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Quality on vintage Lego is usually better than what you buy today. They claim they haven't made many changes to the process, but a yardsale batch of Lego usuall

Quality on vintage Lego is usually better than what you buy today. They claim they haven't made many changes to the process, but a yardsale batch of Lego usually has less color abnormalities (aside from the age yellowing) and brittleness than a box right off the store shelf. Perhaps QA isn't as rigorous anymore.

dolmen 5y ago
Or just that QA didn't scale with multiple factories around the world?
- philk10 5y ago
  or QA notices but is told it's not a problem to be fixed
modeless 5y ago
On the other hand, vintage Legos contain cadmium.
- JeanSebTr 5y ago
  Quite an alarming claim! Looks like regarding to Cadmium, "vintage" means up to mid-to-late 1980s [0] > Apparently The [Lego] has been aware of this concern for at least three decades (hence the switch to Cadmium free plastic colorants sometime in the mid-to-late 1980s) [0] https://tamararubin.com/2019/05/vintage-1970s-legos-test-positive-for-a-high-level-of-a-known-carcinogen-how-can-i-tell-if-my-legos-are-safe/ https://tamararubin.com/2019/05/vintage-1970s-legos-test-pos...
vanviegen 5y ago
Based on my old Lego from the mid eighties, I have a different experience. The old bricks now fit together rather loosely, compared to my children's brand new Lego. Most of the colors are also not what they used to be, besides having been stored in an UV-free environment most of the time. No telling what the new bricks will be like in 35 years of course.
- animal531 5y ago
  I'd imagine that after 10 years of plugging and unplugging, washing in random liquids, biting on them to get them loose etc., folding characters legs in and out until they become floppy any set would be a bit run down. But I'm sure tolerances today are higher than ever before.
- brianpaul 5y ago
  I concur. My childhood LEGO from 1980-ish (now my son's) have noticeable color and fit variation. Still usable, but definitely not as nice as the new stuff.
- incanus77 5y ago
  Same here, some going back to the late 70s.
- bookofjoe 5y ago
  They will be holograms. We will be too.
- thrower123 5y ago
  A thing I see a lot in the new bricks is that the color isn't true all the way through a brick. It's almost like a gradient, where the dye wasn't mixed into the base white ABS plastic very well
handrous 5y ago
IIRC they switched to some kind of biodegradable plastic a few years back. I'm pretty sure they're softer, but it might be in my head. What'd help way more with waste is if they would stop making like 75% of the part count of modern sets short 1x1s and other really tiny—often flat-topped, because the box photo mustn't display any nubs, I guess—pieces. If my kids take some legos outside, those are what get lost permanently. I get them to pick up what I can, and make a pass myself for any they missed, because as toys go they're gold, but some of those tiny pieces are for-sure buried in my yard. That'd also make the sets more playable—repairing play-induced damage on a modern set is hell because of the fiddly little constructions they use, and there are few exposed nubs to connect things to for expanding/customizing/having-minifigs-stand-on-it, without tearing off a bunch of pieces.
- dharmab 5y ago
  The new bioplastic is only used on flexible parts like vegetation. Most bricks are still made from ABS (although they're continuing to prototype other plastics)
  - tspike 5y ago
    It's also not biodegradable; it's chemically identical to the polyethylene used before. It's only the process and materials sourcing that changed.
- travisgriggs 5y ago
  I'm personally fine with the term nubs and know exactly what you mean. In some AFOL circles, they'll jump down your throat for not using the "correct" term "stud". The canonical term for the "flat-topped" is tile. My personal gripe is just the explosion of special purpose pieces that Lego vends today. Less is more Lego.
  - handrous 5y ago
    Ah, cool, thanks for the corrections. Yeah, I'm not into online lego fandom enough to know the correct terms—I just played with them for probably low-thousands of hours as a kid. I do like how many bigger modern sets come with a "brick tool". I always wanted one as a kid when, but they were a separate purchase and I never wanted one bad enough for it to make my wishlists, over more sets. Even the $80+ sets (in 80s/90s dollars!) back then didn't come with them. They are handy.
creaturemachine 5y ago
Modern mini-figures from the past 10 yrs or so develop cracks in the arms where the hand fits, making them fall apart very easily. None of my old ones from the 80/90's develop them. Large blocks have been modified to use less material, so thinner walls and different structures to gain back the rigidity. They may not have change the process, but it feels like materials certainly have.

dolmen 5y ago

Or just that QA didn't scale with multiple factories around the world?

philk10 5y ago
or QA notices but is told it's not a problem to be fixed

modeless 5y ago

On the other hand, vintage Legos contain cadmium.

