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I like how they're so precise on their measurements and dimensions, all the time not realising the Legos are going straight in my mouth.

You know you made a terrible mistake when the lego engineer tells you “this is personal”

"So, how did you end up in jail?" Me: Illegal Lego builds

You just answered two huge questions from my childhood (why they redesigned the clip piece and 1x1 cone piece) and I am thankful for the closure it provided me.

Now that is the proper dictionary definition needed to be said about what an "Illegal" technique is. Thanks for the lesson!

I'm glad you are explaining the reasons behind the rules because some people will just give a list of ways no to build and thats a little annoying

I thought "illegal Lego techniques" was just a meme for any builds that were unusual, didn't know it was an actual thing!

For me, illegal techniques are usually a last resort when I can't figure out how to build something normally. I don't have a massive collection so I can't be too reckless with my bricks

This thumbnail looked so clickbait, but realizing you uploaded it, I knew I was going to learn something new and surprising by watching it.

It's really interesting to learn that the Lego designers are actually modifying pieces to be more versatile and durable.

The conflicts with technique brick seems like more of a design oversight when the molds were introduced

As a kid, I used to love building Lego Star Wars sets 90's-00's. I recently bought the collector's Star Destroyer and was baffled when I was instructed to put the 2X1 flat piece inside the little clips, as I had always thought that you weren't supposed to do that. Glad I wasn't going crazy lol

There's a difference between a build being "illegal" and a build being "cursed"

"Is this legal?" Lego engineers modifying bricks, summoning their best Darth Sidious voice: "I will make it legal"

I had no idea that the technic bricks and bricks with studs on the sides had slightly different heights on their holes and studs respectively, kinda feels like an oversight on legos part ngl, I alos never noticed how flat plates and studded plates are different in thickness, great video man! also that wheel that u showed off towards the end looks cool af

When I was a kid, I was very offended when my cousin spray painted a Lego project. Somehow I'm glad that other people take this stuff personally.

Wow I legitimately thought "that's illegal" comments about weird Lego techniques were jokes I had no idea there was even an official concept of illegality, let alone that people were actually being both sincere and mostly wrong

I think it's important to further clarify that "illegal" is really just "contraindicated in Lego's official manual of how to design sets." Lego couldn't care one bit if people do any of this stuff. There's nothing wrong with it. It's not taboo or special. It's just not good practices for creating sensible, robust, elegant designs.

The terms "legal" and "illegal" are so weird for something you can always legally do with your own Lego sets.

As an engineer the last time I said "I'll never do anything that is invalid", the QA always find my mistakes.

She: " I love bad boys." Him: "I'm an illegal Lego builder."

I am guilty as charged for using so many illegal techniques 😂 that aside, great insight into these techniques coming from your experience as a Lego designer

Iirc, the newer round pieces have a lip inside them to allow technic pins to expand, so that one is now (sometimes) legal, depending on whether it's the new piece.

Crazy thing is the official LEGO instructions often use damaging connections, as I can attest by the numerous broken bricks in my tubs.

now these are illegal techniques, I'd thought I had seen it all but there was so many things I learnt today

I was always so confused about illegal building techniques, now it makes sense illegal techniques stresses out the bricks or can damage them

Seems like a simple minor redesign of some elements would eliminate some of illegality. For example, making the LEGO logo on studs an “innie” instead of an “outie”, or adjusting the top of the tube of a brick to allow a Technic pin to expand.

I have never, in all my casual years of playing with Legos, heard "illegal" used. I have, though, wondered about those very subtle gaps. Learned a lot of un-useful information, but I'm happy to have learned it all the same.

In our LUG, we say "Technic and System bricks are not friends." Not enemies, but not friends.

My favourite obscure legal connection is a technic pin to the underside of a 1x1 brick with studs on 4 sides. The open studs actually give the pin room to properly expand and move freely, so while it may not be intentional it's not actually stressing anything and is, as such, fully legal! It was even used in an old M-Tron set once.

Interesting video, something I've been meaning to ask is if Lego has changed their plastic on newer bricks. They seem softer and easier to remove, but in some cases they can come off alot easier as a result.

I guess eating or stepping on lego bricks is also an illegal building technique because it puts stress and strain on the parts in a way they weren't designed for too

“Most of the time” lol. Would love to hear a story (if one exists) of an illegal building technique that was caught by LEGO quality control, causing you to redesign in some way.

I can't wait to defend the first case where my client is facing charges for "illegal Lego building techniques."

This is why i used to hate getting technique sets when i asked for lego’s for my birthday. It always seemed as if the bricks would fit in a certain way with regular lego’s, but then they ended up not fitting.

The wonders we could achieve if the Lego logo was recessed

Unfortunately, these days even being an active LEGO designer and being embedded in the design and quality processes at the mothership doesn't seem to be a guarantee that no illegal building techniques make their way into official sets. Have you heard about the problem with 76205 Gargantos Showdown? If not, check out the article "Possible design flaw found in 2022 Super Heroes set" over on Brickset.

I feel like some of these would take a REALLY LONG TIME to cause damage, though, obviously the official definition doesn't care about how long it would take.

