Mold Defect - Metallic Rock Crystal?

principalbricks

I noticed some of my Rock Crystals have a hole on one side and a dent on the other side. (Photos attached)

This occurs only on metallic gold pieces. I also saw on Brickset a photo of the metallic silver which has the same defect.

Is this a known issue with the older molds, or has counterfeit parts taken over since the metallic gold has been discontinued by LEGO?

Anyone have a straight out-of-the-box piece with this defect?

Thanks

davee123

I don't think they're counterfeit.  I just checked some of mine (didn't check all of them):

• metallic silver - 6/10 had the defect (all probably 2008-2013, none from 2014)
• metallic gold - 7/10 had the defect (all 2007-2011)
• pearl gold - 0/7 had the defect (all fine) (2010-2014)

Some were more pronounced than others-- with an indent on one side but not the other, etc.  All of mine would be sets I bought from the store, never bought any of these from BrickLink or other second-hand sources.

DaveE

davee123

Also, just checked 10 of my chrome silver ones, and although they didn't seem as pronounced, most of them appeared to have an "indent" at the same point.  A quick check of my transparent ones seemed to have an air bubble in a few at the same place, which seemed to have an indent as well.

DaveE

principalbricks

Thanks so much, really appreciate your efforts in helping me solve this mystery!

Brainslugged

I'm glad your rock pieces and gems (from a different thread) all turned out to be legit. Although what sort of shady back-alley dealers are you getting your Lego from to generate such levels of concern regarding their legitimacy?

principalbricks

I've been buying a lot of older sets off eBay and Bricklink. Unfortunately, counterfeit parts are more prevalent than many people realize, and people don't know because it's so hard to differentiate. If you've ever held a fake minifig next to a genuine one, you'll be shocked... sadly

Bobflip

principalbricks said:

I've been buying a lot of older sets off eBay and Bricklink. Unfortunately, counterfeit parts are more prevalent than many people realize, and people don't know because it's so hard to differentiate. If you've ever held a fake minifig next to a genuine one, you'll be shocked... sadly

Fake minifigs are a lot more likely than fake LEGO crystals!