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| | | Author: | dearlydeparted  | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 15:42 | | Subject: | Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 160 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| There's a task I've put off for for a good 8-10 years. I must have 60
lbs of figures that I'd put in a tub to deal with later - it's a daunting
task I couldn't deal with. I was usually so busy with parts orders I never
had time to dedicate to it. Now that I've shut down parts to deal to work
through it, I know why I never dealt with them.
Identifying torsos in itself is incredibly time consuming. I'm not as familiar
with the newer themes. What I've found is an overwhelming number of cracked
torsos under the arms or diagonal stress cracks on the back of contemporary
themes. I don't ever recall this amount when going through vintage figures
like pirates or castle. Has Lego downgraded the quality of materials? I wonder.
For every 1 figure listed in good shape, there are 10 with a chewed head or missing
1 key accessory. Why do kids love biting those heads off, lol. It can be so frustrating
when you're almost there only to discover, argh - no head/shoulder accessory
or cape.
But I will slog on...
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| | | | | Author: | runner.caller | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 16:11 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 45 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, dearlydeparted writes:
| | There's a task I've put off for for a good 8-10 years. I must have 60
lbs of figures that I'd put in a tub to deal with later - it's a daunting
task I couldn't deal with. I was usually so busy with parts orders I never
had time to dedicate to it. Now that I've shut down parts to deal to work
through it, I know why I never dealt with them.
Identifying torsos in itself is incredibly time consuming. I'm not as familiar
with the newer themes. What I've found is an overwhelming number of cracked
torsos under the arms or diagonal stress cracks on the back of contemporary
themes. I don't ever recall this amount when going through vintage figures
like pirates or castle. Has Lego downgraded the quality of materials? I wonder.
For every 1 figure listed in good shape, there are 10 with a chewed head or missing
1 key accessory. Why do kids love biting those heads off, lol. It can be so frustrating
when you're almost there only to discover, argh - no head/shoulder accessory
or cape.
But I will slog on...
|
That's an impressive amount.
Either part the figures out that are missing things, or buy the replacement item.
I'd try to sort everything by theme first and then go through the themes
pile by pile. You might find duplicate figures where one is missing a head, and
the other one has a crack. BOOM! Complete figure.
The 2013 era dark reds, reddish brown, dark browns, and sand green, as well as
the early ninjago snake orange and lime toros are like always cracked, I find.
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| | | | | | | Author: | dearlydeparted | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 16:24 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 44 times | | Topic: | General | |
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That's an impressive amount.
Either part the figures out that are missing things, or buy the replacement item.
I'd try to sort everything by theme first and then go through the themes
pile by pile. You might find duplicate figures where one is missing a head, and
the other one has a crack. BOOM! Complete figure.
The 2013 era dark reds, reddish brown, dark browns, and sand green, as well as
the early ninjago snake orange and lime toros are like always cracked, I find.
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Oh, yes, that's what I do when the lot comes in - throw easily identifiable
themes into each bag. I strip the others down, remove legs, heads, etc - because
more times than not they've been swopped out. I have found minifig parts
do not sell well - still have some sitting there for years. On the other hand,
buying all those missing pieces will be cost prohibitive for most. It would be
a long shot find a seller or two that has everything I need.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | tons_of_bricks | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 16:32 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 40 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, dearlydeparted writes:
| |
Oh, yes, that's what I do when the lot comes in - throw easily identifiable
themes into each bag. I strip the others down, remove legs, heads, etc - because
more times than not they've been swopped out. I have found minifig parts
do not sell well - still have some sitting there for years.
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Really? We sell tons of minifigure parts and they always go fast.
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | dearlydeparted | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 16:57 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 37 times | | Topic: | General | |
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Really? We sell tons of minifigure parts and they always go fast.
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Not here, maybe it was the theme listed.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | runner.caller | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 17:04 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 44 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| | | In General, dearlydeparted writes:
I have found minifig parts
do not sell well - still have some sitting there for years.
