In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
The BrickLink Catalog Administrative Team
Thankyou for letting us know! the only thing that will taking some getting used
to is looking at a part that (at least for me) I have never once thought was
trans-brown and listing it as trans-brown but thankyou for the update!
Thankyou for letting us know! the only thing that will taking some getting used
to is looking at a part that (at least for me) I have never once thought was
trans-brown and listing it as trans-brown but thankyou for the update!
Agreed.
This seems like a reasonable course of action.
How about Trans-Smoke for the old color??
Someday I would like to see new color names given better descriptors than Light,
Medium, Dark, etc. I have no clue how to accomplish this, given worldwide language
issues and other considerations. But similar to how paint colors are named relative
to precious gems; or plants, flower, and fruits; or by common usage of those
colors.
Thankyou for letting us know! the only thing that will taking some getting used
to is looking at a part that (at least for me) I have never once thought was
trans-brown and listing it as trans-brown but thankyou for the update!
Agreed.
This seems like a reasonable course of action.
How about Trans-Smoke for the old color??
+1 it would be nice if the other one could have the word black or something
like smoke in it instead of brown as while looking at that colour right now there
isn't even a hint of brown and that seems like it will confuse a lot of people
Someday I would like to see new color names given better descriptors than Light,
Medium, Dark, etc. I have no clue how to accomplish this, given worldwide language
issues and other considerations. But similar to how paint colors are named relative
to precious gems; or plants, flower, and fruits; or by common usage of those
colors.
+1 it would be nice if the other one could have the word black or something
like smoke in it instead of brown as while looking at that color right now there
isn't even a hint of brown and that seems like it will confuse a lot of people
After just comparing an old trans-black windscreen of mine to the new product
images, I agree they both look "black" but the old one is definitely
warmer in tone. My two cents would be "trans-warm black" "trans-cold
black" But at the end of the day, synergy with the Lego Group's official
terminology is probably the best course of action.
+1 it would be nice if the other one could have the word black or something
like smoke in it instead of brown as while looking at that colour right now there
isn't even a hint of brown and that seems like it will confuse a lot of people
When I first heard that Lego called it Trans-Brown, I was surprised, but in the
time since it has come to make sense to me. I can certainly see plenty of brown
in it.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
Why not just keep the text in parentheses? Seemed like a reasonable plan going
forward. But why not just keep the text in parentheses instead of removing it
after 6 months.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
Why not just keep the text in parentheses? Seemed like a reasonable plan going
forward. But why not just keep the text in parentheses instead of removing it
after 6 months.
I had the exact same reaction. Both "OLD" and "2023" are concise
but descriptive, plus making a single change is less disruptive than making two
changes six months apart.
LEGO definitely doesn't make things easy for the BrickLink catalog!
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
Why not just keep the text in parentheses? Seemed like a reasonable plan going
forward. But why not just keep the text in parentheses instead of removing it
after 6 months.
+1. 6 months is a very short period of time especially for those who have Lego
as an occasional hobby, it is easy to overlook that when many of us visit the
site virtually every day. Apart from this I think the plan is very well thought
through.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
Why not just keep the text in parentheses? Seemed like a reasonable plan going
forward. But why not just keep the text in parentheses instead of removing it
after 6 months.
+1. 6 months is a very short period of time especially for those who have Lego
as an occasional hobby, it is easy to overlook that when many of us visit the
site virtually every day. Apart from this I think the plan is very well thought
through.
Robert
If there is significant pressure to retain the text in parentheses for a longer
period of time, we will consider doing so.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
Why not just keep the text in parentheses? Seemed like a reasonable plan going
forward. But why not just keep the text in parentheses instead of removing it
after 6 months.
+1. 6 months is a very short period of time especially for those who have Lego
as an occasional hobby, it is easy to overlook that when many of us visit the
site virtually every day. Apart from this I think the plan is very well thought
through.
Robert
If there is significant pressure to retain the text in parentheses for a longer
period of time, we will consider doing so.
+1 for retaining the parentheticals for a year
I've seen the colors together, and the Lego names really do make sense to
me. I'm glad BL will match them.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
Why not just keep the text in parentheses? Seemed like a reasonable plan going
forward. But why not just keep the text in parentheses instead of removing it
after 6 months.
