Six sets that the LEGO Group cancelled

There’s been plenty of LEGO sets released since the LEGO Group started almost 90 years ago, but only a select few have been cancelled, and even fewer saw an extremely limited release before their demise. 

Some of the LEGO Group’s cancelled sets include unique, personalised experiences while others would have featured all new licenses for the LEGO Group to recreate in brick-built form. 

Here’s six LEGO sets that for one reason or another never managed to release, but came close enough to have an official design.

6 – 3868 Phineas and Ferb

Once upon a time, the LEGO Games theme was planned to feature a board game themed to the popular Disney animated show Phineas and Ferb, which featured two brothers on inventive adventures while their pet platypus kept the world, or their neighbourhood at least, safe from harm.

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This LEGO Games set was allegedly due to release in 2012, the year before the theme saw its final models release before the curtains closed for good.  The show would still be an excellent choice for a future LEGO set, but other than a movie on Disney+, there’s not been too much activity from it. Instructions were still produced as evidenced by this image, which can be found on Brickset.

5 – 21038 Las Vegas

This LEGO Architecture set was pulled from production for good reason. The original model was planned to feature the Mandalay Bay Hotel but following a tragic shooting at the real-life location in 2017, the LEGO Group chose to remove the hotel from the set and revised the design.  

Later that year, 21047 Las Vegas would release and replace the Mandalay Bay Hotel with that of the Bellagio. This enabled the LEGO Group to separate itself from the violence and avoid causing unintentional harm to anyone affected. Some copies of 21038 did manage to release into the wild, and The Brick Architect even managed to find one. 

4 – LEGO Universe personalised minifigure

You might recall a little LEGO game known as LEGO Universe, an MMO that unfortunately saw its demise just 15 months after it launched. However, during that time the LEGO Group pursued several accompanying models, such as 55001 Nexus Force Rocket. However, it turns out a more personal experience was also on the cards. 

The community manager for the game, Darthdraddog shared a unique LEGO set to Reddit following the game’s shutdown. It would have been a personalised LEGO minifigure based on your avatar in the game, all stored in a fashionable container. Pictures posted by the user show that it would have made a great display item, and likely only had limited prototypes made before the game’s life was over. 

3 – 60278 Crook’s Hideout Raid

LEGO CITY 60278 Crook’s Hideout Raid was recently revealed to have been cancelled for clashing with the LEGO Group’s brand values. We only received a blurry look at the set thanks to a retailer catalogue but it would have featured a warehouse building with a comical stick of dynamite on top. A helicopter and car would have been included for the police to raid the criminal hideout.

In a statement to the LEGO Ambassador Network, the design team explained that with CITY models, they try to showcase the world in a lighthearted manner, and believed that 60278 Crook’s Hideout Raid failed to achieve that, and clashed with the company’s brand values. Despite all that, it still managed to get far enough along to receive promotional material.

2 Galidor 8322 Mokkar

The Galidor theme is well-known amongst LEGO fans for being one of the most experimental times in the LEGO Group’s history, with a range of buildable figures that were, and still are, very different to any other sets the company has produced. To the surprise of no one, there were more than a few cancelled models in the theme including 8322 Mokarr.  

Thanks to LEGO designer Nick Vás, we’ve been given a good look at it, with it appearing to be a shark combined with a motorcycle. The LEGO designer explains that this is a living creature that is capable of inter-realm navigation, presumably amongst the worlds of the Galidor universe. 

1 Technic 42113 Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey Helicopter

Possibly the most well-known of the cancelled LEGO sets is 42113 Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey Helicopter, a LEGO Technic set that was cancelled when it was just weeks away from an official release, and some stores even started selling it early.

The LEGO Group’s official statement explains that the set was pulled because it showcased a military vehicle, despite the model showcasing a rescue version. It still begs the question of how the set managed to get quite so close to release before the realisation was made, and a design flaw has even been spotted in the model, which did not affect the decision.

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