The mysterious case of the new "notched curved slope"

[anothergol]

I'm talking about 29119/29120 :

 

Ok it's new but it's not that new, it's almost 1 year old now. And yet it has appeared in just 5 sets, and on B&P it's still overexpensive, like Lego is treating this part as a limited/exclusive (like, minifig accessory), while it's in the same category as 11477 (obviously), or even 24201 which is as recent and is now widely available.

To add to the insult, Lego just released this in LBG, my fav color, in that exlcusive Boba Fett BrickHeadz, meaning that it now exists in LBG, only you have to shell 150 for just a pair.

And I've only spotted it in one of the upcoming sets...
At first I thought that part was flawed and Lego was considering not producing it anymore, but it's fine. Ironically, this new part IS flawed (it doesn't hold properly on -some- studs) and yet it has already become a classic (& I love it).

..I don't understand. Could it be because Mega Bloks (I believe) already had such a part for a long time, and Lego doesn't wanna look like it's now cloning other brands?
Well Lego: PLEASE copy other brands. Mega Bloks has all the good parts, wedge tiles, better brackets, and some clones have better (chainable) slopes as well.

Could it be because it's a pair, and Lego doesn't like to produce parts in pairs (they surely seem to prefer compounds)? But then that doesn't explain why it's available in 4 colors, while used in just 5 sets.

Edited November 4, 2017 by anothergol

[JopieK]

Well, I like more versatility in plates. Not sure about the curved one, but the 1/4 round tile is very nice in some cases. You could also consider the old macaroni bricks flawed since they also did have some clutch problems. I don't see any issues with the clutch of the 1/4 rounds though, and... I like 'pieces of pie' or 'watermelon parts' very much I must say. So it probably just depends on your preferences.

[anothergol]

Try to put a quarter round tile on this part for ex (but there are others), you'll see it doesn't sit properly at all, unlike a normal round tile.

In fact, I don't think it sits properly on any stud, but it's just more visible when it's chained with other tiles - it bumps out visibly. The "stadium" tile doesn't have this problem either. And quite frankly, it even seems normal that the quarter tile doesn't hold properly.. it is hardly held on one corner. But strangely it's the opposite corner, the square one, that sticks out.

 

And yes, it looks like the new cut slopes are like the old macaroni's, like Lego is thinking "hold on, these new parts aren't quite right, avoid using them". But I'm not seeing any flaw.

Edited November 4, 2017 by anothergol

[antp]

I don't really like the quarter round tile because of its low clutch power. It does not fall by itself, but due to its low clutch power sometimes it moves too easily, and the 1x1 tiles are already enough annoying to align correctly

About the mysterious part, maybe the high price is because they made a batch of it and don't want to make others again too soon for whatever reason? Maybe a problem with the mould?

[PriorMarcus]

19 hours ago, anothergol said:

Could it be because Mega Bloks (I believe) already had such a part for a long time, and Lego doesn't wanna look like it's now cloning other brands?
Well Lego: PLEASE copy other brands. Mega Bloks has all the good parts, wedge tiles, better brackets, and some clones have better (chainable) slopes as well.

Do you have any visuals of these? I'd love to see what competitors are doing. 

[koalayummies]

On November 4, 2017 at 11:24 AM, anothergol said:

Mega Bloks has all the good parts...

Ohh I get it! Its a joke! Haha good one. Move this thread to community section 

[anothergol]

18 hours ago, PriorMarcus said:

Do you have any visuals of these? I'd love to see what competitors are doing. 

Sure. While I don't own any (& wouldn't use them in my MOCs, although some do), I've seen many pics out there (Google Images works well).
Jangbricks also does non-Lego reviews where many cool parts can be seen.
I've only toyed with a Kre-o Transformers thing and it really had nice parts. Rubber-coated ball-joints, car roof parts *splitted in 2* (I hate compound parts), etc. Many are claiming that other brands have too many specialized parts, but IMHO it's the opposite. I see less compound parts in other brands, except Mega Bloks where they seem to have large fuselage parts in many cases.

 

Funny this one, the round plate+bar that's new for Lego this year, I didn't even know Mega Bloks had it.

