LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 3 discussion

[Aanchir]

Recent Bionicle (sans some metru parts and glatorian helmets) tends to have better ABS than system. The flexible plastic used in 2004 is cleary very cheap and some glatorian helmets just seem to use the exact plastic I would seem in bootlegs (ie: Gresh). There is also the breaking sockets which seem like an issue with mold design rather than plastic. System sets I've been getting on the other hand tend to look cheaper than what I was used to. (My dark age started around 2001, and I just came back to system this year)

What's cheap about the flexible plastic used in 2004? (or for that matter, 2002-- don't forget the Toa Nuva armor!) The idea that plastic being softer is evidence of low quality is a myth-- the plastic for masks and such is supposed to be that soft.

Though, to be fair, I remember reading that BIONICLE parts and more "technically demanding" parts were primarily produced in Billund. So that could have an effect on the more consistent quality (Billund being the oldest factory still running).

[BearHeart]

- I don't have any brown parts in the collectible figs I got and haven't the foggiest idea what "color dullness" is supposed to mean. But all of my

Well if you don't have any brown parts then of course you don't know what color dullness I'm talking about. If you compare the brown legs from the cowboy, black legs from the vampire or the green legs from the forestman with normal brown, black or green legs from a regular set you'll notice how vibrant the regular set legs are and how dull the minifig legs are.

Given all these quality issues, I still have a lot of use for the collectible minifigs. A lot of the accessories are great and some of the printing on the torsos 'hides' the cheap, dull look of the plastic. I created some great custom figs by mixing the minifig parts with parts from regular sets.

Another quality issues that I don't know if it was mentioned here is the arm joints where the arm connects to the torso. Try changing arms from a collectable minifig with that of a regular set minifig. You'll notice that the joints are different sizes and that the minifig arms in a regular minifig torse will be too small and therefore very loose.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

TLG have stopped caring as much about product quality as they did in the past.

So, they are a bunch of liers? I mean, copy/paste from LEGO site: ( http://www.lego.com/eng/info/default.asp?page=safety )

(cit.)

LEGO Group's new policy on quality

"Our aim at the LEGO Group is to exceed customer expectations with regard to our products, service and their experience of the LEGO brand.

Quality is firmly rooted in our fundamental beliefs, our mission statement, our strategic goals and our values.

As a world leader in the field of quality experience, service and products, we focus on the customer's perception of quality.

Quality procedures are specified in our global quality management system.

We view the implementation of this policy as the shared responsibility of all LEGO employees."

and also

"The LEGO Group uses primarily ABS plastics in the manufacture of its products. This ABS material has been specially developed for our company and is not available to others. This has important consequences: for example, no other manufacturer is able to make products with the same unique clutch power, shine properties and colour stability as LEGO Group products possess. The company's laboratories continuously test our plastics to the extreme in order to improve resistance, for example, to bite marks and scratching. "

So either they are a bunch of liers, or maybe you are a little fussy... or maybe your perception is wrong... The only thing I know is that I don't see quality issues, TLC doen't see quality issues, you do...

Maybe is that your standards have grown with the years passing, and your perception about how soon parts break, or how much quality is poor has changed through the years? I remember, when it were the 80s, about parts breaking easily, and now they really seem solid to me, but I won't make the mistake to judge the plastic, since I know how small care I put in using Legos when I was 10 years old, and how much I apply now that I passed the thirty...

Sorry if I seem to harsh here, it's not my intention... it's just that I stumbled upon that declaration on LEGO site and since you stated the very opposite, it caught my attention.

Another quality issues that I don't know if it was mentioned here is the arm joints where the arm connects to the torso. Try changing arms from a collectable minifig with that of a regular set minifig. You'll notice that the joints are different sizes and that the minifig arms in a regular minifig torse will be too small and therefore very loose.

I tried, and this doesn't apply to my minifigs. How many tries did you do? I tried with diffent minifigs even with not very new ones, and this "very loose" behaviours of yours didn't occur.

