235 replies to this topic

[Richie]

I had the same problem in my 10159 Airport, the re-release of 6597. The Octan fuel car lost his brand name...

Another problem: the black rubber belts with the square cross-section. I have noticed with these belts, they loose elasticy over time and become fragile. Since they are used or under stress, it's impossible to use them at all without breaking them, no matter how careful I am.

I've seen this with belts used by mail as well, but still I don't get why the square ones were used in for example 6668, when the round ones were already released. I don't think the round ones have this problem.

Edit: I have found some round ones have the same issue. I've checked my 8868 (1994 copy), and I'm afraid the belts won't be working for too long. I haven't seen damage on the belts of 8480 and 8485 yet.

Edited by Richie, 23 July 2011 - 12:15 PM.

[JPS97]

Guys I am having more issues with them. My Kit fisto figure is now splitting in the arms. What should I do!? I'm very mad right now.   Thanks for any help.
-JPS97

[CP5670]

Richie, on 22 July 2011 - 01:24 PM, said:

Another problem: the black rubber belts with the square cross-section. I have noticed with these belts, they loose elasticy over time and become fragile. Since they are used or under stress, it's impossible to use them at all without breaking them, no matter how careful I am.

I've seen this with belts used by mail as well, but still I don't get why the square ones were used in for example 6668, when the round ones were already released. I don't think the round ones have this problem.

Edit: I have found some round ones have the same issue. I've checked my 8868 (1994 copy), and I'm afraid the belts won't be working for too long. I haven't seen damage on the belts of 8480 and 8485 yet.

The belts TLG used up to 1992 (white and thin) were less elastic and became brittle over time. They switched to colored belts made of a different material in 1993, starting with 8082, but maybe the earlier sets still kept using the old kind. The newer belts hold up nicely in my experience. The black rubber bands with square cross sections continued to be used for tension force (and still are, I think), but they weren't usually used as belts.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Regarding 7743 Police Command Center: I just built mine, a second hand one but, noticed ever one of my 1 x 1 white bricks where cracked and 4 of the five light bley 1 x 1 mod plate w/ clip were broken... Anyone have knowledge of why this is occurring? I've seen other posts with similar cracking issues with white cheese slopes.

[Aanchir]

Just figured I'd share that my family got the Master Builder Academy starter kit, and I was recently disappointed to find that one of the purple 1x1 "cheese wedges" and one of the green 1x2 "cheese graters" had already split down the middle. They haven't been in any unusual temperatures, although I personally wonder if there might have been some sort of improper temperatures or conditions during shipping. You'd expect a flaw that emerges this soon after getting the set to be a consequence of heat; I've never heard of cheese wedges splitting like this in less than a month after getting the set!

[jonwil]

I have a dark bley cheese slope which has split so far that its almost broken in half. I have other dark bley cheese slopes that have varying degrees of cracks in the same place (splitting starting from the center of the thin end of the slope)

I suspect there is something specific about the moulding of the cheese slope that is causing so many to split.
That or the plastic being used is too weak.

[Aanchir]

jonwil, on 24 July 2011 - 12:22 PM, said:

I have a dark bley cheese slope which has split so far that its almost broken in half. I have other dark bley cheese slopes that have varying degrees of cracks in the same place (splitting starting from the center of the thin end of the slope)

I suspect there is something specific about the moulding of the cheese slope that is causing so many to split.
That or the plastic being used is too weak.

Well, cheese slopes are made from polycarbonate, the same material as transparent pieces tend to use. I believe polycarbonate is typically used for non-transparent parts only when ABS would be too weak, since polycarbonate is a sturdier material. So if cheese slopes used LEGO's regular ABS, problems with breaking would likely be even worse.

[legOZ]

JPS97, on 21 July 2011 - 03:17 AM, said:

I apologize for a bit of thread necromancy but I have have a Huge issue with quality. Has anyone noticed that their minifigures crack on the sides over time? A good portion of my clones are now cracking and I just want to know why this is. Thanks guys!

Heres an example-

Euro 034 by JPS97, on Flickr

its big problem in some minifigures.

one my lego minifigure head breaks in a motorcycle helmet   
irony ...

and it sticks in the helmet too i cant pull of the head.

[CP5670]

Aanchir, on 24 July 2011 - 06:35 PM, said:

Well, cheese slopes are made from polycarbonate, the same material as transparent pieces tend to use. I believe polycarbonate is typically used for non-transparent parts only when ABS would be too weak, since polycarbonate is a sturdier material. So if cheese slopes used LEGO's regular ABS, problems with breaking would likely be even worse.

