My wife and I bought the medieval blacksmith back in September and we are working on it together (her first lego set to complete, I grew up building lego) it was missing (2) of the gray 2×6 flat floor pieces, in two different bags. Not saying this to put a negative light on Lego, because they were great, went on the website typed in the build I have, typed in the piece we were missing and they sent it to us with an apology letter. Don't know another company that openly does that.
You should do a similar video on the steps you take to design a LEGO model. It would also be really interesting to hear about the extra requirements you had to meet as an official LEGO designer. (Meeting a certain budget, using a limited part inventory, designing the model to be easily constructed, etc)
I'd like to ask also about preparing the instructions. Does designer make them himself or are there some other people responsible for that, or is there some software like discontinued LDD wchich do this job automatically? Why LDD hasn't been developed any further? Does designer can freely choose the Lego theme in which he will design sets or is he assigned to the specific theme?
Bagging/missing piece errors are extremely rare, yet they do happen. Nearly every time I was missing a piece, it’s been on the floor, under a build, under the booklet, in the booklet (yes, tile pieces, I’m looking at you), in the bag, or hidden under or inside another piece, or I had made a mistake while following the instructions. However, once at the very end of the build, I was still missing two pieces, and had two extra pieces. I thoroughly rechecked each step for these pieces (missing and extra), and could not find my error. Looking at the missing piece and the extra piece, there was not much similarity in appearance, but I noticed they would weigh about the same. I brought out a small scale, removed an existing sibling of the missing piece from my model, and weighed the two side-by-side, and sure enough: almost exactly the same weight! These two sneaky pieces tricked LEGO’s bag weighing check! All resolved through LEGO’s very easy-to-use website and no-questions-asked replacement policy.
I have a friend that's considering getting into LEGO for the first time, and this video will be immensely useful to them! Sometimes I myself worry that modern LEGO sets might have a daunting building experience and even though the instructions are amazing even for novices, I really appreciate this video detailing the entire unboxing and building experience from start to finish, and I'm sure my friend would appreciate it as well. It may seem hard for AFOLs to take seriously, but you know, this isn't for them in the first place. Thank you for making it!
A personal tip I would add is to empty the small bag into a dish, bowl, or pie pan, rather than directly onto the work surface. It makes it less likely that a small piece will go missing. Also, if you have the extra space, lay out all the bags in order, with the biggest one in the back. This confirms that all the bags were packed in the box and makes it easier to transition between steps. Some sets also contain multiple components and instruction books. For example, the Lego NES set (71374) is made up of the console and a TV. You can use this to build with someone else as a bonding or team building exercise.
I literally watched this whole video knowing everything you were talking about, and it was still entertaining! That's how you know the content is top tier.
I started with my son on those small star wars sets back in '08. We did it together but I mostly built them. He was 5. Then I let him build medium sized Star Wars sets and only had to guide him by being over his shoulder and double checking the instructions. By the time he was six, he could build almost any Lego set on his own (not Technic yet) and by 10 he was able to handle the UCS R2-D2. Just a little tricky on that dome since it was all white bricks so some studs were off but after that, he was an expert builder by 12. Could handle technic and the like.
You should be proud of your son! This will help a lot in his creative vision and his motive in life. PS: a bot stole your comment and got more likes. :(
@@shovelmp4971 Thx about my son. He ended up joining a Lego robotics club when he was in junior high and I think definitely all the lego building and going to events at the lego store gave him a spark. He went into aerospace at his highschool but then switched to music technology.
THE most amazing thing about Lego in my opinion is their quality control. Like you I’ve built a lot of lego sets and not once have had a missing piece. It’s amazing
The only set that I've had missing pieces on was the 2019 Harry Potter Advent Calendar, where I had an entire missing bag and a double of a different day build. Lego customer service was great, although my dad trying to take over and him getting mad at Lego on the phone demanding it get fixed quicker than they said to me (which I didn't care about) meant we now can't use the piece service nor buy online from the website... And I got blamed.
I have had one time where I thought a piece was missing. It was building my Millennium Falcon set 75257. I was using the PDF on the Lego website and a step was calling for a piece I didn't have. Come to find out following the book, they did away with that piece and that section was built slightly different. There was a change in the kit from the PDF. Might be something good to note on this as well. If your using the online PDF of the instructions, cross reference the instruction book if something looks off, often times nothing was missing they just amended the set and the book should reflect that. Also, I love how many times you used to clip of you miss placing the sticker. You know you had seasoned builders twitching each time haha.
