Lego Quality is Slipping

[3D LEGO]

To tell you the honest truth, I believe a lot of the older molders are wearing out. Rough textures on slope bricks are becoming smoother. Also some older designs are being updated. For example: The 6 wide window screen found on Luke's Landspeeder is also found on the old 12v red and black express train. Someone recently posted pictures of a new version. My guess is that there are issues with some designs and others are just plain wearing out.

Now something else to consider. It is known that LEGO is/was converting their injection molding machines to a dye process to save on ABS. Since they would by the dye in bulk, the could get just one color of ABS pellets and add dye to obtain the desired color. Thus cutting costs. Also they have been changing the ABS compond they use. Originally it was really brittle and prone to lots of cracking and breaking. Take for example the 4 hole technic gear. It would fracture under small amouts of stress. Now that is a diffefent story.

As for new slopes being smooth. It could be 2 reasons: 1.) All your MOCing of smooth things (especially the space guys) and the hand built roofs, have led LEGO to decide to remove the texture. or 2.) It is really hard to machine that texture into the mold.

[Hinckley]

It is known that LEGO is/was converting their injection molding machines to a dye process to save on ABS.

If they're using a four color dye process and their original formula has a number that doesn't evenly divide into four, that would cause the color differentiation.

For example: if the yellow is set at 73 for a certain brick color, but they only need to make a quarter batch for a certain brick size, there is no way to get 18.25 drops per 100 for a batch. Notice that even though some bricks of the same color don't match the shade, the bricks of the same size are consistent. So it may take a certain amount of die to make a batch of 1 x 8 brown bricks and a lower amount to make a batch of 1 x 2 bricks. The lower amount for the 1 x 2 batch may not divide evenly so it has to have either one more drop of dye or one drop less, accounting for the slight shade difference.

This happens in painting houses all the time, some colors won't be the same shade in a gallon as it is in a quart.

Hope everyone followed what I'm saying...

[xenologer]

Hope everyone followed what I'm saying...

Yeah I hear you.

Precision that varies with batch size, which in turn varies with the brick type.

Might be true, but thats the kinda thing that only one of the guys working on those plastic factory floors would really be able to confirm.

And its a looooong way between them and the ambassadors who won't give us 2way communication anyways. |-/

If TLG is subcontracting the plastic manufacture process to some other company, confirming this might be near impossible...

Regarding the slopes... *maybe* theres new part variations that are intentionally smooth... but then you see a slope thats half smooth and half rough :-X and now I'm pretty sure the moulds are just worn out.

Ugh, why don't they replace those broken moulds?

[phoinix]

i understand what you are saying hinckley but for me color isnt the biggest problem

i have build 2 different sets in the past 2 days of different theme and time

one is the batmobile with two face and the other is the falcon castle re-release 10039

there was a piece missing in the batman set and this is the second time this has happened in less than a year

the batman pieces fell softer and more flexible and some of them-like the wheels-seem a lot cheaper

i dont know what it is about this set but the pieces feel terrible!

the instructions where really hard to read and it took me some time to make them out

the buildning and design on the other hand is very good!

the castle set pieces feel like the good old times!

they click hard together and they are hard to take apart

the swords in this set thow are not the hard plastic but they are soft and bendy!

the instructions are the old classic type! it is really different than anynew sets!

the whole building feeling and the building technics used in this set are very different than in the batman set..

there is a big problem with the castle door in this set that if we had this problem in a set nowadays we would say it is terrible..so maby there were things back then that we couldnt see cause we didnt look for them!

i also had the soft slopes in my buildning bonanza set and i thought that they looked ok for a roof mixed with the old kind..thow i would prefer just one kind of roof slopes in each set!!

bottom line is that the new sets have some problems in quality and are not as good as the old ones but maby we are a bit too harsh on TLC (and i am saying this on a day that i discovered a piece missing from a set)

i am happy with this years sets and i am hoping quality will return...

if not so that time machine may come in handy!!

ebay on!!!

[Hobbes]

Those technical issues pointed out by 3D LEGO and hinckley are nice'n all, but in the end it comes down to this:

I don't care.

