The Energon Pub

Primus must hate me or something 'cause it happened to one of my figures again.

Recently, TT is set to release Grand Galvatron combiner. To make it worst (aside from the limited release plus extra cost tucked in) they sweetened up the package with Ghost Starscream.



This is one figure crying for attention! Repurposed in an awesome spooky package.

Anyways, for quite sometime, we have been aware that transparent plastic's quality, regardless of who produces them tend to crack faster than the opaque ones.

I first heard of it among figma collectors in the special 1st release Blackrock Shooter action figure. The torso joint, instead of an opaque plastic was made with translucent material (I haven't checked mine yet) but during her release, a lot of collectors were complaining that after a few poses, her torso broke off.

It seems that the translucent curse has struct again...for me. The above example I mentioned was due to stress applied when posing her. Well, my TF Beast Wars Neo Big Convoy also suffered the same fate.



This part with the green marker.........it just split in half. It's been with me for about a decade in a display case (the room is under A/C at least 4 hours a day and not in direct sunlight).

So when I made an inspection/cleaning tour, I found the shoulder part broken, split in the middle. Well, to my dismay, though he looked cool and all, the left shoulder of Big Convoy is made of translucent colored plastic. There were no stress involved as I rarely moved him on my part. But the ball joint connection of his shoulder (solid plastic) against a translucent socket part is a big no no combination.

Super glue is not a remedy as the stresses involved, when I attempted a fix are still present leaving the part broken. I did not want to permanently bond the arm to the socket so I purchased a cheap replacement part by Sonokong.

Fair warning then for those who own the mold and others which use the translucent plastic design

1. Big Convoy (confirmed)
2. Scourge/Ultra Mammoth (?)
3. Ghost Starscream (that torso/head/neck connection is sure to shatter) in the upcoming Grand Galvatron (potential)
4. Million counting G1 Ghost molds (?)
5. henkei seeker Ghost mold (?)
6. all other translucent molds

I will have to keep a close eye on some of my past purchases now.
My clear SS is misb so he's solid but my UMammoth will get an inspection soon.

Hmm, I may have been right to cancel my pre-order, with all the issues I'm having with my cw figures, I don't want to pay that much for a starscream that cracks up all over the place

*glances at CW Shockwave, glances at BW Quickstrike*
Oh dear...

Noideaforaname wrote:*glances at CW Shockwave, glances at BW Quickstrike*
Oh dear...

I think shockwave may be safe, since his arms are bulky, and the legs use pins, but caution is always good

This has all but stopped me from getting Grand Galvatron who I sooooooooo wanna HAVE! I was planning on skipping Optimus Maximus and getting Grand Galvatron.

Of course the results do vary. In Black Zarak, it was GPS. So, it is similar to the translucent part gimmick.

Also concerned with UW Defensor Groove as his head too is translucent. Hope that years from now, he won't split too.

fenrir72 wrote:This has all but stopped me from getting Grand Galvatron who I sooooooooo wanna HAVE! I was planning on skipping Optimus Maximus and getting Grand Galvatron.

Of course the results do vary. In Black Zarak, it was GPS. So, it is similar to the translucent part gimmick.

Also concerned with UW Defensor Groove as his head too is translucent. Hope that years from now, he won't split too.

Along with the new parts from the legends' femme-bots

Hellscream9999 wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:This has all but stopped me from getting Grand Galvatron who I sooooooooo wanna HAVE! I was planning on skipping Optimus Maximus and getting Grand Galvatron.

Of course the results do vary. In Black Zarak, it was GPS. So, it is similar to the translucent part gimmick.

Also concerned with UW Defensor Groove as his head too is translucent. Hope that years from now, he won't split too.

Along with the new parts from the legends' femme-bots

Oh scrap! Black Widow's breast armor and Slipstream's head! On the latter especially, the use of translucent materials made no sense as SS didn't use any light piping features.

fenrir72 wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:This has all but stopped me from getting Grand Galvatron who I sooooooooo wanna HAVE! I was planning on skipping Optimus Maximus and getting Grand Galvatron.

