move sets to another room?

[maramsp]

Hey all.

As of today im in the posession of the hogwarts castle, and the hogwarts express.

But in the room where i wanna showcase them is no light switch. Only natural light via a big window.

And because its getting dark here now, i still wanna start building tonight. 

So would it be easy to move the sets to the other room? Or would you advice me to get a portable light to that room and start building there instead of the living room?

Thanks in advance for thinking with me.

Cheers, Mara

[MAB]

If you want to move big sets about, get a large wood or mdf board and a non-slip craft mat.

Edited April 19, 2021 by MAB

[KotZ]

Just move them?

[AmperZand]

55 minutes ago, maramsp said:

But in the room where i wanna showcase them is no light switch. Only natural light via a big window.

*Alarm bells!* LEGO and sunlight do not a happy combination make. The breakdown of ABS, the plastic from which most LEGO parts are made, is catalysed by sunlight (and heat). So you really shouldn’t expose parts to sunlight. You risk them discolouring and possibly even cracking in time.

[TeriXeri]

While I do prefer to build in daylight, I do display my sets away from a bright window.

If your sets are mostly on display I'd get a good lighting option rather then putting them at a window.

Also depends if windows are on the South or North for example, because in NL, a South window does get a lot more direct sunlight on it.

Edited April 19, 2021 by TeriXeri

[maramsp]

2 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

While I do prefer to build in daylight, I do display my sets away from a bright window.

If your sets are mostly on display I'd get a good lighting option rather then putting them at a window.

Also depends if windows are on the South or North for example, because in NL, a South window does get a lot more direct sunlight on it.

The window thats lighning the room is on the west. So only later afternoon and early evening sunlight.

But yes, A good lightning system is mandatory, especially if i want to expand my collection and put em all together.

3 hours ago, AmperZand said:

*Alarm bells!* LEGO and sunlight do not a happy combination make. The breakdown of ABS, the plastic from which most LEGO parts are made, is catalysed by sunlight (and heat). So you really shouldn’t expose parts to sunlight. You risk them discolouring and possibly even cracking in time.

Thank you VERY much for this warning. Would blackout curtains and a fan make sure that my LEGO won't get damaged over time? Or should i take extra measures?

3 hours ago, MAB said:

If you want to move big sets about, get a large wood or mdf board and a non-slip craft mat.

Indeed, that would a good option! Thank you as well :D

And now, back to building...

Ive started with the hogwarts express, as Harry travels with it, before entering the castle. I also made some pictures while building, and tried to create a different scene every time a major compartment was added to the "whole picture". 

So I would probally share them later when i've finished builing for the time being :)

So like I said, back to building (as I really love it!)

[AmperZand]

13 hours ago, maramsp said:

Would blackout curtains and a fan make sure that my LEGO won't get damaged over time? Or should i take extra measures?

There is no absolute guarantee that your LEGO won't degrade over time. That said, some of my minifigures have been in my display collection since I bought them new in 1993 and they are still fine. I also have some bricks from the '70s that I bought on the secondary market in 2014. Apart from having to re-whiten a few when I got them, they are fine too.

Blackout curtains will help considerably to block UV light, the harmful component of sunlight. Of course, there is still the light that reflects off surfaces so there will be ambient sunlight from around the curtain. But that's far less damaging than direct sunlight.

Of the two evils, sunlight and heat, sunlight is the more damaging. Ideally though, one should keep heat down as well. A fan will not help to do that. Fans work through two processes: evaporation and convection. If you're wet from perspiration or from getting out of a swimming pool, a fan cools you by evaporation. But as your LEGO doesn't perspire/get wet, evaporation doesn't work. A fan also cools you (or anything that generates heat such as a motor) down by convection as you (or the object) heat(s) the air around you (it) and the fan moves the hot air away. But LEGO doesn't generate heat, so a fan won't help that way either.

The blackout curtains will help keep the heat down. If it's still hot, you might want to consider an air conditioning unit. However, AC units are expensive to buy and run, and damaging to the environment. 

How hot does it get by your west-facing window? Is it in an attic or roof space which are generally hotter than lower floors? As you're in NL, it shouldn't get that hot except possibly for a few weeks in summer.   

     

  

Edited April 20, 2021 by AmperZand

[maramsp]

11 hours ago, AmperZand said:

 

The blackout curtains will help keep the heat down. If it's still hot, you might want to consider an air conditioning unit. However, AC units are expensive to buy and run, and damaging to the environment. 

I Already have an AC. But its for my sleeping room only as the drain hose broke in half and now it isnt long enough anymore to be functional in the other rooms.

11 hours ago, AmperZand said:

How hot does it get by your west-facing window? Is it in an attic or roof space which are generally hotter than lower floors? As you're in NL, it shouldn't get that hot except possibly for a few weeks in summer.   