+1. 6 months is a very short period of time especially for those who have Lego
as an occasional hobby, it is easy to overlook that when many of us visit the
site virtually every day. Apart from this I think the plan is very well thought
through.
Robert
If there is significant pressure to retain the text in parentheses for a longer
period of time, we will consider doing so.
Please leave it in place longer than 6 months. Thanks
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
Why not just keep the text in parentheses? Seemed like a reasonable plan going
forward. But why not just keep the text in parentheses instead of removing it
after 6 months.
+1. 6 months is a very short period of time especially for those who have Lego
as an occasional hobby, it is easy to overlook that when many of us visit the
site virtually every day. Apart from this I think the plan is very well thought
through.
Robert
If there is significant pressure to retain the text in parentheses for a longer
period of time, we will consider doing so.
Please leave it in place longer than 6 months. Thanks
I agree, please leave the parentheses in place longer than 6 months. At least
a year, if not longer (I see no reason or urgency to remove it). Other than that
I agree with the changes.
I'm sure this will generate a lot of confusion in the future. The transition
of the new color appearing in sets will take a few years, and sets with the old
color will continue to be on the market for several years. Plus it'll be
a long time before the new color starts showing up in used bulk hauls, folks
that only sell used parts might not even come across the new color until years
from now.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
The BrickLink Catalog Administrative Team
Are there also going to be changes to other colors where Bricklink and Lego use
the same name for different colors like dark green?
Are there also going to be changes to other colors where Bricklink and Lego use
the same name for different colors like dark green?
Yes, if it makes sense to do so. But the situation with Dark Green is different
because the descriptor "Earth" is not something we can use on BrickLink.
In that case it would be better to change the LEGO name from Dark Green to Green.
"Green" was used officially back in 1980 and it's still being used
on LEGO.com:
Are there also going to be changes to other colors where Bricklink and Lego use
the same name for different colors like dark green?
Yes, if it makes sense to do so. But the situation with Dark Green is different
because the descriptor "Earth" is not something we can use on BrickLink.
In that case it would be better to change the LEGO name from Dark Green to Green.
"Green" was used officially back in 1980 and it's still being used
on LEGO.com:
You use “Earth” to mean “Dark” every day (in a non-LEGO situation)?
BTW, why isn’t “Dark Red” called “Earth Red”? Is there actually a subtle difference
betwen “Earth” and “Dark”?
Because Earth Red is an actual color. It’s just unreleased.
Oh yes, 152 Earth Red. Any idea how it differed from (the) Dark Red(s)?
Also, I just was saw that BL does use “Earth”: 29 Earth Orange, matching LEGO
12 Light Orange Brown. Consistency
I haven’t seen it, but it’s probably closer to modern Dark Red than its pre-2010
variant. I find it interesting that it’s followed by two other reds. Perhaps
LEGO was going to introduce it alongside the others in 2001.
Well your source is very poor IMO. Mars Red is a famous colour, it was the colour
of the Audi quattro in the TV series Ashes to Ashes/Life on Mars (Mars being
just a coincidence I think!)
Well your source is very poor IMO. Mars Red is a famous colour, it was the colour
of the Audi quattro in the TV series Ashes to Ashes/Life on Mars (Mars being
just a coincidence I think!)
Robert
Hmm, don’t know where you live, but over here Mars is brown, like LEGO light
brown
Ah, OK. So it is not a case of "can't", it is a "don't want
to" thing. Tx.
Well, I, I don’t want to.
As for BrickLink, the catalogue admins, and Russell’s “not something we can use,”
I can only give my interpretation: the way LEGO uses “Earth” is not in any way
approaching any of the usual and recorded meanings of the word “Earth” or of
any of its derivatives (for instance “earthy”).
Ah, OK. So it is not a case of "can't", it is a "don't want
to" thing. Tx.
Well, I, I don’t want to.
As for BrickLink, the catalogue admins, and Russell’s “not something we can use,”
I can only give my interpretation: the way LEGO uses “Earth” is not in any way
approaching any of the usual and recorded meanings of the word “Earth” or of
any of its derivatives (for instance “earthy”).
