricing,

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in my opinion. So there you have it. I think it's fair to say that

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going back on my vow not to build this Set ended up being worth it

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as I really did enjoy this build, and I love how it all turned out.

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Although I do still maintain it's not iconic iconic,

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And I think the fact that this set isn't the centerpiece of any of my

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little LEGO areas, those areas of the house where I've got my LEGO dotted

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around, That maybe reflects it. Again, just

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reflect my view. It's not taking pride of place anywhere,

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but, You know, maybe I'll carve out a little Mandalorian

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themed area someday if they ever release a Bo Katan helmet. You

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know? I can't believe they haven't done a Bo Katan helmet. Seems like an

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obvious one to do. They've done Mando. They've done Boba.

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Like, do Bo Katan. It's the same shape and everything. Just, you

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know, some some nicer colors and a little bit of patterning,

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but they can do that, surely. Give us a Bo

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Katana helmet. Give me a Bo Katana helmet, and I'll create my little

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Mandalorian area. And when that happens, the Razor

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Crest will take pride of place alongside my Mando

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Boba, and Boba Fett's ship, which we're not allowed to

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call by its original name, anymore. Yeah.

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Give me Bo Katan, and I will elevate Razor Crest.

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Anyway, I think that's a good place to end it. Thank you so much

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for joining me for this week's episode of the Brick Magnate podcast.

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Make sure you head to brickmagnet.com for past episodes and to

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subscribe to the show. And if you want a closer look at the

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finished article, and you wanna see the razor crest in all of

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its glory, then connect with me on TikTok and on Instagram,

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either both or just one of them, whatever tickles your

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pickle. I can't believe I just said that on the show.

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Yeah. Connect with me on Insta or on TikTok at brickmagnet.

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That's brick, m a g n a t e. You will find,

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the little review videos, showing off the

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different sets I talk about on the show as well as some that I

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don't, plus some behind the scenes looks at things that I'm

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working on and other brick based, stuff. Oh, you know

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what? This is totally random, and I meant to mention this in

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episode 7, which was kind of the the rebirth of the podcast

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episode. I've got a Lego tattie.

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I just I just feel as someone who's hosting a Lego based

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podcast, I need to mention that I I got I'm, Like, 4

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years old now. I am full on man child with a midlife

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crisis. But I got my very first tattoo, and

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it is a Lego brick. Yeah. Just to kind of

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solidify my obsession. And I only mentioned that

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because I've mentioned TikTok and I mentioned Instagram, and there's actually a little photograph of

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that on there. So if you wanna see, if you

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wanna see what someone getting their first ever tattoo and deciding at the

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age of 40 that that tattoo will be a Lego brick. You wanna see that?

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Then head over to at brickmagnet on Instagram and

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connect with me on there. You know what? No regrets. I love

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my Lego brick. That is it from

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me. I'm out of here to think of more Lego based tattoos. I'll be back

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again next week with more brick based buffoonery, sharing my

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thoughts on yet another, awesome Lego

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set or not so awesome Lego set. I haven't decided what I'll be reviewing next

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week. We shall find out. It's a mystery for you and a mystery for me.

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But hopefully you will join me regardless. In the meantime, happy

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bricking, and I'll see you next time.

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