Subject:
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Re: Jake did good - Other Quality Issues
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Mon, 10 May 2004 18:42:24 GMT
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Viewed:
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3599 times
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In lugnet.general, Thomas Main wrote:
> In lugnet.general, Cary Clark wrote:
> <snip>
> > Here are some outstanding issues that have never been addressed to my knowledge
> > by you or anyone else at LEGO. (Please forgive my igorance if I am wrong!)
> >
> > - The 9V wheel sets. Starting with the Metroliner re-release, and most noticable
> > on the Santa Fe because of the increased weight of the cars, I have
> > inadvertantly purchased 100s of wheel sets that drag as the wheel bites into the
> > plastic. This was clearly a design defect. My questions for LEGO:
> >
> > Has the design defect been identified and corrected?
> > Have the defective wheelsets been removed from inventory? (Both in manufacturing
> > and in the S@H service stock?)
> > Is there a policy for large buyers like myself to obtain replacements?
I've had this problem and it gets worse the more weight you put on the wheelsets
(it's awful with 8mm:1ft scale trains as the trains are twice the weight of
6-wide ones). I've had to modify quite a few wheelsets as a workaround. I too
am seeking assurance that the problem has been fixed.
> > - The Santa Fe passenger car designs. Unless the 9V track is perfectly level,
> > the plates on the bottom of the cars will rub against the track.
> >
> > Has the design defect been identified?
> > Have the instructions been altered or amended to work around this?
Looks like tiles need to be used on the bottom in place of plates with studs.
> > - The HP Knight Bus subject-that-may-not-be-named:
> >
> > Is this truely acceptable quality in LEGOs eyes?
> > Can we expect similar variance in the future?
> > Do you see the same problem that I and many others do?
I've avoided buying the Knight Bus due to this problem. When I am assured that
the problem is fixed, then I'll buy.
> > - Brick quality control
> >
> > "Ben" Beneke has documented many problems with recent bricks, but most memorable
> > for me is this:
> >
> > http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=615926
> >
> > It shows two stacks of plates of different heights! Since Ben obtained the
> > malformed plates from Pick-A-Brick in Cologne, it suggests that Pick-A-Brick is
> > a dumping ground for out of spec parts.
> >
> > Is this truely acceptable quality in LEGOs eyes?
> > Can we expect similar variance in the future?
It's not just Pick-a-Brick! I've had this problem with stacks of plates from
ordinary sets and bulk packs from LS@H. Putting two stacks of 2x3s together,
there is a variance of a whole plate height in 40 - a 1 in 40 tolerance error,
or 2.5%. That's a ridiculous margin of error considering the normal tolerances
of parts.
It's not just the height of parts either. Try stacking some 1x2 bricks and see
how they don't line up like they used to.
> > ---
> >
> > Jake, I do not doubt that you work very, very hard. I also know that not one of
> > the problems I mention are in any way your fault. However, it would go miles
> > toward restoring my faith in LEGO to hear some progress on any of these
> > concerns.
> >
> > If you or anyone else can point me to a thread that answers one or all of these
> > issues, then please accept my apologies. I'd love to know that even one of these
> > issues has been officially addressed.
> >
> > Cary Clark
>
> Spotlighted. I would also like to hear some official response to the many valid
> points raised in this post. I hope it doesn't get lost in this thread.
>
> --
> Thomas Main
> thomasmain@myrealbox.com
Hear hear!
I suspect that there are an awful lot of ducks without their third coat of
paint, or even the second one! (see the Ultimate Lego Book).
I want to hear that someone at TLG is staying up all night putting back the
quality.
I'll add to the list of issues:
#5: 71427 motors: I'm glad that 43362 motors appear to have solved the problems,
but what's this I hear about replacements for faulty motors only up to 2 years
old? The policy used to be lifetime warranty on electrical parts. A motor that
is known to last only 2 years isn't worth £15. I've had 6 of about 20 replaced
so far. If it's genuinely faulty it should be replaced. period. What is the
life expectancy of a motor? It must have a reliability calculation somewhere so
that it's not over-engineered and therefore too expensive. Is there a
recommendation to exercise all motors regularly?
#6: Why do the pneumatic cylinders in 8455 Backhoe Loader need their nozzles
drilling out to remove the airflow restriction before they can be used as
intended? Pulling and pushing a cylinder by hand will illustrate this point.
If you pull all the way fast then let go it retracts part way because the air
can't get in fast enough.
#7: Some parts are streaked with other colours. Is this because the moulding
machines are not cleaned out properly between colour batches? A few people
value these parts for rarity, but I find it just another corner that's been cut.
I've had 4x4 plates, 1x2 bricks and now a -45degx1 roof tile with this problem.
The first two were black parts streaked with silver - I don't know of those
parts ever being produced in silver!
#8: One of my 4410 creator sets contained a blue 1x3 brick instead of the blue
1x4 brick that should have been there. I thought machines did the counting, so
how on earth did this happen? Has the tolerance on the weighing machine also
been relaxed, so that it wasn't detected?
Jake, please would you ask around and post some official answers to these
issues. I know it's not your fault, but you're best placed to find out.
Thanks.
Mark Bellis
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Jake did good?
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| In lugnet.general, Cary Clark wrote: <snip> (...) Spotlighted. I would also like to hear some official response to the many valid points raised in this post. I hope it doesn't get lost in this thread. -- Thomas Main thomasmain@myrealbox.com (20 years ago, 10-May-04, to lugnet.general)
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