Interesting. I did wonder whether there might be an issue like that, or perhaps another studio holding the rights to Shuma-Gorath. After all, why use the name of a little-known tentacled villain if they could have included the more famous character?" On the digital front, the parts visibly intersect each other in Studio 2.0, but it does not flag the connection as an error (it usually does, but there are a number of situations where it doesn't). No idea if the parts exist in the consumer LDD so I haven't tested in it. I wonder if the issue in Studio 2.0 is present in the internal LDD as well. Huw's article discusses this issue in detail and I find it extremely unlikely that LEGO considers the technique 'legal'. If the flange on the wheel arch was just pushing the ball cups outwards slightly, I might agree. However, a 1x6 plate is then attached beneath those ball cups, forcing them to detach partially from the wheel arch and creating the gaps. Unless design rules have changed recently, elements are definitely required to be pressed down firmly and completely on the stud(s) underneath.

Many molds have been slightly tweaked over recent years. I'll bet they had a revised version of that wheel arch in house, and the designer program had the up to date revised dimensions. They didn't see a problem because there wasn't one. The final Gargantos model supports itself on four tentacles connected to the underside, while eight more tentacles around the midsection lash out in all directions. These are on ball joints and have a decent range of motion. Additionally, there’s a grouping of four smaller tentacles coming from just underneath the eye that might be multiple tongues. It’s hard to tell. If you needed this arrangement of parts in your own MOC you probably wouldn't worry about it too much, but I'm surprised to see it in an official model, especially since the issue becomes immediately apparent while building. Don't assume such things as every German AFOL is a fan of Held der Steine or watches regularly videos from him! >:( The fake awe from online reporters at Disney including queer characters for the billionth time never ceases to exist. Now it’s gonna extend to their licensed LEGO products, too?It can be forced, but as you can see the parts are still at odd angles, and the pieces do not connect flushly. It seems likely to me that the tile either represents a specific movie prop separate from the character's costume (as you suggested in another comment), or was designed for another set we haven't seen yet and was included here as a sort of a bonus detail/"Easter egg"— sort of like the LEGO Dots rainbow prints that made an early appearance in the Trafalgar Square set. But the designers certainly have managed to include plenty of LGBTQ+ characters in past sets without any sort of obligation to call it out in the sets themselves.

It's valid to be concerned if these issues are setting a precedent for future product releases. But the reason you and other fan media communicate with LEGO is to hopefully facilitate positive change. We want LEGO products to be the best they can be. And so do they, but like any other big company I'm sure their processes and management are riddled with issues beyond our control, or even beyond the control of individual employees such as designers. CapnRex101 tells me that it does not prevent 76205 Gargantos Showdown from being assembled, nor does it have a detrimental effect on the finished model, but it doesn't seem to meet the high design standards to which we have become accustomed, and of course the parts will be stressed which may result in damage over time. I’ll be honest, this does seem like a fairly minor issue, but I do think it is a bit concerning. Something about the parts being placed like that just doesn’t look right. I could see this potentially causing confusion at best or damaged parts at worst by forcing pieces into these positions.

Stephen's double-sided head looks perfect though, including cheerful and determined faces. Both minifigures wield energy shields, known as Tao Mandalas, which are represented using 2x2 dishes. Their differing colours are interesting, but I am disappointed that the printed pieces from 76060 Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum have remained exclusive to the 2016 set. Growth is one thing, but quality control is important, a LEGO set isn't a video game software you can just patch/update digitally. The spherical body at the centre of these tentacles is considerably smaller, but offers wonderful detail. The blending of smooth and studded surfaces forms a scaly texture and olive green was certainly an effective colour choice, with occasional dark green and dark tan accents. The few light bluish grey elements therefore appear somewhat conspicuous, but they were unavoidable.

An illegal technique is not one that causes undue stress to the parts, but one that is _recognized_ to cause undue stress to the parts. There are tons of high-stress techniques that have never been considered for an official set, and therefore remain off the list. I created one myself, about two decades ago. It’s probably not on the list, because it’s so stressful that you almost need to use furniture to force the connections. The issue is that the software cannot perfectly model reality. A lot of parts in LDD were modelled pretty imprecisely, resulting in a wide variety of illegal connections being possible and legal connections not being possible. Stud.io is better in that regard but its still not perfect. Had the collision been accidental, with the expectation that the parts would sit flush with one another, the designer probably would not have left such a large "buffer zone" between the reversed plates and the tiled surface beneath them. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if an earlier sketch model had used 2x2 jumper plates to fill that space, which were removed once the usual quality assurance tests made it clear that this would stress the parts beyond their natural tolerances." That said, there are very few knots that are impossible to untie once tied, provided you’re willing to work at it. Gordion knots are the only one that comes to mind. Because the grey pieces are splayed inwards slightly the stud of one of them does not align with the stud receptor on the bottom of the 1x6 plate.

Overall

As for whether or not we’re being too harsh... honestly, I’m in the camp that we’re not. I’ve said it before that LEGO is acting like a premium brand, so I expect premium quality. Especially with the prices they ask for most sets. However, there is a civil way to give a heads up that something seems off, and I believe articles like this are the way to go. Yes, see this New Elementary interview, where they basically say the material is a work-in-progress: https://www.newelementary.com/2020/09/missing-faulty-lego-consumer-perceived-quality.html Whilst preparing our review of 76205 Gargantos Showdown, CapnRex101 encountered what appears to be a design flaw which prevents parts from being connected properly.