That's a very good point! Sometimes they update the paper instructions so they should also do the same for the online pdf's! As for the sticker well... it had to be done ahahahah sorry!
@@biged680 I much prefer the digital instructions. I can zoom in if wanted, and well, on my quite messy table the instructions have their exact spot which is smaller. Also some booklets (smaller/medium sets) have booklets just won't stay open in a nice way.
@@TiagoCatarino or even better: add a mark for both versions in the instruction. Because you usually don't know, which version you have (usually the boxes are not updated)…
@Zeah, I don’t often use stickers but when I do, I dampen the surface with a bit of window cleaning solution. It allows you to adjust the sticker’s position before pressing it down and permanently securing it in place. It’s the method recommended by LEGO itself.
My fondest memory of Lego as a child, before numbered bags, was sorting the pieces first. I grew up with ice planet, space police, and forestmen. The explorian starship 6982 was the pinnacle of my childhood and ResQ was the last theme I actively played with. I wouldn't return to Lego until an adult with the ultra agents sets, which I collected. And they became the gateway into my adult habit of collecting every car, motorcycle, and most of the expert, ideas, and creator's sets. It's amazing to me that Lego has managed to keep it going for so long and I hope there are still kids enjoying Lego the way I did. I appreciate your content, thanks for the vid.
@@TiagoCatarino I wanted a Lego Technic yellow crane and a front loader when I was 2 years old. My mother refused to buy it. I fulfilled my dream at 28.
Such a good video really liked the whole vibe of it and editing was great. I saw that at 2:35 you used the sets that you worked on 😉. Anyway thx for the great content ❤️
From my experience, separating the big from the small pieces and then arranging the small pieces by color helps to speed up the building process as well. Also make sure your desk is well lit up because some colors may look the same in the instructions booklet and on the desk
I'm 33 years old, I've been playing with LEGO for 3 decades. For the first time I have had a set that had a missing/incorrect piece. Just the one. The LEGO website was just as described and my single piece is making its way towards me as I write this. THANK YOU for having such an informative video that let me deal with something that hasn't happened ever happened to me! Hopefully the next mistake like this will take another 30 years to happen!
One detail to add: It can be useful to keep those multiple bags per step separate on your building table, as Lego often uses this to keep parts which can easily confused apart. For example if one bag contains right angled parts, the left angled ones are usually somewhere else. Also a part never appears in two of these bags - so if you've found one, you know where to search for the others. About missing pieces, I'm still fascinated how rare those occasions are. I'm quite sure, the probability is below one in a million pieces.
Awesome video. I mean, as a 40 plus years Lego builder I know what to do, but it doesn’t hurt to watch this to be reminded that we can miss a step, even the best of us. I love your videos. Keep up the great work.
Useful tips - I had to learn most of them the hard way! Another tip re left over parts: 2 (or more) of the exact same elements from the same numbered bag / build usually also an indicator of a building mistake / skipped step…
In recent years I had two instances where there were there were pieces missing. Each time I had a extra piece which was not listed in the inventory of the set. So not necessarily "missing" but rather switched parts. Lego was each time very swift and creplaced the items.
Built my first Lego set ever yesterday (I am 25 years old). Built the Lego Ideas Friends Central Perk set and I had a great time. I have already ordered the next ones, Ideas Tree house and Ninjago Gardens. They look absolutely amazing and I am afraid that they might retire soon.
I was so confused when I bought a LEGO and it was just a cardboard box! Thanks to this video, now I know that I need to open the box to find the plastic things inside. I would have been completely lost at that point, but once again, this video came to the rescue informing me that I then need to find some papers all stuck together with pictures on them so I can know where to put all the plastic things to make the picture on the box. Wow, now I can build a LEGO too!
This video is such a well made but simple introduction into LEGO® sets, I'm wouldn't be surprised if the RU-vid algorithm starts recommending it to non-enthusiasts and it starts trending.
