LEGO Ideas 21369 The X-Files resurrects a long-retired piece that even the designer was ‘surprised’ to discover was so rare.
21369 The X-Files debuts later this week with an accompanying gift-with-purchase – 40896 The X-Files: Scully’s Lab – and while it marks the franchise’s debut in LEGO, along with its eight-strong minifigure line-up, it also reintroduces a piece only previously seen on shelves in a 2001 polybag.
Believe it or not, the trans-clear version of the standard 1x1 cone element made its one and only appearance in the LEGO Studios polybag 4071 Bottles. The only colourways as rare as that are sand red, pearl gold, glow-in-the-dark opaque and trans-neon yellow – none of which are as versatile as trans-clear.
Despite the laundry list of potential applications for a trans-clear cone, the part it plays in 21369 The X-Files – for the torches (or flashlights) wielded by Mulder and Scully – is only its second major appearance, a fact that even surprised the set’s designer Chris McVeigh.
“I felt they were necessary for the flashlights, so I brought them back,” he tells Brick Fanatics and other LEGO fan media in a recent roundtable interview. “When we make decisions about this, we sometimes can see, have these not been done in a while?
“I was actually surprised that they [were only in] one polybag from ages ago, and I thought, you know, this is a really good element to have in trans-clear. So, in addition to the fact that it works for the flashlights, I think it just added value to the set.”
The torches in the finished LEGO Ideas set are a much smaller design than those suggested by fan designer Brent Waller in his original pitch, in-keeping with the set’s wider downsizing to minifigure scale. Had Chris stuck to the initial design, we may have had to wait even longer for trans-clear cones to return.
Their sophomore outing in 21369 The X-Files will hopefully see them arrive on Pick a Brick in a few months’ time, flooding the market with extra pieces and making them widely available to everyone. At the time of writing, only nine stores on BrickLink have them in stock – and seven of those only have one apiece.
If you want to buy trans-clear cones in bulk, the most you’ll manage is 12 from one of two stores, and those are £9 each, so it’s not what you’d call a feasible project. You get two in 21369 The X-Files as a starting point, and fingers crossed they find their way into more sets in the months and years to come too.
21369 The X-Files debuts on August 1 for £179.99 / $199.99 / €199.99. Buy it day one and you’ll receive 40896 The X-Files: Scully’s Lab for free until August 10, or while stocks last… which probably won’t be that long.
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