China-quality Lego

[CelesAurivern]

Recently, I've been seeing quite some low-quality printing on minifig torsos. The prints come of as light and the base colour of the torso it visible under the print. Example, look at your Santa Yoda. See how pink his "white" print is? If these parts are NOT made in China, then is this a serious dip in production standards or what? Related topic: http://www.brickset.com/news/article/?ID=2332

[Ed Mack]

Some people think flaws are a BONUS.

On a serious note...Good topic.

I think the increased complexity of minifigure artwork is having an effect on quality at times. If you really look at how very few of the billions of bricks that are produced every year, it is rather amazing how small the percentage is. That being said, if quality does begin to drop from Chinese sources(and it very well might...APPLE anyone?), The LEGO Group can be in a world of hurt and something like quality, that has been a given for 50+ years, will be an issue. That won't be good for any of us.

From personal experience with my own business, I know that everyone in the business world is cutting costs. Cutbacks in labor, materials, inventory, etc...are taxing businesses worldwide and quality is just not the same as 5 years ago. If you don't adapt, your business will fail. Maybe this is the case with the inferior quality LEGO bricks and minifigures.

[CelesAurivern]

Some people think flaws are a BONUS.

Haha, that's just ludicrous, sir.

I've seen a fair bit of misprinted(poorly printed) minifigs in my time.

This just goes to show Lego QC isn't that on the ball.

I understand costs are an issue and moving production to China is part of cost cutting measures.

But the dip in quality seems more like cutting material costs or using cheaper alternatives, which is not acceptable in my book.

By the way, seeing how collectable minifigs(100% made in China) started at USD 1.99 and quickly moved up to USD 2.99 smells like profiteering to me. Good business sense though, to take advantage of the popularity of the product.

[Ed Mack]

Haha, that's just ludicrous, sir.

I've seen a fair bit of misprinted(poorly printed) minifigs in my time.

This just goes to show Lego QC isn't that on the ball.

I understand costs are an issue and moving production to China is part of cost cutting measures.

But the dip in quality seems more like cutting material costs or using cheaper alternatives, which is not acceptable in my book.

By the way, seeing how collectable minifigs(100% made in China) started at USD 1.99 and quickly moved up to USD 2.99 smells like profiteering to me. Good business sense though, to take advantage of the popularity of the product.

I have to say that if The LEGO Group decides to cut back on quality, there will be Hell to pay with the AFOLs out there. AFOLs, on the whole, are very intelligent and well educated individuals. There are many engineers, doctors, chemists, and accountants in the AFOL world and they know the difference in quality. The one picture on Brickset that showed the poor dye quality really spoke volumes to me. Bottom line is that LEGO bricks are quite expensive and I expect the best. I am more concerned about the color and brick quality than graphics on the minifigures, but other might feel that minifigures are more important.

Regardless, I believe there is something to the whole quality issue. I know the box quality has decreased over the years, so why not the brick quality? I hope LEGO realizes that quality is what made LEGO bricks great and they will not invest too much into cheaper manufacturing procedures to make an extra buck.

[CelesAurivern]

but other might feel that minifigures are more important.

I would be one of those as I'm a bit of a minifig junkie. I'm a bit disturbed that a large majority of my redcoat army have "pink" belts! >_<

I know the box quality has decreased over the years, so why not the brick quality?

Speaking of box quality, I'm quite pleased that they finally decided to shrink the boxes to proper sizes. Saves loads on freight. I remember when I opened the Imperial Flagship, I thought I could've fit two ships in that box.

[TheOrcKing]

By the way, seeing how collectable minifigs(100% made in China) started at USD 1.99 and quickly moved up to USD 2.99 smells like profiteering to me. Good business sense though, to take advantage of the popularity of the product.

This is something that's bugged the heck out of me. I mean come on! Each series of MINIFIGURES has sixteen characters in random bags, and we're supposed to be 'okay' with buying a ton of these so that we might get a complete set?

At the original $1.99, sixteen of these comes out to $31.84

At the current $2.99, now it comes out to $47.84!

Good grief, I can buy a good sized set for that much! And that's only if you somehow manage to get the complete set (without any extras) in one shot.

I'll say this much, they better not raise the price of these again. They are SO not worth it, especially since the dang packets are freakin' random. I do like them overall, but many of them just really aren't THAT unique or been done before already (like simple recolors). At the original price, it was okay to end up with a couple of extras, but now it's f***ing annoying when you end up with 3-4 of the same damn character. I'm just glad that the "bump code" is still there on the bottom of the packets. Atleast gives us a fighting chance and it's better than nothing.

