Lego Pirates Decal and Weapon Problems

[curtisrlee]

Hi, I searched but found no topic like this one (even though i'm a horrible searcher)

I noticed some fading gold decals on the 2009 Pirates line and the Muskets and Swords seem to wear more easily than the pistols

The Gold:

On the left is a old torso, on the right is a newer one. Notice how the Gold button is faded...

Same with Brickbeards...

Edit: Also note that the faces are a bit off too

However my Imperial Admiral (or Governor), Which is as old as the old soldier shown above,

is unaffected...

Same with this one, he's supposed to have some gold trimmings but they're gone

Now for the Weapons:

It's a bit hard to tell, but you can tell that the Muskets and Swords are made out a weaker plastic than Pistols. Its like a softer kind and wears more easily than other stuff which are made out of ABS Plastic

Try this: Get a Musket (or Cutlass) and a Minifig. Insert the Musket (or Cutlass) into the minifig's hand, then take it out, then insert it again for about 10 times. Then get a Pistol (or a stick) and do the same.

God pray no none else created a topic like this

Edited November 3, 2009 by curtisrlee

[Captain Genaro]

Are any of these from the tic-tac-toe, I herd these have poor qualitiy. Other than that, I got some in January and they have no damage.

[curtisrlee]

Are any of these from the tic-tac-toe?

No they arn't

[Captain Blackmoor]

We had a topic about the ink quality of one of the new pirates not long ago, but this is new for me.

It's sad to see the gold fading, it's also odd because my soldiers are still fine.

I do know the gold paint is another kind of paint then the normal colours, since there are shiny elements in the gold.

How long do you have those torso's?

For the weapons it is normal there are different kinds of plastic used. A pistol and a stick are robust elements and don't break often. A cutlass is much more fragile when it is made of hard plastic. As well for the musket.

[Spyder]

It's probably just the weak acid on your fingers that have slowly worn it off, and the Lego color gold is easier to wear off than all the normal colors.

[flipguy123]

THats odd, I got my soldiers fort about this time last year and my soldiers still look like new! You must really have fun with your figures if the gold is where ing off... But thats what legos are for, fun! (love the litte minifig heads!)

[BrickPerfection]

The issue with some weapons being made of softer material is as old as the pirate theme itself.

The color wearing off is something rather disturbing though, i've never heard of it before.

Since i don't play with my minifigs ( I have them for representative purposes) this problem isn't a very serious one to me, though i am quite concerned with quality issues getting more and more. Given that Lego did announce to produce in China in the future, I don't think it'll get better.

Also, surveys showed that kids don't care so much about quality, but their parents do care about prices! Now that Lego lost its patent, quality might get even less to lower prices, although this is pure speculation and will hopefully never happen.

Perfectionist

[Inevitable]

What? The gold decal faded? Oh my.

I guess I must play with my Redcoats more carefully then.

But is that possible?

[David Thomsen]

And my girlfriend wonders why I'm so excessively clean when I handle my Lego...

Curtisrlee, you have to explain the cirsumstances of these minifigs... did you hadn't them daily, did you leave them out in the sun and humidity, etc.

[General Armendariz]

Hmmmm, Thats real odd. I checked all of my new figs and they all have there gold on. What have you been doing

with them that makes them fade? To much sun? Playware? Heck, even my old Classic Space dudes still have the gold.

[Ratshot]

My Red Coats seem fine, as do all my figs with some form of gold.

Take David Thomsen's advice and give us some more info.

[curtisrlee]

Well I do make brickfilms with them

[Ratshot]

Well I do make brickfilms with them

Do you do anything crazy with them like leaving them under bright lights a lot?

[Swash Buckler]

Unfortunately new legobricks have these sort of problems- especially gold and silver colors can fade sometimes- fortunately my Redcoats are unaffected (yet) but my other favorite theme Star Wars uses silver color for lightsabers and Ahsoka's saber was silver until i put in in her hand one or two times and all the silver was gone from the hilt's "handle" however similar hilt from Mace Windu's saber have silver in it still -but even it is going to fade. Same with buttons i believe Edited November 2, 2009 by Swash Buckler

[curtisrlee]

Do you do anything crazy with them like leaving them under bright lights a lot?