I am the customer that still has to pay top Dollar/Euro (more Euro than Dollar) for LEGO but I get lesser quality. Lower the prices or up the quality, I don't really care which (I prefer the latter, of course), but right now TLC/G is not delivering what we have to pay for.

Period.

[Optikal Illushun]

i dunno about u, but ill take two rocket launchers, a flashlight and maybe that snazzy fire fighters water cannon, whatever the hell this is (http://shop.lego.com/ByCategory/Product.as...75&cn=207&d=443), police detectives kit and go save the world 8-| *wacko*

almost forgot to get myself some squishy squids, pirate sword and meat clever and a knights sword incase i run into the black knight *knight* and a tea set incase i get thirsty *y*

[Hobbes]

whatever the hell this is (http://shop.lego.com/ByCategory/Product.as...75&cn=207&d=443)

Cheap...

[Brainbox]

...Furthermore, why are they selling crap like this?

Rocket Launcher

Flashlight

Tea Set

Bear in mind though that if you single out non-traditional stuff like this, you effectively discount things like the clothes and the maquette statues as well. And the ice-cube tray. I love that.

[Hinckley]

Bear in mind though that if you single out non-traditional stuff like this, you effectively discount things like the clothes and the maquette statues as well. And the ice-cube tray. I love that.

Well, all I wear are the LEGO licensed clothes, so that would suck. :-| (that was a joke)

I've never seen shop.lego.com sell the maquettes directly. Is another company paying LEGO a licensing fee to produce them?

[Starwars4J]

hm...Lego style clothes? It would eliminate the need for a belt entirely! ;-)

[gylman]

Cheap...

But they've had that sort of stuff for a number of years on sale at Legolands and some Lego stores. My kids still have theirs from 3 years ago.

Don't mind if they sell it, as long as they aren't losing money on it.....

[Hinckley]

I wanted to point out that the smooth slopes are not due to an old, worn out mold. It appears there is actually a new mold. When you compare the smooth surface inverted slopes with the rough inverted slopes:

you can see that the inside of the brick is clearly a different mold:

The addition of the "re-inforced" studs shows a new mold, not an old worn down one as some people have speculated is the cause of the smooth surface on the slopes...

[Brainbox]

The addition of the "re-inforced" studs shows a new mold, not an old worn down one as some people have speculated is the cause of the smooth surface on the slopes...

Quite a few pieces now have started to crop up with reinforced studs. None spring to mind, but I know there're a few. Another thing is the 'tube' of 2x2 and 2x3 bricks having a small hole in the middle as per 2x4s, and yet another is the addition of stud notches to these pieces:

[Hinckley]

Quite a few pieces now have started to crop up with reinforced studs. None spring to mind, but I know there're a few. Another thing is the 'tube' of 2x2 and 2x3 bricks having a small hole in the middle as per 2x4s, and yet another is the addition of stud notches to these pieces:

My point, as far as quality is concerned, is that the smooth surface of slope pieces is a choice of the LEGO company, not the product of a worn out mold, but a new mold that is creating, once again, pieces that don't match pieces they've been producing for decades...

[CopMike]

hm...Lego style clothes? It would eliminate the need for a belt entirely! ;-)

ROFL X-D

Studs On

copmike

[Brainbox]

My point, as far as quality is concerned, is that the smooth surface of slope pieces is a choice of the LEGO company, not the product of a worn out mold, but a new mold that is creating, once again, pieces that don't match pieces they've been producing for decades...

The pieces are changing with the times, and these changes may well further the utily of the piece. For example the 'wing' I posted earlier can (I think) be placed on top of other pieces directly, rather than having to be raised.

[Hinckley]

The pieces are changing with the times, and these changes may well further the utily of the piece. For example the 'wing' I posted earlier can (I think) be placed on top of other pieces directly, rather than having to be raised.

I agree that the wing you posted makes sense and that piece is more useful being able to place it over other pieces directly. However, having collected roof pieces for over 25 years now, and now the pieces they are producing don't match the pieces already in my collection is aggravating. If you read back in the thread, there are several posts about roof pieces being smooth now instead of rough and that is what I'm responding to.

