This Week In Your Plastic Crack, Action Figures and Toy Collection 26 26

[followtheleader]

I couldn't deal with my expensive items in storage while I pack and wait to move.  

Of the many items, feel so much better with the USS Flagg and Defiant being home. 

Patrick

[Buzzetta]

3 hours ago, F For Fake said:

You’re right, I think I may go ahead and pick up a repro just to have something for display. I know if I hadn’t lucked into the lens I’ve got, I wouldn’t have paid the crazy money they command.

When I bought the Moray off eBay I wanted to kill the seller.  He packed it well but got lazy on one thing.  He left all four yellow missiles in the hood chamber.  All four hood missiles somehow got stuck halfway in that chamber since they moved around during transit.  This meant that the hood piece was essentially locked. That was a PITA to deal with believe it or not.  I was very afraid to break any of the plastic as I had to jostle things loose and then go fishing for those parts within the hull. 

Edited September 3, 2019 by Buzzetta

[F For Fake]

10 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

When I bought the Moray off eBay I wanted to kill the seller.  He packed it well but got lazy on one thing.  He left all four yellow missiles in the hood chamber.  All four hood missiles somehow got stuck halfway in that chamber since they moved around during transit.  This meant that the hood piece was essentially locked. That was a PITA to deal with believe it or not.  I was very afraid to break any of the plastic as I had to jostle things loose and then go fishing for those parts within the hull. 

Oh, I absolutely believe it, that whole missile launcher contraption is a real pain in the butt, so many little pieces that break so easily. Glad you were able to get it open without breaking it, it sounds like! The launcher was my main hang-up. Once I'd finally gathered all of the parts, I assembled the ship, only to find that the little tabs that hold the missile launcher in place were apparently broken at the tips, so the launcher tray wouldn't stay in place, meaning you basically couldn't open it with the plunger without the whole thing falling apart. So then I just had to wait until I could find a shell at a price I wanted to pay. Took a while, but it's done!

[STORMSHADOW_80]

Beautiful ship and Rattler! @F For Fake

[F For Fake]

3 hours ago, STORMSHADOW_80 said:

Beautiful ship and Rattler! @F For Fake

Thanks bud! I'm happy to finally have those two projects wrapped at long last.

Now I have to find something new to put together...

[STORMSHADOW_80]

19 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

Or if you want for now... repro lens for $4.  That's what I did... 

Then i stocked that bad boy with modern Lampreys... 

I really dig the modern lampreys but those guys are pricey. That whole Cobra Island set is awesome

[whisp]

6 hours ago, F For Fake said:

Oh, I absolutely believe it, that whole missile launcher contraption is a real pain in the butt, so many little pieces that break so easily. Glad you were able to get it open without breaking it, it sounds like! The launcher was my main hang-up. Once I'd finally gathered all of the parts, I assembled the ship, only to find that the little tabs that hold the missile launcher in place were apparently broken at the tips, so the launcher tray wouldn't stay in place, meaning you basically couldn't open it with the plunger without the whole thing falling apart. So then I just had to wait until I could find a shell at a price I wanted to pay. Took a while, but it's done!

That is why as soon as I get the moray or the rattler and similar plastic vehicles in any collections I buy I sell them as fast as I can.  I have had 3 complete Morays and 2 complete Rattlers and people always ask me why I sell them and not keep one for myself because they are nice vehicles in appearance but they are just too brittle and break to easily even sitting in a box so thus I wont keep them in my personal collection.  Even seen the rattler landing struts/wheels snap just sitting on a shelf let alone trying to fold them out or put them back up is a nightmare and could break at any second.  Other vehicles that fall into this category is FANG and Sky Hawk with their landing struts or the FANG rotor that is always broken.  I have had about probably 20 of those between the two from collections and I still don't have a complete one in my collection since they are always broken.  These are two that are exceptions that I will try and get since I collect primarily small vehicles (dont take up as much space).  Hiss tank overall is a solid vehicle except the turret guns 99% of the time the tabs for elevation are broken and majority of the time people don't even know about it.  There is a nice mod to fix it though.  Cobra Ferret I always suggest to have the back tab unhinged for the bottom to the top and display that way since when done up a lot of stress on it and seen that broken lots.  Snow cat missile launcher rack I always keep stored separate since the tabs for mounting the rack are usually broken.  So a lot of the vehicles pre 1985 have some issues and its a shame because some nice vehicles in there but just so brittle and used weaker and thinner plastics.

[whisp]

This one makes me cry lol.  My Ferret bought complete unbroken in box.  Had it stored and now the one section where wheel attach is broken so now I have to find a new wheel rack.  Damn plastic.

I know it broke because of the stress from the tab to put it together and the tail pipes pushing agasint it.  As the plastic becomes less pliable it snapped.  Its a shame i really like this vehicle. 

