LEGO® Color Guide

From the creation of its first bricks, color has been a core part of LEGO® components. On a basic level they are bright and attract the eyes of young children, and at the highest skill level a Master Builder can use subtleties to create amazing sculptures or landscapes.

While the LEGO System features a large palette of vibrant and even strange colors, this guide will focus on colors used in (surprise!) parts and accessories of minifigures.

What is a Color to LEGO?

LEGO® is nothing if not creative, in both their products and name choices for their colors. Paint companies have been naming their swatches weird names for decades. (Like what the heck is a Skobeloff?) So when it comes down to it, why should LEGO be any different?

Unfortunately however, since the official names didn't always match what a persons picture of what said color should look like, a "common name" developed organically. When LEGO began to release their own secret internal color pallet to the public, the damage had already been done and thus there remain two different versions of color nomenclature. This discrepancy is most apparent when comparing the BrickLink color guide to an official one.

With clarity in mind, this guide will include the Official LEGO Palette Name and ID, as well as the Common Name.

Within articles however we will use the Official Palette names. Yes, calling the colors we grew up with like "Pink" by their official name "Light Reddish Violet" feels weird to us too. But that's the cost of knowledge. Sometimes you have to come to terms with the truth that even the dove, a majestic symbol of peace -- is in reality just a pigeon. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.)

Some Colorful Events

The Great Color Change

Grey became Medium Stone Grey. Dark Grey became Dark Stone Grey. Light Reddish Violet (Pink), became Light Purple (Bright Pink). Earth Orange (Brown) became Reddish Brown.

In the early 2000s The Design Lab, a department within the LEGO® Group that oversees the System elements, recommended a change that would lead to a big shakeup in the LEGO color palette. The plan was to alter the tones of four of the basic colors: Grey, Dark Grey, Pink, and Brown. In 2004 the changes were implemented subtly and without much fanfare. The variation in color was drastic, but it was noticeable. The greys had a much "cooler" tone to them, the brown more "reddish" and the pink became much more "vibrant".

When the new colors hit the shelves LEGO found themselves met with shock and outrage from the AFOL community (Adult Fans Of LEGO). While children were unlikely to notice, the adult hobbyists suddenly were faced with a massive discrepancy in the color integrity of their collections, many of which had been carefully accumulated over years and worth thousands of dollars. Conspiracy theories exploded, some claimed LEGO® was trying to imitate their competitors, some thought this was an attempt to outwit knockoff brands, others were convinced it was a ploy to save money by recycling parts.

The real reasons behind the change were of course much simpler. During the 90s LEGO experienced an explosion of new elements and colors. Their system was at risk of becoming too sprawling and unwieldy, unable to uphold their high standards in the design of their product. The Design Lab made some proposals to narrow focus and make some changes that would create a more stable vision for their product into the near and long-term future. This included an update to the color pallet. Ultimately a statement addressing the issue would be released addressing the issue.

For collectors today, this is something to be aware of when verifying vintage versus contemporary parts.

The Strange Case of the Brittle Bricks

The year was 2018. When countless of eager LEGO® fans began to build their new sets something unheard of happened. Bricks straight out of the box were breaking and crumbling in builders hands. The "brittle bricks" were the result of a rare glitch in the rigorous LEGO quality control. The bricks in question were limited to a few colors including, Reddish Brown, New Dark Red, Dark Brown, and Dark Blue. The problem was quickly addressed and resolved through their generous brick replacement policy.

However, for avid minifigure collectors this dark era still plagues us today. Certain figures retain this brittle quality, and can crumble in even the most delicate of hands. Figures containing these colors, especially torsos, released in this era should be retired to the shelf rather than participating in adventures.

The Minifigure Color Guide

Without further ado, here it is.

Below is the palette of colors used in the base parts and accessories of minifigures. It does not include the colors used within the decals printed on pieces, only the base components. This guide will include a few key elements of information to help better understand and identify these colors. This information includes:

Hexadecimal	Color Sample	Color ID	LEGO® Color Name	Common Color Name	Year Introduced	Year Retired
The code representing a color in RGB format for HTML or graphics editors.	A sample of the color generated using the sRGB index.	The ID number assigned to each color and used internally by LEGO.	The official name used internally by LEGO.	The "common" name for colors that has grown organically within the LEGO community.	The year an element of this color was first released in retail sets.	The year use of this color in official production parts was discontinued permanently.

Please note that all tables below can be sorted by value. Click on a column heading to sort alphabetically or numerically to better find the desired information.

