Hot Toys rubber deterioration

Collector Freaks Forum

Help Support Collector Freaks Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
22885912_1231084436992846_8956662147507178491_n.jpg
[/QUOTE]

Will happen to all eventually, my missus had a synthetic leather jacket from M&S, only worn a few times then was hung in a wardrobe, lasted 6 years.
 
Last edited:
It could be that he just left him sitting outside and he was sun damaged as well over time. I know things happen but.. I don't feel like that guy was exactly taking the ideal precautions, much less any.

I have the Crow fig as well from back when it came out and it's completely pristine.

It looked like he left it sitting outside and then a lawnmower ran over it. This obviously didn't happen overnight. If one of us saw that starting to happen with out figures we would do something to try to prevent it, find some cream for the pleat her or something. This person obviously just let it go to crap and did nothing about it.
 
Ugh! Also look at how dusty it is. The majority of us aren’t going to let it get to that point.
 
Ugh! Also look at how dusty it is. The majority of us aren’t going to let it get to that point.

fyi those aren't dust. it's how it looks when pleather starts flaking out. sometimes they look like white dots of mold infestation but they are just the underside of the flakes.
 
fyi those aren't dust. it's how it looks when pleather starts flaking out. sometimes they look like white dots of mold infestation but they are just the underside of the flakes.

You may look at shoes and see how dusty is that. Also being in smoking room will make any pleather detoriated really fast eventhough you not move it by inch, that's should be another consideration. Some acute smoker kinda forgot it that smoke will wreck furniture and everything around them.
 
The best you can do is, keep away from direct sunlight, use cases such as detolfs to reduce dust and on rubber skin I know phicen uses a powder coating that is supposed to help extend life of silicone.

Ultimately...........own your collection........DO NOT let your collection own you!!!!!!
 
The best you can do is, keep away from direct sunlight, use cases such as detolfs to reduce dust and on rubber skin I know phicen uses a powder coating that is supposed to help extend life of silicone.

Ultimately...........own your collection........DO NOT let your collection own you!!!!!!

Would placing those silica gel packets in our display cases help preserve figures in any way?

I notice these packets are typically packaged with most figures or statues. But I believe they mainly help with moisture.
 
fyi those aren't dust. it's how it looks when pleather starts flaking out. sometimes they look like white dots of mold infestation but they are just the underside of the flakes.

Maybe. But look again. You can tell from the hair and shoes that it’s dust. The shoes are caked in it and it’s slightly in the hair also.

Just horrible.
 
Am I right in thinking the DX10 used real leather and shouldn't suffer the way the DX13 might?
 
Am I right in thinking the DX10 used real leather and shouldn't suffer the way the DX13 might?

Yes, The DX10 is real leather, however the MMS117 is not and is pretty old now yet still holding up well, my John Connor jacket rotted after 7 years so its still a crap shoot on which fake leather will rot or not.
 
My computer chair is a directorial office chair, very comfortable and solid, bought it in 2011. But 3 months ago the faux leather started peeling away out of nowhere. Everything else was cool about this chair, so I decided to reupholster it with fabric. It is perfect again now.

OFF directorial chair.jpg

Too bad pleather/faux leather has such a limited life span, though there is higher quality pleather that lasts for longer time. Seems HT uses low quality pleather and also rubber in their figs. :(
 
Too bad pleather/faux leather has such a limited life span, though there is higher quality pleather that lasts for longer time. Seems HT uses low quality pleather and also rubber in their figs. :(
and their motivation must be:
"if we spend $10 more for better pleather, $10 more for better not-rotting rubber - that is actually used everywhere except our toys! - and $10 more on metal pegs per figure, our figures will be 10+10+10=300 USD more expensive, nobody would buy them!"

at least that's what many fans think and openly say.
 
My computer chair is a directorial office chair, very comfortable and solid, bought it in 2011. But 3 months ago the faux leather started peeling away out of nowhere. Everything else was cool about this chair, so I decided to reupholster it with fabric. It is perfect again now.

View attachment 375209

Too bad pleather/faux leather has such a limited life span, though there is higher quality pleather that lasts for longer time. Seems HT uses low quality pleather and also rubber in their figs. :(

i've been to many furniture shops everytime i ask how long it last they say depends how you take care, they recommend applying PU protection cream once a while.

but really depends on the faux leather. those that looks good and mimic leather well usually thin and more fragile, notice Medicom pleather looks good while companies like Dragon looks thick more rubberish, and Medicom pleather typically last 3-5 years, while Dragon's pleather last over 10 years.

same goes for bike seats, they tend to crack due to exposure to direct sun & rain & other extreme weather, but car seats typically built to last.
 
and their motivation must be:
"if we spend $10 more for better pleather, $10 more for better not-rotting rubber - that is actually used everywhere except our toys! - and $10 more on metal pegs per figure, our figures will be 10+10+10=300 USD more expensive, nobody would buy them!"

at least that's what many fans think and openly say.

the pleather used in 1/6 are generally high quality pleather that mimics real leather really well, however best doesn't mean long lasting since they need to be thin and undergo more processes to recreate leather texture, which in turns lowers the durability of the material. if you want longer lasting pleather they will have to make it thicker and add more rubber into it, end result would be bulkier less refined look, which you would probably complain about and end up not buying. Medicom switched from pleather/vinyl to rubber suits for some of their newer releases until a new "Improved" Pleather they came up with after 20 years. They look thicker than the old suits but are better looking than rubber suits.

the only way to get durable leather is using genuine leather. but getting leather pieces thin enough to look realistic in 1/6 scale is hard to find, inconsistent & requires alot of process to thin them down to 1/6 scale, and it still won't look as thin as pleather.
 
And fans will ***** about that 10 dollars extra.

Oh yes. As an international customer I always pay more for a collectible. If some of the US customers would have to pay the prices I do, I bet more than half would give up collecting.

i've been to many furniture shops everytime i ask how long it last they say depends how you take care, they recommend applying PU protection cream once a while.

but really depends on the faux leather. those that looks good and mimic leather well usually thin and more fragile, notice Medicom pleather looks good while companies like Dragon looks thick more rubberish, and Medicom pleather typically last 3-5 years, while Dragon's pleather last over 10 years.

same goes for bike seats, they tend to crack due to exposure to direct sun & rain & other extreme weather, but car seats typically built to last.

I used special faux leather spray and cream twice a year. Maybe that's why the chair's pleather lasted for so long. My work directorial chair has a much thicker faux leather and has no damage yet - got it since 2012 - though is not as comfortable as the home one.
 
While it looks nice, Ghost Rider and Crow from above, like most of our dolls, outfits are made from pleather. Pleather does not have pores like real leather has so leather conditioners do not get soaked in to do their job like it does for real leather. You are just smearing it around on the surface.

So if you are going to apply a protectant, make sure it's one specifically designed for pleather.
 
I see. It made the pleather soft again after applying the conditioner though. Do you know of any good protectant that's specifically for pleather that you've tried?
 
I see. It made the pleather soft again after applying the conditioner though. Do you know of any good protectant that's specifically for pleather that you've tried?

you need something that acts as a shield to prevent moist from going in and escaping out, UV shield to protect the glue that holds the pleather onto the fabric base, and also a coat of wax to keep the surface from cracking up due to dryness.

main reason pleather cracks is because it's being held onto the base with adhesive that will dry up this is why the early indication of pleather failing is you will see mold like dots that is when the adhesive dried up and can no longer hold the pleather on. coupled with the dryness & heat of the surface causing the pleather to deteriorate both from inside & outside.
 
Back
Top