Bryan Mansell and his father had been collecting Star Wars LEGO sets since 2000. A bounty Mansell estimates is worth $200,000 in value. As his father experienced health complications, Mansell consigned the collection to Bricks and Minifigs, a popular chain of LEGO specialty stores. When the store changed ownership, new managers claimed full ownership, locking the Mansells out without pricey litigation. YouTuber “Reckless” Ben Schneider hoped some Nathan For You-style shenanigans and dressing like the Marvel villain Arcade would help the Mansells out. Instead, it has opened a surreal, cross-state can of Hutts instead.
All seemed fine when Mansell originally consigned the LEGO sets in 2023. Bricks and Minifigs even bragged on socials about the incredible collection. The initial franchise owner was planning to move, telling corporate about her interest in selling the location. Instead of merely passing the store along to the new owner, her contract was abruptly terminated and she was forced out of the business prematurely.
Hoping that the Mansells wouldn’t be screwed out of their collection, that owner provided copies of the consignment contract and security footage that suggests the deal would be respected. Instead, every attempt to collect has flushed the Mansells down corporate loopholes, with staff even threatening to call police if Bryan ever set foot in the store.
That’s where Schneider arrives. While Facebook posts riled up locals, it hadn’t resulted in returning Mansell’s collection. Over the course of multiple feature-length videos, Schneider unleashes a grievance campaign against the Keizer, Oregon franchise and Bricks and Minifigs management. He and his team set up parodying rival businesses, hold lottery raffles, trick staff into signing concessionary statements and even establish a LEGO “cult” to start a revolt within the existing staff. Mischief with the simple goal of baiting corporate into suing back, being dragged into court instead of ponying up to kick off the case and presenting the theft allegations before the judge. It doesn’t work, but that’s not to say things couldn’t get weirder.
Throughout the video, Schneider visits Bricks and Minifigs CEO and absurd mustache owner Ammon McNeff. The hijinks and “whackadoo crap” eventually grind him down to agreeing to return the LEGO sets on the condition that Mandell apologizes, which Schneider’s team believe is an attempt to waive liability. When he serves summons that Minifigs appear to believe are pranks, it runs the clock, forcing the franchise to be confronted. With that victory in sight, the Oregon store simply shuttered. In a second video, Schneider heads to Utah, where McNeff and corporate are located, only to be raided by local police in the more tightly-knit state.
As of this writing, Mandell still has not recovered his collection, but the video series will certainly stir the hive up some. The company has put up a response, saying they have no responsibility to respect previous consignment, beg LEGO fans not to rally around viral posts and assure that they do not “participate in the exploitation of anyone, especially older adults.”
“I am in some serious legal trouble right now,” Schneider says in the video. “Just know that I will not stop this mission until we get every single Lego back to its rightful owner.”