We won't be using "Earth" for any more than "Earth Orange",
which is already a long bygone color.
All good. To be clear, i wasn't complaining, I just wanted to understand
what was meant, I am good with being unearthly. "An Unearthly Child"
is the premiere episode of Dr. Who. and "The Unearthly" is a great episode
of MST3K, Sometimes it is good to be uneartky.
In Catalog, randyf writes:
In Catalog, SylvainLS writes:
In Catalog, Darth_Smithy writes:
Ah, OK. So it is not a case of "can't", it is a "don't want
to" thing. Tx.
Well, I, I don’t want to.
As for BrickLink, the catalogue admins, and Russell’s “not something we can use,”
I can only give my interpretation: the way LEGO uses “Earth” is not in any way
approaching any of the usual and recorded meanings of the word “Earth” or of
any of its derivatives (for instance “earthy”).
We won't be using "Earth" for any more than "Earth Orange",
which is already a long bygone color.
Are there also going to be changes to other colors where Bricklink and Lego use
the same name for different colors like dark green?
+1
Agreed. If trans-black can't be different colours on BL / LEGO.com, the
neither should Dark Green be. Don't even start me on the bright & dull Pearl
Golds!
Are there also going to be changes to other colors where Bricklink and Lego use
the same name for different colors like dark green?
+1
Agreed. If trans-black can't be different colours on BL / LEGO.com, the
neither should Dark Green be. Don't even start me on the bright & dull Pearl
Golds!
Well, Lego doesn't differentiate among variations within Warm Gold either.
What happens when lego produces a trans brown that actually looks like trans
brown?
Or would that be trans reddish brown?
In Catalog, randyf writes:
Dear BrickLink members,
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
The BrickLink Catalog Administrative Team
This is great news! Will its Satin variant be renamed?
What we could really use is a good photo of both colors so that we can see the
difference.
David
We will supply such a photo at the appropriate time. Currently the new Trans-Black
color is unreleased and we cannot share photos. But we have seen the physical
parts next to each other and have based our decision off of that physical comparison.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
The BrickLink Catalog Administrative Team
I'd be in favor of keeping the (Old trans black) in the name longer than
six months. Also could we designated other colors as (Retired), such as brown,
light grey, and dark grey? I think that would help new comes understand the difference
better as well.
Shouldn't this highlight the need for a single colour chart and not separate
colour on BrickLink and LEGO.
What is the rational that this cannot be done for all the colours?
In Catalog, randyf writes:
Dear BrickLink members,
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
Shouldn't this highlight the need for a single colour chart and not separate
colour on BrickLink and LEGO.
What is the rational that this cannot be done for all the colours?
Bricklink colour names and better then the names Lego gives
In Catalog, randyf writes:
Dear BrickLink members,
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
100%. As Lego seem to get very creative with what they call some stuff. But having
a uniform database between the two sites is worth it.
In Catalog, Nubs_Select writes:
In Catalog, hugibricks writes:
Shouldn't this highlight the need for a single colour chart and not separate
colour on BrickLink and LEGO.
What is the rational that this cannot be done for all the colours?
Bricklink colour names and better then the names Lego gives
In Catalog, randyf writes:
Dear BrickLink members,
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
100%. As Lego seem to get very creative with what they call some stuff. But having
a uniform database between the two sites is worth it.
Yes lego can be creative but I can’t say I’d support having bricklink
names change to lego names. I don’t see any major benefits and only see permanently
having weird names
In Catalog, Nubs_Select writes:
In Catalog, hugibricks writes:
Shouldn't this highlight the need for a single colour chart and not separate
colour on BrickLink and LEGO.
What is the rational that this cannot be done for all the colours?
Bricklink colour names and better then the names Lego gives
In Catalog, randyf writes:
Dear BrickLink members,
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
I understand the need for this change, and it's funny that I never really
thought about the fact that the existing color was a brown hue until you mentioned
it. I presume the implication is that LEGO is retiring the old color at the
time of release of the new one. There are two really unfortunate things to note
about this situation:
- The entire content of the internet references the existing parts as "trans-black"
- web catalogs, forums, images, seller listings, etc, and few of those are going
to change along with Bricklink. This is going to cause massive confusion for
a great many years, and many casual LEGO builders and resellers are never going
to learn the difference. Plus the entire internet archive is going to refer
to the 'now wrong' color.