Of course the results do vary. In Black Zarak, it was GPS. So, it is similar to the translucent part gimmick.

Also concerned with UW Defensor Groove as his head too is translucent. Hope that years from now, he won't split too.

Along with the new parts from the legends' femme-bots

Oh scrap! Black Widow's breast armor and Slipstream's head! On the latter especially, the use of translucent materials made no sense as SS didn't use any light piping features.

And my Nightbird's head

Hellscream9999 wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:This has all but stopped me from getting Grand Galvatron who I sooooooooo wanna HAVE! I was planning on skipping Optimus Maximus and getting Grand Galvatron.

Of course the results do vary. In Black Zarak, it was GPS. So, it is similar to the translucent part gimmick.

Also concerned with UW Defensor Groove as his head too is translucent. Hope that years from now, he won't split too.

Along with the new parts from the legends' femme-bots

Oh scrap! Black Widow's breast armor and Slipstream's head! On the latter especially, the use of translucent materials made no sense as SS didn't use any light piping features.

And my Nightbird's head

It's translucent too? Nightbird's head?

fenrir72 wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:This has all but stopped me from getting Grand Galvatron who I sooooooooo wanna HAVE! I was planning on skipping Optimus Maximus and getting Grand Galvatron.

Of course the results do vary. In Black Zarak, it was GPS. So, it is similar to the translucent part gimmick.

Also concerned with UW Defensor Groove as his head too is translucent. Hope that years from now, he won't split too.

Along with the new parts from the legends' femme-bots

Oh scrap! Black Widow's breast armor and Slipstream's head! On the latter especially, the use of translucent materials made no sense as SS didn't use any light piping features.

And my Nightbird's head

It's translucent too? Nightbird's head?

I think someone said TT gang-molded all the new parts together and painted everything

I got four words for y'all.

Beast Machines Optimus Primal.


This joker is threatening to fly apart at many of the transformation joints, to the point that he will never be an ape again. Here's the thing, though... I haven't handled the thing in many years, and even then, it was mostly to move from one shelf to another.

^ Well at least that's a Beast Machines figure and not something, y'know, good.

Samsonator wrote:I got four words for y'all.

Beast Machines Optimus Primal.


This joker is threatening to fly apart at many of the transformation joints, to the point that he will never be an ape again. Here's the thing, though... I haven't handled the thing in many years, and even then, it was mostly to move from one shelf to another.

Gonna be a bucket of tears anytime soon.

Bumblevivisector wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

Samsonator wrote:I got four words for y'all.

Beast Machines Optimus Primal.


This joker is threatening to fly apart at many of the transformation joints, to the point that he will never be an ape again. Here's the thing, though... I haven't handled the thing in many years, and even then, it was mostly to move from one shelf to another.

Gonna be a bucket of tears anytime soon.

Are you referring to Primal's facial expression looking like he's about to break down sobbing about his impending fate? Glad to know that's not just my impression from never having owned the mold.

Yeah, I remember KOTOYS warning that their CHMS translucent seeker molds would collapse if handled too roughly. I just hope those mid-teleport Skywarp customs last a few decades.

And yes, I brought up KOs because this IS another case where they're our only potential hope for replacing/refurbishing official toys doomed to a short lifespan by poor choices of materials. Has anyone programmed Shapeways plastic versions of those rubber Car Robots/RID tires yet? They need to still say "God Magnus", Ultra-dammit!

There are replacement parts? Of the KO kind?

fenrir72 wrote:Also concerned with UW Defensor Groove as his head too is translucent. Hope that years from now, he won't split too.