Indeed, couple o weeks in the summer only. Last year, i didnt had blackout curtains yet, and the maximum temp i had in my whole appartment, it was only 30 degree celcius (86F) and then only after it was heating up outside so much, so that at night it couldnt go down fast enough. So even with that extreme heatstroke we had, it was only 30 degrees :)

So i presume now with my blackout curtains, it should go lower than that isnt it?

And my west facing window is in a room on the second floor. In dutch we call that first floor because we call the ground level begane grond (ground floor) but in english it is the second floor :) So basicly (lol) i have to go up one stairway when i enter the hall of the appartment complex to reach my appartment.

But besides using an AC, is there anything else that i can do to preseve my LEGO?

[AmperZand]

On 4/21/2021 at 12:36 AM, maramsp said:

I Already have an AC. But its for my sleeping room only as the drain hose broke in half and now it isnt long enough anymore to be functional in the other rooms.

Indeed, couple o weeks in the summer only. Last year, i didnt had blackout curtains yet, and the maximum temp i had in my whole appartment, it was only 30 degree celcius (86F) and then only after it was heating up outside so much, so that at night it couldnt go down fast enough. So even with that extreme heatstroke we had, it was only 30 degrees :)

So i presume now with my blackout curtains, it should go lower than that isnt it?

And my west facing window is in a room on the second floor. In dutch we call that first floor because we call the ground level begane grond (ground floor) but in english it is the second floor :) So basicly (lol) i have to go up one stairway when i enter the hall of the appartment complex to reach my appartment.

But besides using an AC, is there anything else that i can do to preseve my LEGO?

Unfortunate about your AC's hose being broken and therefore not long enough. Can you not repair it with duct or gaffer tape? 

A couple of weeks of 30C per year isn't too bad. I doubt it will make a measurable difference to the condition/life of your LEGO.

I think you may be confusing North American culture with English culture. In England, where I live, the street level floor is also called the ground floor. That's true in the rest of the UK, Ireland and South Africa too. It's supposed to be that way in Australia and NZ as well, but not always. In the US and Canada (and possibly elsewhere in the English-speaking world), the street level floor is called the first floor. 

How many floors are beneath yours is not that important (unless you live high up in a skyscraper but you don't and that's a different matter anyway). What's important is how many floors are above. Specifically, whether you are on the top floor. Top floors are hotter in summer. The difference can be up to 10C.

One strategy for preserving your LEGO is to try and figure out which parts are likely to become rare in future and to buy back-ups of them through Bricklink or Bricks and Pieces while the parts are current and therefore not too expensive. Then, if in years to come your LEGO discolours or cracks, you can replace common parts inexpensively and the rare parts from your spares. Some of my extra parts were pretty reasonable when I got them and are now shockingly dear.     

[maramsp]

On 4/22/2021 at 7:40 PM, AmperZand said:

Unfortunate about your AC's hose being broken and therefore not long enough. Can you not repair it with duct or gaffer tape? 

A couple of weeks of 30C per year isn't too bad. I doubt it will make a measurable difference to the condition/life of your LEGO.

Might do that, but even then, there is a hole in the door too, and to use the hose for other rooms in the best way possible, i have make a hole in the outer doors of them rooms too. Maybe i could figure something out and make something out of wood, so i can use the opening/closing windows. But that is not a top priority, as what you said is true, couple of weeks per year its above 30c here, and ofcourse I will close the curtains when its hotter outside than inside, and also ofcourse, I will open the curtains and open all doors and windows (as long as im home anyway) when its colder outside than inside. So all in all, its not so bad. 

I also strongly consider to persuade my housing association so that i could build in an AC that covers all rooms. I do rent the appartment though, but that is not an issue for me, as i see myself not moving out soon. And because i detest heat, and like cold, even the expensive cost of a built in AC is worth it to me. But it is a long term plan, and also the housing association is not giving in yet. So we will see what the future brings in this case.

I only needed to know if lego can stain some heat for a couple of weeks per year, cause otherwise, i had to think of something where i then could showcase my collection.

Speaking about the collection, it is slowly growing at the moment. I have finished the hogwarts express, am close to finishing the big hogwarts castle, last weekend I bought attack on the burrow on sale on the other side of the country, tomorrow the quidditch match is to expect to land at my doorstep, and in a month from now i'm planning to buy Diagon Alley, while in the summer I want to purchase Hogsmeade and other stuff, also non harry potter:)

On 4/22/2021 at 7:40 PM, AmperZand said:

I think you may be confusing North American culture with English culture. In England, where I live, the street level floor is also called the ground floor. That's true in the rest of the UK, Ireland and South Africa too. It's supposed to be that way in Australia and NZ as well, but not always. In the US and Canada (and possibly elsewhere in the English-speaking world), the street level floor is called the first floor. 

