Untold Secrets of the LEGO Group Revealed! RARE Book Analysis: Concept Art, Cancelled Themes, +MORE!

I spent $250 on this book so you don't have to... this was the single most interesting LEGO document I have ever read, revealing so many bizarre and strange concepts, ideas, projects, and more.
Free PDF Here: drive.google.com/file/d/1K-Eb...
0:00 Intro
3:52 Prologue
8:34 Ch1 Seeing the System (Intro to LEGO Bricks, 3D Dimensions, etc)
12:13 Ch2 Rolling Along (Trains, Wheels, and why Molds are Destroyed)
30:04 Ch3 Populating the LEGO World (Minifigs, Minidolls, CMFs)
36:51 Ch4 Past, Present, and Future (Castle, Space, Pirates, Cancelled LEGO Romans theme, Vikings, Western, etc)
52:14 Ch5 Monorails and Rollercoasters (Development of movement systems)
57:23 Ch6 Everyday Life (Town, City, World City)
1:05:34 Ch7 Building at the Highest Level (Technic)
1:15:34 Ch8 New Worlds (BIONICLE, Star Wars, Galidor, Cancelled LEGO Genesis, Cybots, and more. VERY interesting section.)
1:41:01 Ch9 Playing with a Story (Exo Force, Vikings, KK2, Harry Potter, Alien Conquest, Power Miners original concept, Galaxy Squad, Aqua Raiders, etc)
1:56:13 Ch10 Big Bangs (Atlantis, Ninjago, Chima, Nexo Knights, LEGO Movie - incredible new insights and concept art)
2:33:41 Ch11 Everything is Awesome (Modern LEGO, Icons, AFOL-oriented sets)
Support the channel with donations here! THANK YOU: streamelements.com/duckbricks...
Visit the DuckBricks Bricklink Store, with rare LEGO sets, minifigs, and parts added regularly! store.bricklink.com/duckbricks
Check out the DuckBricks Store, featuring custom Resin/3D Printed Bionicle Kanohi and Canon Packs: duckbricks.bigcartel.com/
Join the conversation on the DuckBricks Discord Server: / discord

[@IXRollOutIX]

What if that mysterious "largest LEGO model ever" was the World Trade Center, which was cancelled in 2001 and never spoken of again for... two very obvious reasons?

[@RetroActionUK]

Could well be the WTC.

[@RetroActionUK]

1:37:00: This new piece looks like it could’ve definitely been used for it.

[@RetroActionUK]

I think you’re spot on!

[@kimschjefstad]

That is a good guess, or maybe it was a gigantic Start Trek Enterprise that got cancelled for obvious reasons...

[@awarren06]

My first thought was the 2001 release date has to be related to wtc

[@kentslocum]

The thing I wasn't expecting about this book is how it manages to weave all of the different chapters together. I expected each chapter to be fairly stand-alone, but in reality, they build on each other--not because it was written that way, but because everything in the history of the LEGO company has influenced everything else, impacting and touching decisions up to the present day. The best part of the book is where it talks about how production "frames" were allotted to each theme for new parts & prints, and how designers would go around pitching their ideas to other themes, in hopes of acquiring more frames for their theme.

[@BengalBuckeye]

" I refuse to pay $500 ". As he's currently filming inside his room with over a million bucks worth of Lego sets lol.

[@privateagent]

indeed, what an idiot

[@mosbysbioniclemore1159]

"The Elves had so much drip" 😩👌

[@headcrabking9054]

1:38:50 I think that the "massive unspeakable model" has to be wholly original idea, as I feel like if it was something based on something from the real world, the designers would probably be able to mention it. I don't think Lego would not permit designers to reveal ideas for something like the empire state building out of technic. But I totally could see that if they planned on making something never seen before, perhaps even something associated with an in house theme. Obviously I'd like to think that they thought about making a giant Great Spirit robot, which might've benefitted from the 5x5, but I once again doubt that they'd keep that secret, especially with all of the other prototype Bionicle media we know about. My very best, unqualified, guess is that it was part of perhaps a cancelled theme, or project. Perhaps it correlated with Genesis, perhaps not. Also, unrelated, but (at least in some circles) it was known that Galidor was supposed to be the next big Lego theme. Galidor was supposed to be what Bionicle became, and then some. It's actually kinda a shame in my opinion, as I actually prefer Galidor's ratchets over Bionicle's sockets.

[@autofigure00]

Man I completely forgot about how mystery minifigs had the "brail" dots / code. I remember going to toys r us with a printed out paper of the dot codes 😅

[@Bionickpunk]

Thank you for sharing this book with the community for free. Its a treasure trove of information I never heard before and images I have never seen for Lego related content. Gonna have fun reading it through myself.