Kre-o has the best chainable slopes (not steppy!)

Ah, Cobi and its amazing wedge TILES... (I don't think the grey matches Lego's perfectly, sadly)
And here too, look at how smoothly chained those slope parts are. No staircase effect! I can't imagine Lego changing their system anytime soon, though.

 

Edited November 6, 2017 by anothergol

[rodiziorobs]

Those knobby cheese graters would be something...probably horribly out of system, too, but I enjoy that kind of challenge.

Edited November 6, 2017 by rodiziorobs
to correct the auto-correct.

[Lyichir]

I do have to admit that I'd like Lego to have a part like the 1x1 plate with clips on both sides... mostly because it could allow you to add Chima wings to Lego Friends foals to make Pegasus foals for Lego Elves.

Not sure whether I'd want the plate to be square or round, though... square would make more sense for a lot of applications, but the one I have in mind might look better with a round plate.

[Count Sepulchure]

Something tells me that it could indeed be the paired nature of this piece that stalls its venture into new sets.

Also, its purpose is dubious, as apart from the likes of SC sets, 11477 does the job.

As for the price in the official store, I reckon that that also depends on supply, demand and licensing, and not purely on production costs. I recently ordered Black 15070 pieces, and those cost twice the price for other colours IIRC. Should I mention that 32184 in DBG cost me a fortune in there?

[anothergol]

Lots of pics of 2018 sets have been released, and I haven't spotted much of that slope part. A pair in DBG here. But that's just one pair in a large set.

There is also a quarter-disk tile in DGB in a SW set.

Edited November 21, 2017 by anothergol

[zux]

7 hours ago, anothergol said:

Lots of pics of 2018 sets have been released, and I haven't spotted much of that slope part. A pair in DBG here. But that's just one pair in a large set.

There is also a quarter-disk tile in DGB in a SW set.

You mean the ones at the edges of the front fender? These are Technic Panels.

[Agent Kallus]

1 hour ago, zux said:

You mean the ones at the edges of the front fender? These are Technic Panels.

I think he (?) means this one ( there's clearly another on the opposite side).

 

Edited November 21, 2017 by Agent Kallus

[Digger of Bricks]

I'd certainly hope to see inverses of those slopes in the near future, and for that matter, a 2×2 footprinted slope that essentially fuses both opposites together side by side.

On 11/4/2017 at 1:24 PM, anothergol said:

Mega Bloks has all the good parts, wedge tiles, better brackets, and some clones have better (chainable) slopes as well.

I've looked for something like this in the past before with no luck, but, do you know if there is a Brickset-like database out there on the web that catalogs competitor brand parts? If not, perhaps someone here should start a topic in the Community subforum on the subject, unless someone already has. 

[anothergol]

10 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

I've looked for something like this in the past before with no luck, but, do you know if there is a Brickset-like database out there on the web that catalogs competitor brand parts?

Probably not, but maybe one day Bricklink will be upgraded for that. Would be pretty easy for them, even if that means another website/URL, they have everything ready.
Well actually Bricklink already allows for non-Lego parts, but only the less mass-produced ones (BrickArms, etc), which is a bit hypocritical.

 

 

For what it's worth, Lego finally introduced 2x2 inverted round slopes in their 2018 sets.

Edited November 22, 2017 by anothergol

[Lasse D]

I'm happy to see two pairs of the double curved 1 x 2 slope in the new 31076-1: Daredevil Stunt Plane (new for 2018).

 

Has it been spotted in other colors other than gray for the Mack? I would love to see it in white.

 

[anothergol]

On 23/11/2017 at 11:32 AM, Lasse D said:

Has it been spotted in other colors other than gray for the Mack? I would love to see it in white.

Well only in the existing 2017 sets, which includes blue, black, orange & already red, most in Speed Champions sets.
I think I've seen all of the 2018 published pictures, couldn't spot any other, while it could have been used in many places.

[Digger of Bricks]

On 11/23/2017 at 4:32 AM, Lasse D said:

Has it been spotted in other colors other than gray for the Mack?

There is a leaked 2018 box art image for a Ford Fiesta WRC car for the Speed Champions theme on Instagram, and it looks to have the slope parts in Earth Blue.