LEGO® FABULAND® Lives On: the colours

This year marks 40 years since The LEGO Group (TLG) launched the LEGO® FABULAND® theme, which ran from 1979 until 1989. To celebrate this, we're going to run an occasional series of articles here at New Elementary called Fabuland Lives On! We'll examine the surprising legacy that this theme for 3-7 year olds has had upon the elements and colours of the LEGO System, and the hearts of fans. Kicking things off, we have LEGO® colour expert Rylie Howerter.

©1984 LEGO Group

Note, in a departure from our usual convention for naming colours, in this article we use the TLG official colour ID and name (followed by the more well-known BrickLink name in brackets, where it differs to the official).

The Newer New Dark Red?

LEGO® colour 154 has had a bit of a bumpy history, and it seems it might not be over yet... now Sven Franic has noted a change for 2019, and is wondering what's going on! [Editors note: This article has been updated to incorporate The LEGO Group's comments on changes to Dark Red in late 2018.]

Somewhere around 2009 - 2010 there was a secret switch from “old” Dark Red to New Dark Red. During the transition period, when 10182 Café Corner was still occupying store shelves, you might apparently get a mixed batch of old and new Dark Red pieces in the same set. Judging by the backlash of the AFOL community after the big 2004 colour changes (when TLG transitioned from BASF’s pre-coloured ABS pellets to in-house pigment mixing) it is not surprising they would avoid attracting attention to subtle changes in the tone and texture of elements if it was not clearly noticeable or did not affect the build experience. BrickLink never differentiated between the two shades of Dark Red – and neither did TLG externally. Internally they retained its colour ID – 154 – although they changed its name from Dark Red to New Dark Red.

Book review: The Unofficial LEGO® Color Guide

We love LEGO® colours here at New Elementary and know it is an important topic for many of you too. A reference book, The Unofficial LEGO Color Guide by Christoph Bartneck, was first released late in 2017 with a second edition in July 2018. We sent a copy to LEGO colour aficionado Ryan Howerter (creator of LEGO colour resources like Brick Colorstream) to see what it offers.

There is a definite need in the AFOL community for LEGO® color references, whether for BrickLink sellers to verify the color of parts they’re listing, artists to match RGB values to brick colors, or geeks like me who like data and historical information just because. This book is, to my knowledge, the first attempt to make that information available in a physical format for easy reference, but it unfortunately misses the mark on several points.

Brickset: A history of Technic pins

Occasionally we see an article about LEGO® parts that we love so much, we republish it here on New Elementary. (With permission, naturally!) Well our good friend Huw Millington of Brickset wrote this great rundown about the humble Technic pin and we definitely didn't want any of you to miss out.

I can't quite believe I'm writing an article on such a seemingly mundane subject as the history of Technic pins but, given the popularity of last week's article about one such pin, perhaps there'll be similar interest in this one too.

The first Technic sets launched in 1977 came with just one type of pin; however, the very first 'Technic' pin produced predated them by some 7 years, and it wasn't made from plastic...

LEGO® MOVIE 2 review: 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg!

Coming 1 February 2019 (and already available for VIP members), LEGO® 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg!
 is the largest and arguably most thrilling set from THE LEGO MOVIE 2: The Second Part. But how do the parts stack up? Sven Franic takes a look inside this 3178-piece set and its plethora of Sand Green.

The flagship set for THE LEGO MOVIE 2: The Second Part focuses attention on the part of the film featuring the derelict remains of Bricksburg from the first film (which may have some resemblance to New York?). This is an opportunity to jump on the revived pop-culture trend of the post-apocalypse dystopia and a great way for adult fans to connect with what is probably the closest The LEGO Group will touch a certain Ozploitation trilogy from our childhoods. 

LEGO® MOVIE 2 review: 70828 Pop-Up Party Bus

We've been eyeing off the new 2019 color and those new LEGO® gears for a few weeks now, and here both of them are in 70828 Pop-Up Party Bus! Ryan Howerter takes a look at this 1024-piece set which is priced £79.99 / US$79.99 / 89.99€, available at the usual suppliers including Amazon USA and Amazon UK.

