I bought a KO Mirage from one seller and a KO Sunstreaker from another. The Mirage is awesome but the Sunstreaker is junk. Closer to orange than yellow, and different shades throughout. 1. Would the Sunstreaker be different if I got it from another seller? 2. Could there be lead in the Mirage? When I hold it, I get a taste on my tongue that is the same as when I hold a sharp pencil. Are there any standards that would eliminate the possibility?
Lead is no longer used for a wide variety of products due to health concerns. Today's pencil "lead" is actually graphite, which is non-toxic.
There is no lead in a pencils lead, it's graphite As far as the paint having lead, it's very unlikely, and as long as you don't lick it constantly or ingest it, you will be fine, touching it won't cause any issues, I work with lead based solder all the time, and I'm fine But again it's really unlikely that the paint has any lead in it
I don't lick anything, the taste comes from the air. There are hardly any standards for licensed items coming out of the China, so for a bootleg I have to think they'd use the cheapest possible stuff regardless of the safety.
Then the problem is not the toy, its the air in your house. *IF* the toy had lead paint (and that's a big if) you'd have to lick it and ingest it to do any damage, over and over and over again. On top of that, if you're past puberty, your body has stopped growing and ingesting lead paint won't hurt you nearly as bad as it would a kid.
This is a more reasonably question. Its hit or miss, depending on the source so a different seller may have one slightly better i quality.
I'm thinking about getting the dinobot knockoffs because they're on sale for another 4 hours, but I was concerned about lead paints. There are thousands of Chinese toys recalled every year from reputable, well-known companies, so my concerns about possible lead in knockoff TF's were legitimate. If the big companies already in the public eye cut corners, how much motivation would there be for an anonymous, low-budget operation to cheat? I'm not the only one to question the safety of knockoff toys. Here is a video of a lead test someone did on knockoff Lego figures: The conclusion was they were safe. I don't know what can be concluded about the dinobots.
I think that as long as you dont chew them you will be just fine. I had KO Octane, Scourge, Devastator and Grimlock for some time and no cancer to report yet.
Lead paint is only a real issue for small children (like, under 3) and only if they eat it. As an adult, it won't do anything to you unless you swallow a bunch. Like if you drank 3 beers with dinner from a pewter cup every night for a year. Or if your pipes were made of lead. (both things common during the Roman Empire's reign). If you're going to buy a toy and put it on a shelf, it doesn't matter if it has lead paint in it. THAT SAID, most of the factories that are set up with the type of equipment to make complicated things (like Transformers) are probly buying their supplies from the same places Hasbro does. I doubt the have lead paint. The "lead paint on toys from China" stories were all about super cheap dollar store toys, and the things you'd find in a vending machine.