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That is crazy to me as that is about all I sell.
It's funny how our system was about the opposite, I spent years buying bulk
lots and harvesting the figures. 50lbs lots and I'd maybe take 7lbs out of
it to list and set everything else aside.
Last fall, I attacked that pile, and sorted everything by type, then element
ID, then started to list. I only made it through common bricks and 1x2 plates
to the tune of 25,000 pieces before I realized I didn't want to expand my
storage space 10X to deal with all the parts.
I spent ages culling bad or offbrand parts, and sorting only to dump all of it
for $5/lbs to clear space. oh well. It went to a BL seller so they probably loved
the ease of uploading it.
Too bad we didn't live in the same area. We could have set up a mutually
beneficial trade ratio of parts for figs.
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | dearlydeparted | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 22:35 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 32 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, runner.caller writes:
| | | | In General, dearlydeparted writes:
I have found minifig parts
do not sell well - still have some sitting there for years.
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That is crazy to me as that is about all I sell.
It's funny how our system was about the opposite, I spent years buying bulk
lots and harvesting the figures. 50lbs lots and I'd maybe take 7lbs out of
it to list and set everything else aside.
Last fall, I attacked that pile, and sorted everything by type, then element
ID, then started to list. I only made it through common bricks and 1x2 plates
to the tune of 25,000 pieces before I realized I didn't want to expand my
storage space 10X to deal with all the parts.
I spent ages culling bad or offbrand parts, and sorting only to dump all of it
for $5/lbs to clear space. oh well. It went to a BL seller so they probably loved
the ease of uploading it.
Too bad we didn't live in the same area. We could have set up a mutually
beneficial trade ratio of parts for figs.
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It was mainly torso assemblies that didn’t sell. Parts are so much easier for
me to zoom through sorting and listing, figures as I mentioned, not so much.
Yes, too bad we aren’t closer to exchange figure parts. I had mentioned this
to a fellow seller close by I worked with but we never found the time. She’s
closed now sadly.
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| | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 17:18 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 40 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, dearlydeparted writes:
| | There's a task I've put off for for a good 8-10 years. I must have 60
lbs of figures that I'd put in a tub to deal with later - it's a daunting
task I couldn't deal with. I was usually so busy with parts orders I never
had time to dedicate to it. Now that I've shut down parts to deal to work
through it, I know why I never dealt with them.
Identifying torsos in itself is incredibly time consuming. I'm not as familiar
with the newer themes. What I've found is an overwhelming number of cracked
torsos under the arms or diagonal stress cracks on the back of contemporary
themes. I don't ever recall this amount when going through vintage figures
like pirates or castle. Has Lego downgraded the quality of materials? I wonder.
For every 1 figure listed in good shape, there are 10 with a chewed head or missing
1 key accessory. Why do kids love biting those heads off, lol. It can be so frustrating
when you're almost there only to discover, argh - no head/shoulder accessory
or cape.
But I will slog on...
|
Remember cracked ones are still playable. If they are cheap mixed up figures
just bundle them up for facebook or ebay. Some are barely worth sorting and checking
for correct parts to sell on here.
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| | | | | | | Author: | dearlydeparted | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 18:00 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 43 times | | Topic: | General | |
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Remember cracked ones are still playable. If they are cheap mixed up figures
just bundle them up for facebook or ebay. Some are barely worth sorting and checking
for correct parts to sell on here.
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Very true on some not being worth it - I harvest the usable parts there and toss
them in a bag for bulk sales. Town/City figures are worth less than the parts
that comprise them in many cases.
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| | | | | Author: | cosmicray | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 18:16 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 32 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, dearlydeparted writes:
| | There's a task I've put off for for a good 8-10 years. I must have 60
lbs of figures that I'd put in a tub to deal with later - it's a daunting
task I couldn't deal with. I was usually so busy with parts orders I never
had time to dedicate to it. Now that I've shut down parts to deal to work
through it, I know why I never dealt with them.