Errrm, not really

[Rick]

Stop licking your minifigs!

I have one Brickbeard with a less 'full' gold print compared to my other Brickbeard, but that was an out-of-the-box difference and certainly not as bad as the example you show. I guess my advice would be to handle minifigs by holding them from the side (by their arms), because I can't imagine any other cause than grease/moisture from fingers. As been said before, muskets, but also ship rigging are made out of softer plastic and require some care/acceptance of more wear.

[Big Cam]

I really think it's just a wear and tear issue, constantly holding them or hansdling them will cause this. If they warm up at all, then combine that witha bit of rubbing and lik ementioned before all the grease on your fingers and you have a recipy for disaster.

I guess the only thing you cna really do is be careful and mindful when handling them. Always knowing what part you are touching, ans so forth.

[BlueBard]

Unfortunately it's not only a problem in Pirates line..., in the City line we have the same with gold parts in policemen torsos

[curtisrlee]

Unfortunately it's not only a problem in Pirates line..., in the City line we have the same with gold parts in policemen torsos

Yeah one of my policemans had that ploblem too

[Commodore Hornbricker]

Well I do make brickfilms with them

Doesn't that cause you to handle them hundreds of times to change position, etc. Maybe you should get a few spare stunt doubles. I have a large amount of the pirate figures. They aren't in the sun and they don't get handled often and they look good as new.

[David Thomsen]

Well I do make brickfilms with them

Phew... you had me panicking for a while. At the rate I handle them, it'll take my minifigs 100 years to reach the state of yours. And maybe not even ever, if I only touch the sides and continue to sponge moisture off my hands when I feel them getting damp.

Still it's disappointing, though. I really thought Lego was higher quality than that.

[Admiral Ron]

The End is Nigh!!!!!!! Yeah, like everyone said before that it is just probably just finger grease, but it still concerns me....

[Jack Bricker]

I don't think that this is a really a big deal. When I got my first chrome sword with the Royal Knights king it lost all of its color in a year. Also bricks that I have had since I was 6 are really faded. You just have to use common sense and wash your hands before handling them and they will last you forever. Another issue is how you store them. If you store any kind of brick that has chrome or gold paint on it the other pieces in the bin will scratch off the gold or chrome. Also if you store you bricks in ziplock bags or any other kind of plastic bags the chemical compounds of the bag and brick will interact in a bad way over time. The best way to store your chrome, gold, and silver parts is by putting them in a small separate container where they will not get a lot of sunlight or wear and tear from a lot of other bricks. The best way to store your other bricks is by putting them in guess what, plastic storage bins. You can get good quality storage bins from any fred meyer or home improvement store. P.S. Oh, a couple of other tips do not get your bins or legos from stores like Wal Mart because the stuff from there is usually lower quality. Also, you will want to make sure that there is some kind of air ventalation in the storage bins. Keeping them sealed up can cause big problems. These tips should work because this is how we in the action figure world store our action figures and they are made of a much cheaper plastic than lego bricks. Hope that this helps. 2nd P.S. I am a big Jurassic Park action figure collector as well as a big Lego collector so that is how I know so much about storing action figures.

Edited November 3, 2009 by bengun

[David Thomsen]

Ack! I keep everything sealed in ziplock bags. I always assumed this was the safest way.

Maybe if I punch holes in all my bags it'll be fine. Thanks for the tips, Ben Gun.

[Jack Bricker]

Ack! I keep everything sealed in ziplock bags. I always assumed this was the safest way.

Maybe if I punch holes in all my bags it'll be fine. Thanks for the tips, Ben Gun.

That should work for a while but, the real problem with plastic bags is that the softer plastics tend to be more finicky because they absorb more such as unpleasant odors, molds, dyes, and chemicals in the plastics themselves. This can cause obvious problems. I stored all of my legos in plastic bags too but, when I found out about this I began investing into nice plastic storage containers. I would have used wood or cardboard but I than found out that over time cardboard and any wood or paper related product releases acids which are not good for your legos either. Hope these editional tips help you as well.