Solid Colors

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Hexadecimal	Color Sample	Color ID	LEGO® Color Name	Common Color Name	Year Introduced	Year Retired
#f4eee4		1	White	White	1950
#a0a3a4		194	Medium Stone Grey	Light Bluish Grey	2003
#9a9e97		2	Grey	Light Grey	1955	2004
#646056		27	Dark Grey	Dark Grey	1978	2006
#626566		199	Dark Stone Grey	Dark Bluish Grey	2003
#121215		26	Black	Black	1958
#771c17		154	New Dark Red	Dark Red	2001
#b41705		21	Bright Red	Red	1950
#ff6b87		353	Vibrant Coral	Coral	2019
#9e736e		153	Sand Red	Sand Red	2001	2005
#6c3926		192	Reddish Brown	Reddish Brown	2003
#603419		25	Earth Orange	Brown	1979	2006
#432c25		308	Dark Brown	Dark Brown	2008
#988061		138	Sand Yellow	Dark Tan	2002
#d7ba8c		5	Brick Yellow	Tan	1981
#e8bb9d		283	Light Nougat	Light Nougat	2003
#d68758		18	Nougat	Nougat	1979
#ab7042		312	Medium Nougat	Medium Nougat	2010
#a96848		128	Dark Nougat	Dark Nougat	2001	2003
#a04800		38	Dark Orange	Dark Orange	1994
#f56b00		106	Bright Orange	Orange	1998
#ffa200		191	Flame Yellowish Orange	Bright Light Orange	2004
#fabd00		24	Bright Yellow	Yellow	1950
#d8eb8b		326	Spring Yellowish Green	Yellowish Green	2012
#a9ae00		119	Bright Yellowish Green	Lime	2000
#8a7f4f		330	Olive Green	Olive Green	2012
#103d2a		141	Earth Green	Dark Green	2002
#007d28		28	Dark Green	Green	1950
#15a23b		37	Bright Green	Bright Green	1995
#728e73		151	Sand Green	Sand Green	2000
#009286		107	Bright Bluish Green	Dark Turquoise	1998
#ccede1		323	Aqua	Light Aqua	2011
#003852		140	Earth Blue	Dark Blue	2001
#0067ad		23	Bright Blue	Blue	1950
#0096c8		321	Dark Azure	Dark Azure	2011
#00bacd		322	Medium Azure	Medium Azure	2012
#53a1c7		102	Medium Blue	Medium Blue	1997
#53a1c7		11	Pastel Blue	Maersk Blue	1974	2011
#89c3e7		212	Light Royal Blue	Bright Light Blue	2004
#16aebd		232	Dove Blue	Sky Blue	2004	2007
#6a8597		135	Sand Blue	Sand Blue	2001
#4f428c		268	Medium Lilac	Dark Purple	2004
#732781		104	Bright Violet	Purple	1997	2006
#9979bc		324	Medium Lavender	Medium Lavender	2012
#b3abd4		325	Lavender	Lavender	2011
#e7b9cd		124	Bright Reddish Violet	Magenta	2000
#c2649c		221	Medium Reddish Violet	Dark Pink	1994
#e4a7d1		222	Light Purple	Bright Pink	2004
#e7b9cd		9	Light Reddish Violet	Pink	1994	2006

Transparent Colors

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Color Sample	Color ID	LEGO® Color Name	Common Color Name	Year Introduced	Year Retired
	40	Transparent	Transparent Clear	1950
	111	Transparent Brown	Transparent Black	1999
	41	Transparent Red	Transparent Red	1969
	47	Transparent Florescent Reddish Orange	Trans Neon Orange	1993
	44	Transparent Yellow	Transparent Yellow	1969
	49	Transparent Florescent Green	Transparent Neon Green	1990
	48	Transparent Green	Transparent Green	1969
	43	Transparent Blue	Transparent Dark Blue	1978
	42	Transparent Light Blue	Transparent Light Blue	1985

Chrome Colors

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Color Sample	Color ID	LEGO® Color Name	Common Color Name	Year Introduced	Year Retired
	310	Metalized Gold	Chrome Gold	1989
	309	Metalized Silver	Chrome Silver	1971
	n/a	Bluemetal	Chrome Blue	1998	2006
	n/a	n/a	Chrome Black	2009	2009

Pearl Colors

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Hexadecimal	Color Sample	Color ID	LEGO® Color Name	Common Color Name	Year Introduced	Year Retired
#ab8037		127	Gold	Pearl Light Gold	2000	2005
#60382a		139	Copper	Copper	2004	2008
#454036		148	Metallic Dark Grey	Pearl Dark Grey	2000	2010
#7a7f83		315	Metallic Silver	Flat Silver	2010

Metallic Colors

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Hexadecimal	Color Sample	Color ID	LEGO® Color Name	Common Color Name	Year Introduced	Year Retired
#6d7377		298	Cool Silver	Metallic Silver	2005
#ac7e27		299	Warm Gold	Metallic Gold	2005

Milky Colors

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Color Sample	Color ID	LEGO® Color Name	Common Color Name	Year Introduced	Year Retired
	50	Phosphorescent White	Glow in the Dark Opaque	1990	2006
	294	Phosphorescent Green	Glow in the Dark Transparent	2005	2011
	329	White Glow	Glow in the Dark White	2012

Speckle Colors

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Color Sample	Color ID	LEGO® Color Name	Common Color Name	Year Introduced	Year Retired
	304	Diffuse Cool Silver	Speckle Black Silver	2006	2006
	n/a	n/a	Speckle Black Gold	2010	2011