Collecting is one thing, Maintaining is another

I'm starting to feel like Collecting figures is even more tedious than keeping a real car. After many years, maintenance starts to become an issue.

I always wrap the boxes if they fit in the bags, keep them in bigger plastic boxes, display them in cabinets, or cover them with plastic bag if exposed to minimize dust.

However 1 year not checking out my stuff, i realize my Weather sealed Detolf's a mess.

1st off, the Detolf poor rubber harness that the glass sits on starts to break into pieces, making jerks everytime 1 breaks, i'm guessing one of these jerks made few figures fall on each other, Raiden broke one of his hand, I broke the other, it's one of the more valuable figs.

2.My Medicom Jango Fett leather vest started to crack, it has molds all around his blue shirt, I'm not sure why they only grow on the Blue shirt.

3.All my figures with Black/Dark Clothings has molds or fibers on them, it's either some light brown dot patches or something like growing fibers on black clothings. I don't know why the selectiveness. Light color parts seems to be ignored by them.

4.Many of the boxes i stored inside closed plastic boxes has the same brown dots of molds, less than those in the cabinet but still there.

5.Some rubber parts on older toys actually melted into something like chewed bubblegum.

With the limited amount of time i'm back, i find it stressful to fix the figures, clean them up together with the whole cabinet, and wiping those molds off boxes inside boxes. Some dehumidifier would probably help the short term but i don't think i can actually 100% clean out all the molds so they won't regrow again & make another mess. Gathered heat inside closed cabinets may also be a problem.

For the past decade this is the 1st time i've encountered so many problems at one time. And it really gives me a push to finally get out of the hobby, i still like the hobby, but it's getting stressful, not sure if this is one of the main reasons people quit. Everytime i clear up a small space i felt like i lifted some weight off my mind.

I know if you have a proper place that you actually live in, these won't be a problem but for those that travels around or work overseas & have no one taking care of them, leaving your stuff behind can be a problem.

Mold? Ew. That's an environment problem I don't think it has anything to do with this hobby.

Wow that is really bad and seems unusual. I sympathize with so many problems. I have heard of and seen material breakdowns and mold happening to old vinyl toys, but it wouldn't occur to me to see it in clothes or packaging. I would be very interested to see photos. It must be really humid where you live?

Maybe the plastic bags aren't a good idea unless you invest in one of those vac sealers As Seen on TV!

Moved to General Collectibles Discussion & Questions.

Yeah, the mold issue sounds serious. I've never had that problem and I live in an old drafty house (1850).

Where do you live? I agree it's probably an environmental problem and not so much with the figures themselves.

And come to think of it, maybe sealing them in air tight (or close to air tight) containers may be more of a problem than them being in a more well ventilated area. Perhaps there was a bit of moisture when the boxes and figures were sealed, and because there was no air flow, the slight moisture created a kind of condensation.

I would maybe try some experiments and see what works better, sealed tight or well ventilated, for your stuff.

Y4NK33 PL4N3T said:

Mold? Ew. That's an environment problem I don't think it has anything to do with this hobby.

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I was going to say, mold sounds like a more environmental problem...especially with the extensive rubber degradation. I wonder if the OP lives in a humid country?

Yeh, my first thought too. If you live in the tropics and don't take precautions - ie some sort of interior climate control - you're going to have problems. Spending hundreds on humidity-susceptible collectibles without spending a couple hundred on a dehumidifier is crazy.

Sounds like a good reason to sell and get out ....or start over.

I don't think you should be trying to seal the detolfs at all. I think being able to breathe would be better. Sounds like a lot of trapped moisture.

Mad Old Lu said:

Yeah, the mold issue sounds serious. I've never had that problem and I live in an old drafty house (1850).

Where do you live? I agree it's probably an environmental problem and not so much with the figures themselves.

And come to think of it, maybe sealing them in air tight (or close to air tight) containers may be more of a problem than them being in a more well ventilated area. Perhaps there was a bit of moisture when the boxes and figures were sealed, and because there was no air flow, the slight moisture created a kind of condensation.

I would maybe try some experiments and see what works better, sealed tight or well ventilated, for your stuff.

