Do you take care of your Technic parts and pieces?

[aminnich]

Just a general question. Personally I take the greatest care of my pieces; no stickers, storaged in closed bins, not put in the sunlight to discolor, etc.  

I bring this up because I am finding that my latest Technic lot purchase has a lot of broken/disgusting parts in it. Even noticablity chewed on pieces... gross. The thing is, I am sure to only buy lots from adult owned sellers and whatnot to try and get the best quality, but I guess even the adults make a mess sometimes. 

What is your take Technic quality? 

Edited August 21, 2018 by aminnich
Gramatical error

[Bublehead]

Except the inevitable DNA on it from holding it, there is nothing on my Lego, but I don’t teeth on my Technic. I keep it in cases, bags, bins, and displayed in models.  

[zux]

Usually the same. But I had built a few crawlers I have driven outside. This resulted in some parts (gears especially) to be quite damaged. Oh well, I had them separated in case I would need to build something to drive outside again.

[1gor]

I do not go outside to play with my LEGO, just to take photo of my Moc on some surface that is not dirt...parts are always in box and once a week I open every box so parts do not develop strange smell like it happened about 15 years ago. Usually I do not chew plastics; why usually because (or unfortunately food from supermarket is not natural and example - rise is made from plastic in some cases. LEGO I do not chow, I use different tools to took them apart like knife that is not sharp, but I do not use my teeth 

[BusterHaus]

I noticed that the bricks from my youth have quite a bit of abuse on them. There are occasional bite marks, some snapped parts, others that took damage when a build fell or was dropped. However, most of the damage was done by constant searching for parts in a large bin the mixing and tumbling has put a lot of scratches on the parts. This is really visible on transparent pieces, but regular bricks suffered the same fate. I never noticed this as a kid, and it didn't change the amount of fun that the bricks provided.

These days I'm more careful with my collection. I keep pieces separated in smaller bins to reduce the amount of damage caused by searching. At the same time, I don't display any models on a shelf, so pristine bricks are not a priority. I don't mind the occasional scratch or damaged part that was caused by my actions. My bigger concern is the durability of certain parts when they are assembled for a longer period of time. Some of them crack, which is never a pleasant discovery.

I find it best to keep in mind that bricks have finite lifespan. They will meet their end for various reasons, sometimes sooner than expected. Most of the damaged parts are easy to replace. Using rare parts is up to the builder - each one of us will value parts differently. Some will prefer the joy of using a rare part, while others will be happy with collecting rare parts and preserving them in the best condition possible. Ultimately each of us will decide what takes priority.

[TechnicRCRacer]

I don’t mind putting stickers on parts because I have a special technique on taking them off leaving no residue (peel them off very slowly!) and I generally don’t run my cars outside. I don’t mind light on my models unless it is close to a bulb. (Exception: Monorail parts)

[Leonardo da Bricki]

I keep my parts almost always sorted out into bins (liftarms in bags due to size and quantity) to protect them. They are stored out of direct light on shelves or in a closet when not in use, and I never have models on display. Some parts have minor damage (scratches, rubbed edges, a nick or two...) from my crawlers/buggies being driven outside. I almost never put stickers on, sometimes a few small ones are used, but never the large ones.

[Bublehead]

As a user of Technic since its invention, let me add this piece of wisdom.  The amount of time and effort you spend keeping your bricks and elements pristine and unscratched, unnicked, unbroken, unexposed, etc... will eventually stack up to a lot of wasted effort, because they are going to get scratched, nicked, broken, dusty, and plain old “old” and you can not stop it.  If you do as I do, and keep them mostly clean, covered, and sorted, you really can’t do much else except play with them and enjoy them.  Don’t leave your models assembled if you don’t want broken pieces (eventually) because they will crack and disintegrate, even if in complete darkness.  I don’t apply stickers to models that I know are going to be disassembled and used as donors for MOCs, but I do apply them to models that go on permanent display on my shelves, or if they have been applied by the previous owner (I buy a lot of Technic used) but the main point here is, you can go to great lengths to limit the scratches, and the sun exposure, and the two year olds chewing on them, but it is not going to extend their useful lifespan much longer than 40 years.  I know, I have original sets from back then that are disintegrating, cracking, peeling stickers, parts falling off models.  My advice is this, keep collecting new elements and keep playing with your bricks and elements, throw the broken ones out, and buy replacements as needed, and don’t worry about how long they are going to last. As with everything, they will not last forever.

[sirslayer]

@Bublehead lol!!!   then I don't feel so bad!!  every broken axle is a badge of honor !! 

[Alex Ilea]

I use plastic boxes with lids in order to keep my parts as good as I can. I used to keep pieces in boxes without a lid, but that just makes your pieces so dirty over time. 

[Carefree_Dude]

I take fairly good care of all my lego, but this thread does remind me of a time when i was young and dumb, and had two technic motors... I connected them directly to each other using an axle connector, and turned them both on; the axle on one of them snapped off after some flopping around. i felt remorse for breaking my motor. That was 21 years ago. I still have the broken motor around today, to remind myself to not do stupid crap 

[jorgeopesi]

I take care of them but I am a MOC builder and I have been using the same pieces for 40 MOCs or more so it is impossible that my pieces do not break every day, I try to use less the rare ones to prevent this.