My daughter started playing with duplo when she was ~1,5 - 2yrs. < At ~3years I started to build with her those small polybag sets. She is now 3,5 years old (yes, you reading it right) and she build the amazing dinosaur (31058) by her own. I'm so proud! :) Sometimes she still plays with the duplo animals (she loves animals and dinosaurs), but mostly she is playing with normal lego, as there are more possibilities.
Love the way that sticker was placed slightly wrong, just slightly. Also, I remember getting a set back in my childhood, which actually had a missing piece. The set was 6737-1 and instead of having 1x 42060pb02 and 1x 42061pb02, it came with two of the first and none of the latter. Mom went back to the store and together with an employee went through the whole batch on shelf/in store, all sets had the same part double/missing. A call to LEGO finally got me the right piece. XD
While building the Harry Potter chess set, I lost one of the white pawn's head below the helmet. I checked everywhere; below the sofas, carpets, in the box, plastic bags, everywhere. Still can't find it, but it's still a surprise that it's the only piece I've lost since I started paying with Legos
I remember taking the time to divide all my pieces by colour...and realizing that it wasn't that efficient...and reading after a couple of months "NEVER SORT BY COLOUR!" Now I am sorting by type :D Being my collection not that big, I put colours together but will eventually separate them too.
I had a damaged piece in a box before, it was a Harry Potter set and a large green roof tile (maybe 12x6?) was melted/bent and had a white stretched look to the middle. I contacted the website and within a week or 2 I had been sent the piece I needed for free. Very good service.
I wasn't good at taking care of my legos as a kid. So if they have the origonal instructions online for sets from the 80s and 90s, that would be aweful. Some of the instructions got damaged over the years. Built my first set last night in 30 years. I decided on the 75301 X-Wing from 2021. I cleared out space in my display case for it. And the stickers are the hardest part for me with motor skill issues. The shiny reflection from light shows some of the bumps as I had to replace them multiple times. And they are still slightly askew. But I threw music on in the house wired with speakers, and hung out for a couple of hours. It was totally mindfulness.
I've been building for years (think I was 4 when I got my first set...) and I'm 26 now and I've built all kinds of sets but I still sat here and watched this video lol
The numbered bags make it so much easier. When I was younger it was dump all the pieces in a big pile and have a scavenger hunt! Still have my Statue of Liberty!
I actually found a pair of tweezers can work in a pinch if you dont have a separator you have to be somewhat careful though because the sharp edge can scratch the plastic
I remembered when i was still a child. Around 4 yrs old. And my aunt bought me a LEGO TECHNIC. It was the LEGO Technic desert racer 42027. It was my only and my first LEGO Technic set. Im pretty sad i haven't got any Technic sets since 2014. And it was my first set.
I usually don’t have issues with LEGO missing pieces, but I once had a duplicate bag in the Millenium Falcon from 2019. Just a second, identical Bag #5. Was a very cool experience.
I never loved the numbered bags. It was that valley between neuroses and chaos. They bag the stuff- but there is always that ONE piece that is so small you cant even distinguish it and you get hung up.
I can confirm that lego costumer support is amazing, few years back I got misprinted stickers on a speed champions set ( ferrari logo and few other things were in white instead of yellow) and after a few days lego sent me a brand new sticker sheet, free of charge ofc.
Lego technic is my favorite **does evil grinch face** But I love the regular system bricks and pieces, but I love LEGO in general, just like I love your videos! They are amazing
Putting on the sticker so crooked made me wince XD I usually use a tweezer to put it on. I find I have more control and my fingers don't get in the way of the line up as much.
First set I bought was the Starry Night one. I did not know that the numbered bags had more than one of the same number, so I started my build by opening bag 1. I could not find a part, I looked everywhere except the other bags so I decided to email Lego about it. After emailing them I decided to take a look at the other bags as they might have a similar piece until I found another bag 1. I quickly sent another email to Lego telling them to cancel my request but they told me that it cannot be cancelled. It was an embarrassing but a funny experience. Edit: Just wanted to say that I agree that Lego support IS one of the best in the world
I don't own that many lego sets, but did got one with a missing piece a while ago. I got the ISS for Christmas. When i started building i noticed bag 5 had a single minecraft figure head in it, this was not on the parts list. During the build i needed 6 of one of the 2x2 with 1x2 snot bricks, but only had 5. Searched everywhere, then i realised the element had the exact same color als the Minecraft head. So yeah, mistakes do sometimes happen, though this is the first "mistake" ive had with a lego set in 30 years. Fortunately, you can just order missing elements from a set on the lego website with no charge! I indicated the part that i was missing and lego send it to me, no questions asked, for free! Thats what i call exellent customer service!
