Are "Earth Green" and "Dark Green" really the same colour?

RevBlues

Every collecting and parts website I've been to either suggests or explicitly states that "Earth Green" and "Dark Green" are the same LEGO colour. But LDD clearly shows them to be two different shades - the former being a much darker shade of green than the latter.

I'm modding #79111 which LEGO says uses Earth Green parts, but I can only find Dark Green stuff on BL. Can I ignore what LDD is telling me and go ahead and buy Dark Green?

graphite

LEGO's Earth Green is Bricklink's Dark Green. LEGO's Dark Green is Bricklink's Green. So anyone saying "Earth Green" and "Dark Green" are the same LEGO color is wrong. LEGO's names and Bricklink's names are different.

Big_Sal

'Earth green' is the official Lego name for what Bricklink calls 'Dark green' (this colour).
What Lego calls 'Dark green' is what Bricklink calls 'Green' (this colour).

So yes, if Lego says Earth green then you want to buy dark green parts from BL. Hope that helps!

RevBlues

Thanks. Why on earth* wouldn't BL use the official LEGO names?!

* no pun intended

Plell

Up until recently the official names in the palette weren't publicly known, so Bricklink users just kind of went by popular consensus for what to call colors. I'll let Aanchir jump in with all the confusing details, but suffice it to say a lot is lost in translation.

graphite

^^ Bricklink doesn't use LEGO part numbers either, the use the mold number if stamped on a part. LEGO I believe has a different part number for the same part in different colors so using the mold number makes a cleaner database (in my opinion) .

akunthita

My understanding is that BrickLink uses different color names because many times LEGO recycle old names for colors that they no longer produce. Since BrickLink sellers list both current production and retired parts and colors, it is important to have their own naming system. Also, there are some colors that LEGO doesn't recognize as a new color - as far as they are concerned it is simply an updated old color. And there are also other color variations and shades that BL recognizes, but not LEGO. It would be a good idea though to also list the official LEGO colors next to the BL colors, or have a reference page with the color names.

graphite

Ask and you shall receive.

http://www.peeron.com/inv/colors

ColoradoBricks

Not sure out up to date it is but there is a one on peeron and a more up to date but with less details on rebrickable

1974

BL has been around for quite a while and I'm sure some of TLG's names are younger. I'll bet that red, blue, yeallow etc was called just that in the 60'-80's before all these fancy colours appeared. I see little logic in TLG's naming really

madforLEGO

graphite said:

^^ Bricklink doesn't use LEGO part numbers either, the use the mold number if stamped on a part. LEGO I believe has a different part number for the same part in different colors so using the mold number makes a cleaner database (in my opinion) .

Hmm, pretty sure I have input LEGO part numbers into BL searches and it appears. They may not be listed in the item description, but if you search for the LEGO part number in the BL search engine it will find it, unless I am remembering incorrectly.

RevBlues

Looks like I've started something here. But fascinating, in a "look, I'm wearing an anorak too" sort of way. ;o)

I'm off to BL to buy some Dark Green...

graphite

madforLEGO said:

graphite said:

^^ Bricklink doesn't use LEGO part numbers either, the use the mold number if stamped on a part. LEGO I believe has a different part number for the same part in different colors so using the mold number makes a cleaner database (in my opinion) .

Hmm, pretty sure I have input LEGO part numbers into BL searches and it appears. They may not be listed in the item description, but if you search for the LEGO part number in the BL search engine it will find it, unless I am remembering incorrectly.

That may be the case although I've never seen it shown anywhere but they aren't used as the method of cataloging the part. Brickset lists both. Technically the mold number is a "LEGO part" as well but I'm not sure if you called up and just said I need part 3005 that LEGO CS would know that is a 1x1 brick without you telling them.

Bosstone100

Lego does know the bricklink color names. I ordered a few parts and didn't know the lego color names. They had the bricklink.com equivalency chart available to them.

MrJ_NY

Another easy access color chart = brickowl.com/colors

TigerMoth

graphite said:

madforLEGO said:

graphite said:

^^ Bricklink doesn't use LEGO part numbers either, the use the mold number if stamped on a part. LEGO I believe has a different part number for the same part in different colors so using the mold number makes a cleaner database (in my opinion) .

