Continuing degrading quality issues

[mr_joshua]

I, like many other AFOL's around here have been noticing the changes in part quality and consistency for some time. I do understand that a change in process was made a while back and they are starting to iron out the kinks in issues like color quality. What my concern is the recent fit quality of parts. For a specific example, the Home One set. The dark grey 1x6 tiles and the 2x6 dk grey plates specifically. I can place two identical pieces together on another random part and fit a credit card in between the gap that the 1x6 tiles (or 2x6 plates) leave...on the other hand, if i rotate both plates 180 and try to place them back on the same random part they will not even fit. This is completely horrible if the qualtiy assurance process has changed so much that parts dont even fit together properly. I know that I can call TLG and they will be more than happy to send replacement parts for free, but this is only a temporary fix.

All the above is simply my basis for asking the question, 'How much/many complaints does it take until quality problems like this are fixed?'

[Solo]

Quick question: are you submitting complaints to Lego each time you encounter an issue like this?

[ie10421]

This may be common knowledge, but if you call in for a replacement part instead of using the online form, they now ask for information form the box, attempting to determine the particular batch it came from. (At least is what I was told). From now on I report all my issues over the phone with customer service.

[mr_joshua]

@ Don Solo,
Any time I find an issue (seems to be a lot in the past year), I call TLG directly...as far as submitting a formal complaint to them, not specifically. When I do call them they ask the usual (box code, etc.) and I let them know that I am concerned with the future quality of pieces.

If you have a way to get to this complaint/problem line of contact, please let me know.

Thanks for the help,

Josh

[Solo]

I'm glad you call them instead of using the online contact form, it seems to have a better response rate. Are you just phoning in parts requests, or are you talking to customer service about the quality issue and getting handed off for a replacement? I haven't done either in so long I forgot if it's a separate process.

Also, would you please take some pictures of the gap problem you described as well? I want to bring this up in the ambassador forum and it would be a lot better if there was a clear image of the problem.

[mr_joshua]

Hello again Solo,

I made some time and took a few pictures of the recent problem. I was not too surprised to find that the two 1x10 black plates in the new swamp speeder set also had the same fit problem. I also need to correct myself about the previous part descriptions, they were the 1x6 Dk Grey plates and the 1x8 Dk Grey tiles....the pictures are saved in the following location:

<http://cid-a06668de5cee3f79.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Lego Defects>

Let me know if these pictures help in any way.

Thanks again for your assistance,

Josh

[Prince Kahuka]

Working link:

http://cid-a06668de5cee3f79.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Lego%20Defects

[Ted495]

I wonder if that has always been an issue that you just need to call them about?

There was a castle set that was a blacksmith(armor shop or something), and it came with a black sword ( to my knowledge, the only set that does ) and it had 4-8 1x2 grey bricks that all would not stay stuck together.

So my mom called more or less because we had two questions, why the sword was black and what to do with the bricks. They sent replacements and to my knowledge I don't remember any other set ever having a problem.

I mean if they have 1 in 75,000 chance of a brick issue in the mid 1980s, the odds have to have gone up since they make so many more bricks now, or am I thinking about it incorrectly? I feel like you may have just had bad luck and need to keep asking for replacements.

Edit: I found the set. http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=6041-1

[Bruno]

I noticed that recent Creator sets had pieces that did not connect as nicely as older sets. There are gaps between some elements and overlapping with others. I don't remember this being an issue before. Personally, color discrepancies don't bother me nearly as much, as pieces that fit like they were made by Megablocks. It is as if this new plastic shrunk under some circumstances.

[Morgan19]

Same here, unfortunately, and I agree that it's more alarming than the color issue.

I built the big Neptune Carrier set this past weekend and several bricks in two specific spots (the circular dark bley area by the propeller and the cockpit area) won't stay connected no matter how hard I try. I press the bricks together down as hard as I can (which inofitself shouldn't be necessary) and they pop right back up. The most frustrating thing is that all the bricks look fine, even after a fairly meticulous visual inspection.

Come to think of it, a few of the 1x2 tiles in the Separatist Shuttle set I used for the sarlacc contest a few weeks ago wouldn't sit flush with one another, either– there are noticeable gaps between plates when they're next to one another.

Quick question: are you submitting complaints to Lego each time you encounter an issue like this?

I'll be submitting the info to them, as I definitely don't want to see this type of issue become the norm either.

m19

[Solo]

Just a quick note, I brought his up in the ambassadors forum a while ago, so when I have time later (once I go home) I'll check back in to see if they've given any feedback. At least two other ambassadors were mentioning the same issue. This is definitely a problem.

[Crusader]

I may as well pile on I suppose. Recently the studs on top of a large plate that came in the Twilight set were visibly deformed. The bottom of the plate works fine. My son's Castle Brickmaster set had numerous bley 1x2 bricks with hairline cracks in them. Also the jester's head in the recent Drawbridge set has cracked--I don't know if it came that way, but my boys generally ignore their jesters over more violent looking figs so I'm guessing it did.

None of these are that big of a deal, but the pattern is troubling.