Bricklink and Peeron

[nicoga3000]

So I'm trying to figure something out, and I'm actually going a bit crazy. I've been looking at buying a bunch of 1x2 dark gray bricks on Bricklink. I have an MOC idea, but I don't have many of said brick. So I hop on Bricklink and find that these things (in bulk) run SUPER expensive (~$0.23/piece USD). I decided I'd do a little research as to why.

Apparently, this piece appears in some of the more collectible sets (old and new Death Star, Eiffel Tower, Cafe Corner, etc), and thus drive the price up. So I decided to do some digging and found that a set like the old Death Star (10143-1) uses a lot of 1x and 2x plates in Peeron DkStone and MdStone. I tried to go and figure out what color this was (maybe dark and light gray, or dark and light bluish gray?), but I was having some trouble. On top of that, I found out that on a given Bricklink page, both versions of gray are listed. So now I'm even MORE confused.

Here's what I guess I'm trying to iron out:

If I want to buy a bulk order of dark and light gray for MOC'ing, which gray should I focus on? The standard gray or the bluish gray? What's the deal with these pieces?

And on Bricklink and Peeron, what exactly ARE DkStone and MdStone? Is there an available color reference chart between these two sites? I have a few bricks from sets that I like the color of, so if I wanted to use two said sites to order more of that brick, cross referencing colors (particularly the grays) may prove a challenge for me.

Like I mentioned in the description, I'm totally vanilla on Bricklink and Peeron. I have ordered a few things from Bricklink, but mostly just a few hard to find sets/pieces I couldn't find elsewhere. Any protips and help on these, and also help on my questions above? Thanks!

[mikey]

Light and Dark Grey are no longer produced by Lego, instead they changed their colour formulation to 'Bluish Greys'. Dark Stone Grey and Medium Stone Grey are the official Lego names for the Dark and Light Bluish Greys. Bricklink uses different names than the official Lego names for certain colours.

As Light and Dark Grey are no longer in production they are more expensive than the current 'Bluish Greys'. These are termed 'Bluish' because they have a brighter hint of colour when compared with the classic Light and Dark Greys. Some people prefer the older colours, but it will get expensive to buy these, and if you don't want to mix the shades then you will not have access to recent element designs.

So when buying on Bricklink search for the 'Bluish Greys' - as these are much easier to obtain.

[Aanchir]

So I'm trying to figure something out, and I'm actually going a bit crazy. I've been looking at buying a bunch of 1x2 dark gray bricks on Bricklink. I have an MOC idea, but I don't have many of said brick. So I hop on Bricklink and find that these things (in bulk) run SUPER expensive (~$0.23/piece USD). I decided I'd do a little research as to why.

Apparently, this piece appears in some of the more collectible sets (old and new Death Star, Eiffel Tower, Cafe Corner, etc), and thus drive the price up. So I decided to do some digging and found that a set like the old Death Star (10143-1) uses a lot of 1x and 2x plates in Peeron DkStone and MdStone. I tried to go and figure out what color this was (maybe dark and light gray, or dark and light bluish gray?), but I was having some trouble. On top of that, I found out that on a given Bricklink page, both versions of gray are listed. So now I'm even MORE confused.

Here's what I guess I'm trying to iron out:

If I want to buy a bulk order of dark and light gray for MOC'ing, which gray should I focus on? The standard gray or the bluish gray? What's the deal with these pieces?

And on Bricklink and Peeron, what exactly ARE DkStone and MdStone? Is there an available color reference chart between these two sites? I have a few bricks from sets that I like the color of, so if I wanted to use two said sites to order more of that brick, cross referencing colors (particularly the grays) may prove a challenge for me.

Like I mentioned in the description, I'm totally vanilla on Bricklink and Peeron. I have ordered a few things from Bricklink, but mostly just a few hard to find sets/pieces I couldn't find elsewhere. Any protips and help on these, and also help on my questions above? Thanks!

Peeron actually has one of the best color reference charts on the web. It compares Peeron's color names with Bricklink's (listed under "BLName") and TLG's (listed under "LEGOName").

Peeron's "DkStone" is the same as Bricklink's "Dark Bluish Gray" and TLG's "Dark Stone Grey". It is the dark grey color that replaced classic dark grey between 2003 and 2004 and has been used ever since.

Peeron's "MdStone" is the same as Bricklink's "Light Bluish Gray" and TLG's "Medium Stone Grey". It is the grey color that replaced classic grey between 2003 and 2004 and has been used ever since.

The color guide on Bricklink's reference catalog doesn't cross-reference as many names, but it does have some usually-trustworthy timelines for each color that can help you identify which ones were in which sets. Additionally, if you click the number next to any color in the "Parts" column it will link you to a list of all the parts that came in that color. Bricklink's reference catalog is a lot more well-kept than Peeron's parts database in many cases, even though it still occasionally has errors.

In general, I prefer the bluish/stone greys, partially for looks and partially because, since it's still in production, useful parts in those colors are more readily available to me. Of course, some people prefer the classic greys, either for looks or because certain older hinge parts like this and this only come in the older greys (those parts were discontinued before the switch to the new greys took place). And there are even people who like to mix the two greys to create mottled-looking castle walls. Each color has its limitations, and which you use depends on how you plan to work with those limitations.

Edited December 6, 2011 by Aanchir

[nicoga3000]

Wow, thanks for the help (and the SUPER informative posts). That color chart is also superb, and should make it a lot easier for me to reference pieces.

Here's a question about BL then...If I want to search for just 1 x 2 Dark Bluish Gray Bricks, how do I do that? I've tried searching 1 x 2 Brick, and I get a whole slew of modified/technic options as well.

[mikey]

Click the "Catalog" Tab, then click the "Parts" link. You will now see a page of all the different "Parts Categories". Now click the "Brick" link. You will see that three types of 1X2 Brick are recognized in the Bricklink catalog - these are slight variations in the 1X2 brick design (but not Technic/ Modified Bricks). When you click on the Brick you are looking for you will see a picture, and underneath a list of the colours currently available for sale.

Sometimes the way that Bricklink organises pieces will be different to how you perceive them, and you may have trouble finding a certain element. If you know a certain set contains the element you are searching for, then you can find pieces for sale by looking through the set inventory. Search for the Set Number on the homepage search box - but change the Drop Down Menu to "Catalog Items", you will then see a "(Inv)" link - this is the Inventory of the set. You can then choose the element you need from within the set.

Edited December 6, 2011 by mikey

[nicoga3000]

Click the "Catalog" Tab, then click the "Parts" link. You will now see a page of all the different "Parts Categories". Now click the "Brick" link. You will see that three types of 1X2 Brick are recognized in the Bricklink catalog - these are slight variations in the 1X2 brick design (but not Technic/ Modified Bricks). When you click on the Brick you are looking for you will see a picture, and underneath a list of the colours currently available for sale.

Sometimes the way that Bricklink organises pieces will be different to how you perceive them, and you may have trouble finding a certain element. If you know a certain set contains the element you are searching for, then you can find pieces for sale by looking through the set inventory. Search for the Set Number on the homepage search box - but change the Drop Down Menu to "Catalog Items", you will then see a "(Inv)" link - this is the Inventory of the set. You can then choose the element you need from within the set.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.