Inconsistent color within a set.

[colinrichardson]

I've bought two copies of the 9396 helicopter over the past few months. Both have had yellow pieces in two noticeably different shades- one is more blueish and one is a bit warmer. Interestingly the colors are consistent across part types: all of the A type short panels are one shade and all of the B type short panels are another color. Is this a common problem? I've done some searching and couldn't find any mentions of inconsistency within one a brand new model. I've taken a photo to try to show the difference- it doesn't come through as distinct as it is in person.

http://i.imgur.com/zQniVmh.jpg

[Someonenamedjon]

Maybe some pieces over heated

[Bricktrain]

Yes it is common with yellow and red also. It hasnt been as bad lately as it was a few years ago though.

[Paul Boratko]

I have my red parts all sorted out and then have my 2 colors of red parts sorted out... What a pain...

[Paul202]

Mwahaha, the occasional joys of being colorblind.

[CornUponCob]

Yeah, I noticed quite a difference between the yellow 9 liftarms and the 11 liftarms in the 42006 Excavator. Kind of annoying.

[Phantom59]

Try doing plastic military models 100 differnt shades of the same colour is the norm and that on new equipment just out of the factory

[drdesignz]

Yeah... my big hot rod was fifty shades of yellow :P

[merman]

It is ever worse with the softer plastics. Like the axle joiners part 6536 in red and yellow. Some are see-through...

[cgg199]

Mwahaha, the occasional joys of being colorblind.

Normally it's a bad thing, but with my Lego, I don't have this colour problem, because I too am colour blind.

[stan_the_man]

I had the same problem with the yellow panels on the arm of 8043 - 2 panels were normal yellow, but 2 were lighter and almost see through.

Haven't found much difference with any other colours though

[Timoonn]

This is because Lego buys the plastic from differents society's. This follows the overall drop in quality of parts. I find it shameful that Lego does not care about color consistency with the profits they make. The third beam shows an ugly trace of molding. The worst thing is to have the two variants of yellow in a single set, the model emerges ugly.

for me, the concerned colours are yellow, white, red and light gray

[hrontos]

This is because Lego buys the plastic from differents society's. This follows the overall drop in quality of parts. I find it shameful that Lego does not care about color consistency with the profits they make. The third beam shows an ugly trace of molding. The worst thing is to have the two variants of yellow in a single set, the model emerges ugly.

I am not sure that this is true. Source of plastic is the same, but in last years they switch to transparent platic, that is colored later by adding pigments and that results in batches you see. Each part is done by different machine and therefore also color mixing may vary. Of course it is acceptable only to a certain level. There are many bussineses facing this problem. My daughter built a beach house from the creator series and it has also this problem with the blue - it is very visible on those flat walls. But it is supposed to be a building toy and not a perfect modeling set so the level is still acceptable - and not even spoted by kids.

To get closer to this unavoidable reality, we have added this as an automatic feature to LDD to POV-Ray Converter - differently shaped bricks have slightly different shade of the same color.

Edited March 30, 2013 by hrontos

[Erik Leppen]

I find it shameful that Lego does not care about color consistency with the profits they make.

It's a bit of a stretch to go from "it is not perfect" to "they are not caring". The first indicates the existence of (what could be) a problem - but you seem to equate that to Lego not wanting to solve the problem. Of course, you can't just say such a thing.

Edited March 30, 2013 by Erik Leppen

[Timoonn]

It's a bit of a stretch to go from "it is not perfect" to "they are not caring". The first indicates the existence of (what could be) a problem - but you seem to equate that to Lego not wanting to solve the problem. Of course, you can't just say such a thing.

These problems are recent (5/10 yrs), and are the result of the quest for profitability. Its the results of a purchased cheaper plastic, of less complex molds (and therefore more visible marks, stripes), etc..

[Edwin Korstanje]

I have the same problem's whit almost any colours .

I make big studless moc's and than you see it with any colour and specialy, red, blue, yellow, white and even whit black.

At the photo you can see it whit mine RPA 15 whit the normal blue and they are all brand new.

[hrontos]

These problems are recent (5/10 yrs), and are the result of the quest for profitability. Its the results of a purchased cheaper plastic, of less complex molds (and therefore more visible marks, stripes), etc..