I love it when people, who aren’t experts, try to correct an expert lol.

I did a lot of plate connections (03:50) in the '80's with my Lego's. If you wanted to make a slum or a shed, that plate connection was the way to go and looked the most natural. Since then, Lego had lot of time improving them to release the stress in the plates that way. If they can improve the cones (03:17) to make former "illegal techniques" legal, they can do the same with the plates.

Before you say something people, think about it. The man was a LEGO designer. He obviously knows more than we do.

This is a super cool explanation. For instance I never knew why the 1x1 clip was redesigned with arms that - at first glance - made it look less sturdy. Lego Engineers and set designers are really amazing at what they do!

I recently continued with adding to my Lego collection, and have now built 2 major sets. I was actually wondering what the difference was between the solid studs and the hollow studs. Never knew that the Lego logo made a difference in the fit 😯 Thanks for the explanation 😊 Also, I have a complaint about a set I'm currently building, the new Hedwig on the books 🦉 📚 the base seems a bit unstable. all the Lego builds I've put together have all been pretty solid. I was just wondering if this was normal 🤔

Hey, I own the bricks and Iown a dremel, if I need a 4½ piece, I make one, the logo on the knobs takes 0.1s to grind down, and the pins becomes the length I need them. If the pieces wants to separate, there is always superglue...

For some of these it seems like they really could've designed them in a way that doesn't make those connections illegal.

For a long long time I have wanted ot know what Legos actually considers illegal. With your background as a Lego employee, this goes above and beyond explaining why we shouldn't do illegal connections and what is an illegal connection.

a question i have is why are the bricks not designed to allow these illegal connections? it's seems like it would only be a tiny change that doesn't affect anything else

The old 1x1 clips were breaking even when you made _legal_ connections like adding a simple 4L bar or minifig tool. It's only one example how elements break just from the originally intended stress. Many of transparent parts with clips, transparent 1x1 plates round and squared, Bionicle sockets for balljoints, bushings for Technic crossbars and so on. The all tend to break by just the normal use. Sad.

"What are you in for?" "Illegal Lego building techniques." "And they didn't send you to the chair? Lucky!"

My first thought when I heard about illegal builds... "Dude! These are my Legos. The whole point is to be creative. How can anything I do with them be illegal." Lego set designer: "Some things will wear out or damage your legos." Me: "Alright. Yeah. I'll go with that." ...though I still think "illegal" might be a little strong.

Thank you for teaching me these illegal techniques that you use in your builds!

I did all kinds of stuff with my Legos that warped and damaged them. As far as I was concerned this is what they were meant for, playing and being creative. Finding new ways to use the bricks was a big part of the fun.

You didnt answer the real question though: How many former Lego designers spend their rest of their lifes rotting in danish prison cells for these illegal building techniques?

feels like eventually, there will have to be similar updates and iterations to how the cone had a stop added in, or at least new bricks with standardized tolerances will have to slowly be introduced to phase out old tolerances - I can only dream of the day when all of technic can be totally compatible with all of system without any illegal techniques haha

I didn't realize the new 1x1 tile with clip with tile connected was a legal building technic. I have seen this on both the Creator Blue Power Jet and the Icons Discovery sets, with the clip holding a 1x1 tile up for a heads-up display. I always thought that was illegal, but I realize now it isn't. I have however added an illegal building technique to the Discovery set to make the explosive cover for the drogue chute that goes at the base of the tail. While the Technic pin + 1x1 stud does allow the bottom of the tail to line up with the rudder/brake, it does put strain on the pin as it cannot expand inside the 1x3 inverted slope. It's been in there so long that it has practically conformed itself to the hole and no longer is under much strain anymore. I now realize this is also inaccurate, as STS-31 (which the set is based on) didn't have this drogue chute. It was first flown on STS-49, the maiden flight of Endeavour, almost 2 years after Discovery carried the Hubble Telescope to orbit. Also, if you're wondering what the hell a "drogue" chute is, it can also be called a drag chute, but I first picked up the term while playing Kerbal Space Program.

This video will be used in a court if the LEGO cops decide to arrest Tiago.

imagine telling a former lego employee that their builds are illegal

Holy moly, Legos are way more involved than i ever imagined

love the pace of this video!

Very nice to see a thorough breakdown of *why* certain techniques are illegal.

My definition of illegal building techniques before this video: Everything that doesn’t look like Lego would voluntarily put into a build instruction. My definition after: Everything that can batter the brick.

Ive been using lego bricks how I see fit since I first owned them in the late 70s. Im not gonna stop making things just becuase its illegal.

Some Lego sets have builds that makes blocks, mostly clips, very easy to break. Even though they are not "illegal". Eg, clipping a long rod in a direction that the torque produced by pushing the rod readily breaks it. Be careful.

I remember back when a vertical plate between studs was in some official build instructions. Though that would've been close to 40 years ago at this point.

This is awesome! I would always direct any non-Lego friends to the "Stressing the Elements" powerpoint by Jamie Berard when they'd hear me talking about my builds or see the ever so misunderstood memes, but this more 'hands-on' video is way more intuitive and thorough (as well as being more modern with the new cone and 1x1 tile with clip molds).

