Axle colour - which would you prefer?

[LennyRhys]

I'm very much a convert of the modern Technic theme and I love that axles are available in a variety of colours.  I particularly like that the larger even-length axles are also being produced in red.

However, I can understand the objections to the unicorn poop scenario.  Having just built 42055 I see that the set comes with axles in black, LBG, DBG, brown, tan, dark tan, yellow, and red.  That's a lot of colours in one set!

[Carsten Svendsen]

Back when I was a kid, my first LEGO set was the 8482 Cybermaster set and all axles were black. Over the course of a few years, I got more and more sets which all had black axles at the time.

I learned to tell them all apart, I only had issues with 10/12 lenghts as I only had a few of those in a massive box of mixed parts.

I can see from a modern perspective how difficult it must be to tell axles apart even if they are 2 studs apart, given they're 4 different colors now and easy to recognize.

I remember when I got the Bucket Wheel Excavator and many axles were red and yellow. I was very disgusted in TLG's decision as more color vomit would be present, HOWEVER, I later realized that I can use it to colorcode functions instead of vomiting colors everywhere since I got unlimited amounts of other color axles.

I now use all the colors to color code specific functions, like the input drive axle is red, the output is yellow, or whatever color fits in lenght. I find it very useful actually.

 

So TL;DR, I welcome axles in all colors, and will use them in MOC's to seperate functions from structural integrity which would be black/LBG

[Pvdb]

Looking at it a different way.  The only axle colours that I don't like are the reddish brown 3 and 5 with stop

All others have their purpose.

[JimDude]

15 hours ago, Maaboo35 said:

I wouldn't mind if all axles were black again. I mean, the classic manuals all tell you which length is which.

I think many people underestimate the amount of kids (and maybe even AFOLs) that build digitally, even for the A-model. For the B-model, we don't even have the choice.

And without a  1-on-1 representation on paper, colour-coding has appeared to be the next best thing. I don't ~like~ it, but TBH, I don't mind either.

[iv-tecman]

Black and Grey. I am not happy with the 2L red axles are all. The yellow 3L are not as nice either, nearly all my Technic sets I've swapped out the Red and Yellow Axles where visible for black or grey.

 

The Class Tractor Attachment looked dreadful with the Red 2L Axles , and The Mack Anthem was horrendous with all the yellow, red Axles, swapped them all for black etc.

1 hour ago, JimDude said:

I think many people underestimate the amount of kids (and maybe even AFOLs) that build digitally, even for the A-model. For the B-model, we don't even have the choice.

And without a  1-on-1 representation on paper, colour-coding has appeared to be the next best thing. I don't ~like~ it, but TBH, I don't mind either.

That sadly is the issue. Its coloured coded to identity. I've worked out the sizes just by looking, as I build so many Technic Sets, but kids and new comers, the colours do help. Axles are so cheap on Bricklink, I just bulk buy black n grey and I have a huge collection of red and yellow sat around doing not much.

Edited June 26, 2018 by iv-tecman

[MAB]

Three options for me:

All colours in all sizes.

All colours that match wheels with axle holes.

All in black and all in dark and light bluish greys.

 

[LucyCol]

6 hours ago, Sariel said:

PINK WITH GLITTER!!!1111

Gets my vote 

[Johnny1360]

I think the main problem with all black and or grey axles would be the tendency of them to blend together with adjacent parts of similar colors in the instructions. Kind of like dark blue and black does now, at least for my old eyeballs. 

Of course you could always substitute axles of another color, if it's really a big deal to you. I do have quite the axle collection, as I'm sure most do, that extensively MOC. 

Edited June 26, 2018 by Johnny1360
Added some stuff

[Aventador2004]

9 hours ago, Sariel said:

PINK WITH GLITTER!!!1111

Sariel with quote of the day!

[1963maniac]

I don't like red 2L axles at all. They are too visible in my MOCs. And for the same reason I don't like blue long pins. In all my MOCs I use black for both because I have enough old stock of black. All red 2L axles and blue long pins are still in unopened baggies. As for blue axlepins with friction, I just have to put up with that. I don't like them either.

[Johnny1360]

1 hour ago, 1963maniac said:

I don't like red 2L axles at all. They are too visible in my MOCs. And for the same reason I don't like blue long pins. In all my MOCs I use black for both because I have enough old stock of black. All red 2L axles and blue long pins are still in unopened baggies. As for blue axlepins with friction, I just have to put up with that. I don't like them either.

