There is a little secret in the LEGO fan community that most people do not talk about because they do not want new LEGO fans to feel bad.
It is nearly impossible to get a new LEGO set with a missing piece.
How is it that some people have several "missing" pieces in every set they buy, and other people have built hundreds of sets and never had one missing piece?
LEGO's quality control and precision is insane and is the industry standard for excellence that many other manufacturing companies point to, to show what is possible when you take excellence seriously.
Even LEGO doesn't want their fans to feel bad, so they will just apologize and replace the part for free. They do have systems in place to prevent abuse of their good customer service, though.
We will expand this article in the future to show how they prevent missing pieces, but we will give you a hint. They know the weight of every piece to the 2,000th of a gram and weigh the bags throughout manufacturing.
Actual errors
The only confirmed errors we have heard of involve a sticker sheet sliding out the seam of the box during shipment, a left-sided piece extra and a right-sided piece missing, an error involving a malformed piece like a short-shot piece that did not get all the intended plastic into the plastic injection mold. When these situations happen, the reason is usually obvious - like the identical weight and shaped extra piece.
More common scenarios
It is much more likely, like a million times more likely, that the pieces are being lost after opening the LEGO box. So how does that happen?
Building in chaotic environments, you know, like homes with children and pets is a great way to lose pieces. Think about how many times you have lost much larger items like car keys, phones and books. We don't blame the car manufacturer when we lose our keys in our home.
Here is a list of places we have heard of the "missing" LEGO pieces ultimately being found;
Rolled off the table and are lost forever. These are those witnessed events where you see it go over the edge and then vanish. It is not missing from the set if you saw it at the beginning.
Down the heat and air conditioning vent. Yeah, we wouldn't stick our hand down there either.
In the carpet. You know lots of stuff ends up there because you hear it when you vacuum.
In the pleat or cuff of your pant leg or long sleeve shirt. Later found in the dryer lint if you are lucky.
In the cat, dog, bird, snake, hamster, or other pets. Plastic does not show up well on x-rays and vet bills can be expensive.
In the cat litter box... eww
Under the couch. So many things are hiding there.
In the couch. Grab all the loose change while you are in there.
Under the rug.
In the vacuum sweeper. You remember the racket it made.
In the blankets or under pillow. Seriously folks, you can't build on your rumpled up bed and then complain about missing pieces.
In the pages of the instruction manual from where it was slid out of the way and it "ate" pieces as it slid over them.
In the corners of the parts bags. How many times have we checked every corner and still found them in the corner later when we looked again?
In the smaller bags that were set aside, and we forgot to open them. This is usually the final diagnosis when people state they are missing 10-20 pieces from a new set.
In the single unnumbered bag that some sets have. These are normally the largest pieces.
In an unopened second bag with the same number. Some sets have multiple bags for step 1, multiple bags for step 2, etc. This is usually the final diagnosis when people state they are missing 30-100 pieces from a new set.
The visiting nephews or cousins or neighbors played with the set mid-build and misplaced or carried off pieces. Sometimes we don't find out until they confess years later.
Sibling rivalry reared its ugly head and pieces were hidden on purpose. Also applies to upset children with LEGO builder parents.
Sometimes kids even take parts and minifigures (from a set mid-build) to school and lose them.
Sometimes the wrong parts are used in an earlier step resulting in them being "missing" later at their correct step. This usually is combined with odd leftover pieces from the earlier step. Sometimes it is the wrong color part. Sometimes it is parts that can be combined to be the same shape as the missing part. For instance, a 1x8 plate is leftover and two 1x4 plates are missing because they got used earlier instead of the 1x8 plate. This is usually caused when builders only look at the picture of what changed in the model and not and the parts list that goes with the step.
Less common scenarios
The box has been tampered with before the builder received it. This is a more common situation when all the minifigures are missing. These are usually sets that were returns at large retailers or online retailers and that are being sold at discount stores or similar overstock outlet stores. This is more common than we would hope.
How to prevent "missing" aka lost pieces
Build in a controlled environment. Ideally, build at a table in a room that excludes pets and smaller children. Use a tray to pour out your pieces so they cannot roll off the table.
Sort the bags in order by number and confirm to yourself they are all there when you opened the box. If there are multiple bag 1 and multiple bag 2, etc., group them by number. Open all the bag-one bags at the same step. Do not open the next number bags until they are called for in the instructions. If you get to a step where it calls for the next bag and you have leftover parts that are longer than two studs, recheck the previous instruction steps carefully. You may have used the wrong part somewhere or skipped a step or page. Sometimes pages stick together.
A good practice at each step is to pick all the parts called out in the ingredients box before building that step. Do not proceed to the next step until you have used all the parts from your pile for that step.
Check the corners of each bag carefully. Do not throw away empty bags until the entire set is finished. Ideally, do not stop building part way through a set, except at steps where you are about to open the next set of bags.
If you do switch to other tasks mid-build, mark your place in the build manual with the sticker sheet or other bookmark. Secure the build area from pets and kids. Cover it up or secure the room.
Take personal responsibility for the environment you choose to build in and control it or accept lost pieces as a way of life for you personally. However, do not blame a company that has committed itself to a level of excellence that most people cannot imagine. You just look silly to the people that know what's up with "missing" pieces. Which is more likely, a missing piece from a bag that was weighed by a scale sensitive to 2/1000 of a gram or a lost piece in an environment with kids and pets running around?
Still think your set is missing pieces or bags?
Like we said earlier, LEGO will still take care of you either way.
https://www.lego.com/en-us/service/help-topics/article/new-sets-with-missing-parts
https://www.lego.com/en-us/service/help-topics/article/missing-bags-in-new-sets
https://www.lego.com/en-us/service/help-topics/article/new-sets-with-damaged-parts
https://www.lego.com/en-us/service/help-topics/article/replacing-stickers
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