JeanSebTr 5y ago
Quite an alarming claim! Looks like regarding to Cadmium, "vintage" means up to mid-to-late 1980s [0] > Apparently The [Lego] has been aware of this concern for at least three decades (hence the switch to Cadmium free plastic colorants sometime in the mid-to-late 1980s) [0] https://tamararubin.com/2019/05/vintage-1970s-legos-test-positive-for-a-high-level-of-a-known-carcinogen-how-can-i-tell-if-my-legos-are-safe/ https://tamararubin.com/2019/05/vintage-1970s-legos-test-pos...

vanviegen 5y ago

Based on my old Lego from the mid eighties, I have a different experience. The old bricks now fit together rather loosely, compared to my children's brand new Lego. Most of the colors are also not what they used to be, besides having been stored in an UV-free environment most of the time. No telling what the new bricks will be like in 35 years of course.

animal531 5y ago
I'd imagine that after 10 years of plugging and unplugging, washing in random liquids, biting on them to get them loose etc., folding characters legs in and out until they become floppy any set would be a bit run down. But I'm sure tolerances today are higher than ever before.
brianpaul 5y ago
I concur. My childhood LEGO from 1980-ish (now my son's) have noticeable color and fit variation. Still usable, but definitely not as nice as the new stuff.
incanus77 5y ago
Same here, some going back to the late 70s.
bookofjoe 5y ago
They will be holograms. We will be too.
thrower123 5y ago
A thing I see a lot in the new bricks is that the color isn't true all the way through a brick. It's almost like a gradient, where the dye wasn't mixed into the base white ABS plastic very well

handrous 5y ago

IIRC they switched to some kind of biodegradable plastic a few years back. I'm pretty sure they're softer, but it might be in my head. What'd help way more with waste is if they would stop making like 75% of the part count of modern sets short 1x1s and other really tiny—often flat-topped, because the box photo mustn't display any nubs, I guess—pieces. If my kids take some legos outside, those are what get lost permanently. I get them to pick up what I can, and make a pass myself for any they missed, because as toys go they're gold, but some of those tiny pieces are for-sure buried in my yard. That'd also make the sets more playable—repairing play-induced damage on a modern set is hell because of the fiddly little constructions they use, and there are few exposed nubs to connect things to for expanding/customizing/having-minifigs-stand-on-it, without tearing off a bunch of pieces.

dharmab 5y ago
The new bioplastic is only used on flexible parts like vegetation. Most bricks are still made from ABS (although they're continuing to prototype other plastics)
- tspike 5y ago
  It's also not biodegradable; it's chemically identical to the polyethylene used before. It's only the process and materials sourcing that changed.
travisgriggs 5y ago
I'm personally fine with the term nubs and know exactly what you mean. In some AFOL circles, they'll jump down your throat for not using the "correct" term "stud". The canonical term for the "flat-topped" is tile. My personal gripe is just the explosion of special purpose pieces that Lego vends today. Less is more Lego.
- handrous 5y ago
  Ah, cool, thanks for the corrections. Yeah, I'm not into online lego fandom enough to know the correct terms—I just played with them for probably low-thousands of hours as a kid. I do like how many bigger modern sets come with a "brick tool". I always wanted one as a kid when, but they were a separate purchase and I never wanted one bad enough for it to make my wishlists, over more sets. Even the $80+ sets (in 80s/90s dollars!) back then didn't come with them. They are handy.

creaturemachine 5y ago

Modern mini-figures from the past 10 yrs or so develop cracks in the arms where the hand fits, making them fall apart very easily. None of my old ones from the 80/90's develop them. Large blocks have been modified to use less material, so thinner walls and different structures to gain back the rigidity. They may not have change the process, but it feels like materials certainly have.