Does Storing Lego Sets Assembled Cause Them to Lose Clutch Power?

[Deathleech]

The title says it all. I searched for a topic like this but was unable to find anything.

I am wondering if leaving Lego pieces/sets assembled causes them to lose their clutch power over time? If so, does it come back when you take them apart? Currently I have all my LotR and Hobbit sets assembled and displayed in glass cabinets. I have all of my Lego minifigures lined up on base plates and stored in containers. I keep them all assembled because I am anal and worried they will get scratched up if I just throw them all in a tub together, or break them down and store them by parts in a jumbled mess. At the same time though, I noticed on the minifigures especially that they seem to be losing a lot of clutch power in their feet where they are connected to the base plates. This makes me wonder if all the pieces are losing it being assembled for extended periods of time.

[Prairie]

Googling lego stored assembled lose clutch power yielded these, among others:

Storing parts "in click"

Can clutch power increase over time?

Storage and Sorting LEGO

How do you maintain Clutch on Built Sets?

Does longterm storage in a connected state harm the studs/tubes?

Edited June 9, 2015 by prairie

[Deathleech]

Thanks for the links. Most of those didn't show up when I did a search on the Eurobricks forums because they didn't have the necessary tags.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

I would be weary of moisture and temp fluctuations. Right now I have moved my built sets and new to a new storage location, hopefully for the last time, to the basement of my building. The room was an old paper file storage room and was quite musty due to the paper holding in humidity and heat. Thankfully after a couple of dehumidifiers, fan, removal of old carpet pieces, and some caulking and paint, it seems quite habitable

[Ondra]

I have displayed some system models probably for ten years and yes I can see some lost of clutch power, pieces are little weak.Its nothing serious, thankfully there arent any cracks.

Im interesting if same scenario after decade can maintain megabloks .

Edited June 9, 2015 by Ondra

[Deathleech]

Since the original question seems to already be answered for the most part, I have another about the rubbery pieces (mostly seen on the CMFs). Will this rubber crack and degrade over time since it's not the hard ABS plastic? Will it lose it's clutch moreso than other parts? I already noticed it has very little clutch power as is, and that's on brand new pieces.

[dr_spock]

I have a fire station set on display for over 30 years. The fire trucks rubber tires are not cracked but harden. Over the years some of the chemical leeched out of the tires and etched the baseplate. It left sunk in tire marks on the plate. I do not know if the same chemicals and rubber are used in the CMF rubbery pieces. It is hard to say if those CMF rubber pieces will perform the same long term. Or if they need to be treated from time to time.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Im interesting if same scenario after decade can maintain megabloks.

I can do you one better. If you can give me a couple days, I can find my MegaBloks skate park sets in storage. They have been assembled since 2000. I'm pretty sure the parts that held together well, new, still have the same clutch power

Edit: While those sets never had great clutch power, especially 1x1 round bricks, flags, and other odd shaped parts with few stud points, they still feel and come apart with as much effort as they did when I built it so long ago. They even made it through a 5 mile UHaul ride through the hills, snow, and any bumps inside large, plastic totes with no tie down straps intact

Edited June 11, 2015 by LEGO Guy Bri

[TheLegoDr]

^It's official. Megabloks is the future!

I have seen some older styles of brands that have really good clutch. But since I haven't purchased any non LEGO brands since the 90s, I don't know how they are now.

I do have King's Mountain Fortress that has been built since the early 90s. I put it into storage still built and took it out a few years ago. I hadn't noticed any cracks. I also didn't take it apart to check clutch on a lot of the pieces, but the few I did take off had good clutch still.

[Prairie]

I have a fire station set on display for over 30 years. The fire trucks rubber tires are not cracked but harden. Over the years some of the chemical leeched out of the tires and etched the baseplate. It left sunk in tire marks on the plate.

I bought an old set recently and the tires had melted the plastic as well! Gallery of close-ups of the damage.

[Master_Data]

Since the original question seems to already be answered for the most part, I have another about the rubbery pieces (mostly seen on the CMFs). Will this rubber crack and degrade over time since it's not the hard ABS plastic? Will it lose it's clutch moreso than other parts? I already noticed it has very little clutch power as is, and that's on brand new pieces.

My old tires hardened and then cracked. Other rubber pieces have degraded (printing has faded).

[HawkLord]

I think the only rubbery parts I'm worried about are Smaug's wings... I'll have to treat those.

[dr_spock]

I bought an old set recently and the tires had melted the plastic as well! Gallery of close-ups of the damage.

Makes you wonder what kind of solvents were in the tires back then and their MSDS information.

[Deathleech]

I think the only rubbery parts I'm worried about are Smaug's wings... I'll have to treat those.

What were you thinking of treating them with?