If you haven’t gotten the adorable #21303 LEGO Ideas WALL-E yet, but have considered buying one recently, you may have noticed that the set is currently shown as out of stock at the Online LEGO Shop, with an expected ship date of March 2016. So why the big delay? 😕
As we discussed previously (see: LEGO Ideas WALL-E Available Now!), the set was already delayed once due to issues with a couple of hinge-bricks that were supporting the head (this only effected the North American market). The problem was fixed in the second batch of sets, and if you have gotten an earlier version with defective hinges you could call LEGO’s customer service for replacements.
However now LEGO is acknowledging a second problem with WALL-E, delaying the release of the set yet again for another fix. The issue is that WALL-E’s head is a bit too loose and can spin around easily due to the weight of the head and the lack of friction in the neck joint. In the previous article (linked above) we mention two fixes for this problem; one simple and one more complex. The second fix in particular is a permanent and sturdy solution, however not everybody has the extra parts needed, or want to bother with getting them on the secondary market. While after the first fix LEGO did not acknowledge this second problem, it seems like they got enough complaints that they had a change of heart. At the LEGO Ideas Blog, they posted the following announcement:
Dear LEGO Fans, in order to make the LEGO Ideas set #21303 WALL-E as fun as the character in the movie, we created the model with the ability to turn his head all the way around. Since the model has been launched we have received feedback from fans who feel WALL-E’s head moves a bit too freely. Feedback from our fans is very important for us and we’ve decided to take their advice and make some improvements to the set. Our designers are currently working on some small changes to the model. Therefore the #21303 LEGO Ideas WALL-E set is currently not available at shop.LEGO.com and in some LEGO Stores. Once the reworked version of the model has been finalized LEGO WALL-E will make a full return. For the latest updates on availability, please visit WALL-E on shop.LEGO.com.
If you’ve already purchased your LEGO Ideas WALL-E: It is very important to us that fans have a great building and playing experience with all our sets and we appreciate feedback to improve our sets. Our Customer Service can answer questions on existing models and can be reached via LEGO.com/service. If you have any more questions, please contact LEGO Customer Service and let us know if there’s anything we can do to help you further. Kind regards, LEGO Ideas Team
So as you can see, LEGO is taking steps to redesign the neck of WALL-E. This should also mean a new parts list and new instruction book, as here we are dealing with a weak design, not just defective parts. My guess is that once the new design is finalized, those who have bought an earlier version of the set can contact LEGO’s customer service and get the necessary parts to update their WALL-E. They may include the new instructions with the replacement kit, or perhaps they will be available online.
I find it a bit amusing that this LEGO Ideas set is getting all these fixes. Seems to perfectly match the character of WALL-E, the little robot that kept chugging along with so many replacement parts. Please note that while the set is shown as out of stock, you could still add it to your shopping cart, which usually means that you can purchase the set even now, and there will be just some delay in shipping. This is a good option if you want to buy the set but don’t want to continuously check for updates on availability. You can find it under the LEGO Ideas section of the Online LEGO Shop.
So what do you think? How do you like the LEGO Ideas WALL-E? Are you planning to get him? Or do you have him already? What do you think of the current design of the neck? Is it too loose? Or just fine? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below! 😉
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