LEGO parts made of Chinese plastic?

[danim]

Thanks for the information

so there may be a huge chance that most of my Lego from before 93 would have been made in the UK

[LEGO Historian]

Yes... most regular LEGO bricks made up to that point were made at that Wrexham plant. It was the same situation for Canada... where Samsonite was the licensee for LEGO, and from 1962-85, and most Canadian (non-specialty) LEGO elements were made at a plant in Stratford Ontario. In 1985 the Beatrice Corp. (owner of the Samsonite Corp. since 1973) was hostile taken over (by Wall Street investment firm Kohlberg Kravitz & Roberts), and the Samsonite Corp. was again spun off as a separate entity... but not before KK&R sold the LEGO license back to TLG.

In the USA... from 1961-65 most non-specialty parts were made in the Canadian Samsonite LEGO plant, until the Loveland Colorado (outside Denver) plant opened up in April 1965. From 1965-72 all USA (non-specialty parts) were made at the Loveland Colorado plant. Then in 1973 the LEGO license reverted to TLG (and the plant was relocated to Connecticut) after litigation, because USA Samsonite LEGO sales were "underperforming".

All this info is in Chapter 73 (LEGO Sales Offices & History by Country)... of my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide (1949-1990s).

[Deathleech]

I recently just got back into Lego when I heard of the new LotR sets coming out. When they were eventually released I quickly bought all of them up. They have China listed as a manufacturer on the box but everything seems to indicate the minifgures, at least, were produced in Denmark (or somewhere besides China). I heard some people raising the issue of Chinese produced Lego pieces being of lesser quality and specifically the CMFs all being produced in China. Because of this I went out and got one specifically to compare the Chinese minifigs to the non-Chinese produced ones in the LotR sets.

I dunno if the Chinese plastic itself is really lower quality (at least anymore), but it still doesn't seem to be as up to pa at least in terms of how it's made. The plastic don't seem transparent in the minifig I got which was the dark navy blue colored space marine. However, the legs don't seem as stiff and it's especially noticeable when you try to push the figure onto pegs, the legs will give way at the waist under the stress and bend forwards or backwards much easier than the other produced minifigs. it's like they aren't as tight and "looser". Same with the figure being attached to the actual pegs, they don't seem to grip the pegs as well and hold as tigh with their legs. The right leg also seems ever so slightly shorter than the left leg.

While none of these are huge glaring issues, they are noticeable. It seems like the parts in China are definetly getting better, but they still aren't perfected.

Edited July 8, 2012 by Deathleech

[Faefrost]

I recently just got back into Lego when I heard of the new LotR sets coming out. When they were eventually released I quickly bought all of them up. They have China listed as a manufacturer on the box but everything seems to indicate the minifgures, at least, were produced in Denmark (or somewhere besides China). I heard some people raising the issue of Chinese produced Lego pieces being of lesser quality and specifically the CMFs all being produced in China. Because of this I went out and got one specifically to compare the Chinese minifigs to the non-Chinese produced ones in the LotR sets.

I dunno if the Chinese plastic itself is really lower quality (at least anymore), but it still doesn't seem to be as up to pa at least in terms of how it's made. The plastic don't seem transparent in the minifig I got which was the dark navy blue colored space marine. However, the legs don't seem as stiff and it's especially noticeable when you try to push the figure onto pegs, the legs will give way at the waist under the stress and bend forwards or backwards much easier than the other produced minifigs. it's like they aren't as tight and "looser". Same with the figure being attached to the actual pegs, they don't seem to grip the pegs as well and hold as tigh with their legs. The right leg also seems ever so slightly shorter than the left leg.

While none of these are huge glaring issues, they are noticeable. It seems like the parts in China are definetly getting better, but they still aren't perfected.

One of the more common, easier to spot, types of pieces that is frequently made in china are some of the specialty minifig accessory pieces. Most often the head/hair pieces. This is especially true if it is an unusual piece with printing on it. Stuff like the elf or Orc hairpieces with the built in and printed ears.

The Chinese factory they contract with is setup to work with those softer types of plastics that they use for the special minifig parts. These type parts don't require the insane level of precision that normal bricks do. So things like custom hair, shields, dinosaurs, etc. stuff that is not bricks connecting to other bricks. The one absolute giveaway is if any of the parts are in their own little bag. That's one of these.

[Taiwan brick]

I just bought the DECOO Exploiter kit 3331 That would be the blue crane/dump truck.

I live in Taiwan and I bought it for my son for christmas but the pages 27,28,29 and 30 are missing from the instructions so we can't finish it.

Does anyone have those pages?

Or advise on where to get them?

Thanks

[Hey Joe]

I just bought the DECOO Exploiter kit 3331 That would be the blue crane/dump truck.

I live in Taiwan and I bought it for my son for christmas but the pages 27,28,29 and 30 are missing from the instructions so we can't finish it.

Does anyone have those pages?

Or advise on where to get them?

Thanks

You can download instructions from Lego's website.

