Hot Toys rubber deterioration

[potato]

Yup, stormtroopers most definitely grow yellow over time. One of my troopers is starting to show some yellowing, but only on certain parts. Might be having something to do with the plastic mix. Pleather holster is also starting to show some wear. My collection is placed in a cool room with tinted windows, no direct sunlight and most of the time the room is dark. I live in Sweden so the air is pretty dry most of the year, which could be one of the reasons behind the deterioration.

Anyway, that's my experience with troopers. Others might have different stories with more favourable development, so take mine with a grain of salt

i think it's more because of the plastic oxidization and not much to do with paint. though white paint may turn yellow due to environment, plastic tend to oxidize and turn yellowish. the medicom troopers are still pretty white, not sure about sideshow, but HT troopers are relatively new compared to them.

and yea if the air is too dry it's also bad. too cold also bad as moisture evaporates from them turning them brittle.

 

[ZE_501]

i think it's more because of the plastic oxidization and not much to do with paint. though white paint may turn yellow due to environment, plastic tend to oxidize and turn yellowish. the medicom troopers are still pretty white, not sure about sideshow, but HT troopers are relatively new compared to them.

and yea if the air is too dry it's also bad. too cold also bad as moisture evaporates from them turning them brittle.

Hot Toys stormtroopers, much like the Medicoms, are mostly painted. There are parts here and there like the shoulder straps that are probably not.

White plastics yellowing is well-documented; fire retardant chemicals called bromines surface and cause it. This can be reversed with the use of hydrogen peroxide and sunlight, or there are pastes available for use on collectibles if you Google for it.

Paint discoloration I haven't heard about, and have never seen it on a Hot Toys stormtrooper. Possibly a factory batch issue?

 

[potato]

Hot Toys stormtroopers, much like the Medicoms, are mostly painted. There are parts here and there like the shoulder straps that are probably not.

White plastics yellowing is well-documented; fire retardant chemicals called bromines surface and cause it. This can be reversed with the use of hydrogen peroxide and sunlight, or there are pastes available for use on collectibles if you Google for it.

Paint discoloration I haven't heard about, and have never seen it on a Hot Toys stormtrooper. Possibly a factory batch issue?

no man. Medicom white armor parts mostly aren't painted. they are molded in white plastic and given a glossy treatment either by polishing or gloss coat. i would assume sideshow & hot toys trooper are the same.

paint fade is infamous on ironmen.

 

[ZE_501]

no man. Medicom white armor parts mostly aren't painted. they are molded in white plastic and given a glossy treatment either by polishing or gloss coat. i would assume sideshow & hot toys trooper are the same.

Not that I'm disputing it, you may know more about it, but I had a few Medi stormtroopers back in the day, and they really seemed to have vinyl armour that was painted in gloss white on one side. Never experienced any issue other than heat treating an armour piece once and seeing a weird bluish-purple discoloration that I assumed was either paint or sealer reacting to heat.

paint fade is infamous on ironmen.

Their vinyl shorts, collars and hands went pink a fair bit back in the day. Haven't heard of any issues with modern or diecast releases -- yet.

 

[potato]

Not that I'm disputing it, you may know more about it, but I had a few Medi stormtroopers back in the day, and they really seemed to have vinyl armour that was painted in gloss white on one side. Never experienced any issue other than heat treating an armour piece once and seeing a weird bluish-purple discoloration that I assumed was either paint or sealer reacting to heat.



Their vinyl shorts, collars and hands went pink a fair bit back in the day. Haven't heard of any issues with modern or diecast releases -- yet.

welp i really couldn't tell if it's vinyl or soft plastic. to me vinyl in 1/6 is more like those black inner suits that tend to flake but isn't pleather.

 

[ZE_501]

welp i really couldn't tell if it's vinyl or soft plastic. to me vinyl in 1/6 is more like those black inner suits that tend to flake but isn't pleather.

Ah yes -- what I'm calling 'vinyl' is the soft, flexible plastic - maybe PVC or similar. All the Hot Toys stormtroopers use a harder plastic and are definitely painted, now that I remember it -- I've removed the paint in the past while customizing.

 

[skullboy]

Oh dear

 

[Bgnyc007]

Omg wow, I’m staying away from WW for sure.

 

[Marine Boy]

That's very worrying as those figures are relatively new. My HT Rambo figures are still fine, despite being over 10 years old.

 

[hottoyskyle]

Yup that’s why I didn’t want to get involved with buying the JLA Line because I would have no choice in buying WW and I fear this would happen. Ever since I had issues with the comedian figure from watchmen and Leonidas from 300 I stayed away from fully rubber figures like this. As far as leather or pleather I personally haven’t had issues where I live in USA

 

[Lee in MI]

Dayum!!!

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Ahh yes, I was wondering what would break first, her spirit, or her body.

 

[Unclechopchop]

Yup, stormtroopers most definitely grow yellow over time. One of my troopers is starting to show some yellowing, but only on certain parts. Might be having something to do with the plastic mix. Pleather holster is also starting to show some wear. My collection is placed in a cool room with tinted windows, no direct sunlight and most of the time the room is dark. I live in Sweden so the air is pretty dry most of the year, which could be one of the reasons behind the deterioration.

Anyway, that's my experience with troopers. Others might have different stories with more favourable development, so take mine with a grain of salt

Fluorescent bulbs or lighting is what yellows white figure. That?s pretty much it

 

[LiLJawa]

Those figures were more than likely in extreme poses if I had to guess.

 

[potato]

Fluorescent bulbs or lighting is what yellows white figure. That?s pretty much it

nah. oxidation is what really turns them yellow.

 

[Zurdo95D]

Ahh yes, I was wondering what would break first, her spirit, or her body.

 

[FlyAndFight]

nah. oxidation is what really turns them yellow.

It was my understanding that ultra-violet rays can also contribute to the yellowing of white plastics. Hence, direct sunlight is a no-no to our figures.

Also, some chemicals included in the plastic can yellow them over time.

 

[Cloud Warrior]

Just found this thread while looking for uses of 303 protectant.

Does anyone have experience with it. I've seen its recommend for the fake leather but what about for rubber body's, the stretchy material say a Spiderman has or Endgame Rocket/Ronin. Is it safe if it touches cloth on a figure ?

Just want to make sure how careful with this stuff I have to be. Not super clear uses or risks and I'm a nervous person as it is.
Many thanks.

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk

 

[potato]

It was my understanding that ultra-violet rays can also contribute to the yellowing of white plastics. Hence, direct sunlight is a no-no to our figures.

Also, some chemicals included in the plastic can yellow them over time.

Sunlight accelerates Oxidization. But we were talking about & Fluorescent bulbs or lighting, which is much slower than Direct Sunlight. Unless the bulbs are very close and filament type which has higher UV & Heat, but i believe most folks already switched to LED. Fluorescent itself has much lower UV and cooler than filament bulbs.

Usually happens to toy shops where they have heavy lighting 12 hours a day in the cabinet, but that was before the LED era.

 

[potato]

Just found this thread while looking for uses of 303 protectant.

Does anyone have experience with it. I've seen its recommend for the fake leather but what about for rubber body's, the stretchy material say a Spiderman has or Endgame Rocket/Ronin. Is it safe if it touches cloth on a figure ?

Just want to make sure how careful with this stuff I have to be. Not super clear uses or risks and I'm a nervous person as it is.
Many thanks.

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk

rubber attract dust like magnet and very difficult to get rid of especially those rubber bodies, i would worry more about cloth fibers & dust caught on it. test it on a rubber part see if it changes the look, i'm more worried that it might turn matte rubber shinny.