Just got a PF Captain America - need advice

[steve_fab]

Hi everyone.

I'm still new here and trying to catch up to the amazing collections that a lot of you have Needless to say I have a lot of work ahead of me.

I recently picked up a Sideshow Premium Format Regular Captain America and it finally came in today. I paid quite a bit for this guy and it is my first PF piece.

So I opened the box and immediately knew something was odd. The entire piece was already assembled minus the base. I was afraid there might be some damage but everything look ok (phew!).

However I did notice that the front of his shirt was a bit messed up. Specifically the area with the alternating white and red stripes. I took a pretty lousy picture of this with my phone so you guys could see what I was talking about.

My guess is that the item was on display and they just packed it up once I bought in online. I was hoping someone could offer me some advice on how to clean this up (if it's even possible!). I guess this is better than having something broken, but at the same time given the amount of money I spent I was hoping for an item in mint condition. Online they did say it was brand new and I'd hate to send it back since they don't even have another one to give me in exchange.

I'm thinking there should be a way for me to clean this up but I'll be honest - I'm a complete noob when it comes to these things and I'm scared out of my mind to wreck it even more.

Your suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Steve

 

[emceerice]

What do you mean it came already assembled minus the base...If I remember correctly, the shield was the only piece that needed to be put on. The base and the protruding metal part were the only other disassembled parts. So you should be okay there.

As for cleaning, can't really tell what that stuff is on his chest, but a fine brush (I use the ones they use for cleaning camera lenses) should help with anything on his cloth. But from here, it looks like stuff got smudged on it :/

 

[Natrix]

If it is a non exclusive, the statue should be in one piece from what I remember.

The cloth rubs were pretty common even coming from the factory. I have two exclusives that came direct from Sideshow and they both have that to some degree. The one non exclusive I bought second hand also had the same issue.

 

[steve_fab]

I think I was mis-informed about the statue already being assembled. For some reason I had thought I needed to attach the head an shield arm but from what I'm hearing it sounds like that isn't the case - at least not with the regular version.

Seems like the cloth may have rubbed up against the interior foam which created that "smudge" effect. It's a shame because the picture on the box looks so crisp! Probably photo-shopped

I hope I get over it - everytime I look up at the guy my eye is drawn to that damn smudge. Maybe I should just tell myself it's a weathering effect - haha.

I'll see if anyone else has any other ideas but I guess I should play it safe and not try to use a tide pen or soap + water right?

Thanks for the replies!
Steve

 

[Skiman]

Is it dirt or is the red fading, looks like a fade from rubbing?

 

[Mesa]

looks like rubbing, which may be more permanent and just have to live with it. Some people think that piece of tissue wrapping the figure is just for show and toss it after originally opening the item, and don't both to replace it when selling it off again. Anytime I sell a piece, if the tissue isn't in the box, I get a piece to use it to wrap the statue. Saves headaches like this.

 

[Natrix]

looks like rubbing, which may be more permanent and just have to live with it. Some people think that piece of tissue wrapping the figure is just for show and toss it after originally opening the item, and don't both to replace it when selling it off again. Anytime I sell a piece, if the tissue isn't in the box, I get a piece to use it to wrap the statue. Saves headaches like this.

Cap doesn't come with tissue wrap though (for the main body), just a plastic bag over the statue.

 

[Reefer Shark]

I just got mine today (finally), and it has the exact same thing along with a few other minor blemishes here and there. The biggest is on his left elbow,looks pretty dirty with a little red rub. Also, one of the wings on his exclusive head is a bt tweaked

Paid a ton for this, and it was a month long proccess with the seller to finally get it. Sucks, but I'm probably going to have to just live with it. This thing is a monster, and I'm just sick of dealing with the seller to be honest.

I was thnking about doing a once over with a lint roller, maybe that'll help wth some of the dirty smudges?

 

[Bodie The Cursed]

Throw it hard against a wall...

 

[emceerice]

Lint rollers seem to be a tad too unforgiving, so I don't use em. Probably won't help too much with the smudges anyway...might just have to live with it

 

[filip629]

Throw it hard against a wall...

Yeah.....after all it's only a PF. Wouldn't have that problem if Cap was a comiquette.

 

[nash]

THat is a common problem on most captain america PFs. I think it's due to the fabric being stretched over the polystone body, and the red seems to get a faded look to it. Luckily my caps never had that problem but ive heard of quite a bit of people who does.

Yet another reason why I hate PFs and rather have them fully sculpted. the cloth continues to cheapen the pieces even though they are still nice, they are not up to the full potential as fully sculpted statue would be.

