The unfortunate part is there's such a finite amount of prototype imagery available on the internet and who knows if anyone will ever find something like this again. I want to make a single video with everything though!
So for anyone who cares, Copper electrode likely means they made the mold using Electron Discharge Machining (EDM). This means they electrically charged the electrode, and I imagine they’d bring two halves of the mold together around the electrode while submerged in some sort of insulatory liquid. As the charged electrode gets extremely close to the two halves it sparks and melts away small amounts of the metal (not the copper). This material is then carried away through the bubbles created during the process. It’s a way to create a hyper-accurate machined surface. As for SLA, this typically stands for Stereolithography which is another term (especially in the early days) for 3D printing.
Great summary. @Steve9584 During my career, I worked designing plastic parts and also building the molds. There is a lot that goes into building small complex injection molding parts. I'll add two even smaller details (for anyone who cares). - There are typically multiple electrodes used to make a single mold, especially to get fine details and maintain tight tolerances. - SLA models can be very accurate with tight tolerances, but the plastic used to make the models are very brittle. Even though an SLA model can be very close to a final molded part, the plastic itself does not act in the same manner. For example, the painted SLA of the guard (5:43) probably could not be placed on a minifigure toros without cracking.
Hello, plastic injection mould maker here. The description if SLA is absolutely correct, I'm going to add some clarification to the EDM description, having used one myself reasonably often. They would very likely not use both halves of the mould at once around the electrode, they would sink the electrode into each side one half at a time. This is because there will be a significantly better surface finish, because this process actually burns the metal rather than slowly melting it. (Think of a tig welder with the amperage way too high) The insulator liquid, back in that time would have been oil, now its distilled water, serves another purpose. Washing. There's a lot of black soot created during this process and water or oil jets that are pointed at the electrode where it meets the part are washing away that black soot. If this isn't done, the surface finish will be terrible and production speed goes way down The EDM electrode it's DOES actually shrink, but it's a known value associated with the surface area and amperage used, so it's calculated into the CAD design and machined a percentage larger, so the finished size is exactly the desired size. The amperage is also predetermined by the surface finish desired on the finished part. Lower the amperage, smoother the part, higher, you'll get rougher finishes. Think of those old 2x2 and 2x3 slope bricks with the texture on the sloped part. That's a higher amperage EDM electrode doing that.
Thank you. I knew what SLA was but wasn't sure about EDM. I thought it was a bit lazy for someone to make a RUclips video without even a 60 second Google search for terms they didn't know prior to filming. I suppose it can be considered more of a "reaction video" than something meant to educate though.
Such an easy book. Probably similar to an art book. But just filled with designs and concepts for our favorite plastic product. I’m shock they haven’t made one yet.
id love too see a video of every prototype lego star wars set!!! i really like seeing what could've been and how cool (and scuffed) some of the prototypes are!
I’ve been out of the Lego game for a while, and your channel has encouraged me to go and give them a try again! Now they’re one of me and my girlfriends favorite past-times. Thanks for the great content!
2:20 hey, ive seen something like this on the 2009 edition of the lego SW visual dictionary I was only a kid at that time so i didnt understand what it was trying to show me but it all makes sense now
I’m a packaging designer so this is of particular interest to me - and it’s interesting that no matter how big or small the brand, processes are very similar, even to this day. It’s sad that even back then lego couldn’t master a decent pack 3D visual - their eye for perspective has always been a little off!!
SLA is basically just 3d printing, usually used for Resin printing, which is what it looks like here (FDM is the term used for extrusion printing). Kiinda wild that Lego was using resin printing even 2 decades ago. It's only become available for consumers at a reasonable price in maybe the last decade, I wonder if Lego is still using fancy corporate machines instead of shifting to use more consumer-grade models that are more recent, since I don't think they'd even need especially large models.
SLA is “Stereolithography.” It’s a kind of plastic with a low melting point. Good for 3D printing. Not sure if they were using 3D printers back in ‘05, but the SLA model was likely just a prototype material used for molding since actual LEGO is made from ABS. SLA wears and tears A LOT faster than ABS. ABS also has some “give” when it comes to bending, which you want when snapping all those little pieces together. SLA will either wear down after repeated use (like using sandpaper on it) or it will simply crack. Edit: Just a thought, but rather than 3D printing, they may have just been sculpting with it from a block of SLA (ie. actually chipping and sanding away at it like you would with a block of marble).
I had a couple rare prototype parts (grey old ewok head/torso, light orange c3po) and sold them for around $150. I wonder if that was a smart idea.....