The ship in a bottle set is one of my favorites and I want it, its really cool you helped design it!

I damaged a lot of lever pieces making penguins using cones, only half avoided cracking after a year, and i switched to the cylinder

That was a great video!

If you think your lego techniques are illegal, remember: I have willingly cut peices to size when I have lacked the right peice and colour, quite a few times.

I've never seen plates deflect like that when you bind plates between studs vertically

I always wondered if inserting a plate between studs was legal. I know I used it a lot when I was a kid because I needed to go vertical many times. Lego should make the plates in such a way that the plates can be wedged between the studs without damaging them.

Would love to see some of this long term damage. I'm personally infamous for stressing bricks in my designs and despite having been assembled for years under tension they always spring back.

It appears to me that many of these "illegal" connections were just a lack of foresight on the original designs as far as cross-compatibility goes. In some cases they were directly addressed with a re-design and it seems that some of them are simply just too late to fix (e.g. technic vs. normal alignments & lego logo protrusion). Can you honestly say that with a blank design slate that all of these incompatibilities are necessary?

Question. So if in the case shown in the thumbnail, if the side ways 1x1 brick was a technic brick with the hole facing up, would it be legal?

Excellent explanation of why these techniques are & aren’t legal! I had never known the reasoning before. Thanks!

I have seen so many videos talking about what's legal and illegal when it comes to building legos and I almost didn't click on this video, thinking I knew everything it was gonna say. But then I did anyway and actually learned so much more about the topic and also how to identify it more easily. Thanks a lot for the info.

I was overjoyed when I learned that Lego redesigned those one by one clips because when I was a kid I remember the old designs broke a little too easily.

Fun fact: The cover of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 features an illegal building technique. The Godric Gryffindor's sword uses a clip holding a tile and when you look closer, it's definitely the old one (btw, the new one didn't even exist back then).

I do like the newish bracket pieces. Side paneling is one of my favorite building techniques.

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a Lego designer after being told that his techniques are illegal" - Some guy, probably

I always thought illegal lego techniques were just a meme. I was wrong

❤ I am amazed how they expanded variety of details through decades. I played LEGO long before many of these fancy interesting bricks, connecting elements and shapes were introduced. So when I stumble on a video like this, I just watch with wide eyes 😯

I feel like this is an essential video to watch, it useful knowing what can damage my Lego

This is really cool and insightful, thank you for sharing. I was wondering if you could share more about what is different between a single stud plate going into a technic brick vs a larger plate doing the same and why one is okay but the other is illegal, what specifically is it about a multiple stud plate attempting that connection that makes it illegal?

Such a clear definition and great examples!! Honestly didn't realize what was bad about using illegal connections. Very cool to see! Thank you!

One illegal LEGO thing I do is put the pin with a stud connection end on the bottom of a brick and it works

I don't know why this was recommended to me, and I didn't understand basically any of what you said, but thank you for opening me up to the intricacies of a world I didn't even know about.

Lots of these cases seem so close to being fine but there is just a 0.01 mm difference or something that makes them not work. I would love to know the reasons why there are these slight differences? (e.g. why weren't the holes designed at exactly the same height, etc)

I was surprised that the maximally illegal move was not in this video, the one where you stick an Axle 2L or 3L into a Bohrok Shoulder with something placed in the gap, making all 3 pieces permanently locked together with no way to separate them without breaking one or more of the pieces

Hello, is clipping a 1x1 plate (3024) to a modified 1x1 plate with a clip on the side (4085d) legal or illigal? I need to know this for my lego build. Love your videos!

Those comments really knew they screwed themselves up when he said " this is personal"

For me, I feel a bit upset about some of the Bionicle Sets or combiners as some of them would be stressing pieces out in the long run and could damage them. It is crazy to see that some of them have slipped under the radar and was released

3:07 Sadly it's not, it still gets stressed and ultimately broken. I have several new clips and they're mostly broken, I didn't even use any illegal techniques similarly in the video, only had them clipped on some bars and they're still broken so no new clip design doesn't really help

Something interestings is i have halo megablox set of a scorpion. I left it built for yearrs then i come back and it seems that thr treads defored the wheels to where you can see indentations from them being left like that for so long as if someone melted the plastic and the treads are supposed to be in the wheels.

I had not considered many of these more subtle, illegal techniques. cool video. Tiago that you are uniquely positioned to be able to make.

Its kinda funny how I as a kid, didnt know that these are actually called illegal techniques, whenever I or my friends tried to build something using thes techniques I said it just didnt felt right to do it that way. So I kinda got a feeling for illegal techniques... I should become a Lego police officer!

1:02 the left one is legal with bootleg parts

That last gear-like one was actually REALLY cool

At least I have been building correctly but still have bricks break, mostly the torso piece and arm connectio, ever think they will get fixed? Also I design in Lego Digital Designer and I improved some designs and made them simpler so anyway to get those reviewed for sets? If I build anything better all I want is to show people a better way