[emielroumen]

6 hours ago, Bublehead said:

As a user of Technic since its invention, let me add this piece of wisdom.  The amount of time and effort you spend keeping your bricks and elements pristine and unscratched, unnicked, unbroken, unexposed, etc... will eventually stack up to a lot of wasted effort, because they are going to get scratched, nicked, broken, dusty, and plain old “old” and you can not stop it.  If you do as I do, and keep them mostly clean, covered, and sorted, you really can’t do much else except play with them and enjoy them.  Don’t leave your models assembled if you don’t want broken pieces (eventually) because they will crack and disintegrate, even if in complete darkness.  I don’t apply stickers to models that I know are going to be disassembled and used as donors for MOCs, but I do apply them to models that go on permanent display on my shelves, or if they have been applied by the previous owner (I buy a lot of Technic used) but the main point here is, you can go to great lengths to limit the scratches, and the sun exposure, and the two year olds chewing on them, but it is not going to extend their useful lifespan much longer than 40 years.  I know, I have original sets from back then that are disintegrating, cracking, peeling stickers, parts falling off models.  My advice is this, keep collecting new elements and keep playing with your bricks and elements, throw the broken ones out, and buy replacements as needed, and don’t worry about how long they are going to last. As with everything, they will not last forever.

Thank you for explaining, I treat my collection the same.

[dr_spock]

I take care of my LEGO.  I don't throw out broken parts as they can be useful for other LEGO or non-LEGO projects. My LEGO is generally clean except for some that my cat used as kitty litter.  So who would like to buy some kiddy kitty used LEGO? 

[TechnicRCRacer]

2 hours ago, Goldenmasamune said:

 to remind myself to not do stupid crap 

Ohh, that reminds me of when I started Technic. My first car had a 5 x 11 beam frame in it and I put 3L axle extenders in the sides with 2L axles. I still haven’t gotten around to taking it out with tools yet.

[Carefree_Dude]

1 hour ago, dr_spock said:

I take care of my LEGO.  I don't throw out broken parts as they can be useful for other LEGO or non-LEGO projects. My LEGO is generally clean except for some that my cat used as kitty litter.  So who would like to buy some kiddy kitty used LEGO? 

I have a 10 lb bucket of lego that my sister's cat used as a litter box once. I tried to clean it multiple times but the parts just feel weird. I can't bring myself to use any of it, but I also can't bring myself to get rid of it 

[Bublehead]

@Goldenmasamune, you can put your lego in a delicate garment bag (small opening net or mesh bag) and send it through the dishwasher or washing machine on delicate cycle, that’s what a local Lego buyer does with huge dirty used lots he picks up at garage sales and estate sales. It comes out nice and clean and not too scratched up. Soft toothbrush and warm water otherwise.  Use mild soap, nothing real harsh. If you can’t get the cat smell off of them, use a very diluted rinse with a capful of bleach. That’s all the cleaning advice I got.

[Doomer]

I don't put my part under sunshine, the color will be changed, especially the white parts.

[Frantechnic]

I had several sets built for years and yes some Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular have broken.

 

[doggo]

I always keep my parts stored either in models, or plastic bags. I've never driven anything outside, I've only blown one UV joint though 

[MAB]

16 hours ago, Goldenmasamune said:

I take fairly good care of all my lego, but this thread does remind me of a time when i was young and dumb, and had two technic motors... I connected them directly to each other using an axle connector, and turned them both on; the axle on one of them snapped off after some flopping around. i felt remorse for breaking my motor. That was 21 years ago. I still have the broken motor around today, to remind myself to not do stupid crap 

Hasn't everyone done the same "I wonder which motor is the strongest" head-to-head test at some stage? I'm another member of that club.

 

[LennyRhys]

When I was younger I didn't take care of my Lego, but I think that's pretty much the norm for most kids.  Now, as an AFOL, I take very good care of my stuff and I keep it out of children's reach at all times!  Most of my Lego is currently boxed up in the attic, but some of my City models are on display in the spare bedroom.

If I buy used Lego on ebay, I find it much easier to "use" than new Lego from sets.  It's a weird psychological thing, isn't it?

[letsbuild54]

I'm new to Lego and Technic and was wondering if anyone has seen any deformation of suspension components or tires from just bearing the weight of a completed  model displayed for a long period of time. If so how long did it take to notice the effect?

[zoo]

2 hours ago, LennyRhys said:

If I buy used Lego on ebay, I find it much easier to "use" than new Lego from sets.  It's a weird psychological thing, isn't it?

For me it's the other way around. I will never buy used LEGO since then I have no idea what the pieces have been through and that thought eats away at me. With new sets I buy I know that whatever happens with them after I've opened the box, it is only because of me. If pieces fail, I can live with it since I will always know how they've been treated.

[Carefree_Dude]

4 hours ago, MAB said:

Hasn't everyone done the same "I wonder which motor is the strongest" head-to-head test at some stage? I'm another member of that club.

 

I was surprised the older motor won