Yes, the new Speed Champions windscreen is dual-moulded!

Wouldn’t this actually be overmolded? (I know the community likes to use dual molded for every multi colored part)

Gee, Bill! How come your mould lets you have TWO colours?

This is very impressive! I wonder if we’ll ever see this for things like Star Wars canopy pieces

@B_Space_Man said:
"This, plus chrome wheels on another recent release? I think Lego might be stepping up to compete with Mattel Brick Shop. "
Chrome wheels? Which recent release would that be? Can't find a recent SC set with chrome wheels in the database.

All that work (and I appreciate it) but it’s still the wrong windshield piece for that car…

This would be very useful for models with white pillars, because the printing on those is notoriously terrible.

@TheBrickBulbasaur said:
"Wouldn’t this actually be overmolded? (I know the community likes to use dual molded for every multi colored part)"

All dual-molded LEGO parts fall into one of two categories. Early ones were blended in a single shot, like the Bohrok faceplates, and the Exo-Force spikes. And I think starting with the first Simpsons minifigs, most dual-molded parts are, yes, over-molded where one portion is molded first, part of the mold retracts to make room for a different section to take its place, and then the remainder of the part is molded around the first section.

@CapnRex101 said:
"I assume so. The trans-clear plastic is probably moulded first and the black plastic injected afterwards."

Every instance I’ve seen in person, molding the core section first would allow them to form some sort of bulb on the end that the other section will stay locked onto. Injecting a filling works fine with pastries, but here they’d have to be able to mold a shaped cavity if they were going to inject something afterwards. I would think a more likely possibility would be molding the black section first, but not closing the gate right away, or even leaving a sprue attached. Then the clear portion could be molded over the black, and the black section would then be disconnected from the mold or sprue like knocking off the punt when glassblowing.

@The_Cellarer said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @B_Space_Man said:
"This, plus chrome wheels on another recent release? I think Lego might be stepping up to compete with Mattel Brick Shop. "
Chrome wheels? Which recent release would that be? "

77260"

You're absolutely right, I just found a couple of articles where the reviewer confirmed the wheels are actually chrome plated. Huzzah!

@JavaBrix said:
" @The_Cellarer said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @B_Space_Man said:
"This, plus chrome wheels on another recent release? I think Lego might be stepping up to compete with Mattel Brick Shop. "
Chrome wheels? Which recent release would that be? "

77260"

You're absolutely right, I just found a couple of articles where the reviewer confirmed the wheels are actually chrome plated. Huzzah!"
Wow, going by the render I would have bet that it's just flat silver. Doesn't look like chrome at all.
Funny since LEGO is infamous for false advertising in that they show stuff in their renders that isn't on the real thing. Most prominent example I can think of being the Mixels, where parts that were actually warm gold were clearly shown as metallic gold in the renders.
One would have thought that in this case they would have made a special point about the chrome.

@AustinPowers said:
" @JavaBrix said:
" @The_Cellarer said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @B_Space_Man said:
"This, plus chrome wheels on another recent release? I think Lego might be stepping up to compete with Mattel Brick Shop. "
Chrome wheels? Which recent release would that be? "

77260"

You're absolutely right, I just found a couple of articles where the reviewer confirmed the wheels are actually chrome plated. Huzzah!"
Wow, going by the render I would have bet that it's just flat silver. Doesn't look like chrome at all.
Funny since LEGO is infamous for false advertising in that they show stuff in their renders that isn't on the real thing. Most prominent example I can think of being the Mixels, where parts that were actually warm gold were clearly shown as metallic gold in the renders.
One would have thought that in this case they would have made a special point about the chrome. "

Jang on YouTube has a good video reviewing that set.

Good thing they are learning from Mattel

@CapnRex101 said:
"Possibly, but the only mould sprue I can see anywhere is the one on the back, which surely means that the black plastic was added afterwards. I would guess the trans-clear plastic is moulded with a long tab along the top of the windscreen and the black plastic then wraps around that."

