So I've noticed recently that LEGO has been making several changes. Some may be good, some may be bad, but they don't exactly hurt us as investors, except for maybe #3 which is could technically. But let me know if you have some more to add to the list, or is it just me that these things are happening?

1) Condensed boxes.
It seems like that the most recent sets I got were almost bigger. This may be because the boxes themselves were smaller to actually fit the set better. I'm not POSITIVE, but I am pretty sure that boxes for most sets (except for battlepacks or $13 sets) have gotten smaller and are a better fit with the set you buy. A couple years ago, I remember buying a $30 Star Wars set and the box was huge! I don't remember which one, but I remember it felt smaller than I was expecting because of the size of the box. A week ago, I picked up the new General Grievous Wheel Bike for $25, but the box seemed so much smaller, and same thing for the Batman: Riddler Chase set (which I got at the same time). You can tell just buy swooshing the boxes around (sealed of course), that it's harder to hear the pieces floating around in there, because it's more condensed.

2) HIGHLY detailed figures.
We all like minifigures and I think most of us appreciate authenticity, but it just might be getting out of hand. The new Luke Skywalker that comes with the Sand Crawler will have Mark Hamil's mole (beauty mark etc., someone correct me if my terminology is wrong) on his face. A MOLE! I don't really know if this is a good thing or not. I appreciate authenticity, but that seems really odd to me. And the new Darth Vader and Obi-Wan in the Summer 2014 wave will have printed on cloaks. Vader gets a cape (because he actually wears one, I guess), but all of Obi-Wan's garments are screen-printed. I DON'T like that in the LEAST.

3) Separation of Figs and Set
In case you were wondering, that was supposed to be sort of a pun like "Separation of Church and State" (not to get political, but as a joke, but I went to the dentist and got nova cane, so none of this may make any sense...). Anyways, the sets are separated in numbered bags to make building simpler, which as a collector I like, and the figures are also separated in said bags. I appreciate this, as a teen who still plays with LEGO. It adds more anticipation in building the next part, rather than wanting to use the minifigs for hours and THEN build the set. But as a parter-outer, which some of you are, but I am not, it makes selling minifigs apart from sets difficult since you have to open 2, 3, or 4 bags to get 1 or 2 figures. It does help with selling the model parts though, since having a dozen bags all opened at once to build a tiny section is time consuming.

4) DC Comics (no longer DC Universe as it was in 2012-13)
Overall, I appreciate this because I am a huge DC fan and comic reader. I don't read EVERY comic, but I read the biggest story arcs and know several characters (including the Martian Manhunter which has caused some stir in the investing world). Many characters have been given interesting looks that some did not expect, such as the Flash. His design is somewhat based on the New 52 (which is DC's relaunch of comic books, negating some things that happened in original comics, and starting fresh). If it wasn't, he would probably have been given the same helmet as in the LEGO Batman 2: The Videogame. Other characters with a New 52 look include: Martian Manhunter, Nightwing, Damian Wayne Robin, Batgirl, and (sort-of but not quite) SDCC Green Arrow. This is probably an effort of WB to streamline the New 52 into all aspects of DC, which now includes LEGO sets/minifigures.

5) Chinese Manufactured Parts
I am not talking about the fake figures you see going for $0.03 on eBay, I am referring to LEGO approved parts that are not exactly the quality standard of normal Denmark manufactured LEGO. Some have wondered how to identify for sure if it was manufactured in China or not. Apart from just noticing look and feel differences, there's some branding you can look for.

As seen in picture 1, I have compared 2 new, recently unpackaged and built, DC Super Heroes 2014 minifigures, Batman and Martian Manhunter. Manhunter is the Chinese manufactured figure.

 

 

In picture 2,  compare the right arms of the figures. On Batman, you can see the first thing very close to his hand is a number (not sure what the number means exactly), and then the word LEGO. On Martian Manhunter, you can see closer to his armpit (I don't know what it's called...arm pin maybe?) there is an indentation with a number. I didn't want to remove the arm in the event I might damage the torso.

 

In picture 3, the legs of Batman feature the LEGO branding and numbers. Manhunter's legs do not.