[BearHeart]

So, they are a bunch of liers? I mean, copy/paste from LEGO site: ( http://www.lego.com/eng/info/default.asp?page=safety )

(cit.)

LEGO Group's new policy on quality

"Our aim at the LEGO Group is to exceed customer expectations with regard to our products, service and their experience of the LEGO brand.

Quality is firmly rooted in our fundamental beliefs, our mission statement, our strategic goals and our values.

As a world leader in the field of quality experience, service and products, we focus on the customer's perception of quality.

Quality procedures are specified in our global quality management system.

We view the implementation of this policy as the shared responsibility of all LEGO employees."

and also

"The LEGO Group uses primarily ABS plastics in the manufacture of its products. This ABS material has been specially developed for our company and is not available to others. This has important consequences: for example, no other manufacturer is able to make products with the same unique clutch power, shine properties and colour stability as LEGO Group products possess. The company's laboratories continuously test our plastics to the extreme in order to improve resistance, for example, to bite marks and scratching. "

So either they are a bunch of liers, or maybe you are a little fussy... or maybe your perception is wrong... The only thing I know is that I don't see quality issues, TLC doen't see quality issues, you do...

Maybe is that your standards have grown with the years passing, and your perception about how soon parts break, or how much quality is poor has changed through the years? I remember, when it were the 80s, about parts breaking easily, and now they really seem solid to me, but I won't make the mistake to judge the plastic, since I know how small care I put in using Legos when I was 10 years old, and how much I apply now that I passed the thirty...

Sorry if I seem to harsh here, it's not my intention... it's just that I stumbled upon that declaration on LEGO site and since you stated the very opposite, it caught my attention.

I tried, and this doesn't apply to my minifigs. How many tries did you do? I tried with diffent minifigs even with not very new ones, and this "very loose" behaviours of yours didn't occur.

Do you honestly believe everything a big corporation says in its 'mission statement'?

If you do, that makes you more gullible than I am picky about the quality. Sorry if I seem to be harsh here.

PS. As for the arm issue, I'll try making a vid of it later on and posting it here.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

Do you honestly believe everything a big corporation says in its 'mission statement'?

If you do, that makes you more gullible than I am picky about the quality. Sorry if I seem to be harsh here.

PS. As for the arm issue, I'll try making a vid of it later on and posting it here.

Well, sorry you didn't get the point, perhaps I wasn't clear.

If I own a company which is recently lacking in quality, I won't surely tell that to everybody, but absolutely nor even state the very opposite on my website! This would make users angry and furious. So, the fact that TLC has a whole argument about the quality on its website doesn't ensure quality excellence, but surely increases its responsability towards their customers!

So either you think that the ones who decided to put that argument on their website are like these:

or clearly TLC is still putting their efforces into quality, whatever some people say here!

[Aanchir]

Well if you don't have any brown parts then of course you don't know what color dullness I'm talking about. If you compare the brown legs from the cowboy, black legs from the vampire or the green legs from the forestman with normal brown, black or green legs from a regular set you'll notice how vibrant the regular set legs are and how dull the minifig legs are.

Given all these quality issues, I still have a lot of use for the collectible minifigs. A lot of the accessories are great and some of the printing on the torsos 'hides' the cheap, dull look of the plastic. I created some great custom figs by mixing the minifig parts with parts from regular sets.

Another quality issues that I don't know if it was mentioned here is the arm joints where the arm connects to the torso. Try changing arms from a collectable minifig with that of a regular set minifig. You'll notice that the joints are different sizes and that the minifig arms in a regular minifig torse will be too small and therefore very loose.

As for the cowboy and forestman, I have seen plenty of pics showing the disappointing quality of these and other Series 1 figs. The news about the vampire is new to me, though. Would you mind taking a few comparison pics? I'm not doubting you, but I haven't really seen any pics of really lackluster quality in series 2.

Comparing the tan legs from my explorer with a generic set of tan legs I have on hand doesn't reveal any color difference, but there could very well be one I don't know about since the surfer's, lifeguard's, explorer's, and karate master's legs aren't a "deep" color like those of the cowboy, forestman, or vampire.

