329 replies to this topic

[Derek]

Colonel, on Mar 19 2009, 11:49 AM, said:

I was visiting TLG yesterday, and told them once again that plates with studs on both sides is a must...

That would be great! The opposite would be nice as well.

[frogstudio]

M'Kyuun, on Mar 15 2009, 06:26 PM, said:

...I think it's time the minifig caught up with current poseability trends and received an upgrade. Along with this new midi-fig, TLG could revive the old, but great, Model Team theme, with much more lifelike and poseable drivers, pilots, and operators. The hands would remain the same, allowing the use of regular minifig utensils.

Blasphemy!!!!!   Please TLC, never change the minifig!!!!  Loosing the generic smiles was sufficient harm!!!  :)

[CopMike]

Colonel, on Mar 19 2009, 04:49 PM, said:

I was visiting TLG yesterday, and told them once again that plates with studs on both sides is a must...

Good work Colonel !
As for this hread about parts, please don´t turn it into a "theme"-wishing thread (Roman stuff ....). Be more precise on what, why and if it replaces a "part" created by using other parts together.

CopMike

[CP5670]

A double sided plate would be immensely useful. That part exists in some clone brands and is one of the few third party pieces that I have used in MOCs due to its usefulness.

[M'Kyuun]

frogstudio, on Mar 21 2009, 02:20 AM, said:

Blasphemy!!!!!   Please TLC, never change the minifig!!!!  Loosing the generic smiles was sufficient harm!!!  :)

I think you misunderstand; I don't want TLG to replace the minifig, but to add a more poseable mid-sized fig.

And because I can't help myself, I'd love to see http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=30413 and http://www.bricklink...Item.asp?P=4865 with studs on the outside.

[Ricecracker]

M'Kyuun, on Mar 22 2009, 02:13 PM, said:

And because I can't help myself, I'd love to see http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=30413 and http://www.bricklink...Item.asp?P=4865 with studs on the outside.

Interesting idea..... What about this one with studs on the outside?

[prateek]

DJ Force, on Mar 7 2009, 11:25 AM, said:

What we need is a 6 studs wide and 3 studs deep windscreen like this:

just higher, or this:

just wider.

thats exactly my idea and i'd also like double sided plates

Edited by prateek, 23 March 2009 - 12:40 AM.

[M'Kyuun]

Ricecracker, on Mar 22 2009, 06:32 PM, said:

Interesting idea..... What about this one with studs on the outside?

Absolutely.

[Ricecracker]

I was actually thinking about this earlier today. What about a 1x1 brick that you can put on top of this, and still have snot going upwards (Kind of hard to explain).

[Peppermint_M]

Ricecracker, on Mar 29 2009, 05:36 AM, said:

I was actually thinking about this earlier today. What about a 1x1 brick that you can put on top of this, and still have snot going upwards (Kind of hard to explain).

You mean like a double socket tube-like brick with no stud? That would be cool.

I also think a cheese slope with a stud instead of a socket would be a good addition (to match the inverted slopes)

[brickzone]

I'd like a new, "more clever", car door part, including a window. It would have to hinge similarly to the existing car doors, and would be "panel width" wide, but would have a window atop it (i.e. just window, no frame). If it clipped on to the bottom part of the door (not sure how) you could have different window colours and even shapes.

As car doors already "stick out" due to the handle, there is maybe scope for making them "fatter" on the outside, so you would have sufficient width to allow a slot for a window part to clip into on the top edge.

Just thinking out loud - surely the clever Lego designers could come up with something. For having so many small model vehicles, there seems to be a distinct lack of suitable parts. Even two of the wheel arches pieces that work well are very recent additions indeed. We need more windscreen/window types and perhaps one or two shaped side body panel parts (like a modified tile, and can be applied SNOT to the car).

Edited by brickzone, 29 March 2009 - 11:44 AM.

[CP5670]

brickzone, on Mar 29 2009, 06:41 AM, said:

I'd like a new, "more clever", car door part, including a window. It would have to hinge similarly to the existing car doors, and would be "panel width" wide, but would have a window atop it (i.e. just window, no frame).

This kind of door actually existed at one point, but it hasn't been produced since the early 70s. See this or this for example.