My point exactly, works with MOCs but imagine what the instructions would look like. 

[Erik Leppen]

23 hours ago, Aanchir said:

colors in any given set don't repeat until there's a difference of four studs in length

In fact, I try do adopt the same rule for MOCs - at least for their instructions. Also, by the way, it's not entirely true I believe. I believe it can differ between different set of bags. In the same set, bags #1 can have yellow 5L and 9L, where bags #2 can have yellow 7L. I can't remember which set this was but I remember having seen this.

Actually, I have always liked the gray axles, I hated 5L axles when they were black since I always confused them with 6L. It think it's the switch to gray that made 7L and longer odd lengths possible. These may be nice-to-have in studded (even-length-based) builds, but in studless (odd-length-based) builds I think 9L and 11L are indispensible. I use them a lot - more than 10 and 12. This black-gray system worked fine for me for years, so I wasn't really happy when they introduced red/yellow axles. But they grew on me and I bricklinked quite a few since then. My Delta carrier benefited from the red axles (and the red 3L axle joiner for creating odd lengths). I'm not so sure about the need for brown axles - I found dark-tan and dark-gray fine.

And the tan 4L axle with cylinder section doesn't seem to serve any purpose to me. I can't remember any case where a normal 4L axle would've had notable drawbacks, so I really fail to see this part's point. I wouldn't mind to see it go.

 

[mahjqa]

I think the system Lego uses works.

Typically, when it's absolutely CRITICAL that the right length of axle is used, Lego pulls out the red and yellow axles. Since that's likely inside a model, that's perfectly fine for me.

Edited June 26, 2018 by mahjqa
i spel gud

[Ivan_M]

11 hours ago, Erik Leppen said:

Also, by the way, it's not entirely true I believe. I believe it can differ between different set of bags. In the same set, bags #1 can have yellow 5L and 9L, where bags #2 can have yellow 7L. I can't remember which set this was but I remember having seen this.

 

Yes, that is true. I don't really understand the obsession with first build anyway. Such a hassle with packaging, building instructions, color coding etc., and everything will wanish when you disassemble it.. it is like TLG encourage children NOT to take apart models..

[Bublehead]

17 hours ago, Erik Leppen said:

axle with cylinder section doesn't seem to serve any purpose to me. 

I use this piece a lot when locking in gear trains and preventing the slippage of an axle out of a heavy cyclic torque load. Axle creep occurs when the power traveling through a set of gears has a cyclic component, whether is it back and forth, or just loaded and unloaded. An un stopped 4L black axle will require it to be physically stopped from slipping out by blocking movement in the axial direction.  Sometimes there is no way to do that and this piece comes in really handy because it self stops axle creep. 

5 hours ago, Ivan_M said:

I don't really understand the obsession with first build

It has to do with repeat business and acceptance of the toy by the child.  If a child abandoned a build because it was too hard or too confusing, they don’t end up with a playable toy, and the toy is abandoned.  A parent is not going to buy the child another Technic set ever again because it did not satisfy the child as a “good” toy.  Anything TLG does to make the first build go as flawlessly as possible gives their toy its best chance at satisfying both the child, the parent, and ultimately TLG, because the likelihood the parent will purchase a TLG product in the future is higher.  And anything you do to increase future business is money well spent.

Edited June 27, 2018 by Bublehead
Typo

[sirslayer]

Ha, watch this shareable video from youtube, is my eyes tricking me ?? did it turn green and back to black??

 

[trekman]

I was brought up on the 2L, 4L, 5L, 8L, 10L and 12L axles, all of which were black, and the 2L had no notches!  The 3L and 5L came in black, before the odd numbered revolution in LBG.  I welcomed the grey colour and even the red 2L, as by looking at a model for a partial strip down, you knew what length each part was, and more lately what each part in a pin hole was.  Where possible I do like to co-ordinate the colours on a driveline, or in an ancillary function, and the various colours allows for this to a point.

On ‎6‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 9:12 PM, Erik Leppen said:

And the tan 4L axle with cylinder section doesn't seem to serve any purpose to me. I can't remember any case where a normal 4L axle would've had notable drawbacks, so I really fail to see this part's point. I wouldn't mind to see it go.

Those tan 4L axles will save significant wear when used with the red 16T clutch wheels, minimising DUST.