Preventing Figure Crack?

[ks6349]

7 hours ago, MAB said:

That has 20 large panels and a raised baseplate. Four horses and 12 minifigures. Those large parts take the place of many smaller parts of today. Take a look at any 450-550 part set of today and they look way smaller than that 30 year old set.

but compared to the economy and GDP over 30 years, LEGO is still now cheaper than those time

[Spectator2285]

On 7/1/2019 at 4:49 AM, MAB said:

Not for minifigures they haven't. The "greener solution" parts are used in botanicals, https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news-room/2018/march/pfp, mainly softer polythene parts. Although polythene made from sustainable sources is the same chemically as polythene from oil based sources.

Ok, good to know 

[Redroe]

Hi chaps. Realise this is an old topic but has anyone experienced that certain colours are more prone to cracking? Darker colours like dark green and dark brown (but oddly not black) seem to go much sooner than tans and whites. And these are on figs that have been displayed only, and not in the sun.

[AmperZand]

@Redroe I don't know about minifigures, but at one point, LEGO had a problem with dark red cheese slopes and 1 x 1 tiles cracking the instant they were put on a stud. The problem was rectified by LEGO which changed the formula for dark red. 

[Brickity]

Hi, new to the topic but I have some things to say. I’ve kept my older LEGO stored in my parents house back when I Iived with them (Dark ages, college blabla)

I started collecting lego again last year after 5 years in a different city, but due to the COVID crisis it was best for me to be with my parents again (I left my new bricks safe with someone) 

This city I came back to is VERY hot and humid, it’s located at the very south of the state next to the gulf of Mexico and just below Texas (Tamaulipas); I’m about 15-20 minutes away from the beach. My lego pieces have been stored in a dark closet for several years in what used to be my room, but my dad has been working with his computer on a desk there even before I left for college so the room has been kept cool most of the time (all day at least) The room has a moderate temperature even without the air conditioner on; there is no direct sunlight. My newest pieces and minifigures from that collection have been kept like new (2010-2013) and I even have some from 2002-2006 with like new printing. The thing is, they’re stiff as f**k, and now they are snapping! Hips, torsos, etc, in a way I never thought would be possible. They are so brittle! This is a nightmare since I did what I thought was best, and now very valuable minifigures are becoming trash, just like that. I’m so mad, for a moment I feel like I even regret spending so much money on LEGO.

I don’t know what to do, is there a way to make the bricks less brittle so they don’t snap? A way of loosening up minifigure joints?
 

 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Otherworld

[koalayummies]

I think temperature should be disregarded as a factor and doesn't need to be mentioned. Lego is molded at around 450ºF. Its safely assumed that ones Lego collection isn't subjected to outdoor Mojave desert summers or buried in Antarctic snow. So the majority of Lego around the world is probably kept somewhere between ~60-80ºF (15-26ºC) year round and thus extreme temperature isn't really a factor.

If the primary concern is for ones minifigures is their value then perhaps they should be stored untouched or sold off before they break.

[Brickity]

What about humidity? What makes minifigures become incredibly stiff? And how can I avoid pieces from becoming brittle? There are some minifigure parts that aren’t thaat stiff, but I can sort of hear them creaking once I’m separating the legs from the torso for example.

[koalayummies]

No idea how humidity affects the plastic. I do agree that over time many of the parts seem to become more stiff. I have a whole bunch of figures and bricks from the 90s that regardless of whether they are left connected or not the clutch power (something Lego has reportedly altered over time) does indeed feel stronger than the plates, bricks and figures of today. The older Lego were also colored pellets whereas now the pellets are colorless and Lego adds the color at the time of molding; one of the manufacturing changes (for the better IMO).

[Redroe]

On 5/20/2020 at 8:23 PM, Otherworld said:

Hi, new to the topic but I have some things to say. I’ve kept my older LEGO stored in my parents house back when I Iived with them (Dark ages, college blabla)

I started collecting lego again last year after 5 years in a different city, but due to the COVID crisis it was best for me to be with my parents again (I left my new bricks safe with someone) 

This city I came back to is VERY hot and humid, it’s located at the very south of the state next to the gulf of Mexico and just below Texas (Tamaulipas); I’m about 15-20 minutes away from the beach. My lego pieces have been stored in a dark closet for several years in what used to be my room, but my dad has been working with his computer on a desk there even before I left for college so the room has been kept cool most of the time (all day at least) The room has a moderate temperature even without the air conditioner on; there is no direct sunlight. My newest pieces and minifigures from that collection have been kept like new (2010-2013) and I even have some from 2002-2006 with like new printing. The thing is, they’re stiff as f**k, and now they are snapping! Hips, torsos, etc, in a way I never thought would be possible. They are so brittle! This is a nightmare since I did what I thought was best, and now very valuable minifigures are becoming trash, just like that. I’m so mad, for a moment I feel like I even regret spending so much money on LEGO.

I don’t know what to do, is there a way to make the bricks less brittle so they don’t snap? A way of loosening up minifigure joints?
 

 

I have never seen a failure as extreme as that. A single hairline crack generally, which sometimes causes the arms to flop a bit if it gets that far. Most of my worst ones are in that date range of 2010 ish. 

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

On 5/20/2020 at 5:44 PM, koalayummies said:

I think temperature should be disregarded as a factor and doesn't need to be mentioned. Lego is molded at around 450ºF. Its safely assumed that ones Lego collection isn't subjected to outdoor Mojave desert summers or buried in Antarctic snow. So the majority of Lego around the world is probably kept somewhere between ~60-80ºF (15-26ºC) year round and thus extreme temperature isn't really a factor.

If the primary concern is for ones minifigures is their value then perhaps they should be stored untouched or sold off before they break.

How about temperature swings, though? Big swings between hot and cold temperatures can cause thermal expansion and contraction, which can result in changes in stress in pieces that are assembled. Such a cycle of stress could, in my mind, conceivably result in failure by fatigue.

[MAB]

On 5/20/2020 at 10:44 PM, koalayummies said:

 

If the primary concern is for ones minifigures is their value then perhaps they should be stored untouched or sold off before they break.

I don't think that is what he was saying. I read it as the minifigures cost a lot of money to buy and are falling apart, and would be (even more) expensive to replace, rather than that this is some sort of valuable treasure to make money from in future.

[Redroe]

Me again. So here I have a Tusken Raider fresh from terrorizing Obi Wan's hut (a great little set). He's been out the box for maybe three weeks and decorating my Covid 19 home work bench. Now in that time my one year old has got his fingers on him occasionally and delights in pulling off his head. I'm OK with that but what appalls me is that both the dude's arms and one side of his torso are split, right up to the shoulder socket. There is no possibilty of the baba causing that damage with his tiny hands (Tusky hasn't been holding his gaffi stick - I notice that figs holding props are more susceptible to prying forces). It can only be a poor quality issue, and I am thinking of emailing TLG about it, not because i want a replacement but more to register my disappointment.