When the world-renowned Danish LEGO toy company is mentioned, what is the first impression that comes to mind for you toy enthusiasts? A highly successful toy brand, SYSTEM, an excellent brand image, diverse and extensive product categories... these are all strong brand values of LEGO. However, even for a toy company that seems so successful today, there were strategies that backfired and perplexing products in the past. Today, join our Toy People editorial team for an archaeological dig! Let's look at those surprising toys LEGO once released!
Toy enthusiasts with some knowledge of LEGO's history might know that LEGO faced business difficulties in the early 2000s. The video game wave, which began in the late 80s, completely captured children's attention in the 90s. To win back children's hearts, LEGO vigorously launched a variety of products, and even in the subsequent 2000s, began creating products that broke traditional constraints and pushed boundaries. Many of those 'least like LEGO' LEGO products, such as GALIDOR, Jack Stone, and the BIONICLE series which toy enthusiasts might be more familiar with, were born during this era.
Today, we're going to look at those strange products launched in the early 2000s, and also provide a simple analysis from a current perspective. So, let's go back to 2002, the beginning of GALIDOR's birth, and delve into the unfamiliar side of LEGO!
■ GALIDOR (2002) First up is the GALIDOR series we mentioned earlier. These LEGO products, based on the sci-fi television series "Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension" co-produced by Thomas W. Lynch and the LEGO Group, are now often considered LEGO's worst products, a dark chapter in LEGO's history. The reason for this might become clear as you read on.
A key element of the Galidor series is the ability gained by the protagonist, Nick Bluetooth (you read that right, his name is Bluetooth), after entering the Outer Dimension: Glinch.
Nick can use Glinch to connect his limbs with aliens, or even machine parts, and LEGO's products were designed to faithfully recreate this setting. At first glance, there doesn't seem to be a problem, as disassembly and reassembly are inherently core selling points of LEGO bricks. However, GALIDOR products used new parts that were completely incompatible with previous bricks, and in response to the popularity of action figures at the time, bendable joints were incorporated into the parts. All these elements combined made GALIDOR a product that people familiar with the LEGO brand at the time felt was "not the LEGO I know."
▼ The television series "Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension".
Source: imdb
The following two toys, based on the protagonist Nick, allow users to freely disassemble all of Nick's body parts and attach various mechanical or alien bodies. From the perspective of an action figure, it might offer decent playability, but the overall design is quite peculiar. Furthermore, it's worth noting that this product was still primarily aimed at young children. Yet, when children excitedly opened their new toy packages, what spilled out were incomplete human body parts. Just imagining it makes one think, "LEGO! Aren't you supposed to cherish children!?? Is this right!?"
▼ 8310 Nick Bluetooth
▼ 8313 Nick Bluetooth Deluxe
LEGO also released low-profile versions. In addition to the protagonist Nick, there was Jens the mechanic who maintained the ships, Gorm the main antagonist from the story, and Nick's advisor, Euripides, the last member of the amphibian race. At the time, within the LEGO company, perhaps the executives and product designers considered this a highly ambitious product, but... perhaps that ambition was its only notable feature.
Strictly speaking, some GALIDOR parts were indeed compatible with current Technic series parts, and some ball joint designs are even still in use today. However, the proprietary nature of most of GALIDOR's detachable/rebuildable parts was severely restrictive to the GALIDOR series itself, making it difficult to create anything new based on these parts, let alone combine them with traditional LEGO bricks. These unique parts largely went against LEGO bricks' original intention of inspiring children's creativity.
In addition to GALIDOR's tone significantly deviating from original LEGO bricks, the TV series' performance was also mediocre. The products and content failed to achieve a synergy greater than the sum of their parts, making GALIDOR a short-lived series. In the years that followed, whenever discussions about "worst LEGO" themes arise, GALIDOR is inevitably brought up for criticism, making this series unexpectedly well-known among veteran collectors.
■ Jack Stone (2001 - 2003)Next, the Jack Stone series can be seen as a continuation of the LEGO Town series products of that era, injecting heroic elements into the cities of the LEGO world. Fighting crime, responding to disasters, and putting out fires – with Jack Stone, everything was taken care of.
