A few weeks ago, the LEGO element quality team reached out to the LEGO Ambassador Network to gather feedback on LEGO elements and any issues, requests, limitations, or errors LEGO fans have found. There have been many submissions from the various LEGO fan communities, pointing out ways LEGO element designs could be improved. It’s a very interesting conversation with lots of great ideas. 🙂
For example, adding holes in the middle of studs for more elements (so rods could be inserted), redesigning elements that tend to have weak parts that break easily (i.e. clips, robot arms, etc.), redesigning pieces so they are more versatile and could be used in more directions, adding new elements that do not exist yet but could be very useful, and designing handicapped-friendly doors for the new minifig wheelchair to fit through (image by Barrie Crossan at AFOLs of Facebook group).
Besides discussing new and improved pieces, the LEGO element quality team also got a lot of feedback on color inconsistencies, and pieces in colors that tend to break easily. While color inconsistencies can add interesting variations to buildings, landscapes, etc. and could be useful, nobody likes cracked and broken pieces. Members posted a great number of heartbreaking images with shattered LEGO parts. To respond to these issues, the LEGO elements quality team made the following statement:
“The LEGO Group has been working hard to address reported issues with reddish-brown bricks becoming brittle and breaking under use. The issues have been identified and we are happy to announce that they have been fixed. The fixes were put in place earlier this year for the LEGO colors #154 (new-dark-red), #192 (reddish-brown) and #308 (dark-brown). We waited until now to make the announcement, as we wanted to be 100% certain all issues had been addressed and fixed. If you, at any time, have a LEGO element which doesn’t live up to the standard you’d expect from us – then please don’t hesitate to contact LEGO Customer Service and we will send you replacement parts. We are terribly sorry for the inconveniences this has caused our loyal LEGO Fans across the World.”
This is excellent news, as reddish-brown, in particular, has been notorious for its brittleness (see video demonstration below). I hope the issue has been fixed once and for all! If you do encounter LEGO elements that crack or break under normal usage, make sure you give customer service a call, and they will send you replacements. The earlier you call the better, as elements and/or colors sometimes go out of production, and LEGO may not be able to replace them.
What do you think? Have you run across any issues with LEGO pieces or colors? And do you have any ideas of wishes for new and improved elements? Feel free to share in the comment section below, and I can forward your thoughts and findings to the LEGO element quality team. 😉
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