- This change means that the limited variety of parts in the old color will never
be expanded. It has been an extreme challenge to build my MOCs taking advantage
of the old color, often having the parts selection dictate what builds I even
consider at all, and now this situation will be permanent. Additionally, the
fact that these parts get scratched/scuffed very easily means that the existing
stock of good quality re-sale parts is going to dry up and get expensive.
It would have been nice of LEGO to explain why this change is happening, because
I don't really see what the need for it was. Surely in this day and age
it was not because of a formulation change in the raw material, like in the distant
past, as nowadays any company working in high volume can generally get any coloration
made that they desire.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
Thanks for the update and for explaining the decision-making process for all
of us. I always thought of the existing color as much more brown than black.
But, then again, I spend a lot of time making images. I do not mind the name
change.
I don't see here any brown color, neither a brown pixel.
.
In Catalog, jennnifer writes:
Thanks for the update and for explaining the decision-making process for all
of us. I always thought of the existing color as much more brown than black.
But, then again, I spend a lot of time making images. I do not mind the name
change.
but I still do not consider it as brown - I would have to see both colors next
to each other.
For me it would make more sense to call it old trans-black.
But at the end I can and must live with the taken decision.
Mauro
In Catalog, jennnifer writes:
In Catalog, 1977_mauro writes:
I don't see here any brown color, neither a brown pixel.
You don't see the difference in tone between the catalog image link and the
new image I posted?
but I still do not consider it as brown - I would have to see both colors next
to each other.
For me it would make more sense to call it old trans-black.
But at the end I can and must live with the taken decision.
I agree that it is not brown at all, but "old trans-black" would be confusing
as a color name when searching. I don't really have an issue with calling
it "trans-brown" but I think similar colors in other goods are often
called "smoke".
I don't see here any brown color, neither a brown pixel.
.
In Catalog, jennnifer writes:
Thanks for the update and for explaining the decision-making process for all
of us. I always thought of the existing color as much more brown than black.
But, then again, I spend a lot of time making images. I do not mind the name
change.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
The BrickLink Catalog Administrative Team
Sounds completely logical to me. I still wish we could have done such a simple
thing with the grays. I'd love if we could just say "Light gray"
and "Dark gray" and drop the "bluish" somehow, and just call
the others "old dark gray" and "old Light Gray" I know it was
a "thing" to people back then, but it happened during my Dark Ages, so...
Anyway, hopefully this course will avoid that situation and everyone will adapt
soon. I've always thought our "trans-black" looked a bit brownish,
but never knew Lego called it that. Now it makes perfect sense and I want some
of those new pieces.
Sounds completely logical to me. I still wish we could have done such a simple
thing with the grays. I'd love if we could just say "Light gray"
and "Dark gray" and drop the "bluish" somehow, and just call
the others "old dark gray" and "old Light Gray" I know it was
a "thing" to people back then, but it happened during my Dark Ages, so...
Anyway, hopefully this course will avoid that situation and everyone will adapt
soon. I've always thought our "trans-black" looked a bit brownish,
but never knew Lego called it that. Now it makes perfect sense and I want some
of those new pieces.
Personally, I think it would help to add a distinguisher into the old grays.
"Warm Gray"/"Cool Gray" would be much better names imo. Like
people don't see a hint of brown in those old warm grays/trans-brown, I don't
see a hint of blue in the modern grays, and maintain the old colors are the off-grays.
So why not split it even?
I can't imagine it being easy on casual users to know that the color called
simply "Dark Gray" is not the dark gray they see in sets on shelves.
[…]
Personally, I think it would help to add a distinguisher into the old grays.
"Warm Gray"/"Cool Gray" would be much better names imo. Like
people don't see a hint of brown in those old warm grays/trans-brown, I don't
see a hint of blue in the modern grays, and maintain the old colors are the off-grays.
So why not split it even?
History. Habits. Cruft.
