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In lugnet.color, Gereon Stein wrote:
> In lugnet.color, Dave McCooey wrote:
> > Was this other plastic type used in the 60s or earlier? These red bricks in our
> > collection are glossy and have an orange-ish tint, which fits the description
> > for CA (at least based on what I've read here on LUGNET), but none of them are
> > warped, even in the slightest. We have some white bricks that are warped, so
> > they are probably CA. Is it possible that red CA bricks don't warp like other
> > CA bricks?
>
> I think there are two issues here:
>
> The original CA bricks (made until 1963) have a tendency to warp, shrink or
> become similarly unusable. The extent of warping or shrinking varies, depending
> on how the bricks were treated and stored over the years. Few if any should
> still be easily interlockable with modern bricks.
>
> In some rare cases (I only have a couple of blue slope bricks) you find bricks
> with the old (somewhat "hand written") LEGO imprint on the studs but apparently
> made from ABS already.
>
> What the other post referenced as a "different plastic" appears to relate to
> e.g. the 1*1 bricks with handle that were used in a variety of 1990s and later
> train sets. I also know of some of the 1*1 plates with clip and headlight bricks
> from that period. They actually appear to be made from a different, slightly
> softer material. Also, their colors usually slightly vary from the standard
> color scheme. This is definitely not the same issue as was with the CA bricks.
Our off-color red bricks are from the 60s, and the plastic they are made from
seems to be at least as hard as ABS, so they aren't made from this third, softer
plastic. They are most likely CA, but the fact that none of them are warped is
suspect. They all interlock well with ABS bricks. It's just that they don't
"grip" very well.
Speaking of bricks with the old LEGO imprint on the studs, we have lots of them.
They appear to be ABS, as you mentioned. These are probably mid-60s bricks.
Dave
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In lugnet.color, Dave McCooey wrote:
> Our off-color red bricks are from the 60s, and the plastic they are made from
> seems to be at least as hard as ABS, so they aren't made from this third, softer
> plastic. They are most likely CA, but the fact that none of them are warped is
> suspect. They all interlock well with ABS bricks. It's just that they don't
> "grip" very well.
Well the lack of "grip" is a strong hint for CA anyway. Even if the bricks are
not warped, there is some extent of shrinkage which causes the lack of grip - I
think I heard from different sources that CA bricks never had too much grip to
begin with.
> Speaking of bricks with the old LEGO imprint on the studs, we have lots of them.
> They appear to be ABS, as you mentioned. These are probably mid-60s bricks.
Could be - I can only refer to the few blue slopes I have, and the material is
positively ABS. Might be LEGO produced ABS bricks using the old masters,
although I understand the machinery required is in several points very different
from the one used for CA.
Isn't there any official statement on the history of LEGO brick materials?
Jerry
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In lugnet.color, Dave McCooey wrote:
> In lugnet.color, Gereon Stein wrote:
> > In lugnet.color, Dave McCooey wrote:
> > > Was this other plastic type used in the 60s or earlier? These red bricks in our
> > > collection are glossy and have an orange-ish tint, which fits the description
> > > for CA (at least based on what I've read here on LUGNET), but none of them are
> > > warped, even in the slightest. We have some white bricks that are warped, so
> > > they are probably CA. Is it possible that red CA bricks don't warp like other
> > > CA bricks?
> >
> > I think there are two issues here:
> >
> > The original CA bricks (made until 1963) have a tendency to warp, shrink or
> > become similarly unusable. The extent of warping or shrinking varies, depending
> > on how the bricks were treated and stored over the years. Few if any should
> > still be easily interlockable with modern bricks.
> >
> > In some rare cases (I only have a couple of blue slope bricks) you find bricks
> > with the old (somewhat "hand written") LEGO imprint on the studs but apparently
> > made from ABS already.
> >
> > What the other post referenced as a "different plastic" appears to relate to
> > e.g. the 1*1 bricks with handle that were used in a variety of 1990s and later
> > train sets. I also know of some of the 1*1 plates with clip and headlight bricks
> > from that period. They actually appear to be made from a different, slightly
> > softer material. Also, their colors usually slightly vary from the standard
> > color scheme. This is definitely not the same issue as was with the CA bricks.
>
> Our off-color red bricks are from the 60s, and the plastic they are made from
> seems to be at least as hard as ABS, so they aren't made from this third, softer
> plastic. They are most likely CA, but the fact that none of them are warped is
> suspect. They all interlock well with ABS bricks. It's just that they don't
> "grip" very well.
>
> Speaking of bricks with the old LEGO imprint on the studs, we have lots of them.
> They appear to be ABS, as you mentioned. These are probably mid-60s bricks.
>
> Dave
These off color bricks are from the mid to late 70s and maybe into the very
early 80s. The are neither kind of plastic that the Samsonite and early sets
were made from, a totally different soft plastic and they grip the same as the
newer bricks. Again, I have only noted this on the 1x1 with clips or headlights
and the airtanks and the 1x2 plates with ladder. I also noticed an off color
gray that I forgot to mention as well as the yellow and the red at the same
times. I think, and it is a thought, maybe they tried out sourcing to see what
would happen, or they got an inferior plastic and went with it anyway. These
bricks grip quite well, just slightly off color and of a different plastic.
John P
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