Hot Toys ED-209 MMS204 *RUBBER DETERIORATION* Discussion/Pics

[Black Sheep]

Anyone have any of the Honda grease left over they wanna sell? hate to buy a new tube of the stuff. My Ed's dome is still intact as are the rubber sleeves. Just want some on hand should I need it.

 

[EndoSickness]

You should get it yourself, man.
Rubber care really comes in handy, not only for ED.
Check that out, it´s what I use:

Liqui Moly 1538 Gummi-Pflege, 500 ml: Amazon.de: Auto

 

[Eamon]

Anybody know what to get in the UK?

 

[j97e1]

Honda grease works great.

 

[Plastic Bateman]

Tangentially-related to ED-209.

Here's a crop from a photo of my Robocop's left elbow as it arrived two weeks ago, fresh out the box.



Here's a picture of the same elbow last night.



Besides my initial photos when I received the figure, it's been in a glass cabinet at room temperature in a museum pose. Looking closely, the rubber on that joint's lost the matte finish all the other joints have, started receding away from the joint it surrounds and is noticeably degraded compared to the right elbow.

Currently have an Amazon tab open, considering ordering some Shin-Etsu grease right now to treat all the other rubber on the figure with before it goes the same way. Would that be the best option?

Also I've contacted Collectable Kitbash and am looking into other places too to get a replacement left arm. If anyone has any recommendations of where else to look, that would be fantastic.

I could go on a long rant about how unimpressed I am that I should even have to be considering paying for industrial grease and spare parts for a brand-new £200 figure, but no-one wants to read that.

 

[Black Sheep]

You should get it yourself, man.
Rubber care really comes in handy, not only for ED.

Yeah, I was just hoping to get it a little cheaper and help a fellow freak get a nice return on their unused amount. I've been pretty fortunate that none of my rubber parts in any figure have deteriorated, but I don't want to have to worry about it.

 

[5x10]

Yeah, I was just hoping to get it a little cheaper and help a fellow freak get a nice return on their unused amount. I've been pretty fortunate that none of my rubber parts in any figure have deteriorated, but I don't want to have to worry about it.

I could put some in a baggy and mail it, wouldn't charge you as long as a stamp would cover it
Pm me your address

 

[rivera2171]

Tangentially-related to ED-209.

Here's a crop from a photo of my Robocop's left elbow as it arrived two weeks ago, fresh out the box.

View attachment 162208

Here's a picture of the same elbow last night.

View attachment 162209

Besides my initial photos when I received the figure, it's been in a glass cabinet at room temperature in a museum pose. Looking closely, the rubber on that joint's lost the matte finish all the other joints have, started receding away from the joint it surrounds and is noticeably degraded compared to the right elbow.

Currently have an Amazon tab open, considering ordering some Shin-Etsu grease right now to treat all the other rubber on the figure with before it goes the same way. Would that be the best option?

Also I've contacted Collectable Kitbash and am looking into other places too to get a replacement left arm. If anyone has any recommendations of where else to look, that would be fantastic.

I could go on a long rant about how unimpressed I am that I should even have to be considering paying for industrial grease and spare parts for a brand-new £200 figure, but no-one wants to read that.

That is sad news but not suprising. I have given up relying on Hot Toys to do the right thing for the consumer. They are mainly concerned with there bottom line and if that means buying the cheaper or lower quality materials to save costs, so be it.

 

[Terry1701]

Hi mate,

I live in the UK to, had my ED209 nearly a year and did show some signs of cracking. So I used this silicon spray - https://www.amazon.co.uk/3---1-4401...qid=1422603767&sr=8-2&keywords=silicone+spray. It's good stuff stopped my dome from further cracking and I caught it just in in time before it got any worst. I give the rubber parts a spay every 6-8 weeks to begin with then it looks fine now.

Hope this helps

Terry

 

[Plastic Bateman]

That is sad news but not suprising. I have given up relying on Hot Toys to do the right thing for the consumer. They are mainly concerned with there bottom line and if that means buying the cheaper or lower quality materials to save costs, so be it.

Now I know anything I buy from them involving rubber is going to be a serious risk, I'm probably only going to consider such figures if I can get them very cheap, source replacement parts or obtain them second-hand.

To compound matters, while I'm a fairly new member on this board I've been collecting toys for a very long time. I've got various items from Japanese companies - mecha, character figures, etc - some of which are over 20 years old and have moving rubber parts, which still look brand new with zero maintenance. Would love to know what Hot Toys's excuse is.

