Free tool

LEGO Missing Piece Checker

Rule out the usual hiding places first. If the piece really is gone, check the set piece by piece and leave with the element ID LEGO asks for, or a link to buy the part.

John Deere 948L-II Skidder

Checking

42157 John Deere 948L-II Skidder

1,492 pieces in 202 part and color combinations.

Before you call it missing

Builders who report a missing piece often find it in one of these places. Tick each one off as you look.

Every bag and the box. Shake out each bag, check its corners and seams, and look inside the empty box.
Inside what you have built. Small pieces lodge inside tubes, under plates and between studs. Turn the model over and look.
The last few steps. Compare each recent step with its parts callout. A piece used in the wrong place earlier leaves you one short later.
Look-alike colors. 6 parts in this set come in two colors that are easy to mix up; they are listed below.
The spare pieces. This set comes with 19 spare pieces, marked on each row of the checklist. One may be the piece you need.
The floor and your building area. Check under furniture, the chair and the edges of your building surface.

Look-alike colors in this set

These parts appear in this set in two colors that are easy to confuse. If you are one short in one color, check whether it went in where the other color belongs. Each color has its own element ID in the parts list at the back of the instructions.

Technic Axle Connector Smooth [with x Hole + Orientation] Black ×10 Dark Bluish Gray ×3 Black is darker than Dark Bluish Gray.
Technic Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular Double Split [Reinforced] Black ×2 Dark Bluish Gray ×5 Black is darker than Dark Bluish Gray.
Technic Beam 1 x 2 Thick with Pin Hole and Axle Hole Black ×10 Dark Bluish Gray ×10 Black is darker than Dark Bluish Gray.
Technic Beam 3 x 5 L-Shape Thick Black ×6 Dark Bluish Gray ×2 Black is darker than Dark Bluish Gray.
Technic Connector Beam 3 x 3 Black ×4 Dark Bluish Gray ×2 Black is darker than Dark Bluish Gray.
Technic Pin Connector Round 1L [Beam] Black ×4 Dark Bluish Gray ×9 Black is darker than Dark Bluish Gray.

When a piece really is missing

Ask LEGO

LEGO takes requests for pieces missing from a new set through its customer service site. The form asks for the set number and each piece's element ID, the number printed beside the piece in the parts list at the back of the instructions. This checker lists both.

Request a replacement from LEGO

Buy the piece

Mark a piece missing and your list links it to an eBay search for that part, which also covers pieces from older or second-hand sets.

Keep a record

Copy or download your missing list (the CSV opens in any spreadsheet), or print the whole checklist and tick pieces off on paper. Your marks stay in this browser, so you can check a big set over several sittings.