Introducing advanced set search
Posted by Huw,.png)
Here at Brickset we are always striving to make it as easy as possible to find the sets you're looking for. The search bar at the top of every page is the first thing to try, and if that doesn't provide you with the results you're after you can use the query builder to perform complex searches.
However, there are some scenarios where even that won't help. A while ago magmafrost used our suggestion box to ask if it would be possible to add a feature to enable him to find sets that contained two or more specific parts, which could be useful for identifying sets among second-hand lots.
So, I have done just that, and you'll find it as the first feature added to the new advanced set search page.
As an example, say you've come across one of these relatively rare parts in your job lot:
You can just about make out the design number 47758 on the bottom, so that can be entered into the box on the new page:
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There are three different colours listed, so choose the black one and press the Add button:
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Your bag of parts also contains one of these, and examining the bottom you can read the design number 6238.
It can be added to the list of parts in the same way as the one above, and you'll end up with a page looking like this.
Now, when you click on the Search for sets containing the elements below » link, Brickset will search through inventories looking for sets containing both parts then display them in a list.
In this example, only one set contains both the parts:
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The URL of that listing is https://brickset.com/sets/containing-parts-4213398,4527369 so you can also construct the URL manually if you know the element IDs.
Anyway, I hope you find that useful and if you have any ideas about other types of search that can't be performed already which could also be added to the advanced search page, let me know in the comments or via the suggestion box.
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36 comments on this article
Don't set inventories here have the issue of being inconsistent and incomplete due to the way they are constructed from LEGO and Rebrickable inventories with the different iterations of essentially the same parts, making these searches unreliable? BrickLink's version of this feature seems more reliable — if only it had the ability to import my Brickset collection so I could also search sets known to be in my collection.
This will make it so easy to identify which sets are in a bulk buy. Very useful addition to the website! Keep up the good work!
Awesome work @Huw and everyone at Brickset!
Brilliant!!!
@LegoSonicBoy - I didn't know BL had a set finder search that worked like this??
It's too expensive. It's got too many pieces. Lego hates us. A real one's cheaper.
Oh, it's not a set announcement.
Excellent work, thanks!
@Slave2lego said:
" @LegoSonicBoy - I didn't know BL had a set finder search that worked like this??"
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogIn.asp?viewMulti=Y
This is very useful, thank you!
Marvellous.
@LegoSonicBoy said:
"Don't set inventories here have the issue of being inconsistent and incomplete due to the way they are constructed from LEGO and Rebrickable inventories with the different iterations of essentially the same parts, making these searches unreliable? BrickLink's version of this feature seems more reliable — if only it had the ability to import my Brickset collection so I could also search sets known to be in my collection."
Of just use rebrickable. This feature has always been possible there, you can even add quantity and color code fields to be even more specific.
this is useless - until it's going to be useful because having such a feature makes a difference of 0 or 100 percent.
thanks for making it!
Based on the photos, similar to mini-figures, it looks like you can add individual parts to your collection?! That’s really neat, as it would be useful to track which animal pieces I own.
But I’m not seeing that option when I click a piece and try it myself. Not seeing the “I won” and “I want” check boxes for parts.
@Wellspring said:
"Based on the photos, similar to mini-figures, it looks like you can add individual parts to your collection?! That’s really neat, as it would be useful to track which animal pieces I own.
But I’m not seeing that option when I click a piece and try it myself. Not seeing the “I won” and “I want” check boxes for parts. "
It's not enabled by default to prevent the database being swamped by Mb of data that isn't used. You can enable it in your profile: https://brickset.com/profile/preferences , "Enable parts collection functionality"
Just as good wine, Brickset goes better as years go by. Excellent tool, thank you to both magmafrost for thinking and asking, and Huw for making it possible.
Crosstown Craze is a great set
I was just wondering this weekend if Brickset could do something like this.
I had a really weird situation. We purchased an AT-TE for my son’s birthday, but the bags were not parts for the AT-TE, and there were no instructions.