Note also that you're not supposed to take minifig arms apart from the torso. They come as one piece for a reason-- taking the arms apart from the torso weakens the connection, just as taking the legs apart from the waist does. AFOLs do it, certainly, but LEGO is strongly against it. So I'd advise against switching the arms to begin with.

However, it's interesting that the joints are different sizes. Have you compared the part ID numbers of the torsos? If the torso is a new mold it certainly comes as a surprise to me. I don't see this as a quality issue for the reason stated above-- minifig arms aren't meant to be switched around-- but it intrigues me that I never heard about or thought about this change myself until now.

[CP5670]

There was an article profiling TLG as a business posted here at one point. The TLG CEO said in it that the corporate culture had to be shaken up to make the company profitable again, and one of the things that was changed was the extreme attention to and pride in quality that they use to have. They still care about quality, but not to the extent that they did 10 or 20 years ago. I need to see if I can find that article again.

If I own a company which is recently lacking in quality, I won't surely tell that to everybody, but absolutely nor even state the very opposite on my website! This would make users angry and furious. So, the fact that TLC has a whole argument about the quality on its website doesn't ensure quality excellence, but surely increases its responsability towards their customers!

Obviously, you wouldn't make a good marketer. Every company says they have high quality products. This is for each consumer to judge, not the company.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

Obviously, you wouldn't make a good marketer. Every company says they have high quality products. This is for each consumer to judge, not the company.

Mostly false. They maybe, and I say maybe, state if asked. For istance, playmobil doesn't state so in their website. Nor does megabloks. Sorry, you didn't catch the point.

[CP5670]

Mostly false. They maybe, and I say maybe, state if asked. For istance, playmobil doesn't state so in their website. Nor does megabloks. Sorry, you didn't catch the point.

Does it matter where or how they say it? It is the company's official line either way. If you call up any company's customer service and ask them what their product quality is like, what do you think they will say?

Marketing (and that is what that mission statement is) can never be accepted at face value. If you think TLG has any extra "responsibility" just because their website says something, then if anything you should be even more annoyed at them for any low quality parts.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

Does it matter where or how they say it? It is the company's official line either way. If you call up any company's customer service and ask them what their product quality is like, what do you think they will say?

Marketing (and that is what that mission statement is) can never be accepted at face value. If you think TLG has any extra "responsibility" just because their website says something, then if anything you should be even more annoyed at them for any low quality parts.

Ok, we have completely different points of view on the matther. And since I don't find quality lacks, I still think TLC is coherent with their values declared.

No offence meant.

Edited September 26, 2010 by Itaria No Shintaku

[Bailey.]

Meh, while all this comes from LEGO company, the quality doesn't look very different, and the minifigs don't break apart.. I'm fine. By the way, why when I click on "my profile" a board messages comes up? "You're nto allowed to view member's profiles" Lame ;l

[Itaria No Shintaku]

So... any clues on when OFFICIAL pics will be released? Late October? November?

[Aanchir]

Much clearer pics here. Still prelim, though.

The elf looks epic, and the Blacktron dude is definitely a cyborg. He has a robot eye that looks kinda Terminator-esque. Hard to see the Samurai's torso print, but it looks pretty epic. And thankfully, the hula dancer is wearing a top.

Anyone else's observations?

[Plissken]

The Torso Print of the sumo guy is ok, but it is still the lamest figure in my opinion.

I like the pilots torso, very useful for WW II Pilots.

The baseball bat is fantastic.

[Skafte]

And thankfully, the hula dancer is wearing a top.

Thankfully?

On the box, the fisherman doesn't have a beard!

Hey, there is "news" on series 4 as well! The bags will be orange, and they will be released in April. That is something...

[yys4u]

That link didn't work for me!!

I wanna see!

[Aanchir]

That link didn't work for me!!

I wanna see!

The images got taken down by Brickshelf. But this post still has a link to the catalog as a PDF you can download. Minifigures are on page 32.

