Friction? Joints

[8BrickMario]

I've had some extreme frustration with my Gali figure from the new lineup. None of the joints work well on her or other CCBS parts. All of the joints are quite weak, making figure posing a nightmare due to a lack of balance. When I threw a custom figure I was making with her parts, it quite literally exploded across the room, which is not a good sign. Is this an isolated incident or a problem with the molds?

(If this thread does not need to exist, please merge it wherever necessary.)

[Voxovan]

That sounds weird. I've never had this problem with my Gali set (or any other CCBS figure). Try putting just a tiny tiny bit of glue on the balljoints, it should make them stiffer.

[Mandate]

Yeah, I keep having this problem too. Not quite as severe, but there's been a loss of friction on many of my pieces. All of my black upper leg bones are nearly useless now

[8BrickMario]

Mine were like that from the start. The limbs just kept twisting and collapsing no matter how hard I tried to pose my figure. It's a shame because these are supposed to be sturdy, but when it's a massive undertaking just to get a figure to stand up and stay up, there's a problem. I'll see what I can do about it, but it shouldn't be happening.

[VBBN]

I've never had any issues with CCBS parts becoming that loose. They loose some friction after a while, but nothing that affects structural integrity of a figure.

Although throwing figures across the room probably doesn't help anything.

[mysteriouspi]

Can't say I've had any problems with them, though my CCBS parts are lightly used compared to others.

Honestly, my problem has been the opposite: some of the friction extender pieces have been TOO tight to the receiving balls. Pull a leg off Tahu fairly often because of this.

[DraikNova]

Yeah, I've only ever had mysteriouspi's friction joint problem. Your problem is very weird, and I'd suggest contacting LEGO's customer service helpline.

[Robin Creations]

The gray lengthening pieces work fine for me, but the bones tend to pop off of those fairly easy.

But I must ask, why were you throwing Bionicle around?

[8BrickMario]

Because I attempted to stand the figure I was working on. Didn't happen, and I still don't know where that other foot flew off to. It's weird, hearing about these other situations. Perhaps I got a dud?

[TheOneVeyronian]

What you're describing doesn't sound normal. My CCBS bones only go like that when they have been used for quite some time, especially when they are load-bearing joints (those carrying considerable weight, like the legs, or a gun arm or something like that), and they usually only go loose when small cracks develop after frequent use. But even so, it's very rare, I've only had to replace 2 bones on my self-MOC in over 3 years due to this (and I use it a lot). The friction joint problem where the bones pop off due to too much friction is far more common for me (it's very annoying).

I suggest you (and anyone else with similar defective bones in their 2015 sets) to contact LEGO Customer Service (preferably by phone) about the problems you're having since it sounds like you might have a defective set, and they might be able to help you. They might send you replacements of the defective bones, but you may have to send the defective ones to them so they can do quality testing themselves. CS should be able to advise you on this. It's not normal for the bones to lose friction like that in a set that's less than 6 months old.

Hope this helps

[The Kumquat Alchemist]

Though not to the degree described here, I too have experienced this with older sockets; their clutch power definitely decays with use.