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

[Skylath]

On 4/27/2023 at 7:15 AM, F For Fake said:

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a giant tub of bots, and spent the next week or so identifying everything in there. Out of every figure, part, piece and accessory, these are the only two I've not been able to track down. I've looked over the ID guide at Transformerland and tfu.info, but I am just not seeing these. There were Go-Bots and some other random bits and bobs in the lot, so very likely these aren't even TF, but any kind of assistance would be most appreciated!

That green guy you got there is a Bakugan (sadly I wish I could remember which that one is but it's been about fifteen years since I've played). It'll fully unfurl when you put it on one of the Bakugan cards (there's usually a magnet on the bottom of the toy and the cards are metal).

 

No idea about that second guy though.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Skylath

[F For Fake]

On 4/27/2023 at 9:53 AM, Skylath said:

That green guy you got there is a Bakugan (sadly I wish I could remember which that one is but it's been about fifteen years since I've played). It'll fully unfurl when you put it on one of the Bakugan cards (there's usually a magnet on the bottom and the cards are metal).

 

No idea about that second guy though.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it, it was driving me nuts! At first I thought it might be a TF minicon of some sort, as the Energon/Armada/Robots in Disguise lines had some little ball-shaped guys like that, but for the life of me i could not find it. Was driving me crazy. Thank you thank you thank you. 

[Cat]

On 4/27/2023 at 11:06 PM, F For Fake said:

They're a blast, right? Really hope they keep the line going.

It's just a pity they can't do Mirage, Wheeljack, or Sunstreaker. 

[F For Fake]

On 4/27/2023 at 9:58 AM, Cat said:

It's just a pity they can't do Mirage, Wheeljack, or Sunstreaker. 

While the original molds are lost, I don't know why Hasbro can't just reverse engineer the molds. Those KO "reissues" making the rounds these days are very, very close, and created with a similar process I'd assume. I guess it's a matter of whether or not Hasbro thinks the sales are worth the time/effort, but if these random bootleg factories are making them, it must be worth doing to an extent. 

Edited April 27, 2023 by F For Fake

[Cat]

On 4/28/2023 at 12:03 AM, F For Fake said:

While the original molds are lost, I don't know why Hasbro can't just reverse engineer the molds. Those KO "reissues" making the rounds these days are very, very close, and created with a similar process I'd assume. I guess it's a matter of whether or not Hasbro thinks the sales are worth the time/effort, but if these random bootleg factories are making them, it must be worth doing to an extent. 

I wish they'd do that too. I reckon the money is there, but obviously the head honchos disagree. Shame, as now would be the perfect time to do Mirage and Wheeljack reissue. 

[F For Fake]

On 4/27/2023 at 10:06 AM, Cat said:

I wish they'd do that too. I reckon the money is there, but obviously the head honchos disagree. Shame, as now would be the perfect time to do Mirage and Wheeljack reissue. 

It really is odd, particularly with Wheeljack. Sunstreaker and Mirage have never really been front-line characters, but Wheeljack has had a figure made in pretty much every line to date, sometimes several. He's well represented in the franchise for sure.

[Cat]

On 4/28/2023 at 12:09 AM, F For Fake said:

It really is odd, particularly with Wheeljack. Sunstreaker and Mirage have never really been front-line characters, but Wheeljack has had a figure made in pretty much every line to date, sometimes several. He's well represented in the franchise for sure.

He really is a core character now, yeah. Did you see the footage from the Ark restaurant in Hong Kong? You see him wandering around inside. 

[F For Fake]

On 4/27/2023 at 10:51 AM, Cat said:

He really is a core character now, yeah. Did you see the footage from the Ark restaurant in Hong Kong? You see him wandering around inside. 

Oh wow. NO, i had NOT seen that, but now I have, and that is BONKERS.

[Cat]

On 4/28/2023 at 1:12 AM, F For Fake said:

Oh wow. NO, i had NOT seen that, but now I have, and that is BONKERS.

Looks cool, doesn't it? I'd love to go there. If you saw the photos of the Swerve's Lounge though, that's apparently not from there, that's from something like Universal Studios in Beijing. According to people who have been there. 

