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There are several colors of transparent, fluorescent Lego bricks. In particular, "trans neon yellow" and "trans neon orange", introduced in the early 1990s, exist in a variety of specialized shapes like skis, satellite dishes and visors.

A Eurobricks discussion on why minifigs are not made from transparent colors suggests that the transparent colors require a different plastic resin than the normal bricks:

I think some of the issue is that (according to Jamie Berard [Lego designer]), the transparent bricks are made from polycarbonate plastic (PC) rather than ABS. And that's fine most of the time, when you've got opaque ABS and transparent PC, it works just fine. ... But when PC and PC parts get next to each other, they bond VERY TIGHTLY.

I've never really noticed this issue with transparent bricks, but perhaps it's only an issue for certain blocks or with the flexibility needed in minifigs. Still, it's good to know the characteristics of what you're working with!

I can find plenty of information about the normal ABS bricks, but little specifically about how the transparent neon Lego bricks are made. Are these bricks made from PC rather than ABS?

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I have a habit of stacking all my spare 1x1 round plates together, and I've certainly noticed that if I stack the transparent ones together they are harder to separate than the opaque ones. –  Zhaph - Ben Duguid Oct 26 '11 at 8:42
possible duplicate of What kind of plastic are Lego bricks made of? –  Joubarc Oct 26 '11 at 13:43
PC resins are also more abrasive to molds. –  Erik Olson Nov 7 '11 at 21:29

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up vote 18 down vote accepted

All of this is correct, ABS can't be transparent and thus transparent parts are made of PC. PC against PC bonds way too tighly and designers are actually forbidden to do that in their models. (I've a 4L lightsaber blade stuck in the crossend of a Technic beam, both trans-red, and I can't get it out.)

I'm fairly sure there's a designer (possibly Jamie Berard indeed) presentation on things forbidden to designers but I can't find it back.

Edit: @Grandpappy found it back: http://bramlambrecht.com/tmp/jamieberard-brickstress-bf06.pdf and it's indeed by Jamie Berard. Worth reading again and again.

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Just a clarification, my link was provided by @Kramii! –  Grandpappy Nov 3 '11 at 15:13
There's nothing to be ashamed of, you know :-) –  Joubarc Nov 3 '11 at 17:33
I have a small creator set (5865) which calls for two clear 1x2 plates stacked on top of each other. It is interesting however, that all three models have the plates stacked so there is no need to separate them. –  Friend Of George Feb 6 '12 at 14:32

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