Question about clear parts I bought.

[JINZONINGEN73]

On Bricklink, I snagged:

Trans-Clear Dinosaur Tail / Neck Middle Section with Pin

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?P=x159

and

Trans-Clear Chain, 20 links, 17L

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?P=30104

Now, I never saw these in sets and (the OFTEN erroneous) Peeron doesn't have them listed.

Any idea what sets they came in?

They sure don't look like customs, and I don't even want to think how complex it'd be for a fan to duplicate the chain.

[SuvieD]

You have stumbled onto a special part made specifically for an employee of LEGO. These pieces are not found in current sets and though they maybe in upcoming sets if they don't you have a little piece of LEGO rare collectable. It is very possible this came in some sort of promotional set or perhaps an obscure set not added to the BL database but I doubt it. There are many people out there who are getting ahold of these rare types of pieces more frequently.

LEGO employees are allowed to request (and pay for) special parts in special colors not normally made for sets.

[snefroe]

i have a similar question about part 4151. there is a guy at bricklink who's selling these parts in yellow, even tho peeron doesn't have this piece in that color. Would that also be one of those collectable parts, Suvie?

[SuvieD]

I added this line for the short answer readers, yes, it probably is.

If you want to read more then by all means proceed.

I don't want to say collectable to much as many LEGO parts at one time were rare and collectable and are not any more. Buying parts from someone in hopes that they will be worth a lot of money isn't always a good idea. It may end up that you pay a lot for something that will be worth next to nothing in six months.

I will say that these also look to be a special request part. Generally if any part comes in a color that is not listed as coming from a set, the piece is very old, a special request, promotional, or very new. If one of the 2006 sets has any new color parts they will have been made as soon as the set designs are finalized. So, clear chains, yellow 8x8 plates with grill pattern, tan and brown goblets and many other items may show up in the new sets. It would still require a LEGO employee to be able to get them this soon but they would certainly become common in a few months if this is true.

Not as commonly parts especially from the 70's can not be found in the set it belongs to when you look at BL. For example this part is listed in 13 sets yet on bricklink it shows 3. Now obviously if you checked both then chances are it is a little more rare. Also, some promotional items are hard to track. some of the kabaya stuff doesn't show up in anyones databases until months after the product is no longer available. Many of the promotional minifigures (space, maresk, airport) and what they come with can also be difficult to find.

Though it has little to do with what we are talking about sometimes parts that seem common become suddenly rare. Pitchforks, cypress trees and others have become a hoarded commodity due to rareness that places their value above even that or gold in some cases. The maresk construction helmet is a good example of this too. An odd example is the SW lightsaber hilt in chrome. It would take almost no effort for LEGO to make more yet because someone started a panic attack that the chrome hilt was no longer going to be made prices have tripled since January. Chewbaca head parts used to sell for $0.25 on BL. They are now $3+. It is all about demand.

Thus as demand is the determining factor on collectablity then I would think that yes this is somewhat collectable. It's value is that of what it cost to make it but collectable value is determined by rarity/demand. But like I said earlier more and more people have parts in rare or special colors that LEGO didn't make for sets. It is easier than before to get parts like this. That is why you can buy them for so cheap. If it really was a rare collectible it would be sold for prices like this stuff!

My thought on this is if it looks cool and you want it to collect, build or to flaunt it over others then get it if you think it is worth the price. I don't like spending more than a quarter for 4151's in any color. I also don't like spending more than that for a chain in any color. It would be cool to have a few but at over $2 a piece I will pass.

[JINZONINGEN73]

If it really was a rare collectible it would be sold for prices like this stuff!

YOWCH.

That's like how the RED crab element goes for like $25 and up on BL. I only looked it up because I wanted some... completely unaware of the hefty pricetag. :|

Thanks, that was very helpful, Suvie. I'd imagined they were part of one of the Vikings sets or some weird japanese Kabaya vending machine promo. Japanese vending sets were where I got red and green tail elements years before their wide release in 2005.

It'll be a cold day in hell I buy ANY Lego item as a "collectible". I used to be one of those toy-hoarding idiots back in the 90's during the action figure boom... it gets you nowhere.

In fact, Lego is ALL I can afford to buy now, and there's very little incentive to even BUY action figures, unless they're some technological marvel from japan (like Microman and Chogokin robots!).

If I buy Lego in any weird color or shape, it's STRICTLY because I have some plan for it in mind. :-D

Being able to make your own action figures OWN playing with ones that have joint and design flaws, toys that break for good when they break.

[SuvieD]

For some reason people in Europe can also order huge bulk amounts of parts from LEGO. This fellow is famous for it. bricks4you.com

[JINZONINGEN73]

His store only opens at unspecified times? :|

With so many sellers on BLink, it's easy to overlook someone who'll likely be closed.

And his payment methods are yick if you don't support using Paypal.

::saves him in "BLink favorites" folder anyway:: ;)