Any Bubble Optimists out there?

[subzero]

Gus Lopez addressed this at Celebration last year. He's had mint, ex shop stock figures tucked away in a dark closet for years. They discoloured over time just as badly as one that had seen the light of day. There are also cases of people opening sealed stock, like Hoth Wampas expecting to find pristine examples to U Grade etc... and they're just as yellow.

Yeah, this is my experience too. I bought some "Generations" Star Trek (OK, leave it) figures when they were a quid each in about '97. I stuck them away in a box and they've been there ever since. Never seen the light of day since bought. I dug them out about a week ago and two have gone yellow and the rest remained clear. They had all the same environmental factors, were packaged at the same time in the same factory with (I'm in no doubt) bubbles made of the same exact material. I think there must be something inside the bubble which is causing the yellowing, or perhaps lack of air if these seals are better than the others? Who the hell knows. Point is there's nothing that can be done to stop plastics like these deteriorate. They weren't made to last and it's a happy chance when something looks good 40 years after it was made.

Do you think it could be possible those two had bubbles put on from a different batch of bubbles? They might have been put together in the same factory as the clear bubble ones, but different bubble batches might have had slight variations in the chemicals added into them when the plastic was formed. A factory can have several different batches of materials that workers all grab from the same warehouse.

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

Gus Lopez addressed this at Celebration last year. He's had mint, ex shop stock figures tucked away in a dark closet for years. They discoloured over time just as badly as one that had seen the light of day. There are also cases of people opening sealed stock, like Hoth Wampas expecting to find pristine examples to U Grade etc... and they're just as yellow.

Yeah, this is my experience too. I bought some "Generations" Star Trek (OK, leave it) figures when they were a quid each in about '97. I stuck them away in a box and they've been there ever since. Never seen the light of day since bought. I dug them out about a week ago and two have gone yellow and the rest remained clear. They had all the same environmental factors, were packaged at the same time in the same factory with (I'm in no doubt) bubbles made of the same exact material. I think there must be something inside the bubble which is causing the yellowing, or perhaps lack of air if these seals are better than the others? Who the hell knows. Point is there's nothing that can be done to stop plastics like these deteriorate. They weren't made to last and it's a happy chance when something looks good 40 years after it was made.

Do you think it could be possible those two had bubbles put on from a different batch of bubbles? They might have been put together in the same factory as the clear bubble ones, but different bubble batches might have had slight variations in the chemicals added into them when the plastic was formed. A factory can have several different batches of materials that workers all grab from the same warehouse.

Yeah, it's entirely possible. Probable, even. But without a chemical analysis of the plastic I guess we'll never know.

 

[Dannywhiteley]

In reply to the star trek bubbles yelowing, which two actually yellowed ie where they specific characters with a certain sized bubble? I agree could well be a different batch. Unless of course it was a whole box of identical figures and for some random reason just two chose to yellow.

What's the character break down in the box and was it the only examples of a specific character that yellowed?

 

[Awl Skulkerkey]

I do printing. We get printable vinyl on rolls (sticky back plastic). When we do a job we will never print a job on two seperately supplied rolls of vinyl because of print colour issues/problems. Two different batches can have two different results. Maybe this could explain a seamingley innocent 'Batch A of Figures' having variations in bubble colours?