MoldMapper - About

Using the MoldMapper

Purpose

MoldMapper's goal is to provide a system for cataloguing older Lego molds.

Lego collectors can use MoldMapper to:

Browse the catalogue of identified molds
See the evolution of bricks, based on a vast number of detailed properties on both mold- and moldmember-level
See how certain molds have been modified during their lifetime

Registered users can in addition:

Keep track of their own collection of bricks from these molds
Keep a detailed record of brick origin, brick colors and brick material
Keeping a 'digital twin' of their actual brick collections

Upon request:

Users can be given a contributor-role, being able to further extend and enhance the MoldMapper data

Model

erDiagram
    MoldGeneration ||--o{ Mold : ""
    Mold ||--o{ MoldMember : ""
    MoldMember ||--|{ MemberVariation : ""
    BrickCollection ||--|{ Sample : ""
    MemberVariation ||--o{ Sample : ""
    PartFamily ||--|{ PartType : ""
    PartType ||--|{ MoldMember : ""
    MoldAssociation ||--|{ MoldMember : ""

Concepts

MoldGeneration

Related molds are grouped within a MoldGeneration.

Mold generations 01 - 10: Slotted bricks
Mold generations 11 - 20: Tubeless bricks (without slots)
Mold generations 21 - 30: Old logo bricks without mold identifications (with tubes)
Mold generations 31 - 40: Old logo bricks with mold identifications (with tubes)
Mold generations 90 - 99: Temporary numbered mold generations (yet to be assigned mold generation number)

Mold

Each Mold is documented with a set of properties describing the specific details of each Mold. The following list show some of the propertes that are described:

Pip Position
Stud Logo Style
Inside Logo Style
Mold Position Style
Mold Position Alignment
Mold Identifcation Style
Mold Identifcation Alignment

MoldMember

Each brick produced from a given Mold is reresented by a MoldMember. All characteristics that varies between the different MoldMembers within a Mold are documented by a set of MoldMember-properties:

Rib Alignment
Stud Logo Orientation
Slot positions

MemberVariation

As each position within a Mold might have been exposed to minor changes during the lifetime of the Mold, these different variations are documented with their own MemberVariation-entries.

PartFamily / PartType

The different brick types/sizes are documented as PartTypes, grouped within various PartFamilies. For example, the 2x4-brick is a specific PartFamily. The following different types of 2x4-bricks are represented by specific PartTypes associated with the 2x4 PartFamily:

2x4 Slotted Brick
2x4 Tubeless un-slotted
2x4 With Tubes without cross-support
2x4 With Tubes with cross-support

MoldAssociation

Since there are many cases of relationships between bricks produced from different molds, MoldAssociations can be used to document MoldMembers that are related in various ways. A typical example of such a relationship is that the bottom part of a Mold has been re-used when creating a new Mold.

BrickCollection

Logged-in users are able to create their own BrickCollections. A BrickCollection can be used to register the user's brick samples, making it possible to keep track of their collection. In a future version, users will be able to share their BrickCollections with other users - enabling easier trades of bricks within the collector community.

Sample

A user can document what bricks the have in their possesion by registering samples within their BrickCollection. A sample are documented with the following properties:

MemberVariation
Color (With specific translucency)
Origin (Where was the specific brick obtained?)
Material (What kind of plastic was used when creating the brick?)

Identification

Every MoldGeneration, Mold, MoldMember and MemberVariation is identified by a unique hierarchical ID:

MoldGeneration: [01]
Mold: [01a]
MoldMember: -- [2x4-01a-1]
MemberVariation: [2x4-01a-1, 2x4-01a-1a]

These uniqe identifiers whill generally stay un-anltered, but in the case where new data indicates that the Mold-composition should be altered, affected bricks will recieve a new unique identifier.

User roles

Guests (Anonymous users)

Can browse all public information about MoldGenerations, Molds, MoldMembers and MemberVariations

Users (Logged in users)

[All features available to Guests]
Can create/maintain their own BrickCollections
Can register/maintain information of their own brick samples

Contribitor

[All features available to Users]
Can contribute with information regarding MoldGenerations, Molds, MoldMembers and MemberVariations

Administrator

[All features available to Contributors]
Can manage user roles (like promoting users to contribitors)

Conventions

When documenting all the different Molds and their MoldMembers, a set of principles have been applied:

As almost all the actual Molds are lost to us, the general work of mapping the different Molds are based on hypotheses, supported by all available brick samples. The total set of knowledge of the bricks, colors, time-period and brick-origins form the basis for the Mold-structures identified.
There must exist at least two samples with a specific fingerprint for defining a MemberVariation. Fingerprints typically are imperfections in the molds that results in visible characteristics repeated for every brick produced within the same position in a Mold.
When describing a MoldMember, bricks (larger than 1x2) are generally oriented so the bottom logo/text is aligned correctly when describing the MoldMember's properties. The bricks are flipped sideways when switching from observing the top and bottom part. Top/outside propteries are described as seen from above, while bottom/inside properties are described as seen from below.

Mobile device support

This site is not optimized for small screen sizes. Contributors should use a large screen when working with the master data (MoldGenerations, Molds etc). Exploring the site's available data can be done on smaller screens.