I miss the alternative build models and the idea books

[Legoist]

I miss having pictures of alternative build models on the back of the box or of the instructions.

Once it was quite a standard of every Lego set to include a few pictures of alternative models. Usually they weren't particularly good, since they had to use only pieces from the same box. But still it was a great opportunity to challenge yourself trying to replicate those alternative models without having instructions. You knew you had all the pieces for them, but you had to figure out how to build.

I liked the idea very much because it was a good exercise in building techniques. I also liked to think of building Lego as a three-stage challenge:

1. Easy - Build the main model. You've got the instructions and the final picture: you know WHAT to build and HOW to build it.

2. Intermediate - Build the alternative models. You've got the final picture but not the instructions: you know WHAT to build, you need to find out HOW.

3. Hard - Build something original. You have no clue, you're on your own: you have to find out WHAT and HOW.

I also really miss Idea Books!! They were basically a huge collection of alternative models (plus a large stickers page), only a few of which came with instructions, the rest only had pictures. Using Idea Books was more difficult because you also had to find all the pieces from your collection, and at least in my case I was typically always missing a bunch of part to complete anything.

Alternate models and Idea Books were the basis of stage 2. building. Why was this de-emphasized so much? I wish they would bring them back!

[General Armendariz]

I also wish they still have alternate models. Its so fun! I remember when I got the Carribean Clipper when I finished the final model

I gazed at all the great stuff you can build! I tried building one of the ship alternates (But it looked nothing like it!) It was such a fun challenge!

They should tottaly bring it back and the idea books.

[xenologer]

Sure I miss em

but they're kinda... a thing of the past what with TLC's new quality controls for model designs. Too much work to make an alternate model that conforms to all their design limits.

[Peppermint_M]

They do have combined models in the back (except in unoriginal sets based on films) but you do need to have bought a second or even a third set from the theme to build them, and get the instructions from the internet.

Then again there are alternative model pictures online and kids are very web-savvy these days (my little brother's internet favourites *eight years old* Lego.com, Brickset.com and several lego theme subsites from the official lego website for both games and other models to make) so they prefer to go online. A product needs to relate to something on the internet so that the kids are bothered with them anymore.

[Siegfried]

I miss them, but it's my opinion that they stopped them due to customer support issue; complaints like "johnny can't build that so this set must be defective" and "this part is not available yet it's in the ideas book" are costly to a company.

TheBrickster had a similar topic last year.

Too much work to make an alternate model that conforms to all their design limits.

I do know that Fast Flyers had some designed but TLG didn't display them.

[Sandy]

Sure, the alternative models were fun to look at, but I never built any of them really.

By the way, I found out that some of the Harry Potter -sets included three to four step instructions to the alternative models. But as you said, Legoist, they weren't really any good anyway.

I have a funny story related to an Idea Book. Me and my granny were in this big general store when I was little, and we saw one of those books in the LEGO shelf. Thinking it was one of those free catalogues, we just put it in my granny's bag. When we got to my granny's place, I finally noticed that the book had a price tag in it. So I guess it was unintentional shoplifting we had committed! It wasn't very expensive in the first place, though.

The book served well for it's time, but now it's all torn up. I think I have a section of it still intact somewhere. I remember it having separate models for classic Castle, Space and Pirates, as well as some brick-built animals and other things.

[CP5670]

Sure, the alternative models were fun to look at, but I never built any of them really.

Same here. These box picture alternates were a nice addition to sets and emphasized the idea of open ended building with Lego, but it was rare to find anything among them that was actually good. I frequently stared at the box pictures as a kid, but hardly ever built those models myself. Only the largest sets had enough pieces for interesting alternates.

Many of the Creator sets still have these models though, some with instructions and others without (and the models there are better designed than most of the old box picture ones). Technic sets also include alternate models with full instructions, as they always have.

[Legoist]

I have a funny story related to an Idea Book. Me and my granny were in this big general store when I was little, and we saw one of those books in the LEGO shelf. Thinking it was one of those free catalogues, we just put it in my granny's bag. When we got to my granny's place, I finally noticed that the book had a price tag in it. So I guess it was unintentional shoplifting we had committed! It wasn't very expensive in the first place, though.

That's actually a very smart tactic! And if you get caught at the cash counter, you can always blame the granny...

[legotrainfan]

It would be wonderful to have those alternate builds on the back of the boxes again. As a child I loved staring at them, but only rarely did I build one of the models.

Idea books were a great thing. I have only one, but I also checked the on-line instructions of some other idea books. No idea why TLC doesn't produce them anymore.

[brickzone]

I think the 3-in-1 Creator sets are a pretty reasonable offering. I sometimes liked the look of the alternate models on old sets, but I think overall the concept only sort-of-worked. The most recent one I recollect is the one for the Viking Ship - I did consider trying to build that one.

The instructions online for combined models are a reasonable alternative too. It would be awesome though to include a giant model using parts from all sets in a theme. I'm sure for Castle for example you could do that (including all sets still available).

Edited March 25, 2009 by brickzone

[Legoist]

I think the 3-in-1 Creator sets are a pretty reasonable offering.

The Creator series is one of my favourite themes, but it's not the same since you do get instruction for each of the model.

The different challenge of "stage 2" was coming from not having instruction.

Nowadays we of course have infinite ideas of MOCs from the internet to copy... however there is a key difference: that with those alternative models you knew you could do them with the pieces contained in the box, so you were guaranteed you could do them if you wanted to. I see thousands of unbelievably nice MOCs on the web, but also I know that the better the MOC, the less likely I have the pieces to make it.

[Section8]

I miss those pictures too. The alternate models usually were quite creative and sometimes on par with the main set itself. I also liked when if you bought 3 certain sets you could combine them to make a new larger model using the instructions included in one of the sets. They only did it a few times with Space sets, I recall.

[Tyrant]

I too wish they still made the Idea Books. I have two of them. My preference has been Castle for a while and the old Idea Books have some impressive layouts (even if they were nearly impossible to replicate without sinking a ton of money into Bricklink). I would think that for Castle at least something like the Idea Books could work reasonably well today. The parts are fairly uniform throughout the current line sticking with a handful of colors for virtually all the parts so gathering the right parts in the right colors shouldn't be too hard. Maybe make two books and the second one being more advanced ideas along the lines of some of the MOC techniques that people employ.

[Algernon]

I agree. It really underlined the idea behind LEGO. You can do anything you want with the set, it's not just the model on the front.

[prateek]

i miss the ones form the SW sets

[just2good]

It was great when they had them!

I think the last one was on the LEGO City Criminal Transporter from 2005.