Hot Toys rubber deterioration

[rich.bennett.7127]

Sigh- I took down my Martian Soldier to dust and move him to another display and noticed that the rubber arms and legs were starting to split at the elbows and knees. I immediately put him into a neutral pose with no bending of the knees and elbows in order to help preserve him. My Hellboy seems to be doing okay so far as the rubber is concerned. I have the DX 2 Batman and never have got him to stop leaking oil. Also I had to buy a replacement pair of pants for him on evilBay as the crotch stand rubber caps had reacted with the rubber pants and put two melt marks on either side of the crotch area. I no longer display him and instead display the Dark Knight Rises DX Batman with the boots and cape from the DX 2. I have pretty much stopped collecting Hot Toys figures because it has been so depressing seeing them deteriorate the way they do. I had to do some spot repair on my Hellboy's gun belt this evening because the glue they used to hold the various belt loops together finally dried out and they were just hanging there, popped apart. I have been thinking about selling them off as the frustration of seeing them deteriorate is rather maddening and takes away a lot of the enjoyment of having them around. Nothing lasts forever, and this is all too true for many Hot Toys figures.

 

[jra81984]

My heart skips a beat every time this thread bumps

 

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

Dang rich sorry to read that man. Your first post too? Yikes.

I'd try not to let it deter you from enjoying the hobby but I agree that collecting figs that employ rubber is going to be a gamble for a long while.

Best of luck with w/e you decide to do.

 

[fosing]

hot toys and rubber = population boom

 

[rich.bennett.7127]

Yeah, most of the materials our collectibles are made out of isn't designed for the long haul. I have been collecting toys for 23 years now and have seen my share of higher-end toys just turn to crap. It seems like anything that uses rubber or pleather vinyl just eventually depolymerizes and cracks, splits or peels. I take good care of my figures, but it is just a matter of time and chemistry. My first experience with toy rot was the rubber boot legs on the old Hasbro Jim Balent inspired Catwoman that came in the 12" Legends of Batman 2-Pack. I think it was a TRU exclusive back in the early 90s. I had her posed on my main display shelf for a couple of years and went to do some dusting and saw the outer layer of black rubber just peeling off. After that, I pretty much avoided any kind of articulated rubber figures like the plague. I had a lot of approach avoidance with the Hot Toys figures, but some of them were just too great not to bite. It really saddens me to see them succumb to toy rot too.

 

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

Very true rich. Granted things like glue drying out wouldn't bother me too much and is typically an easy fix, but rubber splits, cracking or outright melting sucks really bad.

 

[fosing]

Yeah, most of the materials our collectibles are made out of isn't designed for the long haul. I have been collecting toys for 23 years now and have seen my share of higher-end toys just turn to crap. It seems like anything that uses rubber or pleather vinyl just eventually depolymerizes and cracks, splits or peels. I take good care of my figures, but it is just a matter of time and chemistry. My first experience with toy rot was the rubber boot legs on the old Hasbro Jim Balent inspired Catwoman that came in the 12" Legends of Batman 2-Pack. I think it was a TRU exclusive back in the early 90s. I had her posed on my main display shelf for a couple of years and went to do some dusting and saw the outer layer of black rubber just peeling off. After that, I pretty much avoided any kind of articulated rubber figures like the plague. I had a lot of approach avoidance with the Hot Toys figures, but some of them were just too great not to bite. It really saddens me to see them succumb to toy rot too.

i learned this from buying HT figures.
modge podge, makes aliens/xenomorphs bearable.
gummi pfledge, i dont know how long it will hold ed209...still holding.

 

[Jameson Rook]

My heart skips a beat every time this thread bumps

My heart skips trying to read a paragraph of text with everything but the kitchen sink. Gave up.

 

[potato]

Dang rich sorry to read that man. Your first post too? Yikes.

I'd try not to let it deter you from enjoying the hobby but I agree that collecting figs that employ rubber is going to be a gamble for a long while.