In languages (and colour names can be considered part of the “LEGO lingo”
), words are “replaced” when people stop using the old ones and only use the
new ones… and I think that generally means “when the old users die”
I can't imagine it being easy on casual users to know that the color called
simply "Dark Gray" is not the dark gray they see in sets on shelves.
Well, words mean different things in different contexts. Colour names are no
exception, and not only for LEGO colours.
So, “learn the lingo!”
On the other hand, “learn the lingo” is not very friendly….
*sigh* That’s the problem with technical domains: there’s a jargon that’s both
necessary and excluding (and sometimes voluntarily excluding: elitist).
I know some have suggested keeping the transitory names longer, and I would agree
with that. If not permanently.
If it is not permanent, I Strongly hope that notation cane be made inside the
pieces akin to 'similar to' notations. As I know others have stated,
the likelihood of this new color entering the used realm before the 6 month period
is over is Highly unlikely. And as such, the change should be kept longer (Again,
if not permanently) or at the least, some sort of inside the piece listings should
be added.
I may not have made all that imminently clear, but I hope the general gist of
what I am saying makes sense.
The one and only concern I have to this change no matter what the naming becomes
would be a CLEAR and DOCUMENTED change-log update to the public road map or highlighted
sticky for 1 year.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April.
The change to the original Trans-Black name is now live:
And, let us hope that LEGO makes the switch completely and does NOT use both
colors, and especially does not use both colors interchangeably willy-nilly.
Just because a decision was made one time to do the switch does not mean that
decision is never changed or reversed.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April.
The change to the original Trans-Black name is now live:
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April.
The change to the original Trans-Black name is now live:
It looks to me like this change somewhat broke the Color Guide table, I guess
due to the length of the name? The colored column in particular is a lot wider
which is... bizarre to look at lol.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April.
The change to the original Trans-Black name is now live:
It looks to me like this change somewhat broke the Color Guide table, I guess
due to the length of the name? The colored column in particular is a lot wider
which is... bizarre to look at lol.
We intentionally widened the Color Guide page and the color name column so the
longer name wouldn't double over and create a second line. Maybe the color
name column is too wide now - we'll take a look.
We intentionally widened the Color Guide page and the color name column so the
longer name wouldn't double over and create a second line. Maybe the color
name column is too wide now - we'll take a look.
We intentionally widened the Color Guide page and the color name column so the
longer name wouldn't double over and create a second line. Maybe the color
name column is too wide now - we'll take a look.
Just try with a new monitor?
Nowadays they've the often more than 800 pixels width resolution
We intentionally widened the Color Guide page and the color name column so the
longer name wouldn't double over and create a second line. Maybe the color
name column is too wide now - we'll take a look.
Just try with a new monitor?
Nowadays they've the often more than 800 pixels width resolution
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
The BrickLink Catalog Administrative Team
Had anyone considered keeping the colours the same and the new colour being called
"smoke" instead of trans" - just a thought
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
The BrickLink Catalog Administrative Team
Had anyone considered keeping the colours the same and the new colour being called
"smoke" instead of trans" - just a thought
Yes, of course. We debated the topic over several meetings, so this decision
was not made hastily. And it was made in conjunction with BrickLink, not just
us administrators.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
The BrickLink Catalog Administrative Team
Had anyone considered keeping the colours the same and the new colour being called
"smoke" instead of trans" - just a thought
Yes, of course. We debated the topic over several meetings, so this decision
was not made hastily. And it was made in conjunction with BrickLink, not just
us administrators.
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
Thank you for the heads up and explaining the logic behind the decision. I strongly
believe that the extended descriptor should stay for a minimum on a year.
I understand the reasoning and it's OK to have similar naming with official
LEGO colors.
But why exactly Transparent "Brown"?! Is it the color name, which is
used by LEGO for the items with color ID 111?
I'm asking because I could hardly connect the color of the "Old Trans-Black"
items to the color brown.
Why don't you name it as Trans-Light Black or Trans-Dark Gray or something
which represents the real color?
