Will LEGO mini figures deteriorate over time?

[Ed3n]

Hi, I am not sure whether or not this topic has been convered before. Recently I've came out of my dark ages and have been collection heaps of legos, mainly minifigures and it got me thinking, will the lego minifigures that I am collecting now be the same quality in 10 years time, or 20 years time? Or will they deteriorate in colour and shape etc? And if they will loose quality over time, what is the point of investing heaps of time and money collecting them now?

Currently I keep all my figures on a bookshelf, away from sun light. Some of them are contained in a plastic display box to keep dust away, but of course I can't do that for all figures due to space and money limitation.

So what is the oldest minifigure do you guys own, how long have you got it for and how is the quality of it compare to when you first acquired it?

It would be interesting to know.

[LEGO Historian]

Well I've got some space minifigs from the late 1970s... and the finish on them has lost a lot of its' strong coloration (even when kept away from sunlight for many years. But I don't know how that relates to new minifigs. In the early days decorations were applied differently than they are today. But as for the minfigi plastic itself... no changes since 1979.

[Cardinal Brick]

They can become discolured by sunlight or smoking. But most of my collection is in fine condition even after years there is some problem with gold colouring fading on the old castle and space figures but that's about it.

As for losing 'shape' never this is Lego after all!

Hope that helps.

[AmperZand]

I have some minifigs I bought 20 years ago. They were on a shelf out of direct sunlight for most of that time. Some (but not all) of the white parts have gone creamy, but only slightly. Also, my glow-in-the-dark ghost from the 1990s doesn't glow as strongly as my 2012 ghost, but I'm not sure if that's because they put less glowing agent in the earlier ghosts or whether the glow has dimmed over time.

Apart from that, my 20-year-old minifigs are in perfect condition. If you didn't know, you would think they were pretty new.

[Faefrost]

Standard Minifigs made with ABS should not really deteriorate. Maybe some slight yelowing of the plastic due to the flame retardants.

The big mystery will be some of the newer soft rubbery heads and hairpieces. Things used in highly specific figs, mostly in licensed lines, like Yodas head etc. I don't think it is known yet how well the rubbery plastic ages. Some rubbers will deteriorate over time (look what happens if you leave old old tires sitting) while some will stay stable for generations.

[Hrw-Amen]

I think the only deterioration I have on my early minifigures from the late 70,s onwards is that due to play from when I was young. The newer less played with ones are still in original condition but then they have been kept locked away in boxes for twenty odd years.

[Rook]

I played the crap out of my old ones. So they’re aged through love. Since I've started collecting again in 2000 I haven't had any issues beyond sun damage and poorly designed connection points on the Star Wars droids. An occasional hand will crack here and there but happens fresh out of the package once in a while.

[TheLegoDr]

I think everyone else has answered this pretty much how I would. I have figures from the late 80s that were played with extensively during the early 90s and then sat in storage for about 15 years. All of the print that is worn I would imagine was from play as a kid, considering most of my Crusaders/Black Falcons/Black Knights/Wolfpack and early Imperials are close to pristine condition. Very slight wear, but I played carefully with my toys too.

I think overtime anything will deteriorate, but perhaps LEGO will just do so at a slower rate than some other products, and then there will be other products at an even slower rate than LEGO. I've never kept my stuff away from sunlight or dust, except for when it was in storage bins. But it was still exposed to some dust and humidity/temperature changes. I think your guess is as good as anyone else's.

[1974]

Standard Minifigs made with ABS should not really deteriorate. Maybe some slight yelowing of the plastic due to the flame retardants.

Not true, white and (old) light grey will EASILY detoriate due to ABS composition used. It's been discussed in countless of threads on various LEGO fora over the years. Sunlight and smoke will make it worse, but it's inevitable .. yellowing will come sooner or later

[Ed3n]

Thanks for all your responses guys.

While some forms of changes are inevitable as mentioned by '1974', I guess nothing last forever in this world.

Atleast something which you will get out of collecting Lego is the good fun memories.

And I guess if you take care of them, they will probably last much longer.

Still I don't understand why some people will pay thousands of dollars on ebay to buy a rare minifigure, when the figure itself may loose quality over time.

[AmperZand]

@Ed3n

I wouldn't pay a fortune for a minifig either. But if kept safe, it will likely last longer than the buyer.

Even if it doesn't, by the time it deteriorates after several decades, 3D printing will probably be so advanced that you'll be able to reproduce damaged elements. 3D printing may undermine the investment value of any minifigs but will likely mean that all minifigs you buy now or have bought in the past will be enjoyable your whole life.

It's possible that minifigs will be discontinued and TLG go out of business (or have to change its business model) when the world's supply of oil (and therefore ABS) becomes uneconomical to retrieve. But I doubt that will happen in your lifetime even if you are young now and live to 120!