Review: 41931 Extra Dots series 4
Posted by Huw,
The Extra Dots bags provide a great way to stock up on 1x1 tiles relatively cheaply and are ideal for adding to your cart at LEGO.com to take you over a GWP spending threshold.
The latest bag, 41931 Extra DOTS - Series 4 comes with an unprecedented variety of shapes and colours together with printed tiles designed to complement the new Dots Bag Tags, which we will be reviewing next week.
I purchased two bags from LEGO.com last week so the photos are showing the contents of both.
There are 14 printed tiles in each bag: 9 round patterns, some of which are eye-like, and 5 half-circle noses/mouths.
I believe there are a total of 16 round prints and 8 noses. The inventory obtained from Rebrickable shows 13 different round tiles and all the noses. The two bags I purchased contained 12 different round tiles and 5 half circles.
Series one to three of the bags contained five or six different types of element but this one contains 18 excluding the printed ones: three colours of 1x1 round, two of 1/4 circles, 2 of squares, two of half circles, five of 1x1 cheese slopes and four of the relatively new 1x1 49307 PLATE 1X1X2/3, OUTSIDE BOW.
This is a bit of a mixed blessing because I suspect you, like me, have enough red and green 1x1 tiles and a surplus of cheese slopes already, so we don't really need any more. I would have preferred more of the rarer shapes and colours.
The cool yellow 1x1 round tiles appear only in this set.
There's certainly a good variety of parts which will enable you to spruce up your bag tags, change their expression, or perhaps convert them to a different animal altogether.
It's a shame that the eye prints don't look more like real eyes so they could be used on animal MOCs, although I am sure they will have their uses on cartoonish creatures.
At £3.99 / $3.99, 41931 Extra DOTS - Series 4 is the sort of thing you'd impulse buy on your way to the checkout when out shopping (remember that?), and as I say they are also worth bearing in mind if you need to take your LEGO.com order over a certain amount to secure a GWP.
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23 comments on this article
My collection is extremely lacking in cheese slopes (except dark grey ones, which I got off the PAB wall), so this pack will be useful to me. The cool yellow 1x1 round tiles are the cherry on top. Not sure yet whether I'll use any of the prints as I'm not big on the face designs of the bag tags. I'm gonna grab one when I get my bag tag next month.
So, is there a list of all the unique tiles, as in the past?
I haven’t wanted any of the dots sets enough to pay for them, but I like the puppies! I have a good friend that our inside joke involves sheep, so if they make a sheep one I’d by the entire stock!
@Modeltrainman said:
"So, is there a list of all the unique tiles, as in the past?"
Not yet.
So for this and Vidiyo there is enough budget to print every tile, but for a simple UCS plaque once a year not?
@R0Sch said:
"So for this and Vidiyo there is enough budget to print every tile, but for a simple UCS plaque once a year not?"
I would guess it's a question of volume and perhaps also ability to be reused in other sets. Vidiyo and Dots are both sold by many retailers and UCS sets aren't.
@Huw said:
" @Modeltrainman said:
"So, is there a list of all the unique tiles, as in the past?"
Not yet."
Thank you.
@Paperdaisy said:
" @R0Sch said:
"So for this and Vidiyo there is enough budget to print every tile, but for a simple UCS plaque once a year not?"
I would guess it's a question of volume and perhaps also ability to be reused in other sets. Vidiyo and Dots are both sold by many retailers and UCS sets aren't. "
Volume is one aspect (these are produced in much greater volume than a single piece that appears one per $100 or more set, and the randomized ones are even inventoried together, cutting down on the logistical costs that normally apply with a large number of discrete prints). I would expect the quality of the final product to be another factor, though. While some AFOLs dislike stickers, a sticker over a large tile like used in UCS sets will cover molding marks and imperfections instead of them showing through, and gives the end consumer control over the sticker’s alignment instead of risking a large print like that being misaligned at the factory.
Is there any chance that dots will bring back the old letter tiles? I’ve seen those used in so many Mocs, but they were just a tad before my time.
I ABSOLUTLY love these
Bought 4 packs - I love adding mixel eyes for any of my creatures, and now I can give them emotions!
