Production and Distribution of Parts in Unavailable Colors?

[Dufflefan]

I've just been able to obtain a part in a color which it is not known to exist. I was just wondering if anyone knew how these parts get produced and how they end up on Bricklink?

I understand that some colors can be innocently mistaken for others; especially when one is obsolete and has an effective replacement color in production. That said, the part I obtained is in a color not close to any of the known colors for that part. Fortunately, it wasn't expensive, so I was prepared that it might not be as described, but I was pleasantly surprised. I compared it (in various lights) to parts I have in the same color and they were exactly as the Bricklink seller described.

I've noticed that quite a few parts are listed in colors that they are not known to have been produced, and while some sellers state those parts are a rare color, others don't.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone please have any knowledge about how these parts get produced and how they end up on Bricklink? Are some Lego master builders/artists allowed to order such parts and sell their unwanted ones? Could they be production mistakes that erroneously end up in sets that are sold? Are they perhaps from employee-only sets that get broken up for sale on Bricklink? Or maybe just TLG experiments or general production errors that somehow make their way to Bricklink via a network of people?

(I searched the forums but the results were rather generalized due to the search terms, so apologies if this has been asked before!)

Thanks!  

[Mylenium]

7 hours ago, Dufflefan said:

I've noticed that quite a few parts are listed in colors that they are not known to have been produced, and while some sellers state those parts are a rare color, others don't.

Bricklink, kingdom of the color blind. *lol* 90% of those "rare colors" are just flukes where sellers don't account for variations or simply mix up colors. This tends to happen quite a bit when sellers aren't specifically into a theme like Friends for instance and can't keep the colors straight...

7 hours ago, Dufflefan said:

Just out of curiosity, does anyone please have any knowledge about how these parts get produced and how they end up on Bricklink?

They could be anything from internal prototypes/ test shots to simply undermixed colors that slipped through QA. Impossible to know more without a photo. How and why they get out in the open is anyone's guess, but even a limited run test shot in LEGO's case means a few thousand examples of a piece and it is totally imaginable that employees might dig into that bin earmarked for recycling in an unobserved moment and take home a few items in their pockets.

7 hours ago, Dufflefan said:

Are some Lego master builders/artists allowed to order such parts and sell their unwanted ones? Could they be production mistakes that erroneously end up in sets that are sold? Are they perhaps from employee-only sets that get broken up for sale on Bricklink?

Certified builders can only order parts that would be in production that year, anyway, and in available colors. They have no privileges above and beyond that AFAIK, which is kind of logical. Why would a company like LEGO that produces millions of elements each day bother to produce a few thousand units for some guy in a weird color, when the run-up to this incurs thousands of dollars extra cost? Same for employee sets where it is even extremely unlikely that someone would splice them up for parts, given how rare they are. LEGO doesn't even produce extra colors for their user group bulk program where thousands of people all over the world would benefit, so they sure aren't going to do low quantity one-offs for "some guy". The rest is the ominous black box of the company of course testing new materials and new colors all the time, but I consider it unlikely that this stuff would pop up out in the wild before actually being certified for mass production. So to sum up my babbling: Your odd color item is probably a random convergence of circumstance and nothing more.

Mylenium

[Dufflefan]

@Mylenium Thanks for the reply and information.

I completely understand how some Bricklink sellers might innocently mistake a color (and that some are less diligent in how they describe/list the parts they're selling). I was a little skeptical about the part I purchased, but given the very minimal cost and it's potential to make my project possible, I figured it was worth buying. It sounds like I got lucky with the seller and that they were careful about checking the color, but I understand how others have and might mistakenly purchase parts in incorrectly listed colors.

I didn't think about the color mixing/dyeing issue. While I've recently learned more about the quality control issues of TLG, I've always considered their quality control to be generally excellent. I was lucky that my parents kindly (though prudently) indulged my childhood Lego enthusiasm and I cannot remember a single instance of a missing or incorrect piece. I do remember one set of instructions which had an errata sheet included (which I still have!), but that was the only occurrence I recall of incorrect instructions. I guess with a vastly expanded range of elements and colors TLG has today, the potential for such errors is higher (though given the money that TLG make, I would expect them to have the resources to match the quality control demands such expansion brings).

Thanks for the information on certified builders too; that's interesting. I know that when TLG struggled in the early 2000s - almost to the point of bankruptcy - one cause was that the set designers had too much power regarding what colors and new elements they could request and that related costs spiraled out of control. It therefore makes sense that those outside, though still affiliated, with TLG would not have that same degree of latitude with regard to parts and colors. That said, I would imagine that TLG has done a seriously detailed cost benefit analysis on what value, and potential value, certified builders add to their brand and sales opportunities.

Thanks again for the information!

[Toastie]

12 hours ago, Mylenium said:

Bricklink, kingdom of the color blind.

WHAT? Oh my goodness. And I thought, I will never find rest

I shall apply for asylum immediately - after a few tests I bet they will grant me citizenship. Back in the days, Doc Colorful thought I was either faking or his fancy apparatus was broken. Both were not true.

This also explains, why I never had any color issues, when ordering from Bricklink (or TLG or BB or who cares from who ...)

All the best, and let the LEGO white put on some nice weathering. Or the red all shades of gray 

Best,
Thorsten

[MAB]

LEGOLAND builders were able to obtain parts in non production colours and unneeded extras used to get sold off.

[Dufflefan]

3 hours ago, MAB said:

LEGOLAND builders were able to obtain parts in non production colours and unneeded extras used to get sold off.

Thanks for the information. It hadn't crossed my mind that LEGOLAND builders were/are a completely separate category of certified builders, but that makes a lot of sense.

It seems there are quite a number of avenues for such parts to end up on Bricklink. All the above certainly helps explain how some parts are available in colors in which they aren't known to exist (at least not in commercially available sets). 

[MAB]

You just need to avoid the modern phenomenon of illegitimate parts (mainly minifig parts) made in non production colours for sale to collectors. They get removed from bricklink.