 

Pretty much any joe vehicles I get now I take them apart and store them as parts and not together to relieve any stress on them.

Edited September 3, 2019 by whisp

[Buzzetta]

47 minutes ago, whisp said:

That is why as soon as I get the moray or the rattler and similar plastic vehicles in any collections I buy I sell them as fast as I can.  I have had 3 complete Morays and 2 complete Rattlers and people always ask me why I sell them and not keep one for myself because they are nice vehicles in appearance but they are just too brittle and break to easily even sitting in a box so thus I wont keep them in my personal collection.  Even seen the rattler landing struts/wheels snap just sitting on a shelf let alone trying to fold them out or put them back up is a nightmare and could break at any second.  Other vehicles that fall into this category is FANG and Sky Hawk with their landing struts or the FANG rotor that is always broken.  I have had about probably 20 of those between the two from collections and I still don't have a complete one in my collection since they are always broken.  These are two that are exceptions that I will try and get since I collect primarily small vehicles (dont take up as much space).  Hiss tank overall is a solid vehicle except the turret guns 99% of the time the tabs for elevation are broken and majority of the time people don't even know about it.  There is a nice mod to fix it though.  Cobra Ferret I always suggest to have the back tab unhinged for the bottom to the top and display that way since when done up a lot of stress on it and seen that broken lots.  Snow cat missile launcher rack I always keep stored separate since the tabs for mounting the rack are usually broken.  So a lot of the vehicles pre 1985 have some issues and its a shame because some nice vehicles in there but just so brittle and used weaker and thinner plastics.

I sold off my 25th Rattler after watching a review of it while it was in transit. You think they would have tweaked the mold a bit. 

Moray looks nice just sitting there on the shelf... I am okay with that for now. 

Snow Cat... I feel your pain on that.  When I see a modern version with the updated tabs at a cheap price I may pick one up... it's on the to do list and the only reason I am keeping my FSS Frostbite. 

[whisp]

As a note the title of this thread in terms of plastic crack has a whole other definition for me lol.

[whisp]

2 minutes ago, Buzzetta said:

I sold off my 25th Rattler after watching a review of it while it was in transit. You think they would have tweaked the mold a bit. 

Moray looks nice just sitting there on the shelf... I am okay with that for now. 

Snow Cat... I feel your pain on that.  When I see a modern version with the updated tabs at a cheap price I may pick one up... it's on the to do list and the only reason I am keeping my FSS Frostbite. 

I have my snow cat missile rack wrapped in bubble wrap lol.

[Buzzetta]

1 minute ago, whisp said:

I have my snow cat missile rack wrapped in bubble wrap lol.

Yeah... I just double checked... 

I think the tabs on the Wolf Hound were made thicker compared to the original. They can rename that thing anything they want.  It will always be the Snow Cat. 

[whisp]

2 minutes ago, Buzzetta said:

Yeah... I just double checked... 

I think the tabs on the Wolf Hound were made thicker compared to the original. They can rename that thing anything they want.  It will always be the Snow Cat. 

It is thicker I have seen it on display.

[Buzzetta]

1 minute ago, whisp said:

It is thicker I have seen it on display.

Hm... strange thing is that I have the White Out figure but never bought the Wolf Hound and don't recall how I got it.   I bought a modern FSS Blizzard to do some parts swapping combined with a vintage rubber helmet to make a better modern Blizzard.  

I think I need to get that.  I see that they have sold for $50 recently but I am not paying the $80 people seem to want for it right now. 

[whisp]

1 minute ago, Buzzetta said:

Hm... strange thing is that I have the White Out figure but never bought the Wolf Hound and don't recall how I got it.   I bought a modern FSS Blizzard to do some parts swapping combined with a vintage rubber helmet to make a better modern Blizzard.  

I think I need to get that.  I see that they have sold for $50 recently but I am not paying the $80 people seem to want for it right now. 

You can get a original one complete for less.

[Buzzetta]

17 minutes ago, whisp said:

You can get a original one complete for less.

I know but I feel it’s worth it to invest in that sturdier missile rack.  I would be the guy to adjust the vintage one and sneeze and break it.  

[STORMSHADOW_80]

Pretty much the main reason I bought a display stand for my Rattler was the fear of it breaking. Especially since the one i have out is the 2002 version with the sound effects gun that adds a lot of weight and makes it lean on one side. As fun as the early vintage line is they are pretty delicate. Mostly just for display.

If i can give a couple tips on taking care of the plastic. Almost every Joe item I get I disassemble and put back together. Taking apart can be tricky. I use a very dull flat screw driver for pushing on tabs. I'll sometimes use WD40 to lube the plastic. If its too hard to completely take apart like the hydrofoil hull, I'll just work around it. Clean with a toothbrush and mild dish soap. Before I put stuff back together I put armor all on with a soft cloth. This helps condition the plastic and makes it more pliable.

