Glued Lego

Eric

Hi,
I stumbled across a Model Team 5591 Mach II Red Bird Rig and 5521 Sea Jet in a combined listing on eBay, currently at $10.50. I was pretty keen, until I read that the sets have been totally glued together.

The Bricklink price guide lists them at $150 and $35 respectively, but considering they were glued, I offered $50. I thought that was reasonable, and I figured I'd might be able to separate glue somehow. He still insists that "even though these sets are glued, they are still very collectible and rare" and that he "expects these sets to go into the triple figures".

I think he's kidding himself, in my opinion, glued Lego, isn't really Lego anymore...
What do you think? How much would spend on these sets?

Thanks,
Eric.

StuBoy

I'd take what he said with a grain of salt. I saw a seller on our local auction site listing an 80s red space torso and legs only for over $100, claiming it was over 40 years old and highly collectible. He was out by 10 years or so and I found complete minifigs on Bricklink for around $2.00.

I think you're right though, I would definitely pay a lot less for a glued set. I'd have to really want the set, glued sets don't really appeal to me at all.

Eric

Haha, really $100? Wow.
I'm not overly enthused, but if I can get a rare set, that I've been keen on for a little while now, for 1/4 or 1/3 of the price, I'm willing to take that gamble.

StuBoy

^ Yeah it didn't sell, surprisingly!
I guess if its always going to be on display then only you are going to know its glued and if you get it cheap then its worth it.

akunthita

@Eric, I would never buy a glued LEGO set. To me it totally looses its appeal. I mean it just doesn't have the LEGO-ishness any more; that you can take it apart and bulid it any way you want.

If I would get a glued LEGO set for free (the only way I would get one), I would sell it. Someone may want it, but not me.

Please note that if the set was glued by LEGO, you will not be able to take it apart without damage (if at all), as the "glue" they use, is technically a solvent. It "melts" the bricks together. The reason they use this is because there is absolutely no build-up of glue. And it is very strong.

If the set was glued by a LEGO-fan, you may have some luck separating it, depending on what kind of glue they used. But why go thru the trouble for that price?

drdavewatford

In general, a glued LEGO set is going to be worth peanuts. Anyone saying otherwise either knows nothing about the hobby, is deluding themselves, or is trying to con the ignorant into believing they're buying something valuable.... You just have to consider who pays top dollar for retired sets - it's the collectors, and it's extremely hard to imagine a collector paying big money for a glued set unless it's truly impossible to source from anywhere else, for instance an iconic one-off model built for a shop display, LEGOLand etc..

Once in a blue moon I guess that someone may come along who, while not a LEGO fan per se, loves the finished model in which case I guess they might pay over the odds. I'd wager that most if not all of us would almost certainly just turn our noses up at the abomination of a glued set, however - it's sacrilege !

davee123

You offered a lot more than I would have! I think most hobbyists would actively NOT want it (even for free) since it would just take up space-- those that would want it would be those that keep sets on display.

I'd guess about $5-$50, depending on the condition. Any set that's glued has probably been on display since it was built, which means it's likely been discolored.

DaveE

madforLEGO

^^--- For a Minute there Dr Dave.. I misread and thought your were a proponent of glued sets, I almost fell out of my chair...lol
Then I re-read and realized you are very much against... :-)

Glued lego defeats it being Lego... it basically is a glorified model set that was built (and how many completed model sets for kids go for any money as the fun is the building, not the displaying)

bluemoose

I've met people who are particularly interested in buying old in-store promotional models, which typically were glued. So I guess it depends on what it is the person is interested in collecting. Each to their own. If you're not interested, don't bid ... It really is as simple as that.

Eric

All fair and valid points, and yes davee123, in hindsight, $50 was rather high, and yes, it is very discoloured. Yeah, kinda does defeat the purpose of Lego.

But since are all so against it, you've got me curious, now let me ask you this: Would you buy a UCS Death Star, Market Street, Taj Mahal or the like, (if you didn't have it already), for a ~1/6th of the price, but it was totally glued together?
(not that this set is in that league. :P )

Lego_Lord_Mayorca

Glued Lego...ugghh. Even if you manage to separate the glued pieces, if the thing has been glued for any long period of time, the pieces may suffer from discoloration where they were bonded to the glue. I've seen this in one instance. A frightening sight.

drdavewatford

^^ No, no and no - not even for 1/60th of the RRP. As @bluemoose states above and I alluded to in an earlier posting, there might be an argument if the model is something unique built for in-store display etc., e.g. a 'life-sized' R2-D2. Otherwise I don't think there'd be much interest - you're not buying LEGO, you're buying a huge lump of plastic that's no use for anything except display, isn't giving you any building pleasure and can't even be easily stored when you're tired of looking at it. Airfix, Revell etc. kits are more 'realistic' than LEGO and generally considerably cheaper - if all you want to do is look then why not buy something which is more faithful to the source material ?

