Forresto Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Well it turns out the new glued magnets can be taken apart and used as actual lego mini-figures (cheap ones but still mini figures.). Link I think this will come as good news to many! Quote
prateek Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Hallelujah! Thanks for the link! Moderators pin this topic! Quote
JCC1004 Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 (edited) Do you think that this would work on the key chains? I have a bunch from when the headgear was glued to the head and would like to fix them. Edited January 2, 2011 by JCC1004 Quote
Sir Fred Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Really? Warm water? That simple? Did this seriously not get tried over the course of all the years of glued chess sets and such? Just goes to show that sometimes the best solution is ridiculously simple. This is excellent news, and it saves me having to experiment on the magnets and glue. Quote
vexorian Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 (edited) I wouldn't trust anything higher than 50 Celsius for minifig plastic. It does not happen all the time but I have experienced random decoloring and other nasty things with high water temperatures. Melting point is not necessary for issues to happen. There is a reason TLG recommend 40 Celsius... I guess 70 Celsius may not be that bad, but I would not be surprised if some plastic colors are more susceptible to damage than others. That said, I guess that if you want a minifig and not a magnet, possible damage is a risk you could take. Edited January 2, 2011 by vexorian Quote
Brickdoctor Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Hear that KDM? Your solvent of choice should be dihydrogen monoxide. Be careful! That chemical can be toxic and/or cause burns and other adverse effects when it comes in contact with human flesh. Honestly, I would never have guessed it. There is hope yet to own those expensive 'figs I don't plan to get in sets! Quote
XimenaPaulina Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Wow, that's some serious ingenious experimentation, literally going all the way trying all possible solvents to deglue the magnet - and came down to the simplest of solutions - hot water treatment. Hear that KDM? Your solvent of choice should be dihydrogen monoxide. Be careful! That chemical can be toxic and/or cause burns and other adverse effects when it comes in contact with human flesh. Hehe, it wasn't as complex as I though it would be. However, I did noticed something in this photo: the detached area in the minifig legs actually shows the bonding failure of the surface coating with the minifig leg, and not the bonding failure of the adhesive with the minifig leg. I can't really verify without physically seeing it for myself, but it seems based on the pic that it is not the adhesive/glue that failed during the hot water treatment, but the surface coating of the ABS plastic. Anyways, nerdy chemistry talk aside, this is truly great news to all of us who want to get minifigs via the magnet set route. Quote
Syn Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 I'm actually more surprised by the fact that they DIDN'T glue them before then I am that a Warm water treatment worked. Never the less I am still surprised by the face that they would use a glue that dissolves in a warm water bath. Quote
sologuy369 Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 i was at a Lego store the other day about to get the phorahs Quest magnets when i saw a sign saying that the minifigure is bonded together :(. thanks for posting this!! Quote
Henchmen4Hire Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 (edited) You could take a razor and cut the figure off without even using the hot water. (yeah it'll take a while though) Or use a dremel, just grind/destroy the magnet part and keep the figure intact. But if boiling it really works, then awesome. Not like it affects me, I can't find minifig packs anyway :/ Oh yeah, and why couldn't TLC just use a weak glue? lol Edited January 2, 2011 by DrNightmare Quote
Ceroknight Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Fantastic! But these figures are still made from different materials from normal ones? Quote
Omicron Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 You could take a razor and cut the figure off without even using the hot water. (yeah it'll take a while though) Or use a dremel, just grind/destroy the magnet part and keep the figure intact. Yeah those 2 options have a greater chance of wrecking the fig. Especially the dremel. -Omi Quote
Henchmen4Hire Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Yeah those 2 options have a greater chance of wrecking the fig. Especially the dremel. -Omi Not if you're careful. Quote
Omicron Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Not if you're careful. Well a dremel is definately not something I'd ever recommend using for removal. -Omi Quote
Brickdoctor Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Fantastic! But these figures are still made from different materials from normal ones? Even before the gluing, the 2nd generation magnets were China plastic. I'd assume they've stayed that way. Quote
simonjedi Posted January 3, 2011 Posted January 3, 2011 Real AFOLs remove the glue using their bare hands :P I don't collect the magnets, but its nice to have the info. Quote
Arigomi Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 Never the less I am still surprised by the face that they would use a glue that dissolves in a warm water bath. The minifigures are bonded to the magnet base using a solvent rather than a glue. Solvents work differently than glue. Solvent molecules have stronger intermolecular forces than the material they are acting upon. When applied to the ABS plastic, the solvent's intermolecular forces are strong enough to pull ABS molecules away from other ABS molecules, "melting" the plastic without heat. Many liquid solvents are volatile (they evaporate at room temperature). As a result, the "melting" of the plastic is only temporary and the plastic will resume a solid state once the solvent has evaporated. During this time frame, the minifigure is attached to the magnet base, fusing the "melted" areas where solvent was applied. The solvent evaporates and the section solidifies, becoming essentially one piece. There is no solvent residue left behind. The warm water bath works because the bonding site is structurally weaker compared to the areas that still retain strength from the injection molding process. Structurally weaker areas are more sensitive to temperature changes. The water bath "softens" the bonded areas so that you can pry them apart. Quote
Condor Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 Hmm, I wonder if this would work for those glued display models you see in stores. Those come glued from Lego don't they? I'm going to try this on a Vikings display I tried to take apart. Quote
Tanotrooper Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 This is certainly wonderful news but like the post above I have been thinking: does this work on everything LEGO 'glued' over the last couple of years? And more importantly, does it work on keychains? I'll try to find out myself although I don't have a thermometer for the water... TT Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.