Yeah, I found that weird that UW Groove has a completely translucent plastic head (painted opaque). I don't know why they did that either, as this isn't a case like the recent Transformers Legends Bad Girls Squad where they just gang-molded all the new parts for each figure on one sprue of translucent plastic, painted the parts, and called it a day. UW Groove is an all new sculpt! Maybe it was a space issue with the molds, and the head fit better with the sprue for the guns and windshield that with the rest of the body?

I've not yet had a translucent plastic disaster myself, but I'm on my guard to be careful. I've had other figures, both Transformers and otherwise, spontaneously break for no apparent reason, but in every case, it's been an opaque plastic part. I think sometimes you just get bad luck, honestly.

Wolfman Jake wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:Also concerned with UW Defensor Groove as his head too is translucent. Hope that years from now, he won't split too.

Yeah, I found that weird that UW Groove has a completely translucent plastic head (painted opaque). I don't know why they did that either, as this isn't a case like the recent Transformers Legends Bad Girls Squad where they just gang-molded all the new parts for each figure on one sprue of translucent plastic, painted the parts, and called it a day. UW Groove is an all new sculpt! Maybe it was a space issue with the molds, and the head fit better with the sprue for the guns and windshield that with the rest of the body?

True, but now that we know Computron is a thing, maybe TT used half of the afterburner mold and molded the bigroove stuff with the femme-bots, which would explain why everything is all clear plastic

While translucent plastic toys breaking does indeed happen occasionally, it seems to me that it is over exaggerated. I own about 7,500+ Transformers toys and I can think of less than a dozen figures with translucent plastic where I've experienced this problem due to stress on the plastic, whereas I can think of dozens upon dozens of regular ol' Transformers from G1 to current from inexpensive to expensive Transformers that have broken for various reasons due to poor design, too much pressure on a tab, or just plastic shattering or shearing. I'm not saying that translucent plastic isn't a concern, but it's nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be. Just be careful and be aware of which figures have issues in particular.

To this day, G1 Jazz, Prowl, Bluestreak, Smokescreen, and Soundwave remain the most vulnerable to their translucent windshields or Soundwave's tape deck door breaking over just about any other Transformers toys I've seen, and I see a lot more than just my collection thanks to the Seibertron.com Store.

As far as the upcoming Ghost Starscream goes, as far as I can tell it looks like his combiner port is a solid orange plastic. If it's painted orange, that would be of greater concern to me than it being translucent because there'd be no way to combine him without the port having paint scraped off. I'm going to trust that Takara did the right thing and made the port an opaque orange.

@ Ryan

Did you also remember the time when the 1st MP-01 was released? The Megatron accessory stock was said to break off at the clip joining at the handle? It was like a time released bomb as when I inspected the item in his plastic tray, about the same day reports started spreading.......well lo and behold, my version too had cracked. The eerie coincidence when that part also busted up .......

The one that came with MP-SW hasn't broke so maybe, the materials indeed are to blame (TT improved their formula? Or is it the addition or removal of phthalates be the cause?Just like in Xbox 360 when MS removed the lead in the circuit board solders, it cause many of the RROD.

Just a conjecture anyway so all of these only a matter of time coupled with the climate setting of the owner?

fenrir72 wrote:Did you also remember the time when the 1st MP-01 was released? The Megatron accessory stock was said to break off at the clip joining at the handle? It was like a time released bomb as when I inspected the item in his plastic tray, about the same day reports started spreading.......well lo and behold, my version too had cracked. The eerie coincidence when that part also busted up .......

I forgot about the Megatron accessory. It's a bad one as well, though is that translucent plastic?

Seibertron wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:Did you also remember the time when the 1st MP-01 was released? The Megatron accessory stock was said to break off at the clip joining at the handle? It was like a time released bomb as when I inspected the item in his plastic tray, about the same day reports started spreading.......well lo and behold, my version too had cracked. The eerie coincidence when that part also busted up .......

I forgot about the Megatron accessory. It's a bad one as well, though is that translucent plastic?

