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LEGO Creator Ford Mustang printing issues

The recently released #10265 LEGO Creator Ford Mustang is considered by many LEGO fans as one of the most beautiful cars ever released. The set features an authentic replica of a 1960s Ford Mustang with dark-blue bodywork, white racing stripes, air scoop, 5-spoke rims with road-gripping tires, opening doors, opening trunk, opening hood to reveal a detailed Ford Mustang V8 engine, removable roof panel to access the detailed interior, working steering, and a selection customization add-ons. You can read about the set, as well as watch the designer-video here: LEGO Ford Mustang Designer-Video & More! 🙂

While the LEGO Creator Ford Mustang is awesome, a number of LEGO fans reported having issues with the printed pieces not aligning correctly. The set includes both stickers and printed parts. The stickers are used for the license plates and some of the interior decorations, while the printed parts are used on the body of the car to create the lines on the hood, the roof, and the side of the car. The hood and roof uses white 2×3 and 2×4 tiles and curved slopes with dark-blue printed stripes, and the side of the car uses curved slopes with white printed stripes.

Even when the stripes are all aligned correctly with each other to form a continuous stripe, there is a bit of gap where the pieces connect, as the printing does not go all the way to the edges. This is a limitation in LEGO’s printing, and is not considered an issue. If the lines are properly aligned, they are not as noticeable and won’t take away from the beauty of the car.

However, for some LEGO fans, the stripes on the hood, roof, and the sides do not align correctly, creating weirdly jagged lines. If you have received a set like this, you might be able to remedy the issue by removing all the striped pieces, and switching them around. The tiles on the hood and roof of the car could possibly align better just by turning them around or putting them in a different order. You can also play around with the curved slopes on the sides for the most optimal alignment. It’s a good thing that the pieces are the same, so you have lots of ways to line them up. If you are part of a LEGO User Group, or you have friends who also have the car with the same issue, you can get together and line up all the printed pieces to get the best combination for all the cars.

LEGO acknowledges that this has been a problem with certain batches of the set, and they request to please call customer service to report it. Currently, there is no solution to the issue as the printing falls within LEGO’s established tolerance levels. However, if they receive a large number of complaints, they will look into the possibility of adjusting the tolerance margins for sets that need such straight continuous lines over several pieces. They are also offering to send out non-printed replacement parts.

In addition, some LEGO fans reported that there is an inconsistency of the opacity of the white stripes on the dark-blue pieces. This is not as distracting as the jagged lines though. Here, also, you might be able to put the pieces in a different order to smooth out the differences in opacity. Again, call customer service to report if you have this issue with your set. Looking at the codes on the box, they can pinpoint which factory produced the parts, which is tremendously helpful when trying to track down an issue like this.

Not all LEGO fans  have problems with their #10265 LEGO Creator Ford Mustang. Some people have cars with perfectly straight lines, for some it’s just one or two pieces that are slightly misaligned, and for some the lines are seriously crooked. If you have a set with such defects, calling customer service is the best solution.

On a more positive, note, I have included a full review of the LEGO Creator Ford Mustang below by Sariel. He will show you all the wonderful details of the car, as well as all the customization features. It really is a great set even with the occasionally crooked lines.

For your reference, here is the full description of the set: Discover the magic of an iconic 1960s American muscle car with the LEGO Creator Ford Mustang, featuring dark-blue bodywork with white racing stripes, bonnet scoop, printed mustang grille badge, GT emblems, and 5-spoke rims with road-gripping tires. Developed with input from Ford, this authentic replica comes with optional add-ons for customization, including a selection of license plates, supercharger, rear ducktail spoiler, beefy exhaust pipes, front chin spoiler, and a nitrous oxide tank. You can even adjust the lift of the rear axle for an extra-mean look! Remove the roof panel or open the doors and you have access to the detailed interior with handsome seats, radio, working steering and a mid-console gearshift. Store items in the trunk or lift the hood to reveal a detailed big block 390 V8 engine with battery, hoses, and air filter detailing. This advanced building set has been designed to provide a challenging and rewarding building experience full of nostalgia and makes a great centerpiece for the home or office. Measures over 3” (10cm) high, 13” (34cm) long and 5” (14cm) wide. 1,471 pieces. Price: $149.99 – BUY HERE

Remember that LEGO is currently offering a really sweet Ford Mustang key ring when you purchase the set. Please note that this offer is only for LEGO VIP members. The key ring features the LEGO logo on one side, the Ford Mustang logo on the other side, and a small LEGO VIP tag. This offer is valid until supplies last at official LEGO stores and the Online LEGO Shop.

