Lego Quality Reference

[legotrainfan]

TLC sent me replacement parts. I also got new slopes since the ones in my Green Grocer came with a little crack. Unfortunately, the new slopes also have that little crack. TLC asked my to send them the two pieces with the misprint and the slopes. I did that. I also added a letter in which I stated that the new slopes they had sent me had the same flaw as the ones I orginally got in the Green Grocer. Let's wait and see how this will turn out.

Edited January 4, 2010 by legotrainfan

[CP5670]

I just put a golden trident in King Squid's hands for the very first time and I can confirm the problem with this piece. I've never had plastic shave off a piece like soft cheddar from a cheese grater before, but I have now. Wow. default_look.gif

I'll add a new entry on this issue. It would be useful to know if any other pieces are made of this type of plastic. I think the metal detector I mentioned may be one.

1. the good gear has slightly smaller teeth

2. the good gear has a slightly smaller outer rim

3. the good gear has a shinier look, especially visible in these holes

4. the bad gear has an extra layer in the triangular shapes round the axle hole

Maybe it was a bad batch, but these 2009 gears are aweful and slide of the axle easily

Thanks for the picture. TLG often makes small revisions to various parts and such changes aren't necessarily a problem, but if the new gears don't fit tightly on axles then that's not good. I'm not sure how well the thicker teeth will mesh with existing gears either.

Which sets did you get these gears in? I just checked my 8265 and 8263 and they have the normal type of gears.

TLC sent me replacement parts. I also got new slopes since the ones in my Green Grocer came with a little crack. Unfortunately, the new slopes also have that little crack. TLC asked my to send them the two pieces with the misprint and the slopes. I did that. I also added a letter in which I stated that the new slopes they had sent me had the same flaw as the ones I orginally got in the Green Grocer. Let's wait and see how this will turn out.

It will be interesting if they do anything about the letter. I think they will just send you more replacements without any explanation.

Has anyone else had this issue with the slopes in GG?

Edited January 5, 2010 by CP5670

[merman]

The loose gears I found in sets 8263, 8265 and 8258

now about the Green Grocer slopes. I checked mine (you mean the black 2x2x2 ones right?). They are not cracked but one thing struck me. ALL of them have the same scratch on the side going from a stud about 3-4 mm down. It has to do with the mold. My slopes are not cracked though.

Edited January 6, 2010 by merman

[ziljin]

The crossbow doesn't appear to be made of the same material as the Atlantis trident, but it doesn't seem to suffer from the same problem.

[Legoliner Pilot]

Today I received a fig from the Emerald Night off of Bricklink. Well, I think it is severely mis-printed:

(it's the one to the left)

The lipstick is below the mouth, the eyes are smaller and the eyebrows are a completely different shade than the normal female head.

[CP5670]

I picked up the two new SP3 sets a few days ago. The white in 5981 was still inconsistent, and it's hard to tell if they have actually done anything about that color. At this point, my feeling is that some of TLG's factories are producing good white while others are putting out the milky, translucent white. There were also two distinct shades of reddish brown in 5982, but it was obvious that they had been produced in different years. The smooth slopes were all the lighter shade and the textured slopes were all darker.

now about the Green Grocer slopes. I checked mine (you mean the black 2x2x2 ones right?). They are not cracked but one thing struck me. ALL of them have the same scratch on the side going from a stud about 3-4 mm down. It has to do with the mold. My slopes are not cracked though.

I think that was what he meant. I don't have that set myself, but I have seen this same kind of scratch on many other types of slopes. It does seem to be a molding mark of some sort.

Today I received a fig from the Emerald Night off of Bricklink. Well, I think it is severely mis-printed:

The picture is too blurry to make out the difference easily, but as discussed earlier there have been slight differences in printed parts for a long time, and minifig heads are no exception. In fact, I noticed that the first picture in this thread contains an example with the M:Tron guys.

Edited January 11, 2010 by CP5670

[Matn]

The lipstick is below the mouth, the eyes are smaller and the eyebrows are a completely different shade than the normal female head.

I don't know what's so wrong with that? I like it when I have some misprints like that. Not on special minifigures, though. I'm glad LEGO releases female minifigures but at this point most of them have the exact same print. With these little offsets and colour shades, these little imperfections can really help adding diversity to your female figures. So they don't look exactly the same. Am I the only one who thinks like that?

[ILikePi]

I was making a sort of "rug" with my Separatist Shuttle 1 x 2 dark blue tiles today (purchased in October 2009), and the dark blue color inconsistency problem is still in existence (3/17 of the tiles are darker):

Another thing I would like to point out is that my 2010 Star Wars battle packs have no slopes that suffer from smooth slope syndrome (SSS) except for the printed slope.

However, my Separatist Shuttle had 50% smooth slopes and 50% rough slopes.

Edited January 13, 2010 by ILikePi

[Seventh Son]

I've build a 8295 Telehandler recently, which, judging from stickers on the box, was originally sold in December 2008. And 2 out of 10 dark bluish gray Technic Triangles are semi-transparent. So dark bluish gray issues go at least back to 2008. Will post photos later.