[prateek]

CP5670, on Mar 29 2009, 11:45 PM, said:

This kind of door actually existed at one point, but it hasn't been produced since the early 70s. See this or this for example.

woah, thats awesome, but if they make a new one, they should make the door smaller and the window bigger like a 55:45 door:window ratio, whereas on that piece its more like 66.66666666:33.33333333 door:window ratio

[The Who]

prateek, on Apr 9 2009, 02:53 AM, said:

...whereas on that piece its more like 66.66666666:33.33333333 door:window ratio

That is a 2/3 : 1/3 ratio, which is equal to a 2 : 1 ratio, which would mean the bottom of the door is twice as big as the top, and it is not that big.

[prateek]

booger540, on Apr 9 2009, 11:29 PM, said:

That is a 2/3 : 1/3 ratio, which is equal to a 2 : 1 ratio, which would mean the bottom of the door is twice as big as the top, and it is not that big.

yeah... just anything thats has a bigger window than that

[Klaus-Dieter]

I'd so much like to see

(element number 4188953)
but 1x4x6 (or at least 1x4x5) - meaning a height not of 2 but of 5 or 6. The color should be either dark grey, grey or black.

This would offer you the opportunity to create a large tall fence which is absolutely necessary for
- barriers for a construction side
- fences around a train area (where there are engine sheds, depots, ...)
- fences around depots and other industrial buidlings
...

Thanks for reading.


Klaus-Dieter

Edited by Klaus-Dieter, 15 April 2009 - 09:00 PM.

[Eleven]

Klaus-Dieter, on Apr 15 2009, 01:57 PM, said:

I'd so much like to see

(element number 4188953)
but 1x4x6 (or at least 1x4x5) - meaning a height not of 2 but of 5 or 6. The color should be either dark grey, grey or black.

This would offer you the opportunity to create a large tall fence which is absolutely necessary for
- barriers for a construction side
- fences around a train area (where there are engine sheds, depots, ...)
- fences around depots and other industrial buidlings

I completely agree. A taller fence piece would be indispensable to urban creations. It would also have a lot of versatility because of the ability to connect studded pieces to the sides.

What about some more reverse arches. I would love to see an upside-down one of these:

They could be used with the normal arches to make circular or oval windows.  Another piece that would complement this would be a round window/window frame that could be used much like this piece:

It would fit perfectly in between an upside down and a regular arch.

Also, I'm surprised that TLG hasn't come out with a pointed arch piece yet, given how common it is in architecture around the world.  Pointed arches would be great in making more realistic buildings.  If you can't tell, I love architectural elements...hehe...

Another piece I would love to see is another kind of flower.  We have had this one for years:

What about a tulip that also fits on the same stem piece.  They would, of course, come on a sprue of four.

Another piece I would love to see is a variant of the classic 1x2 brick, much like these variants:

The difference I am envisioning would be that the new 1x2 brick would have a slight groove all the way around the edge, so that when multiple bricks are stacked on top of and next to each other, the result would be a texture much like a brick wall (with the groove where the mortar is).  Throw a few of these in almost any city building, and I think it would look a whole lot cooler.  Add the pointed arches and circular windows and you've got mind-blowing possibilities!

[Mirandir]

CopMike, on Mar 7 2009, 09:11 PM, said:

Hi!
That´s a good idea to have a thread here about it. I know there´s a AFOL-group that has done a impressive list somewhere, I´ll try to find it and post it here.

CopMike

Well there's the "Brick Wishlist" group on flickr. Can just say that I wish for most of the parts suggested there!!

[Rook]

Double sided pieces with studs on both sides in these shapes:

1x1 plate, 2x2 plate, 4x4 plate, 1x1 round plate, 2x2 round plate, & 4x4 round plate.

I've made my own double sided 1x1 round plate by cutting this piece: http://www.bricklink...Pic.asp?P=4081b

Ending up with a double sided 1x1 round "plate" and a regular 1x1 plate.

[CP5670]

I have a couple of those too, although I didn't break them for this purpose. The ones from the early 80s have a thinner connection in the middle and are prone to snapping off on their own.

[Svelte]

Interestingly 7641 City Life introduces a new 1x2x2/3 cheese slope - not like the grill piece, but like 2 of the ordinary 1x1x2/3 cheese pieces placed side by side.

I am not sure why this is necessary as sets like 10194 seem to look just fine with heaps of the little critters next to each other as a decorative feature.

[cagri]

I think all those female/female and male/male bricks/plates are for amateurs. I have always found a way to place my parts without the need of those "cheat parts" Just use your mind     It will damage kids' creativity if they produce those ..

Edited by cagri, 23 April 2009 - 09:11 AM.

