In our 2022 special issue [Disappearing Colors? ], we introduced seven colors that have been discontinued in LEGO bricks: Sand Red, Sand Purple, Maersk Blue, Old Light Gray, Old Dark Gray, Old Brown, and Violet .
Now we continue with the eighth article in the series "Disappearing Colors?"
The editor decided to postpone writing about the ordinary out-of-print colors of LEGO bricks and try to write about the electroplating colors that have been discontinued in LEGO bricks.
So the opening chapter must be the color with the largest number of electroplated parts and the most well-known color - electroplated silver .
About the Silver Electroplating in the Electroplating Color System
The electroplated silver is called Chrome Silver in the BrickLink color system, and the color number is 22. It is called Metalized Silver in the LEGO official and Brickset system , and the color number is 309 .
In fact, the English name of this color is translated as electroplated chrome silver or metalized silver. But according to the editor's habit, it is temporarily called electroplated silver.
4073 silver electroplating, photo/brickowl
There are currently only 7 electroplating colors for LEGO parts, namely electroplating gold, electroplating silver, electroplating bronze, electroplating black, electroplating blue, electroplating green, and electroplating pink .
Silver electroplating in the electroplating color system, picture from Bricklink
Except for the gold plating which is still in normal use, the silver plating, which is the most common plating color for parts, was discontinued in 2018. There are relatively few types of parts with other plating colors, and they were discontinued more than ten years ago or even more than twenty years ago.
Various silver-plated Lego parts, photo/brickresales
If we talk about silver electroplating, the most impressive ones are the cars in various old LEGO sets. Some of the cars with electroplated parts are from the Classic Town series, and some are from the Model Team series. Many friends also have silver electroplated weapons from the Castle series.
The following part is also indispensable. I believe all Star Wars fans know that the lightsaber handles in previous LEGO Star Wars sets were all electroplated versions.
Connector/ Lightsaber handle: 64567/22232 (4124050)
Part 64567, picture from eBay
Information about Silver Electroplating
There are 105 types of LEGO silver-plated parts, which appear in561 LEGO sets .
Bricklink shows that the first time electroplated silver parts appeared in a LEGO set was in 1966. After checking more than 160 sets related to 1966, the editor did not find any sets with electroplated silver parts. It may be that the editor missed it... It's also quite magical.
All silver-plated Lego parts, photo/Bricklink
As for the last LEGO set that included silver-plated parts, it was in 2018. After checking, the editor found that there were more than 700 sets on the market in 2018... Let's talk about something else.
Chrome is very reflective like a mirror, while ordinary silver does not reflect as brightly as a mirror. Therefore, by electroplating chrome on the surface of the part with chemical reagents, a mirror-like effect can be obtained.
Lego silver-plated keychain, picture from eBay
Chrome plating is to electroplate a single chromium metal layer of several microns or more than ten microns on the surface of the electroplated parts. It has excellent wear resistance. The surface of the parts after chrome plating is relatively smooth and flat, and the rust resistance is also relatively strong. Generally, rust will not occur. After all, chromium has a stronger rust resistance than zinc.
Chrome metal, picture from sportsperformancebulletin
Of course, chrome plating also has disadvantages. The biggest problem is the high cost. Not only is the cost of chrome high, but electroplating also adds a lot of steps to the production process of parts .
Of course, the editor does not understand the specific process and procedures of LEGO in producing electroplated parts, so cannot further analyze such issues in detail.
Chrome electroplating process, picture from altaherchemicals
Secondly, the electroplated surface will also increase the thickness of the parts. Although it is very thin, it can be more or less felt that it is a bit tight when assembling the actual object. It is not suitable for parts with more complex surface shapes, or parts that require too many plug-in and connection parts. Relatively speaking, electroplated parts will be tighter.
Chrome-plated motorcycle parts, picture from the Internet
Chromium electroplating on ABS plastic parts is not that strong. I believe many players are aware of the fragility of such parts. According to our normal use of parts, electroplated parts are easily scratched and rubbed, causing paint to fall off and become damaged.
For example, the following one:
Battle damaged silver electroplated 18041 and 64567, image from eurobricks
Putting aside the disadvantages, the use of silver-plated parts is a big plus in the production of MOC works. For example, the IDEAS free gift set 40448 Retro Classic Car launched in 2021 , the original classic car by fan designer Versteinert used a large number of silver-plated parts, making the classic car look very retro, handsome and attractive .
