PdC Parts Fest 2018: Half-cone roof tower

At Paredes de Coura (PdC) Fan Weekend in Portugal in June 2018, New Elementary ran a workshop where 25 builders were given 11 of the new LEGO® parts released in 2018 to experiment with. With the clock running, they used these in combination with general part stock (provided from the magnificent collection of Comunidade 0937) to create as many ideas, tablescraps, techniques and small MOCs as they could and we’re sharing the most interesting and useful ones with you.

Today it's the turn of the new textured half-cone called Roof 2x4x4 by TLG, and Tower Roof 2 x 4 x 4 Half Cone Shaped with Roof Tiles by BrickLink. Its Design ID is 35563 and we had it in Earth Blue [TLG]/Dark Blue [BL] (Element ID 6209807) which you will find capping off two LEGO Disney Princess castles this year: 41152 Sleeping Beauty's Fairytale Castle and 41154 Cinderella's Dream Castle. It also comes in Dark Stone Grey [TLG]/Dark Bluish Gray [BL] (6230280) in two LEGO Harry Potter Wizarding World sets: 75953 Hogwarts Whomping Willow and 75954 Hogwarts Great Hall. You'll also find it in Dark Red (6223601) in LEGO Juniors 10762 Belle's Story Time.

The roof tiles on it are really quite beautiful I think. Petal-like and somewhat oversized, they do suggest other applications for the part – but what will our fan builders come up with?

Perhaps the first thing to point out about this part is that two of them do not make a perfect cone.

While the base of two of these half-cones forms a perfect 4x4 circle (matching the 4x4x2 cone shown here in Dark Stone Grey) the tops do not form a 1x1 circle, because of course the LEGO part designers wanted a full stud on top.

Consequently the new 1x2 rounded plate fits perfectly on the top.

Most people I spoke to hate this aspect of the part – and consequently the part itself! – but I have to say I hold a soft spot for quirky LEGO parts like this that don't match similar parts perfectly.

However I do find the wider 'petals' that bridge the joins on the sides rather odd. Nevertheless, one builder used it to her advantage.

She envisaged them not as petals but as pleats, designing this characterful figure who I like to imagine is a nanny.

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Another builder imagined them as an insect's scales.

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Used in their halves the other way around, they're the perfect shape for a boat.

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And upside down, they can even be exotic flowers. Well, I'll be honest, this part proved to be more flexible than I imagined!

READ MORE: More ideas from the workshop

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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. All text and images are © New Elementary unless otherwise attributed.