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In lugnet.ambassadors, David Simmons wrote:
> Why have textured slopes been arbitrarily abandoned? The last few retail
> purchases of Lego sets that I made disappointed me greatly in that the pieces
> I'd most desired, 2x2 medium-slope corners and 2x2x3 extreme-slope bricks, both
> in dark red, were no longer textured. They are now smooth. This means that
> they will not match all the hundreds of other textured slope bricks in my
> collection.
>
> For a pictorial example, scroll down a bit on this page on my website:
>
> <http://www.xenobuzz.com/MyLegoCreations/Odds%20&%20Ends.htm>
If you look closely at your photo, especially the corner slope, you'll see that
the surface is mottled, not smooth like bricks. This seems to confirm that it is
a consequence of the deterioration of the molds.
But note also this http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=716249 pic
which shows the considerable variations in slopes even pre-1980. There are
probably many more examples. And the houses still look ok.
This is not a new thing. It's just a result of trying to get as much life out of
the current molds as possible.
ROSCO
(Although I am an ambassador, these are just my own observations, not an
"official" response)
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Ross Crawford wrote:
snip
> If you look closely at your photo, especially the corner slope, you'll see that
> the surface is mottled, not smooth like bricks. This seems to confirm that it is
> a consequence of the deterioration of the molds.
>
> But note also this http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=716249 pic
> which shows the considerable variations in slopes even pre-1980. There are
> probably many more examples. And the houses still look ok.
>
> This is not a new thing. It's just a result of trying to get as much life out of
> the current molds as possible.
>
> ROSCO
>
> (Although I am an ambassador, these are just my own observations, not an
> "official" response)
If mold deterioration was the case, the "pits and mounds" would appear the same,
just "flattened". The parts of the mold that makes the "pits" would be in
contact with the molten plastic first, and would most likely wear down fastest,
creating shallower "pits". I observed this on the black 2x8 slopes that came in
set 4954; a shiney patch about where the plastic is injected into the mold.
Speaking of, if mold wear was the case, the wear would be uneven. Also, the
bricks would seem larger (and the inside smaller), because the whole mold would
wear down, not just the textured part, and I know that's not the case, because
if it were, it would be very difficult to snap bricks together.
sjf
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