Hmm, pretty sure I have input LEGO part numbers into BL searches and it appears. They may not be listed in the item description, but if you search for the LEGO part number in the BL search engine it will find it, unless I am remembering incorrectly.

That may be the case although I've never seen it shown anywhere but they aren't used as the method of cataloging the part. Brickset lists both. Technically the mold number is a "LEGO part" as well but I'm not sure if you called up and just said I need part 3005 that LEGO CS would know that is a 1x1 brick without you telling them.

You can see (some of) the Part IDs on Bricklink by hitting "View small images". Each corresponds to a particular Design ID in a single colour. But it's not a 1:1 relationship and there are sometimes several Part IDs that are all the same colour and the same Design ID.

Some parts are also composites. Bricklink often uses the Design ID of one of the component parts, whereas TLG use a completely new number.

Bricklink also either use their own Part IDs or use one for a similar part where the correct ID is not known.

Printed parts also have they're own Design ID which is different from the one embossed in the base brick. Bricklink uses the base brick Design ID with the addition of a "print number". TLG also use a "print number" as part of the part description, but it's different and it's not shown on some bricks either here or on the Replacement Parts site.

There are also different Design IDs which look identical or very similar. Clear or metallic parts usually have different Design IDs to their solid counterparts, either because they are made of a different type of plastic or because they have some sort of finish applied.

Items in boxes, like capes or string, have a different Part ID to that of their contents. Essentially, anything that exists as a unique entity within a factory has a Part ID, even bags of bricks.

And if that all isn't complicated enough, the lists shown either in the instructions or on the Replacement Parts site are not necessarily correct. TLG modify the design of parts slightly, with new Part IDs and you will often find a piece that actually carries one ID, whilst another is listed.

RevBlues

Having just spent two hours on BL buying parts for various projects and trying to ensure I get the right colours, my head hurts.

Aanchir

graphite said:

madforLEGO said:

graphite said:

^^ Bricklink doesn't use LEGO part numbers either, the use the mold number if stamped on a part. LEGO I believe has a different part number for the same part in different colors so using the mold number makes a cleaner database (in my opinion) .

Hmm, pretty sure I have input LEGO part numbers into BL searches and it appears. They may not be listed in the item description, but if you search for the LEGO part number in the BL search engine it will find it, unless I am remembering incorrectly.

That may be the case although I've never seen it shown anywhere but they aren't used as the method of cataloging the part. Brickset lists both. Technically the mold number is a "LEGO part" as well but I'm not sure if you called up and just said I need part 3005 that LEGO CS would know that is a 1x1 brick without you telling them.

To clarify, LEGO has two types of part number. There is the "Design ID" (the number molded into the part, usually), which refers to a part of a particular shape, and there is the "Element ID" (the number you see in the back of instruction booklets), which refers to a part with a particular shape, color, and decoration. Bricklink uses both types of part number. They call Design IDs "part numbers" and Element IDs "part color codes".

It's a bit more complicated than that (sometimes solid and transparent versions of a part will have different Design IDs, new versions of a mold might or might not be assigned new Design IDs, and there can be more than one Element ID for a particular part+color combination), but that's the general gist of it.

As far as colors are concerned, the official names were fairly obscure until a few years ago, when they became more widely known by way of LEGO Digital Designer and the LEGO replacement parts service. LEGO had tried to reach out to fansites before that by providing Peeron with a LEGO color guide, but it wasn't enough to get those names to catch on with fans. Brickset has done a fantastic job making LEGO color names more accessible by using LEGO Customer Service data as a source for its part reference and set inventories.

Brick Colorstream is one of the best reference guides on the Internet to LEGO colors and their Bricklink and Peeron equivalents. The Peeron color chart is another handy reference, although some errors are inevitable because there isn't always a 1:1 relationship between a LEGO color name and a Bricklink or Peeron color name. Some Bricklink color names describe four or more LEGO colors, and some LEGO colors are assigned multiple names on Bricklink.