A disturbing trend has developed in my White Cheese Slopes..

[kyphur]

Out of curiosity: did you spray them with Lysol?

Oh no, never spray any cleaners on my sets. Feather duster all the way...

[roamingstop]

It would sound like a manufacturing tolerance issue; slightly too large studs, or slightly too small holes, and / or slightler thinner plastic which puts deformation strains through the slopes. Since the material is not particularly ductile it could easily crack and continue.

Can you check to see if the non-cracked slopes from the same model batch have any microscopic cracking on the surface? Or shine a beam of light (laser pointer) and an oblique angle to see if deformation is occuring on the slope surface. The reflected point would change if you scanned this across the surface.

I dont think it is a big problem - just imagine what would happen to all those Tower Bridge models... but something to check. I do know some of my models with red cheese slopes (assembled 2+ years) dont show any signs of cracking.

Edited April 5, 2011 by roamingstudio

[fred67]

I'm at a loss, really... I'm not saying I doubt the problem (certainly I've had cracked bricks before), but I checked my castle (I disassembled it to the "module" level, but the was segments are still intact), and a hundred white cheese slopes, been attached for about 8 or 9 months (in some cases a year or more) and not a single crack... my stock (loose) ones also don't show any cracks on any colors, and I have several hundred of them.

[willy_poodle]

Better pray it's only cheese slopes.

I have all my MMV cracked, it was posted here

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5020&st=0&p=772760entry772760

[fred67]

You know, it's really odd how this happens and some people get dozens or hundreds of cracked bricks, and others get none.

There has to be some environmental factor we're overlooking... fluorescent lighting, ozone (perhaps from air purifiers), smog, loud music (?)... I could imagine a bad batch (like willy_poodle's), but the complaints about the cheese slopes come from too many varied sources, and some of us have NO problem.

Were these pieces retrobrighted, cleaned in some other fashion? Bought second hand from someone that might have done something? Maybe shipped airmail in a plane's freezing cargo hold?

EDIT: What about humidity? I've experienced vastly different effects on plastics (not LEGO - I've only collected as an adult while living in GA, U.S.) between living in Las Vegas (dry desert) and NY and GA... the dry environments tended suck moisture out of rubber and plastic and make them brittle.

Even if you don't live in that kind of area, often enough dry heating (often electric heating, but gas and oil, too, unless you have a whole house humidifier - I do) could be enough.

Edited April 7, 2011 by fred67

[CP5670]

I was thinking the same thing. This is clearly a systemic problem with the cheese slopes and not just a one-off glitch, but at the same time some of us have never experienced it at all. I would usually be the first to complain about this sort of issue if I saw it in any of my slopes, but mine all look good, even the ones that have been on built sets for a year or two.

[kyphur]

If it was a result of something I was specifically doing (i.e. how I store or display them) then I would expect to find most if not all of my cheese slopes cracking and that's not the case. Thus far it's just a small percentage of them.

[vexorian]

In my case, this is the full story: I found the mini robots set very inexpensive because it was used and opened (the bricks though were in good condition and it had instructions). So I washed the bricks using the drill I have been using for a lot of time: luke-warm water and dish wash (this is what LEGO's own instructions specify). The white cheese slopes had these split marks shortly after I built the main model together.

Here's the strange thing: They are by far not the only cheese slopes I have nor the only ones I washed, but all the white ones in this set (and also white 1x1 plates ) had this issue.

[Karto]

I've checked some of my sets and I haven't found any slopes with this issue. Sets like 7990 Cement Mixer and 7991 Recycle Truck have been built once 4 years ago and put back (still built) in their boxes. Their cheese slopes are fine (white, trans, blue) and so are my other (opened) sets.

It may be interesting if you guys tell us the origin of the broken peaces (sets/year). Atleast, we will know if it's related to a faulty batch of parts or if it's a more general (known?) issue.

Cracks in 1x1 parts (plates, rounded plates, modified plates, tiles, bricks, cylinders, headlights, etc.) are common since their appearance in the 70s. But this issue usually appears after intensive use (stress) and/or frequently changing environmental conditions (UV, heat, humidity).

In my case, this is the full story: I found the mini robots set very inexpensive because it was used and opened (the bricks though were in good condition and it had instructions). So I washed the bricks using the drill I have been using for a lot of time: luke-warm water and dish wash (this is what LEGO's own instructions specify). The white cheese slopes had these split marks shortly after I built the main model together.

Here's the strange thing: They are by far not the only cheese slopes I have nor the only ones I washed, but all the white ones in this set (and also white 1x1 plates ) had this issue.

It's hard to investigate as the parts you bought were used. The previous owner may have caused damage to the 'internal structure' of the parts (use or storage related) and you finished the job.

[meyerc13]

I was just fixing a disassembled section of my kids 7208 Fire Station and found two white cheese slopes with cracks. The cracks are almost impossible to see when the cheese slopes are removed, but when they were on the station they were quite visible. This leads me to believe that the stud is putting pressure on the cheese slope causing the split.

