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

[THE_BEYONDER]

Does VHS count as plastic crack?  Came across this stashed among my old skate videos.   
 

  Now I need to find a working VCR

[Dave2739]

On 3/25/2023 at 11:35 AM, THE_BEYONDER said:

Does VHS count as plastic crack?  Came across this stashed among my old skate videos.   
 

  Now I need to find a working VCR

Who needs a VCR in 2023?

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 3/25/2023 at 12:13 PM, Dave2739 said:

Who needs a VCR in 2023?

 

Nice!

[F For Fake]

Received four boxes over the last couple of days from the Hasbro Pulse warehouse sale. Two of the four were pretty banged up, with one looking like it had been punted like a football. Unfortunately my SS BB Prime has a borked box, which is a shame because I was planning on keeping this particular line MISB. Contacted Pulse, but haven't heard anything yet. The figure is sold out so I'm not expecting much.

Otherwise, everything looks good. Can't brag on the packing, looks like they just threw the stuff into the boxes with a scrap of craft paper. Luckily everything else arrived in good shape. Didn't realize that the "limited edition foil comics" from the Shattered Glass figures were going to be thrown into the box randomly without any other protection. Oh well. It is what it is.

Also, now that I have Wheelie, my TTFTM poster lineup dio is complete! 

 

[1950's war comics]

• not mine but this model kit is cool !!     Green Beret 
• 

[Cat]

I got another box of stuff from my American friend on Friday. Inside were Netflix Optimus Prime, Newage Soundblaster (got him for only $30 thanks to a screw-up with said friend's order), TMNT SOTO Turtles NECA set (a biiiiiig box set), TMNT Tokka and Rahzar (these guys are BUILT), TMNT Raphael and Michelangelo NECA '90 Movie (completing that set for me plus all the trimmings of the extra characters you'd expect), Holiday Edition Scout Trooper, Iron Man Retro Collection Iron Man and bigarse cannon ala MVC2, VHS Collection Cyclops, a FF Retro Mr Fantastic (it was cheap and I wanted extras), and finally Halo Carter (we stopped getting these long ago, and Carter is my favourite character). 

Some really good stuff and I'm thrilled with the haul! 

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 3/25/2023 at 9:25 PM, Cat said:

I got another box of stuff from my American friend on Friday. Inside were Netflix Optimus Prime, Newage Soundblaster (got him for only $30 thanks to a screw-up with said friend's order), TMNT SOTO Turtles NECA set (a biiiiiig box set), TMNT Tokka and Rahzar (these guys are BUILT), TMNT Raphael and Michelangelo NECA '90 Movie (completing that set for me plus all the trimmings of the extra characters you'd expect), Holiday Edition Scout Trooper, Iron Man Retro Collection Iron Man and bigarse cannon ala MVC2, VHS Collection Cyclops, a FF Retro Mr Fantastic (it was cheap and I wanted extras), and finally Halo Carter (we stopped getting these long ago, and Carter is my favourite character). 

Some really good stuff and I'm thrilled with the haul! 

[THE_BEYONDER]

I’m looking to clean up a couple of my OO SW toys.  Do you guys use something other than water?  Any suggestions on how to get these sparking again would be appreciated 

[Cat]

On 3/26/2023 at 11:39 AM, THE_BEYONDER said:

I know, but everything is perfectly boxed up, and I don't have the space to let it all out. Any particular pieces you want pics of? 

[Dick Pontoon]

On 3/25/2023 at 9:48 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

I’m looking to clean up a couple of my OO SW toys.  Do you guys use something other than water?  Any suggestions on how to get these sparking again would be appreciated 

When I've needed to clean used Bandai Godzilla and Ultraman kaiju figures I've picked up, I've mostly used a microfiber cloth, a toothbrush, water and a pinch of dish soap. There are also natural, non-abrasive cleaners like Seventh Generation, which I believe is sold in Canada.

[Cat]

On 3/26/2023 at 8:02 AM, F For Fake said:

Received four boxes over the last couple of days from the Hasbro Pulse warehouse sale. Two of the four were pretty banged up, with one looking like it had been punted like a football. Unfortunately my SS BB Prime has a borked box, which is a shame because I was planning on keeping this particular line MISB. Contacted Pulse, but haven't heard anything yet. The figure is sold out so I'm not expecting much.

Otherwise, everything looks good. Can't brag on the packing, looks like they just threw the stuff into the boxes with a scrap of craft paper. Luckily everything else arrived in good shape. Didn't realize that the "limited edition foil comics" from the Shattered Glass figures were going to be thrown into the box randomly without any other protection. Oh well. It is what it is.

Also, now that I have Wheelie, my TTFTM poster lineup dio is complete! 

 

Such a shame that Shattered Glass Soundwave is so prone to yellowing so quickly. That's something that angers me so much, the sheer number of recent TF figures that suffer from premature yellowing, regardless of circumstances. It's straight up inexcusable as far as I'm concerned. 

[F For Fake]

On 3/26/2023 at 11:20 AM, MR. Pontoon said:

When I've needed to clean used Bandai Godzilla and Ultraman kaiju figures I've picked up, I've mostly used a microfiber cloth, a toothbrush, water and a pinch of dish soap. There are also natural, non-abrasive cleaners like Seventh Generation, which I believe is sold in Canada.

