| Discussion Forum: Thread 327022 |
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| | | Author: | Papanours  | | Posted: | Sep 13, 2022 09:18 | | Subject: | Cracked minifigs general information | | Viewed: | 121 times | | Topic: | LEGO products | |
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| Hi all,
pardon me but I haven't found any thread with the info I need.
Just a few questions regarding the longevity of minifigs because I have a subtantial
SW minifig collection that I hope to keep for many years.
The minifigs are all from the era when leg printing became standard, so post
2014 I guess.
Most of them have been bought on BL in either "new" or "excellent" condition.
Now, thanks to BL, I have come to realise that minifig pieces sometimes crack
and I'd like to know how much of a risk there is for my collecion.
1) which pieces crack most?
2) how common is cracking?
3) what causes cracking?
4) how well will a minifig stay in "new" condition if only put on display and
handled only very rarely?
Any other pointers would be appreciated.
NT
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| | | | | Author: | peregrinator | | Posted: | Sep 13, 2022 09:19 | | Subject: | Re: Cracked minifigs general information | | Viewed: | 32 times | | Topic: | LEGO products | |
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| I think most cracking is due to playing with them - I don't mean imaginative
play necessarily, but taking them apart and putting them back together, removing
hands from arms, removing arms from torsos, etc.
In LEGO, Papanours writes:
| | Hi all,
pardon me but I haven't found any thread with the info I need.
Just a few questions regarding the longevity of minifigs because I have a subtantial
SW minifig collection that I hope to keep for many years.
The minifigs are all from the era when leg printing became standard, so post
2014 I guess.
Most of them have been bought on BL in either "new" or "excellent" condition.
Now, thanks to BL, I have come to realise that minifig pieces sometimes crack
and I'd like to know how much of a risk there is for my collecion.
1) which pieces crack most?
2) how common is cracking?
3) what causes cracking?
4) how well will a minifig stay in "new" condition if only put on display and
handled only very rarely?
Any other pointers would be appreciated.
NT
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| | | | | Author: | rab1234 | | Posted: | Sep 13, 2022 09:42 | | Subject: | Re: Cracked minifigs general information | | Viewed: | 36 times | | Topic: | LEGO products | |
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| Post 2014, you'll be safe from the brittle reds and other colors at least.
Torso and arm cracking are usually due to swapping parts repeatedly so I think
they'll be fine on display for many years. They shouldn't just crack
on their own if you aren't taking them apart. If you were talking about
2008 to 2012 or so, you'd see brittle red and reddish brown among others.
I've had Nute Gunray figures in particular literally explode on me, sending
shards of red everywhere, just by moving the arm slightly. Lord of the Rings
sets from 2012 are also really bad for their reddish brown plates and bricks.
That being said, the second you put a figure on display it is no longer considered
"new" by Bricklink standards. Just in case you ever think to sell them later,
they must be listed as used.
In LEGO, Papanours writes:
| | Hi all,
pardon me but I haven't found any thread with the info I need.
Just a few questions regarding the longevity of minifigs because I have a subtantial
SW minifig collection that I hope to keep for many years.
The minifigs are all from the era when leg printing became standard, so post
2014 I guess.
Most of them have been bought on BL in either "new" or "excellent" condition.
Now, thanks to BL, I have come to realise that minifig pieces sometimes crack
and I'd like to know how much of a risk there is for my collecion.
1) which pieces crack most?
2) how common is cracking?
3) what causes cracking?
4) how well will a minifig stay in "new" condition if only put on display and
handled only very rarely?
Any other pointers would be appreciated.
NT
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| | | | | Author: | UTLF | | Posted: | Sep 13, 2022 10:02 | | Subject: | (Cancelled) | | Viewed: | 41 times | | Topic: | LEGO products | |
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| | (Cancelled) |
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| | | | | | | Author: | Papanours | | Posted: | Sep 13, 2022 10:21 | | Subject: | Re: Cracked minifigs general information | | Viewed: | 33 times | | Topic: | LEGO products | |
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| Thanks a lot, especially for the advice on the plates.
I have wall mounted cases with a plexiglass door/cover so the figs will be exposed
to a minimum of light (but not sunlight).
The figs will be displayed upon a Lego "catwalk" made of flat tiles on top of
16x16 plates.
To keep the figs in place I use open stud jumper plates with a signle stud (either
item 15573 or 3794 or 87580). The single stud allows my turn the figs a little
to one side or the other and create a little lore variation in how they're
lined up.
