Actually it definitely appears that environmental factors are a huge driver behind this issue. These figures absolutely can yellow in the box, but not all of them do, so it's not just the plastic formulation at fault. If it was ONLY the plastic at fault, we'd see more consistentcy across lots or even figure releases, which we simply don't. What we do see is, generally speaking, people who own quite a few of the possibly affected figures and have many figures yellowing vs. the rest of the people who only have none, one or maybe two problem figures. The only real hypothesis to draw from those data points is that, while all of the figures (from roughly midway through Earthrise to now) may have the potential to yellow, only copies exposed to some as-of-yet-unidentified environmental factor or accelerators are at play.

  That's definitely an option, and one I can't fault anyone affected by this BS for taking. I've not had any real issues with the current yellowing problems, so I'm not necessarily worried that I will be, if that makes sense.

 

...and, in my experience at least, receiving a figure (Artfire) that has started yellowing somewhere else does not necessarily mean it will continue to yellow in its new home. Wonder if anyone has an example of the converse?

 

Absolutely agree. I only have one figure yellowing: SG Starscream. He's also the only possibly affected figure I bought secondhand and I have really no idea what he could have been exposed to by the first owner. But he is very mildly yellowing, nothing at all like some of the other examples I've seen. And it has not progressed since I got it. That to me only reinforces the environmental accelerators theory.

 

Same. I’ve purchased a few yellowed figures and they haven’t gotten worse at my house. My home doesn’t cause my other figures to yellow either. I think the point of hand lube’s advice is that if your environment has caused figures that can yellow over time to do so in your home, you can expect that to happen to other figures that are known to yellow.

 

Or it could be something that happens during production, affecting batches somehow.

either way, we can agree that the problem is solely due to Hasbro’s manufacturing. They changed something during the production of ER, and it doesn’t seem to be resolved. I’m not sure Hasbro will ever acknowledge when they do, to avoid any liability .

 

THIS. This right here.

 

The only toy (apart from Artfire, which was already yellowing when I bought it dirt-cheap second-hand for Nightstick - and, as I said, hasn't got any worse since it arrived) I've had an issue with is SS86 core-class Ratchet. It's noticeably yellowed, but only on the ridge/handle that protrudes on the rear doors of the van. It's very strange - that one small ridge is clearly a different colour to the naked eye, every other part of those moulded pieces is still white.

 

No, you're absolutely right in that there's DEFINITELY something at work here in the raw plastic formulas they're using, and apparently switched to during Covid. And yeah, I also don't think it's resolved yet (Hell, that brand new Legacy Core Grimlock is yellowing now, so it's clearly not resolved), or that Hasbro will ever really address it in any meaningful way. No one is getting their figures replaced, no is getting refunds, etc. Those fans with yellowing copies are just kinda screwed, which is super shitty on Hasbro's part. Some very minor lip service towards the issue during a fan stream does not count as addressing the issue in my book.

 

Is it the environment the plastic is put in or is it Hasbro’s facilities/production process?

 

D) All of the above.

 

I actually got Hasbro to take back Tigatron, SG Starscream, Artfire and G2 Ramjet. I have no idea what I’ll get in return, but I don’t really care for ramjet and artfire, and bought replacements for sg starscream and Tigatron. They’re both still mib; tigatron is okay so far, bur Starscream was an eeny weeny bit yellow at the store, but it was the only one available at all my local gamestops.

i didn’t bother returning soundwave, netflix megatron and sandstorm, since there’s no way I’d get those back from hasbro.

 

You got SG starscream at gamestop? Thought it was pulse exclusive.

 

canada got Starscream and megatron for some reason.

 

Is that recent Siege Jetfire reissue out yet and if so has there been any reports of that one yellowing , I got this copy around when Earthrise was starting.

 

Not sure if this has been bought up but for some reason this popped into my head...Have they started using recycled plastic now?  

Just a thought. Probably pointless but hey why not mention  

 

Guess we’ll see if the issue is still here once that G2 Cloudcover guy is released. The other Ramjet redecos got it so I’m not having second thoughts with the new one regardless.

 

I heard rumors they were working with the Cafe Bustelo factory to use their rejected coffee tubs.

 

Yes it's out now. I haven't seen any report of yellowing and I owned one for about a month now. It had no issue when I opened it and it still looks the same as of today.

 

Knowing Hasbro, probably not. Recycled plastic actually costs more than new. Hasbro all about profit.

 

Here's how my Jetfire is looking (1st edition). Discoloration is present although not as bad as @Astrotanker 's