[1974]

Yeah, but for some reason you can't download DECOO instructions at lego.com

Edited December 29, 2012 by 1974

[Hey Joe]

Yeah, but for some reason you can't download DECOO instructions at lego.com

Oh, sorry I didn't know. Anyway, I'm fairly certain this is posted in the wrong thread. The gentleman in Taiwan would probably have better luck posting in a different thread.

[1974]

He allready has. Hence my knowledge of DECOO :

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=52834

[ultimatebrickfan5]

Unfortunately, it seems LEGO Movie minifigures are made of rancid, gross smelling Chinese plastic. How very disgusting. When I opened the packets I immediately noticed a foul, pungent chemical smell. The figures also "don't feel right" for some reason. LEGO is going down hill fast to save a few bucks.. I'm considering going back into dark ages over this. Totally unacceptable.

[just2good]

Ah, I love that smell. It gives me a headache actually. But I love it. It reminds me of Series 1.

I mean, essentially all CMFs are made in China. Granted, this is the first series I noticed this smell since about Series 3, but it keeps the cost low. I have all sixteen, and they have no quality flaws or anything. I'd say they're the same quality as the past few CMF series.

[The Architect]

I too love that smell, Ive only smelt it once however, in a series 10 pack!

[jodawill]

I don't remember any of the other series smelling bad.

This does remind me, though, of a toy I got when I was a kid. It was a pack of some superhero-ish generic action figures from the dollar store. They smelled so bad my mom made me get rid of them. They stunk up the entire room. I've never encountered anything like that since then. Whatever material they used is probably outlawed for toys now.

[ultimatebrickfan5]

I think I'm going dark ages. We're not having this. I mean it's really offensive and disgusting, and surely could be some sort of health hazard. I need to grab a few figs off ebay and my collection will be "complete" and "retired". Time to move on and start collecting something else. Bummer.

[Laservampire]

Or.... you could just not buy CMFs?

There's plenty of non-chinese Lego out there to enjoy.

[Cult_Of_Skaro]

Or.... you could just not buy CMFs?

There's plenty of non-chinese Lego out there to enjoy.

Yeah, why not enjoy 99% of LEGO rather than having a silly kneejerk reaction to such a tiny portion of their output?

[ultimatebrickfan5]

The CMFs were my bread and butter. Now that the product is made of rancid and potentially toxic chemical laden plastic, I think it's best to move on. I think it's a sign.

Don't get me wrong, I will still keep my core collection, but I won't buy anything new out of principle, sorry. I'm not going to reward a company that let's its quality slip to garbage to make a few million extra in profits. It's a private company also, no shareholders. A public company wouldn't do this, the shareholders would be outraged and probably replace the entire board. This is how companies go out of business my friends. Cheap, rancid, smelly, potentially toxic Chinese plastic CMFs and the rapid rise of 3d printing. LEGO is in trouble I'm afraid.

[dr_spock]

You could be smelling the solvents used in the plastic manufacturing process. CMFs have soft plastic components like hair, accessories which can off-gas more than hard plastic like ABS. You should have it tested to determine what kind of chemical vapours being given off and read up on the MSDS for them.

[Hey Joe]

“I love the smell of napalm in the morning“ Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore

I lived in China for a long time, and bought a number of pretty smelly locally-made sets while there. The absolute worst is unforgettable; the forklift tires in Enlighten's train boxcar. They still reek.

The CMFs couldn't be that bad, could they?

Joe

[Robianco]

Well after feeling the need to join EB to make 3 posts claiming Lego is dead and you won't be buying anymore simply because some minifigs aren't made the way you want them I wish you good luck and hope you find lots of nice, non-chinese plastic to buy in the future.

I'm sure Lego will miss your business.

I doubt very much that the plastic is rancid or toxic by the way... that's just having a rant and does nothing to help your argument.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

I don't think the title is clear enough regarding what the minifigs, or LEGO, are made of. I think it's missing one word that would change tit's meaning completely... Chinese plastic, maybe? Ultimately I don't see much of a point to this topic either way. Good luck with whatever you choose to do with, or without LEGO, I think I'm going to go see if my sets smell now, I'm curious of this "foul" odor.

Edited January 9, 2014 by LEGO Guy Bri

[gazumpty]

Hmmm I smell the scent of a cheap and nasty troll

[Adam87]

So currently only CMF series are made in china ??

[Deathleech]

So currently only CMF series are made in china ??

No, other pieces are as well. Usually they are specialty pieces such as hair or hats that will only be used in one set for a specific (often licensed) figure. You can usually tell because they are soft rubber instead of hard ABS plastic, and they usually come in their own sealed bag. Almost all of the CMF pieces are from China though, including the minifigure bodies, accessories, etc.

[obsidianheart]

Man, I sure am glad he pointed all this out. I never would have known, because we absolutely haven't discussed Chinese manufactured CMFs to death. I'm also glad he joined to tell us he was quitting so we could heal the him-shaped hole that will be left in the hobby and all our hearts.