Best Regards,
Attila Tancziko
In Catalog, randyf writes:
Dear BrickLink members,
In May of this year, the LEGO Group plans to release a new color, and this has
implications for the BrickLink catalog and marketplace. The new color being introduced
is 375 Transparent Black, and we believe it will eventually replace LEGO color
111 Transparent Brown.
As most of you know, the greater fan community has for many years referred to
LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown as "Trans-Black". Up until now, this
name has served us well because there was no official LEGO color known as Transparent
Black. Now that the LEGO Group is introducing a color officially known as Transparent
Black, it will cause alignment problems to have the same name being used for
two different colors.
We anticipate that the introduction of this color will cause some disruptions
over the short term, but we have created a plan of action to minimize those disruptions.
The first thing we will do is change the name of the current Trans-Black color
to "Trans-Brown (Old Trans-Black)". This change is scheduled to
take place at the beginning of April. This will ensure that the name change will
be very noticeable within the catalog, set inventories, BrickLink stores, order
summaries, etc., so that the majority of BrickLink users can adjust to the change.
Next, the new color will be added to the catalog as "Trans-Black (2023)"
to make it very obvious that this is a new color and should not be used for older
set inventories and older parts being listed for sale. This addition is expected
to happen at the beginning of May when set 75346 is released and inventoried:
After a 6-month transition, we will remove the text in parentheses from both
color names. The older color will then be "Trans-Brown", and the
newer color will be "Trans-Black". This will complete the transition.
The question arises, why have we decided to go the route outlined above rather
than leaving "Trans-Black" aligned to LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown
and creating a new color name for the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black? There
are several reasons.
First, we want to make sure that we do not create long-term confusion between
these colors, since we believe the new LEGO color 375 Transparent Black will
become the standard color and LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown will become just
another part of the history of the brick system we all know and love. As time
goes by, the older color will not be seen as often and the newer color will be
everywhere. And after what we hope is a relatively short period of time, BrickLink
users will adjust naturally to the change.
Second, coming up with a name for a new color is not an easy task. Although it
looks darker than the current LEGO color 111 Transparent Brown, it doesn't
look much different from what most people would say is some type of "transparent
blackish gray" color. Typically, new color names grow longer over time to
help distinguish from existing colors, so we could end up with something like
"Trans-Very Dark Bluish Gray".
Longer names are something we have come to accept in a catalog that covers the
entire history of LEGO colors, but it helps lower the entry barrier to BrickLink
when we can use simpler names at least for the most common colors. Using the
relatively short names "Trans-Brown" and "Trans-Black" are ideal
instead of retaining "Trans-Black" for the earlier color and creating
a longer name for the new color.
Finally, aligning the names of the two colors with the official LEGO color names
helps us future-proof the BrickLink catalog. By aligning these color names now,
we make sure that any other colors the LEGO Group may introduce within this range
in the future would not cause any further issues.
Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
I understand the reasoning and it's OK to have similar naming with official
LEGO colors.
But why exactly Transparent "Brown"?! Is it the color name, which is
used by LEGO for the items with color ID 111?
Yes, LEGO calls it Transparent Brown, and always have.
I'm asking because I could hardly connect the color of the "Old Trans-Black"
items to the color brown.
It does have a brownish teint. It’s “warm.”
If you look at the RGB values ( http://www.ryanhowerter.net/colors.php ), it’s
BBB29E (red 187, green 178, blue 158). It’s far from a pure grey (where R=G=B
or very near that).
Apparently, if you put the new Trans-Black next to it, this brownish teint is
even more obvious.
I understand the reasoning and it's OK to have similar naming with official
LEGO colors.
But why exactly Transparent "Brown"?! Is it the color name, which is
used by LEGO for the items with color ID 111?
Yes, LEGO calls it Transparent Brown, and always have.
I'm asking because I could hardly connect the color of the "Old Trans-Black"
items to the color brown.
It does have a brownish teint. It’s “warm.”
If you look at the RGB values ( http://www.ryanhowerter.net/colors.php ), it’s
BBB29E (red 187, green 178, blue 158). It’s far from a pure grey (where R=G=B
or very near that).
Apparently, if you put the new Trans-Black next to it, this brownish teint is
even more obvious.