This was a lovely video, and should be very informative for someone just getting into LEGO. I only had a missing part once (in the Ideas Treehouse). For the swing build, I had a 1x2 modified plate with a bar (part # 48336) instead of a 2x2 modified tile with two studs (part # 33909). But LEGO is wonderful and sent the correct part free of charge.
0:08 you have a Toby figure, how did I not know that?! I’m jealous!😂 Also, the irony of this is I have to wright an informative essay for my English 101 and my mom recommended I do this a couple days ago😆
When applying stickers, mounting the target tile onto a medium sized plate or brick makes placing them simpler aswell because it is easier to hold a bigger plate than a small tile.
I never thought the video was a joke, I love Lego and I used to have some sets as a kid, but now as an adult that has no control on what to spend my money I'm jumping back in the saddle again, just got myself the ? Block from Super Mario 64, 'cuase I'm a big fan of that game too. Also RIP VAN I would have subscribed just for that but I'm already subscribed since months ago. I love your videos and you made me connect again with a piece of my childhood, thank you!.
@@TiagoCatarino I would also like to say, just yesterday I went for the first time in my life to a official Lego store and I felt like a kid again, I was amazed that I recognized a lot of the sets there because of your videos on them, without your help I think I would have felt lost in the store but I started seeing the Harry Potter sets that you made videos on, the Technic sets, the Mario sets and so on. I would like to ask you, since I'm again a Lego fan and an Architect by profession, is there a way that Lego can make the Architecture line better? I personally see the Rome coliseum as an Architect sets because is a really good representation of the real building but I see that architecture Lego are based on whole cities, why? It would be better and you would learn more about architecture by building a building (pun intended) piece by piece. I would love to see a drum set Lego set just as how we have a guitar in the Lego Ideas line.
I don’t have any Lego however a friend has just shown me the new Aston Martin set so I’ve brought the hole theme and now I’m ready for all my new sets after this video
The only ever issue I’ve had with Lego was that my little brother’s Ninjago set was missing it’s sticker sheet. Lego Customer Support came through for us and a couple weeks later my brother got his stickers. Way to go Lego
For my birthday I once got honestly WAY to much Lego, and also set 42110 (technic) and I was missing a piece, so I asked my dad to help me find it, we couldn’t find it, so I built the rest of the set, and contacted Lego support, and they IMMEDIATELY sent it, it took 2 or 3 days!
I must admit, almost never had problems with lego. Though, I had three with problems with bricks; most special one is from my childhood. I had set 7866, the train level crossing. One of the beams had the technic cross turned by 45 degrees too much. Even then Lego had perfect service and they sent a replacement. More recently I had a missing circular brick, and once a misprinted gold 1x2 tile. But he, I find these things forgivelable!
This has some good info for people who are just getting into lego, I have been colecting for years, so i know this stuff. But this is a realy good video.
After opening the parts bag, I sort the pieces into plastic kitchen drawer trays I bought at the dollar store. The ones that are used to separate knives, forks etc. Makes it super easy to find pieces and not lose them accidentally!
I will say I've been building lego sets since the early 90s and I have yet to have a set with a missing piece! I've always been impressed by legos great job with making sure their sets are perfect!
Kudos! A very useful video to welcome newcomers into the fold. It's easy to take the basics of a hobby for granted, harder to step back and be able to explain those basics to a neophyte, which you've done very well here. Hopefully, it will make someone's first steps with Lego fun.
My LEGO "craze" got rekindled 12 years ago and I enjoy building most sets (my fav,. being SW UCS and the modular buildings), but I find that the instructions have gotten way to simplified.
I actually had a case of a missing piece recently, or rather a piece that got replaced by a similar piece. In my Mario 64 set one of the many yellow Flat Tile 2x2s got replaced with a yellow 2x2 plate with reduced knobs. Not a big deal but thanks to this video I now ordered a replacement piece from LEGO, thanks!