[Seventh Son]

Here's a photo of good (left) and discolored (right) parts from 8295 set.

[legotrainfan]

I think that was what he meant. I don't have that set myself, but I have seen this same kind of scratch on many other types of slopes. It does seem to be a molding mark of some sort.

Yes, that's what I meant. I'm curious if TLC will respond.

[CP5670]

Thanks for the pictures, ILikePi and Seventh Son. It's always good to have hard evidence of these problems. In both cases the problem also concerns the exact same type of piece (1x2 tiles and Technic triangles), further highlighting the inconsistency.

That second picture looks especially bad. That third triangle looks worse than Megabloks and is something I would expect to see from the Chinese bootleg brands. I had actually never seen the problem with dark gray until now, but in that picture it looks worse than anything I've encountered with yellow or white.

[Svelte]

Dark bley has been variable for the last few years. It is especially noticeable with specialty parts with different thicknesses, such as the large 1x5x6 panels in use since 2007. In reviewing the new 7206 Fire Helicopter, Dr Sinister also reported that the dark bley part of the new nose assembly was very different from the usual colour:

Personally I've found it variable enough in normal pieces (bricks, plates, tiles) in the last 2 or 3 years that I've stopped noticing (I try not to buy sets with too much dark bley anyway.

[Zarkan]

Probably has been mentioned already by now, but I encountered my first real color variations in the City Combine Harvester I got for my birthday. Until now, I've either not had any problems with color inconsistency or have simply not been noticing them, but this time it was clear to me that there was an inconsistency in the yellow. While most of the colors were okay, the few yellow pieces included had a noticeable milky tint to them - enough that it looked fairly close to some of the Megabloks pieces I have had over the years. And when I mean Megabloks, I mean the very early sets, which were far worse qualitywise then they are now.

Edited January 15, 2010 by Grevious

[Legoliner Pilot]

Sorry for the blurry picture, I forgot to turn Macro on. Clearer image:

If you haven't already noticed the lipstick is WAY too off, the eyes are smaller, and the eyebrows are a completely different shade.

In November of 2009, I bought many Pick-A-Brick cups in Orlando, namely one that was filled with dark red 1x2 bricks. I started to MOD my theater with my new bricks, and only recently have I discovered the disgusting quality :

[Dennimator]

In November of 2009, I bought many Pick-A-Brick cups in Orlando, namely one that was filled with dark red 1x2 bricks. I started to MOD my theater with my new bricks, and only recently have I discovered the disgusting quality :

My Café Corner´s (which I bought last summer) reddish brown parts looks like that as well.

[Legoliner Pilot]

My Café Corner´s (which I bought last summer) reddish brown parts looks like that as well.

Bleh:

[Rocketbilly]

Regarding the tridents: I have two Manta Warrior impulses and two Wreck Raider sets. The tridents that came with both Manta Warriors are the soft, bendy kind that shed little curls of plastic when used in a minifig hand; but the ones in my Wreck Raiders are noticeably different in a few ways. They appear to be slightly shinier, though not bx much. They are also FAR more resilient and are much, much more stiff and don't even take marks from being gripped by a fig like the others.

[Teh Stud]

Has TLG issued any type of official response to the quality issues? If yes, where can I find it?

[CP5670]

While most of the colors were okay, the few yellow pieces included had a noticeable milky tint to them - enough that it looked fairly close to some of the Megabloks pieces I have had over the years.

The yellow I was seeing in 2007 and 2008 sets was particularly bad and looked just like the Megablok yellow. I think it has improved a bit since then, but not by enough.

Has TLG issued any type of official response to the quality issues? If yes, where can I find it?

Their employees have given isolated responses to some of the issues in the past, but there has been no official acknowledgment by the company. There were various comments made by the TLG quality engineer two years ago (which have turned out to be partly wrong), and unnamed sources have said some things about the Chinese manufacturing of the sets with nonstandard numbers. I think TLG's quality team knows about all of the problems, but they are making no serious effort to fix them and are just hoping that consumers will not notice.

I was actually planning to ask Copmike to send a link to this page of the thread to TLG. We have suddenly gotten several pictures of the color issues, which tend to be tricky to capture in photos. I don't think anything will come of it, but it's worth a try.

Edited January 19, 2010 by CP5670

[Svelte]

I built the 3182 Airport set yesterday and wasn't impressed, quality wise.

In particular, the large pre-moulded nose piece was a creamy and distinctly different colour from the other large prefab white pieces that make up the rest of the body of the plane. The little door hatch piece was a distinctly creamy shade too. Having such a large and key part of the model in a different shade really detracts from the appearance of the plane and I don't remember the 2006 version showing such variance (although I will have to check).

Yellow seems to have improved - the 1x2 plates were much better than the ones found in the bus in 7641 City Corner, but some of the 1x2 tiles were off.

Blue had at least 3 shades, with adjacent 1x2 plates and hinge plates showing dramatic differences in colour, and the same 2x2 tiles in blue showing variance in shade even in the same part.