[Darkness Falls]

Lego can only go so far with bricks. This is why they made Bore-onicle, Exo-Farce, and the Spongebob stuff. Bionicle was for Action figures, Exo-Force was for stereotypical Anime, and Spongebob was for the young kids. Now, they need to keep up with Nerf, and make more merchandise for their themes as well.

But the brick quality? S'all good.

[xenologer]

My point, as far as quality is concerned, is that the smooth surface of slope pieces is a choice of the LEGO company, not the product of a worn out mold, but a new mold that is creating, once again, pieces that don't match pieces they've been producing for decades...

Even if being smooth is a choice.

I think its a rather dumb mistake where on a set that needs 2 of them, one of each side of a symetrical vehicle; one is Smooth and the other is Rough. Leading to a missmatched apearance when you build it.

I mean, if its Really their choice to make a new brick; WHY are they not treating it as a new Different brick when they pack the sets? They're just tossing the old and new ones together randomly.

This is where quality fails.

[Brainbox]

However, having collected roof pieces for over 25 years now, and now the pieces they are producing don't match the pieces already in my collection is aggravating. If you read back in the thread, there are several posts about roof pieces being smooth now instead of rough and that is what I'm responding to.

I know. I agree with Xenologer. Not a problem changing the piece, but the problem lies with mixing the old and new slopes in sets. But like I said, I get over it by building symetrically and in MOCs I try to use one type of slope, or at least 'hide' the other. I agree it's a bit annoying, but there're ways to get round it. You could always look at MOCs from further away... ;-)

Lego can only go so far with bricks. This is why they made Bore-onicle, Exo-Farce, and the Spongebob stuff.

The last two are still brick-made, as are the Bionicle playsets (albeit to a slightly lesser extent). But then again, if you're saying that Lego are trying to appeal to different markets with the three examples you pointed out, what are thjey doing with Star Wars, Batman and Space? Appealing to different markets...

[Darkness Falls]

I know. I agree with Xenologer. Not a problem changing the piece, but the problem lies with mixing the old and new slopes in sets. But like I said, I get over it by building symetrically and in MOCs I try to use one type of slope, or at least 'hide' the other. I agree it's a bit annoying, but there're ways to get round it. You could always look at MOCs from further away... ;-)

The last two are still brick-made, as are the Bionicle playsets (albeit to a slightly lesser extent). But then again, if you're saying that Lego are trying to appeal to different markets with the three examples you pointed out, what are thjey doing with Star Wars, Batman and Space? Appealing to different markets...

Exactly. But, you can only have so many licenses that use bricks before branching out. Bionicle was originally not a brick-built theme. And, by putting themes like Exo-Force and Spongebob in, they allow themselves to appeal to different markets and ages, but they also feel the urge to create things that further immerse themselves into those different markets.

[Brainbox]

but they also feel the urge to create things that further immerse themselves into those different markets.

Like the cardboard blaster-thing? I actually think that novelty items can help to further a line, for example stationary. Although the cardboard blaster-thing does have me questioning that.

[Starwars4J]

Well, if you're going into appealing to different audiences, they've been doing that since they started with Castle, Town, Space, etc. And still, even Bionicle to a somewhat limited degree uses bricks, the point is that the brick quality is going down the tubes. Little color control, little control over which pieces are put into a set (mixed colors/part types are NOT acceptable).

And as for that stupid nerf launcher? If they're gonna do something, at least do it right! That launcher was...ew :-X

[alex54]

Little color control, little control over which pieces are put into a set (mixed colors/part types are NOT acceptable).

Can't say more! And everything is already said. The quality of the bricks has fall down!

Just compare the quality of my old bricks, with which I have built, and always build. Even if some of them are a little dirty and nibbled, they are quite good after being cleaned, looking like their first day. The time has passed and the bricks belong the same...

But now, I think that with a same intensif use, the bricks will not pass through the time... With the new set, I have the feeling that I can build and rebuild the sets with a limited number of time, like a cd RW, just a thousand of time, but after you can have some "problems".

Now TLC, we have find some (very) good sets, we need to find your legendary quality of bricks...

[zouave]

Lego guality is slipping.I recently bought KK Battle at the Pass set.It was great except the pieces didn't fit all to well.Also it required stickers. P.S. How do add faces?