Original work by Versteinert
40448 Retro Classic Car
In subsequent improvements, the LEGO IDEAS team removed all electroplated parts and replaced them one by one with light gray parts . Anyway, I don’t really buy this idea.
According to this, is LEGO determined not to use silver electroplating? However, it is still unclear. According to the information currently known, silver electroplating parts did last appear in 2018.
About silver-plated sets and parts
As I mentioned before, there are 105 types of LEGO silver-plated parts, and there are 561 sets that include silver-plated parts. It is impossible to introduce them to you one by one, so we will select some sets that are worth introducing as examples.
1. 4620 - AIR Operations Headquarters
The English name of this 4620 set is AIR Operations HQ , which means Aircraft Operations Headquarters . The set was launched in 2002 and belongs to the Jack Stone series . This series is really unpopular, and I guess many friends don’t know it.
If I remember correctly, this series was later incorporated into the " Lego 4+ " theme series in 2003, also known as Lego 4 Juniors . Friends who know the story of this series can tell us in the comments section.
This set has 170 pieces and 5 minifigures. But the minifigures... are not what we expected:
4620 Minifigures in AIR Operations HQ
Now that we have strayed off topic, let's get back to the topic of silver plating. The propeller below is the only silver-plated part in this set, and there are two of them in the set . Of course, this silver-plated propeller is not exclusive to this set, it appears in a total of 3 "different" sets.
Silver plated x577 large engine, 10 blades: 46667 / 1875 / 49148
Set including silver plated x577 large engine
This 5561 is a set released in 1997 by the Model Team series , and its English name is Big Foot 4x4. The set contains 749 parts and 0 minifigures . Yes, 0 minifigures. The Model Team series has always been stingy and does not include minifigures.
There is a reason why the Model Team series sets do not have minifigures. The models in this series are all large-scale vehicles, about the size of medium-sized mechanical group vehicles. Similar to the large car models in the current ICONS series (or Creative Master series).
10295 Porsche 911
I have strayed off topic again. Let's get back to today's topic. This set has a lot of silver-plated parts, as many as 2+4+4+4+4+4+2+4= 28 !
All silver plated parts in 5561 Big Foot 4x4
3. 8672 - Ferrari Finish Line
This is a set from the LEGO RACERS series released in 2006, with 530 pieces and 10 minifigures. The RACERS series was launched by the LEGO Group in 2002 and was discontinued in 2014. The following year, in 2015, the SPEED super racing series was launched.
The only silver-plated part in the set is the Scala Trophy part numbered 72092 , which only appears in three sets, the other two being 3124 and 8389. By the way, 3124 is a very strange Lego set, so if you’re interested, you might as well search it yourself.
72092 Trophy
4. 42114 - x156 Earl 's Crooked Lightsaber
We will not introduce the fourth set. In the Lego Star Wars set, the lightsaber used by Count Duke is different from the ordinary lightsaber handle parts, which is fine, but the key is the silver electroplating.
This lightsaber hilt part only comes from the following five sets:
V. 10026 - Naboo Starfighter
As the finale set of today's silver-plated parts, it must be the Star Wars series 10026 Naboo Starfighter . At the same time, this set is the smallest UCS set in the LEGO Star Wars series, with only 187 parts, which is not the most amazing thing about it.
The most amazing thing is that all 8 types of 12 silver-plated parts in this set are exclusive parts!
10026 Naboo starfighter picture, picture/domestic player Song
end
Now, the LEGO Group has not produced silver-plated parts for six years. The reason is definitely related to cost, quality control, and durability. The biggest reason may be sustainable development and environmental protection requirements.
Privately plated LEGO candle parts (37762)
Nowadays, players are not helpless if they want electroplated parts. Almost any part can be customized with electroplating. Currently, many electroplating shops, chemical electroplating manufacturers or "plasticizers" provide this customized electroplating processing service.
The silver-plated 90398 trophy figure collected by the editor
If it is a customized electroplated part, the color is not just the electroplated silver, it can really be a colorful black.
Today, we will introduce the color of the silver electroplated part. As a LEGO fan, do you know anything about this color that the editor doesn't know? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss. We will continue to introduce the disappearing color of LEGO, the black electroplated part, in the next issue.
*Quote：Bricklink、Brickset、brickresales、eurobrick、swikipedia、sportsperformancebulletin、altaherchemicals、brickowl、bricksandgo
*Note: All images not marked in the figure are from Bricklink