I made Cow from Panda and Single pack :D
I'll pick up one when it goes on sale.
Been very lucky with finding extra dots half off at walmart and target. Or for $1 at Michaels. :I
@Lyichir :
We don't really know how the Dots tiles are inventoried, do we? If they print one design at a time, they'd either need to mix them before sending them into storage, or store them as unique elements and mix them before they're packed. Either way adds a layer of complexity to the process. Alternately, since they're so small, I could see them batch printing them, with all 16 designs being printed simultaneously on one machine. It would require being able to seat 16 tiles on a jig at the same time (something which I'm sure they could not do when they first started printing back in the 70's, but which technology is probably capable of pulling off today), but the parts would come off the line pre-mixed and could go directly into storage without any additional work required before packing.
Another thing worth noting is that these Extra Dots packs are a self-solving process. As one Extra Dots pack comes into production, the previous one is retired. As a new batch of prints come into production, the previous batch is likewise retired, making room in the element cap for a new set of designs. It's a revolving door of elements, so with Extra Dots pack they start out with a clean slate for design. The unprinted parts are another matter, as it doesn't seem like there's any attempt to keep them exclusive to the Extra Dots sets, if they ever were in the first place.
Extra Dots also shares a common quirk with Brickheadz, which was also noted for the near-complete lack of of stickers. Neither theme uses minifigs, which the Brickheadz designer cited as being a major driving force behind the use of stickers. As new waves of sets are developed, design teams are given a limited number of new "slots" to fill in the company-wide element list. Since minifigs have proven to help sell sets, design teams have responded by producing an ever-expanding range of new and exclusive minifigs that eat up those slots and drive sales for the sets. Add in needing color changes for existing shapes, and there's not a lot of room left for basic printed parts unless they're likely to be used across a range of sets. If you fill a set full of single-use prints, you don't get those slots back until the set retires. For a popular D2C set, that could take several years, and eventually the rash of new prints would negatively impact their ability to actually design the physical builds.
Now, for sticker alignment, I've got mixed feelings. They've proven that they absolutely are capable of precisely lining up prints across multiple parts, making the only advantage to building a set with stickers the ability to choose what to do with them (whether to never apply them at all, or to apply them to parts other than what's shown in the instructions, or even to cut bits from the stickers or their border to use in new ways (I think it was Bricknerd where someone mentioned using sticker border to hold a part in place, and I used a bit to make the white pinstripes on the doors to my HP Ford Anglia). The thing is, that alignment process is very time-consuming and significantly reduces the total output that a single machine is capable. Print machines have been noted for running at max capacity as it is, so the only way they could manage that level of precision on every part is to set up at least one new printing line to cover the deficit. That's a lot of expense to improve on something that's already better than a lot of experienced AFOLs seem to be capable of.
@Snaz:
I recently ran across a jigsaw puzzle that claimed to have used a custom cutting die to avoid obscuring any of several jokes hidden in the design. They mapped out all the important details, and designed a cut pattern that safely navigated the gaps between them. If they were to start printing the plaques, I could see them doing the same thing in reverse, mapping out the problem areas on the 8x16 tile and creating a template that helps them avoid adding print to those areas. However, for early UCS sets, that wasn't an option. The earliest 8x16 tile didn't show up until 2004, four years after the first UCS sets, but they wouldn't be used for UCS plaques until 2010, after the design was updated to include full tubes across the bottom. Those early sets used rows of 1x8 tiles to create the plaques, with one giant sticker applied across all of them. The plaques were actually variable in size, since they weren't tied to a single element like they are now. They used rows of 1x8 tiles, 1x6 tiles, 4x4 tiles w/ studs along one edge, or in at least one case a combination of 4x4 and 1x8 tiles.
Both have their problems. STAMP plaques can't be disassembled once the sticker is applied, and the 1x8/1x6 tiles have rounded edges that leave the sticker vulnerable to splitting along the seams. The 8x16 plaques are larger than most of the pre-2010 plaques, increasing the chances that wrinkles or bubbles will form during the application, plus the center pip creates a risk of damage like the tile edges. I do remember finding, though, that the early 1x tile plaques were much easier to apply, since you only had to get the first edge lined up really nicely, and then you could press it down one tile at a time. If you did somehow screw it up, it wasn't that hard to peel the tiles off, one at a time, if you were quick about it.