I think I solved the mystery. Maybe. I’d need to examine one in person to say for sure, but I believe that pip on the back is actually where the _clear_ plastic was injected, through a hole formed in the black layer. Zooming in, it looks like there’s a bit of light-piping going on, which shouldn’t happen if the pip was black. Shine a light against the underside, and if it looks like a tiny headlight, then it’s probably pillars first, and glass second.

@MisterBrickster said:
"This is very impressive! I wonder if we’ll ever see this for things like Star Wars canopy pieces"

The windscreen in the Force Burner Snowspeeder from last year is dual-molded in black and trans-yellow. I can't wait to get it in light bluish gray or white and trans-clear or trans-black with the next Snowspeeder, assuming they remember to use it whenever the next Snowspeeder comes out.

@iwybs said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
"This is very impressive! I wonder if we’ll ever see this for things like Star Wars canopy pieces"

The windscreen in the Force Burner Snowspeeder from last year is dual-molded in black and trans-yellow. I can't wait to get it in light bluish gray or white and trans-clear or trans-black with the next Snowspeeder, assuming they remember to use it whenever the next Snowspeeder comes out."

They did it for that, but not 77256? OMG, they killed Kenny!

@JavaBrix said:
" @The_Cellarer said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @B_Space_Man said:
"This, plus chrome wheels on another recent release? I think Lego might be stepping up to compete with Mattel Brick Shop. "
Chrome wheels? Which recent release would that be? "

77260 "
You're absolutely right, I just found a couple of articles where the reviewer confirmed the wheels are actually chrome plated. Huzzah!"

This is the first Vacuum Metalised element (that isn't the One Ring) in like twenty years????? You'd think this would be bigger news on these review sites lmao

@AustinPowers said:
"
Wow, going by the render I would have bet that it's just flat silver. Doesn't look like chrome at all.
Funny since LEGO is infamous for false advertising in that they show stuff in their renders that isn't on the real thing. Most prominent example I can think of being the Mixels, where parts that were actually warm gold were clearly shown as metallic gold in the renders.
One would have thought that in this case they would have made a special point about the chrome. "

Honestly this hasn't been a problem in a long time, especially compared to other companies. It was pretty standard practice to use photoshopped / airbrushed prototypes in the toy industry before 3D renders took over. When the requirement to appeal to retailer was diminished with online shopping in the late 2010s, most companies stopped doing this... after all, in a shop the customer can see the actual figure and not the promo stock photo which isn't possible with online stores. Lego's mostly avoided this since like 2010 (the transitionary period to Pearl Gold after chroming was discontinued was particularly bad).

@Nuclearxpotato said:
" @JavaBrix said:
" @The_Cellarer said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @B_Space_Man said:
"This, plus chrome wheels on another recent release? I think Lego might be stepping up to compete with Mattel Brick Shop. "
Chrome wheels? Which recent release would that be? "

77260 "
You're absolutely right, I just found a couple of articles where the reviewer confirmed the wheels are actually chrome plated. Huzzah!"

This is the first Vacuum Metalised element (that isn't the One Ring) in like twenty years????? You'd think this would be bigger news on these review sites lmao

@AustinPowers said:
"
Wow, going by the render I would have bet that it's just flat silver. Doesn't look like chrome at all.
Funny since LEGO is infamous for false advertising in that they show stuff in their renders that isn't on the real thing. Most prominent example I can think of being the Mixels, where parts that were actually warm gold were clearly shown as metallic gold in the renders.
One would have thought that in this case they would have made a special point about the chrome. "

Honestly this hasn't been a problem in a long time, especially compared to other companies. It was pretty standard practice to use photoshopped / airbrushed prototypes in the toy industry before 3D renders took over. When the requirement to appeal to retailer was diminished with online shopping in the late 2010s, most companies stopped doing this... after all, in a shop the customer can see the actual figure and not the promo stock photo which isn't possible with online stores. Lego's mostly avoided this since like 2010 (the transitionary period to Pearl Gold after chroming was discontinued was particularly bad)."
LEGO still uses tricks on their renders to make sets appear more attractive than they actually are.
Take the current Dom' s Dodge Charger, where the blue pins have been retouched to look more black, or the upscaled blue Classic Spaceman, where the yellow pieces under the arms have been toned down.
Or in general using certain angles that hide the colour vomit visible from the outside on many sets.
Or showing false lighting and impossible angles, like in the shots of the Minas Tirith interior, or similar sets.