 

[filip629]

THat is a common problem on most captain america PFs. I think it's due to the fabric being stretched over the polystone body, and the red seems to get a faded look to it. Luckily my caps never had that problem but ive heard of quite a bit of people who does.

Yet another reason why I hate PFs and rather have them fully sculpted. the cloth continues to cheapen the pieces even though they are still nice, they are not up to the full potential as fully sculpted statue would be.

Amen Nash!

 

[Reefer Shark]

THat is a common problem on most captain america PFs. I think it's due to the fabric being stretched over the polystone body, and the red seems to get a faded look to it. Luckily my caps never had that problem but ive heard of quite a bit of people who does.

Yet another reason why I hate PFs and rather have them fully sculpted. the cloth continues to cheapen the pieces even though they are still nice, they are not up to the full potential as fully sculpted statue would be.

hell yeah - wish they were all fully sculpted too. Really glad they're going this route with Venom and not fabric.

I'm sure the fabric on lots of these PF's will rot after a long time anyway

 

[worstgamerever]

Hi everyone.

I'm still new here and trying to catch up to the amazing collections that a lot of you have Needless to say I have a lot of work ahead of me.

I recently picked up a Sideshow Premium Format Regular Captain America and it finally came in today. I paid quite a bit for this guy and it is my first PF piece.

So I opened the box and immediately knew something was odd. The entire piece was already assembled minus the base. I was afraid there might be some damage but everything look ok (phew!).

However I did notice that the front of his shirt was a bit messed up. Specifically the area with the alternating white and red stripes. I took a pretty lousy picture of this with my phone so you guys could see what I was talking about.

My guess is that the item was on display and they just packed it up once I bought in online. I was hoping someone could offer me some advice on how to clean this up (if it's even possible!). I guess this is better than having something broken, but at the same time given the amount of money I spent I was hoping for an item in mint condition. Online they did say it was brand new and I'd hate to send it back since they don't even have another one to give me in exchange.

I'm thinking there should be a way for me to clean this up but I'll be honest - I'm a complete noob when it comes to these things and I'm scared out of my mind to wreck it even more.

Your suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Steve

Welcome Steve! If the Cap PF's your first then you must have a taste for the finer pieces... so, can we see ya laundry list!??!

How much did you pay for Cap? If shipping isn't that big of a deal and you can get it back to the seller, and get a refund without too much hassle, then I really wouldn't worry about not finding another Cap regular as they show up quite frequently on eBay... and the pricing is quite reasonable too.

About the stain, well it is quite noticeable and I understand how annoying it is since the seller -- who could have opened to inspect -- sold it to you as "mint"

It'll be quite tricky cleaning this one as the paint rub might only get worse if the cloth gets wet...

Anyone else had experience cleaning up a similar stain on Cap?

 

[nash]

It's not a stain, the color is faded

 

[worstgamerever]

It's not a stain, the color is faded

Eh? Sorry I must not have looked closely enough... it did look like a stain from the pic Steve put up

 

[rustyboy]

It's not a stain, the color is faded

Does that mean after time, all the fabric on PFs will have this discoloration effect?

 

[steve_fab]

Thanks for all the replies guys! To be honest I cannot completely tell what the heck the problem is. To the naked eye it looks almost like his shirt got rolled around in the dirt because the white area look almost a little brownish. However I think that the explanation of rubbing against the foam seems to make since - it's just a shame since besides this I think it's an amazing item.

As for my laundry list - haha. I have a PF Thor coming my way (at some point I hope) and I've also picked up a spiderman, indy, hellboy. Of course right now I only have the Cap in-hand.

These suckers are HUGE! I never expected the box to be so big and the piece inside so heavy. Space is quickly becoming an issue and for now Cap is put at the very top of this heavy wooden tower that I have on each side of my tv.

I wake up each day and almost feel like an addict. Instead of enjoying the pieces I already have, I find myself going online (here mainly) to see if I can get the next one! I already have my eye on a PF Anakin.

I'd better stop before I get into debt! Each time I tell myself - just this last one and I'll be happy ... except that was 5 statues ago!

 

[Skiman]

I just got mine today (finally), and it has the exact same thing along with a few other minor blemishes here and there. The biggest is on his left elbow,looks pretty dirty with a little red rub. Also, one of the wings on his exclusive head is a bt tweaked

Paid a ton for this, and it was a month long proccess with the seller to finally get it. Sucks, but I'm probably going to have to just live with it. This thing is a monster, and I'm just sick of dealing with the seller to be honest.

I was thnking about doing a once over with a lint roller, maybe that'll help wth some of the dirty smudges?

Maybe one of those whitey pens or whatever you use to get dirt stains on white cloth would work. There's gotta be a way to touch these lil spots up.