Factory moulding error Black Seas Barracuda, mast piece 4844 - Any interest?

[SImmony]

I'm not a frequent poster on Eurobricks, but I recently acquired an incomplete 6285 Black Seas Barracuda from a bought lot. I noticed during assembly that the base mast piece (4844) in fact has a factory error. The round part of the piece is rotated 20-30 degrees to the right, making it impossible to connect the brown mast rigging pieces from the side. The middle mast section sits at an angle too. Please see the following pictures:

Mast alone: 

 

Trying to use it as the set is supposed to work:

 

It's 100% a genuine Lego piece. I've tried finding anyone else with this type of mast piece, but found nothing. No sellers on bricklink have notes on any deviations of this piece at all, so I assume it's rare. I tried turning the mast part but it doesn't budge, making me conclude it's not been rotated by force from before. Please correct me if I'm wrong and this piece has been damaged in some way or appears in official sets.

I know factory errors in general are rare, and even rarer for such old pieces in prominent sets, so I guess for now this piece will be a little oddity of mine, but if anyone would be interested in the piece let me know in this thread or a message! 

 

I'm not a frequent visitor of these forums, so I'll check back in a few days at most! Thanks for reading!

Edited December 2, 2021 by SImmony

[1974]

It's not uncommon. I've had at least five out of +100 parts. The mast is not twisted, it's the top notches that are misaligned

Cheers,

Ole

[SImmony]

1 minute ago, 1974 said:

It's not uncommon. I've had at least five out of +100 parts. The mast is not twisted, it's the top notches that are misaligned

Cheers,

Ole

Strange how there are none like it on Bricklink then, if this was common I'd expect them to be available there very cheap. Any suggestions on what to do with the piece?

[1974]

I dumped mine in the trash. I may be worth noting that I got a lot of those directly from Billund via an ex-employee (who worked in the design department). I know the subject have been discussed at the BL forum but those messages have now been purged

11 minutes ago, SImmony said:

Strange how there are none like it on Bricklink then

I've had them for a number of years before I found out. It was only when I started building I notced so some could indeed be for sale on BL

[SImmony]

9 minutes ago, 1974 said:

I dumped mine in the trash. I may be worth noting that I got a lot of those directly from Billund via an ex-employee (who worked in the design department). I know the subject have been discussed at the BL forum but those messages have now been purged

I've had them for a number of years before I found out. It was only when I started building I notced so some could indeed be for sale on BL

Certainly sounds like getting them from the design department could play a role, those might've not passed QA in the same way regular sets did. In general if this was as common as you experienced wouldn't it at least be information on Bricklink's item page that this can occur? Can't think of any other pieces with regular factory errors that make them unusable in their designated sets. I can't imagine throwing away the piece though.

I'll wait and see if some other Pirates fans have encountered this error in regular sets etc. or randomly gotten any off of Bricklink. 

[1974]

This part is not uncommon to find with the hinge missing. It props up on the BL forum from time to time

Edited April 17, 2021 by 1974

[Mister Phes]

2 hours ago, SImmony said:

I noticed during assembly that the base mast piece (4844) in fact has a factory error.

If this were a coin this error could make it very valuable!

[Dreamweb]

I've had the exact same problem with one of my BSBs. Just don't push the upper part all the way down into the lower part; the rigging pieces should hold it in place anyway.

[GeoBrick]

Never seen such a mast with misaligned notches, but from the looks of it, it might be a good piece to connect a lateen-type sail to.

 

[oneillseanm]

I discovered the exact same problem with the same mast piece for my 6270 Forbidden Island. In this set, the twisted notches prevent the brown mast rigging / rope net pieces from connecting properly to a base plate. I kept thinking I was crazy or missing something. I also wondered if the twisted notches were a feature intended to give sails in ship sets an expressive turn to the side. I discovered the problem in my own set just a couple days after you posted here. Funny timing!

[1974]

So, not that uncommon ...

[Trelfar]

I know this thread is a little old but I'm glad I came across it as I also thought I was going crazy, since I have one of these masts too. I even considered whether it was an alternate part but it is embossed with 4844 on the underside of the base so no mistake about what part it is supposed to be.

In my case it's in a 6274 Caribbean Clipper set that I originally received as a child and recently got back out of storage - however, it's possible it was originally from a BSB as my brother had that set and the parts might have been mixed up. I'm 99% certain both sets were regular retail purchases in the UK and not from any unusual source.

[PxChris]

I've come across at least two of these lower mast pieces with the misaligned notches in my collecting journey. It's a very annoying error!