Subject:
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Re: color problems with 10190
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Fri, 6 Jul 2007 20:41:03 GMT
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Viewed:
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3462 times
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In lugnet.general, Scott Lyttle wrote:
> In lugnet.general, John Patterson wrote:
> > In lugnet.general, Ahui Herrera wrote:
> > > In lugnet.general, Ted Godwin wrote:
> > > > In lugnet.general, John Patterson wrote:
> > > > > I just put together 10190 and find that the navy blue bricks come in two or
> > > > > three shades. Has anyone else had this observation? I hope that this is a
> > > > > fluke and not a overall problem since Lego has outsourced the making of the
> > > > > bricks. I opened up a second set and it had the same color problem.
> > > > > John P
> > > >
> > > > LEGO has NOT "outsourced" making the bricks.
> > > >
> > > > They did change the way colour is handled. They now add dye to the plastic at
> > > > the LEGO factory. The change over was not perfect and those colour problems are
> > > > supposed to go away over time but they have to use up the old not-quite-perfect
> > > > bricks first.
> > > >
> > > > It is quite noticeable in the orange used in the recycling truck.
> > > >
> > > > This is what I remember from Bjarke's (sp?) talk at BF'07. He is head of quality
> > > > control and he knows about the colour problems.
> > >
> > >
> > > I 2nd what Ted is saying. At Brickworld the LEGO REPs told us that they are
> > > aware of the color issue and have corrected it.
> > >
> > > TLC changed the way they make the bricks. Before they would use a batch of
> > > "colored plastic" and send that into the molds to make the bricks. The "color
> > > plastic" came alredy COLORED from their plastic supplier.
> > >
> > > To save on cost & storage they now buy CLEAR plastic and during the molding
> > > process inject the COLOR PELLETs into the brick. The LEGO REP said they
> > > miscalculated how much COLOR PELLETS they needed to inject into each type of
> > > brick to ensure the correct color (hue, concerntraction, etc...) they began
> > > getting reports from the consumer on the color issues. In some cases pruple
> > > solid bricks when held to the light you could see right thru them.
> > >
> > > They relooked at their manufactoring and determined that they were not adding
> > > enough COLOR PELLETS for some type of bricks and thus the issue. So they
> > > re-calculated all the COLOR PELLETS qty needed for the bricks.
> > >
> > > Sadly those bricks with the 'lower' COLOR PELLET count have left the bldg. They
> > > are in warehouses and stores across the world so while the color issue has been
> > > fixed those "incorrect color sets" are out in the world and will slowly get
> > > depleted as people buy them.
> > >
> > > -Ahui
> >
> > I know that I didn't imagine it, but there was a post on Lugnet that linked to a
> > story in a financial publication that said they were out sourcing the production
> > of the brioks to Flextronics with has sites around the world mostly in emerging
> > nations. It stated and the thread stated the Lego was no longer making the
> > elements. Perhaps someone else remembers that and has the link. I started
> > noticing problems with the Avitar sets in that the bricks did not fit well
> > together and noticed that they were being produced, or at least some, in the
> > Czeck Republic and China. I have also noticed in other sets that the bricks are
> > sometimes too tight and they are hard to break apart after being built. Also
> > ten years ago those sets would not have been released if there was a color
> > problem. Lego would have ate the costs and corrected it.
> > John P
>
> John,
> from what I understand, Flextronics took over Duplo manufacturing first. LEGO
> had molding operations in the Czech Republic, and that factory has been doing
> very well. Bagging operations in Enfield are being moved to Juarez, Mexico.
> Flextronics became an outsourcer for a lot of the basic bricks, where the
> quality procedures had pretty much become commonplace. Detail items such as
> Technic would still be produced in Denmark. Clikits were manufactured in China,
> but were not profitable, so were discontinued. I do not know of bricks being
> manufactured in China. Items made of cloth, such as minifig capes, and LEGO
> branded merchandise could be made in China as well.
>
> As for the quality issue, It's highly likely that Flextronics takes it's cue
> from TLG regarding the color mix to use. If quality at TLG made a mistake, that
> mistake will probably carry through to the mold operation. Since eating the
> inventory would now be a Flextronics issue, not a TLG issue, there's some
> negotiation between Flextronics and TLG that would need to be worked.
> Unfortunately, eating inventory could also hold up needed deliveries that are
> required to meet market demand and sales forecasts. So, eating the inventory
> hurts both Flextronics and TLG's bottom line now. The key is making the
> decision of quality vs. cost. Some can be overlooked, others cannot. You just
> have to determine on a scale of 1 to 10 where the severity is, and anything
> below x level determines a "eat", and anything below y level is "ship out with a
> slight defect". It goes against the "only the best is good enough" philisophy
> that TLG had for so many years, but money drives the machine.
>
> (on the soapbox for a sec.. in my main job, we do great quality work, but other
> outsourcing groups are charging less..they aren't as good, but since they are
> lower cost, some people want to use them.. unfortunately, nobody is looking at
> the opportunity cost of what happens when the cheaper work causes problems down
> the line...Hopping off soapbox.)
>
> Times are changing, not just at TLG, but everywhere around the
> world--competition is forcing companies to do things they wouldn't do before.
> I'm sure TLG is working to rebuild their financial position to prevent future
> losses, and to have enough working capital to create a buffer if another type of
> loss happend. However, with some of the new products coming out for 2007/2008,
> things just might be good for TLG.
>
> Scott
Thank you, that all makes sense. Some quality issues can be overlooked.
However I do not like having different shades when I build something. It makes
it look a bit cheap and unplaned. I hope that Lego listens as to the the color
problem. It was a mess when they changed gray and brown and dark grey. It is
easy to tell those parts apart in a bin (except for the gray.) I am not sure I
believe the reason was because "kids" liked the new color better. I think that
it was a cost issure with the dye. In my other life we had thread dyed. Every
once in a while the dye lot would be way off and would we question the dyer.
Because of environmental rules they needed to change the dye. If they used the
old dye they would have to pay for a license to use and unfriendly environmental
dye. Also dye makers would go out of business and they would have to find
another source for the dye. I would assume that the same thing would happen
with the dye that they use.
We also would manufacture stitching supplies. The first, test piece would be in
the hundreds of dollars. When approved the first thousand would be around 4,000
dollars and the next thousand would be 2,000. Again I assume that the same
holds true for the manufacture of the bricks that they are outsourcing.
I know that Lego had lost money for a few years and recovered when the Bionicle
line was released. Now with a new CFO the changes just keep coming. I talk
with lego in Enfield and a lot of people lost their jobs. Many were transfer
but not everyone wanted to be transfered to Tennesse. I also think that there
is an increase in the price of the sets over the last few years. More money and
fewer different parts. Perhaps the production runs are smaller now.
John P
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: color problems with 10190
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| (...) John, from what I understand, Flextronics took over Duplo manufacturing first. LEGO had molding operations in the Czech Republic, and that factory has been doing very well. Bagging operations in Enfield are being moved to Juarez, Mexico. (...) (17 years ago, 6-Jul-07, to lugnet.general)
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