Does Lego Purposely Increase Piece Count?

[MacK]

I'm sure I'm not alone in noticing that in some Lego sets Lego decides to use two seperate pieces rather than just one piece to achieve the exact same effect. For example in the Magna guard Starfighter I bought a short while back ago I noticed that instead of using just a 4 by 6 plate they used two 2 by 6 plates instead. This just got me to wondering if this is to perhaps increase the piece count a bit since so many of us judge a set by the number of pieces it has, and therefore by adding a few more pieces it may increase sales by a bit.

In the long run this really probably doesn't make a difference, but is there any other reason they do this? It may be to cut costs but technically they would need to use more plastic and mold two pieces per set rather than just one so it probably would still cost about the same.

Thoughts, ideas, or am I just crazy?

[Rufus]

I've had a thought on this. I think it might be easier/cheaper for Lego to fill a set with as few types of pieces as possible. I noticed in the new 8092 Landspeeder set that they used 2 1x2 slope pieces rather than 1 2x2 piece; the set contains 6 1x2 slopes: perhaps it's easier to request 6 of one piece from the sorter than 4 of one and 1 of another.

Just speculation... any one on the inside know anything more concrete?

[hewkii9]

I think Rufus is most likely right - it would make sense. And, since old molds are brought back mainly when they have potential in more than one theme - flared Castle helmets were used in Avatar before new Castle, we only got a jester because of Harley Quinn, and so on. Either way, it does mean more pieces

[Front]

Maybe the 6x4 in the particular colour was not an active part that year. Designers can't use any part in any colour.

[ILikePi]

I think the weirdest instance of a piece used for no reason is in the Assassin Droids Battle Pack:

The black 1 x 1 round plate is there for no apparent reason; it's completely hidden later on in the build by plates and wedges.

Does anyone know why it was placed there?

Edited January 16, 2010 by ILikePi

[MacK]

Maybe the 6x4 in the particular colour was not an active part that year. Designers can't use any part in any colour.

I'm pretty sure they used it in dark bley somewhere else in the year. Another example of extra pieces can be found in the new CITY repair truck as well where instead of a 1 by 8 they used a 1 by 6 and 1 by 2. I'd like to hear from someone on the "inside" regarding this topic as I've been wondering for a while now.

Probably does have something to do with convience or avalibility though.

[RileyC]

I think its because they have those pieces already being molded and it would be costly to create another mold that would do the same job.

[Mr Hobbles]

1. Lego pieces rotate in and out of production as they cant physically have a moulding machine for every piece ever made. Every year the designers are given a "piece budget". They have to choose from those to design their kits. Therefore for any given set an ideal piece may not be available, so they have to use alternatives.

2. Yes, they do purposely add more pieces than are strictly needed, for the purposes of creativity (So that there are more building options out of the box).

[prateek]

I think the weirdest instance of a piece used for no reason is in the Assassin Droids Battle Pack:

*snip*

The black 1 x 1 round plate is there for no apparent reason; it's completely hidden later on in the build by plates and wedges.

Does anyone know why it was placed there?

That's just wierd. I think that this is an instance when TLC puts in parts to drive up the piece count. The 1x1 round plate is probably the cheapest part they have.

[Mr Hobbles]

That's just wierd. I think that this is an instance when TLC puts in parts to drive up the piece count. The 1x1 round plate is probably the cheapest part they have.

If that's true then why didn't they just include it as an extra part like every other set?

I think it must have had a purpose at some point, maybe it got removed at the last minute...

[Svelte]

My impression is that it's the piece budget that decides these sorts of issues - it's cheaper to use 2 of the smaller piece than add another element to the set palette. That's also why some sets have weird internal colours - City vehicles are particularly prone to having bits of green, red, or yellow plate (obviously the cheapest colours for these elements) to fill in gaps which won't be seen in the final model.

Of course, this does work in the opposite way to drive part counts down.