Legoboy

And another 'No'. For me the fun, or attraction, is that I can spend all night building (once the family's in bed) whilst listening to VH1 or similar. I absolutely love the creativity and thought that goes into designing and producing these sets. Rarely do I display sets for anything more than a month. If I (as I'd expect most FOLs) wanted a sculpture, they'd just buy something from Mattel. Just like Bluemoose and DrDave said, I can see that there will be the odd enthusiast or shopowner that might want for the corner of the room, but for most it defeats the object of 'interlocking plastic bricks', allowing one to disassemble and build up again into something new.

Jasen

I'm with @drdavewatford unless it's been an instore 'lifesize' or close too, it ain't worth the glue it's held together with. Even then.... the price may be far greater if those selling thought as a prop....

Legogeek

lol.... I think we are all thinking with LEGO brains, that's why most of us shrink at the thought of purchasing a glued together set of bricks. But think of the eccentric types out there, someone looking for an odd piece of sculpture for the foyer. Or a store owner wanting something different to add to a window display (an Atlantis set for an aquarium, or a house for some mice, frogs, or lizards to move into). I'm sure there are plenty of non-LEGO civilians that would buy a 'finished' set that they don't have to worry about it falling apart.

Legoboy

^ Lol...and when the mice frogs need an extension? What then???

andhe

If someone wants to make me a life-size R2-D2 in Lego, glue it together and sell it to me for 1/6th of the price, I'll buy it.

Legogeek

^^ It's in their rental agreement. Only two residents. If they have kids, they have to move or sell the kids before they ask for their own room.

bluelion3

I found this guide to removing glued minifigures from magnets.
http://thebrickblogger.com/2011/01/lego-glued-magnet-removal/

Has anyone tried this for the new Ninja Princess magnet from Toys R Us for Bricktober?

warrenelsmore

Just to balance out the argument..... I would buy glued sets - for the purpose they were intended (putting on display, in my case at events)

But they'd never be on display at home - there's too much 'real' LEGO taking up the room for that :-)

Ypres

I'm trying it right now... I'll know in about 5 minutes ;)

Legogeek

It's been over 5 minutes - what happened?! ;oP

Ypres

No dice.... :(

yys4u

Yea I thought about it but decided against it. Would definitely like to know if it worked for anyone.

Legogeek

^^ Bummer.

andhe

I think the glue used is actually a solvent, and melts the legs onto the base slightly. The glue holding the actaully figure together is different, to my knowledge, and is possible to melt away etc using varying techniques. Though I haven't tried. Have a look on eurobricks, someone tried it with some pharaoh quest magnets, but the results were a bit off putting.

georgebjones

I have tried this method with much success on the magnet packs. In my experience, the water had to be hotter than what the guide indicated. I was very happy with it. I haven't taken the time to try it with the princess figure, yet. I would assume it would work the same. I don't think they would have any reason to change the glue. @Ypres, have you had success with that method before on other magnets? If not, try making the water a little hotter. I use a candy thermometer to keep track of the temperature.

Eric

The set in question just sold for AUD$72.50. Well far more than I would have paid... :/

Kotton

So I decided to go for it!... I really can't stand the magnets...

I took off the hat, head and arms then I boiled a coffee mug of water in the microwave. It took about 2 minutes.

I dunked the princess headless head first all the way to the magnet for a few seconds and pulled her out and gently pried her off the base with a butter knife.

I had to repeat a few times as the glue gradually loosened.

There was a little minor damage on the bottom back of the legs, but it really was not bad enough to bum me out like the magnet did.

I was not as successful prying the legs from the torso though, so I will have to be content with not taking her apart...

I think a dull butter knife might work better than a sharper knife to get them off the base. I think a sharp knife migh just cut the figure and leave more damage...

Good luck to anyone that tries...!

Sleazy_Uncle

I know a guy who works our local Walmart and he sold his entire Blu-ray collection for over $1000 to fund buying lego. He bought Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean collection lego and has since glued them all together. What a waste!

Sleazy_Uncle

I wonder if they allow glue in legoland?

Si_UKNZ

I know this has come up before but I cant find it.

