whitswj

Some occasionally have numbers molded into them. Many of the prototype parts have "TF" or "FF" molded into them. I have been told that this means temporary form and final form. I am unsure if this is entirely true. Maybe some expert reading this forum can shed more light on it. Oddly, I have part 2443 in blue that has TF2443 molded into it. I can only assume it was made for use for the original Aqua sets (since it came from a batch of prototype parts matching the theme) which would have been developed in the early 90's so that is odd. Another possibility it that it was a much older part from the mid eighties and found use for the development team in the 90's. Anyway...just a guess. It is safe to assume there are families of parts that were developed. For every type of slope, an inverted one, a corner and concave version. As far as other parts the logic would be similar. As far as cataloging, that would be interesting. A proto catalog would be handy for people into digital design. I think you could end up with a ton of possibilities. Most of what I have in my collection is mid eighties to early 2000s. I am sure they produce less off the wall parts now because of a better digital design process. I really would love to see some of the odd parts from the mid/ late 70s that were made for the original town, castle and space themes (and possibly an early underwater theme that was never made). I have seen nothing from this time period but was a point in time where Lego was very concerned about competition (much like now). Again, I'd love to hear more from any experts out there.

Here's another update of some more non production parts I have recently obtained. As I have said before, I collect these to MOC with. Some other collectors have called me crazy for doing so.... but what is sadder than a toy that never sees the light of day. I have an Ice planet build in the works so this is a nice addition to the trans orange pneumatic parts that I have. Non production trans neon orange panel by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr I like the octagonal modified brick system. This is the third prototype mould of this system that I have in my collection. This will be good for classic space: Prototype modified brick- this is the inverse of the production part found in aquazone sets. by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr For some Castle MOCs: Orange castle wall panels by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr 90s castle test print flags on white flags by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr ...And for some other space MOCs: Trans clear 8x8 plate by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr Non production color bracket part. These are available in a ton of colors in high quantities from a lot of sellers. This particular bunch came from a Lego modeler in the US who was contracted. by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr

Which 2 by 5 slopes do you mean? I have a couple funky 2 x 4 in trans neon green. I would love to see and get a 2x5 slope. I've got another new weird aquazone octagonal prototype part on the way. It looks like they made a lot of parts for that system that never saw production. There are now five that I know of that never got produced, two of which I don't have- a stubbier cone part and a 2x2 octagonal plate.

I have no idea. All I know is that it was developed/ made in the late 90's. For me, it will be in a space miners MOC based on the collectible minifigure series.

I think a Disney monorail theme would be a good idea. At the Disney parks, a monorail sells for 100-150 usd. If you want two stations or landmarks it will set you back 100-200 USD more. They sell these things hand over fist and the quality and functionality is poor. It is a basic battery powered monorail with a stop/go button on it. Honestly speaking, its kind of a POS. Something tells me if Lego had a Disney monorail set for around 250 USD it would sell extremely well. From what I know, the original monorails were a bit of a sales failure but I don't think that would be the case with Disney. If they sold 200 a week at each Disney location (a very low ball number IMHO), they would sell over 10,000 a year at each location.

Here's a few more goodies I have scored in the last few months. Interestingly enough, the purple 1x2 plates come from a Lego discovery center in the U.S. That is a source of these kind of parts that I didn't know about before. BTW, I have an article about rare/ non-prod parts in this month's issue of Blocks (issue 34). Trans purple 1x2 plates from Legoland by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr LEGO trans 1x2 brick (part 3004) by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr Non-prod 2x2 trans tiles by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr Lego non prod bracket by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr

BTW, I will eventually start a new thread to announce the flickr group for prototype/ unreleased set inspired MOCs. I will do this at a point when I have a few different themes done. Its a quiet group right now. I'm not sure what the EB rules are about those kind of announcements though. I will also announce on other forums.

Most of the original sources of pics come from brickjournal magazines from about eight years ago (give or take a couple of years). I would love to see more but TLG is very guarded about unreleased concepts and probably even more so since the articles. I imagine there is a trove of hundreds of concepts that no one of will ever get to see. Keep in mind conceptualizing sets was dozens of peoples' jobs, five days a week, for several decades. There must be a massive amount of material somewhere. In my years collecting rare parts, I have seen enough weird/ prototype parts to know that the TLG must have come up with some amazing prototypes. The question I have is: Did Lego design the part for the concepts, or did they design the concepts around the parts? BTW as 1974 suggested, check out prototron on Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/groups/3602763@N25/ Feel free to add your own MOCs made in the spirit of the prototypes.

Decent large size transparent panels to make large windshields, space bases, and other types of vehicles. Brick built based solutions are not as visually appealing. What are these from? I have these that were made by Lego: Prototype parts- studded on both sides and anti studded on both sides! by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr

I am only guessing here- but I wonder if TLG had plans for some kind of spacey Technic line. Its the only thing I can think of. Anyway, for me they will be in MOCs. The trans neon orange will go in an ice-planet base. The trans neon green will go into some kind of mtron lifting MOC. Now all I need is time!

Most of the people that are into these types of parts are already following me on Flickr but I thought I'd add these goodies I got recently to this thread since they are very relevant to this topic. I also like to brag a bit! This could be the start of a good seatron MOC by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr Trans green plate by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr Prototype windshield by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr Trans neon pneumatic parts by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr Prototype 5 stud wide radar dishes by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr Trans clear old style windshield by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr Sand green technic by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr Trans neon green jet engines by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr Blue octagonal window part by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr

Prototype tiles from Lego by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr More non-production goodness!

Just got this goody in the mail today! Trans yellow tile by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr

More goodies to share! Non production color trans cockpit element by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr Prototype blacktron printed tiles- from Lego by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr & yes, those tiles came from lego!

Blacktron prototype printed tiles from Lego: Prototype blacktron printed tiles- from Lego by Walter Whiteside Jr., on Flickr