Sticky Bricks

[WesternOutlaw]

Here's the situation:

I recently ordered a Classic Town set MISB - paid way too much for it, but that's another issue.

The set was in a new box but rather faded, almost as if from sun damage.

The bags were all sealed and the pieces were shiny and new upon opening.

The problem:

When building, the pieces are extra tight, almost brittle. Most of the time, LEGO is a hard plastic, but soft when building. In addition, the pieces in the set are hard to take a part. As an example, just placing a cap on a minifig and trying to pull it off, the whole head comes off with the cap.

Is this sun damage? or perhaps heat that has caused the pieces to become "sticky".

Has this happened to any of you with old sets?

This is my first, and I'm wondering if I can do anything to remedy, as I like the set a lot.

[baby]

I face this situation before. The bricks become sticky after a year I keep them MISB.

But only they are sticky not that tight. My set are not expose to sun though.

[CP5670]

What year is this set from? The pieces from about 1987-1990 simply have a very strong grip, much stronger than modern bricks.

I've seen all of the things you describe on many sets from that time period. It's normal for that era and if you keep using the bricks (or just keep the set built), their gripping power will drop over time to more reasonable levels.

[WesternOutlaw]

What year is this set from? The pieces from about 1987-1990 simply have a very strong grip, much stronger than modern bricks.

1996

[avoidz]

When you said "classic" I was also thinking a Town set from the 1980s.

Not sure about your 1990's set, though.

[CP5670]

1996

That's interesting. The clasping power of bricks had been reduced a lot by 1996, although it was still significantly higher than today's level, if that is your basis for comparison.

What set is it? Do you know what country it's originally from? (the catalog it comes with may give an indication) I have noticed a few differences between the American and European sets I have, but I don't have enough of both from any given year to say anything for sure.

[WesternOutlaw]

I have sets from the late 70s which don't have this problem (many of which were out in a hot garage and/or storage for years), but never had this problem.

This particular set, Crocodile Landing, is a US set (at least I think it is from the US), and I've never had such a "tight set" - through Ebay or Bricklink purchases. It's the strangest thing.

[CP5670]

One person in the Lego quality thread did mention seeing a 1997 set like this, one that I also have and haven't seen anything unusual with. The location difference is the only thing that comes to mind.

I have a number of "tight" sets that are exactly as you describe (6394, 6395, 6990, 8862, 8865, etc.), but they are all from the 1987-1990 period I mentioned earlier, and they are all from Europe or Asia. I think sets earlier than that don't have this issue, although I only have a couple and can't say for sure.

The faded box cover is caused by prolonged sunlight exposure but that shouldn't affect the pieces inside. If anything, I think heat will loosen the bricks' grip.

[Front]

...

When building, the pieces are extra tight, almost brittle. Most of the time, LEGO is a hard plastic, but soft when building. In addition, the pieces in the set are hard to take a part. As an example, just placing a cap on a minifig and trying to pull it off, the whole head comes off with the cap.

...

This example only tells me that the fit of the cap on the head is too tight compared to the fit of head on the torso. That sound like bad quality in dimensions, either on the cap or on the head. If it was like that, had you opened it back in '96, is a good question.

I know that old bricks (don't ask me from which year), have a different feeling compared to new ones. I've tried it when building with 2x4 bricks, when the old ones are fitted together in a construction, it will squeeze when the construction is twisted, like there is a different kind of friction.

[The Who]

When building, the pieces are extra tight, almost brittle. Most of the time, LEGO is a hard plastic, but soft when building. In addition, the pieces in the set are hard to take a part. As an example, just placing a cap on a minifig and trying to pull it off, the whole head comes off with the cap.

I've seen that situation uncountable times.

It's normal for that era and if you keep using the bricks (or just keep the set built), their gripping power will drop over time to more reasonable levels.

Not necessarily, that doesn't work all of the time.

1996

This would make me think heat. A lot of heat can cause the bricks to soften a little, and possibly just slightly change shape. Or if it became very cold after being very hot, that could harden up the bricks and make them brittle.

This example only tells me that the fit of the cap on the head is too tight compared to the fit of head on the torso. That sound like bad quality in dimensions, either on the cap or on the head. If it was like that, had you opened it back in '96, is a good question.

Could be.

One major reason I think it is heat is because of this:

• *I purchased a MISB Watto's Junkyard last year, and when I opened it, the bricks were absolutley amazing in how new they were. The owner had kept it in a cool steady-temperature basement.
  *All of the other sets that came from this guy were also brand new, and had no problem whatsoever.
  *Of my smoke free collection and others I have seen, my sets tend to stay like-new, in a steady-temperature room.
  *Some of my friends keep their set higher up in their house, and the only a few years old sets/bricks start to become brittle and tough to build with.
  

[CP5670]

Not necessarily, that doesn't work all of the time.

It did seem to work on some of the sets I mentioned earlier. The 8865 is not nearly as bad today as it used to be when I first got it, although that was back in 2001. Maybe it just takes a long time.

Since we're on the topic, there was one strange set I got a few years ago with the opposite problem, a used US 1988 copy of 6990 (not the one I referred to earlier). The set was opened but the pieces were seemingly in perfect condition, with no scratches or yellowing whatsoever. The pieces were also from the correct time period (molding marks on side, etc.) and had not been substituted from a newer set. However, the gripping strength of all the pieces ranged between average and very low, a big departure from all the other late 1980s sets I have. Some of the small 1x2 plates would barely hold together at all. I ended up replacing many of the basic pieces in it and it's in much better shape now, but I never understood what could have caused this. I still keep the weak pieces around as they can be useful in some situations.

Edited October 1, 2009 by CP5670