5 years out

[fireflyguy]

I was just thinking the other day that we are now 5 years out from the 25th line being released. I was thinking back to my childhood, and the figures that I had for 5 years had taken quite a beating. Paint had worn off, hands and/or thumbs were missing, and joints were loose. So I was wondering how your modern era figures were looking 5 years after release.

Of course, there are some differences between then and now:
-- different plastic used
-- different paint (?)
-- I don't play with my figures everyday
-- I'm an adult so I take better care of my figures

Buti was wondering if, over 5 years you'll have seen any quality issues as a result of time. No doubt that figures produced in 2007 look meager compared to those produced during the PoC line.

[DarkHorse]

I've still got ARAH figures that I bought as a kid and are in great condition even after being thrown off cliffs, into rivers and through mud etc.

Some still look good as new.

[AirborneRigger]

Pristine mint! Can't say the same for a lot of my ARAH stuff that I had after 5 years. Most of my ARAH figures have worn paint, some loose joints, and have had multiple o-ring replacement surgeries, lol.

[sbartek1974]

A couple of my 25th figures have loose legs. They just swing all over the place.

[Hawkeye]

A lot of the figures I bought seem to have been disassembled, Frankensteined together and then painted for some odd reason.

Other than that, no complaints.

[cobracobra]

Yeah most of my 25th figures are in little bags. Little itty ditty bags to be exact about the situation.

My Wraith is losing its color a little bit. My Star Wars figures from 2002-2005 are warped and yellowed which is too bad but besides that I am ok with the condition of my collection.

[Gilgamesh51]

What will my Joes be like 5 years from now?

Dusty!

I have my entire PoC collection stored in one big bookcase in my office room. They just stand there looking awesome, and collect dust! So in 5 years, I'd say they would just get dustier, even though I dust that case about once every 2 months.

However, I do have all my PoC doubles and 30th figs stored in snaplock bins so I have easier access playing and posing them. These figures see more action than not, espeically since a bulk of them are troop builders from both sides. I don't play every day, but when I do its for a bit, and I usually drink while I do this, so I really only see them getting looser joints over time. I don't really crash them together so I'm not worried about paint chips, this appiles to my vehicles too.

[Kaboomskie]

I have my collection stored in a display cabinet...I don't really play with 'em, just display, pose and take some pics so hopefully they will still be in good shape 5 years from today.

[jeffafa]

Yeah most of my 25th figures are in little bags. Little itty ditty bags to be exact about the situation.

My Wraith is losing its color a little bit. My Star Wars figures from 2002-2005 are warped and yellowed which is too bad but besides that I am ok with the condition of my collection.
I am in the same boat with the bags. Without much display room, most new figs go straight into a baggie and into a box under my bed.lol
I have a bunch of yellowing Star Wars too. Which really sucks since they have pretty much been in storage for a decade now. I cant think of why they are yellowing for the life of me. Never had them displayed in direct sunlight. Figs from 97 to 01. And a lot of the time its just the bubble thats yellowing and not the fig itself, which is better I guess. The weirdest thing is that it is just random carded figures yellowing. I had a Darth Maul signed by Ray Park in a star case that the bubble yellowed - broke my heart.

[FlintWO2]

My stuff is pretty much display only, which I have on shelves and dioramas. So after 5 years they still look and feel exactly the same. My son is 7 and beats the tar out of his toys. I have bought him several of the 25th toys, and I can happily say they hold up pretty well. His favorite figure is the 25th BAT, which he plays with all the time, and it still looks like new. The only thing I have noticed with his toys is the legs get a little loose.

[MonkeyBoyZ]

A lot of the figures from my childhood were shared with my brother and those did not fair so well. Once he discovered other hobbies and I was given complete control I discovered that I am apparently suffering from a GI Joe OCD of some sort. Figures stopped losing thumbs and crotches. I kept the figures in one container and the accessories in another which made it so I didn't lose any. My modern figures get the same treatment and if I feel the need to modify something beyond little adjustments, like POC Recondos head/neck, I will purchase another to keep it in pristine condition.
My son's GI Jos figures have been played with hard. He is only 5 and he loves them. The softer plastic means fewer breaks but the joints still seem to wear and losen. It looks at this point that the modern figures could wear a little better than the ARAH figures just by crotches and thumbs alone. The paint wear looks similar, though. He has only been playing with them for about 2 years, though, and mostly with supervision until this year.

[hahoo3]

The 25th line was/is Awesome!! It brought me back to my childhood when going to stores looking for ARAH. I had an adrenaline rush every store I went into! I got a little of that w/ the POC figs, but not much since then.

[CobraOfficer999]

Most of my 25th are MOC. The ARAH figs I had as a kid, however, are mostly well played with. I have 11 male cousins, we were all so rough with our toys that most were missing, broken, or worn out. I was one of the older cousins. We passed most of our figs on to the younger guys.

[MeLikeJinx]

25th does look kinda dated when compared to POC, but since they were ARAH updates to begin with it sorta makes sense that they look dated IMO. Also, I'll take my 25th Joes over POC/30th Joes any day. Notice... I only said Joes... 30th Vipers and Blueshirts destroy the 25th versions. LOL.

[Zarana]

I've blown them all up with firecrackers.

[wormser]

impossible to tell without playing with them as much as i did with my o ring figs

[orezona]

A couple of my 25th figures have loose legs. They just swing all over the place.

2 days with a toddler loosened up the legs real nice-like on one of my 25th Cobra Troopers from the first Legions pack.

Once the little gasket thingy in the thighs that the t-bar ball joint sits in gets worn, things get loosey-goosey very quickly.

I'd be MORE worried about the durability of the Retaliation line with the softer plastic used... especially the knees.

[steve_smmr]

my trubble bubble's canopy is pee yellow now.... as are my v1 storm shadow and v1 firefly from the 25th line. everything else has held up pretty well.

though, the plastic used on the black cockpit fins on the conquest and some of the clear canopy plastic from the skyhawk and rattler are turning more of a rough texture and not as smooth as they once were.

[SpawnNazxul]

I am in the process of selling the rest of my 25th figures.

[Venomfang]

though, the plastic used on the black cockpit fins on the conquest

Irrelevant, but those are called canards :)