Agreed, a little dish soap like Dawn will go a long way. If you have yellowing you can try the peroxide treatment, but that’s never 100% guaranteed, and has potential side effects. I’ve personally never had an issue, and have had great success, but can understand why folks are wary given the fragility of this fragile plastic.

If there are no metal pieces, and you’re not worried about saving stickers, you can give them a nice soapy bath in the sink. You can also use this process to remove stickers, along with some goo gone to remove them, and then get new repro stickers, if your interest is in making them look good as new.  Just depends on how much effort and $$ you want to put into restoration. Good luck @THE_BEYONDER!

[F For Fake]

On 3/26/2023 at 1:11 PM, Cat said:

Such a shame that Shattered Glass Soundwave is so prone to yellowing so quickly. That's something that angers me so much, the sheer number of recent TF figures that suffer from premature yellowing, regardless of circumstances. It's straight up inexcusable as far as I'm concerned. 

Hasbro’s apparent apathy towards the yellowing issue is nearly as frustrating as the yellowing itself. Knock on wood, I have yet to have a modern tf start yellowing, but I realize it’s just a matter of time and luck.

[Cat]

On 3/27/2023 at 5:04 AM, F For Fake said:

Hasbro’s apparent apathy towards the yellowing issue is nearly as frustrating as the yellowing itself. Knock on wood, I have yet to have a modern tf start yellowing, but I realize it’s just a matter of time and luck.

I've been incredibly lucky, and have waited long enough on I think all recent figures known for yellowing that the issue became widely publicised and I was able to simply not buy them,  already had alternate versions, or in Netflix Soundwave's case, could simply never find one. I feel really bad for those who weren't so lucky. It's inexcusable in this day and age, at these prices. 

[F For Fake]

@THE_BEYONDERthis is the only Star Wars piece I own. I found my childhood X-Wing in my parents’ basement several years ago. It was filthy, missing all of the pieces, and it wasn’t just yellow, it was BROWN.

It took a few months to find all of the parts I needed (a clean, unbroken canopy was the toughest to track down) plus a couple of peroxide treatments, and repro stickers. I spent more money (and much more time) than if I’d just bought a nice used one on eBay. But it was a project, a labor of love, and now about 7 or 8 years later, it’s still looking good. Had to get a nice stand and a Luke to go with it.

Restoration doesn’t always make financial sense, but for pieces with sentimental value it can be very satisfying.

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 3/26/2023 at 3:25 PM, F For Fake said:

@THE_BEYONDERthis is the only Star Wars piece I own. I found my childhood X-Wing in my parents’ basement several years ago. It was filthy, missing all of the pieces, and it wasn’t just yellow, it was BROWN.

It took a few months to find all of the parts I needed (a clean, unbroken canopy was the toughest to track down) plus a couple of peroxide treatments, and repro stickers. I spent more money (and much more time) than if I’d just bought a nice used one on eBay. But it was a project, a labor of love, and now about 7 or 8 years later, it’s still looking good. Had to get a nice stand and a Luke to go with it.

Restoration doesn’t always make financial sense, but for pieces with sentimental value it can be very satisfying.

Nice!

 

That’s another of mine that needs cleaning

I know the canopy is in storage somewhere...

[comicwiz]

On 3/25/2023 at 9:48 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

I’m looking to clean up a couple of my OO SW toys.  Do you guys use something other than water?  Any suggestions on how to get these sparking again would be appreciated 

Nice! If you absolutely must, some warm water with dawn soap or even a moist hand cloth or baby wipe. Or compressed air if it's just some dusty. But honestly, I'd just leave it as is. Not a fan of using any "whitening" agents or solvents. my2cents

P.S. Any figs or other OO Star Wars?

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 3/26/2023 at 6:26 PM, comicwiz said:

Nice! If you absolutely must, some warm water with dawn soap or even a moist hand cloth or baby wipe. Or compressed air if it's just some dusty. But honestly, I'd just leave it as is. Not a fan of using any "whitening" agents or solvents. my2cents

P.S. Any figs or other OO Star Wars?

Sold all my figures many moons ago unfortunately.  Just have a few vehicles and a  hoth play set.  I have the Death Star , but it didn’t survive the test of time unfortunately.   
 

Edited March 26, 2023 by THE_BEYONDER

[THE_BEYONDER]

@comicwiz

Is there a trick to getting the front landing gear down on the original falcon?  Mine seems stuck, and I’m afraid I’ll break it  if I apply any further pressure. 

[comicwiz]

On 3/27/2023 at 3:16 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

@comicwiz

Is there a trick to getting the front landing gear down on the original falcon?  Mine seems stuck, and I’m afraid I’ll break it  if I apply any further pressure. 

The front one comes down like a lever, the back two straight downward. Those back two you want to pull carefully, otherwise you could cause the clips on opposite ends of each to break or lose their elasticity and grab at the right point on the mechanism to keep the back end propped up.

\

I got mine in a diaorama, and my boxed ones in storage, so I nabbed these pics from Google to show the difference in how they open. Again, back two come straight down, front swings down.

If you take a wooden skewer or toothpick (should be strong), try to see if you can get enough of it down so you can grab it better with your hands.

If it really doesn't want to, then there's a chance there's something in there obstructing the mechanism from working correctly. I'd leave it alone if you can't get enough play to bring it down like in the second picture. But it could also be the part where it holds and swings from might have swelled a bit, hard to say, depending on where it was stored.

Edited March 27, 2023 by comicwiz