glendo Posted October 25, 2014 and we think the Ebola Virus is spreading rapidly.... In 2011, TLG unleashed a new brick Seperator. It was an experiment designed the help mankind with the universal problem of sticky bricks, and allowing for happy hours of building. - these seperators were placed in many large sets of significance, and rapidly covered the planet. - they were designed with one thing in mind - TLG planned to spread them out so that every human on this earth had an orange seperator within an arms reach, ready to assist you...... ....... /dramatics OK Lego, It was great getting a new brick seperator in my large lego sets. The new orange (and green) version is great It was great the first time, the 45th time i received one it's kind of getting a bit too much. The very first one still does the job well, the other 44 were not necessary. It's time to turn it down a notch. they are rapidly taking over the planet. I dont think they need to be in every set I purchase. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zerobricks Posted October 25, 2014 Lucky you, I have exactly 0 of the new ones Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Veynom Posted October 25, 2014 To be honest, I prefer the old green one when it comes to separate small plates on small plates (1x2, 2x2, 2x4...). The orange is greater to remobe tiles but in the long run it gets damaged so having new pnes is good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glendo Posted October 25, 2014 It's not about quality.... it's about quantity. They are in everything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bjorkan Posted October 25, 2014 today I bought my breakfast meal at one local store, and guess what was a small present in my package ??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boxerlego Posted October 25, 2014 Wow that is a bunch of separators. I don't have any orange colored ones but I do have a bunch of these grey ones. I think the older versions are better then the new ones. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zulithe Posted October 25, 2014 I've seen people use brick separators in MOCs. Maybe you should start to view them as LEGO pieces and not just as junk? :P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_spock Posted October 25, 2014 I think it means you have large LEGO sets buying disease. It may be contagious. Quarantine yourself and switch to smaller sets. That should stop that orange cancerous growth. You can give them away to kids attending your LUG events or to members of your LUG too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
legoman19892 Posted October 25, 2014 What is preventing you from giving them to people who may need one? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheLegoDr Posted October 25, 2014 I believe the idea is include one in a lot of sets because not every person is going to buy every set with one in it. So for people like you who have too many, it shows you are buying a lot of sets. It isn't LEGO's fault you have an addiction. Or is it? I have close to 20 or more, but I like having a lot because I can't always find them. So I look around and find another one, or another one. It actually is more feasible in my mind than annoying. If I had only one, I'd surely lose it. Since I have dozens, I can always find one. Plus, I've never had one before this new one, so I welcome them into my collection. If they become overwhelming, give them away, sell them, throw them away? All feasible options. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_spock Posted October 25, 2014 What is preventing you from giving them to people who may need one? Halloween is coming up. They can be in a bowl for kids to take. Trick or separator? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zerobricks Posted October 25, 2014 I could use a few... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aanchir Posted October 25, 2014 Something to keep in mind is that a lot of people (kids in particular) might not get as many big LEGO sets, so they won't have as many brick separators. And even if a person DOES have a sizable collection, you never know which set might be their first to include a brick separator. The other day when building the Haunted House, my brother misplaced some plates. He was struggling to get them off until he remembered the set had a brick separator, at which point he got them off with relative ease. Now, suppose a person who had never previously owned a brick separator made that kind of mistake, and the set in question didn't include a brick separator? They'd probably get pretty frustrated! Even the book LEGO: A Love Story (a deeply investigative and personal chronicle of the writer emerging from his dark ages and coming to terms with the AFOL community) immediately recognizes the importance of a brick separator, in a chapter humorously entitled "Brick Separation Anxiety". On page 65, the author, Jonathan, has just mentioned the inconvenience of separating bricks with his teeth or fingernails to some fellow AFOLs: "What other option do I have?" I ask. "LEGO makes brick separators," says Dave. Sure, I think. That's a great practical joke to play on the new guy. Oh yeah, Jonathan, there's a separator. There's also a group of elves that can finish whatever you're building while you sleep at night. "No way," I start to protest, but Dave interrupts. "Yes, they're like little green triangles. They're maybe two dollars," says Dave. He goes on to describe a slope with ridges. It latches on to a plate or brick in the same fashion as a bottle opener, allowing you to snap up or down and separate stuck together elements. I am suddenly self-conscious