[Saint]

TLC is Never going to produce plates with studs on both sides. It's a nice dream for lazy builders    ( I want them !! )  

Some-one said that a clone-brand already had them, so cross that off... I hate to be the one that bursts everybody's dream..


TLC Spends enormous amount of time and money into development of new parts.. and sadly, some of the best idea's are disgarded ... That doesn't mean we have to keep trying to get that "special" part

We CAN make the bricks upside down... even more now we have 1x1 with 2 studs on the side, old style of building is with an "Black Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip Light - Type 2 (thick ring)"



I for one, take the best that TLC will offer, I don't want a special part, I want as many parts I can get hold of. It isn't fair that some parts cost over 2 $ a piece, while you need many, many parts of them... bringing the price down is a more realistic dream than another part that will end up being $2 or more .


Still, I dream of that mighty brick... a brick so beautiful, so good, so pure.. that everybody wants it... the holy grail of bricks... A jumperbrick merged with a Tile, Modified 1 x 2 Grill with Bottom Groove..


....Dreams can be so good

[Rook]

CP5670, on Apr 22 2009, 06:31 PM, said:

I have a couple of those too, although I didn't break them for this purpose. The ones from the early 80s have a thinner connection in the middle and are prone to snapping off on their own.

That's when I learned it.  

[Mark Bellis]

Rook, on Apr 23 2009, 03:09 PM, said:

That's when I learned it.  

I had one of those break too.

It leads me to think that we don't need to ask TLG for parts that can be cut down from others.  We just need the courage to do the cutting ourselves
Some people see this as sacrilege but it is the way TLG develops new parts.  Often the first prototype is one cut from existing parts.  I guess the next step would be a draft mould of the approximate shape, which is again cut to refine the design.  I'm sure all new parts need a business case, given that Bionicle 'steals' (from an AFOL point of view) such a large proportion of the new moulds that should be used for small, versatile pieces!  The successive cutting is part of establishing whether a piece is useful enough to be sent for proper drawing and production.  Each stage involves greater investment.

Following the 'cut down' philosophy, we already have the double sided 1x1 round plate - just buy a surplus of plate modified 1x1 with double stud clip and cut it in half.  You can even use the other half as the 1x1 plate it is!  Those are the mods I like best, when both halves of a cut piece are useful.

I have been modding parts since I was interviewed by TLG in 1997.  They asked if I had modded any parts.  I had not until then but took their question as encouragement to do so.  My first one was an axle pin with the pin cut off, leaving the 1M axle and bezel.  It's great for fixing two thin liftarms together for Technic mechanisms.  That and four other modded parts are in this model:



The modded axle pin holds the nearest rod (valve gear rod) onto the crank.
The wheel axle is a 2.5M axle, two made by cutting a 5M axle in half.
The wheel is a cut down 32020 wheel hub, procedure here.  An improvement over 40-tooth cogs for large train wheels.
The main crank pin is a shortened 3M axle with stud on the end, shortened to 15mm plus the stud.
The bush on the crank next to the wheel is a crenellated bush with the crenellations filed off, making a 3mm bush.

I have also made 1x2 thin liftarms with one cross hole and one round hole, by cutting a 1x4 thin liftarm in half and rounding the cut ends.

So many parts can be made by cutting down existing ones, so we can have these parts without taking up the precious moulds, keeping the moulds for parts we cannot make ourselves, or at least not without using glue, which I have avoided so far except for repairing parts.  Why ask TLG for something you can already have?

I have found that turning parts on a LEGO lathe (usually a 4000rpm 9V motor) with a modelling saw, file and Stanley knife, brings good results.  Cut parts are less easy to get smooth.  Baseplates are fair game, using a knife and a finger nail clipper for the corners!  I have it in mind to make some 1x4 strips from a baseplate, to fix thin liftarms together.  It would be a good use of a warped 2nd hand baseplate.

My philosophy is to only modify parts that I bought as PaB or 2nd hand.  I don't endanger my ability to rebuild all my sets.  When modding, I always have a reasonable surplus of the initial piece, in case it goes wrong.  I plan each mod carefully too!  I usually stick to mechanism parts because it is difficult to get cuts smooth enough to show as aesthetic parts.  Tiles are most of the aesthetic parts that I have cut.

If a 1xn double sided plate were made, it should have the 3.2mm holes in the studs for maximum versatility.  Not sure where the LEGO logo would fit though!

Mark