latest lego quality standards

[Jurss]

As I'm really dissapointed, I will post this here.

According to latest lego quality standards, all these colors are the same.

except these type of connctors

decpite, that is visible, that some panels are in the same color, as that connector, f.i. that 2L part on hedrest on right side.

This is official answer

Quote

Dear Juris,

Thanks for getting in touch with us.

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you. We're a lot busier than expected and emails are taking a little longer than usual, but we're working hard to get responses to our fans ASAP!

I’m terribly sorry to hear that you’re unhappy with 2 LEGO® sets; 42107 - Ducati Panigale V4 R and 42115 - Lamborghini Sián FKP 37. I am aware of your frustration and disappointment as these are by no means a cheap set and obvious color variation leaves little to be desired.

Our team is always trying to create and make new and great products for our fans while at the same time preserving raw materials and be as eco-friendly as we can. Due to the manufacturing methods, it’s possible that some slight variations in color between batches can happen.

The team has reviewed all the elements included in the 2 sets and have found that one of the elements, an axle connector (6308234) in the Lamborghini Sián FKP 37, doesn't meet our color quality standards. We're committed to making products that meet the highest quality standards, so we're sorry for letting you down.

We could arrange to send new axle connector for replacement and would just need you to provide your delivery address to do so.

I understand that this is not what you'd expected when you’d ordered a LEGO set and we appreciate that you took the time to express your feedback so that we can make it better for all our fans. We’ll continue to work harder as we remain resolute in our commitment to you to having a great building experience and hope that you give us another chance to regain your trust.

Thanks for your understanding, take care and stay safe! (:

-

We want to make sure we're doing a good job for you, so you’ll always find the link to a four-question survey in our emails. Please tell us how we did today: LEGO Survey link

Please let us know if you need anything else.

Kind regards,

LEGO® Customer Service

 

Maybe I need to burn it on city centra square, as some real car owners had done with poor quality cars?

 

 

[Void_S]

It's a common situation now - I have heard about 10 (at least) such complains, and TLG always sent the parts replacements tot he customers.

Sad, that it happened but they are trying to change it, as I see.

[Gray Gear]

"slight variations in colors" bro I am partially colorblind (real problems with anything involving red&green) and even I can see some of these are not the same color, so it cant be that "slight" 

Edited January 21, 2021 by Gray Gear

[Jurss]

18 minutes ago, Void_S said:

and TLG always sent the parts replacements tot he customers

Yes, they offered to me to send some few connectors, even at the same time whole car is like from some perekup and car went trough Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine "workshops" before and then landed in Russia (most of those natilaity reprasentatives ar nice people). You know what that could mean for real car.

[1gor]

1 hour ago, Gray Gear said:

real problems with anything involving red&green

So you are fan of CLAAS and Fendt 

I have noticed similar with "rare" colors in smaller sets, but since I bought them just for parts didn't pay to much attention and differences are not such...

[LvdH]

I messaged them back in June, I got almost exactly the same reply, but in Dutch. 

[MajklSpajkl]

What quality standards?! 

Regarding colours - reddish brown - cracking like a frozen forrest 

[Collibosher]

I'm not too bothered by the color variations (maybe it's because I mostly end up building with black/white ) but the parts breaking after using them like once is so sad, I don't think I have a single post 2010's technic part with axle hole that's not broken. When I was a child, I remember it was devastating to have a broken lego part, but it almost never happened. I can literally remember every single lego part that got broken in my childhood, because it was so rare (minifig motorcycle handle, 6X16 plate, axle hole from a wheel) You would think that as an "adult" you would have less or no broken legos...

[MinusAndy]

It almost looks like the mould surfaces are different, one much more matt. Maybe they need to change out their mould tool more frequently. Those variations are what you expect from Chinese copies, not a 350 quid high end set.

[nerdsforprez]

13 minutes ago, Collibosher said:

I'm not too bothered by the color variations (maybe it's because I mostly end up building with black/white ) but the parts breaking after using them like once is so sad, I don't think I have a single post 2010's technic part with axle hole that's not broken. When I was a child, I remember it was devastating to have a broken lego part, but it almost never happened. I can literally remember every single lego part that got broken in my childhood, because it was so rare (minifig motorcycle handle, 6X16 plate, axle hole from a wheel) You would think that as an "adult" you would have less or no broken legos...

+1 ............times a thousand times. 

I was going to make a post about this very issue but didn't because I know we have discussed this before.  Time and time again.  

But now I think the floor is open for a little venting and story.  And this is coming from someone who usually is a Lego apologist.  So maybe it carries more weight.  Or perhaps not.   Perhaps I need to create a whole new thread for this. Perhaps not.  Either way, here it goes. 

I also care less about color variations.  'nuff said.  