First of all the source of the problem probably is the fact, that 10 years ago they used precolored plastic so the batches were much bigger. They received colored pellets from the plastic suplier. And they mixed different batches of pellets to get better color consitency. Now they color transparent plastic so batches are smaller and therefore differences appear more often which makes it more anoying.

[Someonenamedjon]

First of all the source of the problem probably is the fact, that 10 years ago they used precolored plastic so the batches were much bigger. They received colored pellets from the plastic suplier. And they mixed different batches of pellets to get better color consitency. Now they color transparent plastic so batches are smaller and therefore differences appear more often which makes it more anoying.

Dang it lego, y u use color transplant?

[hrontos]

Some interesting info on this issue can be found here.

[DarkShadow73]

I have noticed this on the helicopter as well, I only own 1 copy but it still looks odd if you get close to it. I have noticed more striking differences in reds like Blakbird alluded to, some are brighter than others. When I built an 8285 Tow Truck years ago I noticed this as the frame is almost all red underneath, but since most of the model is covered in black it wasn't a huge deal, you notice it more if you build the b model tractor/trailer. That's why I really love models with black parts, no differences in color shade, but most everything that has been released in the past few years has been yellow/red.

On a different slant, I bought 2 copies of set 8053 Mobile Crane back in 2010 and built each model of the set. I had 2 1x13 yellow beams that had the end of each one without a full hole, just a 1/4 to 1/2 enclosure, almost like the mold didn't complete the last hole. At first I was pretty upset because I thought what good are these? Quality control, eh Lego? Luckily I looked ahead in the directions and figured out what more 1x13's I needed and was able to use them. I bought both sets from about 60 miles away and I sure didn't want another 120 mile round trip, plus I was skeptical that there may more sets that had that issue since I bought them the day the were released at TRU.

To sellers though, even if you sell a set that is sealed, you have no idea if this would have been an issue until a buyer and this shouldn't be held against you since you don't know what's inside, and very occasionally there may be a part or two missing, this happened when I bought 3 8436 Trucks back in early 2005. It was short a couple dk grey perpendicular axle joiners with 2 pin holes for the grappler attachment. Luckily I had 4 of them in black so I substituted them instead, but still...

Edited April 1, 2013 by TechnicFreak

[therealjustin]

I have noticed these color variations in the past(2010-present sets) but when I tore down a used 8420 I bought today the differences in some of the 1x3 thin liftarms is staggering. Half are bright red and the other half are darker and less saturated. They almost appear brown in sunlight! The two 1x9 red liftarms also exhibit this difference but they are not as bad.

The seller said he built the set once and just left it so I don't think anything has been switched. Everything looks brand new save for the expected layer of dust.

Edited May 17, 2013 by therealjustin

[Doc_Brown]

I really first noticed it on the Unimog, all those different shades of orange, Kinda ruined the biggest set ever!

At the moment I have a huge collection of dark bluish grey plates from all over the world. Putting them together is a real pain as I have to blend from lightest to darkest.

I really hope they improve this soon.

Some interesting info on this issue can be found here.

Thanks for that! I now feel "informed". So there was a great war in 2004!

Yeh I missed that....

[aqaz]

Even back in the 70's you got slight differences, set to set, particularly with red.....

​However, in reality there are slight differences in paint batches for 'real' items.... And.... Red Lego, paint, plastics, whatever, are particularly prone to UV fade, as are other colours but most noticeably red.

So, if you build a MOC including old parts you are going to get shade differences, even from one side of a brick to the other.... But.... If you get a real vehicle wing resprayed you have the same problem, even with paint from the same tin the original painting was done with.....

In Lego as in life, you just have to live with it.... If this is a huge worry to you.... Don't do Lego ! One must remember who Lego's target customers are, they basically don't give a s*** about using any colours mixed up in the same item.... It's only us adults who care.

(But get a good look at the colour consistency of other 'popular, cheaper, construction systems' before you go off in a huff.)

The thing that makes me smile most is someone complaining about a barely perceptible shade difference spoiling the 'realism' of their model when they are perfectly happy to include an engine without cylinder heads and no windscreen in their truck. (By the way, why include wipers when you have no windscreen?)

[Meatman]

I've been noticing a lot of strange almost orange/yellow colors popping in some of the newer sets up that I think are supposed to be yellow.

[Doc_Brown]

I've been noticing a lot of strange almost orange/yellow colors popping in some of the newer sets up that I think are supposed to be yellow.

Really? can you show a picture of that please?