In LEGO, utlf writes:
| | | | 1) which pieces crack most?
|
In terms of minifig parts: arms, sides of torsos, legs
| | 2) how common is cracking?
|
It varies on how the minifigure(s) are stored, displayed and handled; I've
had brand new minifigures legs crack from being placed on a stud for the first
time, and I've had minifigures that are 30+ years old and still in perfect
shape
Popping arms/hands out of the sockets, placing/removing minifigs from studs often,
general handling (moving arms/hands/legs around) will cause the parts to become
loose over time as well
| | 4) how well will a minifig stay in "new" condition if only put on display and
handled only very rarely?
|
Once again, a lot of factors come into play:
- where they are stored (in a case, out in the open, in/out of direct sunlight,
etc)
- how often they are moved from studs/handled
- what colour plastic the minifig is made out of
Dark red, reddish brown, pearl gold/pearl dark gray, and dark blue tend to crack
more often than most other colours in my experience - even if they are just set
up on display, if they sit out in the open, the plastic will become brittle and
creaky over time and lead to cracking or extremely stiff joints
I find that placing minifigures on hollow studs (ex: ones seen on jumper plates)
give them a longer mileage and significantly decrease the risk of legs cracking
when compared to placing them on solid studs (ex: the 3x4 plates seen in CMF
series)
I am not sure why that is, but my guess is that the jumper plates/hollow studs
have some "give" to them due to the seemingly softer plastic they're made
out of, as well as being hollow, which would also help with having more "give"
I would recommend using the 1x3 jumper plates (part 34103) instead of plates
with solid studs
I also recommend buying duplicates of your favourite minifigures so you have
backups in case the displayed ones crack or something
Store the minifigs in a case if possible, out of direct heat/sunglight, and individually
bag & bin any minifigures not on display to ensure they don't get scratched
or damaged while in storage
That's about all I can think of for now, hope it helps!
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| | | | | | | Author: | tonnic | | Posted: | Sep 13, 2022 10:40 | | Subject: | Re: Cracked minifigs general information | | Viewed: | 42 times | | Topic: | LEGO products | |
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| In LEGO, utlf writes:
| | | | 1) which pieces crack most?
|
In terms of minifig parts: arms, sides of torsos, legs
| | 2) how common is cracking?
|
It varies on how the minifigure(s) are stored, displayed and handled; I've
had brand new minifigures legs crack from being placed on a stud for the first
time, and I've had minifigures that are 30+ years old and still in perfect
shape
Popping arms/hands out of the sockets, placing/removing minifigs from studs often,
general handling (moving arms/hands/legs around) will cause the parts to become
loose over time as well
| | 4) how well will a minifig stay in "new" condition if only put on display and
handled only very rarely?
|
Once again, a lot of factors come into play:
- where they are stored (in a case, out in the open, in/out of direct sunlight,
etc)
- how often they are moved from studs/handled
- what colour plastic the minifig is made out of
Dark red, reddish brown, pearl gold/pearl dark gray, and dark blue tend to crack
more often than most other colours in my experience - even if they are just set
up on display, if they sit out in the open, the plastic will become brittle and
creaky over time and lead to cracking or extremely stiff joints
|
With all pearl colors (pear gold, pearl light gold, pearl dark gray) you always
see the seams of the sides of the torso and arms very well. At first glance they
might look like cracks but most of the time they are just very visible seams
due to the coloring of the product. So always check them well before you think
they are damaged.
| | I find that placing minifigures on hollow studs (ex: ones seen on jumper plates)
give them a longer mileage and significantly decrease the risk of legs cracking
when compared to placing them on solid studs (ex: the 3x4 plates seen in CMF
series)
I am not sure why that is, but my guess is that the jumper plates/hollow studs
have some "give" to them due to the seemingly softer plastic they're made
out of, as well as being hollow, which would also help with having more "give"
I would recommend using the 1x3 jumper plates (part 34103) instead of plates
with solid studs
I also recommend buying duplicates of your favourite minifigures so you have
backups in case the displayed ones crack or something
Store the minifigs in a case if possible, out of direct heat/sunglight, and individually
bag & bin any minifigures not on display to ensure they don't get scratched
or damaged while in storage
That's about all I can think of for now, hope it helps!
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| | | | | Author: | Sadler_Bricks | | Posted: | Sep 14, 2022 14:53 | | Subject: | Re: Cracked minifigs general information | | Viewed: | 35 times | | Topic: | LEGO products | |
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| If its on display I dont think cracks will happen anytime soon.
Sadler_bricks
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