mpfirnhaber
Borg Warner Woodmar Lego Test Pieces
These Lego test pieces were molded in the Marbon Technology Center at the Woodmar Borg-Warner in Washington, West Virginia sometime prior to 1977. The Woodmar plant supplied Cycolac ABS pellets to the Samsonite Lego factories in the USA and Canada.
There were two testing centers at Woodmar. The Color Lab did color testing, while the QA Lab did physical testing. The Lego test parts produced at Woodmar come in standard colors - red, blue, green, yellow, white, gray, and black.
Pure milky ABS was used to purge molds between colors, so milky marbled parts also exist. Sometimes, the molding machine temps were elevated in order to test color stability at higher temperatures - this causes ABS to turn yellowish, so the "pure" color becomes darker.
These parts should look familiar. The quadrate is identical to others I've seen. The paddle piece looks like those that Beryll has found (Jamie's has additional ejection pin marks on the ends). The specimen plate is also similar Beryll's, though the ejection pin holes are deeper.
The 8xC bricks, however, are unique. They have no markings underneath, and the surface variations on the studs are not like other bricks I've seen. Both bricks are slightly different, suggesting they came from two different mold positions.
All parts came from the collection of a former Woodmar employee. I have no idea how many of these parts are in the wild - I've never heard of anyone finding test pieces in United States. Maybe it's time to visit West Virginia and poke around in some flea markets :)
Borg Warner Woodmar Lego Test Pieces
These Lego test pieces were molded in the Marbon Technology Center at the Woodmar Borg-Warner in Washington, West Virginia sometime prior to 1977. The Woodmar plant supplied Cycolac ABS pellets to the Samsonite Lego factories in the USA and Canada.
There were two testing centers at Woodmar. The Color Lab did color testing, while the QA Lab did physical testing. The Lego test parts produced at Woodmar come in standard colors - red, blue, green, yellow, white, gray, and black.
Pure milky ABS was used to purge molds between colors, so milky marbled parts also exist. Sometimes, the molding machine temps were elevated in order to test color stability at higher temperatures - this causes ABS to turn yellowish, so the "pure" color becomes darker.
These parts should look familiar. The quadrate is identical to others I've seen. The paddle piece looks like those that Beryll has found (Jamie's has additional ejection pin marks on the ends). The specimen plate is also similar Beryll's, though the ejection pin holes are deeper.
The 8xC bricks, however, are unique. They have no markings underneath, and the surface variations on the studs are not like other bricks I've seen. Both bricks are slightly different, suggesting they came from two different mold positions.
All parts came from the collection of a former Woodmar employee. I have no idea how many of these parts are in the wild - I've never heard of anyone finding test pieces in United States. Maybe it's time to visit West Virginia and poke around in some flea markets :)