10179 - UCS Falcon - How many parts, 5,195 or 5,197?

LegoFanTexas

Ok, now I'm confused... Everywhere online says this kit should have 5,195 parts, and most of the pictures of boxes don't have a number on the front.

Take a look at the front of one of my boxes attached to this post, it says 5,197 parts.

Anyone know what is up with that and what is the real part count?

tdhbr

I just looked at my box to see what it says ... nothing! There are no words or numbers at all under "Millenium Falcon." Does that mean I have an extra-special super-rare box? :)

My Falcon is currently disassembled, so I could start counting and let you know what I come up with. Or not.

davee123

Anyone know what is up with that

It happens sometimes. Basically, the piece count is in flux throughout the product lifecycle. When they're finalizing a model, they may think that they have the element count ready, and send it to another department (like box printing), only to change the piece count JUST before sending it off to production. Then, when they list it on the website (for example), they send the updated piece count.

On top of that, there's changes to the production run. Sometimes, the parts included will change in subsequent runs, and the piece count changes too. And again, not all the groups within LEGO are notified of the change.

and what is the real part count?

As noted, the "real" part count will depend on which specific production run you received (if they changed it during the process).

And then there's the issue of "what's a part?" Back before they had computerized inventory systems, they had humans count the parts for sets-- and what some people decided to call a "part" wasn't necessarily what other people decided to call a "part". For example, minifig heads used to not usually be counted as individual parts, and instead were included with the torso, arms, and hands, all counted as a single element. Similarly, you can ask the question of hinges, turntables, wheels/tires, string, rubber band holders, "extra" elements, stickers, pneumatic tubing, etc.

All in all, it's difficult to make a call on something like that. In this case, I think LEGO may indeed have an "official" piece count (and one of the numbers may be inaccurate), but you'd have to get someone within LEGO to do the research for you to figure out what the story is specifically with this set.

DaveE

GIR3691

I think you're just splitting hairs here.

sidersdd

I thought there were some regions which didn't display piece counts on the boxes.

LegoFanTexas

I also have a box that has no piece count on the front, I've had several of those, this is the first one I've had that has the part count on the front.

None of them have been the COA collectors edition, they were all produced after that. Don't know if they look different inside, since needless to say I'm not going to open them to find out. :)

As for splitting hairs, it isn't that I really care, it is more curious than anything else, since Brickset and everyone else lists 5195 parts for this set, yet it is clearly printed right on the box 5197 parts.

Has anyone downloaded the instructions from Lego.com and counted the parts in the parts list at the end of the book to see what they say?

bluemoose

If I remember correctly, the '5195' figure came from LEGO when they announced the set. It was the figure they used when describing the set as the biggest one ever (up to that time) & in all the promotional stuff they were doing at the time. As Dave E mentions, the element count for any given set can be a tricky thing to calculate ... there is often no single 'right' answer, but rather a range of answers, each of which is 'right' in a slightly different way.

Legoboy

^ But don't you think it's odd that LEGO should change the printing on the box? I understand that one person might count this piece as one that someone else might have perhaps counted as five (minfig - good example davee123), but surely that process takes place one time? What triggers them to have a recount and decide the set actually carries two extra parts - requiring them to change the box printing?