[@DuckBricks]

Enjoy!’ The info absolutely blew my mind

[@NinjaHelpdesk]

That was amazing! Thanks Chris! I think my favourite insight was learning how the success of Ninjago loomed over subsequent Warrior/adventure themes like Chima and Nexo Knights. Almost like Ninjago took all the oxygen and crowded the other stuff out. Thankfully Lego persevered and got another breakthrough success with Monkie Kid.r

[@grailw9221]

there were plans on a warhammer influenced constraction theme. i'm not really surprised considering the company's' secret obsession with chain swords. starting with ice planet, and even showing up in avatar with colonial quaritchs' amp suit. the latter is especially funny. since it's supposed to be the family friendly replacement for a gun.

[@kayman1615]

Thanks for sharing the pdf Chris!!! It’s going to be a great read! Also enjoyed your quick flick through and giving us your thoughts.

[@robertpoole9707]

Dang, if Bionicle was going to go on for 20 years I can only imagine how much longer your Bionicle Retold series could've been lol

[@RetroActionUK]

If Dinosaurs on Bota Magna was 2011, what was the other 9 years?

[@kismetfast4674]

Thanks Chris for sharing this book. Great stuff for fans to know and appreciate Lego more.

[@Tauverde]

Hey Chris! This is your best video, unfortunatelly lasted less than 3 hours! Thanks for sharing the pdf's copy of the book! I find it super informative! I'm sure you can make a separete video about every chapter of the book.

[@TheYargonaut]

A really interesting book! It really feels like a counterpart to Brick By Brick (how LEGO rewrote the rules...) from the designers' perspective instead of the business perspective. Would be interesting to see more of how the two worlds pushed at each other

[@Indiana_Ape]

This man’s Lego collection is worth more than my house.

[@DonnaxNL]

4886 was indeed the inspiration for modular buildings, Jamie mentioned it in his 15 years of Modular Buildings overview

[@Bionicleforever]

That bionicle segment brought me pain. I would've killed to have The Bionicle company.

[@Bionickpunk]

Thats exactly what I wanted for Bionicle for the longest time, seeing how the line would definitely have thrived outside of the Lego Group instead of just being discontinued once the G1 and G2 sets stopped being made.

[@RetroActionUK]

@@Bionickpunk would’ve been incredible to see but what if it fell into the hands of Hasbro as most toy companies have or Disney?

[@Bionickpunk]

@@RetroActionUK Well who knows what the toy landscape would be, but Im sure Legos constraction company would be closely connected to Lego Group as a whole. Sorta how Pixar was reincorporated into Disney.

[@Bionicleforever]

@@RetroActionUK cant imagine it being worse than the current situation .... (dead at least 98%)

[@twell1984]

Haven't watched yet, but already thankful for the chapter divisions - those make large videos much easier to watch!

[@DuckBricks]

Happy to help!

[@pvtratkicker]

The Bionicle segment brought me to my knees. The Chima segment also made me sad because it could've lasted longer. But I'm happy to see it wasn't a complete failure. Maybe one day Lego could bring back Chima. (Probably not.) The fact that there could've been a Bionicle company is absolutely crazy. Just imagine the possibilities. But alas it wasn't meant to be.

[@DuckBricks]

It’s insane! Crazy, crazy stuff in this book

[@TeamBelmont91]

@@DuckBricks If Bionicle was Lego's answer to Nintendo's Pokémon, and Pokémon had been granted its own division through Nintendo and Game Freak called The Pokémon Company, then why the hell not let there be The Bionicle Company? I say we form one in dedication and passion of our craft and fandom!

[@minfol]

Kudos to both the anonymous user and Chris for the insights

[@MrBlaqBobbi]

I had the Launch and Load Seaport!! After my Dark Age I lost it all, only had one red leg and 2 dock plates left

[@pmeers2]

I was very frustrated I knew about the kickstarter and forgot to purchase before that deadline. Thank you very much for sharing it!!!

[@JonnDthunDer]

I somehow had absolutely no idea that this book existed...you're an absolute GOAT for breaking down the book, but even moreso, for including the free PDF of the book! On the topic of concept art, have you seen the videos that Christian Faber (under the channel Copenhagen Rig) has just started putting out, which included a 'what could have been' for Bionicle? It's sadly a short video, but would highly highly recommend watching through it...maybe when he puts a few more out you can break some of that material down!

[@DuckBricks]

I have! It’s so so cool seeing the G2 concepts.

[@AyCe]

Finally done with the book and the video as well :D Thanks a lot for sharing!

[@JorioDotti]

Thanks for that PDF!

[@mosbysbioniclemore1159]

Also the ninja mask mold was never destroyed because it appeared in the 2006 Slave I for Dengar.

[@RetroActionUK]

It’s a shame it didn’t state at what point the BIONICLE Team was going to separate from LEGO, what if it was in 2008-2009 when sales were declining and the theme nearing cancellation or when sales were at their height in 2002? We would’ve gotten a TV series much sooner and the websites would’ve stayed up longer. BIONICLE had so much potential, more than any other toyline in existence, if it was successful enough for the team to suggest converting it into an independent brand.