Bad materials used? Kinda like the kid brother of GPS. That part was kind off rubbery soft plastic. So like rubbery soft plastic, translucent plastic is like a time release case of heartbreak.

Seibertron wrote:I'm not saying that translucent plastic isn't a concern, but it's nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be. Just be careful and be aware of which figures have issues in particular.

I very much agree with this. Translucent plastic does require different handling, but no more different than ABS vs PVC vs soft flexible resins vs polystyrene vs gold plastic vs GPS plastic vs painted plastic vs stuff on pins vs stuff on screws vs I think the point may be across, yes? If forced, especially when new or after having not moved in awhile, clear plastic does tend to be more brittle and general observational evidence suggests it is more likely to break or shear at a joint due to this. Just handle with care and you'll be ok. I haven't had clear plastic break more than anything else (GPS included in "anything else", of course, but shouldn't be used as a benchmark as it is a different beast altogether.)

Some of it probably comes down to stress being more visible. On opaque plastic, some of the stress to the interior of the part is there just as much as on translucent plastic, you just can't see it in those cases because, well, does that really require explanation?

Anyway, yeah, be careful with clear stuff. Additionally, be careful in general, this stuff is most generally not built to last for decades.

ScottyP wrote:

Seibertron wrote:I'm not saying that translucent plastic isn't a concern, but it's nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be. Just be careful and be aware of which figures have issues in particular.

I very much agree with this. Translucent plastic does require different handling, but no more different than ABS vs PVC vs soft flexible resins vs polystyrene vs gold plastic vs GPS plastic vs painted plastic vs stuff on pins vs stuff on screws vs I think the point may be across, yes? If forced, especially when new or after having not moved in awhile, clear plastic does tend to be more brittle and general observational evidence suggests it is more likely to break or shear at a joint due to this. Just handle with care and you'll be ok. I haven't had clear plastic break more than anything else (GPS included in "anything else", of course, but shouldn't be used as a benchmark as it is a different beast altogether.)

Some of it probably comes down to stress being more visible. On opaque plastic, some of the stress to the interior of the part is there just as much as on translucent plastic, you just can't see it in those cases because, well, does that really require explanation?

Anyway, yeah, be careful with clear stuff. Additionally, be careful in general, this stuff is most generally not built to last for decades.

Unless it was from the Cybertron line

ScottyP wrote:

Seibertron wrote:I'm not saying that translucent plastic isn't a concern, but it's nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be. Just be careful and be aware of which figures have issues in particular.

I very much agree with this. Translucent plastic does require different handling, but no more different than ABS vs PVC vs soft flexible resins vs polystyrene vs gold plastic vs GPS plastic vs painted plastic vs stuff on pins vs stuff on screws vs I think the point may be across, yes? If forced, especially when new or after having not moved in awhile, clear plastic does tend to be more brittle and general observational evidence suggests it is more likely to break or shear at a joint due to this. Just handle with care and you'll be ok. I haven't had clear plastic break more than anything else (GPS included in "anything else", of course, but shouldn't be used as a benchmark as it is a different beast altogether.)

Some of it probably comes down to stress being more visible. On opaque plastic, some of the stress to the interior of the part is there just as much as on translucent plastic, you just can't see it in those cases because, well, does that really require explanation?

Anyway, yeah, be careful with clear stuff. Additionally, be careful in general, this stuff is most generally not built to last for decades.

Hence my PSA. As some parts like in opaque figures, the stress marks are immediate. Iirc, chuckdawgs TAV BB ceacked almost immediately (that and he said he kind off put too much pressure on the fist) being painted over translucent pvc.

In my case, the was no stress mark, it just BOOM clear straight break horizontally across...no warning.nothing. Just like the other example though not transclucent I mentioned (Megatron stock part in MP-01 which broke just months without even being manhandled)

Your last post is the most painfully true.......darn toys aren't designed to last decades, even if we handle them carefully (unlike my old NyLint and FisherPrice vehicles that were made in the US of A)