[F For Fake]

On 4/27/2023 at 11:15 AM, Cat said:

Looks cool, doesn't it? I'd love to go there. If you saw the photos of the Swerve's Lounge though, that's apparently not from there, that's from something like Universal Studios in Beijing. According to people who have been there. 

Oh, no, I didn't see Swerve's Lounge. If it's like the one on the Lost Light, that's where I'd want to be.

The Ark restaurant looks pretty great. I need one of those logo-shaped buns!

[Cat]

On 4/28/2023 at 1:21 AM, F For Fake said:

Oh, no, I didn't see Swerve's Lounge. If it's like the one on the Lost Light, that's where I'd want to be.

The Ark restaurant looks pretty great. I need one of those logo-shaped buns!

The food looks pretty good. After spending a while watching and rewatching the videos I had to go and get a burger myself, just because it made me crave one so badly.  Mine was just Hungry Jack's though (Burger King), nowhere near as cool as The Ark. I have no desire to visit Hong Kong, but damn I want to go to that restaurant. 

[F For Fake]

On 4/27/2023 at 11:37 AM, Cat said:

The food looks pretty good. After spending a while watching and rewatching the videos I had to go and get a burger myself, just because it made me crave one so badly.  Mine was just Hungry Jack's though (Burger King), nowhere near as cool as The Ark. I have no desire to visit Hong Kong, but damn I want to go to that restaurant. 

Ha, that's funny, i was also thinking "I could really go for a burger right about now," but I'm at work, so I guess I'll stick with the leftover spaghetti. Maybe I'll fashion the noodles into a crude Matrix of Leadership.

[Buzzetta]

On 4/27/2023 at 10:03 AM, F For Fake said:

While the original molds are lost, I don't know why Hasbro can't just reverse engineer the molds. Those KO "reissues" making the rounds these days are very, very close, and created with a similar process I'd assume. I guess it's a matter of whether or not Hasbro thinks the sales are worth the time/effort, but if these random bootleg factories are making them, it must be worth doing to an extent. 

This molds are on the bottom of the ocean with the 85’ Snake Eyes mold right ?

[Cat]

On 4/28/2023 at 1:40 AM, F For Fake said:

Ha, that's funny, i was also thinking "I could really go for a burger right about now," but I'm at work, so I guess I'll stick with the leftover spaghetti. Maybe I'll fashion the noodles into a crude Matrix of Leadership.

🎶"You've got the touch.... You've got the PASTA!!!" 🎶

[F For Fake]

On 4/27/2023 at 12:03 PM, Buzzetta said:

This molds are on the bottom of the ocean with the 85’ Snake Eyes mold right ?

Presumably! Along with the Dinobots, Shockwave...

[Cat]

On 4/28/2023 at 2:03 AM, Buzzetta said:

This molds are on the bottom of the ocean with the 85’ Snake Eyes mold right ?

They were too degraded from lack of care and use (they required specialists to revive them, to get rid of all the rust that had accumulated and get then back to a workable mold, a long and expensive process). To get them to a usable stage was an expensive proposition, and the brand was moving onto Beast Wars, so it was seen as a less than optimal investment. So they dumped them. Some had been leant out and returned like that, others it had happened in-house, but however it happened, the damage was done. 

[Buzzetta]

On 4/27/2023 at 12:33 PM, Cat said:

They were too degraded from lack of care and use (they required specialists to revive them, to get rid of all the rust that had accumulated and get then back to a workable mold, a long and expensive process). To get them to a usable stage was an expensive proposition, and the brand was moving onto Beast Wars, so it was seen as a less than optimal investment. So they dumped them. Some had been leant out and returned like that, others it had happened in-house, but however it happened, the damage was done. 

I remembered a thread from 15 years ago.  I am actually proud and embarrassed by this... 

https://www.hisstank.com/forum/417419-post9.html. Steevy Maximus claimed to be in the know...   this is in relation to GI Joe toys but the Hasbro fire would also account for some of the Transformers molds being destroyed.  Apparently there was a shipping container that is on the bottom of the ocean after a freighter sunk according to this guy. 