Fun video, wish we could watch these aforementioned interviews and such in whole like at the summit, but your insight and historical anecdotes are wonderful to hear about, such as the custom pieces for the geonosian starfighter that I find so ubiquitous in many of my builds today.
@@MandRproductions 😂 the video would definitely need more jpeg!! All jokes aside though, the prototypes were cool to see. I’d love to see more if you’ve got them!
10:03 It actually makes sense. If LEGO was producing sets when the original Star Wars movies came out (70's and 80's). They would look like this. Of course the designs would be much more retro, like the SW fan MOCs from the pre 1999 era.
So the Original Trilogy Edition sets were meant to coincide with the release of the Original Trilogy on DVD, which came out in September of 2004. The widescreen version of the films used a silver logo. As did the re-relesease of the Special Edition soundtracks. The fullscreen version of the films however used the gold logo. Hasbro also used a silver Kenner inspired logo for their Original Trilogy line. Additionally LEGOs previous box art was undoubtedly meant to tie in with Hasbro's Episodes II inspired Star Wars(2002-2004) line.
More of this type content please. Different videos focused on different aspects - the build & design development; package development; marketing and merchandising development; the evolution of mini-figs; the periods when designs were reinvented into new eras; the evolution of UCS; the bumpy ride of master builder sets. That’s my pitch to you. Send the check in the post :)
Askmandr: Do you think lego p2 clone troopers were better as 2014 style or 2020 style before helmet warts? If you could choose to bring one style back instead of helmet holes which one would you go with?
It’s sad how a company that’s theoretically all about fun has become a hollow corporate shell. Would be awesome to see them interact with the community like they used to. Even major companies like hot wheels do a better job making it fun to be a fan
Someone might have commented it already but SLA is 3d printing with a liquid vat of resin. A build plate lowers down into and up lights cure a thin layer. Slowing building up the figure with very minimal print lines un-like a pla printer
You should do a interview with that Rob Johnson guy who presented it. Maybe he has more pictures of the arena set from that event. It was not picked by the marketing but would be interesting to know how big it was going to be and if the nexu was planned. Also how the reek looks like on the back if there are images.
You should do more videos on unseen LEGO Star Wars stuff. you don't have to do everything if it's pretty lengthy. Showing us anything is great. I would also like to see videos on more exclusive LEGO Star Wars items that were made.
This just goes to show that LEGO gave more care into their products, even when they had way less money and were coming out of a financial crisis. So why can't they be this good now? Who knows. More money=less creativity (mostly)
Love seeing prototype stuff, especially actual prototypes unlike the recent stuff from the factory in Mexico. Though correct me if I'm wrong, are there any error situations with these protypes (like the incorrectly colored bionicle masks akin to the medium blue and yellow kaukau etc) or like bayer bricks where theyve entered the realm of the community to a pont where people own them? Who am i kidding this is a bricktsar question lol
Wow that 3rd stormtrooper prototype helmet is perfect it looks better than the original helmet in my opinion it was probably too expensive to mass produce with all the detail it has but damn is it clean
I’ve said it for years. The marketing director & brand managers generally always pick what designs go to market. You know I’ve been a professional designer / creative director for over 30 years. Designers have to work under budgets & briefs assigned by the marketing team. That’s industry standard with the big Fortune 500 companies. Sucks as a designer but that’s generally how the business works. Once the IP partner narrows down the designs the marketing team then weeds it down even more internally from their picks. Great video 👍.
Hey Ryan, i just moved my pc location and the wifi is extremely bad, the video quality is 144p and this comment probably took 20 minutes to get sent... keep up the great content and upload schedule 🔥
![LEGO Star Wars 1 LOST BITS | Unused Content & Debug Features [TetraBitGaming]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aRf6uMbQMKw/mqdefault.jpg)
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
These prototype LEGO sets have always been amazing, would love for you to do more videos like this again in the future
The unfortunate part is there's such a finite amount of prototype imagery available on the internet and who knows if anyone will ever find something like this again. I want to make a single video with everything though!
@@MandRproductionsyes we need that bro
@@MandRproductionsdew it
So for anyone who cares,
Copper electrode likely means they made the mold using Electron Discharge Machining (EDM). This means they electrically charged the electrode, and I imagine they’d bring two halves of the mold together around the electrode while submerged in some sort of insulatory liquid. As the charged electrode gets extremely close to the two halves it sparks and melts away small amounts of the metal (not the copper). This material is then carried away through the bubbles created during the process. It’s a way to create a hyper-accurate machined surface.
