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Lego always makes new parts. They have to balance the cost of creating a new
part with the eventual use of that part. In normal production sets, new
parts can be used often, and the creation costs recovered. The Star Wars
line has lots of new parts created just for it.
I think you are confusing that with the Lego Direct special models and
re-issues. Those models have a much smaller production run. Such small runs
do not support the added cost of new parts (or recreating old part molds).
At least that's what I gather from comments made; I don't work for Lego.
The specific part you mention was added to a normal production run early in
the Fright Knights series. It was probably meant to be used more often. The
fact that it was used & covered up, implies it was not seen as a special
piece. During that time Lego was adding several juniorized pieces to reduce
piece count. That wall piece is very useful for making juniorized castles -
big, hollow, low piece count. That piece may have been withdrawn/not used
again due to production problems, planned sets not produced, or the series
ending early.
As stated elsewhere, in the olde days Lego produced many 'one-hit wonders'.
I have a few of them pictured in my Brickshelf galleries. I think cost
limits such wonders today, although realities may still create them after
the fact.
Hope that helps,
Clark
Visit my Vintage Parts pages, submissions always welcome:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=8642
Looking for a minifig, head, or torso? Try my helper:
http://clarkcorner.home.att.net/VisualMiniHelper.html
In lugnet.general, James Stacey writes:
> This confused me the other day. What is LEGO's policy on new parts. I have
> seen people comment on how old parts cannot be reintroduced as the cost of
> replication is too high. Why was this part ever produced. take a look at the
> corner dark grey piece at the top of
> http://library.brickshelf.com/scans/6000/6097/6097-12.html
> with the window. A nice useful piece, but the only benefit I can see ove
> using two of these http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/2345 is the window.
> Seeing as this is the only time as far as I can see this piece has ever been
> used take a look at the next stage in the instructions
> http://library.brickshelf.com/scans/6000/6097/6097-13.html
> where the window is covered up. Like I said its quite a handy part, but I
> can't see why Lego ever bothered making it for one set.
>
> go figure
>
> --
> James Stacey
> ---------
> www.minifig.co.uk
> #925 - I'm a citizen of Legoland travelling Incommunicado
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Message has 1 Reply: | | not *that* odd (was Re: how very odd)
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| (...) Don't we have an even more recent example of this occurring in the Knight's Kingdom, #6098 King Leo's Castle? I refer to this element: (URL) the different set numbers refer to the same set -- so basically, it has appeared in only one set so (...) (22 years ago, 4-Nov-02, to lugnet.general, lugnet.castle)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | how very odd
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| This confused me the other day. What is LEGO's policy on new parts. I have seen people comment on how old parts cannot be reintroduced as the cost of replication is too high. Why was this part ever produced. take a look at the corner dark grey piece (...) (22 years ago, 4-Nov-02, to lugnet.general, lugnet.castle)
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