For example, the new cheese 1x2 slope which is becoming more common in 2010 means that the very low piece count of something like the Freeco Speeder looks even lower because the set has half the number of cheese pieces than it would have if it had been produced in early 2009 when the double cheese piece wasn't available. Same with the new 1x1 brick modified with stud on 1 side - whereas before you'd need 2 pieces to get the same effect (Technic brick and a half Technic pin), now you only need 1!

[Siegfried]

I think it's just a case of TLG using what is on hand. For example lime has been used more as a filler part recently because of Power Miners. As I said when I (correctly ) predicted the return of pirates, TLG seem to have a low run of parts in a lead up to a big run. For this reason you'll see seemingly odd parts and colours sometimes.

But overall I think TLG try to use less parts unless they are trying to meet a certain price point, and that Assassin Droids Battle Pack is probably a good example of it. (It does need to match the other set after all.) For example more and more there are combination pieces (like the new tile pieces) that save parts.

-snip-

Your post says pretty much what I think! That's what I get for starting a post and getting distracted half way through!

[Mr Hobbles]

That's also why some sets have weird internal colours - City vehicles are particularly prone to having bits of green, red, or yellow plate (obviously the cheapest colours for these elements) to fill in gaps which won't be seen in the final model.

I think that price is part of the reason there, I think also that it's easier for kids to spot changes in the instruction manual. It's easy to miss a 2x2 black plate sitting ontop of an 8x8 black plate, not so easy if the 2x2 is blue.

Edited January 17, 2010 by Mr Hobbles

[Siegfried]

I think that price is part of the reason there, I think also that it's easier for kids to spot changes in the instruction manual. It's easy to miss a 2x2 black plate sitting ontop of an 8x8 black plate, not so easy if the 2x2 is blue.

Yes I agree there too. Lime has been used in some rather odd places lately!

[Piranha]

I would say yes,

Particularly in battle packs which are primarily figs but need to have something else (mostly random)

However not in impulse sets, at their low price, for a minifigure and including a few cool accessories is enough.

No need for extra random parts.

Also I think about the random colored bricks they use when I build sets. They are usually hidden from view.

Perhaps used to identify that particular part and make its placement more obvious? or LEGO just has a surplus of parts in that color.

Edited January 17, 2010 by Macoco

[ILikePi]

Also I think about the random colored bricks they use when I build sets. They are usually hidden from view.

Perhaps used to identify that particular part and make its placement more obvious? or LEGO just has a surplus of parts in that color.

Here's what I said about the random colored bricks in an old topic:

That is because they actually try to do so. The "random" colors (blue and tan) are there so that the kids who are building the sets will have an easier time doing it, since the colors act as reference points on where to put the next pieces.

[Grrr]

Those who were talking about reducing the number of distinct pieces in a set are completely right.

This is also taken to a higher level with some sets, particularly Creator, Technic and 1xxxx sets. You will notice when you pull out the little baggies that there are often many bags that contain the exact same set of parts. It's cheaper to have the bagging machines make two bags of the same parts for one set, then two distinct bags. This gives set designers a good reason to put even numbers of parts into certain sets.

[Rick]

Hmmm, I was going to write something sensible here, but I guess everything has been said already (nicely summarized by Svelte).

- It's probably cheaper if TLG uses as little different parts per set as possible (this can result in one 1 x 8 being replaced by two 1 x 4's if they're also being used elsewhere in the model). So I DO NOT agree with the increase of building options due to more pieces. Especially in the bigger models, like the modulars, this allows the same bags being included twice. This probably drives down costs significantly.The VARIETY of pieces actually stimulates building options. There's a reason why there are no longer alternate models on the back of the boxes.

- 'Internal' pieces are sometimes differently colored because of availability, but also to make them easier to spot. For example, the City Corner bus had both red and blue bricks 1 x 4 with 4 studs on the side. Only possible reason I see: to distinguish the front and back of the bus.

[LegoDad42]

I suspect that the designers have to work within a budget for each model they're assigned to design. If they can add more pieces, it'll add to the build while not going over budget, while conversely they might build a kit and then management can tell them to cut back on some to keep it within a price point that's profitably for them. It's design, parts, weight vs. shipping, sales and profits.

