Unsurprisingly, having been around for 20 years, the LEGO Star Wars theme has a broad range of publications and while many collectors focus on sets, minifigures, and the occasional promotional item, books receive far less attention.
The first LEGO Star Wars book came in 2009 with the release of The Visual Dictionary, and coincidentally The Holo-Brick Archives’ very own Jeremy Beckett co-wrote and photographed the book – since then almost 150 different LEGO Star Wars titles have been released!
In order to cover this extensive portion of the theme, we have added a new section to the Database which has the most complete list on the internet – make sure to take a look and see how many you never knew existed!
To celebrate this addition, let’s take a look at some of the cover designs that didn’t make the cut!
First up is LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary – referred to above – which had a final, approved cover that featured the Death Star torso Darth Vader surrounded by sets 10143 Death Star II, Anakin’s Jedi Interceptor from 7256 Jedi Starfighter and Vulture Droid, and the Dewback and Sandtrooper from 4501 Mos Eisley Cantina.
However, the preliminary cover was quite different – it featured the battle damaged Darth Vader surrounded by the same sets plus a Wookiee Warrior (incorrectly named Chewbacca) and Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced from 10131 TIE Fighter Collection.
Final Cover 
Prelim Cover
LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles, published in 2013 and named after the television series that was released that year, had an approved cover which featured a variety of characters and ships from the Prequel and Original trilogies. Once again a unique minifigure, the Special Forces Commander, was included to entice buyers. The preliminary cover was similar in design but featured the older version of Yoda as well as the 2012 LEGO Star Wars logo which is a reminder that all products are in progress well before the public is aware.
One of the most impressive books in terms of cover design is Chronicles of the Force which was released in 2016 following the release of The Force Awakens at the end of the previous year. As such, the book included Unkar’s Brute from the skirmish on Jakku (this figure would go on to be found in another book as well as 75178 Jakku Quadjumper). The approved cover utilized characters and vehicles from the Sequel Trilogy while also showing fan favorites from the other trilogies. The preliminary cover showcased C-3PO and R2-D2 with a focus on Original Trilogy vehicles. Was this intentional to prevent spoilers from the movie, or are the time of the mock-up was there no content from The Force Awakens? Perhaps the book was intended to be something different entirely but was changed mid-way.
Next up is the Spot the Spy Droid book also released in 2016. The original cover featured a cartoonish Yoda similar in design to sw0707 and showed portions of three different search-and-find drawings from the book. The brick-build Spy Droid was attached to the cover in a round plastic bubble. The preliminary cover shows the same Yoda but this time holding a magnifying glass instead of a cane as he overlooks an assortment of LEGO Star Wars characters. The Spy Droid is again present but in a rectangular bubble. What is most interesting about this design is that the preliminary image was actually used for non-English versions of the book. To the best of our searching, the English version shown in the photo below could not be found but perhaps it exists!
Last year was a special time for LEGO Star Wars as it headed into its 20th anniversary, and to commemorate the milestone the latest addition to the Visual Dictionary lineup was added. The approved cover featured a monochrome Darth Vader surrounded by 10240 Red Five X-wing Starfighter, 10143 Death Star II, 75187 BB-8, and a nicely added 20th anniversary logo.The preliminary cover featured the same Darth Vader but this time surrounded by Anakin’s Jedi Starfighter and a BB-8 minifigure. While the subtitle for the final version was Anniversary Edition, the preliminary subtitle was Platinum Edition which fits with the cover’s appearance. Both books showed the special Bacta suit Finn minifigure which is unique because the prelim books above all had placeholder minifigs.
If you’ve made it this far, you must enjoy reading so get out there and pick up some LEGO Star Wars books and fill your shelves! Although many books are out of print now, you can find a selection of offerings on Amazon.
Are there any titles that we have missed? Let us know in the comments below!
Founder and owner of The Holo-Brick Archives, Kevin Downard maintains and curates the Database Catalog as a collecting resource for all fans and covers new product releases.
Getting in at the ground floor when the LEGO Star Wars theme first launched, Kevin has been collecting ever since. He is a self-proclaimed minifigure guru and has a passion for tracking down and cataloging every minifig variation – no matter how obscure. He has assisted Rebrickable and Bricklink in maintaining their set inventories, helped overhaul the rebelscum.com LEGO forum, and created the LSW Collector mobile app.
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