As for SLA, this typically stands for Stereolithography which is another term (especially in the early days) for 3D printing.
Great summary. @Steve9584
During my career, I worked designing plastic parts and also building the molds. There is a lot that goes into building small complex injection molding parts. I'll add two even smaller details (for anyone who cares).
- There are typically multiple electrodes used to make a single mold, especially to get fine details and maintain tight tolerances.
- SLA models can be very accurate with tight tolerances, but the plastic used to make the models are very brittle. Even though an SLA model can be very close to a final molded part, the plastic itself does not act in the same manner. For example, the painted SLA of the guard (5:43) probably could not be placed on a minifigure toros without cracking.
Hello, plastic injection mould maker here.
The description if SLA is absolutely correct, I'm going to add some clarification to the EDM description, having used one myself reasonably often.
They would very likely not use both halves of the mould at once around the electrode, they would sink the electrode into each side one half at a time. This is because there will be a significantly better surface finish, because this process actually burns the metal rather than slowly melting it. (Think of a tig welder with the amperage way too high)
The insulator liquid, back in that time would have been oil, now its distilled water, serves another purpose. Washing. There's a lot of black soot created during this process and water or oil jets that are pointed at the electrode where it meets the part are washing away that black soot. If this isn't done, the surface finish will be terrible and production speed goes way down
The EDM electrode it's DOES actually shrink, but it's a known value associated with the surface area and amperage used, so it's calculated into the CAD design and machined a percentage larger, so the finished size is exactly the desired size. The amperage is also predetermined by the surface finish desired on the finished part. Lower the amperage, smoother the part, higher, you'll get rougher finishes. Think of those old 2x2 and 2x3 slope bricks with the texture on the sloped part. That's a higher amperage EDM electrode doing that.
Thank you. I knew what SLA was but wasn't sure about EDM. I thought it was a bit lazy for someone to make a RUclips video without even a 60 second Google search for terms they didn't know prior to filming. I suppose it can be considered more of a "reaction video" than something meant to educate though.
This was definitely a unique video. As an engineer myself, i love seeing things go from concept to finished product.
I love these retrospectives on the past of Lego Star Wars, gives me a break from the foolish decisions of the modern day.
Wow I really really love this inside look. As a graphic designer myself, I truly wish they would do this again.
Such an easy book. Probably similar to an art book. But just filled with designs and concepts for our favorite plastic product. I’m shock they haven’t made one yet.
Oh my god they’d make so much money
Wish we could see some prototypes for sets from the present day as well
I believe you have to be a mega LEGO shill and then maybe they'll show you behind closed doors. I'll never get that chance I guess lmao
That stormtrooper prototype on the far left looks uncannily like a mud trooper helmet from Solo.
Watched this 1869 times and can confirm that is a MandR classic
id love too see a video of every prototype lego star wars set!!! i really like seeing what could've been and how cool (and scuffed) some of the prototypes are!
I’ve been out of the Lego game for a while, and your channel has encouraged me to go and give them a try again! Now they’re one of me and my girlfriends favorite past-times. Thanks for the great content!
This is such an interesting inside look. It really explains why they don't release as much as you would think they could.
2:20 hey, ive seen something like this on the 2009 edition of the lego SW visual dictionary
I was only a kid at that time so i didnt understand what it was trying to show me but it all makes sense now
This was a very interesting video. I enjoyed leaning this process. Would love to see more videos like this.
SLA is a type of resin typically used in resin 3D printing.
Yes. SLA is short for StereoLithography (Apparatus), a type of 3D printer.
Came here to say this too! I work for a plastics trade mag.
Best part about this presentation is the unironic usage of Guy Fieri style theming.
I love seeing behind the scenes stuff like this.
those light up light sabers were the coolest thing Lego ever did.
I’m a packaging designer so this is of particular interest to me - and it’s interesting that no matter how big or small the brand, processes are very similar, even to this day. It’s sad that even back then lego couldn’t master a decent pack 3D visual - their eye for perspective has always been a little off!!
YEs to the prototype sets. I think they are the coolest thing ever!
SLA is basically just 3d printing, usually used for Resin printing, which is what it looks like here (FDM is the term used for extrusion printing).
Kiinda wild that Lego was using resin printing even 2 decades ago. It's only become available for consumers at a reasonable price in maybe the last decade, I wonder if Lego is still using fancy corporate machines instead of shifting to use more consumer-grade models that are more recent, since I don't think they'd even need especially large models.