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Ataricade said:

I don't think you should be trying to seal the detolfs at all. I think being able to breathe would be better. Sounds like a lot of trapped moisture.

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Yeh, exactly. I think OP needs to school up on the implications of his display space's air quality and respond accordingly.

1/6 figures should only be displayed in a computer climate controlled sterile environment.

Renting space in IT data centres is a good option

it's only a problem when you leave it in a room with no one staying for over a year.

you can't just leave a humid control unit on for a year.

i used to put those dehumidifier boxes but they get full after 3 months and needs replacement.

the mold on boxes inside containers is normal that is why i wrapped plastic, i believe if you sealed them tight they won't have air to grow, but not well ventilated areas with little moist would make them grow.

the problems aint too serious, they just grow like dust & fibers, you can wipe them off with wet tissues but it won't be 100%.

the Medicom Jango Fett Leather, so far i have yet heard problems from others, but it's normal i guess for them to crack up. i have a medi Stormtrooper, and it has those fragile black pleather suits, and these molds seems to grow on Black surfaces... hope the pleather is too poisonous for them to grow.

Boxes will be susceptible to mold. Cardboard is absorbent. Take the wrapping off them. If they get a bit of dust on them just wipe it off with a dry cloth. They're a box, for pete's sake.

Unseal your display cases. Despite what people tell you, zero airflow is bad, unless it's a fully climate controlled environment, which a damn display case isn't.

Dust your stuff every 3 months.

So far i have not checked inside the plastic, i don't seal them, just wrap them with plastic bags to avoid scratching etc. if i leave it unwrapped the inside would be as bad as the surface.

My cabinet is actually dust proofed (90%), not totally sealed there's still small gaps for air. Thing is i haven't checked them for 1 year. The other 2 cabinets where i stayed still good since i use air conditioning almost everyday (but not 24/7) and they're in the living room with better ventilation. All my Detolf are sealed the same way so i guess Apartments has better humid control compared to houses.

There was no problem for the 1st 3 years, just that i left it there for 1 year and all things happening (failed detolf rubbers, molds of all sorts..., cracked leathers, melted rubber handles on my dino rider)

Mr Walker said:

Boxes will be susceptible to mold. Cardboard is absorbent. Take the wrapping off them. If they get a bit of dust on them just wipe it off with a dry cloth. They're a box, for pete's sake.

Unseal your display cases. Despite what people tell you, zero airflow is bad, unless it's a fully climate controlled environment, which a damn display case isn't.

Dust your stuff every 3 months.

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This, this and more of this.

Deterioration is inevitable. Nothing lasts forever but having stuff fall apart and grow mold? Sorry, that definitely appears to be an issue with how/where you display your stuff.

Wanderer said:

Deterioration is inevitable. Nothing lasts forever but having stuff fall apart and grow mold? Sorry, that definitely appears to be an issue with how/where you display your stuff.

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Pointing out the obvious will not help solve anything.

Try looking a few comments above from Mr Walker for some sound advice

it fell due to the small rubber the glass sits on failed. I have 3 detolfs, the 2nd & 3rd one has rubber splitting into two one by one, probably one of them caused some jerk on the glass hitting the metal frame, i've mentioned about it in another post regarding these rubbers that came with the detolf, you are better without them. Seems the materials they used on the rubber is different from older ones even though they look identical but less durable.

the mold is simply because i left it unattended for too long. so those that go on frequent long trips should take note, just felt i can't manage items in 2 separate locations.

Bad news on the mold and deterioration. A few rules I follow are: Maintain very good airflow, put nothing against an outside wall (leave at least 3 inches of space for airflow); Use only Archive Safe materials to store or seal an item in, long term problems with non-archive safe materials are breakdown and discoloration; Don't display in direct sunlight, again will cause discoloration and drying out/fading of cloth; Maintain a high quality air filter in your HVAC and keep it clean (high MERV rating 9-12) and maintain a low humidity in your home. That's about it for my ideas.

Dellyboy said:

Pointing out the obvious will not help solve anything.

Try looking a few comments above from Mr Walker for some sound advice

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It's not meant to solve anything you dipstick. It's called my opinion.