What is the smallest LEGO component?

Question

When I purchase bulk LEGO bricks, one of the first things I do is to tip the whole lot into a mesh bag and give them a good soak in the bath (of course, I remove all the electrical bits etc. first). This usually gets rid of most of the accululated muck etc.

However, I am concerned that the very smallest pieces will slip through the net and end up getting lost en route to the bath or even disappear down the plugh hole.

The solution is obvious: to make sure that I use a bag with small enough holes that the smallest pieces can't fit through.

What, therefore, is the smallest component that LEGO have made?

You may want to use a cloth bag, to be sure. – Joubarc Nov 29 '11 at 04:49 — Joubarc, Nov 29 '11 at 04:49

Major Stackings · Answer 1 · 2011-11-30T02:17:51.893

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One of the smallest pieces is the detachable handle on the 1 stud gear shift element.

The black part in this complete lever: 298c01 Lever Small (Complete)

4593 Lever Small

edited Nov 30 '11 at 02:17

answered Nov 28 '11 at 16:38

Major Stackings

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It is the size of a thin pencil lead. – Major Stackings Nov 28 '11 at 16:45
A picture would be immensely helpful here. How thin is a thin pencil lead anyway? – LegoSonicBoy Nov 28 '11 at 16:48
A thin pencil lead (in the US at least) is 0.5-0.7mm. The handle is much thicker than that. – Nov 29 '11 at 14:13

score 23 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 29 '11 at 04:48

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The screwdriver is also very small, but I'm not sure it beats the lever handle. Also, one could argue it has to be detached from the tools wheel first. But if you buy second-hand lots, there's a good chance it would be detached, and it would easily escape through small holes.

Screwdriver Tools wheel

Similarly, the various plumes aren't very large either:

Minifig, Plume Dragon Wing Left Minifig, Plume Dragon Wing Right Minifig Plume Small

answered Nov 29 '11 at 04:48

Joubarc

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I've physically compared a screwdriver to a lever. For the purposes of fitting through holes, the screwdriver is indeed slightly narrower than the base of the lever handle. – Kramii Nov 29 '11 at 16:30
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That's what I call dedication. – Joubarc Nov 29 '11 at 16:42

score 18 · Answer 3 · edited Aug 09 '19 at 03:19

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I had guessed that smallest piece I have owned is one of these (image courtesy peeron):

Minifig Accessory Helmet Floodlight

It really is stupidly small (so small that I've lost the only example that I possessed).

However, I have since discovered that the lever weighs less, and that the screwdriver will fit through smaller holes.

Update: I've recently come across some of these:

Insect antenna

It's an antenna from the Twitch minifig in set 7599: Garbage Truck Getaway. They're pretty small.

edited Aug 09 '19 at 03:19

Sir Cornflakes

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answered Nov 29 '11 at 16:52

Kramii

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I had no idea that even existed. – Joubarc Nov 29 '11 at 17:19
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It comes with the Starwars Clone Troopers, along with a "rangefinder" type piece as well. It's a "headlamp" that attaches to a clones helmet. Rangefinder can be seen here: http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/x1910 has a wider end than the screwdriver – Zhaph - Ben Duguid Nov 29 '11 at 19:55
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I have one of these and wondered what it was. With four kids in the house, I suspect I won't have it for too much longer... :/ – retracile Dec 01 '11 at 02:16
@Zhaph-BenDuguid LEGO aren't distributing those pieces with the newer ARC trooper gear – shea Feb 22 '13 at 02:50
@bungeshea Yeah, it looks like they're just using the "targeting scope" and visor options - for example in 9488 – Zhaph - Ben Duguid Feb 22 '13 at 09:58
@Zhaph-BenDuguid I think they dropped the others in favour of the new mimi-blaster pistols and cloth leg and arm armour – shea Feb 22 '13 at 20:27
Plus, they're used for Mandalorians: 9496 – shea Feb 22 '13 at 20:28
I was all ready to add the Twitch antenna as an answer when I saw your update. These have got to be the smallest Lego piece I've ever seen. I keep my Twitch in a small plastic bag because they're always falling off into the drawer. – JohnnyB Aug 09 '19 at 03:51

score 7 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 28 '11 at 17:14

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Minifigure hands are very small:

(picture not to scale)

answered Nov 28 '11 at 17:14

Pubby

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score 6 · Answer 5 · edited Apr 03 '18 at 20:06

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The treasure coin (70501):

I think its one of if not the only element that doesn't connect to any other element.

edited Apr 03 '18 at 20:06

jncraton

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answered Apr 03 '18 at 18:17

J-B

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Nice! That's certainly a tiny one. Welcome to Bricks.SE! – jncraton Apr 03 '18 at 20:07
There are many other pieces that can't connect, for example all kinds of balls (football, basketball, Bionicle, NXT). Or if we are willing to stress the definition of "connect", then a minifigure hand can grab two of these coins :) – zovits Dec 19 '19 at 07:03

score 4 · Answer 6 · edited Dec 13 '17 at 16:10

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I've always thought those flat, round 1x1 pieces were the smallest sphere-esque shape. Most of the other pieces here are longer in at least one dimension than these guys.

This is probably the smallest LEGO brick that is compatible with a stud/tube connection.

There's a version with a hole in the stud that is 'smaller' in that it weighs less, although the external dimensions are the same.

edited Dec 13 '17 at 16:10

Ambo100

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answered Aug 03 '12 at 21:30

rsegal

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There's a version with a hole in the stud that is 'smaller' in that it weighs less, although the external dimensions are the same. – VolleyJosh Oct 17 '17 at 15:29

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 15 '23 at 20:15

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The smallest part in terms of fitting through holes in a mesh bag or sorting tray would be Technic Flex Cable, the shortest being 5L. This could fit through a hole of diameter 1.6mm (of slightly larger without friction).

answered Jan 15 '23 at 20:15

Matthew Jensen

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score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Jan 16 '23 at 12:38

If we're going for the lego part with the smallest cross-section, I'll nominate x77ac15 "String, Cord Thin 15cm":

I owned the 75cm variant, as part of set 6361 (now lost and replaced, due to wear&tear). But if memory serves right, its thickness was around half a millimeter.

MocBird · Answer 9 · 2023-01-16T05:17:51.813

The smallest Lego thing I briefly owned was a thin, extremely small, piece of a metallic substance (as far as I know). Possibly about 10 mm long and 4 mm wide, this little sliver was apparently meant to separate a small battery and a light bulb during storage, to stop the battery being drained.

Lego set: Creator 31062 comes with a light brick. I unpacked the secondhand set bought in a thrift store, and checked that all pieces were present. Then wrapped it for a Christmas present for my grandson. After the celebration and cleaning up, I found this little thing. Vacuumed it away with the rest of the crumbs not even realizing what it was.

Lol, looking up light-bricks, I found that the little insert was a tab and was probably not classified as a brick proper, but is part of a new brick's packing. I wish we still had it to eke out the battery which emptied very quickly.

I expect that there are more such extremely small but important components and so wouldn't tip everything into a mesh bag in the first instance. Get some shoe box lids and chocolate boxes and their lids. Spread new components in a single layer. Do a rough sort: big, medium, small into different mesh sized bags. The grit left will be the tinies. Use a linen bag to wash these. Good luck not throwing out tabs!

What is the smallest LEGO component?

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