Hi mate,

I live in the UK to, had my ED209 nearly a year and did show some signs of cracking. So I used this silicon spray - 3-in-1 44015 3 in 1 Silicone Spray: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools. It's good stuff stopped my dome from further cracking and I caught it just in in time before it got any worst. I give the rubber parts a spay every 6-8 weeks to begin with then it looks fine now.

Hope this helps

Terry

Thanks, Terry. I ended up ordering a tube of Shin-Etsu grease yesterday afternoon, the rubber degradation's happening so quickly on that elbow I want something in-hand before the rest of the figure goes the same way

Thanks to some help from another member of the boards, I also picked up a replacement arm from Hong Kong. All in all it's costing about £60 to set things right. I think it's fair to say I'm pretty PO'd over this. Had nothing but good experiences with my HT Iron Man figures.

 

[Plastic Bateman]

I'm in the process of cancelling Robocop. Just can't be doing with the stress of ownership!

I was never a huge fan of the films but I do like the character and his expanded universe potential with regard to Hot Toys' Terminators.

Something's up with Hot Toy's supply of rubber to be degrading that quickly on figures that haven't even been left in poses to cause stress.

Even coating the rubber that you can get at might not prevent degradation on the underside and areas you can't reach.

I don't know why they didn't use black plastic joints as they would be pretty unobtrusive with the sculpted detail on them.

I can kind of understand the use of rubbers and vinyls, it makes the figure very accurate to the prop suit - but I'll take something that won't decay before my eyes over that any day of the week. Maybe I should have just bought the Figma version

Very impressed by the place I bought that Shin-Etsu grease from, it was quoted to arrive on the 4th but it turned up this morning. Will be prepping for surgery later today. Is there any specific guide to applying it or do I just massage into the rubber with a fingertip/q-tip and wipe away the excess?

 

[toyrewind]

Very impressed by the place I bought that Shin-Etsu grease from, it was quoted to arrive on the 4th but it turned up this morning. Will be prepping for surgery later today. Is there any specific guide to applying it or do I just massage into the rubber with a fingertip/q-tip and wipe away the excess?

Hope this helps.

 

[Spanbauer]

So I've had my ED-209 on display for over 3 months now (14 weeks to be exact). I've applied nothing to the dome whatsoever, but have been checking it weekly under extreme light (the flash of my iPhone). There are no signs whatsoever of deterioration and the rubber feels exactly as it did the day I took it out of the box.

Maybe one day it will start to dry out and crack, but at this point it seems extremely likely that there was simply a bad batch of ED's at the very beginning of production who deteriorated in a matter of weeks/months instead of lasting years. I mean when was the last time there was an actual NEW report of a cracking ED-209? Its been many, many months if I'm not mistaken. Again hopefully I'm not jinxing myself here, but I think those of us whose ED's haven't cracked by this point are in the clear for the foreseeable future, and I don't believe the grease was necessary.

 

[kl241]

I have the original ED and mine was fine for months, then over a year later it started cracking. Eventually it WILL crack. I think climate has a major affect on the rate of deterioration. Just keep checking it regularly (weekly if not daily) and the first sign of cracking grab a bottle of Modge Podge.

 

[Grimlockisking]

so what are the best ones to buy to prevent cracking and is there a post with links to them? Just got mine yesterday and want to make sure I prevent it if at all possible

 

[kl241]

Lube with Shinitsu silicon grease for prevention. Modge Podge if it shows signs of cracking.

Also, there's a guy on ebay selling plastic replacement domes that can be covered with speaker fabric. Kind of pricey if you ask me, however it is a more permanent solution.

 

[Badvermin]

Lube with Shinitsu silicon grease for prevention. Modge Podge if it shows signs of cracking.

Also, there's a guy on ebay selling plastic replacement domes that can be covered with speaker fabric. Kind of pricey if you ask me, however it is a more permanent solution.

Yeah... that auction is a bit bizarre. Why didn't he cast the dome with the texture? If I were selling replacement domes, they would come textured, black and cost half as much.

 

[a-dev]

He's a member here.

Also that's a solution for the older ED-209 release. I could do with it, I'm just not sure my desire to fix it amounts to quite that much.

 

[P.]

plastic replacement domes that can be covered with speaker fabric.

which is completely inaccurate, as movie ED has it metal-shining.

 

[fosing]

if it was me, the dome would be converted to a functional speakers, and you can see to dolby switch on the side...and as for the soundclip gimmick, i'd tape over r2d2's bleeps instead.