It's not a euphemism, an insult or a new action hero. Ballshaft is the name I'm using for a relatively new element officially known as 3.2 Shaft W/5.9 Ball and, on BrickLink, Bar1L with Towbar (Design ID 22484). The ballshaft was introduced early in 2016 in the Nexo Knights range. It was first produced in Transparent Fluorescent Reddish Orange [TLG]/Trans-Neon Orange [BL] (Element ID 6131711) in four sets, and in Transparent Bright Green (Element ID 6139234) in one set. Now the Transparent Bright Green version is available in a second set, 10255 Assembly Square.
It is also available in Dark Stone Grey [TLG]/Dark Bluish Gray [BL] (Element ID 6158469)—a much more useful colour for MOC builders like me. So I was delighted when New Elementary sent me a small batch of dark grey ballshafts to play with. With shafts inserted, the exposed balls can be used represent various things, such as elements of a hairbrush.
Currently the dark grey ballshaft appears in only two sets: Ninjago set 70596 Samurai X Cave Chaos, in which there are two; and Carl Greatrix's wonderful Ideas set 21307 Caterham Seven 620R, in which there is only one. However, grey ballshafts are beginning to appear on BrickLink in reasonable quantities now. (Where do these sellers get them from?) Again, the dark grey version also now appears in 10255 Assembly Square.
A load of balls
But thanks mainly to the launch of Mixels and the Chima Legend Beasts in 2014, a new batch of elements with the 5.9mm balls was introduced, together with associated socket elements. Importantly, unlike the sockets used for towbars, these sockets afford a tight push-fit, enabling the Mixels to be posed.
Some ballshaft build ideas
Just for fun, I've had a play with a few simple build ideas using the ballshaft.
For "Spacers", this element offers numerous new options for landing legs, gantries, weapons, etc.
The contrasting sizes of the 5.9mm ball and 10.2mm Technic ball joints commonly used in Bionicle sets (such as Design ID 32474) made me think of a Van De Graaff generator.
Or scoring markers in board games like the 1970s classic, Mastermind.
Or spokes on 'jacks'.
Conclusion
The ballshaft is a lovely addition to the ever-expanding catalogue of LEGO elements, and particularly to the existing Mixels ball joints elements. I know I've only scratched the surface of potential build ideas—but you wouldn't want me to spoil all your fun! Of course, we eagerly await its production in other colours.Products mentioned in this post were kindly supplied by the LEGO Group. All content represents the opinions of New Elementary authors and not the LEGO Group.
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And, as I have mentioned before, the ballshaft also appears to be extremely similar to the old Fabuland drumstick from the 1980's...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?id=3080#T=P&C=3
I only have a single one left, and I have to check out if it has a standard towball as they appeared already in 1970. In that case, the only major difference seems to be the yellow color and the slightly longer length.
/Håkan
It doesn't look round enough to work, but a proper, longer bar+ball would be very useful. This said, even just a "bar 2L" is something we're all waiting for.
DeleteYeah, judging from pictures, it looks a bit oblong on the ball part... I guess I need to look up my old specimen and see how it works in practice...
Delete/Håkan
Please do! Be interested to hear.
DeleteThe drumstick was way too small, alas... There's no grip at all...
Delete/Håkan
Thanks for checking Håkan
DeleteI found this part in a second hand bulk, and although it's slightly strange, I guess it could be used in interesting ways.
Deletehttp://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=2908&name=Technic%20Helicopter%20Rotor%20Holder&category=%5BTechnic%5D#T=P&C=9
/Håkan
Ooh I like that! Could be very useful.
DeleteI've bought plenty of the grey ones when it came out on B&P, to me it's the most important part of 2016. I've used it in pretty much all of my recent MOCs. Wouldn't have been able to attach the feet or front legs of this one, using the axle version:
ReplyDeletehttps://flic.kr/p/QnnP8R
A "3L" longer version of it would even be welcome. This said, I'd rather get a ball *cup* + bar (or axle), on the female side the system lacks that style of connection.
I would also have listed 15460, a quite useful hub for small mechs, which Lego uses just as that, in new Nexo sets. And also the veeeeery old 3614 hand part, which Lego should definitely bring back in updated colors. I haven't used it yet because I don't like old grey in my MOCs.
DeleteNice idea with the jacks btw. I've just finished a small super-deformed tank (where the gun is attached by this part!), and I needed some things to put around it.
DeleteAlso a coincidence that I have an order with 2 4L bars in DBG, those are quite expensive and I didn't have any yet
Funnily enough, 15460 is to be mentioned soon... I just bought Battle Suit Clay...
DeleteLove the idea of this, but seeing as some of my Mixel sockets have started to crack and break, I just want a sturdier socket for these ball joints. Before these cracks began to appear, I was a huge proponent for this smaller "species" of joints because it's perfect for if I want to make smaller characters (I buy mostly Bionicle/constraction sets, and small characters are a tad harder to make look proportional yet flexible with the standard ball joints half the time. It's also good for fingered hand designs). Needs some work in my opinion, or maybe the sockets I got were from a bad batch of plastic.
ReplyDeleteFor the double clip method, could someone tell me (and others) just how strong they are? Either list the actual PSI the end of the shaft can support without buckling, or just how many of a certain brick it can hold.
ReplyDeleteThanks.