The content of the Jack Stone theme was very similar to our familiar City series, encompassing police chases, firefighting, transport planes, police headquarters, and more. A major selling point of Jack Stone at the time was its new style of character minifigures, different from previous LEGO minifigures. In addition to being larger than traditional LEGO minifigures, their hair, head, torso, and legs were designed to be inseparable. Although it was a short-lived series, besides the mere twenty-something sets, Jack Stone also released merchandise such as toothbrushes and animated videos. Even today, there are many devoted fans captivated by Jack Stone.
▼ The image below shows the Jack Stone Video, set number 3901, on the left, and the Jack Stone toothbrush released in collaboration with Colgate on the right.
▼ The 2001 Jack Stone theme series commercial.
However, among the many discussions and shares about "worst LEGO sets," one Jack Stone product is often singled out for criticism: set number 4612, the Super Glider. Besides its design being anything but "super," the glider's use of a single sheet of paper also made it difficult for this product to be preserved in good condition. It's worth noting that this Super Glider also had a promotional version released in collaboration with the Japanese food company Kabaya (カバヤ食品株式会社), with Japanese text and the Kabaya company logo printed on the packaging. Looking back now, this editor really wants to collect this box!
■ LEGO BIONICLE (2001 - 2010, 2015 - 2016)Next up is the LEGO BIONICLE series, whose popularity, we believe, is several notches higher than the previous two series! Although LEGO BIONICLE characters and GALIDOR's Nick figures shared the commonality of leaning towards action figure design in their product development, and their aesthetics were very un-LEGO-like, these two series were vastly different in terms of the completeness of their background stories, research and development processes, and other aspects of their evolution.
Firstly, LEGO BIONICLE boasted captivating stories and settings that appealed to children, including six warriors (Toa) possessing "elemental powers," masks that enhanced their strength, and battles against evil enemies. The fictional setting, "the island of Mata Nui," greatly sparked children's curiosity. LEGO further utilized various media to convey and enrich the diversity of the BIONICLE story, including games, comics, and novels. Even now, you can find LEGO BIONICLE animations on Netflix.
▼ The following two figures are among the original six elemental warriors from the 2001 LEGO BIONICLE series: Tahu, Toa of Fire (Set No. 8534), and Lewa, Toa of Air (Set No. 8535).
▼ Taking Lewa, Toa of Air, whom the editor owned as a child, as an example, you can see that these elemental warriors could achieve articulation far surpassing that of previous LEGO characters thanks to ball joints. By utilizing connector and joint parts of the same specifications, you could unleash your imagination to create unique, super cool warriors infused with your own power.
In addition to its appealing stories, LEGO BIONICLE also changed its product development methods and timelines. According to "LEGO: Small Bricks Make a Big Difference, The Secret to Building a Wealth Empire with Toys," a book written by Japanese author Satoshi Ebiya, the product leadership for BIONICLE was largely in the hands of children. Children's opinions became the designers' goals, and to align with the rich stories built through diverse media, the product development period was shortened from the original two years to about half a year. As a result, BIONICLE became the highest-grossing original product in LEGO's history at the time, and this theme became a long-running series that lasted for a decade.
▼ In addition to the single-character products mentioned above, LEGO also released "Battle of Metru Nui" (Set No. 8759) in 2005, featuring more intricately sized elemental warrior figures. With numerous characters and the giant spider Kahgarak, you could recreate a magnificent epic battle. Looking at this set, which is almost 20 years old, it remains quite captivating.
Although LEGO BIONICLE indeed achieved great success, becoming LEGO's most unique and best-selling series, in 2009, LEGO announced that it would release the final wave of products for the series in 2010 due to declining revenue and a lack of new customers. Aside from a brief revival from 2015 to 2016, LEGO also released the "40581 Tahu and Takua" BIONICLE-themed Gift With Purchase (GWP) set in 2023, a nostalgic reinterpretation for old fans using modern parts.
■ LEGO Dinosaurs (2001)Beyond LEGO minifigures, the uniquely shaped animals released by LEGO are also highly collectible for many players. Not just cats, dogs, and birds, or the beautifully printed butterflies, new-colored frogs, and exquisite owls of recent years—LEGO dinosaurs have always been a kind of romance! Especially with recent Jurassic-themed products, the reason for purchase is almost always the dinosaurs! So, let's go back more than twenty years and look at the LEGO Dinosaurs products released in 2001.
