Small Scale Military Headquarters

There's someone on a 12" Joe site that bought a bunch of 12" 21C soldiers only to find out that their legs have become brittle and are breaking and the soft hands have become very HARD!
So I took a look at a few of my XD guys and found that some of my XD Marines shirt tails are VERY hard-forget about trying to sit them-but I can't remember if they were this way from the beginning or not...a couple of my OMG guys broke off at the knees-and this is after I got them loose, the harness thing on my DAK Erdmann just crumbled and the hose on one of my Marine's flame thrower is becoming brittle. I don't have them in direct sunlight, but standing on my shelf. Other than these, the rest seem to be okay...

I just assumed that the plastic for the DAK Artillery crew figure harness / backpack was ready go from the start ... I've had one or two straps break (out of dozens of crewmen ... at a $1 a pop my brother and I keep picking these guys up).

I've had differing experiences with the rubber on the figures...

Some of my S1 Marines - the ones I bought when they first came out in 2005 - had and still have very hard rubber tunics. Some of the later USMC figures as well as the Battle of the Bulge and D-Day figures have softer rubber tunics. Some of the straps on various equipment like the artillery spotter's map case and the straps on the German breadbags have been hard and some have been soft. I have not had problems with breakage on some of my older figures.

Still, it will be interesting to see what time does with the XD items. A lot of the 21c vehicles and aircraft are quite sturdy, but they have nowhere near the durability of the cast metal trucks, etc. that my dad played with 60 years ago

i've had no problems of note but i don't really play with the figures....i tend to pose them and leave them.

I imagine the plastic planes will endure well over time. I hope the hinges on the bbi corsair and 21c avenger do....but i don't forsee any problems, in my lifetime anyway. Maybe in a hundred years or something.

The plastic the planes, vehicles, and figures are made of will survive for millions of years if that is any comfort

yes but the plastic may get brittle with time and things like the hinges snap.

Plastic deteorates like anything else, it just tends to be susceptible to the environment it's in. If you smoke, put things in direct sunlight, humidity, extreme heat or cold... These things will negatively impact plastics.

I'm guessing 21st didn't always use the highest quality materials, and that will lead to some things not holding up too well over time. The planes are all made of more rigid styrenes which tend to hold up a bit better, but the PVC's of the figures, and any "flexible" and less rigid part, well anything can happen there. Sometimes they get gummy on Star Wars figures, even more modern ones. Sometimes they discolor quickly (especially anything white), and so on.

Figures from around 1999-ish have discolored and gotten ugly in the SW line, and that's not all that long ago.

So far, my stuff seems dandy.

I thought I read somewhere that the XD planes (and other 21st models..?) were made of ABS, (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) which is pretty durable stuff generally speaking. The figures seem to be a horse of a different color though, most of mine including FOV, 21st, & Dragon, seem to have a slightly "rubbery" feel to them which leads me to believe there may be some type of vinyl or other semi-flexible material in the composition of these, and as someone else already noted, the formulation on these probably varies considerably, and not always for the best in terms of longevity..

So far so good, figures on display seem to be fine and those (stockpiled, uh.. extras ) I plan on using in dio's all uncarded are fine.
I have had a few brand new figures brake...an arm or leg just snapped off and some of the DAK figs brake at the waist. That seemed to me like the joints were to tight and in a few cases, too much paint around an arm or leg joint.
Armor and Aircraft are also in good shape. I'm very happy with my 21century collection and its quality! I've been collecting since 2001 and nothing has turned to silly putty or dust! My hats off to Mr. Allen and all who gave this toy line life.

Normandy

When I first got my FW 190 the plastic seemed a bit flexible...now its is hard and brittle...as a note....It has not been exposed to any sunlight and is kept in the old bank vault in my apartment....

I'll be honest guys, and I'm not knocking 21st Cent. Toys (like beating a dead horse), but I've had some extensive dealings with plastics professionally and personally between work and collecting... 21st's NOT made of the best materials all the time. It's kind of easy to tell at times. Even new...

Not knocking them, I'm just saying that I won't be surprised if they really need to be carefully handled as they get older.

There's definitely some issues with the materials used though, and like I said I feel pretty sure 21st wasn't always using the highest quality plastics available. Big companies don't always even, but smaller companies seem to do this even more, as a cost-cutter in the manufacturing process.

Not knocking them, but I wouldn't be shocked is all... And sometimes, they may be fine. A different run, a different factory... You just never know. I've had some figures that, as others noted, snapped immediately. This was at times because a figure's paint sealed the joint or whatnot, but not always. Sometimes I can just tell it was an inferior plastic was used on a pin or whatnot. It happens.

Poly-vinyl has become more of a common plastic for making action figures for a few different production-centric reasons mostly. It also breaks down faster, generally. Bad poly-vinyl can turn very gummy over time, it's been known to discolor easier (especially white), and so forth. Not much one can do about the future of this stuff other than be careful with it. That's my best advice... That and keep your stuff way out of harm's way from chemicals, sunlight, smoke, excessive heat, excessive cold... well, sadly, basically anything.

Jesse James wrote: That and keep your stuff way out of harm's way from chemicals, sunlight, smoke, excessive heat, excessive cold... well, sadly, basically anything.

you forgot AIR, and don't use your flash on your camera.....

Not much one can do about the future of this stuff other than be careful with it...

I'm having mine cryogenically frozen.

ostketten wrote:

I'm having mine cryogenically frozen.

Don't use the Ted Williams place...

YT has a good point there ostketten.

Mark

Damn, YT beat me to that one.

Rim shot!

I wish FOV would use better HARDER plastic on their figure stands. I bought a few Modern FOV figures and these stands are as bad as their WWII figure stands...TOO SOFT that the figure, unless standing upright, will just fall over.

agreed... I would've liked these stands more had they been a more rigid plastic or designed better. I've got a drawer of those stands now because they bend too easily to use.

I'm hoping that keeping these stands in the open air my 'harden' them...but I wonder if there's a trick to it to make these more stiff!
It amazes me that NO ONE at FOV said that these stands are worthless!
I wonder if you stuck them in an oven for a few seconds...would they then harden as they cooled off? My luck, the things would melt...hmmm...