The end of the MOCs' World- It cometh?

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They say that everything must begin and everything must end. They say the universe' energy will dissipate to naught in an entrophic flow. Personally I think that could be bollocks but we'll see. But I was wondering should we be worried about MOCs?-

At what point will the glue lose its stickyness and the bubbles simply fall off?

If we left a MOC for an indefinite period of time would this happen?

How long would it take and what steps can we take to prolong the lifetime of our beloved?

Even if a case provides 99% protection for a card that means that 1% is getting through, how long would it take for that card to fade and lose its markings? Will the figures also fade and lose colour? (obviously appreciate that if it's in the dark that it's not getting hit by UV, but will be subject to fluctuations in environmental heat).

Stroke your MOC, tell them that you love them, live for today.
 
Accidents aside, carded figures with firm seals will definitely outlive us and perhaps even our kids..so I don't think there is anything to worry about for now, especially if they are being taken care of properly.

Also, most figures were actually sealed using a mixture of heat and pressure only and not really glue (although it's been said there might have been some kind of solution used to aid the process it wasn't your typical glue). You can see the process of heat sealing ROTJ figures in the Palitoy factory video (24 seconds in):

[youtube]eFEX1jvSFDo[/youtube]

The seals on most cards are pretty good for their age, especially on figures produced by Kenner and Palitoy so like I said I really don't think them falling off the cards is going to be a problem any time soon.
 
Love this videos ,I bet those ladies didn't have to worry about xmas pressents
 
That YouTube clip is awesome! Not sure if the Palitoy factory part or the shop shelves got me more excited though.. just brilliant to see!
 
I agree with joe on this this as long as you look after them they will be fine.
although to be fair I have had some go very yellow with time but it never bothered
me as I purchased years ago for very little! but again star wars is far more than
just carded I don't see boxed items or other merchandise having any such
major problems! :D
 
Its all really unknown territory. Im sure no one expected these to still be around 35 years on when they were making them so longevity wouldn't have been a consideration.

I do wonder though, in years to come who will collect these. Its very much a generational thing. Most people seem to collect for nostalgia or that connection with their childhood but when that generation has gone, I can't see there being anywhere near as many collectors. Especially collections the likes of Gus Lopez and Steve Sansweet's, as I could never see collections like that being put together again.

So I sort of feel as long as my collection outlasts me, I don't really care. I will enjoy it, and if my daughter wants it, she can have it but there will be plenty of provision for her without needing it to be worth a fortune. And if all the bubbles start exploding in five years time it will not just be my collection that is affected. I will have the nicest set of hardbacks and the mintiest set of loose figures so I will just have to enjoy that instead.

It also poses the interesting question of when restoration becomes acceptable. There could be a point where these things start failing so bad restoration will be the only way to preserve them, as is the case with some important pieces of art. Practices now frowned upon may become the only way.
 
I wouldn't last a day in that factory - "one for the production line ...one for me" :lol:
 
Not sure how it can be said that Star Wars is a generational thing? OT one generation, PT another generation, Disney another generation. Yes, they may not collect original-era stuff now, but who knows what they'll collect in the future. Star Wars is iconic, and there's always been a kind of mystique regarding the 70's/80's stuff.

Someone asked a while ago the ages of collectors on SWFUK and I was pretty surprised about the range out there, it definitely wasn't a hobby restricted to 40-somethings. My 21 year old lad is interested but would rather spend all his money in the pub and on holidays (we all understand that), but there's a look in his eye that tells me he'll collect in years to come. He's already collecting some SW Lego sets from his childhood which is more in his price range.

Every so often we get a how long will MOC's last thread and my answer is always the same. How many times in the last 6 months have there been threads about MOC's spontaneously disintegrating. I can't remember one that didn't have postal services involved, and that even includes the really brittle POTF bubbles that just don't fall of the cards for no reason.

As to bubbles, yes the yellow bubbles are a pain and are probably the weak link, but the older bubbles in particular seem much more durable, and generally better quality plastic, hence the lack of yellowing on 12/20 and most ESB backs. I think they'll outlast most of us.

Unless you're tying up your pension fund in them, it's probably not an issue anyway :lol:
 
however these bubble where attached to the card, it was a lot better than todays moc as i have recently purchased quite a few rebels moc and about 4 of them have already started to come away from the card, 1 has even completely fell off. :( i have also noticed a lot in the shops have been cellotaped at top of bubble
 
Mr-shifter said:
Its all really unknown territory. Im sure no one expected these to still be around 35 years on when they were making them so longevity wouldn't have been a consideration.

I do wonder though, in years to come who will collect these. Its very much a generational thing. Most people seem to collect for nostalgia or that connection with their childhood but when that generation has gone, I can't see there being anywhere near as many collectors. Especially collections the likes of Gus Lopez and Steve Sansweet's, as I could never see collections like that being put together again.

So I sort of feel as long as my collection outlasts me, I don't really care. I will enjoy it, and if my daughter wants it, she can have it but there will be plenty of provision for her without needing it to be worth a fortune. And if all the bubbles start exploding in five years time it will not just be my collection that is affected. I will have the nicest set of hardbacks and the mintiest set of loose figures so I will just have to enjoy that instead.

It also poses the interesting question of when restoration becomes acceptable. There could be a point where these things start failing so bad restoration will be the only way to preserve them, as is the case with some important pieces of art. Practices now frowned upon may become the only way.
Click to expand...

What he just said.
 
Most of the seals on my Moc's look well sturdy. The ones with the really visible waffle look totally fused to the card, I'm not expecting them to give way anytime soon. I would expect the card to perish or the surface of the card under the glue to come away before the glue itself fails. I don't think this will be an issue for the majority of Moc's kept within a normal temperature range.
 
I think if it's a mega rare figure or already shows signs of lifting (or has a cracked bubble etc) then yes, displaying/storing it flat is the way to go.

On the more common stuff I don't think it's really necessary, it's not really something you can do on a large scale either as it has a huge impact on the overall look of a display and is also a bit demanding on space.
 
I display mine leaning back slightly, so gravity is pulling the bubble towards the card rather than away from it. Don't think it makes much difference but every little helps I spose.
 
I'd never thought about the gravity thing. Some good points.

I was just noticing that a couple of my MOCs glue seemed to have disappeared under the seal, not whilst I've had them but when I'd bought them and wondered if that was a lack of glue at factory or that at some point it just loses its stick- especially as I have a few Tris which seem to not be as well glued on IMO.
 
What glue? Nobody reads anything around here :lol:

They weren't using this stuff in the factories!

m4cLMm5UpxWAjzcTmrbKO5Q.jpg


:lol:

Heat and pressure, heat and pressure...HEAT AND PRESSURE! I even put in a video :lol:
 
Joe you seem pretty clued up on this so perhaps you can answer my query?
Do you know exactly what glue they used to stick on the bubbles? Be interested to know
 

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