09 January 2020

New LEGO® Colour 364 Transparent Medium Reddish Violet with Opalescence

Posted by Elspeth De Montes
It seems that 2020 is not limited to bringing us 362 Transparent Blue Opal, but also 364 Transparent Medium Reddish Violet with Opalescence. We are calling them new colours because they have been given a LEGO Colour ID but it seems that adding the Opalescence effect is not likely to classify this as part of the "one colour in, one colour out policy" as far as we can tell.



One of our readers, BrickoMotion, mentioned that the 1x4 Panel in Transparent Medium Reddish Violet/ Trans-Dark Pink from Disney' 43173 Aurora's Carriage was "weirdly colored" and it seems it was also pearly and iridescent. They were right, so let's take a look at this second new colour.



Initially we took a look at the set images online and then found the 1x4 Panel in the online instructions for 43173 but it was unclear which colour the Element ID 6294242 matched, as it varied between product images. In some it looked like 113 Transparent Medium Reddish Violet while others seemed to show the newer colour 364 Transparent Medium Reddish Violet with Opalescence. 


Upon opening up  43173 Aurora's Carriage,  the element in the set is definitely 364 Transparent Medium Reddish Violet with Opalescence. (The Element ID in the instructions however, 6294242, incorrectly refers to the regular Transparent Medium Reddish Violet version, so currently we are unsure of the Element ID for the Opalescent version. Perhaps this was an eleventh-hour switch to the new colour.)



A comparison shot shows from L to R: 364 Transparent Medium Reddish Violet with Opalescence, 114 Transparent Medium Reddish Violet with Glitter and 113 Transparent Medium Reddish Violet. The pearly opalescence can be seen clearly in this new element when compared with the two other Medium Reddish Violet variants.

Still from Review Video by  L of Elle
©2020 LEGO Group.
Another element with this new colour is the hairpiece worn by the Trolls mermaid minifigure from 41250 Trolls Techno Reef Dance. Again, it is not obvious from product shots (it looks like Trans Medium Reddish Violet with Glitter in the product shots) but can clearly be seen as 364 in this video review by L of Elle.

Has anyone found any other new Transparent colours with Opalescence in their newly opened LEGO sets? Given that the colour IDs known so far are 362 and 364, there might be another Opal variant assigned to 363. Of course, it might not yet be in sets... and possibly never will. Not all assigned IDs end up being used. As Ryan Howerter pointed out last time, "341 Transparent Bright Orange with Glitter and 351 Transparent Bright Green with Glitter have been on the LEGO palette since at least 2017... it just took them a while to show up in sets".

Actually, Ryan Howerter's colour spreadsheet has just been updated! It now contains all the colours added in the last few years as well as having a smart new look. If you're unaware of this magnificent community resource, definitely bookmark it. You can also read a fantastic introduction to LEGO colours by Ryan Howerter right here on New Elementary.

Reader Jonathan Wilson just pointed out that BrickLink have now added the Opal colours to their database (their full BrickLink names are Satin Trans-Light Blue and Satin Trans-Dark Pink), and it is irritating they've called them 'Satin' instead of 'Opal' or 'Opalescent' as it just adds to the colour-naming confusion. They've opted to categorise them within Pearl colours rather than Glitter; I guess both are equally valid classifications!

What do you think of these pearly new colours? Let us know in the comments. Consider buying your sets with 364 Transparent Medium Reddish Violet with Opalescence (or anything) from Amazon via New Elementary's links; as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases which goes back into funding set reviews.

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16 comments:

  1. Interesting... for some reason it's the only part not included in LEGO's published inventory of the set: https://brickset.com/inventories/43173-1

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    1. We were wondering if production of the Opal colours only got completed in the nick of time? This would explain why they look like regular trans-glitter in many product shots, and why the instructions mentioned in this article have the element ID for the regular trans-pink. Might also explain your point.

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    2. There are a lot of parts missing fro the LEGO inventories, including standard parts. In the 2020 wave, in most sets the standard 2l pin 2780 is missing for instance. Also a lot of minifig parts, especially Ninjago. I think it's matter of availability for Bricks&Pieces, but I have no proof for that.

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  2. What colors were excluded from the palette recently?

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    1. 143 Transparent Fluorescent Blue / Transparent Medium Blue hasn't been used since 2018.

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  3. BrickLink is calling this part "Satin Trans-Dark Pink" with the other color being called "Satin Trans-Light Blue"

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    1. I have to admit that those are better names than the official ones. I like the use of 'Satin' . I guess there is a reason why most people use BL nomenclature when talking about LEGO colours!!

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    2. Extraordinarily annoying name choice. There was no reason to eschew the opal designation and the BL choice refers to the incidental surface texture while ignoring the far more unique and noteworthy color tinge & optical effect. I wonder if the new owners will work towards a unification of terms ;)

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    3. I guess I don't stress about the nomenclature that much as I use LEGO official on New Elementary and also the BL in general - both stick in my mind now so I work with either.

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  4. I'm glad you found the piece and showed it to the rest of the world ^^
    I have to say that these opalescent colors speak to me on a deep glittery level. I hope we get loads more of them!

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    1. :D

      But what do they SAY to you? ;)

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    2. Thanks for the heads up BrickoMotion. Let us know if you spot any more ;-)

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  5. Transparent fluorescent blue was one of my favourite Lego colours...I hope we get it back again!

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  6. Anyone else think these look like cheap megablocks?

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    1. No? I mean, it's not unlike Mega Bloks to have colors with unusual effects, but that also includes things like chrome or glow-in-the-dark parts. And it's not like AFOLs consider chrome or glow-in-the-dark LEGO parts cheap or low-quality because of that.

      Competing building toy brands like Mega Bloks certainly tend to fall short of LEGO quality standards in various ways, but that doesn't mean their sets, parts, and colors can never be genuinely impressive in other ways.

      I also feel like still photos of this color might lend an inaccurate impression, since it might look like certain sections of the parts are oddly discolored or marbled, when it's really just the entire part having a shimmer effect that looks different depending on how the light is hitting it.

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