I think ABS deforms more easily but PC actually seems to be more prone to cracking. Many small transparent PC pieces like 1x1 round plates, 1x1 cones and so on routinely develop cracks on the bottom, while the opaque ABS versions have no issue.

[johnnyvgoode]

CP5670, on 21 June 2009 - 07:07 PM, said:

Flaky chrome pieces (1996-present)
The electroplating on chrome pieces tends to come off in fragments over time, revealing a trans-clear interior. This is especially common with thin parts like antennas, as seen on various Model Team sets, while normal bricks are less prone to it. Apart from the costs, this seems to be one reason why TLG has heavily cut back on chrome pieces in recent years.

Does this mean bad news for chrome C-3POs? Because that would break my heart.    Can this be prevented?

[InformativeBeing]

I have been a LEGO Addict for many, many years now and I'am shocked at this post. NEVER, ever have I experience a crack in my LEGO. It must be a very rare case, and a few that may have experience something wrong in the manufacturing of the set, or you have left it out in the sun or what not, however LEGO independently tests there bricks for those sorts of things and puts them under extreme tests for quality and durability.

Did you know that the Plastic LEGO uses is the only Plastic of it's kind. It's a special Plastic sourced from Italy, Germany and the Netherlands and is only available specially to LEGO. I have never experienced any Quality Issues with LEGO Apart from 1 set which was the 9878 Passenger Train with the Gaps in the side which were not the bad and I over looked it because it was such a great set, I'm very surprised at this thread.

[dtomsen]

This Christmas we got (a second) 7939 Cargo Train and 4437 Police Pursuit and almost all yellow parts in both sets have a noticeably lighter, thinner and more translucent shade with a dull and greenish tint than usual.

An old problem resurfacing again

[CP5670]

dtomsen, on 30 December 2011 - 06:17 PM, said:

This Christmas we got (a second) 7939 Cargo Train and 4437 Police Pursuit and almost all yellow parts in both sets have a noticeably lighter, thinner and more translucent shade with a dull and greenish tint than usual.

An old problem resurfacing again

It was never actually fixed and has always been there. I think people have just gotten used to it now and no longer take note of it.

[ZO6]

CP5670, on 31 December 2011 - 12:43 AM, said:

It was never actually fixed and has always been there. I think people have just gotten used to it now and no longer take note of it.

Ah, that explains it then.  Every once in a while I get a new set that has really nice solid whites and yellows like from 5+ years ago or whatever.  Those high quality parts really jump out at me, and likewise the nasty semi-translucent and off coloured parts are still a slap in the face.  What really bugs me is when I receive minifig legs or a hinge piece where one leg or half of the hinge is fine but the other half is a different shade.

[TheLegoDr]

ZO6, on 31 December 2011 - 04:28 AM, said:

Ah, that explains it then.  Every once in a while I get a new set that has really nice solid whites and yellows like from 5+ years ago or whatever.  Those high quality parts really jump out at me, and likewise the nasty semi-translucent and off coloured parts are still a slap in the face.  What really bugs me is when I receive minifig legs or a hinge piece where one leg or half of the hinge is fine but the other half is a different shade.

I've noticed that a lot with reddish-brown. It definitely irks me when it is off enough that it is extremely noticeable.

[Aanchir]

ZO6, on 31 December 2011 - 04:28 AM, said:

Ah, that explains it then.  Every once in a while I get a new set that has really nice solid whites and yellows like from 5+ years ago or whatever.  Those high quality parts really jump out at me, and likewise the nasty semi-translucent and off coloured parts are still a slap in the face.  What really bugs me is when I receive minifig legs or a hinge piece where one leg or half of the hinge is fine but the other half is a different shade.

I still notice that problem on rare occasions, but I've never seen it as bad as it was in this set. I think that set basically numbed me to color quality issues since I have never, ever had such obvious issues with color quality in any set since-- not even in the collectible minifigures.

[brickmack]

TheLegoDr, on 31 December 2011 - 04:46 PM, said:

I've noticed that a lot with reddish-brown. It definitely irks me when it is off enough that it is extremely noticeable.

Same here, reddish brown and yellow both seem to be really bad with color variation. I've got a few sets that had reddish brown parts ranging in actual color from nearly old brown to almost red.