Check out the protoype for the original lego millennium falcon
Qui-gon jinn's prototype hilt was seen on the box art of 7101
Certainly would love to see that video
That tan Corporate Tank Droid looks a lot like the one showed on the LEGO SW Episode 3 special.
I always enjoy seeing lego star wars prototype images
SLA is “Stereolithography.” It’s a kind of plastic with a low melting point. Good for 3D printing. Not sure if they were using 3D printers back in ‘05, but the SLA model was likely just a prototype material used for molding since actual LEGO is made from ABS. SLA wears and tears A LOT faster than ABS. ABS also has some “give” when it comes to bending, which you want when snapping all those little pieces together. SLA will either wear down after repeated use (like using sandpaper on it) or it will simply crack.
Edit: Just a thought, but rather than 3D printing, they may have just been sculpting with it from a block of SLA (ie. actually chipping and sanding away at it like you would with a block of marble).
I had a couple rare prototype parts (grey old ewok head/torso, light orange c3po) and sold them for around $150. I wonder if that was a smart idea.....
A peek like this into the thought process of things is something LEGO needs to show us more!
Fun video, wish we could watch these aforementioned interviews and such in whole like at the summit, but your insight and historical anecdotes are wonderful to hear about, such as the custom pieces for the geonosian starfighter that I find so ubiquitous in many of my builds today.
THAT VINTAGE BOX ART STYLE FOR THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY SETS WOULDVE BEEN **SO** SICK
Incredible set box art design, there so incomparable iconic, my favorite was in the Y-Wing fighter.
Peak internet: watching a guy give a presentation of someone else’s presentation. Actually, a TikTok or Insta reel based on M&Rs video would be peak 😂
To be fair the original presentation doesn’t exist in video format and if it did it’d be 240p and Black and White 😂
@@MandRproductions 😂 the video would definitely need more jpeg!!
All jokes aside though, the prototypes were cool to see. I’d love to see more if you’ve got them!
I kinda like the yellow at 9:38 it just makes it seem more like a toy from our childhoods
Definitely make that "Every Known Lego Star Wars Prototype Set" video, that would be really interesting!
The Black and Gold box art from the snowspeeder went HARD.
10:03 It actually makes sense. If LEGO was producing sets when the original Star Wars movies came out (70's and 80's). They would look like this. Of course the designs would be much more retro, like the SW fan MOCs from the pre 1999 era.
So the Original Trilogy Edition sets were meant to coincide with the release of the Original Trilogy on DVD, which came out in September of 2004.
The widescreen version of the films used a silver logo.
As did the re-relesease of the Special Edition soundtracks.
The fullscreen version of the films however used the gold logo.
Hasbro also used a silver Kenner inspired logo for their Original Trilogy line.
Additionally LEGOs previous box art was undoubtedly meant to tie in with Hasbro's Episodes II inspired Star Wars(2002-2004) line.
I could listen to Ryan talk about old lego Star Wars all day
YES PLEASE? MORE PROTOTYPE SET REVIEWSSS
More of this type content please. Different videos focused on different aspects - the build & design development; package development; marketing and merchandising development; the evolution of mini-figs; the periods when designs were reinvented into new eras; the evolution of UCS; the bumpy ride of master builder sets. That’s my pitch to you. Send the check in the post :)
Askmandr: Do you think lego p2 clone troopers were better as 2014 style or 2020 style before helmet warts? If you could choose to bring one style back instead of helmet holes which one would you go with?
This was one of your best videos yet!
Great video man I love seeing interesting old stuff like this!
It’s sad how a company that’s theoretically all about fun has become a hollow corporate shell. Would be awesome to see them interact with the community like they used to. Even major companies like hot wheels do a better job making it fun to be a fan
Now you have to be a mega LEGO shill to get them to interact with you, it is indeed very sad to see as someone who’s been in this for ~20 years.
😂😢L😢😢😢😮😮😢
🎉😮😅
Ask Mandr: Do you think Lego should make Matrix lego sets?
Someone might have commented it already but SLA is 3d printing with a liquid vat of resin. A build plate lowers down into and up lights cure a thin layer. Slowing building up the figure with very minimal print lines un-like a pla printer
Always a blessing when m&r uploads
As every day goes by we get closer and closer to the clone video
9:01 Funny how after you said that OLD LEGO didn't false advertise, the Obi Wan in the top right picture has the wrong torso.
I like the preliminary geonosian starfighter. I want to to build that one day!
You should do a interview with that Rob Johnson guy who presented it. Maybe he has more pictures of the arena set from that event. It was not picked by the marketing but would be interesting to know how big it was going to be and if the nexu was planned. Also how the reek looks like on the back if there are images.