But as to the quality of parts..... I have readily made public than in the last year I have moved.  New home, had to move collection, etc.  As I am working on my Lego room and unpacking old sets, I am noticing the same as @Collibosher .  Many of my sets I an dismantling b/c I don't care to display any more and I can really examine each piece.  I would easily say that 25-50% of my pins have lost some of their stick. Many barely stay in pinholes.  70-90% of the my connectors (like that shown by @Collibosher are cracked.  Thin lift arms?  Yup, probably 50-70% are cracked.  To just name a few.  There are certainly other culprits.  All sets are in the 2010-present time frame with the majority just after 2015.  On average I would say 5-6 years old.  That is NOT a long period of time for sets that often I paid in excess of 200 USD for.  

If the vision and philosophy of Lego is to build and rebuild, create rather than assemble then this is a gigantic problem.  If the vision and philo. is to assemble and leave on shelf then it is not as big of deal.  But we all know what Lego is SUPPOSED to stand for.   Former rather than the latter.  THerefore IMO the lack of quality, or simply the decrease in ABS because of changes to element molds is  a huge problem.  Tie this with very high prices and you have a concerned customer.  Again, this is all coming from someone who has served as a Lego apologist for years.  My enthusiasm for the product is waning.  This is especially concerning to me because my enthusiasm for the concept, interlocking blocks, is increasing.  I have more time to hobby and build than ever before, and I am loving it.  

I do not want to derail the topic - but that being said, the decrease in quality in tandem with the outrageous prices for Lego leaves customers wanting.  And with Lego copy-cats on the rise and flourishing, this seems to me all the more concerning.  Just saying.....

[onzenuub]

And not to mention the missing of 1 or more parts in a set. I ordered 8 sets the last year. 42078, 42099, 42096 and 42107 missed at least 1 part. Ok, they did send it for free.

[syclone]

Oh wow, so now this colour mess is within standard 

I'll have to triple the aforementioned issue about connectors, most of my collection is from the last 10 years, and it is... perishing before my eyes basically. 

Some culprits I especially hate:

- 2L thin liftarms: they lose their grip after a few uses, I had some even slide almost freely on an axle  

- perpendicular connectors: I don't think I have any left that aren't cracked on the axle hole

- pins: they seem to be extremely fragile, I seem to find at least one that doesn't fit well any time I build. This does not apply to the old (BLACK) 3L pins however.

- thin liftarms: axle holes get a crack in them after a few uses. 

Something I am wondering greatly about are the thin liftarms however, never had an issue with the thin liftarm ends of this or this part, yet the thin liftarms by themselves break often.

In regards of colour inconsistency, for me it goes as early as 2006, with my first set - 8281. It had a 7L beam and 2x 90 degree connectors (#6) in red, and these two parts had a very distinct shade of red.

[dr_spock]

I recall LEGO talking about that colour variation when they did that LEGO House Virtual Open House event last year. They have two suppliers of colorants. They can also end up with differences depending on the temperature of the extruder and how long the mixture sits in there. Color additives can change the properties of the plastic like reddish brown.

Speaking of reddish brown, my 42114 is short two 3L reddish brown axles with stop. I subbed two 3L bley axles from my collection. We'll see how well that works...

 

[falkn]

Color variations don’t bother me that much in general but I can agree that it’s an issue in a set and color like the Sian. I will say though, that I have sets going back to -94. I recently rebuilt my 8480 and I’ve had very little issues with parts breaking. Probably 2-3 in total and I’ve never had a set miss a part. I have thought so numerous times though and every time they’re left in a bag in the trash or on the floor...

[Glaysche]

My collection is not as old as some here but I have not seen parts breaking nearly as much as is being reported here.  I have a couple ideas.  Maybe different manufacturing plants are producing different quality parts?  Some people (or even whole regions of the world) are unlucky and getting poorer quality parts?  Another thought I have is that exposure to sunlight might cause the plastic to get more brittle.  If models are on the shelf in the sun, could that cause the parts to degrade and break more often?

[howitzer]

Just now, Glaysche said:

My collection is not as old as some here but I have not seen parts breaking nearly as much as is being reported here.  I have a couple ideas.  Maybe different manufacturing plants are producing different quality parts?  Some people (or even whole regions of the world) are unlucky and getting poorer quality parts?  Another thought I have is that exposure to sunlight might cause the plastic to get more brittle.  If models are on the shelf in the sun, could that cause the parts to degrade and break more often?

There is indeed something like this going on. Since the end of my years of darkness I haven't had any part breaking and only a handful from my childhood. All the aforementioned part types are perfectly usable, almost as good as new. So I guess there really is a factory that's outputting poorer quality parts or some other such factor that causes some people to experience a huge amount of quality issues while others experience almost none.

The colour variations on Sian are inexcusable though.

