Hot Toys rubber deterioration

[Wulf]

Have someone contacted HT about what one could do to prevent the rubber deteriorating? I've sent them an e-mail a couple of hours ago asking them what they recommend... will let you guys know what they say...

 

[xjamiex]

I think that's a photo of an old HT figure, haven't HT improved their rubber bodies since then? I mean, will the newer HT rubber bodies get that bad? :S



Seems so..

Oh yea, these are some of the first rubber bodies, the new rubber bodies are fantastic IMO...but you have to take care of them and not let them be affected by sunlight, rub them too hard, etc.

 

[Lejuan]

Damn that fker has been in the sun too long

Alex lives in Singapore - very humid climate and his place is probably 24/7 air conditioned, meaning the air is ultra-dry. That military figure was one of the very early HT figures. I reckon the more recent rubber bodies would hold up much better than that. But still, all rubber figures are ticking time bombs to some extent. I think the best you could hope for is that you'll be able to get years of enjoyment out of them, but don't expect to be able to pass them down to your grand kids.

 

[The Batman Professor]

Ah.. so no point in trying to apply 303 aerospace protectant on my HT Hellboy, Batman Begins 2011 and Batman Keaton DX figures..?

The Keaton is painted? Oh well, saves me money I guess.

 

[batsheva]

Ah.. so no point in trying to apply 303 aerospace protectant on my HT Hellboy, Batman Begins 2011 and Batman Keaton DX figures..?

Wait, painted rubber or colored rubber? because painted means the paint is applied to the surface of the rubber, and colored rubber means the color was mixed with the rubber at the production.

For example, if the original rubber's color is whitish/brown/skintone, and then you paint it blue, like on Abe Sapien, that's painted rubber. While HT Hellboy's rubber is not painted, the rubber is red, it's not only at the surface.. that's colored rubber.

CMIIW.

So is it safe to apply 303 aerospace to a colored rubber? in the previous post, there's a picture of it applied to Batman Begins HT, right? if that's colored rubber (if the original rubber is not black) then I suppose it's okay to apply it on HT Hellboy and other colored rubber.

 

[Darth_Calibrate]

could you apply this twice a year to areas more prone to stress and perhaps only once a year to areas that are not stressed?

 

[SAB]

Have someone contacted HT about what one could do to prevent the rubber deteriorating? I've sent them an e-mail a couple of hours ago asking them what they recommend... will let you guys know what they say...

Yeah I wouldn't sit by your computer waiting for a response....you could be there a while...

 

[hydrobud]

I think the best you could hope for is that you'll be able to get years of enjoyment out of them, but don't expect to be able to pass them down to your grand kids.

thats unacceptable considering what we pay for these figures at retail not to mention aftermarket. there is no reason why these figures should not hold up for 20 , 30 or more years . like i said before , HT most likely planned it this way.

 

[Wulf]

thats unacceptable considering what we pay for these figures at retail not to mention aftermarket. there is no reason why these figures should not hold up for 20 , 30 or more years . like i said before , HT most likely planned it this way.

It truly is unacceptable, I don't expect them to last a lifetime, but they should at least hold for 20-30 years. If my bats or hellboy figures starts deteriorating soon, they will be the last HT rubber figures I buy.

 

[Blackthornone]

Is this 303 AEROSPACE PROTECTANT better than the controversial Armor All? Did anyone could confirm this besides you? Thanks

303 Aerospace protectant provides 100% UV protection. I am not aware of any other plastic/rubber/vinyl product that does. It does not turn brown like Armor All. If you give a light coat, it gives a sheen. If you give it a coat or two more, it makes it shiny. I am confident that it will protect from all sunlight damage on rubber if used regularly. As to how often you should apply depends upon the conditions. If it is in direct sunlight and it is warm, maybe once a month to be safe. If it is out of the light and cool, one coat 3 times a year should suffice. The harsher the environment, the more often you need to use it.
There cannot be one set schedule that applies to all peoples items, because they are all in different environments.

It comes in handy wipes, or in spray bottles, 8 oz, 16 oz, 32 oz, and one gallon for about $70.
The only real downside is that it will make rubber glossier and darker than it should look, depending on how much you use. However, it is better than sun damage. You can see that The Batman Professor's Batman is blacker and glossier than most.

I want to understand why these suits leak. How is that related to climate and can using a rubber protectant prevent that?

 

[Blackthornone]

thats unacceptable considering what we pay for these figures at retail not to mention aftermarket. there is no reason why these figures should not hold up for 20 , 30 or more years . like i said before , HT most likely planned it this way.

How long do you think the original prop Batman suit lasted before IT started cracking and deteriorating? I remember hearing that the rubber webbing on the Spider Man suits was deteriorating badly with lots of cracking when the movie had barely been finished. You would think that they would have used a rubber that did not deteriorate during the making of the movie if it was available. Such is the nature of soft rubber suits.

 

[Wulf]

How long do you think the original prop Batman suit lasted before IT started cracking and deteriorating? I remember hearing that the rubber webbing on the Spider Man suits was deteriorating badly with lots of cracking when the movie had barely been finished. You would think that they would have used a rubber that did not deteriorate during the making of the movie if it was available. Such is the nature of soft rubber suits.

So your argument is that since rubber suits from the original movies that the actors used, wore out, fought in etc deteriorated very soon, we should just accept that our expensive rubber figures to deteriorate even if we take care of them, don't play around with them or touch them, keep them inside detolfs or acrylic cases and have no UV light come onto them?

