NECA: Predator Movie Franchise Figures

[Elder_Predator2]

you might as well try it. i for one would like to hear what cadmium-flavored ramen tastes like.

Probably pretty ____ty.

 

[a-dev]

I would drink my NECA Predator figures' bathwater.

 

[Boba Ben]

I only eat oriental flavor ramen. It beats all other flavors.

 

[Elder_Predator2]

I only eat oriental flavor ramen. It beats all other flavors.

Love it man!!!!!! The Chili flavor is good too.

 

[Rotfish]

I would drink my NECA Predator figures' bathwater.

I can picture a Martha Stewart special on how to kill yourself in style. You're going to want to add in some cadmium paint to get a good color in, so just mix it there. Now for that extra zest, submerge a couple PVC figures into the pan, then take them out after an hour. Finish it all off with an old abandoned classic -- lead. Feel free to scrape whatever factory residue is left in the ball-pin joints, to get that "mystery meat" fix. Boil the completed mixture. Finally, wait a day for it to cool off, then enjoy.

 

[Reinhardt]

Love it man!!!!!! The Chili flavor is good too.

Chicken for me. With a beaten egg, some veggies, and some hot sauce. Now THAT's a meal.

 

[Anton Phibes]

I would drink my NECA Predator figures' bathwater.

Not me. China is already killing us with their lead based paint. Drinking it can only speed up the process. Stick to licking them like most do. You will avoid getting brain damage as quickly.

 

[Jace Madan]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Invest in a hair dryer. Using hot water to unstick joints/ pop apart figures is harmful to the plastic and paint. The boiling water creates a molecular change in the polymers of the plastic resulting in faster degredation and polymer breakdown. The plastic will become brittle much more faster and the colors will loose their luster.

As well, depending on the water content of where you live, the boiling and then quickly cooling down will cause the water droplets that evaporate on the plastic to leave behind trace minerals and other elements (like lime) that will form a residue in detailed areas and small crevices.

Hot air from the hair dryer does not cause any of these potentially harmful side-effects. It will soften the plastic, and when the plastic cools down, the molecular structure of the polymers returns to normal, not permanently changed like how boiling the plastic would.

 

[Macularius]

Haven't had any problems using hot water so far. And I've been doing it for five years on all sorts of plastic figures.

 

[Jason13]

I will give it a try ,My wife has a pretty good hair dyer .all Of mine are still stiff as hell I broke the foot off one already and I put them down .My wife is going to think i am Nuts

 

[Reefer Shark]

"oh, you're boiling your little men again"

True quote from Mrs Shark

 

[Jace Madan]

Haven't had any problems using hot water so far. And I've been doing it for five years on all sorts of plastic figures.

There are factors that can affect this including the quality of the plastic, paint protecting the plastic, the water temp used and the figure's exposure to other environmental hazards.

The effect won't be immediate, but within 15-20 years the polymers will begin to break down at a much faster rate than they would have before the heating by water. Of course things like UV radiation (sunlight) speed this process up as well. Even exposure to oxygen begins the slow process of the molecular breakdown of the plastic. Boiling it just speeds this up.

Aside from that, the hair dryer allows a constant and regulated temperature to be applied at all times, allowing careful spot application of the heat for as long of a duration as you choose. No heating and reheating of water until the limb gets soft enough. Or if you have to re-try, it's as fast as flicking a switch and putting the hot air "beam" onto the stubborn area.

With water you need to heat it up enough so even as it cools down it retains enough heat to give the plastic enough time to soften, and as a result, the initial "plunge" into the hot water is exposure to heat levels that the plastic should not be exposed to.

I always have this rule: Pots of hot water are for cooking food and burning hands; hairdryers are for making managable hair and popping off action figure limbs.

Are there any real immediate cons to the boil and pop method? No. But there are long-term effects that may occur. Plus the hairdryer is just so much more precise and convienient.

After years and years of using the boil-n pop method and getting left with frustration, the hairdryer method is a godsend. I'lve loosened and popped of parts I would have thought impossible. I don't mean to come down so hard on the boil and pop method, but I just cannot sell the benifits of the hairdryer enough. Seriously, it's changed the way I customize and eliminated alot of frustration.

 

[a-dev]

I do most of my customising in the middle of the night so a loud hairdryer is a no no! But you've got me slighly concerned. I've boiled and popped a lot of my favourite figures - HT T-800 for one.

 

[ExMem-LarjaThwei]

I would never put a HT figures in hot water although everyone says it's fine. It just doesn't seem right.. Glad I never have.

 

[Rotfish]

I do most of my customising in the middle of the night so a loud hairdryer is a no no! But you've got me slighly concerned. I've boiled and popped a lot of my favourite figures - HT T-800 for one.

O...M...G!



I simply don't use hot water for fear of paint rubbing off. Whether it's NECA or HT, the idea freaks me out.

 

[Jace Madan]

I'm trying to find the link of the place I read that you shouldn't use the boiling water method but I can't seem to find it.


An ways, I look at it this way... can you cook spaggetti under a hair dryer in the same amount of time as you can in a hot pan of water? Meat? The usage of water and the heat needed to heat up the water and then transfer to the material causes a chemical change that is different that just the direct (and measured) application of heat onto the material by a hair dryer.

I'm sure the things you guys have boiled before will be be fine, but I just don't want to take the risk. Rest assured, even in a closed off room; the plastics are slowly decaying due to oxygen exposure, heat variances and natural chemical breakdown. My best dvice is to avoid UV light, and limit exposure to flourecent lights.

 

[a-dev]

O...M...G!



I simply don't use hot water for fear of paint rubbing off. Whether it's NECA or HT, the idea freaks me out.

Well it hasn't had any immediate negative effects but I don't want to be unwittingly hastening the break-down of my figures in the future.

I think I tried the hairdryer once and either didn't have the patience for it or I burnt my hand doing it!

 

[Jason13]

tried the hair dyer it works!!joints move freely now

 

[Jace Madan]

Yeah, I may have been overstating the effect that the boiling water would have on the plastic. Like I said, it varies depending on the composition of the plastic (hell, some mattel figures are decaying right in the package: https://www.poeghostal.com/2010/12/the-mystery-of-the-plastic-mist.html and the temp and duration it is in the water for. After all, it all comes down to the molecules, and even water, H2O, will react with the plastic, especially under heat.

Now, the decay rate will not really be noticeable, even 20 years from now. To the human eye, there will be no difference between a not water heated one and one that had been heated by water. But the actual molecular structure of the plastic may be a bit more weakend due to the heating by water. It's not like it's gonna turn to dust or anything.

Now this probably won't bother may people, but I'm REALLY picky about my figures and want them to be in very good condition, so I'll try to avoid anything that may have any possibility of damaging them.

And even if the water didn't possibly cause damage, the hair dryer method is just so much more easier and effective.

Really, sunlight is your worst enemy. I'd rather boil a figure than leave it exposed to direct sunlight for a long duration. And try to wear gloves when handling your best figures, the oils on your hands can cause damage as well.

But really in the end, you could take 2 1980's He-man figures side by side; where one was new in package and pristine. and one was opened and played with and the differences, and the plastic degradation wouldn't be that noticeable between the two.

 

[Jace Madan]

Anyways, sorry for the derail there, I'm wondering when we will see that Camo Berserker Pred we saw at SDCC get released. Hopefully we will hear something at Toyfair.