These are just some examples among many. It's systematic, they are not being honest.

@Crux said:
"Gee, Bill! How come your mould lets you have TWO colours?"

Best comment, 11.75 out of 10.

@Nuclearxpotato said:
"This is the first Vacuum Metalised element (that isn't the One Ring) in like twenty years?????"

Absolutely not. 6212 was in production as late as 2011, which means the chrome standard lightsaber hilt appeared as recently as 15 years ago. Still a long time, but not the year right after Ep3 released. And if you really want to get specific, 10246 did have the chromed mirror in production as late as 2018. That was a bit of a cheat, however, as the element they chromed was technically classified as a “fabric”, I believe, so not subject to the same rules as most other elements.

"You'd think this would be bigger news on these review sites lmao"

That I can agree with. Even The One Ring isn’t inventoried as chrome-gold, because all chrome colors were discontinued, so they had to cheat by listing it under a different color.

@AustinPowers said:
"
LEGO still uses tricks on their renders to make sets appear more attractive than they actually are.
Take the current Dom' s Dodge Charger, where the blue pins have been retouched to look more black, or the upscaled blue Classic Spaceman, where the yellow pieces under the arms have been toned down.
Or in general using certain angles that hide the colour vomit visible from the outside on many sets.
Or showing false lighting and impossible angles, like in the shots of the Minas Tirith interior, or similar sets.

These are just some examples among many. It's systematic, they are not being honest. "

I'm comparing photos and those two examples are not different than the real set, the pieces aren't "toned-down" they are still there and very much visible. If they were turning the blue pins black that would be dishonest, but they're the same colour and still obvious.

Impossible camera placement and set lighting are not even remotely similar to what was being talked about. Do you expect them to show an interior of a modular from two feet above in a dark room? Do you expect them to show the backside of a set that's meant to be displayed against a wall? This is making a mountain out of a molehill lol

@PurpleDave said:
" @Nuclearxpotato said:
"This is the first Vacuum Metalised element (that isn't the One Ring) in like twenty years?????"

Absolutely not. 6212 was in production as late as 2011, which means the chrome standard lightsaber hilt appeared as recently as 15 years ago. Still a long time, but not the year right after Ep3 released. And if you really want to get specific, 10246 did have the chromed mirror in production as late as 2018. That was a bit of a cheat, however, as the element they chromed was technically classified as a “fabric”, I believe, so not subject to the same rules as most other elements."

Interesting, I had no idea! I swore that the lightsaber stopped being chromed earlier, but that was probably on a set-per-set basis. My first Lego Star Wars set with a hilt was from 2008-2010 (I'll have to do some searching) and was EXTREMELY disappointed it was in Light Bluish Grey (not even drum-lacquered!)

EDIT: looking into it, they started phasing out chrome hilts in 2005 with it being standard around 2008 (with a few outliers here and there). My first set with a hilt was the Rogue Shadow, for the record, which was 2008.

@Nuclearxpotato said:
"Interesting, I had no idea! I swore that the lightsaber stopped being chromed earlier, but that was probably on a set-per-set basis."

To be fair, that X-Wing came out in 2006, so that was right after the final Star Wars film hit theaters. It just stuck around for five years before they finally retired it. They definitely started seeding some sets with less expensive options during those five years. I think that's part of why they've avoided making sets with Dooku, because his specialized hilt's mold has not only been destroyed long ago by now, but was only ever produced in chrome-silver. The standard hilt, at least, started showing up in non-chromed colors for uses other than being a lightsaber hilt.

Oh, and the Detective's Office mirror was classified as a "foil", not a fabric. Foil is the term they use for the flexible plastic sheet used for stuff light windsurfing sails. I think the fact that it was a flat sheet, and had a non-standard form of connection, is what allowed the designer to call for that chromed mirror when standard parts could not. No new mold was required to accommodate the chrome layer, because the face of the mirror doesn't get pressed firmly against the frame.