Chima ball for GBCs?

[Darth Dino]

Hi

in the Lego store in Berlin in found in the PAB wall light-blue-transparentish balls. Not knowing where they are from, i was told they are comming from Chima sets. The rep there did not know which set exactly.

I got "50" of them for a GBC machine/module. I know those GBCs use the Lego footballs and basketballs as standard - but now they are hard to get in high numbers.

Does anybody know this part that i can ask in the Technic forum if those ball share the same size as the GBCs standards?

Dino

[Aanchir]

Hi

in the Lego store in Berlin in found in the PAB wall light-blue-transparentish balls. Not knowing where they are from, i was told they are comming from Chima sets. The rep there did not know which set exactly.

I got "50" of them for a GBC machine/module. I know those GBCs use the Lego footballs and basketballs as standard - but now they are hard to get in high numbers.

Does anybody know this part that i can ask in the Technic forum if those ball share the same size as the GBCs standards?

Dino

Those parts actually debuted in the 2006 BIONICLE sets as "Zamor Spheres" and have been in several themes since then, including Galaxy Squad, World Racers, Ninjago, and others. In many sets they are actually blended from two colors of plastic, though Bricklink doesn't recognize this. You can see an assortment of colors and color combinations for them here.

It is not exactly the same size as the GBC standard soccer balls and basketballs. The GBC uses balls slightly smaller than 16 millimeters in diameter, these balls are 16.5 millimeters in diameter. In other words, a GBC ball will fit through the hole in this piece or this piece, while a Zamor sphere will not. Both, however, will fit through the hole in a Ninjago spinner crown.

GBC builders may be in luck, though. A retooled version of the classic soccer ball mold recently began reappearing in LEGO Friends sets in bright orange (classic orange) and in white with a reddish-violet pattern. There are no sets that offer such a huge quantity as the classic LEGO Sports sets did, but in the very least the part is no longer out-of-production.

Edited May 9, 2013 by Aanchir

[Darth Dino]

Hi

thank you very much for the detailed answer.

As i understand correctly, those spheres are wider than 2 studs plates and GBC balls are smaller. That makes them less functional and useful for many GBCs.

Anyway, no i have 50 pure Lego parts for purists Lego GBCs - although they do not met the standard.

Dino

[DraikNova]

My advice: go to bricklink and order as many as you need. They're not that expensive and you won't have to buy lots of other parts for no reason.

[msx80]

Those parts actually debuted in the 2006 BIONICLE sets as "Zamor Spheres" and have been in several themes since then, including Galaxy Squad, World Racers, Ninjago, and others. In many sets they are actually blended from two colors of plastic, though Bricklink doesn't recognize this. You can see an assortment of colors and color combinations for them here.

It is not exactly the same size as the GBC standard soccer balls and basketballs. The GBC uses balls slightly smaller than 16 millimeters in diameter, these balls are 16.5 millimeters in diameter. In other words, a GBC ball will fit through the hole in this piece or this piece, while a Zamor sphere will not. Both, however, will fit through the hole in a Ninjago spinner crown.

GBC builders may be in luck, though. A retooled version of the classic soccer ball mold recently began reappearing in LEGO Friends sets in bright orange (classic orange) and in white with a reddish-violet pattern. There are no sets that offer such a huge quantity as the classic LEGO Sports sets did, but in the very least the part is no longer out-of-production.

Wow, it's new to me that the old ball mold is still in production. As a wannabe GBC builder, that's great news. I actually just ordered 15 soccer ball, so few becouse they're quite expensive on bricklink...

IIRC standard GBC balls are 14 mm in diameter. Zamor spheres are much bigger, and a carefully tuned GBC will not accept them. The biggest problem is passing (or not) inside a 2 wide gap, and that makes all the difference :)

I've read in different forums that some builder advocated using zamor spheres in GBC as they're easier to find.