I wanted to start this thread for awhile now, as I recently watched this video on Toy entropy and felt that given how long it's been since this third party market started, we now have an opportunity to judge the companies and their use of materials in their figures. It is for some, a lot of money invested in this hobby, and for the long term there are questions I have about how to maintain and keep my collection as pristine as possible and free of Entropy, or slow decay. We've got a lot of time and money, not to mention emotional attachment to these figures and our respective collections, and one of the main things that bothers me to no end, is the possibility of over time my collection being ruined by inferior plastics, and parts. Now, there is hope. 3D printers and fans who do theirs, design parts, or create their own are quickly becoming a thing, and that is good to see. It makes me wonder what companies have the superior plastics, and is there one that won't yellow over time? Is there a process to make sure the plastic can be protected. What company products have lasted the test of time. What have grossly failed, and what about rubber wheels? Should a soft plastic be the norm for long term preservation of the figure? Is it necessary to use rubber and be so decadent when we know rubber breaks down much faster then plastic ever will? What about diecast? Is it worth making figures in a material that could also suffer oxidization and isn't immune to Entropy as well? Sometimes I ponder how this Star Trek TNG episode "the Most toys" shows a collector ( tho ultimately evil) had a show room, with perfectly preserved items that were in suspended stasis, and protected from Entropy would be like if that technology was available. LOL. But sadly it doesn't. So we have to as a community devise a list of the plastic types, or companies who do their best for longevity of the money we spend out, and product that gives us the best chance to have a collection that could and with maybe a bit of help, stand the test of time. How Many of you have bought Fanstoys, or BMB, or any other 3rd party figure that seems to stand up better then another company? some figures are now 10 years old, can you believe it?! how is your collection holding up? What plastic parts feel brittle and ready to crumble, and what ones seem like they are slowly turning to jelly and sticky to the touch? There's so much money and time invested here, it's good to know what to steer clear from and what to look for. Can we make an impact in the type of material used in these companies KOs and original productions? What solutions and ideas do you have that could help us keep a collection stable and in good health? Is there a clear coat spray that is the answer to preserving plastic? Who knows... But I think with how much time, money, effort, and love we pour into this hobby, again I cannot stress that aspect enough, it worries me to no end that what I own is all going to just degrade, and in 10-15 years I am going to start to one by one, cry over my loss of cohesion in my collection and individual bots will suffer the toy equivalent of "Cosmic Rust!" I hope this topic finds you all well and in good health, and I am more then a little interested in hearing our community discuss ways to preserve and keep our collections in good condition for the long term. Be it on a shelf, retired to their box prison, or just simply unopened for fear of loss of value. Who knows. Some of us buy 2 of everything! I did, back in the day when I collected Marvel Legends figures. I always had one to open and one to keep closed. In this hobby tho, it's a bit much for me to do that, so I tend to look towards preserving my display pieces, over keeping them locked away. Is something like this helpful? https://www.smooth-on.com/tb/files/EZ-Spray_Plastic.pdf Now, I have seen a clear coat I used once turn to yellow.. So I know that doesn't always work. Anyhow, I hope to hear from you guys on this and hopefully preserve and buy the "better brand" here out, to protect my investment and long term collection pieces. This is a learning experience I am looking forward to!
I don't know why you think the technology to perfectly preserve your figures indefinitely doesn't exist. If you store your toys in a UV blocked room with nitrogen atmosphere at freezing or near freezing temperatures your toys will last practically forever. Produce distributors have been using this technology for a couple decades. It's why you can buy avocados year round.
If it makes you feel better, the old G1 figures have aged pretty well. I don't see why these figures would start crumbling or what have you, but yellowing is another story. Rubber wheels have a tendency to degrade, all my RID 2001 figures from childhood had their wheels crumble off...which is why I avoid figures with rubber parts. Chrome has a tendency to flake off over time, most of my TM2 figures have at least a nick or two in their paint. Maybe it's because my collection room is naturally cold from being underground, but almost all of my figures without rubber or chrome are aging quite well. Only time will tell if this is the case with third party figures, but I don't see them being too much different than the official figures...if anything some of them are made out of better-than-official plastic (see: Reformatted), so I'd see them likely lasting longer.
In the end though... everything falls apart. Isn't that the Second Law of Entropy? What you are looking for is Toys that will at least last you a lifetime.