The use of bright colored bricks (again I supsect)is to help builders recognize and see the different parts of the build for clarity. Remember that 99% of these items are for 6, 7, 8 years olds to like 14-16 years. Any help with a young builder and ease frustration leads to them getting more kits (ie:sales).

On a side note, price-wise, I always thought Lego should decrease the box size to help with prices. I undestand a larger box and graphics help sell the item better but I think as far as weight, shipping it could help get prices down a little . I see most of the models I buy and I'd say a third to a half of the box size could be reduced easily.

[Piranha]

Here's what I said about the random colored bricks in an old topic:

Thanks for the answer! The latter of what I suspected, to make it more obvious for builders.

[Legoist]

I'm sure I'm not alone in noticing that in some Lego sets Lego decides to use two seperate pieces rather than just one piece to achieve the exact same effect. For example in the Magna guard Starfighter I bought a short while back ago I noticed that instead of using just a 4 by 6 plate they used two 2 by 6 plates instead. This just got me to wondering if this is to perhaps increase the piece count a bit since so many of us judge a set by the number of pieces it has, and therefore by adding a few more pieces it may increase sales by a bit.

It is true that we AFOL often take a look at the piece count to judge if a price is right. But I guess this is otherwise irrelevant for KFOL and their parents. And certainly it would need to be a very significant piece count increase to have any effect.

I do think that nowadays many sets have too many pieces, particularly the exclusives and Creator sets. For the latter it's generally understandable (more smaller pieces instead of fewer large ones means more ways to combine them), however what I am referring to is TINY pieces like 1x1 and 1x2 plates, round plates and tiles. These pieces have only 1 possible way to attach them (2 if you count up and down for the plates) and therefore they have the smallest building value: their main use is decorative, particularly in case of the tiles. In my personal opinion there is too many of these 1x1 pieces everywhere nowadays.

Overall I don't think there's any secret plan by TLG when doing this. It seems there are quite many factors that contribute to what pieces effectively end up in a set, that I beliece TLG itself wouldn't have an easy time if they wanted to artificially increase the piece count to have some sales advantage.

[Svelte]

I opened the 3177 Smart Car today and 4 of the 40-odd pieces were 1x2 green plates, which were hidden from view in the final model. The build is so simple and the usage of green plates non-related to colour issues that this must be a cost issue. I do find this annoying because it does limit your MOCing palette. Any alternate model you make from this set is going to have splotches of green on an otherwise white colour scheme.

Legoist, I completely disagree about the Creator sets. Considering most other lines end up being Technic frame vehicles with plates attached, I adore the fact that since 2004 we've had beautifully designed sets which give us more of what AFOLs usually want - basic bricks in nice colours (ie not the bulk brick packs) and lots of small plates and tiles. Bring them on!

[Siegfried]

I do think that nowadays many sets have too many pieces, particularly the exclusives and Creator sets. For the latter it's generally understandable (more smaller pieces instead of fewer large ones means more ways to combine them), however what I am referring to is TINY pieces like 1x1 and 1x2 plates, round plates and tiles. These pieces have only 1 possible way to attach them (2 if you count up and down for the plates) and therefore they have the smallest building value: their main use is decorative, particularly in case of the tiles. In my personal opinion there is too many of these 1x1 pieces everywhere nowadays.

Noooo! Don't say that! I love the Creator sets and I like them just the way they are. I also disagree that the main purpose of small pieces is as decoration. For example, when building in Technic, small parts are needed to get the right gear spacing. SNOT work as well needs loads of small pieces.

[Legoist]

But I like the Creator sets too... It's just that I don't like the 1x1s flatties. You cannot use them to connect much together.

Anyway I made this remark here because I was thinking that in some Creator sets those 1x1s significanly increase the piece count and might give a misleading low price-per-piece.

Edited January 19, 2010 by Legoist

[Siegfried]

But I like the Creator sets too... It's just that I don't like the 1x1s flatties. You cannot use them to connect much together.

I'll have to make a MOC to prove you wrong; "I love Flatties by Sieggy".