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I've been digging to some old inventories and noticed that all Bohrok from the Bionicle theme contains this piece:

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I'm pretty sure I have this piece in my collection, probably from a Bohrok. At that time, I think I might have dismissed it as not a LEGO piece and I might have tossed it. Turns out, it is. I'm pretty sure this piece wasn't mentioned in the instructions booklet itself. Within this Bohrok set, what is it used for? And how is it used in other sets? Bricklink lists this as a belt/rubber band holder, but I'm not quite sure how it can be used as such.

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  • Its called a Nnenn cause a famous Lego fan with that username and he was known with that as avatar
    – masterX244
    Jul 22, 2013 at 14:38

2 Answers 2

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Fikko, it is not a regular part. It is simply a piece of plastic for holding the rubber bands that came in sets to make sure they are visible enough and won't get lost in the packaging. And you could also use them to store your rubber bands so they won't get lost.

These days LEGO uses a little paper-sleeve for rubber-bands, string, etc., however before 2008 the piece you meantioned was used in sets with rubber bands. There is also a larger version for bigger rubber-bands.

Even though it is not a regular LEGO element I have seen LEGO creations that incorporates the piece in creative ways; usually as a face for a robot or statue because of those holes that look like eyes.

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  • Well, what I still don't get is how is it used to store.
    – Fikko3107
    Jul 23, 2013 at 2:39
  • The rubber bands are simply wrapped around it when you buy the set. I believe it can help preserving the band by stretching it to a point where it won't degrade over time, but I'm not too sure of the physics involved here, or even if that's even remotely true. One of the reasons I doubt that is that I think LEGO doesn't use the part much anymore and ship rubber bands in small cardboard boxes (like capes). So the hypothesis "not to lose them" seems to be a better one.
    – Joubarc
    Jul 23, 2013 at 6:16
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Fikko3107 is correct, it is in fact a LEGO rubber band holder, for storing two different sizes of rubber bands. It's purpose insofar as the Bohrok sets are concerned, I'm afraid I don't know enough about Bionicle to give you an answer. Perhaps the instruction booklet may offer some clues?

As masterX244 stated, it is unofficially known as the 'nnenn' element, so named after Nate 'nnenn' Nielsen, who was a talented and prolific builder who used it as his Flickr avatar and who caused quite a stir among the LEGO community by using cut, painted and modified elements from clone brands as well as official LEGO parts. His build were so good, and so numerous, that despite offending purists and building brilliantly in a range of scales, he very rapidly became known as one of the better builders among the community - unfortunately, he was taken too soon from us all in a car accident and we will never see any new creations from this remarkable man, mentor, husband and father.

Fortunately, for those who never got to know nnenn's inimitable style, his Flickr account lives on and can be viewed here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nnenn

He was also responsible for creating NoVVember (flickr.com/groups/921332@N22/pool/with/5203643999/), a month dedicated to starfighter builds based on the Vic Viper craft from the Gradius Series arcade shoot-em-up games (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vic_Viper).

LEGO (through the influence of set designer Mark Stafford) paid homage to his contribution to the hobby and the community by including his name on the Vic Viper inspired spacecraft that sits on the back of 7066: Earth Defense HQ (brickset.com/detail/?Set=7066-1).

His nickname is visible on the stickers, shown here: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3315/5721097224_d1d5a13818.jpg

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