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Collectibles => Vintage Kenner => Topic started by: Morgbug on November 9, 2005, 10:42 PM

Title: What causes fading/greying of figures in package?
Post by: Morgbug on November 9, 2005, 10:42 PM
Here's a Vader with the head faded (http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Star-Wars-CARDED-12-Back-DARTH-VADER-MOC_W0QQitemZ6010192204QQcategoryZ50271QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) I'm referring to.  I'm curious what causes this in such a specific and limited part of the figure.  I've seen it on numerous figures of late and mostly they seem to be on twelve backs or at least Star Wars carded figures.

Anyone out there help?
Title: Re: What causes fading/greying of figures in package?
Post by: CorranHorn on November 9, 2005, 11:00 PM
Wow I have never seen so much frosting on a figure before. The consensus is that the frosting is actually mold, likely due to a small amount of moisture entering the bubble at some point during the figure's lifetime.

RocketJawa has a simple fix for it on his restoration site...
http://www.hamstudios.com/starwars/fuzz.htm
Title: Re: What causes fading/greying of figures in package?
Post by: Morgbug on November 9, 2005, 11:03 PM
Huh, interesting.  I would have guessed it was fading rather than mold.  Since I work with a pathologist, I'm darn tempted to get hold of one of these figures (obviously on a beat up card and much less valuable figure) and let him see if he can culture it out and identify it. 

I've seen worse figures on ebay but didn't realize there was a potential safe and quick fix for it.  Thanks Jason.
Title: Re: What causes fading/greying of figures in package?
Post by: DSJ™ on November 9, 2005, 11:04 PM
Yep, thats what I have heard. Fungus!  :-\
Title: Re: What causes fading/greying of figures in package?
Post by: john todd on November 9, 2005, 11:31 PM
i always think that is weird when someone puts in their auction that getting rid or frosting or stickers or whatever is an easy fix, but they don't do it in advance so that they get more bids.

it would be interesting to know exactly what kind of spore that is and where it goes after you put it in the sun.
Title: Re: What causes fading/greying of figures in package?
Post by: Morgbug on November 9, 2005, 11:55 PM
Yep, I'm very, very curious.  Fungi are living organisms.  The sunlight excuse is reasonable enough to kill them, but dead things just don't vanish without a trace, at least not that quick. 
Title: Re: What causes fading/greying of figures in package?
Post by: JesseVader08 on November 10, 2005, 12:25 AM
i always think that is weird when someone puts in their auction that getting rid or frosting or stickers or whatever is an easy fix, but they don't do it in advance so that they get more bids.

I was thinking the exact same thing, john.  But I'd guess that he's afraid of damaging the card by attempting to remove the mold, so he'd rather the buyer attempted it.  If the card is ruined, he stands to lose a lot more than he may gain. 
Title: Re: What causes fading/greying of figures in package?
Post by: Morgbug on November 10, 2005, 11:20 AM
Yeah, but if you read the instructions from the link Jason provided, it says 15-60 minutes max for the problem to resolve itself.  I can't possibly imagine any fading or discoloration occuring that quickly to the cardback or the plastic itself.  It might be enough to trigger discoloration in the plastic, but that's not instantaneous either.  And if you cover the cardback as the instructions indicate you aren't going to get anything happening regardless to that part of the unit, so the only concern is the bubble itself. 

I'm sure you could resolve the "mold" issue, snap a pic, run the auction, ship and deliver the item and receive good feedback well before any sort of discoloration started, if it even ever did, given the extremely limited time of exposure to the sun. 

Title: Re: What causes fading/greying of figures in package?
Post by: Andy_R on November 10, 2005, 04:14 PM
I can confirm that the sunlight method works extremely well. 
I have used it on carded figures as well as baggie figures. 

Andy
Title: Re: What causes fading/greying of figures in package?
Post by: ruiner on November 17, 2005, 01:27 PM
It makes sense (the fungus issue).  Figures sitting in a damp, dark environment are prone to weird things growing on them!

I have a SW 12 back (Vader) and his head is very "fuzzy." 

I am very tempted to try the sunlight procedure, it really can't hurt unless you leave it in direct sunlight for days.

Title: Re: What causes fading/greying of figures in package?
Post by: JesseVader08 on November 17, 2005, 02:21 PM
It's interesting that this seems more common on the head of the figure, rather than the entire body (at least from what I've seen online lately).  I wonder if the plastic or paint used on the face is treated somewhat differently that encourages the growth of this fungus.
Title: Re: What causes fading/greying of figures in package?
Post by: CorranHorn on November 19, 2005, 06:06 PM
Well I got to see this figure up close today. It turns out it's Legends Action Figures in Montreal who is selling the item. The buyer must not have paid for it yet, as it still on display way in the back of the store.  I got a rather close look at it in the display and  the mold is actually rather thick on the head, maybe 1/10th of an inch thick with a very gritty surface. The rest of the figure looks just fine though, it's really an odd effect, the head must have been treated differently than the rest of the figure during production.