It's not like the Airport is dramatically different from any other 2010 sets (Atlantis shades of red seem to run to at least 3 colours), but I was moved to add this latest post due to the effect that the creamy/ white mix had on the finished plane overall. I am finding it quite disheartening to open up these new sets and find a different quality problem every time I just wish someone high-up at LEGO would just admit 'You know what? Moving from pre-mixed colour pellets to doing it ourselves was a horrible mistake! What the hell were we thinking?'

While LEGO is mixing their own colours, I have zero confidence that we will see any consistent improvements, full stop. As soon as they fix one obvious error, they make another one.

[Rick]

I am finding it quite disheartening to open up these new sets and find a different quality problem every time I just wish someone high-up at LEGO would just admit 'You know what? Moving from pre-mixed colour pellets to doing it ourselves was a horrible mistake! What the hell were we thinking?'

While LEGO is mixing their own colours, I have zero confidence that we will see any consistent improvements, full stop. As soon as they fix one obvious error, they make another one.

Well said. Since the last time I've visited this thread, quite some horrible examples have been added. Is the quality issue actively communicated to TLG via the Ambassadors? I'm sure it is, but I just want to make sure...

[CP5670]

In particular, the large pre-moulded nose piece was a creamy and distinctly different colour from the other large prefab white pieces that make up the rest of the body of the plane. The little door hatch piece was a distinctly creamy shade too. Having such a large and key part of the model in a different shade really detracts from the appearance of the plane pirate_thumbdown.gif and I don't remember the 2006 version showing such variance (although I will have to check).

Blue had at least 3 shades, with adjacent 1x2 plates and hinge plates showing dramatic differences in colour, and the same 2x2 tiles in blue showing variance in shade even in the same part.

And I thought blue was the one classic color that had escaped all these issues. I guess I better load up on blue parts from Bricklink soon, before all the Bricklink stock of blue gets corrupted like many other colors have.

What were the other white pieces in the plane like? A few months ago it seemed to me that white was improving, but today I'm not so sure. As you say, it's becoming increasingly hard to reach any conclusions about this since TLG seems to break a color as soon as they fix another one.

It's not like the Airport is dramatically different from any other 2010 sets (Atlantis shades of red seem to run to at least 3 colours), but I was moved to add this latest post due to the effect that the creamy/ white mix had on the finished plane overall. I am finding it quite disheartening to open up these new sets and find a different quality problem every time default_sceptic.gif I just wish someone high-up at LEGO would just admit 'You know what? Moving from pre-mixed colour pellets to doing it ourselves was a horrible mistake! What the hell were we thinking?'

I agree, and I'm more selective about what sets I buy today than I used to be. A set today has to be considerably better than a set did 10 years ago for me to buy it, since the quality reduction is something I take into account.

The real problem though is that very few of us seem to care, and TLG knows this. If AFOLs had collectively howled about this 3 years ago, I think TLG would have reverted to pre-colored ABS pellets long ago and this would all be fixed by now. At this point, TLG can see that barely anyone has noticed the issues and there is no reason to spend money on fixing the problem. All they need to do is keep telling everyone that "only the best is good enough" and people will keep buying into it.

Well said. Since the last time I've visited this thread, quite some horrible examples have been added. Is the quality issue actively communicated to TLG via the Ambassadors? I'm sure it is, but I just want to make sure...

I made a long post about it in the Embassy once, but it's been over a year since then. I'll ask Copmike if there have been any official responses in the meantime.

[Svelte]

And I thought blue was the one classic color that had escaped all these issues. I guess I better load up on blue parts from Bricklink soon, before all the Bricklink stock of blue gets corrupted like many other colors have.

Well, I've seen issues in all the primary colours now. The only one that people don't seem to notice so much is black but I have found marbling in some parts from 2008.

What were the other white pieces in the plane like? A few months ago it seemed to me that white was improving, but today I'm not so sure. As you say, it's becoming increasingly hard to reach any conclusions about this since TLG seems to break a color as soon as they fix another one.

Generally I've found white has improved, which is what makes these obvious stuff-ups so disappointing batches so annoying. The 10198 Tantive IV did show creamy shades in 1x1 Technic bricks and 1x1 tiles, and the 2010 Star Wars sets using the 1x2 brick with grill pattern were some of the lowest I've ever seen.

Yellow does seem a lot better than the low point from the middle of last year.

Yet recent Toy Fair pics show LEGO is no better at producing the darker or newer shades in consistent colours.

Look at new dark nougat arch/ brick side-by-side:

Dark green is a little patchy too:

[Clone OPatra]

You posted the same pic twice Svelte.

Hmm, I wouldn't have noticed the nougat inconsistencies myself, good spot. It's a bummer that is. If all the dark shades have issues, The Burrow is going to be one hot mess.

I hope this doesn't migrate into colors like normal tan, and I especially hope that the minfigs don't start showing the problems. If there was a fig that had dark red torso and legs and it looked different, that would be worse even then the different bricks. So far I don't think it's happened in a figure, though.