[ifilin]

Last weekend have built with son Pimp up version of Lamborghini, where some lime parts were changed to another colours.

I see that variations of lime and disappointed too. Thought about change, but see Lego answer. :(

 

[LvdH]

1 hour ago, Collibosher said:

These kind of parts have been getting renewed recently. You can tell by the glossy finish. Only time will tell if they are as weak as the old ones though.

[Collibosher]

10 minutes ago, LvdH said:

These kind of parts have been getting renewed recently. You can tell by the glossy finish. Only time will tell if they are as weak as the old ones though.

They should do a redesign, and make the axle hole section thicker, similar to what they are on lift arms. I know he current design allows for example placing the 8 and 24 tooth gears closer, but I think the compromise would be worth it.

[Andman]

I have 100k+ parts and sets from as early as 1989. There have always been color (even black) and size variations. But i can't say when it started. First time i noticed that was with the set 8421. But i never noticed differences within one set. First time i noticed color variations in within one set was the 42114. It's this parts:

There seems to be a pattern. The Ducati had as far as i know color issues with a similar part:This part was significantly darker than for example the panels. Same applies for the Lambo, which had even more parts with color variations.

Der Held der Steine, german Youtuber and shop owner, mentioned an interesting detail during his review (link with time stamp, english auto generated subtitles are available but do not makes sense sometime, but you'll get what he is saying) of the a set from Cada, which also contained the red connector i mentioned before. They seem to be identical, as if they are coming from the same molding form...

The part I'm complaining about in my 42114 just looks like a foreign body in the set. It has a different surface, different color, different edges, sharper compared to sets from earlier years. I do not expect to have consistent colors across may years. But at least within a set, should be the minimum quality standard. If, I'm paying premium prices, then I'm expecting premium quality.

[nerdsforprez]

1 hour ago, Glaysche said:

My collection is not as old as some here but I have not seen parts breaking nearly as much as is being reported here.  I have a couple ideas.  Maybe different manufacturing plants are producing different quality parts?  Some people (or even whole regions of the world) are unlucky and getting poorer quality parts?  Another thought I have is that exposure to sunlight might cause the plastic to get more brittle.  If models are on the shelf in the sun, could that cause the parts to degrade and break more often?

Another theory is the amount of stress that might be on parts.  Admittedly, many of the sets I have taken apart are very large Technic sets that weight quite a bit.  My last dismantling was of a 7 axle, 5,000-ish piece size (same scale as our beloved Grove 6400 crane)  set.  Many broken parts from that set which as mentioned, admittedly might be because of the stress on the parts.  

 

[suffocation]

5 hours ago, Jurss said:

as these are by no means a cheap set and obvious color variation leaves little to be desired.

Looks like TLG's communication standards have plummeted, too.

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by suffocation

[2GodBDGlory]

2 hours ago, syclone said:

- pins: they seem to be extremely fragile, I seem to find at least one that doesn't fit well any time I build. This does not apply to the old (BLACK) 3L pins however.

Interesting! I have had only a few blue 3L pins break, but about half of the 20 or so old black ones I have are broken one way or another! I still use them, though.

[Jurss]

I've never had missing part in sets (40 technic sets, 4 creator expert, 88 system sets for kids), very few broken parts, mostly by my fault I may say. Until this siān I didn't had any complains about lego.

I need to check again, I didn't took photos when building, also instructions for siān was with some issues. There where step where I add one part, I think one 3L pin, but it was missing from further steps, but it was needed there. In another step there were some parts in front of others, where in previous and next steps they were in correct places. Box with instructions are now in the attic.

They were really in hurry with that siān, and when someone is in hurry, then quality decreases. In this is good example. It is just bad, that they don't recognize that.

8 hours ago, Andman said:

The Ducati had as far as i know color issues with a similar part:

Yes, that was the first "signal". But that was not so critical for me, as difference was not so noticeable, and those were just few connectors.

[Bartybum]

I wonder how much of an effect the ambient temperature has on the stiffness and strength of the pieces.

9 hours ago, Andman said:

Der Held der Steine, german Youtuber and shop owner, mentioned an interesting detail during his review (link with time stamp, english auto generated subtitles are available but do not makes sense sometime, but you'll get what he is saying) of the a set from Cada, which also contained the red connector i mentioned before. They seem to be identical, as if they are coming from the same molding form... 

I very much doubt they're both from the same mould, as wherever CaDA sources its parts from (Go Bricks or inhouse) seems to struggle with the tolerances on that type of connector.

I can also confirm that the dark red connector colour issue isn't exclusive to Lego. I have CaDA's Centenario and the red connectors it has are also darker than other red pieces that come with the set. I highly suspect it's due to how thin the walls are.

Edited January 22, 2021 by Bartybum