The two that were split were on different types of pieces. One was on a White Window 1 x 2 x 3 Flat Front. The other was on a 1x6 Red brick.

To the original poster, thanks for making this thread. Now I'm going to look through other sets we have to see if I have more examples.

So far for me it is only the white cheese slopes, but I'm wondering if that is because the cracks are easier to see on the white cheese?

[tbroyd]

Had loads of problems but with white bricks in general, the worst model being the camper van 7639. It was purchased 12 months ago and within a few months was cracking up. Its never been in sunlight and never been subjected to extremes of temperature. I've tried to take photos but its difficult due to the colour to make them show up:

I lost the receipt so didn't think therewas much I could do? Would Lego be interested and who would I contact? (I live in the UK)

[CMP]

Had loads of problems but with white bricks in general, the worst model being the camper van 7639. It was purchased 12 months ago and within a few months was cracking up. Its never been in sunlight and never been subjected to extremes of temperature. I've tried to take photos but its difficult due to the colour to make them show up:

*Horror snip*

I lost the receipt so didn't think therewas much I could do? Would Lego be interested and who would I contact? (I live in the UK)

Holy CRAP. That's horrible. So it's mostly only white pieces, and in most sloped parts. Hideous.

[mikey]

...

I lost the receipt so didn't think there was much I could do? Would Lego be interested and who would I contact? (I live in the UK)

Those parts look in really bad shape, and you should definitely be getting in contact with Lego Customer Service, so they can resolve the problem for you.

[TanTile]

Had loads of problems but with white bricks in general, the worst model being the camper van 7639. It was purchased 12 months ago and within a few months was cracking up. Its never been in sunlight and never been subjected to extremes of temperature. I've tried to take photos but its difficult due to the colour to make them show up:

I lost the receipt so didn't think therewas much I could do? Would Lego be interested and who would I contact? (I live in the UK)

mine van is the same as this one i can see cracks are almost in the same bricks including the 1x1 white plate under the Trans Orange 1x1 plate and mine has only ever been in a dark room with the rest of my sets, i think its time to contact TLG and im in Australia

[fred67]

I'm going to guess humidity. It doesn't even matter what climate you live in, if you have dry heat in the winter (unless you have a whole house humidifier) it could be enough. Worse if you live in a place like Phoenix or Las Vegas. The temperature could be good, your cleaning method can be good, and the humidity could still effect your bricks. It might affect the little cheeses more than other bricks because it may be true that they are more thin or fragile do to the shape.

[Jay Sathe]

I have some of the same problems with my Camper. Perhaps they just made a really bad batch of bricks. I bought mine about a year and a half ago in California.

[TanTile]

I'm going to guess humidity. It doesn't even matter what climate you live in, if you have dry heat in the winter (unless you have a whole house humidifier) it could be enough. Worse if you live in a place like Phoenix or Las Vegas. The temperature could be good, your cleaning method can be good, and the humidity could still effect your bricks. It might affect the little cheeses more than other bricks because it may be true that they are more thin or fragile do to the shape.

i cant speak tbroyd but im guessing that the UK very rarely have high humidity, same as me in Australia i live in Melbourne which is as far south on the mainland as you can get and humidity is very low through out the year, we may have some in our summer but only 10 days in those 3 months if we are unlucky but we have our air conditioner anyways so humid temps never get through our front door

[fred67]

i cant speak tbroyd but im guessing that the UK very rarely have high humidity, same as me in Australia i live in Melbourne which is as far south on the mainland as you can get and humidity is very low through out the year, we may have some in our summer but only 10 days in those 3 months if we are unlucky but we have our air conditioner anyways so humid temps never get through our front door

Well... what I meant (I didn't say high or low, just humidity... everywhere has humidity). Dry air tends to make plastics brittle, so whether you live in dessert like conditions, or you live in a place that has any cold weather (and therefore you use heat in your home), the air can be very dry and suck the life out of plastics and and rubber.

Moreover, it doesn't even really matter where you live if you bought the pieces used... in which case you have no idea what environmental conditions they were stored.

So you don't necessarily have had to "do" something to your bricks for environment to be a factor.

[meyerc13]

Just checked my camper, and one large crack already (in the 1x1 brick by the rear passenger window), with a few more cracks starting (you can see a line and feel a bump if you run your fingernail over it, but the crack isn't all the way through).

We do have a whole house humidifier, but the air is obviously drier in the winter when the heat is running and outside temps are well below freezing, because if you have the humidity too high you get condensation on the insides of the windows.

The question is, why are certain sets and parts susceptible, but not others. I've looked at other sets and I'm not finding problems (yet), but it sounds like an epidemic for the camper and white cheese slopes.

I've probably spent thousands of dollars the last 2 years on LEGO, and I hope this trend of pieces cracking within months of purchase doesn't continue. I'd like to think my kids will get years of enjoyment out of these bricks.