Quote

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irid70 

Well, I have heard from several independent sources (and I'm not a guy who knows things, but it seems to be common knowledge) that the Skystriker mold got destroyed beyond repair due to Funskool washing it with saltwater. If that's true then all the people waiting for a new Skystriker are gonna be waiting a long while.

 

Steevy Maximus: And it wasn't just the Skystriker, but MANY of the molds Hasbro shipped over to India around 2001/2002 ended up with significant damage due to Funskool's poor maintenance of the molds. That's why even though some figures were last seen in the US in 2001, their molds may not be usable anymore.

Quote

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by omgudied2 

I’m driving around in the mold for the U.S.S. Flagg (My 06 Mitsubishi Eclipse) I am sure 15 years ago some guy in Hasbro Corp. said hey we have all these molds around and we can make money by recycling them. That is me thinking they were metal molds of some sort...(lets find him and kick his ash)

 

Steevy Maximus : Actually, from what I've observed over the years is that Hasbro (and Kenner before them) were actually fairly prudent in maintaining their molds. Back in 1995, when Star Wars came back out, Hasbro still had access to pretty much the entire catalog of vehicle molds for the vintage line (which hadn't been on retail shelves in a decade).
Hasbro was able to reissue the 92 HQ and MCC in 2001 and 2003 respectively (9 and 16 years since their initial releases). Hasbro even still has access to just about the entire 1982 figure catalog.

There have generally been four major causes for mold loss:

1. Brazil- Brazil was a MAJOR international producer of GI Joe, but is notorious as a mold "black hole" due to various factors. Some molds up and dissappeared, while many (such as the 85 SE and Torch tools) were loss when Hasbro recovered the molds and the freighter sank en route to China.
2. India- As stated above, hasbro was still sending India figure molds as late as 2002, but took poor care of the tools, resulting in mold damage.
3. Hasbro Warehouse fire- Around 1996, Hasbro had a warehouse fire which destroyed many more molds, including pieces of the mauler and who knows what else.
4. Mislabel- 20 years is a long time and some tools are simply mislabeled or misplaced over in China. Master collector has taken the time to research and locate tools, but Hasbro has not shown any interest in doing so, especially not with the 25th line.

While time has effected many tools, those are generally the big reasons why stuff is gone/missing.

However, Mattel HAS recycled its molds before. The original Masters of the Universe molds were melted down and used in the construction of one of Hong Kong's airports.

[Buzzetta]

Someone posted this on the facebook lego groups. 

Remember to be leery of buying SEALED copies of sets with brown bricks.   The mixture for brown bricks from around 2011-2016 has proven to be problematic and the bricks are VERY brittle.  Lego has since changed the recipe but sets from this time period containing brown bricks, such as many Star Wars, Lone Ranger, and the Castle Kingdom sets suffer from this issue, as they featured many brown pieces in each of their sets. 

Edited April 28, 2023 by Buzzetta

[Cat]

On 4/28/2023 at 6:24 PM, Buzzetta said:

Someone posted this on the facebook lego groups. 

Remember to be leery of buying SEALED copies of sets with brown bricks.   The mixture for brown bricks from around 2011-2016 has proven to be problematic and the bricks are VERY brittle.  Lego has since changed the recipe but sets from this time period containing brown bricks, such as many Star Wars, Lone Ranger, and the Castle Kingdom sets suffer from this issue, as they featured many brown pieces in each of their sets. 

Lego's version of GPS? https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Gold_Plastic_Syndrome

[Buzzetta]

On 4/28/2023 at 8:36 AM, Cat said:

Lego's version of GPS? https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Gold_Plastic_Syndrome

Yes but there does not seem to be a fix for GPS.

Lego saw the problem and within a year corrected it.  The issue is from people buying sealed sets with predominantly brown sets from that time period and then cracking them open.  When I sold off my Castle sets last fall from that time period, I experienced breaks just taking the pieces apart and I went into that knowing what I was getting into.  I had extras bricks from bulk buys to swap them out from so it was not that big of a deal. 

Lego addressed it and then fixed it by 2018 as it was the mixture being used. 

https://brickshow.com/2018/12/problem-brittle-lego-reddish-brown-bricks-solved