@R0Sch said:
"So for this and Vidiyo there is enough budget to print every tile, but for a simple UCS plaque once a year not?"
Another thought on this, the budget for Vidiyo and Dots prints will have been planned and locked in from the start because of the nature of the product. In a bigger set, from what we know of the design process, the decision to use a print will reduce the budget for other things, like recoloured parts or printed elements used in the model itself.
@R0Sch said:
"So for this and Vidiyo there is enough budget to print every tile, but for a simple UCS plaque once a year not?"
A UCS plaque isn’t meant for play and it just sits on a desk/shelf/etc. These are meant for kids, and kids will not do well with stickers, which then would ruin the playability of these sets.
We bought five packs today. We did hunt through the window trying to make sure we got a lot of the different prints. We got at least three of each mouth, and at least two of all of the eyes that we got except for one—the smiling eye without lashes.
We were hoping that we just missed finding all of the printed tiles in the packs we searched through, but we weren’t lucky; we did not get the rainbow lashed eye or the dazed spiral eye. Now we hunt for one pack that has two of each of those and one smiling eye without lashes!
@Lyichir said:
" @Paperdaisy said:
" @R0Sch said:
"So for this and Vidiyo there is enough budget to print every tile, but for a simple UCS plaque once a year not?"
I would guess it's a question of volume and perhaps also ability to be reused in other sets. Vidiyo and Dots are both sold by many retailers and UCS sets aren't. "
Volume is one aspect (these are produced in much greater volume than a single piece that appears one per $100 or more set, and the randomized ones are even inventoried together, cutting down on the logistical costs that normally apply with a large number of discrete prints). I would expect the quality of the final product to be another factor, though. While some AFOLs dislike stickers, a sticker over a large tile like used in UCS sets will cover molding marks and imperfections instead of them showing through, and gives the end consumer control over the sticker’s alignment instead of risking a large print like that being misaligned at the factory.
"
That is not a good excuse in my opinion, If a brick is damaged or has moulding marks then what are the chances it will have a sticker on it? That brick with or without a print would be faulty and possibly should be replaced. Plus, if Lego were using stickers to cover up defects like mould lines then they have a serious quality control problem and us consumers would be up in arms.
If Lego's main rival Mega Construx can do only printed bricks then Lego has no excuse, especially with premium sets.
@magpie9 said:
"That is not a good excuse in my opinion, If a brick is damaged or has moulding marks then what are the chances it will have a sticker on it? That brick with or without a print would be faulty and possibly should be replaced. Plus, if Lego were using stickers to cover up defects like mould lines then they have a serious quality control problem and us consumers would be up in arms.
If Lego's main rival Mega Construx can do only printed bricks then Lego has no excuse, especially with premium sets."
Every 8x16 tile in a UCS set has a nice big circular dimple in the middle. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have that covered up with a sticker than see that right smack in the middle of a print. I don't know how much easier it is for LEGO to relocate that dimple to one side of the tile than, say, it was for them to change the pip on the side of 1xn bricks to a pip on one of the studs. But maybe you could ask them.
Personally, I wish they had just continued the emojis from Series 1. I really just want more emojis!
@LegoSonicBoy said:
" @magpie9 said:
"That is not a good excuse in my opinion, If a brick is damaged or has moulding marks then what are the chances it will have a sticker on it? That brick with or without a print would be faulty and possibly should be replaced. Plus, if Lego were using stickers to cover up defects like mould lines then they have a serious quality control problem and us consumers would be up in arms.
If Lego's main rival Mega Construx can do only printed bricks then Lego has no excuse, especially with premium sets."
Every 8x16 tile in a UCS set has a nice big circular dimple in the middle. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have that covered up with a sticker than see that right smack in the middle of a print. I don't know how much easier it is for LEGO to relocate that dimple to one side of the tile than, say, it was for them to change the pip on the side of 1xn bricks to a pip on one of the studs. But maybe you could ask them."
That didn't look too bad on the popup book, and that's printed.
