Random part of the day: Bow 1/4 4X4X1
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random part is 48092, 'Bow 1/4 4X4X1', which is a System part, category Bricks, Special Circles And Angles. It was introduced in 2004 and is still in use today. It's been made in 24 colours and has appeared in 254 sets, one of the first of which was 4504 Millennium Falcon.
Our members collectively own a total of 5,359,286 of them. If you'd like to buy some you should find them for sale at BrickLink.
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15 comments on this article
Great, now I need three more!
I have a few of these in varying colors, but seriously need more.
finally its a useful part
Just received 2 in yellow to complete my 392 set. Cool!
I did a double take when I saw that there are over 5 million owned by Bricksetters. I suppose it should be obvious given what an old and common part it is, but seeing that number still caught me by surprise.
@Lego_mini_fan :
This is at least the sixth RPotD that I’ve used in MOCs, not even counting Otto’s brainpan (which I’ve only used on Otto). I actually paired this in red with the previous radar dish in clear to make skylight-studs on my LEGO Store, which is shaped like a 10”x20” 2x4 brick. So, I’m not saying this isn’t actually useful, but judging by the comments, we haven’t had any parts yet that nobody had a use for.
These internal IDs are fascinating. The advantage is you can know with certainty which ID goes with which set and there is some rationale behind any changes (a resurrected part and so on), but the disadvantage is that the database is incomplete: in general, to go further back than the early 2000s one must rely on external sources or empirical evidence. This part seems to fit the former category.
Take a 1/4 bow 16 times.
2004? Never knew it was that old. I thought it was 2010/11.
Lol, I have that Falcon set from 2004. I personally thought the part was older than that. And that surprised me.
Surprised it took so long for Lego to create the design given how useful it would have been for towers in castle sets in the 1980's, especially as the smaller 2x2 curved brick with 2 studs (3063) was around since 1955 and appeared in 433 sets.
It is also useful in the concave position as internal cross bracing for two walls at right angles to each other if you are ever in a competition to build a single brick width 8 by 8 hollow tower as tall as possible.
Caltrop rating 4/5
This is a good piece. There are no configurations in which it gets less dangerous, we have a lot of right angles like in a classic brick. It really shines if it falls on the curved side, adding destabilizing and sliding potential to the regular right angle damage.
This was a game changer.
Now they need to design a 3x3 version that fits concentrically between the other two. Would be perfect minifig size for water wells and airlocks.
3839 was a great set to obtain these.
@ambr:
They never really made walls with the 2x2 macaroni brick either, so walls made of this weren’t going to be a high priority. I’m still not sure they are even now. For 2x2, they had to in order to make 75551, and to make that work they had to make a macaroni plate that’s 3x3 and matches the 2x2 curve. Stackaroni is an unstable design, but the 3x3 macaroni plate allows you to tie it in to whatever structure it sits adjacent to.