The Energon Pub

News Credits: 2 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 12:28 pm

Classics Megatron's orange tip. Looked at mine the other day and realized he had faded somehow. Only reason i recognized this was due to the orange hip joints and remembered that was the original color. He's kept out of sunlight, but since there are still original orange parts, Some kind of light must have faded it. Anyone else having trouble keeping a freshness to your tip?

FOR SAFETY!

News Credits: 129 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 12:33 pm

It um...seems to happen to everyone? Seriously. This plastic color appears to change without any external stimulus other than time and air.

Check this dude out when he was case fresh:

News Credits: 2 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 12:58 pm

So no matter the environment, or level of neglect, our tips are prone to discoloration. I remember the days when my tip was that of an Oompa Loompa.

Im calling Jersey Shore for the inside track on painting orange and protecting tips.

News Credits: 241 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:16 pm

Counterpunch wrote:It um...seems to happen to everyone? Seriously. This plastic color appears to change without any external stimulus other than time and air.

Check this dude out when he was case fresh:

For those just joining in, look at how he was when the Henkei version gallery went online:

Scary, ain't it? Glad I got Henkei, and not just for the deco or bragging rights

News Credits: 2 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:23 pm

Seibs CLEARLY heavily smokes and leaves his figures outside to tan.

Nice comparison pics, Jelz. Its crazy how bad these paint apps got.

News Credits: 241 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:31 pm

bionic_radical wrote:Seibs CLEARLY heavily smokes and leaves his figures outside to tan.

Nice comparison pics, Jelz. Its crazy how bad these paint apps got.

O, it's not paint, it's the plastic itself. This may be a case of Fading Plastic Color Syndrome (coined by me)... is it?

News Credits: 16 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:47 pm

Plastics on toys aren't always the same color, even though they probably should be. I'm not convinced these can fade so easily.

News Credits: 129 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:54 pm

It Is Him wrote:Plastics on toys aren't always the same color, even though they probably should be. I'm not convinced these can fade so easily.

Well, between the picture evidence shown here and me confirming that this happens...what else do you need?

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transform ... ading.html

http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.ph ... opic=53059

TFWiki wrote:It has been recently discovered that the orange parts on Megatron, particularly the more exposed ones, seem to have their colors fade out over time. The exact cause of this change has not yet been discovered but care should be taken to avoid this from happening.

News Credits: 241 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 2:01 pm

It Is Him wrote:Plastics on toys aren't always the same color, even though they probably should be. I'm not convinced these can fade so easily.

Not just that, I've yet to see two that have the same basic mix of components.

You know, I've heard of some plastics fading over time, I have a hunch blacks are especially prone to this. Maybe something to ask the lady, CP?

Thu Mar 24, 2011 2:03 pm

i got mine off ebay a couple years ago, and was a little bit disappointed to see the tip had faded like that, as i had seen a friends figure with the bright bright orange when it was just out of package. im shocked to see that it was not just my figure! good thing united megs is due to arrive tomorrow!

News Credits: 16 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 2:24 pm

Are we sure these didn't just come from multiple factories? Yeah, mine guy tip is yellow... but wasn't it always?

If it did fade, it faded very evenly, which is unusual (I think).

Either way, I reserve the right to be a little skeptical.

Edit: I took a second look at the photos. OK, I'm convinced.

News Credits: 2 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 2:44 pm

What about a running change in the dye added to the plastic? My Megs was of the initial run. (Two Megs, One Op...no, not the website) Perhaps they made a switch on the second wave of the voyagers? I don't remember if Megs made it to the third wave or if it was a two Jetfires/one Op wave.

News Credits: 241 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 2:51 pm

bionic_radical wrote:What about a running change in the dye added to the plastic? My Megs was of the initial run. (Two Megs, One Op...no, not the website) Perhaps they made a switch on the second wave of the voyagers? I don't remember if Megs made it to the third wave or if it was a two Jetfires/one Op wave.

Hardly, since the problem was established years after Megs production run. Kinda like how the GPS problem wasn't handled until like after Beast Wars, when the reports of broken figures poured in and fans made the connection. The amount of fading seems to be related to the amount of either sun light (photolysis), air, or both.

Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:01 pm

Mine is nice and bright orange, actually...

News Credits: 2 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:06 pm

Well, a running change in dye wouldn't be something to silence the complaints of customers. You're right in the sense that the problem didn't occur until MONTHS after the waves were off of shelves, but there could have been a few reasons as to why they could have changed the dye. Change in distributors would be one of those reasons. I don't think they produce their own dyes at the factory, but thats just a guess. Were there any other figures released before the first wave of classics that share that color orange?

News Credits: 129 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:18 pm

Production plastics aren't really dyed. It's a coloring compound added to the polymer.

News Credits: 241 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:26 pm

Counterpunch wrote:Production plastics aren't really dyed. It's a coloring compound added to the polymer.

And could that compound be broken down under the influence of either light or air? Or something else?

News Credits: 2 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:47 pm

Coloring compound, huh? Thats pretty cool. Anyone have either an Evac or Unicron that pulled the same color changing trick? Those are the only two I could find to support my theory.

News Credits: 16 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 5:08 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Counterpunch wrote:Production plastics aren't really dyed. It's a coloring compound added to the polymer.

And could that compound be broken down under the influence of either light or air? Or something else?

Let me throw a wrench in. Why is one part of my tip yellow, and the other orange?

News Credits: 2 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:02 pm

Your Megatron clearly has been afflicted with a rare case of Multi Orange Tip Syndrome. Good God, it could've been any one of us...

News Credits: 10 · Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:14 pm

Imagine that! Classic Megatron is a true transformer - even on the molecular level!

The Takara Tomy versions are a better color scheme anyway.

Fri May 13, 2011 9:47 pm

I'm having this problem, too. For me, it's the orange at the upper leg joints. I don't see how sunlight could be causing this since he spends most of his time displayed in gun mode.