[dtomsen]

dtomsen, on 30 December 2011 - 06:17 PM, said:

This Christmas we got (a second) 7939 Cargo Train and 4437 Police Pursuit and almost all yellow parts in both sets have a noticeably lighter, thinner and more translucent shade with a dull and greenish tint than usual.

Later bought 10230 Mini Modulars, 4434 Tipper Truck and 4432 Garbage Truck.

Apparently almost all yellow parts in the 2012 sets seem to suffer from this  

[maksavorst]

It's sad to bring this topic up again, but I just have to say something..
Bought a 4208 and a 4432 and I am sad to say that I am disappointed yet again.

The 4432 is rather good, just one bad white hinge, but the 4280 fire truck has so many different shades of red, it's just outrageous.
Not to mention all kinds of moulding marks etc. Also, my 5893 has so many cracked blue parts even though I just built the main model.

I just can't understand, what has happened to lego. All my parts from the time I was a kid (mid 90's) are the same color, and don't have these marks on them.
It seems as if they do not care about the quality anymore.
I mean, I really love legos, but the quality nowadays is just awful. Too bad I can't resist buying more.

[TheLegoDr]

I just ordered a few pieces from Lego Direct and some looked damaged, even though they are straight from the factory in Denmark (they claimed). I have noticed a lot of issues with color variations still, in the new sets and the 2011 sets. I'm not sure what happened to Lego's quality control. A few sets I've purchased recently even had many missing parts. It is mind boggling. Hopefully they can get their act together or I may have to find a new hobby.

[Mothy]

I'm building with a lot of yellow, and there's DEFINITELY a difference in shades, yet Bricklink makes no distinction, so I can never predict which yellow I will get from a new seller. I only buy "New" bricks as well, so I don't know whats happening but I guess some sellers have old stocks of technically new lego   Also, I bought a batch of yellow 1x3 tiles, and half of them already have hairline cracks from normal use. But they are LEGO brand pieces for sure, and this makes me sad. Happens with other tiles as well. Still, I'd rather have cracking pieces than no 1x3 tiles at all! I know the plastic isn't indestructible, but still, a 50% failure rate like that is kind of unacceptable, especially when the pieces are $0.10+ per piece due to rarity. That adds up for big projects.

[CP5670]

Quote

I just can't understand, what has happened to lego. All my parts from the time I was a kid (mid 90's) are the same color, and don't have these marks on them.
It seems as if they do not care about the quality anymore.

Or to put it another way, they realized that customers don't care about brick quality. The mismatched/translucent colors are here to stay for the forseeable future. I think TLG would have fixed that issue if it had hit their bottom line in 2007 and the customers had collectively howled enough, but even the AFOLs barely noticed it, much less kids.

Mothy, on 05 March 2012 - 09:10 AM, said:

I'm building with a lot of yellow, and there's DEFINITELY a difference in shades, yet Bricklink makes no distinction, so I can never predict which yellow I will get from a new seller.

This is the most annoying aspect of the color problems. Getting the right color on Bricklink has become a lottery unless the pieces are black (which is one reason why my Bricklink orders tend to be dominated by black pieces). For a while, I was keeping a list of "safe" sellers that I could be reasonably sure were carrying pre-2006 pieces built from pre-colored ABS, but the new pieces have been around for several years now and that is no longer feasible. I would be quite willing to pay double prices for pieces with the proper color and opacity, if they were actually distinguished as such on Bricklink.

[merman]

I just received 10224 Town Hall and TLG is saving on the instruction booklets as well. The Technic beams have no slits anymore (not an issue for 10224). But the town hall booklets clearly have a lower resolution. I can see the jagger diagonal edges of the bricks. Or is this just a misprint (for each of the 3 booklets?)

[Dervish]

merman, on 13 March 2012 - 12:45 PM, said:

I just received 10224 Town Hall and TLG is saving on the instruction booklets as well. The Technic beams have no slits anymore (not an issue for 10224). But the town hall booklets clearly have a lower resolution. I can see the jagger diagonal edges of the bricks. Or is this just a misprint (for each of the 3 booklets?)

I don't know about the town hall booklets, but I've noticed that the colours in the booklets are quite a way off the real colours of the pieces.. It really doesn't help building :(

[merman]

See this iPhone photo I took (not the best quality).
Above you see a part of the 10230 booklet, which is okay. The lines are thicker.
Below the 10224 booklet with thinner lines and the set was released not even 2 months after 10230