Physical Color Part
A Physical Color Part is a special part file within LDraw.
Normal parts always use Color 16 to make the library as versatile as possible: using that color allows an end user to choose any color for a part he likes.
Opposed to that, physical color parts hardcode the color. A user cannot change the color of them. Therefore, such part files are less versatile than normal parts. However, they still have a certain right to exist: sometimes, a dedicated LEGO part number refers to a dedicated design and color. People might want to find that number in our library and get the proper part, for example for creating set inventories. Therefore, LDraw.org has decided to allow hardcoded parts into the official library. These are the Physical Color Parts and Physical Color Shortcuts.
Special Properties
Physical color parts must fulfill special properties in their implementation:
- Their title must start with an underscore ("
_") to easily recognize them - Usually they carry their hardcoded color by name or by number in their title as a suffix, for example "[Green]"
- In their header, they must state the following part type:
0 !LDRAW_ORG Unofficial_Part Physical_Colour
- They must consist of a single part only. If they consist of multiple parts instead, then they are a Physical Color Shortcut instead.