How is your collection aging?

[aol000xw]

I was looking at your -huge- collections in the Photos of your Technic collection / setup thread and I was wondering how do your sets endure the years on display?

I no longer have any Technic on display as recently I recycled my quite dusty Technic and put back most of my Star Wars back on display after a couple years on storage -most of it stored built-. There is some serious washing to be done, currently my Death Star parts are drying over the moderate heat of the aquarium lights. Shuttle, Millenium Falcon and Imperial Star Destroyer still in parts waiting for a wash. ISD gathered some serious dust after beign on display for more than a decade and Rebel blockade runner is not only dusty, stickers and rubber bands desintegrated. Decoloration does not seem to be a problem thougth.

The Technic beams structure of ISD is somehow defective. Over the years the beams proved to be unable to support the weight and those in the front are bent.

I did nto find any problems with my Technic sets besides dust, but I do not apply stickers on those, Mindstorms cables on the other hand were rotten and the copper exposed.

So what about your sets?

[DrJB]

I do not apply stickers and store them away from light. This makes it easier to wash the display sets ... warm/hot water takes care of the dust. All the plastic seems fine. However, I have a large box full of tires and some of them are 'blooming'. No, those are not flowers. The rubber used for tires often has some mineral oils added for processing. After a while, the oils migrate to the outer surface of the rubber and give it a whitsh/residue look. Theis is what is referred to as 'blooming' in the rubber/tire industry. Typically though, it is easy to clean with some alcohol.

Now, you mentioned that your sets are left to dry next to an aquarium light ... Can you tell a bit more about the aquarium, size, type, and inhabitants? I got a 72G reef, with softies, LPS, and a well behaved chateodon collare ...

Edited January 24, 2014 by DrJB

[aol000xw]

/Off topic:

Is a 350L ¿92G? freshwater. it was an african cichlid tank with tropheus duboisi happily breeding but in my previous moving I had some problems and most of my fish died.

Now there are just a few SAE, and loachs. Missing my mouth breeders so not sure what I will do, but I am not ready yet to make the jump to saltwater .

[TinkerBrick]

Recently i took apart my studded technic set that had been on display on shelfs for many years before they were stowed away in card boxes (assembled). When the were on display i just showered of the dust once every year or so.

Now took them all apart, showed the parts in pillow cover with zipper (together with a few micro fibre cleaning cloths) and put it with my laundry in the washing machine (40°C, color detergent).

Works great, almost like new.

Unfortunately, it doesn't cure the yellowed white rims and bricks of my 8880.

[DrJB]

Unfortunately, it doesn't cure the yellowed white rims and bricks of my 8880.

Yes ... having the same issue with the 8480 shuttle parts ...:(

[Doc_Brown]

I have 8250, purchased from ebay, built once before and displayed. Seems to be going well but the pneumatic hoses are permanently swollen where they connect, and I'm guessing would pop if too much pressure is pumped thru.

[Gee]

I get that too. 8868 has been built, re-built and on display for months at a time and whilst the white bricks are still white, the hoses have the same stretching around the joins.

I've also noticed that the tyres on 8865 have mis-shaped a bit. They seem to be coming away from the rim and in some areas have actually stuck to the rim where some of the "stuff" that's in the rubber has seeped out over time. These tyres are of course a different construction entirely to the newer ones.

[Rufus]

/Off topic:

Please use Personal Messenger for this sort of thing. Thanks!

[jantjeuh]

I don't keep anything assembled for more than, say, 1 or 2 weeks. For me, the fun in (Technic) Lego is in building, not in displaying or 'playing'. After 'display' I then break them down into parts and store them into dust-free containers. Hence, the state of most of my Lego parts is great :p

Edited January 25, 2014 by jantjeuh

[miguev]

Now took them all apart, showed the parts in pillow cover with zipper (together with a few micro fibre cleaning cloths) and put it with my laundry in the washing machine (40°C, color detergent).

Works great, almost like new.

THANK YOU!!! Greatest cleaning tip ever, now my 20+yo pieces are no longer sticky and disgusting, they're fresh and a pleasure to touch!

[Paul B Technic]

I normally sell my sets before they have time to lose colour / get dusty :(

[grum64]

Better than me!

[Peppermint_M]

Fine, for about ten years now the whole collection is in the loft away from natural light, so no UV. The already aged bricks are no worse and I am careful to avoid print damage.

The worst that I have to contend with is a little (very weak) salt from our Victorian bricks and mortar house. It is only as bad as dust really.

[dr_spock]

My 30+ years-old assembled stuff seem to holding up good. There are some discoloration on the whites pieces. The stickers on the newer 8258 crane truck are cracking though.

[Freekysch]

I keep all my sets on display and i do not have any problems with them, i keep them far away from sunlight and i must say that all the stickers are in perfect shape, even on my 8285 set that has been assembled for some years.

[Zerobricks]

I only have the 41999 on display and so far no problems with stickers, or suspension sagging, but I did take out the batteries so they dont leak.

[Chills]

My oldest set is the yellow castle and up until last year it was in a box, in my childhood closet. I went back home and picked up all of my old LEGO. I'm really impressed at how well the set and the mini figures have held up. The stickers are a little worn on the edges, but they are still holding strong. Only a couple of the red mini-windows have cracked, but the rest of the pieces are in perfect shape.

[iamwhoiam]

My collection is relatively new so the only problem I have is some dust! I use a compressed air canister to dust them.

[AmperZand]

My 30+ years-old assembled stuff seem to holding up good. There are some discoloration on the whites pieces.

Same for my old stuff. My white dolphin and polar bear are a little creamy but really not too bad. I keep them and the rest of my display collection in the dark. I could re-whiten the creamy parts using hydrogen peroxide + Vanish Oxi Crystal White + sunlight as I've done for some used parts but they're not discoloured enough to warrant it.

The place I keep my display collection isn't very dusty. Occasionally though, I clean the exposed parts using a very soft make-up brush.

I only have a couple of stickers in my display collection and they seem to be holding up just fine. I'm not a big fan of stickers and only use them when absolutely necessary.