I really like rubber tires but I always think about how in 20 years they’ll probably crack where plastic ones would be fine. I only really worry about battery issues (left inside that end up leaking), rubber (or flexible plastic like Crash Hog’s moustache), and yellowing of white characters (like FT Pheonix or Ratchet). I don’t really worry about the plastic so much, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see!
My KBB Thundercracker is starting to crumble. My 2002 reissue G1 Optimus' rubber tires have some cracks. I've heard some people are seeing yellowing of their IT Megs but mine seems ok for now. Some of my figures' joints have loosened. Other than that, I'm not having much trouble so far. I've got MP-01 who doesn't seem to be degrading. Rubber is intact and, other than a part that broke because my nephew got ahold of him a few years back, he's been solid (I managed to get a junker that I salvaged replacement parts from so he's good again). I've got a couple of G1 Megatrons cobbled from parts I got on eBay, some of which are from '84 and they seem to be fine, aside from some chrome scuffing.
There are sprayable clear-coats specifically designed to block against UV damage/rays, but AFAIK they are much more common in Japan, and not easily found elsewhere.
about the only thing i can think of are joints getting looser. haven't had any yellowing yet but i don't have a lot of white bare plastic transformers i guess? also, when my stuff is out its in glass, aside from some mainline toys/didget/deskbots i won't reallly bother to keep a pristine
This happened to my 20th Anniversary Original Masterpiece Prime - no more Matrix light for him. Haven't been able to get it working despite trying to clean it.
Yeah, I don't need my stuff to last forever, just longer than I do. But anyway, unless there's some unforseen issue like GPS that arises in third party figures, I don't see why they'd be any more susceptable to decay than Hasbro's offerings. Hasbro uses cheap plastic designed with the expectation that they'll be ripped apart by kids before the next birthday or Christmas comes around, and collectors manage to keep those figures around somehow.
Well, nothing last forever (nor should it, because of the environment). The key question is: will it last long enough for us to enjoy while we want to. I doubt any of us will still be in TF's when we're in our 70s or beyond, or allowed to take out entire collection into a retirement home (in general, those don't have the most spacious rooms, let alone are big enough to have a room dedicated to our collection). Still, that's several decades it has too survive. I think companies who have a current good reputation for good plastics, will likely last the longest. For example, MMC reformatted I definitely see lasting long enough: that is some quality plastic on most figures. But for those really worried, I'm sure there's a epoxy suited to seal the figure. A nice collection of blocks with figures inside them Depends on the G1 figure. When I pulled out my G1 combaticons, a piece of plastic just popped out from Brawl (out of his chest when I rotated the arm), while Onslaught just crumbled. And those aren't the only G1 figures that just broke due to the plastic aging. But in general, yes, G1 figures have endured and those were often played with intensively so that bodes well. Then again, during G1 they used different plastics than today, since environment and health were less important. (Chemical stuff really last -- same thing applies for house paints: thinner based paints can survive a decade or two, but the environment friendly paint you've got to redo every couple of years.) My alt/BT collection is 15+ years and has perfectly fine rubber tires. Quite a few of my G1 figures still have good tires. And those Lego tires from the 70's and early 80's are still going strong. The most notorious rubber tire cracking is from the RiD line, but either that was a bad batch or the tires are too tight (at least with Prime they put tires with a shallow round groove over a strongly protruding angular ridge, and they cracked fast.) But if you're worried, there's some stuff you can apply to the rubber to make it last.
I gotta admit. I never understand when this topic comes up. I don't doubt people have experienced something in there collection deteriorating, but I've only had three things go bad since my childhood. And by bad I mean the white plastic got yellow, but apparently there are fixes for that. GI Joe Storm Shadow's arm and leg (original) and Ice Viper (Chest). Third thing is the electronics on my original Omega Supreme don't work anymore but everything else regarding him is fine. Gi Joes, orginal TFs, Starwars, my one M.A.S.K toy all good. Plus "newer" toys like McFarlane (with rubber accessories) are fine. Is it a storage issue? I mean people are able to buy old toys in great condition. So why would this need to be a new concern? Is it really a mass problem?
I have several of MakeToys' figures, the eldest being Green Giant Type 61 gift set. To date is still one of my sturdiest, well held together, plastic structural integrity retaining set of figures amongst my collection. I wish I could say the same for some of my other, official figures.
