Earlier this month, LEGO celebrated a successful crowd-funding campaign for its new hybrid-medium product line, Forma. Having a near-Technic level piece-built internal framework over which to fit a colorful “skin” that could be moved by mechanism, has been a very attractive concept to the AFOL side of the LEGO fandom.
One of the features advertised by the LEGO Forma line was that the skins could be interchangeable between sets. Granted, seeing as the skins are made of glossy materials, there is concern that swapping them out might cause them to tear while being detached from their connections to the framework.
Thankfully the Forma design team has thought about that, and made sure that the holes on the skin which fits over the internal pieces have plenty of give to allow for motion. This was achieved by making the holes somewhat triangular in shape, enabling the skin to stretch around connectors when being put on, when the set is in motion, and when being taken off.
It certainly makes for a greater amount of replay value and interchangeability between LEGO Forma sets to have even a minute design detail reducing the risk of damage during assembly and disassembly. We certainly look forward to the Forma line’s official release next year to see if the triangular holes are as helpful as advertised.