Subject:
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Re: Ageing Lego Bricks
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Tue, 20 Mar 2001 20:33:54 GMT
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Viewed:
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1395 times
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Sonnich, I agree, there isn't anything that can be done about these skewed
bricks. One thing I was thinking about using them for was for the roof of a
medieval house or castle, where imperfect roofs are to be expected (irregular
slate or stone roof). Maybe some of the less skewed bricks can be used for that
purpose.
But then there are those that cannot even attach to other bricks. I have a
(very rare) old fliptop garage door in white (1955-61) that is very warped (from
a 1957 set), and is totally useless. Too bad, because the old doors are common
in red, but very rare in white. I still have 3 others that are not warped
however, that I can use.
That is one of the problems with buying old LEGO sets from the 1955-65 era.
When people build the set, there is so much warping that the completed building
looks like an earthquake hit it. One example is the old Esso Service Station
(#310). The only reason I buy old classic LEGO sets is for the complete set
with box, never because I want to build it.
In the case of the Esso Service Station, I purchased nice (only slightly warped)
examples of the Esso sign and pumps, fliptop garage kits, and ESSO SERVICE
sign. I build the set with all other pieces (including windows and doors) in
ABS plastic. One Cellulose Acetate item that I can use freely are the white
waffle bottom plates (2x8, 4x8, 6x8 and 4x8 right curve and 4x8 left curve). I
believe that the waffle bottoms somehow prevent the pieces from warping, because
I don't think that ANY of mine (about 500 of these plates) are warped. This is
not true for those few CA small plates (with the tube bottoms) that I have. The
2x3 and 2x4 CA plates usually have some warping.
Gary Istok
Sonnich Jensen wrote:
> Correct. The problem is present especially with older roofbricks. I have
> plenty of them in BLUE, about half of thme is unusaeble cause they are
> "skewed". Thay also are lighter blue in colour.
>
> There is nothing to do about it AFAIK. I would like to fix mine, bit just
> not possible.
>
> Gary Istok <gistok@umich.edu> wrote in message
> news:3AB23436.B2914F16@umich.edu...
> > Hi Guido,
> >
> > The problem with 99.9% of all old bricks not fitting together well anymore • is due
> > to one simple answer. And that has absolutely nothing to do with storage • or heat
> > (unless you're talking about a fire or oven temperature). It is because • the are
> > made of Cellulose Acetate. That material was in use from 1955-63 in • Europe, and
> > from 1961 (the first North American LEGO) thru 1968. Cellulose Acetate • can most
> > easily be spotted in red and yellow bricks. The red bricks are somewhat • lighter
> > and more orange in color, the yellow bricks have a lighter more "lemon • yellow"
> > color than later bricks. Blue CA looks slightly different than blue ABS, • but white
> > and black bricks are very difficult to tell appart (CA vs. ABS). And in • gray, no
> > CA bricks were ever produced (they came out later), only some CA plates.
> >
> > ABS plastic started being produced in 1963, but for some reason, the • Samsonite
> > folks (maker of Lego in USA/Canada at the time) must have had a warehouse • full of
> > Cellulose Acetate, because there was still a lot of CA Lego in sets as • late as the
> > late 60's. There are a lot of cases where Samsonite mixed bricks (usually • red or
> > yellow CA, and blue or white ABS). As to the yellowing of bricks, white • obviously
> > has the most yellowing, but blue and gray bricks also exhibit a lot of • yellowing.
> > But most of the yellowing occurs with ABS bricks, not the earlier CA ones.
> >
> > Hope that helps explain it.
> > Gary Istok
> >
> >
> > Guido Heunen wrote:
> >
> > > Hi
> > >
> > > Recently I looked into boxes containing some older lego bricks • (1970-1985), and
> > > I was very unhappy when I tried to build something. What happend is that • these
> > > bricks don't fit anymore easily. I had to force them to be connected. To
> > > deconnect them I had to put (of course) a lot of force on them.
> > >
> > > An other problem is that all the white bricks (for sure the older ones) • change
> > > colour. Although I keep them in a dark container. For this reason I • don't want
> > > to construct my "white" models
> > > (such as the hospital (town) and space shuttle (technic))
> > > because the sunlight (and maybe normal light) makes this problem even • worse.
> > >
> > > Did someone have the same experience and what can I do.
> > >
> > > Guido
> >
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Ageing Lego Bricks
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| Correct. The problem is present especially with older roofbricks. I have plenty of them in BLUE, about half of thme is unusaeble cause they are "skewed". Thay also are lighter blue in colour. There is nothing to do about it AFAIK. I would like to (...) (23 years ago, 17-Mar-01, to lugnet.general)
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