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I keep a 2x3 plate in my pocket with in three different 1x2 dark gray
plates affixed. This shows the colors better than my camera can.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=73033
My take is the SW MINIs suffered from the same quality issue affecting
the purple HP bus. The left one is a classic yellowish dark gray plate.
On the other end is a bluish dark gray plate from a SW MINI set. The
middle neutral color is likely what LEGO intended as the replacement.
The middle color appears spectrally neutral to me. I have not confirmed
the set this variation was found in. It could be from the problematic
fireboat set (pulled from store shelves because the polybag with minifig
legs was not included in the box.)
The 4492 MINI ISD should look awful beside the 10030 ISD but the reverse
seems to be true. The MINI looks bright and shiny and the 3 foot long
model looks jaundiced when placed beside the little one. Here is a
picture of my bedroom:
http://brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=680312
My main beef is people look at the big one and say "WOW" then they look
at the little one and say "neat." The the eyes glance from one to the
other a few times and finally something like "The big one looks awfully
yellow."
Dark gray is heavily influenced by the lighting as to whether it looks
good or bad. I pull out my 2x3 plate every time I enter a different
lighting situation. Under incandescent lighting (60W,) old yellow dark
gray looks the best and the neutral color actually appears purple.
Halogen lighting and natural sunlight make the neutral color look
fabulous and clearly shows the blue and yellow variants for what they
are. Note that a slight change in cloud cover on a sunny day can
drastically alter your perception.
While walking to work one day this week. I was holding my brick as a
cloud passed in front of the sun. I could not believe the perceived
color shift as it kept changing as the cloud went from a few wisps to a
thick mass between me and the sun. I stared at my brick through many
cloud transitions that morning trying to decide which color I liked the
best. Maybe those who complain the loudest about the new colors never
see their bricks while the sun is up. A building room in the basement
is a sure fire way to convince yourself how bad the new variations are.
Sorting the bricks is also a heck of a lot easier under halogen
lighting. Or sunlight if you are so fortunate. I play with the kids
bricks during the day and my own after they are in bed.
The bottom line is there are three dark grays (at least) to work with
and each is better depending on how it will be lit while on display. I
have yet to view my brick under mercury or sodium lighting, the kind used
in arenas where most train shows are held.
Truth be told, I like the new light gray and actually prefer it. That
said, I have spent several thousand since November stockpiling the
three classic colors via tubs, Harry Potter, Star Wars and Studios sets
and Pick-A-Brick.
I have not seen the new light brown yet. I have been using all
available funds to purchase old bricks which will not be around much
longer. The new SW (Greedo), HP (shrieking shack), and Spidey (Doc Oak)
look excellent and I will likely get several of each but they can wait
until my funds replenish. If only some more sets with 1x16 technic
beams would be released... Then again this could be good. I have
already exceeded my LEGO budget for the year and it is barely March.
SW MINIs and X-pods are all I have for 2004 but the new S@H exclusive
bulk packs announced today will definitely be ordered this week.
Doug
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