First up are the Ankylosaurus, Iguanodon, Brachiosaurus, and Dimetrodon babies, numbered 5090-5093, shown in the image below. After seeing all sorts of excellent LEGO dinosaur figures, one can only say that the designs of these four dinosaur babies are quite peculiar! Aside from their specialized heads, arms, and tails, their bodies and legs are represented by basic bricks, giving off an increasingly odd vibe the more you look. However, this charm, so characteristic of its era, is still very appealing today! Upon closer inspection, you'll also notice that even though these four dinosaurs are different types, their heads are essentially shared (laughs).
The four models above were considered smaller dinosaurs back then. At the same time, LEGO also released large dinosaur figures like this 6720, whose overall appearance is already very close to the modern versions we are familiar with. The fierce red eyes printed on it are absolutely fantastic!
The original packaging box is also worth mentioning. The black hard plastic case features a design style reminiscent of a dinosaur fossil, and the lid can even double as a display base. After assembling the dinosaur, you can use it for display, which is very interesting.
■ LEGO Sports (2000 – 2007) In recent years, LEGO has focused on football stadiums. In addition to releasing the "10272 Old Trafford" with nearly four thousand pieces in 2020, they later created the "10284 Camp Nou" and "10299 Real Madrid – Santiago Bernabéu Stadium" with over five thousand pieces in 2021 and 2022, respectively. However, LEGO's sports-themed products began as early as 20 years ago.
For example, this set numbered 3401, "Shoot 'n' Score," was a mini play set launched in 2000. This is also a childhood memory of mine. Besides using the special spring-loaded kicking base to install a minifigure, place a football, and press with your "finger" to enjoy the thrill of kicking, you can also use the scoring frame to hone your accuracy. If you have friends or siblings, you can have another person control the goalkeeper, easily enjoying the combined charm of LEGO and football.
圖片來源：Bricker
▼ However, at that time, there were also many products that, from today's perspective, seem quite perplexing, such as the Sign Board, Bench, and Bottle Case shown below.
▼ They even released a polybag with just two footballs! Were they banking on the floor goblins' covetous gaze on these unretrievable footballs? In that case, why not give us a set of five!
In addition to football, basketball products also began to be released in 2003. For instance, set number 3550, "Jump and Shoot," was a product featuring the special hoop piece. Among the many LEGO products at the time, it was definitely the most special one in the hearts of young boys, including myself as a child (laughs). I still remember how many times I repeatedly put the basketball into the hoop back then.
▼ Of course, basketball is a team sport, and playing with friends is what real basketball is all about! LEGO also released 2-on-2 sets like "3431 Streetball 2 vs 2" and "3432 NBA Challenge." At this point, sharp-eyed toy enthusiasts must have noticed: the lower halves of the player minifigures in these sets seem to have been hollowed out. Why was this design chosen!?
Ta-da! The answer is revealed: springs are embedded in the minifigures' legs! In fact, this was a brilliant design to achieve a groundbreaking play experience for LEGO minifigures: you could control the LEGO minifigures on the court to pass and shoot! Combining LEGO minifigures with basketball gameplay, not just for collecting, is incredibly fun even from today's play perspective! And you could even experience bank shots – how cool is that? It's also worth noting that LEGO designers at the time were quite uninhibited with the facial designs of the player minifigures (laughs).
▼ The "NBA Collectors" player collection, launched alongside player cards, now looks like an absolute dream product!
After looking at the five series above, the editor here will add one more interesting LEGO product! That is the "Polly Pick-Up," released in 1993 with item number 1874! This highly nostalgic contraption is actually designed for picking up scattered LEGO bricks!
Just like shown on the packaging, simply hold the handle and push it forward, and the Polly Pick-Up will use its internal rotating blades to "scoop up" the LEGO pieces. Then, lift the red base plate at the back of the top, and you can sort the pieces one by one! LEGO not only sells building block products but also helps you figure out how to clean them up – truly brilliant!
These are some of the most interesting and unique LEGO products that the editor personally finds fascinating. Of course, in addition to the five series mentioned above, LEGO has also launched many other unexpectedly fun series, such as "LEGO Studios" for creating stop-motion animations, "LEGO Slizer (Throwbots)" which can be considered a precursor to Bionicle, and "Lego Power Miners" related to the underground world, among others. If there's an opportunity, we'll chat more about them with all you toy enthusiasts! If you're interested in any niche or special series, feel free to discuss them with us in the comments section.
Image sources: Brickset, BrickEconomy, Brick Owl