Dagobah playset original foam preservation

[peekaygee73]

I've bought a really nice Dagobah playset. It has the original swamp foam which is complete and in great condition other than being damp, almost like it's 'sweating'. I know these are usually found to be dried out and crumbling, but I was wondering if anyone had come across this before or had any advice on the best way to preserve it?

 

[spoons]

Nice score - keep it damp and keep the whole base in a carrier bag to keep the moisture in. Hopefully that should work

Edit - and not a biodegradable bag, a bag for life would work

 

[peekaygee73]

Cheers Andy, will do. So I'm assuming that's a permanent thing to stop it getting any worse and the foam is going to stay damp?

 

[spoons]

I think they all decay unless they are kept in perfect controlled environment - failing that a bit of moisture should keep it from drying out and getting worse. I’m sure Lee would be able to offer a scientific solution

Good luck Paul, possibly one of the rarest Star Wars items out there!

 

[pizzathehutt]

I found a loose one years ago at a carboot sale, when I got it home the brown foam just fell off and I was able to squeeze it into a pea shaped ball of poo

 

[Snaketibe]

The problem with keeping it permanently damp will be the growth of mould. I don't have any expert advice to offer on preserving this unfortunately, but I do know that mould will usually quickly grow on a damp and dirty surface (and unless it's never been played with, the foam will have lots of dirt / fungal spores on it :-().

Hopefully someone will be able to offer you some more expert advice, but if they don't, I have just found this website which might be helpful:

https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=104745

It's an old discussion thread, and they are discussing preserving foam latex. I have no idea what exactly the foam that came with the Dagobah playset is made of (it might be foam latex, but I'm guessing probably not?), but there might be some good advice to be found above nonetheless.

Good luck!

 

[TheJabbaWookie]

It might be worth asking the previous owner as he was clearly doing something right to preserve it so well

 

[Ruby2511]

I found a loose one years ago at a carboot sale, when I got it home the brown foam just fell off and I was able to squeeze it into a pea shaped ball of poo

:lol:

 

[peekaygee73]

The problem with keeping it permanently damp will be the growth of mould. I don't have any expert advice to offer on preserving this unfortunately, but I do know that mould will usually quickly grow on a damp and dirty surface (and unless it's never been played with, the foam will have lots of dirt / fungal spores on it :-().

Hopefully someone will be able to offer you some more expert advice, but if they don't, I have just found this website which might be helpful:

https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=104745

It's an old discussion thread, and they are discussing preserving foam latex. I have no idea what exactly the foam that came with the Dagobah playset is made of (it might be foam latex, but I'm guessing probably not?), but there might be some good advice to be found above nonetheless.

Good luck!

It's a MIB playset, so all the accessories are still in baggies and it's never been used so I would hope there's minimal dirt on the foam. I'll have a look at the site you've mentioned as there could be some useful information, but foam latex is different to the spongy foam that came with the playset. I really appreciate you passing the link on though

It might be worth asking the previous owner as he was clearly doing something right to preserve it so well

Unfortunately it came from someone who was selling off their deceased partner's collection. I might get in touch with her to see if she can shed any light on how it was stored though.


I was tempted to separate the foam from the playset base, but I'd be nervous of damaging it in the process. I'll do more investigating to see what I can find but thanks for all the info guys