How many floors are beneath yours is not that important (unless you live high up in a skyscraper but you don't and that's a different matter anyway). What's important is how many floors are above. Specifically, whether you are on the top floor. Top floors are hotter in summer. The difference can be up to 10C.   

I was not sure about the system used in other countries. But to keep it simple, there are 2 more floors (and a small attic) above me. So even while the showcase room is facing west (which means full sun in summer in the afternoon) I dont think it doesnt matter that much, because of blackout curtains, trees that are full in leave that are blocking the window a bit, a fan (or later ac) in the room, and the fact that LEGO is (i think) premium quality, so it should withstand some heat as long as its not continiously.

On 4/22/2021 at 7:40 PM, AmperZand said:

One strategy for preserving your LEGO is to try and figure out which parts are likely to become rare in future and to buy back-ups of them through Bricklink or Bricks and Pieces while the parts are current and therefore not too expensive. Then, if in years to come your LEGO discolours or cracks, you can replace common parts inexpensively and the rare parts from your spares. Some of my extra parts were pretty reasonable when I got them and are now shockingly dear.     

Any idea what method i could use to try to determine the parts that may become rare? For me it would be very hard, as I've "just started" with LEGO. 

And speaking about bricklink. Is that a site that sells "new" sets, or is it like an Amazon, ebay (or Marktplaats in dutch) for LEGO where people easily can sell their LEGO as second hand products?

And lastly, im quite curious which parts that were. And what they had cost back in the days and what they cost now :)

Thank you btw, for your extensive reply. I really appreciate that :)

Cheers, Mara

[AmperZand]

On 4/27/2021 at 10:43 PM, maramsp said:

{1} Any idea what method i could use to try to determine the parts that may become rare? For me it would be very hard, as I've "just started" with LEGO. 

{2} And speaking about bricklink. Is that a site that sells "new" sets, or is it like an Amazon, ebay (or Marktplaats in dutch) for LEGO where people easily can sell their LEGO as second hand products?

{3} And lastly, im quite curious which parts that were. And what they had cost back in the days and what they cost now :)

I have inserted numbers in squiggly brackets just to make it easier to answer. 

1. That is an impossible question to answer with certainty. Even LEGO's designers don't know absolutely what will/won't be produced in the long term. As a general rule though, parts that have limited use, are only briefly available, only come in expensive sets, are available in infrequently used colours or have theme- or character-specific print are more likely to become rare. Parts that are components of a joint such as a hinge sometimes become rare when LEGO figures out a better way of achieving that articulation. Similarly, parts that are constituents of a sub-system such as railway tracks (part of the rail sub-system) can become rare if/when the sub-system is discontinued. 

If you look on Bricklink at the time a part has been produced, the number of sets it has appeared in and the commonness of its colour, you can get a pretty good idea if it will still be around in a few years.

2. Bricklink is the main secondary market for LEGO enthusiasts. It is a peer-to-peer online marketplace and in that sense is like Ebay, but in other ways is different from it. Bricklink is owned by LEGO.

You can shop for parts there - which is what most people use it for - or for sets. Both parts and sets can be new or used and will be marked as such.

Bricklink is not the easiest site to navigate and find what you are looking for, but because it catalogues almost all parts by set, year, theme, function and colour, you can get parts there you could never find on Ebay.

Also, the sellers on Bricklink are AFOLs themselves so tend to be far more honest than on Ebay. I have had hundreds of good experiences buying on Bricklink but only a handful of bad - and none that were outright swindles. The same cannot be said of Ebay. If you find a seller with good feedback on Bricklink (300+ positives), you can be pretty sure of good service.

Unlike Ebay, each seller sets their own terms, so there may be packing fees, Paypal fees, different payment methods and postage speeds/costs - all of which you need to check on the seller's Bricklink store before placing an order. Being based in NL, you will have access to sellers across the EU with limited fuss.

If you are after a part that isn't available in the EU or not available for a reasonable price, try sellers in Hong Kong. I have found them to be very accommodating with surprisingly reasonable postage to Europe.

3. A few examples of rare parts that I have that are up to10 times more expensive now than when I got them include the red wizard's hat in this picture. It was only ever a test piece and never appeared in a set. Mine is in mint condition.

I have a dark bley elephant, also in mint condition. The one pictured is from Bricklink. Mine is the same one. Its price on Bricklink might come down as official images have just been released of a System elephant coming in summer 2021. 

The original Fluffy that I use as Cerberus. Mine is mint. Picture from Bricklink.

The legendary System goat. I got the only set they came in when it came out and have kept the two goats in perfect condition since then. Picture from Bricklink.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2021 by AmperZand