As for the boxes, the quality of those seem to be different depending on what country it's from. Overall they're structurely worse than the older ones. I've seen WAY too many brand new boxes on the shelves have all different kinds of damage. Heck, just at Walmart, I saw a box with some holes like it was staked with a pen. Another was cut from the back, another looked as though it was treated like a soccer ball, and every box of the NINJAGO "Samurai Mech" were totally FUBAR'd. (Glad, I got that set when I did.) I know LEGO has no control over how the stores handle their merchandise, but they do have control over the quality (like structural integrity) of the boxes themselves.

With the way things have gone here & there, It feels like at times that LEGO has forgotten its own motto.

"Only the best is good enough"

If that is true, then you need to step up LEGO!

[Ed Mack]

You have to admit that the whole "Collectible Minifigure" idea is a brilliant one by The LEGO Group. First, they put the term "collectible" in the set title, making every LEGO collector and investor want all 16 of them. Second, they make all the bags random and force you to buy 50 of them to get 16 original minifigures. Third, LEGO puts out new collections every 2 days it seems...LOL. Made in China or not, I like them...

[TheOrcKing]

they make all the bags random and force you to buy 50 of them to get 16 original minifigures.

Yeah, you can buy fifty or more of these and still not get all sixteen. I like these alot, but there are some of us that have only so much money to spend on a hobby. Atleast twice I've bought about eight packets from the older series, only to end up with ones I've already had. How many "Grandma's Visitor" does one need? Sheesh...

On another note, did anybody notice how after LEGO came out with the MINIFIGURE mystery pack all of a sudden EVERYBODY else came out with their own figure mystery pack?

MEGA BLOKS - HALO, HELLO KITTY, MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS

KRE-O - TRANSFORMERS (I haven't seen these actually, but you can find out about them on their site)

COBI - MILITARY, BEN10

And some others I can't remember right now...

Again, I like the MINIFIGURES, just within reason.

[CelesAurivern]

Yeah, you can buy fifty or more of these and still not get all sixteen. I like these alot, but there are some of us that have only so much money to spend on a hobby. Atleast twice I've bought about eight packets from the older series, only to end up with ones I've already had. How many "Grandma's Visitor" does one need? Sheesh...

Guys, do you not feel the packs for what's inside before you buy? Everyone does so here.

The leftovers on the shelves are always the CITY themed junk that no one wants, so there's like a ton of mechanics, butchers, etc...

I don't really care for a set of 16 as most of the lot is junk that doesn't interest me anyway. I just hoard up on the historical themed figs.

If you're really keen on a full set though, you can buy full sets for less than retail on brickink. A fair number of sellers part out boxes for resale as sets of 16.

MEGA BLOKS - HALO, HELLO KITTY, MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS

KRE-O - TRANSFORMERS (I haven't seen these actually, but you can find out about them on their site)

COBI - MILITARY, BEN10

And some others I can't remember right now...

I'd like to add Playmobil to the list. I did a double take when I first saw this cos I thought it was a Lego expansion I wasn't aware of.

[TheOrcKing]

Guys, do you not feel the packs for what's inside before you buy? Everyone does so here.

Some characters do have parts that aren't that difficult to tell ("Statue of Liberty" or "Pirate Captain"), but honestly, one pack just feels the same as another when you have to do it blind. The 'smooshing' technique only works so far, then all you have left is gut instinct.

And then there's the 'bump codes', of which now I know 11 for the current series and am planning on using them to help me get the remaining five, as well as some "Evil Robot" extras.

If you're really keen on a full set though, you can buy full sets for less than retail on bricklink. A fair number of sellers part out boxes for resale as sets of 16.

I've only found a few people that sell complete sets. After the initial list price, add shipping & handling costs, then insurance, and finally payment fees. Good grief, you can end up spending around $60-$80 doing things that way. I'm not someone that HAS to have every figure in the MINIFIGURE series, but I do like to try whenever I go shopping. At best, I have used BrickLink to buy certain minifigs from older series.

I'd like to add Playmobil to the list.

Oh wow, even PLAYMOBIL is doing mystery figure packs? Dang.

....Okay, just did a quick search. They're up to series 3 now. The last time I saw PLAYMOBIL anything was the two years my nearby Target carried them (maybe they still have them, just moved elsewhere), and before that was YEARS ago! I gotta admit, PLAYMOBIL does have ALOT of themes! They look pretty good too.

[JesusLovesLegos]

You have to admit that the whole "Collectible Minifigure" idea is a brilliant one by The LEGO Group. First, they put the term "collectible" in the set title, making every LEGO collector and investor want all 16 of them. Second, they make all the bags random and force you to buy 50 of them to get 16 original minifigures. Third, LEGO puts out new collections every 2 days it seems...LOL.

Made in China or not, I like them...

I agree, great idea by Lego.

[Blackjack]

Another decline in minifigure quality is the cracks under the arms on the torso. Most of the collectable Minifgures I've bought have had very loose arms. It happens in the other themes too. This can seriously decreases the value of figs which I cannot afford!