Official Star Wars minifigs: a pad printing problem

It's August 15, and since it's a public holiday and I have time to quibble, I take this opportunity to talk to you about a problem, which is certainly not existential, but which becomes a little annoying and which above all is far from being resolved.

Many official minifigs all suffer from the same manufacturing defect, which is closely related to the printing technique used by the manufacturer, pad printing (pad printing in English).

Part of the pattern printed on the legs is missing where the curve of the thighs meets the flat surface of the lower legs.

For having explored the subject while being confronted with the same problem in my related activities related to the field of custom, there is no real technical solution to this problem, except to increase the pressure with which the silicone pad which deposits the ink on the parts comes to rest.

But the more the pressure increases, the greater the risk of deformation of the affixed pattern. The pattern is also already distorted on the official minifigs above, it is very visible on that of Qui Gon Jinn from the set 75058 MTT just out (left).

To illustrate the consequences of this technical limitation, I present above three photos taken by Vincent aka Studio68 -, talented photographer who offers on his flickr gallery excellent quality visuals of many minifigs and creator of the ultimate LEGO Star Wars poster (to see here) which would also deserve an update ;-).

We can clearly see that this printing problem is recurrent and that it is not isolated or reserved for certain minifigs / colors.

You will find this defect on many LEGO Star Wars minifigs whose legs are pad printed with a solid color, and some ranges (TMNT, Super Heroes) seem relatively untouched by this phenomenon. The place of manufacture and the material used undoubtedly have a significant impact on the presence of this defect to a greater or lesser extent.

The official LEGO visuals also show products that are also affected by this defect, as you can see in the photos below of the minifigs of the set 75058 MTT which are used to promote the set. on the LEGO Shop.

It was the quibble of the day.