To reseal or not to reseal?

[tundra9]

I just noticed something has happened to my Ledy stormie....
The seal on the bubble has loosened even more than when I got it, and the tape that held the gun has almost rotted away...
I put it up on display on a forward angle(very very slightly leaning forward), so this may be why it has loosened, thought the rail supported the bubble enough to stay in place,
but apparently that wasn't enough.

I'm wondering if I should glue the bubble, and what glue should I use? Just a regular gluestick or something like that?
The problem though, lies in that the card is slightly warped so the bubble won't be glued exactly where it was originally sealed because of it,
which makes it look a bit out of place, and bending the card so it fits is too scary...

Any tips?
I hope I explained it properly....

 

[edd_jedi]

I'd leave it personally mate, having owned several before the seals are always **** and I think collectors take that in to account. But any kind of restoration always has a negative affect on value.

 

[tundra9]

Yeah I get that, but would really hate for the bubble to fall off completely though...
And displaying it flat doesn't exactly look too good...

 

[shawn_k]

Not sure if this might be an option or not, but I recently picked up a Loose Ledy Luke Jedi and I have a cardback with the bubble still intact. I've seen AFA do this and I'm going to see if Oscar can do the same by installing some rails in a case around the bubble area. The figure would then still display like a MOC and hopefully the bubble wouldn't incur any more damage and more importantly it would be completely reversible.

Here's a thread on TIG showing a VCJ that AFA did these rails with.

 

[Grant_C]

That's a sweet looking job on the Jawa. Maybe that's your best option.

 

[tundra9]

Thanks Shawn, that doesn't look too bad!
Would appreciate if you let me know how it goes with Oscar and how much it would cost!

 

[edd_jedi]

I don't think it would be possible with an Oscars case - the whole point of them is you can open them up and don't have to send him your MOC. That AFA one has clearly been made around the bubble, which it would have to be for such a good fit. So I think AFA would be your only option.

 

[Joe]

You can get AFA to make custom cases like that which have an opening, I asked about one last year as I didn't want it to be graded.

The problem is you really have to be super exact with your measurements and it may be a very fiddly job if your bubble and card are separate.

Jorn - I wouldn't reseal it if I were you and try instead to do something with the case as Shawn suggested - good luck!

 

[BlueDog]

This may sound weird coming from someone with a reseal collection but I would definitely go with the case option for a piece like yours Jorn. All of mine have been previously opened to the point the figure could be removed or had no figure at all when I acquired them so I had no problem with reattaching the bubble.

In a case like your Ledy it's such a cool item and the figure has never been removed so as said above it's more a case of preservation while you can than resealing.

I reckon the case in the link is an awesome idea and if I ever came across a significant item in similar condition it's certainly a great option.

 

[BlueDog]

I've never seen an acrylic case up close to know how they are made but could you customise a case to suit your own needs?

Something similar to this kind of setup maybe with some sort of cloth/felt tips to protect the surface of the seal. Might be a cheaper option and you could adjust it until you had a perfect fit.

 

[tundra9]

Not a bad idea Ryan, but where to acquire acrylic pillars..or something like it that is more or less transparent..

 

[steesh]

You can buy lengths of acyrlic in varying lengths and diameters. I used some for at at chin guns. I used a dremel to cut it to length I needed. Think I bought 1m 6mm diameter for about £6 from ebay.

 

[tundra9]

Thanks steesh, will have a look!

 

[Joe]

And if you can't work with a sliding bottom case I believe you can get sliding back cases which might make putting the card in on a modified case a little easier?

 

[tundra9]

I have a sliding back case I'll do my best to modify, so we'll see how that fares.

Thanks for the tips guys, appreciated!

 

[Frunkstar]

You may want to give Steve @ UKG a call as he got acrylic rods in for me to do the new style baggie cases, & he would also be able to sort you out the correct adhesive to affix the rods :wink:

 

[Lee77]

You may want to give Steve @ UKG a call as he got acrylic rods in for me to do the new style baggie cases, & he would also be able to sort you out the correct adhesive to affix the rods :wink:

As the big man says!
Steve will custom make a case to suit it. Only problem is making sure the bubble doesn't come away whilst it's being shipped.

 

[tundra9]

You may want to give Steve @ UKG a call as he got acrylic rods in for me to do the new style baggie cases, & he would also be able to sort you out the correct adhesive to affix the rods :wink:

[As the big man says!
Steve will custom make a case to suit it. Only problem is making sure the bubble doesn't come away whilst it's being shipped.

Yeah, not too big on shipping it anywhere in the state it's in right now.
Might give Steve a call on the rods and adhesive though, so we'll see what happens, cheers guys!

 

[batman]

As a cheap malternative you could use a 6x9 toploader , cut out a slot in the shape of the bubble on the open side and slide your moc in.This will keep the bubble in place and protect the cardback at the same time.
You could also use a thin sheet of styrene , cut it to the size of the cardback , cut out the shape of the bubble place it over your moc and slide the whole thing into an acrylic case.

 

[flycasual]

I noticed that the corner of my Imp Dig was lifting slightly when I bought him ... having just checked him out, I can see that it has spread ever so slightly.

I'm thinking of buying some strip magnets to put all the way around the bubble to hopefully stop it spreading any further. It might look a bit ugly, but I would rather that than the bubble slowly coming off.