I loved looking at the prototypes in those old lego books 🔥
Quality content. Always a good day when Ryan uploads.
I have the all white prototype stormtrooper helmet pictured at 3:29
Is it worth anything? I just love how it looks!
Do you have plans to build the prototype geonosian fighter like you built the yavin 4 base prototype?
You should do more videos on unseen LEGO Star Wars stuff. you don't have to do everything if it's pretty lengthy. Showing us anything is great. I would also like to see videos on more exclusive LEGO Star Wars items that were made.
Prototypes are amazing
Super cool video id love to see more stuff like this if you come across more
Does anyone know the source or the title for the video that was shown at 3:57?
I watched that interview alot as a kid but I couldn't find it anymore
Would be nice if every building instruction had a QR-code that would show you the development of the set you got
Please do this again
Cool episode!
great vid!!!
Woukd be cool if lego made official sets of prototype versions with prototype minfigs maybe a limited series
The target where I live in Phoenix is having a sale of 5 to 30% off of Lego Star Wars till the 4th. Maybe they're having deals by you
This just goes to show that LEGO gave more care into their products, even when they had way less money and were coming out of a financial crisis. So why can't they be this good now? Who knows. More money=less creativity (mostly)
Red Jabba isn't real he can't hurt yo- wait, *hold up oh fk oh god*
Super duper cool!!
Ask MandR: What is your favorite original wave 1999 star wars set!
Love seeing prototype stuff, especially actual prototypes unlike the recent stuff from the factory in Mexico. Though correct me if I'm wrong, are there any error situations with these protypes (like the incorrectly colored bionicle masks akin to the medium blue and yellow kaukau etc) or like bayer bricks where theyve entered the realm of the community to a pont where people own them? Who am i kidding this is a bricktsar question lol
So close to 600k Let's go!
It seems like Disney would never let LEGO do this for their products even if LEGO would want to. Hopefully one day this happens.
Wow that 3rd stormtrooper prototype helmet is perfect it looks better than the original helmet in my opinion it was probably too expensive to mass produce with all the detail it has but damn is it clean
Pls do more prototypes video😀😀😀
What happened with the Lego factory in Mexico? 🤔
Ask Mandr: Do you think Lego Will ever make Matrix lego?
I imagine the copper version is somehow used to make the steel molds
Thank goodness the Lego is bringing back super battle droids in the 2024 battle pack
The Avenger Tower in the back is missing a few pieces on the top
I’ve said it for years. The marketing director & brand managers generally always pick what designs go to market. You know I’ve been a professional designer / creative director for over 30 years. Designers have to work under budgets & briefs assigned by the marketing team. That’s industry standard with the big Fortune 500 companies. Sucks as a designer but that’s generally how the business works. Once the IP partner narrows down the designs the marketing team then weeds it down even more internally from their picks. Great video 👍.
I should've stayed in. school for my marketing degree to work for LEGo and then I'd be the puppet master behind the scenes lmaooo
Hey Ryan, i just moved my pc location and the wifi is extremely bad, the video quality is 144p and this comment probably took 20 minutes to get sent... keep up the great content and upload schedule 🔥
New rumor: Captain Rex from the Venator is going to be in a microfighter set
thats pretty cool
Red LEGO 2003 Jabba isn't real, he can't hurt you
8:52 I'm legit curious as a casual fan, how do the new photos falsely advertise sets?
i wonder who pitched the idea for the all black box art 18+ set
Is this like inspired by richboyjhae’ss video was made he did a similar video going over all the same e recently
M and r is a 🔥🔥🔥 youTuber
"In today's video im giving you a tour of the lego setup in the house" :)
No way!!!
Soon soon!!
You made a video on this like 5-6 years ago!
Only on the one set, not everything else!
@@MandRproductionsAhh, Tbf hadn't watched that video in a bit.
@@MandRproductionsAskMandR: If you could get LEGO to make one LEGO Star Wars set, what set would you choose?
Naah hopefully he builds and reviews himself like the yavin 4.
Plz. Review them mandrproductoins, your our only hope
How come is box art no longer this good😢
I think the worst thing Lego is bad about it not listening to the fans
Huh I feel like I saw a video on this exact same thing from a different RUclips channel a few days ago…
Yea, dude, lego star wars history, i say go for it and make some videos on this stuff.
sla is a 3d printing process
Cool
Bro imagine if these were the actual sets 😬
4:16 Why did I hear testicles the first time I heard it? XD