@Minifig_Man said:
" @LegoSonicBoy said:
" @magpie9 said:
"That is not a good excuse in my opinion, If a brick is damaged or has moulding marks then what are the chances it will have a sticker on it? That brick with or without a print would be faulty and possibly should be replaced. Plus, if Lego were using stickers to cover up defects like mould lines then they have a serious quality control problem and us consumers would be up in arms.
If Lego's main rival Mega Construx can do only printed bricks then Lego has no excuse, especially with premium sets."
Every 8x16 tile in a UCS set has a nice big circular dimple in the middle. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have that covered up with a sticker than see that right smack in the middle of a print. I don't know how much easier it is for LEGO to relocate that dimple to one side of the tile than, say, it was for them to change the pip on the side of 1xn bricks to a pip on one of the studs. But maybe you could ask them."
That didn't look too bad on the popup book, and that's printed."
I suppose it depends on the print itself. The dimple is on the brown background area on that one, so it does look alright. Now, a more interesting comparison then is of printing the one on the Pop-Up Book versus stickers for UCS plaques...
@magpie9:
Mold marks are not only unavoidable, but necessary. The text formed into a part is a mold mark that imparts important information about that part. Plastic has to enter the mold cavity somewhere, the mold has to separate into at least two sections to release the part, and ejector pins are probably necessary to free the parts from the mold before you're ready to close it and mold the next batch of parts.
Some shapes are formed by part shrinkage between the injection of the molten plastic and the ejection of a fully formed part. If one section of the part is formed too thick compared to the rest of the part, it'll cool much slower, and it can form unsightly dimples, like what happened with the semi-auto pistol from the original Batman theme's accessory packs. They were able to solve this by redesigning the slide on the gun so it had some deep channels that would reduce the maximum thickness found on the part, allowing it to cool more uniformly and not dimple. Alternately, you could do a complex computer model and cut the mold to create bumps that would shrink down until they were flat, rather than starting flat and creating dimples. But, if you didn't have the temperature of the mold, the temperature of the plastic, the ambient temperature in the room, and the humidity set precisely the same every day, you'd probably either get dimples or bumps on the final product. Heck, if you changed colors, you might have to adjust the rest of those settings or the different color might cool faster or slower and produce the same problems.
Mold lines (aka flow lines or weld lines) are sometimes unavoidable, and other times not. On a small, simple part, you just find a spot in the center so the plastic flow reaches all the edges at about the same time. Large cavities need to be filled very quickly, so injecting the plastic through multiple gates results in two or more flows that need to fuse together to form a complete part. And, like a river flowing around an island, any time you form a hole that goes completely through a part, two flows will have to merge together on the other side (this is most notable on the sides of minifig torsos, directly below the arm sockets).
Weld lines can be unsightly, but that doesn't mean the part is certain to break there. As long as the plastic forms a strong enough weld, it's just going to be a visual blemish (this is particularly true for metallic or pearl pigments, where the orientation of tiny reflective flakes can cause light to reflect in funny ways).
I have no idea why they put the pip on the top of the 8x16 tile instead of directly opposite on the underside of the part. I can't be certain of why they are suddenly shifting gates from the tops of studs to the sidewalls of the part where they can create unsightly blemishes on LEGO models (or why the double cheese is now being produced with the pip always on the same side instead of an even mix of L/R variants). I suspect they moved it off the studs because it tends to make the logo illegible. I don't know if there's a practical reason to avoid putting the pips on the undersides of parts, but the fact that they almost never do suggests there's some reason they want to avoid doing so. One of the few instances where I know they have is some of the longer 1x tiles, where one of the pins formed into the underside has a shallow divot on the end, and the pip is located right in the center of that. The divot appears to be necessary to make sure any tuft of plastic doesn't interfere with the part's ability to be fully seated on another part.
@CCC:
Okay, so they’re probably mixed before going into storage, but I’m still curious if they’re printing all of the equivalent designs together, or if they have to mix them before sending them to storage.
Why this is important is that if they’re being printed together, each time you add a color to one tile, it adds a print step to all 16 designs, regardless of whether they share that color or not. This would favor a single shared color across the entire batch. If they use multiple colors, they probably have to pick a limited selection of colors to use across the entire batch.