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03-18-2019, 12:27 AM | #1 |
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: San Diego
Posts: 15
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Hello Hisstank!
I was wondering if there any any tips on how to prvent elbow cracks on vintage Joes. I find that every time I go through my Joe collection, I notice that some Joes have developed elbow cracks that weren’t there over the last 6-12 months. Any way to minimize this? Maybe storing arms bent vs straight? Using some plastic polish? Thanks! |
03-18-2019, 04:23 AM | #2 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: ̶S̶a̶i̶t̶a̶m̶a̶,̶ ̶J̶a̶p̶a̶n
Posts: 1,473
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I'm not expert, but I think the consensus was there's really nothing we can do about it. The pressure from 30 years of plastic on rivets just makes em snap. I see more and more in my collection too, toys I haven't touched for years.
I wish I had a better answer but unless some chemical engineer chimes in, it's just one of those sad facts of life. These things will all deteriorate. I have a MIB, never even seen the outside world Cobra Comannder v1 and his leg has discolored green. Like Tyler Durden said, "Even the Mona Lisa is falling apart." Just enjoy them all while we still can!! |
03-18-2019, 08:12 AM | #3 |
Commando
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Italy
Posts: 426
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I think that plastic polish could help preserve from the ravages of time
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"sturdy construction for rugged play" ____________________________________ .....always looking for Italian MOC figure.......... |
03-18-2019, 10:45 AM | #4 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: May 2015
Location: CT
Posts: 2,052
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Have you noticed the elbow cracks on specific figures or figures from a certain a year? The dreaded cracked elbow is my biggest let down/pet peeve since I got back into the vintage era Joes and I somewhat regret going full vintage and letting go of my sizable modern era collection. But as Otomo said there is nothing that can really be done. As a stop gap you could always just search for intact pieces on ebay and swap out the cracked arms.
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03-18-2019, 10:55 AM | #5 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Iowa
Posts: 4,255
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US releases from 1988-1989 are very prone to it.
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03-18-2019, 12:54 PM | #6 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: May 2015
Location: CT
Posts: 2,052
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That is what I have noticed too. I'd carry that over to the 90's figures as well - most Salvo, Rampart,Range Viper, Bull Horn and Top Side figures I see on Ebay seem to all have cracked elbows. The white stress marks don't bug me as much because it doesn't seem like the elbows will actually crack in most cases (speaking from experience with my collection - not sure if that is true across the board).
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03-24-2019, 05:03 PM | #7 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Northamptonshire
Posts: 100
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There really is nothing you can do... I have a MOC Python Patrol Viper with cracked elbows, and my MOC Alley Viper has a cracked elbow too... they'll all succumb eventually. That's why as a collector, I don't really pay it too much mind. You could pay extra for a figure with no elbow cracks, only to have them crack a month after you own it or something.
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03-24-2019, 06:54 PM | #8 |
Hisstank.Com General
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Cobra Island & Massachusetts
Posts: 6,378
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One of my biggest pet peeves with rebuilding my vintage collection is sellers who will say a figure is Mint and dont mention one or both elbows are cracked. It is a break for petes sake nothing is mint with a break.
Like most have said I dont think there is much that can be done to stop it. The best recourse is just swapping the arms out. I noticed this was happening in my collection which was stored in a climate controlled setting and untouched for years. Even carded figures were susceptible to it. This was one of the reasons I sold off my vintage figures and really began digging into the Modern Era now I kick myself in the ass for letting them go. It seems 87-90 or 91 are more prone to have the issue the older figures but it can happen to just about any figure.
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03-24-2019, 07:35 PM | #9 |
Cobra necromancer
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Central Wisconsin
Posts: 2,665
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Around 2009 when I was getting my undergrad degree at Purdue, I went to talk to one of my chemistry professors in his office. When I saw that he had a number of ARAH figures up on display in his office, we got to talking about G.I. Joe. He said that a lot has changed in the understanding of plastics even since the 80’s and 90’s and that unfortunately most of the older G.I. Joe figures (and figures from other toy lines from the same period) are doomed to gradually disintegrate. There’s really no way to stop that process as it is a chemical change, but obviously doing things like keeping your figures in a cool, dry environment free from UV light can extend their lifetime.
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03-24-2019, 09:59 PM | #10 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: May 2015
Location: CT
Posts: 2,052
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Quote:
One of my biggest pet peeves with rebuilding my vintage collection is sellers who will say a figure is Mint and dont mention one or both elbows are cracked. It is a break for petes sake nothing is mint with a break.
Like most have said I dont think there is much that can be done to stop it. The best recourse is just swapping the arms out. I noticed this was happening in my collection which was stored in a climate controlled setting and untouched for years. Even carded figures were susceptible to it. This was one of the reasons I sold off my vintage figures and really began digging into the Modern Era now I kick myself in the ass for letting them go. It seems 87-90 or 91 are more prone to have the issue the older figures but it can happen to just about any figure. It does seem the 87-90 Joes are just much more vulnerable to the elbow cracking. I have about 10 or so remaining figures I want to get and they are mostly from these years and most of the ones I come across on Ebay have one or both elbows cracked. \ Salvo, Top Side, Rampart, Lightfoot, Hardball, Capt Grid Iron, Bull Horn, Range Viper, Laser Viper, Frag Viper, Python Patrol etc. all seem to be much more prone to the elbow cracks. Quote:
Around 2009 when I was getting my undergrad degree at Purdue, I went to talk to one of my chemistry professors in his office. When I saw that he had a number of ARAH figures up on display in his office, we got to talking about G.I. Joe. He said that a lot has changed in the understanding of plastics even since the 80’s and 90’s and that unfortunately most of the older G.I. Joe figures (and figures from other toy lines from the same period) are doomed to gradually disintegrate. There’s really no way to stop that process as it is a chemical change, but obviously doing things like keeping your figures in a cool, dry environment free from UV light can extend their lifetime.
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