Out of the 25+ sets revealed so far for The LEGO MOVIE 2: The Second Part, the Party Bus is the only one to include this year’s new color: Vibrant Coral [TLG]/Coral [BL]. And boy, does it have a lot of it! Let’s get started.

LEGO® Unikitty: Yi-Chien Cheng & Janko Grujic interview

From a parts perspective, LEGO® Unikitty was perhaps the most interesting new theme of 2018. During the Recognised LEGO Media Fan Days, New Elementary sat down with two of the designers, Yi-Chien Cheng from Taiwan and Janko Grujic from Serbia, to ask them a few questions about the theme – and the new parts it’s given us.

We know Unikitty from 2014's The LEGO Movie, and she will return in the sequel this February. But in the meantime she got her own show, Unikitty! How did that come about?

Janko: The idea of that show has been, probably, on the table since the movie, because she’s such an appealing character. Warner Brothers joined forces with Cartoon Network to come up with the new show, so the sets that you see are related to the show on Cartoon Network, and I’d suggest that you take a look at it, it’s a lot of fun!

New LEGO® colour 353 Vibrant Coral: a speculative look

For the second year running, a new LEGO® hue is being introduced: 2019 sets will include Vibrant Coral, which has the colour ID 353. We simply cannot wait to get our hands on it, so instead we asked LEGO colour aficionado Ryan Howerter to guess how it might look!

Nothing gets me as excited about new LEGO sets as much as brand-new colors, and given The LEGO Group’s modern palette constraints – a color has to be removed from the palette to make room for any additions – that doesn’t happen very often. So it was a pleasant surprise to see salmony parts in the new The LEGO Movie 2 set 70828 Pop-Up Party Bus.

LEGO has been very good at introducing new colors in a wide variety of basic and specialized parts within the first year after launch, so instead of focusing on the few shapes it comes in so far, let’s explore the potential of the color itself!

LEGO® Unikitty: The 1x3 Inverted Tile with Hole

Sven Franic continues his examination of the new moulds to be found in the LEGO® Unikitty! theme.

Continuing our quest for interesting new elements from the Unikitty universe, it is time for what is probably the most exciting piece from the bunch: Tile 1X3, Inverted, W/ 3.2 Hole (Design ID 35459).

(CW:HP) LEGO® Harry Potter: A Wanderful New Element

LEGO® Harry Potter has returned once more, along with Fantastic Beasts, within the overarching theme of Wizarding World. While we are busy exploring all the details of the new sets, in this initial post Elspeth De Montes introduces a very small item that is essential to any wizard: a wand. Editorial note: Although views expressed by Harry Potter's creator do not align with that of New Elementary, we continue to cover HP sets. Read about our stance here.

LEGO® 10262 James Bond Aston Martin DB5

Each summer the LEGO® Creator Expert theme release a large scale vehicle, such as last year's 10258 London Bus. This year, the subject remains frightfully British: today The LEGO Group revealed 10262 James Bond Aston Martin DB5. Sven Franic took an early look to find all the new parts and of course, to play with the gadgets!

The latest LEGO® Creator Expert car model is an acquired taste. To be fair, the slick Superleggera design is not easily translated to brick form. I learned to love this model through the building experience and it turned out to be one of the most ingenious LEGO model designs I have ever come across.

Sand Green Pete Machines: New turtles, robots and more

Who would have thought that not one but two of this year's LEGO® Architecture sets would provide the necessary 3x3 dishes for Peter Reid to create entire new fleets of his iconic robot turtles? Having analysed all the exciting new parts in 21042 Statue of Liberty, I simply had to send the Sand Green elements off to him to see what would happen.

Receiving the parts from New Elementary (along with some gentle bullying by Brickset) meant it was time for another robot turtle. It only seems like a week or two since we got Magenta ones. What a time to be alive.

Tim asked me to make a single Sand Green turtle, but one thing led to another and I ended up developing some additional models, which nobody asked for.

Mk II Liberty Launcher

LEGO® Architecture 21042 Statue of Liberty: The new parts

Packed with interesting techniques, LEGO® Architecture 21042 Statue of Liberty is my favourite build of the year so far. Today, I'm going to examine the parts that have been provided in new colours in this new set and show a couple of cool techniques that the designer has used.