Best of luck with w/e you decide to do.

I think it's mostly about Hot Toys, in terms of rubber most 80's toys still standing strong apart from those soft rubbers like rubber bands to hold the limbs together, and those flexible rubbers used to mimick ropes etc. Maybe they've been using more artificial ingredients since rubber price soared.

I would worry more about pleathers.

 

[potato]

Very true rich. Granted things like glue drying out wouldn't bother me too much and is typically an easy fix, but rubber splits, cracking or outright melting sucks really bad.

remember how pleather is glued onto a layer of fabric, usually it's because they lose the gluing properties thus they start to crack & flake off. also rubber materials rely on their self glueing properties to keep themselves in 1 piece.

 

[potato]

i learned this from buying HT figures.
modge podge, makes aliens/xenomorphs bearable.
gummi pfledge, i dont know how long it will hold ed209...still holding.

what i know is if you apply a layer of protection over them (both inner & outer sides), it should prolonge their life, beause the coat not just holds everything in check but also forms a seal to slow down the UV/Oxidation/Humid effects. Clear Spray cans should work better than liquid wax.

 

[OM1D]

Anyone experienced deterioration on any HT predators?

If so, where on the figure, and what did you do to fix it, if fixing was possible?

 

[potato]

Anyone experienced deterioration on any HT predators?

If so, where on the figure, and what did you do to fix it, if fixing was possible?

depends how early you found out the deterioration. if it's early with minor cracks you can stick the pleather back using paper glue, try to avoid touching the areas while putting the glue on then gently push it back to hide the crack, then apply leather protector because the paper glue will add a shine to it. I've done it on the Sideshow Anakin 1/6 robe, so far still looking good, but of course you don't want to touch it or mess with it.

if it's still new, apply leather/rubber wax may help but only slows the process down abit coz you only apply it on the top layer not below so deterioration still goes on from below.

if the pleather is totally gone and left the fabric layer, you can use rubber spray to add a layer of flexible vinyl like look minus the leather texture like how bikers fix their leather seats.

i have yet tried spraying clear coats on them.

what i notice is there's a difference between tyre protector & leather protector, that tyre protector tends to be more heavy duty that it forms a thicker layer coat compared to leather protector.

 

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

^ Got any pics of this wax app you're referring to?

 

[potato]

^ Got any pics of this wax app you're referring to?

just get any cheapest tyre shine that doesn't contain silicone.

for wax i use the cheapest leather shoe wax available. you can also try those Timberland leather/suede protector but they cost much more for such a small bottle.

make sure whether tyre shine or leather wax you get the neutral color version which is transparent. i sometimes use Black shoe wax on black pleather though when it turned grey.

 

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

just get any cheapest tyre shine that doesn't contain silicone.

for wax i use the cheapest leather shoe wax available. you can also try those Timberland leather/suede protector but they cost much more for such a small bottle.

make sure whether tyre shine or leather wax you get the neutral color version which is transparent. i sometimes use Black shoe wax on black pleather though when it turned grey.

So that's a 'no'.

 

[potato]

can't even google a picture of the tyre shine looks like it's manufactured by some company which doesn't exist on the internet.

 

[fosing]

i've got the old preds, back when you need to assemble them out of the box.
dreads still holding up. all good.
preds are low maintenance.

 

[siquisiri]

This is why i wont purchase the HT Arkham Bats. That all rubber suit and HT's past rubber issues means its only a matter of time before it falls apart. For the prie we pay, they should last more than 2-3 years on our shelf's.

 

[fosing]

This is why i wont purchase the HT Arkham Bats. That all rubber suit and HT's past rubber issues means its only a matter of time before it falls apart. For the prie we pay, they should last more than 2-3 years on our shelf's.

you still holding on to hellboy?
i have 3 kroenens and no hellboy to play with now...
he couldn't do much with that rubber body, he went for sale. :[