How do you seperate the glued magnets e.g. PQ/ PotC?

akunthita

Detailed instructions here: http://thebrickblogger.com/2011/01/lego-glued-magnet-removal/

Si_UKNZ

brill, thanks, will try those

yys4u

Let us know how it works :) I tried to boil a fig a to separate torso and legs (It used to be a key chain) but couldn't get it to work. Always wanted to buy a cheap magnet set and try this though.

greekmick

I have recently taken off a dozen or so figures from the magnets. Some are harder than others depeding on how much solvent was used. There will be slight damage to the backs of the legs but if on display then I dont see the problem. I have also removed them from the keychains as well with success. Soaking them in boiling water works very well, just make sure you have a thin but blunt knife to slide behind and pop off.

plasmodium

@yys4u: Keychains are (or, at least used to be) held together by a metal pole going through the head, torso and hips. Boiling won't help much there!
Opps. Just saw greekmick's post. Do they glue keychains as well, or is that just newer ones?

yys4u

@plasmodium what I actually meant was boiling water to separate the legs from torso and head from head gear.

To remove the metal pole I looped a paper clip through the little metal ring on top of the head and then held the paperclip with pliers. I then used a lighter to heat up the paper clip or pliers (I actually don't remember which it was) and this heated up the metal pole which allowed me to slide it right out. Unfortunately the heat was a little too hot and expanded the plastic on the neck so I can't really put any other heads on it. Next time I'll try to heat it less.

@greekmick so when you remove key chains are you talking about removing the legs from torso? If it worked for you I might give it another shot.

Furrysaurus

i haven't seen glue on keychains, but i've boiled some to "loosen" the keychain spike.

georgebjones

Glad I saw this. I have removed hundreds of keychains from the figs and glued figs from their magnet bases. What I do for the magnets, is get a small pot, boil about 1 inch of water in it, turn the temp down to low. Then I remove the head and headgear from the fig, bend it at the waist, so it will be sitting up in the pot, neck above water, and plop it right in the pot. I let it simmer for about 5 minutes. The guide linked to above says not to use boiling water, but I have had no issue at all. I leave the figure in for about 5 minutes, remove it and try to remove it. Most of them pop right off, others require a little prying with a thin metal object (knife). If the don't come off right away, I just plop them back in for a couple minutes. After they are off, I toss them in the freezer while I work on the others.

For the keychains, I just stick the tip of a heated soldering iron in the closest loop to the minifigure. After about 30 seconds, it will start to pull out, and i just pull it out and presto!

As far as separating the legs(hips) from the torso. I have only gotten one from the magnet figs, and zero from the keychains. The water is what dissolves the adhesive, and enough water just cant get in there.

Yellowcastle

^^ Aren't the legs on Keychains also glued?

Doh, Ninja'ed!

greekmick

@yys4u sorry I menat I had just removed the spikes from the keychains soaking them in hot water. I haven't been able to separate the torso and legs on any of the magnet or keychains.

jdmartinjax

I have invested the last 5 years of my life into Lego collecting, and have managed in 5 years to amass practically all of the sets I really want, and thousands in addition. . .some new and realistically about 2 tons of used Legos.

There is NOTHING more disturbing than finding glued pieces. Republicans can take over my neighborhood, but if I find glued pieces, the disappointment can last forever. . .and I have to fight the urge to throw them in the trash.

I would rather find out that half of what I bought was MegaBlok...there is just something murderous about gluing Legos. . .I think that is it! A Lego set has a "life" in a way, and I can assemble and re-assemble a set my entire life, die, and my son can do the same, and give it to HIS son, who can do the same, and so on and so on, and when you GLUE it, YOU EFFECTIVELY KILL THE LEGO SET!

There is a person advertising on Ebay a set glued together @ $60 and adds "If you want any Lego set out there just let me know & I will build it & seal it for you...Online store is almost up and running for you to view.." and I sent her a message telling her that I think she is making a big mistake. . .says she's "glued all of her son's sets together, and he has them ALL"

Oh well, I suppose, as sad as it may seem, there are probably more than a few Cloud City sets sitting in a landfill somewhere because someone didn't know any better, and just had to clean out that "filthy" closet. [ugh...I am going to be ill]

There was one time that I thought the Legos SHOULD'VE been glued together, and THAT was when James May build the Lego House, and it kept falling apart, I was saying "GLUE IT!GLUE IT! GLUE IT. . .IT WILL BE the strongest house EVER BUILT, will NEVER get termites, and will probably last for 1000 years or more!"

StutterBrick

I recently purchased a large collection, and there are several sets in the lot that have been super glued together. I have read that acetone is useful for removing the glue, but I have had no success testing it on inconsequential pieces. Has anyone come across a way to remove the glue without damaging the Lego?

I would prefer a way that separates the glue without having to first separate the bricks, but any suggestions are more than welcome.

Thanks!