Random part of the day: Plate 1X4 W. Ball Socket

It's nice when vehicles have some variant of this part, as over time , there have been a lot of types of trailers in sets, and making custom trailer can be fun too.

Other variant include https://brickset.com/parts/6273227/plate-2x2-w-ball-socket-w-cros

There also was this GWP not that long ago 40488 : Coffee Cart that you can put behind some vehicle.

It would be interesting for more pieces with this socket to be molded so you can create ragdoll mixel joints.

@TheOtherMike said:
"The older version with the cup looked better IMHO, but this one does allow for a greater range of movement from what's attached to it."

I also find that these newer ones are easier to disconnect than the old slotted socket type (2 slots is harder to use than 4).

@TheOtherMike:
It still bugs me that the design is backwards, with the ball mounted to the trailer rather than the vehicle. In real life, this design would probably result in a crazy amount of heavy trailers rolling backwards into traffic on steep inclines, as the socket loses its grip on the trailer ball, where the real-world design relies on weight to keep the tongue from lifting off of the hitch ball (unless you don’t know what you’re doing, and the trailer is too light at the nose).

In the LEGO world…the real trailer hitch design would probably be too bulky, or too fragile. They had something like a true trailer tongue, used for old construction vehicles, but as a 2x5 plate it was half the size of many contemporary cars.

Anyways, I’ve made two trailers of the hitch variety. One was for a Santa Claus version of this car:

https://brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=3468346

After a conversation with a photographer at a show we do every year, I made a version of that car with all the chrome parts replaced with black, and a white trim line around the bottom edge of the body. Then I stuck the 2x2 version of this part in back, and hooked up a trailer with matching body styling. For Christmas shows, it’s packed full of presents. During the off season, it has a surfboard rack instead.

The other trailer is one of those towable arrow signs for directing traffic into an adjacent lane. Since that gets paired with traffic barrels, rather than being towed, I actually put a Mixel socket on the tongue, meaning it’s incompatible with the one car I have that can tow a trailer.

@MeisterDad:
That may have been done on purpose, to allow the parts to separate under stress, rather than causing one part to snap. Transformers have been using emergency-release sockets for limbs and other fragile parts for years now. It’s annoying when some part keeps popping off with the slightest pressure (especially when more pressure is required to force it into position), but it beats rendering the entire toy useless the first time you try to transform it.

Where are all the good comments!?
BALL SOCKET?
No one else picking up on that?

It wants to chomp me!

I've used this part on my actual car. I'm not going to tell you how it was used though.