 

That is summary is how to identify a Chinese manufactured minifigure.



So is it just me? Did you catch any of those before? Learn something new? I want to hear anything you noticed happening in recent years of LEGO history.

Isn't any minifigure with arm printing made in China such as Wyldstyle from The Lego Movie sets? I thought somebody said the Wonder Woman minifigure was a mixup with parts coming from different factories.

Isn't any minifigure with arm printing made in China such as Wyldstyle from The Lego Movie sets?

Not that I know of. Apologies, I meant to say 'most sets' as I did earlier, as there have indeed been a few isolated incidents thus far of Chinese figs appearing in normal sets. Either way, they have been of the inferior quality. The castle chess set also comes with all Chinese figs, for example.

There is definitely a different "feel" between the CMF minifigs and the ones that come in sets.  In reality, I can tell a difference between new set minifigs supposedly not made in china and my minifigs from the 80's.  Not sure if this is intentional, general changes in the plastic over the years, chinese processes, etc.  I don't even know if it's a bad thing, it could be more durable, less durable, or the same as before, I don't know how you'd test something like that.  The thing that is noticable is the color difference, and CMF's made in china definitely have color differences when compared to normal set figs.

Hello everybody! First I would like to apologize for two things. 1) I am sorry for stirring such a controversial debate and I didn't realize it would happen nor did I expect it to get so heated. 2) I am sorry for stating something that I didn't actually have a true source on (Namely, whether minifigures which did not have the "regular" logos, numbers, etc., were from China).

As soon as I realized that it was becoming a debatable topic I realized my mistake, and then did what many members asked for: citing a reliable source. Upon investigating I realized I was getting nowhere because it was pretty clear no one really knew FOR SURE. So I went to the one, absolute, best authority to answer this question: The LEGO Group. I don't have the original message I sent to them, but I will retype the gist of it and what I can remember:

Hello TLG,

 

I am a LEGO fan and collector, and have been for several years. I am active in many LEGO groups, sites, and fan-forums. I unintentionally sparked a heated debate between several users regarding minifigures manufactured in China. It is assumed that most minifigures that are made in China do not have the LEGO logo on the inside of the foot, as opposed to other minifigures. Most promotional and Collectible Minifigures do not have this logo placement. Would you be able to provide any information to clear up this matter?

 

Thank you for reading,
******

So that was generally my letter. I just got a reply today. Here is what was said:
 

Dear *******, 

 

Thanks for getting in touch with us.

We are so glad to hear that you are such a big fan and are actively participating within the LEGO

I was looking at some minifigs from my older sets and noticed that the ones from the sets listed below didn't have the Lego logo in the feet either:

http://brickset.com/sets/1560-1/Glory-Glider

http://brickset.com/sets/1561-1/Stunt-Chopper

http://brickset.com/sets/1562-1/Wave-Jumper

http://brickset.com/sets/1563-1/Track-Blaster

 

I think I still have the original packaging for them.  I'll check to see where they were made, but I don't think Lego was using China at that time (1990).

 

I found the original polybags that these sets came in and it says, "Contents made in Denmark, Switzerland and USA."  So maybe the logo in the feet thing isn't necessarily a China indicator.

Im sure someone said it already but I didnt want to read the entire thread.  Man, you should have turned that into a blog post and earned some points for it...

The quality of the CMF is quite clearly less than the regular minifigures you get from regular sets. The minifigures from the CMF line as well as things like magnets are made in China while, up to this point, the minifigures that you find in regular sets have not been. It's pretty easy to tell the difference but it has been discussed on many other sites for a couple years now. The CMF minifigures feel a little cheaper, have a more milky, translucent quality to the plastic and they do not have the black strip on the neck post. Maybe this isn't as obvious to newer collectors, but I would say that anyone who has been collecting a long time can tell the difference without being told there is one.

 

Yup. I'm surprised people on page 1-2 don't seem to know this. Look at the CMF line and compare it to other minifigs--are you telling me you can't tell there's a difference? 

 

There's a lot of info about the plastic differences on other forums--go look for it if you are in doubt.