New Fiat 500 contains 48 new parts in light royal blue
Posted by Huw,
We often hear that constraints are placed on the number of new parts and recolours that designers can include in new sets in order to control costs and minimise additional logistics requirements.
However, that does not appear to have been a limitation for the new 77942 Fiat 500 because it contains 377 light royal blue parts in 59 designs, of which 48 are new in that colour.
That's another good reason to buy it at Zavvi (UK), Zavvi (US) or, if you're in the UK, from LEGO.com.
The new dinosaur sets have introduced a number of recolours, too. You can view all the new parts in the September releases in our database.
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When I viewed the parts list a few hours ago, most of those parts were showing in 2 or more sets.
The part numbers must have been updated since then, as I now see only 1 set for that 1x4 plate.
It is in Big Bentley Bust Out, under a different code. I bought around 100 of them from bricklink back then.
It would be nice if there was some way for brickset to indicate that these parts are not really unique, when Lego changes the code.
^ The inventory was incomplete when first imported so I re-imported it.
IMO: this is because in order to get these parts, you have to buy THIS set... at least for now. I am sure they have a whole range of sets planned where they will be using these parts intermittently. LEGO wants you buying THIS set, and this is how they are getting your attention. And guess what... it will work for them. It has in the past and it will again in the future.
@Huw said:
"^ The inventory was incomplete when first imported so I re-imported it."
Ok, makes sense, as I see many more parts now and quite a lot of them really are unique to this set.
I'd still like it if Brickset could somehow tie together the same part, when it exists under 2 or more codes, but realise it's probably not that easy, especially with colours like new dark red, which does exist in 2 distinct variants, even in the same set produced across the 2004 divide.
To some extent it does. Click on the identical parts tab on e.g. https://brickset.com/parts/6361988/plate-1x4.
@Huw said:
"To some extent it does. Click on the identical parts tab on e.g. https://brickset.com/parts/6361988/plate-1x4."
You're right, of course, and I do use that feature.
I'll be honest, the only reason I'd buy either of the Fiat sets would be for the colors. If this ends up making it to an world wide release, I might be tempted to pick one up... but not enough to try to get a regional exclusive at the moment. I'll be interested to see how this does tho.
I wonder if the relatively limited production of the set has something to do with it getting so much leeway in that regard. Though I dont *think* we really know at this point just how limited the production will be, do we?
I expect we will see many of these parts used in other things in the '22 lineup to justify their production. Probably Friends line at the very least will utilize this addition to the palate.
I have the impression that these changed part numbers are only a marketing trick.
Many AFOLs would maybe not buy a new set if Brickset/Rebrickable etc. indicate that they already own e.g. 98% of its pieces. However, due to the frequently changed part numbers, it seems as if you would only own 80% of the pieces, which is basically wrong because you own far more, they simply have a new number in the new set.
For those of us who are interested to find out in which set they own which specific pieces, for example for a MOC, these different numbers for identical parts are really annoying.
I have now realised that I can view the set's inventory as a list, which then shows whether the same part / colour exists under a different code. Filtering by the colour and sorting by the number of sets, it's easy to see which are really unique.
If I counted the rows correctly, there are 42 new designs in light royal blue.
I may need to order another of these new Fiat 500s, since I really do like this colour. :-)
@greenhorn said:
"I have the impression that these changed part numbers are only a marketing trick.
Many AFOLs would maybe not buy a new set if Brickset/Rebrickable etc. indicate that they already own e.g. 98% of its pieces. However, due to the frequently changed part numbers, it seems as if you would only own 80% of the pieces, which is basically wrong because you own far more, they simply have a new number in the new set.
For those of us who are interested to find out in which set they own which specific pieces, for example for a MOC, these different numbers for identical parts are really annoying."
I believe it has to do with new molds being made for the parts, and slight alterations to the part or color, e.g. when dk. red and reddish brown color formulas were changed.
@Mr__Thrawn said:
" @greenhorn said:
"I have the impression that these changed part numbers are only a marketing trick.
Many AFOLs would maybe not buy a new set if Brickset/Rebrickable etc. indicate that they already own e.g. 98% of its pieces. However, due to the frequently changed part numbers, it seems as if you would only own 80% of the pieces, which is basically wrong because you own far more, they simply have a new number in the new set.
For those of us who are interested to find out in which set they own which specific pieces, for example for a MOC, these different numbers for identical parts are really annoying."
I believe it has to do with new molds being made for the parts, and slight alterations to the part or color, e.g. when dk. red and reddish brown color formulas were changed."
That is true for many part number changes, where the new design is similar but not identical to the old. However, there are also many part number changes with no obvious reason, where the parts and color are identical. It’s mainly these which I dislike.
^ That occurs when a part goes out of production then returns some time later, even if it is identical.
That's why I immediatly ordered it.
But I do hope that this experiment is a succes, and we get colour variants of sets on day one, or shortly after. Cars are good candidates. But also modulars.
And if I can dream, general availability of at least a 'core' set of parts in any (current) colour, regardless of wether they are in sets or not.
And If I may rant, the Sian in (close to) the colour of the prototype (as seen in Geneva), so metallic-green, instead of lime.
Well... this is not going to skew the 'pilot' of releasing these sets in different colours any further at all. No sir! And I haven't even mentioned the increased demand due to induced scarcety outside of the UK. Just your well-thought out experiment with no significant variables due to colour rareness and increased demand whatsoever...
/s
Lots of interesting recolors even beyond those recolored sets! I noticed the 1x2x2 window frame in dark red from one of the Jurassic World sets. Only a week or two ago, it occurred to me that you could use that piece to replace the 1x2x2 panels in the Bowser's Airship set from the Super Mario theme, to give the sloped sides of the top deck a slightly more seamless look—but when I went to look at that part's availability, it didn't yet exist in dark red. Now it does, and I'm tempted to buy a couple to improve an already fantastic set.
@magmafrost said:
"I wonder if the relatively limited production of the set has something to do with it getting so much leeway in that regard. Though I dont *think* we really know at this point just how limited the production will be, do we?"
That's a good question, and given the circumstances it will be interesting to see. I think the idea of the pilot program is to see if having the same set made available in different colours simultaneously (rather than months after the original release) will be a popular choice among fans. If this set goes gangbusters and demand is high will they release it to a wider population, or stick with the pilot program in order to preserve the data they get from this research?
@greenhorn:
Nope. The “element ID number” is what they use to track internal inventory so they know when to ramp up production again. As long as a part stays in regular production (e.g. a red 2x4 brick), it will retain its EID indefinitely. Once that part is no longer needed for any sets still in production, it gets a short window where they hang on to leftovers to fill missing/damaged part requests, and then it’s scheduled for retirement. At that point, the EID is retired. If, two years later, someone else needs that same part for a new set design, the EID is not revived, but a new one is assigned instead. The more an element is cycled in and out of production, the more redundant EIDs it picks up. At some point they will run out of the current range of numbers, and we’ll have to see if they add the oldest retired numbers back into the pool, or start adding another digit to all newly assigned numbers.
Scalpers are TOTALLY not gonna abuse this situation.
I do wonder if shameless resellers of this set affect TLGs research.
Like- they gotta know this set is doing incredibly well in large part BECAUSE it is a limited release, right?