Collection 2.0

Since I last posted on my the state of my collection, it has gone through a significant change. I no longer keep my individual sets separate. This means I have abandoned my views of being a set purist and have gone in the complete opposite direction by throwing all my pieces together.

This decision came when I realized I was holding myself back creatively. By having my sets separate I wasn't able to see all my pieces and there for didn't use my parts very efficiently. By combining all my sets, I can see how many of what piece I have. My collection is still very organized and each part has its place. I can still build my sets if I want. I'm excited for the change and can't wait to try my hand in some MOC's. Now I just need a place to keep all my LEGO out and not have to worry about storing them in the closet. That dream is getting closer to reality, soon hopefully.

I will post new pics of my collection soon. Maybe this weekend, when I have time to get it all together again.

LEGO Resto

So I mentioned a few posts back about completely removing the yellowing off LEGO pieces that were exposed to UV light. This weekend I got to try it out. First off read my other post and check out the links it provides.

This process involves using high percentages of hydrogen peroxide so please be careful when doing this. Take the necessary precautions to avoid getting hurt.

Here are a few of my results.

After doing a bunch of white pieces I decided to try it on a printed piece. Some people have said that printed parts tend to fade. I thought since this flag had a lot printed on it and it was in good shape that it should be fine. This flag took about 2 hours. I think since the plastic is pretty thin that it went a lot faster.



I have seen some people reverse the yellow in clear plastic items. So I thought to try it on my clear LEGO parts. I have a few of these slopes all in the same condition. I had thought they were just really dirty and stained. Turns out it was just yellowed from UV. This part took about 6 hours. This slope is at least 25+ years old, now it looks like brand new.



I will be posting more results on my flickr page. So please add me as a contact to see new updates.

New Month, New Store Flyer.

Every month I will try and post the LEGO stores flyer. It contains announcements on new sets, sales and free giveaways. For now I'm going to link you to toomuchdew's photos of this month. I will get my own up starting next month.




I know that I will be taking advantage of the Green Grocer sale.

Clean Up Yellowed LEGO

This is something that I am quite excited about. When I got back into LEGO I started putting my old sets back together. As a kid I kept all my sets out on display, so as I put them back together, I noticed that the pieces had started to turn yellow. Most severe cases were white, blue, and light grey colors. I felt stupid for leaving my LEGO out and exposed to the sun. I looked around the internet to see if there was anything you could do to clean them. Everything I found said that it was permanent and there was nothing you can do. Some people said they used bleach on white parts, this kind of worked but left the pieces brittle and they lost their shine.

Seeing defeat, I bagged up all the discolored pieces and ordered replacements from bricklink. I couldn't bring myself to throw them away, hoping that one day some miracle would come and I could fix them. Well, that miracle has come.

Yesterday TBB blogged about a group of vintage computer hobbyists / chemists that have found a way to COMPLETELY reverse the yellowing of older plastic!!! A solution of hydrogen peroxide, "Oxy" laundry detergent and UV light was perfected and given them name retr0bright. Check out their webpage.

This revolution has me SO excited. The geniuses over at retr0bright have become heroes to me.. in a way. The technique has found its way to the LEGO community and of course shows great results.

Tim Goddard shows his results here:


Smitty has set up a website using this formula specifically for LEGO:
LEGO Restoration

This process can take anywhere from 3-29 hours to fully reverse the yellowing. It also deals with using strong hydrogen peroxide which, if mishandled, can lead to serious health problems. Please fully read the posts on the retr0bright site and on smitty's site to fully understand what you are getting into.

I really want to try this out. As I said I have a one gallon ziplock bag full of yellowed LEGO. I will take some photos and detail my process as I go. I'll be sure to post the results.

UPDATE:
Follow my guide here