07 August 2017

A stud walks into a bar…

Posted by Admin
This week, over 300 new, recoloured or printed parts were revealed on Brickset, but there was one in particular that hasn't been listed yet. We will have one from the LEGO® Group soon - but Elspeth De Montes already has her paws on it, and it just might be the most useful new LEGO piece of 2017... 

When the first images of a new set are made public, some fans like to admire the minifigures, other start comparing the accuracy of the set or its relevance within a theme or perhaps even imagine how it would look on their shelf. Others, like my fellow New Elementary contributor Chris McVeigh, prefer to scan for new parts, or parts in new colours.


It was Chris who first brought this new part to my attention when he spotted it within the soon-to-be-released 70620 Ninjago City. The image seemed to show a 1x1 round plate with a bar protruding at an angle, with a 1x1 round plate with hole (Design ID 85861) and a 1x1 Round Tile (Design ID 98138) attached to the bar.

Plate 1X1 Round W/3.2 Shaft/1,5 Hole a.k.a. the “Stud with Bar” (Design ID 32828) has quite a few connection options that expands its connectivity beyond the obvious stud and bar: the 3.2mm shaft has a central 1.5mm hole allowing things like drink straws or Friends flowers to be inserted, and the 1x1 round plate has a recessed stud allowing a 3.2 bar to be inserted.


Comparing a couple of similar parts with a stud and bar connection, we have the Paddle (Design ID 3900) and the Frying Pan (Design ID 4568). It is clear that the connectivity options are fewer in the two older parts, and neither have a complete 1x1 round plate; the frying pan has the base of the plate on its underside and the paddle has the stud only on the upper side, with a longer 3.2 shaft portion.

So, quite an exciting new part I think. Does it appeal to you? Solve problems you have had with a particular MOC? It’s only available in 70620 Ninjago City at the moment as far as I know and we will be bringing you a review of that soon, but as with all new parts, it will not be long until we start to see it being used in fan creations.



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26 comments:

  1. Great new part. Now if only Lego wanted our money and let us buy them..
    Even when I will get the City set (certainly not from Lego), I won't deface it by removing these parts.

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  2. Nice new part, which I'm sure will be put to great use.

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  3. That looks like one of the most versatile parts I've ever seen... I'll probably never get my hands on one for at least two years. :/

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  4. I won't lie. I could've used a part like this only a few days ago. :/

    In the end the paddle (3900) suited me fine, but those other connection options would've been handy.

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  5. Will the peculiarly dressed customer please return the espresso machine basket at the bar.

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    1. haha....maybe that's a better nickname for the part ;-) The beard is a Canadian thing...Chris McVeigh would know :-)

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    2. Is it the Hairy Fairy?

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  6. Looks like the thingy the coffee dude at starbucks mashes the coffee and puts it in the other thingy to make the coffee thingy.

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    1. I think that's what Sven was referring to as the "expresso machine basket" :-)

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  7. Mega B made those for two decades, I even have som in chrome silver!

    I find it amusing that lego is introducing many of the pieces from clone brands I use for cheating in mocs.
    - There is the 1x1 and 1x2 brick with studs on one side.
    - I've seen a 2x1 rounded plate with studs on both sides in the next wave of super heroes
    - 1x1 rounded plate with handles from this year's Ninjago sets
    - 3x3 plates

    Can I get 4x4 tiles and 2x2 double male plates so that I can quit the dark side?

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    1. I saw someone else point out that these parts being made by Lego after those clone brands shouldn't be surprising—after all, they were produced by those competitors largely because they were obvious extensions of the existing Lego system.

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    2. If MB didn't patent the shape, or if they patented a slightly different shape, that is probably enough that they were able to come up with their own similar design. After all, that's how a lot of clone brands have been getting around their active patents on new part designs for a while now. I remember one clone brand where every part had a mix of solid and recessed studs, and right away I figured that was done to create just enough variation to pass the patent litmus test.

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  8. Interesting.

    It could also be considered similar to - Bar 1L with Top Stud and 2 Side Studs BL#92690.

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  9. Looks incredibly useful. If they were ever on a Pick-A-Brick wall, I would scoop up an entire cup worth.

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    1. Since it's based on a 1x1 round, I'm wondering what I could do by swapping it into flexible or curved walls.

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  10. It's a great new part. Hopefully it will appear in quantity in another set soon. I can see some really interesting possibilities, particularly in conjunction with some of the parts you featured in the 'new black' parts festival last year.

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    1. Oooo maybe we can have a 'new' new black festival later this year!

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  11. It's worth mentioning that height-wise the bar is offset so that it will match the geometry of the SNOT stud on a headlight brick or ros.

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  12. Come to think of it, this could be 32828's forefather...

    https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=71183#T=C&C=22

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  13. Parts like these definitely interest me. I can already see how I could use this part to do some Bionicle hand designs using 3 long Lightsaber bars. It'll also be helpful with thumb designs because those tend to look kinda ugly and can fall off fairly easily. I think another way this helps is to add perpendicular connectivity to the bar system. Technic can do this very easily and there are parts that allow it already but they tend to be things like the hose nozzles or minifig blasters where the length is rather short. This could allow for some really long bars or even flex tube. Honestly the potential is endless and really allows for some more stable bar on bar connectivity. I can't wait to get some myself. The second these come in white I think I'll be redoing some wing designs I've been working on that currently use exo force arms. But these would provide a more stable connection. I love utility parts like this. These kinds of parts are my jam!

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  14. Those who are calling it the "Espresso Machine Basket" got it right, its used for exactly that purpose in the new Winter Village Train Station.

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  15. Oh and for those who want to obtain one (or more) of these, I would be very surprised if this part doesn't show up for sale on LEGO Bricks & Pieces at some point in the future.

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  16. Love it, can't wait to get some!

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  17. Having checked Brickset's partslist today (2nd of October) this part is still unique to Ninjago City and contains 7 of them.

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