And, you can also check out the other LEGO Creator Expert Builder cars, like the #10220 LEGO Creator Volkswagen T1 Camper Van, the #10242 LEGO Creator MINI Cooper, the #10252 LEGO Creator Volkswagen Beetle, the #10258 LEGO Creator London Bus, and the #10262 LEGO Creator James Bond Aston Martin BD5. You can find them all at the LEGO Creator section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? Do you have the #10265 LEGO Creator Ford Mustang already? How do you like it? And did you notice any issues with the printing of the straight lines? Feel free to share your thoughts and own reviews in the comment section below! 😉

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{ 16 comments… add one }
  • beickmaster March 15, 2019, 10:30 AM

    That’s a shame. I wonder if they will eventually fix it in later batches.

    • brickmaster March 15, 2019, 5:20 PM

      Oops, I misspelled my username. Admin, would you please fix it? Or maybe just keep it. Beickmaster still sounds good. 😀

      • admin March 15, 2019, 10:57 PM

        I kind of like Beickmaster too, so unless you confirm you want me to change it, I will let it be. 🙂

  • DavidH March 15, 2019, 11:04 AM

    I hope that this is not a widespread issue. Lego is usually really good at correcting quality issues like this. I’m surprised they have not made a statement yet.

  • TomTom March 15, 2019, 11:06 AM

    how widespread is this issue? Lego could just send out a set of replacement printed pieces for those who are the most affected. I have seen pictures and videos of the set and seems like it’s not on all sets.

  • Martin March 15, 2019, 5:22 PM

    I read on Facebook that they were able to identify the source of the misaligned printing and are now offering free replacement printed parts to those who are affected. Make sure you don’t throw away the box as that has the code on it they need.

    • LEGOJeff March 15, 2019, 5:35 PM

      Good on them! I’m glad they were able to find the problem. It would be a shame if such a great set is ruined by something minor like this.

    • admin March 15, 2019, 10:58 PM

      Yes, it seems like there were able to track down where the issue is and are acting on it. That’s really good news. 🙂

  • Philip Gatto March 21, 2019, 12:12 PM

    Had several parts missing at different stages of building. At present I’m waiting for parts from “Parts Group 5”. It’s a great set and I’m pleased with it. Other parts missing were from Parts Group 3. Lego is mailing me the missing parts.

    • admin March 21, 2019, 10:04 PM

      Hm… that’s unfortunate, but it looks like you already have it sorted out. Even with LEGO’s precision, missing parts can happen sometimes.

  • Jerry Ferguson June 9, 2020, 4:58 PM

    Working on this one now. Missing a few pieces from bag 4. got my first order now I had to place another order. I guess I’ll inventory the entire bag from now on before moving on. LOl

  • John J Gibbons III August 2, 2021, 4:34 PM

    Well I’m at the end of my rope with this car. The front roof posts due not fit where they are suppose to go. My only remedy is to pull out my Dremel and shave down the plastic to make it fit. It other areas of the build I’ve had to pull out the E-6000 glue to fit the parts together. Takes me back to the days of building AMT 3 in 1 kits. I can’t return the kit. The kit is also missing several missing several small pieces. Fortunately, I a a slue of spare pare parts from other builds. The ebay seller won’t accept it as it is partially built. Well that’s my tail of woe.

    • Thita (admin) August 2, 2021, 10:31 PM

      John, sorry to hear about your troubles. Are you sure that what you have is a genuine LEGO set and not some cheap knockoff? The roof should be coming together just fine, so my suspicion is that the set is either not real LEGO, or something was assembled incorrectly. No drill or glue or any other non-LEGO tools should be needed to assemble a genuine LEGO set. I would suggest to look through the instructions carefully and maybe even re-assemble the troubled sections and check to make sure that the LEGO logo is on all the studs.

  • Felix Lee January 29, 2023, 5:57 PM

    i’m on step 189. i got those 2 black L shaped blocks on, but don’t know how to put the other bits together

    • Thita (admin) January 29, 2023, 11:23 PM

      Felix, what seems to be the issue with the other two bits? Do you have problems assembling them, or attaching them to the vehicle?

  • Michael March 31, 2023, 7:55 AM

    I found this website after I read a review from someone else that had this issue. My wife purchased one of these for me at the local target and it had this issue. I opened up a broken block ticket with Lego Support and they processed the order and asked for feedback about the # on the box so they could track the quality control issue. I submitted the ticket around 5:30 AM CDT and had a processed order by 6:45. 🙂

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