[@RetroActionUK]

What a world it would be…

[@TheChimaChannel]

Amazing that you shared the pdf! Will difinitely use it for my chima vids

[@Bionickpunk]

Its so ironic that Lego rejected the unique mask/visor idea for Ninjago, seeing how later we would get it in Nexo Knights with all 4 of the knights having different visors for their helmets. Also those early Ninjago drawings look like Naruto, down to the military like ninja outfits, village metal plates on the foreheads, the use of ninja scrolls, and the backwards spikey hair. Its no wonder why Knights Kingdoms 2, Ninjago, and Nexo Knights felt like Bionicle, because thats what essentially they were, taking core inspirations from their most successful story theme to date.

[@vexorian]

Well, clearly it was Darth Plagueis' castle. And this was all related to the twist that Jar Jar Binks was a sith lord, but that plot got scrapped, so the set got scrapped as well.

[@littlejonathorn6860]

Folks, this video is backwards again. Chris is reverse Talking. He’s walking up the stairs.

[@For891]

Amazing job !

[@bizuko2307]

Maybe one day they could do a series of IDEAS sets inspired by Jules Verne's stuff. I want to have a LEGO Nautilus & Captain Nemo

[@RetroActionUK]

BIONICLE SPUN-OFF FROM LEGO?! Project Genesis has got to be one of the most interesting concepts ever to come out of The LEGO Group. Star Wars is the reason for BIONICLE being on a tropical island?! But then they would go to the ‘hi-tech futuristic world’ with the introduction of Metru Nui and later of course what that era built up to: the Matoran Universe and how it was in a giant robot. So essentially the concept of ‘Constraction’ came full circle.

[@RetroActionUK]

If BIONICLE became a company, (BIONICLE, Inc, BIONICLE Systems A/S?) would they be eventually acquired by Hasbro or Disney like everyone else in the Toy Industry? So Hero Factory could’ve been a subtheme of BIONICLE?

[@Kingme]

big thanks for the pdf

[@RetroActionUK]

I had no idea that Dragons were supposed to have a gimmick, a Roman theme was in development and BIONICLE was responsible for the Technic Shell piece! BIONICLE is very much alive then thanks to the theme’s contribution to Technic.

[@RetroActionUK]

Just goes to show how impressive the T-Series Battle Vehicles were: they changed the whole company!

[@natef15]

Jules Verne theme? Wow, and they had a complete line built for product testing. Where are the pictures??

[@dreammech_test1]

Hey duckbricks, how many years did you spend honing the skill of walking backwards to do it as confidently and expertly as you do

[@endamcnabola]

I wish we got Prehistorics too.

[@evantheawesome7522]

Tell me your a Lego fan by not telling me your a Lego fan

[@pulle88]

looks like that book is worth every cent! must have taken a long tlme to write it !

[@jamiesworld1690]

How u get my hands on this physical book were csn I buy it

[@MrViscom78]

The one they canceled in 2001 largest set they still can’t talk about. World Trade Center. I bet.

[@morgothfromangband6082]

UFO (97) is missing!

[@RetroActionUK]

So is Aquazone. BIONICLE is my favourite theme but UFO, Aquazone and Adventurers are just behind it.

[@brickguy42-misprint-collecter]

First comments and this is just story time with duck bricks can we make this a series?

[@DuckBricks]

That’s a great idea! Maybe I’ll work on shorter videos recapping highlights from this book…

[@tvaccount3349]

What about frederator style video involving the content's of the book broken down into x number of facts videos.

[@jamiesworld1690]

How u get that book can anyone get it

[@ramtovar2768]

When are you going to review the rest of the speed champions ??? 😅😅

[@DuckBricks]

They’re scheduled to release staggered across the month of February!

[@ramtovar2768]

@@DuckBricksokay thanks :)

[@fritzmocs5024]

Giant set was gonna be the GSR

[@RetroActionUK]

Why would they make the Great Spirit Robot when it hadn’t been revealed in the story yet?

[@fritzmocs5024]

@@RetroActionUK at the time Bionicle was supposed to last one year. So it may have been revealed at the conclusion of the 2001 story

[@RetroActionUK]

@@fritzmocs5024 very true. Yes that’s a good point. But I’ve seen another comment saying it’s the World Trade Center.

[@fritzmocs5024]

@@RetroActionUK I could see that as well! Makes sense on why it would be cancelled and not discussed….

[@RetroActionUK]

@@fritzmocs5024 definitely. Maybe we’ll know eventually.

[@Hallkardia]

Super interesting, especially the photos. But the book isn't written very professionally. And the formatting looks like from a report of a school kid.

[@macdaddy2344]

Lol