Identifying torsos in itself is incredibly time consuming. I'm not as familiar
with the newer themes. What I've found is an overwhelming number of cracked
torsos under the arms or diagonal stress cracks on the back of contemporary
themes. I don't ever recall this amount when going through vintage figures
like pirates or castle. Has Lego downgraded the quality of materials? I wonder.
For every 1 figure listed in good shape, there are 10 with a chewed head or missing
1 key accessory. Why do kids love biting those heads off, lol. It can be so frustrating
when you're almost there only to discover, argh - no head/shoulder accessory
or cape.
But I will slog on...
|
A cracked torso may actually be due to poor plastic quality being used by the
mothership. As recently as last week, I pushed the hips/legs into the torso,
of a brand new never before used minifig [1], heard a funny click, then maybe
30 seconds later watched a chip of plastic depart from one side of the torso.
They don't make them like they used to. 
[1]
Nita Rae
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| | | | | Author: | i_r_on | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 18:23 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 39 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| Explanation for biting : An assembled head sometimes needs an adult's force
to take out. I'm lucky since my son asks for my help. But it's harder
to convince them to use the brick separator for the usual stuff...
It's also a sign of massive playwear... It's a sign that a kid swapped
the heads and used his/her imagination to build an another figure... It's
a good thing actually as we adults and especially sellers are deprived of such
simple joys...
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| | | | | Author: | popsicle | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 19:02 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 58 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, dearlydeparted writes:
| | Why do kids love biting those heads off, lol.
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Their tiny, not yet fully developed hands, can't always manage to pull those
heads off, of course. Not easy for us full-grown types at times, either 
As must we all, Judith 
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| | | | | | | Author: | dearlydeparted | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 22:23 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 39 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, popsicle writes:
| | In General, dearlydeparted writes:
| | Why do kids love biting those heads off, lol.
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Their tiny, not yet fully developed hands, can't always manage to pull those
heads off, of course. Not easy for us full-grown types at times, either
As must we all, Judith
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Very true. I remember telling my 5 year old if I caught him biting Lego again
there’d be no more sets coming his way. I was more afraid of broken teeth than
damaged Lego. He would come to me after that for stuck pieces. I kept my word
and now have 8 bins of his sets in storage, lol.
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| | | | | Author: | Elkenwood | | Posted: | Nov 5, 2021 22:38 | | Subject: | Re: Minifigure woes- cracked torsos, chewed head | | Viewed: | 60 times | | Topic: | General | |
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| In General, dearlydeparted writes:
| | There's a task I've put off for for a good 8-10 years. I must have 60
lbs of figures that I'd put in a tub to deal with later - it's a daunting
task I couldn't deal with. I was usually so busy with parts orders I never
had time to dedicate to it. Now that I've shut down parts to deal to work
through it, I know why I never dealt with them.
Identifying torsos in itself is incredibly time consuming. I'm not as familiar
with the newer themes. What I've found is an overwhelming number of cracked
torsos under the arms or diagonal stress cracks on the back of contemporary
themes. I don't ever recall this amount when going through vintage figures
like pirates or castle. Has Lego downgraded the quality of materials? I wonder.
For every 1 figure listed in good shape, there are 10 with a chewed head or missing
1 key accessory. Why do kids love biting those heads off, lol. It can be so frustrating
when you're almost there only to discover, argh - no head/shoulder accessory
or cape.
But I will slog on...
|
Don't quote me on this, but I believe sometime around the early 2000s, when
Lego was in financial trouble, one of the cost cutting measures they implemented
was changing from pre-colored ABS pellets to opaque, colorless pellets that are
then colored with macrolex dyes.
I believe the pre-dyed pellets are a lot less likely to have long-term chemical
reactions that result in brittleness. Most of my 20+ year old figures are perfectly
fine, I have several new ones where I've noticed little hairline cracks in
the bottom of the legs, arms, sides, etc just from sitting in storage or on display.
Like others have said, some colors are much better than others.
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United Kingdom, England
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