I know LEGO will probably replace them, but I can't see spending the time filling out the form every time I find another defective piece. And if I just swap out the pieces for spares, I'll forget where they came from if the numbers continue to grow.

[tbroyd]

Hi, Thanks for the advice and sorry to hear that others are suffering with similar problems.

With regard to a dry heat being the cause, I can understand why its being suggested as a cause but I can say with certainty that my model has never been subjected to a dry heat.

The model was purchased new & sealed. Our house is old with open fireplaces in virtually every room which keeps things reasonably cool in summer, summers in the uk are rarely warm and if they are it is quite an unpleasent humid heat. In winter our oil heating is set low at about 16C (61F) as the heat just goes up the chimneys (We mainly rely on an log burner in our main room downstairs for heat). Therefore the part of the house is never very warm and the humidity is never low. It is also out of direct sunlight

I work as a calibration engineer with a company making scientific instrumentation which includes thermometers and humidity meters, its one of the few things I know about in any meaningful way, and that knowledge also makes me confident about dry heat being the cause

Why I was so surprised at what happened with the camper van is that so many different sizes and shapes of brick are affected, but only the white ones (no other none white pieces in the same display case are affected)

I'll contact Lego see what they say, I'ts going to sound like I want virtually a whole new van!

[Stank]

Had loads of problems but with white bricks in general, the worst model being the camper van 7639. It was purchased 12 months ago and within a few months was cracking up. Its never been in sunlight and never been subjected to extremes of temperature. I've tried to take photos but its difficult due to the colour to make them show up:

I lost the receipt so didn't think therewas much I could do? Would Lego be interested and who would I contact? (I live in the UK)

Same problem! Completely! Even (almost) same bricks cracked! I thought i'm the only one having this problem... too bad i can't contact TLG because i live in Serbia... Do you have 11 bricks cracked? I do. Strange...

Also, i have a few of white slopes cracked.

[KotZ]

For some odd reason, my white bricks never crack, only turn that yellow-ish color, but my minifigures always do, especially Licensed Theme figs Although some of my slopes do crack like that, and I just deal with it. Could possibly a thin amount of Scultpy fix it?

[Gryphon Ink]

I've been seeing hairline cracks in various pieces since I first started buying Lego last year. Until I read this thread, I had assumed it was normal for this to happen occasionally. In fact, I sort of assumed that was one of the reasons TLG always gives you extra cheese slopes. It's not only white cheese slopes, but slopes of several different colors - looking at my displays I can find cracked red, yellow and white slopes. There are also cracks in several of the tan 1x1 bricks used to build the kayak in the Creator Log Cabin.

I couldn't swear that this is a QC problem as my nine-year-old also works on the builds with me, and has rebuilt the Log Cabin several times. But before everyone says "WELL, there you go!" I will point out that she is a very careful builder and not that inclined to force bricks in ways they weren't meant to go. But of course it is possible.

These are all fairly new sets, and they are not displayed in the sun, cleaned with any kind of solvents or exposed to any kind of extreme temperatures.

[Aanchir]

I've been seeing hairline cracks in various pieces since I first started buying Lego last year. Until I read this thread, I had assumed it was normal for this to happen occasionally. In fact, I sort of assumed that was one of the reasons TLG always gives you extra cheese slopes. It's not only white cheese slopes, but slopes of several different colors - looking at my displays I can find cracked red, yellow and white slopes. There are also cracks in several of the tan 1x1 bricks used to build the kayak in the Creator Log Cabin.

I couldn't swear that this is a QC problem as my nine-year-old also works on the builds with me, and has rebuilt the Log Cabin several times. But before everyone says "WELL, there you go!" I will point out that she is a very careful builder and not that inclined to force bricks in ways they weren't meant to go. But of course it is possible.

These are all fairly new sets, and they are not displayed in the sun, cleaned with any kind of solvents or exposed to any kind of extreme temperatures.

Well, actually, extra parts are a quality control measure usually added on a basis of weight rather than whether or not you will need extras of the piece. Cheese slopes, being especially light, tend to get extras, as do 1x1 round plates. The purpose of extra pieces is to ensure that the correct amount of pieces gets packed in each bag. By adding extras of these light parts, the total weight of those pieces is higher, and thus if you don't have enough to actually build the set it will more likely be caught during the weight check. At the same time, packing an extra of these pieces helps if the set is missing only one-- the extra one will take its place.

[IAmWillGibson]

I've had my camper for a while now, and I noticed it had cracks a few months ago. Cracks in bricks really bum me out, man, but I've sort of reached a point where, sadly, they're just a part of doing business and you can't prevent it happening. The bright side [and it's not very bright, but it's something] is that, generally, a cracked brick is gonna crack to a point, but not continue to crack. So essentially, it's split and will remain in its new configuration in perpetuity. So, while I weep for my cracky camper, I also know it is unlikely to crumble at some point because after the first little while and the initial splitting, it's as broken as it's gonna get.

Right? Don't correct me if I'm wrong, this is the only thing that helps me get through the day.

Edited May 9, 2011 by IAmWillGibson