Brickheadz 41597 Go Brick Me

The LEGO® Brickheadz theme seems to have been a huge success for The LEGO Group. We sent a copy of 41597 Go Brick Me to Chris McVeigh and asked him to... er... go brick himself.

41597 Go Brick Me asks you to build yourself as a BrickHeadz. It’s the best kind of LEGO set; one that provides structure through a branching building guide, but ultimately nudges you outside the lines. The template for your BrickHeadz is you, and that means the end result is always unique.

"Kill Teal" models (Vol. 1)

The time has come at last! We asked you to imagine how LEGO® designer and AFOL Mark Stafford might kill off Teal again, now that this colour is back in the LEGO palette once more. We received 79 entries! We will publish a few every day, in the order they were received, and reveal the winners next week. Enjoy, and be sure to tell us your favourites in the comments.

I wanna kill you... again!

By Devid VII

In a secret room in LEGO factory Mark is trying to color the last teal pieces... I wanna kill you again!

10260 Downtown Diner: New parts and colours

After our Tealicious appetiser looking at all the Teal parts in LEGO® Creator Expert 10260 Downtown Diner, your main course of new parts is now on the menu. So slip into a comfortable position in that little red diner stool because your waitress Elspeth De Montes is scooting towards your table to serve up new LEGO elements.

Now before we start, I know we don’t normally focus much on minifigures here at New Elementary but in the case of Downtown Diner I must make an exception. There’s no easy way to say this so I’m just going to get it off my chest - the boxer in this set has the most ridiculously bouffant hairstyle I have ever seen in a boxing ring. Can you pick out the boxer’s hairstyle? Hint: I can only assume that Jamie Berard must have won a bet for using this hairstyle on a bloke!

10260 Downtown Diner: Teal-icious Appetiser

Elspeth De Montes will be dividing up her review of LEGO® Creator Expert 10260 Downtown Diner into delicious chunks. The set has 2480 pieces and is priced at £129.99/ US$169.99/ 149.99€/ 1399.00 DKK, but you have the chance of winning the set if you enter our building competition, Kill Teal (Volume 2)!

January 1st saw the release of LEGO® Creator Expert 10260 Downtown Diner.  The annual release of the next Modular Building is always a highly anticipated event, and this year’s offering is certainly an eye-catching model based on first appearances.

This first part of the review will focus on the comeback colour.  Yes, that famous LEGO colour known as Teal [[LDraw and Peeron] / Bright Bluish Green [TLG] / Dark Turquoise [BL] has arisen from its untimely death by the hands of Mark Stafford back in 2006.

Without further ado, let’s dive into the beautiful Bright Bluish Green water and bathe in the lush Teal bricks supplied in Downtown Diner.

The early bird catches the fish

Coming 1st September 2017, LEGO® Ideas 21310 Old Fishing Store has 2,049 pieces - the highest number ever for a LEGO Ideas set - and will retail for £139.99 / US$149.99 / 149.99€. Sven Franic is here to tell you all about the colours, parts and minifigures you will find in this stunning fan-designed set.

I remember the day the LEGO® Ideas review results arrived with the news that the Old Fishing Store by fan builder Robert Bontenbal (RobenAnne) would be made into a set. A lot of us hoped for it, but never thought such a large project would be deemed feasible by the LEGO Ideas team. A particularly attractive feature was the colour scheme in Sand Green and the inclusion of so many accessories and animals, most notably the seagull which was only briefly featured with one of the characters in the 2013 collectible minifigures series 10.

Bricktastic: Colourtastic (Part 4)

Elspeth has a final two creations for you today where she has used a single LEGO® piece in multiple colours as inspiration for a build. Click/tap any image to view larger. 

Colour Recycling Facility

The Colour Recycling Facility is on point with TLG’s current policy of using 100% renewable energy and the ongoing research into alternative, more environmentally friendly options for ABS plastic.

Bricktastic: Colourtastic (Part 3)

It seems everyone has been enjoying the LEGO® colour collections that Elspeth De Montes displayed at Bricktastic, the show in aid of Fairy Bricks in Manchester, UK. Today she takes things up a notch; here are the MOCs she displayed whose sole purpose was to incorporate some colour collections within the build.

Elsie’s Garden