 

[Blackthornone]

So your argument is that since rubber suits from the original movies that the actors used, wore out, fought in etc deteriorated very soon, we should just accept that our expensive rubber figures to deteriorate even if we take care of them, don't play around with them or touch them, keep them inside detolfs or acrylic cases and have no UV light come onto them?

I am saying that rubber is prone to deterioration, period. Usually it gets hard and brittle over time, and then breaks apart. I am saying that if you don't do something to protect rubber, it will deteriorate. The more you pose these figures, the more you stress the rubber, the sooner they break.
I don't own any rubber bodied Hot Toys because I haven't wanted to risk them turning to expensive junk. I own Iron Mans, a Superman, and a Black Widow.

It sucks that these suits rot away, but I'm thinking the 303 method that The Batman Professor professes might be a practical solution. I will say that some people use Leatherique for rubber as well, because it has natural oils that moisturize rubber.


Another thing that occurs to me is this: If you can't pose these figures with rubber without damaging them, why even make them articulated in the first place? Why even make them out of rubber?

 

[Wulf]

I am saying that rubber is prone to deterioration, period. Usually it gets hard and brittle over time, and then breaks apart. I am saying that if you don't do something to protect rubber, it will deteriorate. The more you pose these figures, the more you stress the rubber, the sooner they break.
I don't own any rubber bodied Hot Toys because I haven't wanted to risk them turning to expensive junk. I own Iron Mans, a Superman, and a Black Widow. Hmm, I do have a Bruce Lee... That might be rubber body. Sigh, Guess Ill have to break out the 303...

It sucks that these suits rot away, but I'm thinking the 303 method that The Batman Professor professes might be a practical solution. I will say that some people use Leatherique for rubber as well, because it has natural oils that moisturize rubber.

I'm not denying that, it's like that with most materials. But these figures should at least last for 20-30 years if taken care of. And that's what I am interested in, what more can I do to make these expensive figures last a long time other than what I have mentioned? Will the 303 method work on my HT Hellboy and Batman Begins 2011 figures? The Batman figure I received was brand new, and it has already after a couple of months lost its dark black color, it is now almost grey...

 

[Blackthornone]

I'm not denying that, it's like that with most materials. But these figures should at least last for 20-30 years if taken care of. And that's what I am interested in, what more can I do to make these expensive figures last a long time other than what I have mentioned? Will the 303 method work on my HT Hellboy and Batman Begins 2011 figures? The Batman figure I received was brand new, and it has already after a couple of months lost its dark black color, it is now almost grey...

Using a rubber protectant like 303 will definitely darken your Batman's suit. Absolutely. I have used various vinyl rubber dressings on plastic, rubber and vinyl that had faded to bring it back to new color. I don't know about using a dressing like this on painted rubber, but if it is going to deteriorate anyway, I would try it on mine, in an inconspicuous location, and let it stay there for a few months as a test. If I liked my results, I would do the whole thing.

With a water based product like 303, I doubt it will do anything bad to painted rubber, so long as you didn't rub hard on it. If you rubbed hard, and used too much of the product, I would be concerned that it could moisturize the rubber to the point at which it would cause the paint to no longer bond to the rubber, and come off.


On unpainted rubber, I think that using 303 is better than doing nothing.
Another thing that should be mentioned regarding rubber deterioration is the acids from your skin when you handle them with bare hands. I suggest you wear plastic food service gloves or something. Some people have very acidic chemistry, and the proof is that they leave fingerprints on magazines they have handled that have the ink from the printing dissolved away and there is white paper exposed in the shape of the fingerprint. Imagine what a person having that kind of body chemistry would do to a rubber figure...

 

[Wulf]

I want to try, but first I would like to hear if it works from someone who've done this.

 

[Blackthornone]

I want to try, but first I would like to hear if it works from someone who've done this.

The Batman Professor has been doing it since 2005 on his Batman. What more do you need?

 

[Wulf]

The Batman Professor has been doing it since 2005 on his Batman. What more do you need?

But I thought the old one was unpainted and the new one from 2011 (the one I have) was painted...?

 

[Blackthornone]

But I thought the old one was unpainted and the new one from 2011 (the one I have) was painted...?

Ok, if it's painted, you should be cautious. However, like I said, if you dislike the grey appearance, and want it to be blacker, I would try it in a small inconspicuous area if it were mine. If you do nothing to keep the rubber from drying out, isn't it just going to crack anyway? Up to you, though. Someone has to test it. Maybe some other rich person with two can test one.

 

[SpaceCrawler]

Regarding the comments about the Batman suit used in the film, stuff made for films is made to be filmed and not made to last decades. As someone who worked in films for a few years, anything made of latex will not last long. Hot Toys is using some sort of material that might be latex, I do not know and I doubt anyone here does unless they work at Hot Toys, but obviously is deteriorating to some degree for whatever reasons.

But making figures with "rubberized" parts is NOT impossible. Check out some Big Jim figures from the 1970s. I have several and the "rubber" arms are perfect. Or check out vintage bendies (Like Colorforms aliens). Again, perfect condition. The deal is they used something other than a latex based product and did whatever they did correctly.

We cannot speculate on materials used and compare them to latex and foam latex pieces used in film, which are made to be used for a short time only. If Hot Toys is using latex then none of their products will last long. If they are using a bad mix of chemicals, then they need to correct that problem.

I really think everyone who posted concern in this thread should contact Hot Toys and tell them to fix this problem if they still want your business. Before the naysayers start belittling the power of the consumer speaking out you should understand that they are in the business of making things people buy. If they got as many emails as they are responses in this thread, saying they won't buy any more rubberized items until they fix the deterioration issues, it would certainly get their attention. It's worth a try, costs nothing and might help actually solve the problem.

Sean