over the length of my fingernails. Dave has just made my weekend. I'm sure adding a brick separator to an already large set costs next to nothing, especially since the mold for the current version of the brick separator is considerably simpler than the old one from a production standpoint (it only requires two sections, one on top and one on the bottom, rather than needing any kind of sliders to mold detail at more unusual angles). With that in mind, I feel like it'd be a bit foolish for the LEGO Group not to include them in these larger sets. What's the worst-case scenario? That people who end up with too many just recycle them? It's less than four grams of ABS plastic; recycling them wouldn't be a huge waste. But I'm sure most AFOLs can find better things to do with spare brick separators, even if it's just handing them out to kids for free at the next LEGO event you attend. For that matter, Halloween is coming up — maybe you can hand them out to the first 44 trick-or-treaters who come by your house! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peppermint_M Posted October 25, 2014 You must be well organised too! I have three of the old one and three of the new one and my unsorted collection eats them for kicks and giggles. MOCing, building a set or just plain having an attempt at sorting parts for a project and when two plates stick I can't find even one! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glendo Posted October 25, 2014 that's not my pic guys, i just found that for reference... where's the love? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
samurai-turtle Posted October 25, 2014 I do think they should scale back the distribution of the separator. On another note, I do think the old version is better for separating plates. The newer one is not angled right for separating plates. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rollermonkey Posted October 25, 2014 I have one green one and more than 50 orange ones. He's not wrong. It is getting a bit ridiculous. Every Architecture set has one, and any other set over about $30 now, as well. They used to come in $100 sets, but that dropped to $50 sets a while back. I mean, the A-wing had one, and that's not by any stretch of the imagination a large set. I'm starting to wonder when they'll show up in battle packs and CMF pouches. When, not if. With the price of sets always climbing, and the sets with separators starting from lower price-points, I don't understand how people don't have any of the newest ones, yet spend significant time on a LEGO forum... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SweetiePie88 Posted October 26, 2014 I get to some extent the value of having them in SOME sets but the problem is these things really multiply fast and there's not much you can do with them. I have 9 of the new guys, 2 or 3 from sets and the rest from buying them on bl to experiment with to see if I could do anything with them. To date I've tried a few methods and nada. The new ones are horrible with separating stuck plates and I'm debating about just putting all except a couple in the to trade pile since I like the old ones I have better. If I was into axle use more, I'd build the stand from the unofficial builders guide. As far as tiles go, sure on the very rare occasion I use them in a moc, this could come in handy if I didn't already have two Lego crowbars walking around! Plus they are so scrawny they aren't comfortable in my hand. Does Lego think only people with small hands build with Lego's? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VK-318 Posted October 26, 2014 I have several of the new orange brick separators. While I wish they attached a little tighter, I think they are a significant improvement over the old design, since they are smaller, with a little ... chisel-like spot to remove tiles and an axle-remover. And I do appreciate having a lot of them. After all, they're just another piece, and far from the most space-eating piece in my collection. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hrw-Amen Posted October 26, 2014 I have quite a few of them, bit I do find that the edge for seperating tiles, plates etc blunts quite easily and so it is good to get a new one every now and then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robert_88 Posted October 26, 2014 I didn't count them but I have many brick seperators. I don't know why they shouldn't include them anymore. Not every kid get's many big Lego sets! If someone has too many of them he/she should give them away for free. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zerobricks Posted October 26, 2014 With the price of sets always climbing, and the sets with separators starting from lower price-points, I don't understand how people don't have any of the newest ones, yet spend significant time on a LEGO forum... Simple... I'm into technic! No seperators there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_spock Posted October 26, 2014 I can't get enough of them. Like Peppermint_M, I can't find one when I need one. Funny, a BrickLink seller included one with my order. I guess he/she was trying to get rid of them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
antp Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) I think the older versions are better then the new ones. Depends for what. For small plates on small plates, at least an old one is required, so for that they are better. But the new ones works better for plates in the middle of a larger plate, and are required for jumper plates (until Lego added a groove to them). Edited October 27, 2014 by antp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