I did see Fennec Shand’s helmet in one of the bags, and that was enough to get me to the right set, which was The Justifier. But it got me thinking. And there’s one bag that I can’t identify full of parts not for either set.
Thanks so much! This is a huge feature!
@peterlmorris said:
"I was just wondering this weekend if Brickset could do something like this.
I had a really weird situation. We purchased an AT-TE for my son’s birthday, but the bags were not parts for the AT-TE, and there were no instructions.
I did see Fennec Shand’s helmet in one of the bags, and that was enough to get me to the right set, which was The Justifier. But it got me thinking. And there’s one bag that I can’t identify full of parts not for either set.
Thanks so much! This is a huge feature!"
That's a great use case!
Commas in URLs aren't cool as most software doesn't recognize all text as a link and you have to copy the entite link.
YES YES YES YES
This is awesome! Also, I had no idea BL had a similar search ability. I often sort through loose Legos trying to piece them into sets. Before this enlightening bit of information, I would open multiple windows on my computer and "attempt" to find the common set amongst 2 or 3 pieces. Obviously, this takes a long time and is difficult to do with a smaller screen such as a laptop. This is a game changer!! Thanks for the info and constantly making improvements to this site.
That's a fantastic idea, cool feature! Long ago, I was forced to derive my first Space set. All I remembered was it had a green windshield and two pairs of 4x8 wings. Turned out to be 6861 X-1 Patrol Ship. Would have been handy to have such a tool--though knowing the set was early 80's or older helped narrow it down to a reasonable list.
This is an incredibly useful feature.
Neat! Oh and ah, thanks for fixing the layouts in the parts browser, too (though I must confess Im curious how they broke in the first place)
Great new feature.
Highly appreciated, thank you @Huw and your awesome team.
This is awesome! I love robust search options!
Thank you!
Yes! This is awesome! There is another site that did this too. Can't remember link top of my head. Always have to look in my bookmarks which is probably why I don't jump there too often. So much easier to do it right on Brickset.
Strangely I did not realize a similar feature existed on BL. So I tried it quickly with Huw's example here and it didn't work. Spent a couple minutes trying to adjust my two parts and couldn't find the set. I must be doing something wrong, but ultimately at first glance, seems much easier to use on Brickset.
I tried this with part 4444 (light gey) and 3005 (light grey). This search could only find medium Stone grey and grey. Then it found 0 sets (understandably since the Medium Stone Grey is rare in this part). When I used the BL version, I had the choice to select the right colors and many sets showed up. Maybe I am doing something wrong. It looks like grey is not populated the same between Brickset and BL.
Also, I wish there was a way to delete added parts instead of refreshing the page because the first time, I picked the wrong color.
@ryan_c_byrd said:
"I tried this with part 4444 (light gey) and 3005 (light grey). This search could only find medium Stone grey and grey. Then it found 0 sets (understandably since the Medium Stone Grey is rare in this part). When I used the BL version, I had the choice to select the right colors and many sets showed up. Maybe I am doing something wrong. It looks like grey is not populated the same between Brickset and BL."
Our inventories are those that LEGO publish and it has not done so for old sets, including most released prior to the grey colour change. That'll be why it didn't work for you.
"Also, I wish there was a way to delete added parts instead of refreshing the page because the first time, I picked the wrong color."
That's something I may add in due course.
Excellent addition, thank you.
A curious mind could produce all sorts of wonderfully random pub quiz statistics with this new feature.
Thank You! I love this!!!
@Rare_White_Ape said:
"Excellent addition, thank you.
A curious mind could produce all sorts of wonderfully random pub quiz statistics with this new feature. "
I wondered whether we could make a weekly quiz out of it "which set contains these three parts" or something!
Genius! Wanted this so many times!
(and never took the time to request it....)
Great addition, thank you!
Thank you very much for adding this feature!
oooooo that's useful! Especially probably for people who buy and sort huge lots from ebay
Thank you Huw! I have several unopened bags that have shown up in bulk buys, and this will make figuring out which sets they came from a lot easier.