[yys4u]

Sweet thanks.

So the cyborg definitely has the green B on his chest. I wonder if they made him look horrible then put the Blacktron symbol on him because then they knew people would go after him even if he looks bad. Cause now I will...and I don't even collect blacktron figures I just had a couple as a kid and those guys were my favorite space figures, dressed in all black with their black visors, they looked hella sick.

I wonder if this means they will remake older figures, like pirates or imperials.

[Aanchir]

Sweet thanks.

So the cyborg definitely has the green B on his chest. I wonder if they made him look horrible then put the Blacktron symbol on him because then they knew people would go after him even if he looks bad. Cause now I will...and I don't even collect blacktron figures I just had a couple as a kid and those guys were my favorite space figures, dressed in all black with their black visors, they looked hella sick.

I wonder if this means they will remake older figures, like pirates or imperials.

I don't think he looks horrible. And besides, LEGO wouldn't make any fig's appeal entirely dependent on AFOLs-- if the Blacktron logo was the cyborg's only redeeming feature then hardly a single kid would be likely to want him (since other than the most internet-savvy or those who got their LEGO collection as hand-me-downs, few would have ever heard of Blacktron).

[yys4u]

I don't think he looks horrible. And besides, LEGO wouldn't make any fig's appeal entirely dependent on AFOLs-- if the Blacktron logo was the cyborg's only redeeming feature then hardly a single kid would be likely to want him (since other than the most internet-savvy or those who got their LEGO collection as hand-me-downs, few would have ever heard of Blacktron).

Actually, I wonder if kids even think this guys looks bad. Maybe to us AFOLs he looks bad but for all we know kids may be loving it, My main issue is the peg leg. I like the idea of a cyborg, but they should have used a new helmet, gun, and leg, or at least 2 of those 3. Maybe then AFOLs would appreciate him more. But from a childs stand point they may actually think he's cool, I mean, half man half robot lego guy sounds pretty cool. So maybe the cyborg is to appeal to kids, while the Blacktron logo is meant to appeal to AFOLs??

[legomaniac83]

Here is a pic of series 3:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54191445@N03/5015593235/

[krystalKING]

I am going to comment on my favorites only,the alien and cyborg.

Cyborg:My favorite minifig,I love this guy,even though I have not seen a very big and/or detailed pic,this guy will go perfect in my joint spyrius/blacktron precinct 78 attack MOC.(coming soon)

Alien:I love this guy,being a heavy sci-fi fan.The trans-purple 3-long beam will be usful. And even though everyone hates him,I love him.

Overall:These 2 figs are going to put a huge gap in my cash,Because I need 30 of the cyborg and 10 of alien.

PS I would like to see a end to the "oh its made in china!We're all going to die!" thing.

Edited September 30, 2010 by krystalKING

[Masked Builder]

Alien:I love this guy,being a heavy sci-fi fan.The trans-purple 3-long beam will be usful. And even though everyone hates him,I love him

Really? Everybody hates him? I didn't think so...

[Aanchir]

Really? Everybody hates him? I didn't think so...

A lot of people were complaining because he reuses an existing alien head, rather than having a stereotypical Roswell-type alien head like this guy. But I think he still looks fairly unique even with a Squidman head. He has a lime head rather than a pasty gray one, and his eyes are black with white pupils rather than brightly colored with black pupils. It makes him look like something straight out of a 50s B-movie, or some other old-fashioned sci-fi presentation of some sort.

[Masked Builder]

A lot of people were complaining because he reuses an existing alien head, rather than having a stereotypical Roswell-type alien head like this guy. But I think he still looks fairly unique even with a Squidman head. He has a lime head rather than a pasty gray one, and his eyes are black with white pupils rather than brightly colored with black pupils. It makes him look like something straight out of a 50s B-movie, or some other old-fashioned sci-fi presentation of some sort.

Those are my reasons exactly! Well, except for the 50s movie part.

Edit: Post 400!!!

Edited September 30, 2010 by Masked Builder