Here's a quick snapshot that shows the difference. We are confident that
when seen together, the two colors will be easily distinguishable and that the
"Trans-Brown" name will make sense.
Here's a quick snapshot that shows the difference. We are confident that
when seen together, the two colors will be easily distinguishable and that the
"Trans-Brown" name will make sense.
Yep, the right one is definitely Trans-Bluish Brown.
Here's a quick snapshot that shows the difference. We are confident that
when seen together, the two colors will be easily distinguishable and that the
"Trans-Brown" name will make sense.
Yep, the right one is definitely Trans-Bluish Brown.
Hmm, to me it got more of a Trans-Grayish Brown feel….
Here's a quick snapshot that shows the difference. We are confident that
when seen together, the two colors will be easily distinguishable and that the
"Trans-Brown" name will make sense.
Yep, the right one is definitely Trans-Bluish Brown.
I’d have said it looks like squid ink (the thing they overuse in cooking shows,
yuck), that is, black with a tint of violet.
But squid ink has another name: sepia… which is brown when diluted and dry (hi
Nicéphore!).
Thank you for the answers and the link for the Color List.
OK, I admit, that the "Old Trans-Black" parts are kind of "brownish"
when compared with new Transparent Black, and if it is the official LEGO name,
it makes sense to name it that way.
But I still think according to RGB values also that the Transparent Brown parts
are in a way darker and far away from simple Brown Color.
In Catalog, SylvainLS writes:
In Catalog, tanczy writes:
Dear BrickLink Catalog Administrative Team,
Not me but…
I understand the reasoning and it's OK to have similar naming with official
LEGO colors.
But why exactly Transparent "Brown"?! Is it the color name, which is
used by LEGO for the items with color ID 111?
Yes, LEGO calls it Transparent Brown, and always have.
I'm asking because I could hardly connect the color of the "Old Trans-Black"
items to the color brown.
It does have a brownish teint. It’s “warm.”
If you look at the RGB values ( http://www.ryanhowerter.net/colors.php ), it’s
BBB29E (red 187, green 178, blue 158). It’s far from a pure grey (where R=G=B
or very near that).
Apparently, if you put the new Trans-Black next to it, this brownish teint is
even more obvious.
[…]
But I still think according to RGB values also that the Transparent Brown parts
are in a way darker and far away from simple Brown Color.
Technically, it’s a brown.
The HSL equivalent of #BBB29E is (rounded) H=41, S=18, L=68. Enter these values
here: https://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_hsl.asp
You can play with the Saturation and Lightness fields to be more convinced.
(The Hue value mostly corresponds to what we call tint or colour in everyday
language. Low Saturation would be “faded,” high “bright” or “vivid.” And Lightness,
well, it’s about black and white, with the “full” colour in the middle.)
But then it also may be a cultural thing / translation problem. Colour names
are tricky and translations are never exact.
For instance, in French, common brown is called marron, from the fruit
of the horse chestnut tree¹. It’s now the generic term for every hue of brown.
The English word that etymologically correspond to it is “maroon.” But, in English,
that’s a particular colour that’s actually a dark red (#80000) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maroon
.
The other way around, in French we have brun, which clearly is etymologically
linked to brown. It can also be a generic term for brown colours (more literary
/ older) but it’s more particularly used for dark brown hair and fur (brown bear
= ours brun, never ours marron).
And that’s with languages, English and French, that are close together.
Even when you know all these false friends, your brain still sees the etymological
link, the “they sound the same” link.
(The Hue value mostly corresponds to what we call tint or colour in everyday
language. Low Saturation would be “faded,” high “bright” or “vivid.” And Lightness,
well, it’s about black and white, with the “full” colour in the middle.)
We never really get to see pure black and white. Interesting colors.
But then it also may be a cultural thing / translation problem. Colour names
are tricky and translations are never exact.
USA, Ohio
Canada, Ontario
United Kingdom, England
Netherlands, Zuid-Holland
France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Sweden, Örebro
)
United Kingdom, Scotland
Australia, Queensland
Italy, Marche
Belgium, Oost-Vlaanderen
Germany, Baden-Württemberg
Hungary, Budapest
Spain, Comunidad Valenciana
)
)