[whisp]

1 hour ago, STORMSHADOW_80 said:

Pretty much the main reason I bought a display stand for my Rattler was the fear of it breaking. Especially since the one i have out is the 2002 version with the sound effects gun that adds a lot of weight and makes it lean on one side. As fun as the early vintage line is they are pretty delicate. Mostly just for display.

If i can give a couple tips on taking care of the plastic. Almost every Joe item I get I disassemble and put back together. Taking apart can be tricky. I use a very dull flat screw driver for pushing on tabs. I'll sometimes use WD40 to lube the plastic. If its too hard to completely take apart like the hydrofoil hull, I'll just work around it. Clean with a toothbrush and mild dish soap. Before I put stuff back together I put armor all on with a soft cloth. This helps condition the plastic and makes it more pliable.

I would be very careful with WD40 and plastic especially with earlier GI Joe since its using polystyrene.  WD40 has kerosene in it and it breaks down plastics and melts it.

 

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by whisp

[F For Fake]

15 hours ago, whisp said:

That is why as soon as I get the moray or the rattler and similar plastic vehicles in any collections I buy I sell them as fast as I can.  I have had 3 complete Morays and 2 complete Rattlers and people always ask me why I sell them and not keep one for myself because they are nice vehicles in appearance but they are just too brittle and break to easily even sitting in a box so thus I wont keep them in my personal collection.  Even seen the rattler landing struts/wheels snap just sitting on a shelf let alone trying to fold them out or put them back up is a nightmare and could break at any second.  Other vehicles that fall into this category is FANG and Sky Hawk with their landing struts or the FANG rotor that is always broken.  I have had about probably 20 of those between the two from collections and I still don't have a complete one in my collection since they are always broken.  These are two that are exceptions that I will try and get since I collect primarily small vehicles (dont take up as much space).  Hiss tank overall is a solid vehicle except the turret guns 99% of the time the tabs for elevation are broken and majority of the time people don't even know about it.  There is a nice mod to fix it though.  Cobra Ferret I always suggest to have the back tab unhinged for the bottom to the top and display that way since when done up a lot of stress on it and seen that broken lots.  Snow cat missile launcher rack I always keep stored separate since the tabs for mounting the rack are usually broken.  So a lot of the vehicles pre 1985 have some issues and its a shame because some nice vehicles in there but just so brittle and used weaker and thinner plastics.

Yeah, they definitely didn't build these things to last. I broke my Snow Cat launcher when I was a kid, almost as soon as I got it out of the box! I've got two now, one that is completely assembled, and another in storage that I need to track down a canopy and windshield wiper to complete. I have an unbroken missile launcher for that one, but it is currently sitting on a piece of foam so the tabs won't break off. Some day I'll assemble it, and I'll sweat bullets while doing so.

My first Joe vehicle ever was the Rattler, and man, that was a great Xmas! I had that thing for years, and never had any issue with anything breaking. Of course, my original is long gone When I bought this shell and started assembling the one I have now, the landing gear and the canopy for the turret gun were the hardest and most expensive pieces to track down. The advice I got on the landing gear, which I heeded, was to decide when assembling if I wanted them up or down, and then leave them that way. I had to take the belly of the plane apart to get the broken pegs out from the original landing gear, so when I placed the new ones, I placed them down, and have left them down. I'm going to get one of those acrylic stands for display, because as you said, the struts break so easily, they can't support the weight of the plane. Right now I have the plane resting on a couple of blocks so the weight is on the wings, and the wheels aren't supporting anything. That will do until I get my stand. So it should be ok for a while, hopefully.

Moray is a lovely piece, but yeah, too many little tabs that can snap, and that missile launcher contraption is a nightmare. I went through three shells and a couple of launcher trays before I finally got an assembled piece where everything worked. Now that it's done, I won't be opening and closing it, I'll just let it sit on display. 

The Fang was my second Joe vehicle overall, LOVED that thing as a kid. Picked one up in that boxed lot at the estate sale, and remarkably the rotor is just fine, and it was otherwise complete. Of course, the red cage around the motor was broken/missing, so it'll take a while to track one of those down, but I am patient!

I will take a look at my Ferret, I wasn't aware of the issue, thanks for the heads up!

[STORMSHADOW_80]

15 hours ago, whisp said:

I would be very careful with WD40 and plastic especially with earlier GI Joe since its using polystyrene.  WD40 has kerosene in it and it breaks down plastics and melts it.

 

 

Definitely clean immediately after. I only use it for the most stubborn pieces.