Today we reveal a surprising discovery made by reader Victor P. who got in touch with us when he discovered a new LEGO® part for sale that isn't in any sets.
Buying spare LEGO® parts directly from The LEGO Group’s own service, Bricks & Pieces, seems to be growing in popularity in the AFOL community, perhaps evidenced by the message currently displayed on top of the Bricks & Pieces homepage: “Due to a large number of requests, LEGO Bricks & Pieces orders are taking longer than normal to be delivered”. (Could Jonas Kramm’s monthly parts highlight be responsible for this sudden surge in parts orders?)
I am myself ‘guilty’ of having placed an order on Bricks & Pieces in early March, and made a quite surprising discovery: a part which is not listed on BrickLink, nor on Brickset, and which doesn’t come in any set that I know of. A ghost part, I may say.
When it comes to connection points, this part is all about pin holes! Five of them make a cross, and the four other ones, placed perpendicularly, complete the squares. That means you can attach parts in only two directions.
Connecting several connector beams to the motor can give it a lot of extra attachment points, either to attach gears, or to secure it in a build.
I noticed it was also a perfect fit for the big turntables, and while I didn’t have any of the newer kind available, I could use the older mould, which can be easily turned into a planetary gear.
Of course, Technic builders have been using the old turntable in such a way for years, but the new connector beam makes it much easier and sturdier.
There’s plenty of other things you can do with the Connector Beam 1x3x3, so Part 2 will further explore this part’s secrets. Stay tuned…
I am myself ‘guilty’ of having placed an order on Bricks & Pieces in early March, and made a quite surprising discovery: a part which is not listed on BrickLink, nor on Brickset, and which doesn’t come in any set that I know of. A ghost part, I may say.
New Technic Connector Beam 1x3x3
Its official name is Connector Beam 1x3x3. Nothing too surprising here; it’s quite simple and describes the part accurately. What is more surprising is its colour, Bright Reddish Violet [TLG]/ Magenta [BL]. What kind of set could hold such a singular element ?
Half-frame, half-connector
The part is a bit of a blend between Technic frames and connectors, and thus can be compared with existing Technic structural elements.
Technical connections
Its shape is also reminiscent of another special Technic part, the Power Functions L Motor.
Connecting several connector beams to the motor can give it a lot of extra attachment points, either to attach gears, or to secure it in a build.
I noticed it was also a perfect fit for the big turntables, and while I didn’t have any of the newer kind available, I could use the older mould, which can be easily turned into a planetary gear.
Of course, Technic builders have been using the old turntable in such a way for years, but the new connector beam makes it much easier and sturdier.
There’s plenty of other things you can do with the Connector Beam 1x3x3, so Part 2 will further explore this part’s secrets. Stay tuned…
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Thanks to our 'Vibrant Coral' patrons: Kevin Gascoigne, Sue Ann Barber & Trevor Clark, Nick Savage, Beyond the Brick, Antonio Serra and our latest: Neil Crosby. You're all awesome!
You can also help us by doing what you perhaps do already - buying from Amazon. Amazon USA: Amazon.com Canada: Amazon.ca UK: Amazon.co.uk Deutschland: Amazon.de
All content represents the opinions of New Elementary authors and not the LEGO Group. All text and images are © New Elementary unless otherwise attributed.
I want to believe this, it's an awesome and incredibly useful part! Do you know its design ID?
ReplyDeleteyes we do.
DeleteWhat I want to know is why it didn't get scraped by Huwbot? Was he busy scraping Clikits
DeleteHow did you find the part if you weren't searching for it? did you mistyped a number? :D
ReplyDeleteIf they could only improve the Bricks & Pieces website a little bit, I'd be soo glad. The whole process is hardly enjoyable ;)
ahhhhhhhh nevermind :D
DeleteID number is 20190401 :)
ReplyDeleteI doubt that would be an existing number, but if it is, it won't be for this supposed piece.
DeleteHopefully this element come out of the Technic Friends sub-Theme.
ReplyDeletethere's no chance that the friends team had budget allocated to create a new element for technic. I think the only two possibilities is that it's coming out in a magenta technic set (please god), or it was created for a large technic set that's taking a while to be released, and a tiny set with a faster design process ended up using it first, in magenta.
DeleteI think Brickteller may have been tongue in cheek
DeletePretty cool part. Would love to see it in a real set.
ReplyDeleteIt's so obviously an April Fool's joke, but I enjoyed reading it. :-)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed reading it, soon you can also enjoy using the part!
DeleteWas skeptical from the beginning. No ID, no LEGO.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, it would be beieveable if they had the ID. This must be a knockoff piece produced in Magenta.
DeleteTry 6252656 and 6265644. ;)
DeleteSweet. And I see it comes in black, too.
DeleteYep, it's 6252656. Who wants to bet it'll be included in the LEGO Education set(s) teased to be announced tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteThis isn't the only mysterious new piece. Check out "BRICK 2X4 W/ CROSS HOLE," Design ID# 39789.
ReplyDeleteIf only this was real... although maybe not in Magenta.
ReplyDeleteHow about Black then?
DeleteHere's the set that this part comes in: LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set - https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-education-spike-prime-set/45678?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-82Rm-yx4QIVDrazCh0UmQ10EAAYASAAEgKwAvD_BwE&ef_id=EAIaIQobChMI-82Rm-yx4QIVDrazCh0UmQ10EAAYASAAEgKwAvD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!790!3!341433731933!b!!g!!%2Blego%20%2Bspike
ReplyDeleteand if you want to get hold of a few and the 2 x 4 city brick with axle holes, get the promotional bag for Spike Prime. £10 or so and several of these novel parts included
ReplyDelete