235 replies to this topic

[dosto_tube]

I have a bit of Dark Red Pieces, some are lighter than others.
Soon I'll investigate on the other colours.

[Trent]

I got the Winter Village Toy Shop at Christmas and it's been built once, never played with and just been on display ever since.  I noticed today that 5 of the white cheese slopes have all got a crack up them.  

I'm a bit nervous about going and checking my Tower Bridge (which has been built once, never played with and just been on display...but has been standing for a year).  

Gutted.

[jonwil]

I have noticed that cheese slopes (mostly dark bley) on my bus MOCs have cracks of various degrees.
I have actually had at least one or 2 dark bley slopes break completly because of this. These MOCs have just been sitting there with no specific pressure put on the slopes.

All the evidence I have seen suggests that there is a specific weakness in this element. I wonder if LEGO can re-design either the element or the plastic formulation to make it stronger without making it less usable.

Also if anyone has any idea how to stop these parts breaking short of "dont keep things built" please speak up.

[chelman]

I don't know if this is a quality issue or just my memory playing tricks on me.

I have a couple of treads from 7248 : Digger (Town). In my memory they were smooth to the touch. I just unpacked them from storage and they seem to be rough and 'dried out'. Now rubber tends to deteriorate over time but in this case I'm not sure whether it's my memory playing tricks on me or whether the treads did indeed deteriorate. There are no discernible cracks and the treads can be fitted properly....

Anyone have any ideas as to how the new treads looked and felt?

[CP5670]

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All the evidence I have seen suggests that there is a specific weakness in this element. I wonder if LEGO can re-design either the element or the plastic formulation to make it stronger without making it less usable.

There is definitely a problem with that piece, given how many people have reported cracks in it now. It's strange how only some people seem to get them though. Mine are all just fine, even if they have been placed on models for many years. My best guess is that it's either related to the room temperature/humidity or limited to certain factories/geographic regions.

Quote

I have a couple of treads from 7248 : Digger (Town). In my memory they were smooth to the touch. I just unpacked them from storage and they seem to be rough and 'dried out'. Now rubber tends to deteriorate over time but in this case I'm not sure whether it's my memory playing tricks on me or whether the treads did indeed deteriorate. There are no discernible cracks and the treads can be fitted properly....

I see some differences on my treads too. Some are rougher than others. The rough ones were like that out of the box (late 90s sets opened in mid-2000s), but could have deteriorated into that state over time. This doesn't seem to affect their performance, however.

[johnnyvgoode]

I'd have to agree. How much does temperature vary on your room? Perhaps the cheese slopes are more vulnerable to changes in temperature than most pieces... But I can't think of a reason why that should be.

[redcodekevin]

Hello,

I had two 2x1 hinges holding a third, much larger piece as if they were one single hinge. The sides of the hinge broke as shown in these pics:







The pieces came originally with the Prehistoric creatures Creator set. Just two have broken, so I believe that the fact they were holding a bigger pieceon their own had some influence. Anyone else has hadthis problem with these peices?

[HumanPackMule]

This is a nice place to start.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

I too have had a severe cracking problem, but with a handful of 1x1 round translucent plates. They are splitting almost in half; the stud gripping part, separating from it's own stud, as shown. They are still useable, but only somewhat. The red ones have come from various city sets from roughly 2005 to 2011. A few others (not pictured) have cracked, but not separated and have been removed from my "useable" parts bin. I suppose these also might fall under poor plastic manufacture and/or brittle plastics  

[dtomsen]

dtomsen, on 08 February 2012 - 05:25 PM, said:

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

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  

Updated!

Usual old'ish yellow left, new'ish yellow right.




Thankfully, Jan Beyer has stated (in our LUGs forum) that LEGO is well aware of the problem (partly due to too little yellow dye being used and partly due to dual sourcing from two different dye suppliers) and that they are working on it

.

[CP5670]

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I'd have to agree. How much does temperature vary on your room? Perhaps the cheese slopes are more vulnerable to changes in temperature than most pieces... But I can't think of a reason why that should be.

I keep it around 72-82F year round, so there isn't much variation. Prolonged hot temperatures (over several years) can cause bricks to expand and develop a stronger grip, which I've seen with some late 80s sets. Maybe the cracking cheese slopes are caused by something like this.

Quote

Thankfully, Jan Beyer has stated (in our LUGs forum) that LEGO is well aware of the problem (partly due to too little yellow dye being used and partly due to dual sourcing from two different dye suppliers) and that they are working on it

They told us the exact same thing with yellow four years ago, so I'm taking it with a huge grain of salt. Here is another picture from a few years ago. This effect is hard to see in a picture though since it varies a lot with the ambient light.