CopMike Posted February 21, 2017 Posted February 21, 2017 This question was asked by another Ambassador over at the Ambassador forum: Quote Can anyone explain the difference in these two - besides the obvious of holes and not holes? And the answer from Jan Beyer: Quote Hi all, now I got the answer - actually the LEGO brick without holes is the newer version and the one with holes the older one so it is not to save any material or similar. :-) It is actually to improve the quality as it has been in the past the case that the pins broke easier with the hole in the pin (which was necassary to improve the surface of of the brick and prevent marks from depression) but this is now not necessary anymore because of improved procedure in moulding. So now the pins can be solid to improve their stability. We still have older moulds in production so you will likely encounter both version for still some time. Quote
Slegengr Posted February 21, 2017 Posted February 21, 2017 Is this the same case with plates? I was under the impression that the sets I have from the late 80's and early 90's came with plates without the pin holes, while sets I have from the late 90's and newer had the pin hole. I am just curious, as I have quite a number of sets resorted from old collections that I do not consider complete until the plates match what they should be. Is there any way to know what style probably came in a set? I also thought that bricks from the 80's and 90's sets had no pin hole. Did this start out without the pin hole, then shift to including the pin hole, then shift back to no pin hole? I know I have bricks in the pre-2000's shades (particularly light gray 1x2 bricks in castles) without the pin hole. Maybe I am just being too much of a perfectionist with my old collection, but I would like to know. Quote
Capparezza Posted February 21, 2017 Posted February 21, 2017 40 minutes ago, Slegengr said: I also thought that bricks from the 80's and 90's sets had no pin hole. Did this start out without the pin hole, then shift to including the pin hole, then shift back to no pin hole? I have mostly bricks from late 80ies to early 90ies and they all have NO hole down there. I was wondering, too, if they switched mold 2 times. Seems like that is indeed the case. Quote
KlodsBrik Posted February 21, 2017 Posted February 21, 2017 Interesting. And it definately does make sense with improved and more advanced production facilities and method´s. Thank´s @CopMike . Im always interested in knowing these small thing´s about how LEGO ( as well as other companies ) improve their products. Quote
rodiziorobs Posted February 21, 2017 Posted February 21, 2017 (edited) Those holes are nice, though, since they can accomodate accessories such as feathers and flame pieces and the like. It's nice to know that these kinds of odd questions do have answers. Edited February 21, 2017 by rodiziorobs Quote
MAB Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 It still doesn't answer the other question of ... when built, even though nobody can see the holes, why do some of us insist on not mixing up the different types? Quote
Slegengr Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 21 minutes ago, MAB said: It still doesn't answer the other question of ... when built, even though nobody can see the holes, why do some of us insist on not mixing up the different types? I have no problem mixing them in the MOCs I build, but I am particular when I am checking the completeness of a classic set. For a collector's item, I want the set as exact to the original as possible. For general building and creativity, the holes make no difference unless I can use them for some texturing or appearance purpose. Quote
CvS Posted September 3, 2024 Posted September 3, 2024 On 2/21/2017 at 4:14 PM, Capparezza said: I have mostly bricks from late 80ies to early 90ies and they all have NO hole down there. I was wondering, too, if they switched mold 2 times. Seems like that is indeed the case. ...so, does anyone know the answer? Did TLG switch two times (for plates)? On 2/21/2017 at 3:30 PM, Slegengr said: Is this the same case with plates? I was under the impression that the sets I have from the late 80's and early 90's came with plates without the pin holes, while sets I have from the late 90's and newer had the pin hole. I am just curious, as I have quite a number of sets resorted from old collections that I do not consider complete until the plates match what they should be. Is there any way to know what style probably came in a set? I also thought that bricks from the 80's and 90's sets had no pin hole. Did this start out without the pin hole, then shift to including the pin hole, then shift back to no pin hole? I know I have bricks in the pre-2000's shades (particularly light gray 1x2 bricks in castles) without the pin hole. Maybe I am just being too much of a perfectionist with my old collection, but I would like to know. No, you're not too much of a perfectionist! I want to know too. And have my classic sets (Town, Space, Castle, Pirates) as complete and correct as possible. Quote
Stereo Posted September 3, 2024 Posted September 3, 2024 (edited) 1 hour ago, CvS said: ...so, does anyone know the answer? Did TLG switch two times (for plates)? A quick survey of my loose 1x2 bricks points at it being a pretty specific era, maybe 2005-2010, of having the hole on that part in particular. None of the 'old colour' (light grey, brown) have it, some reddish brown and medium blue ones with an older underside printing style do have it, and then the ones with the most current underside (extra (C) LEGO, newer font) don't have the hole. 1x2 plates seem to have the hole only on the 'newest' of those three, but longer plates have had them for a long time - quickly found examples of 1x4 and 1x6 plates from the '90s that have the holes, and current ones still have the holes. I've noticed this before and I'm pretty sure some of my '90s sets came with mixes of 1x6 that do and don't have holes. I think maybe I determined it based on having some set with a majority of my red 1x6 plates in my collection at the time, but the hole/no hole being too close to 50-50 to supply everything. Edited September 3, 2024 by Stereo Quote
JesseNight Posted September 4, 2024 Posted September 4, 2024 For plates, my sets from the 80s all have no holes, while in the early 90s (give or take) they suddenly started getting holes. For bricks, I don't recall ever having seen them with holes. Quote
LegendaryArticuno Posted September 6, 2024 Posted September 6, 2024 On 2/21/2017 at 9:10 AM, CopMike said: This question was asked by another Ambassador over at the Ambassador forum: And the answer from Jan Beyer: The real answer is cost cutting, given economies of scale (millions of produced bricks) the less amount of plastic used represents significant savings without impacting the structural integrity of the piece in a material way. Quote
Toastie Posted September 7, 2024 Posted September 7, 2024 On 9/6/2024 at 5:18 AM, LegendaryArticuno said: The real answer is cost cutting, given economies of scale (millions of produced bricks) the less amount of plastic used represents significant savings without impacting the structural integrity of the piece in a material way. Yes, could very well be. "Real answer" or not ... or do you have TLG input on this? If so, that settles it. If not ... ... ABS is not concrete. As far as I am concerned (and yes, I don't know anyone in TLG Valhalla, just speculating ) - I believe the hollowed out stud is a little more "giving". The solid stud is - well - solid ... But what do I know ... All the best, Thorsten Quote
MAB Posted September 8, 2024 Posted September 8, 2024 Isn't it down to reducing the maximum thickness in a part? Thicker parts take longer to cool. Thinning the thickest part means slightly faster processing times so more parts can be produced. Quote
Mikdun Posted September 8, 2024 Posted September 8, 2024 The thickness reduction is too small to really influence cooling time. Material saving _may_ be the answer but I don't believe it. For me the most likely reason is to add just a bit more flex to the connection. Quote
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