The Energon Pub

Hello fellow transformers fans!

In case you haven't noticed, I'm new here, but I've been visiting the site for quite some time. I'll get around to introductions later as I'm sure there's a much more proper forum for me to do that sort of thing.

..but for now, I'd like some help regarding my collection. Today I visited a local collectibles shop and found something I've been looking around for, a Beast Wars Transmetal Megatron. He looked like he was in good enough condition, I twisted a few joints in Beast Mode but was foolish enough not to transform him before buying him (which I thought was a pretty good deal for 18 dollars).

But once I transformed him at home, he literally crumbled into what might as well have been dust in my hands, pieces snapped off left and right and while I was upset, a more important thought sprang into my mind: "What if this happens to all the many other figures I've collected over the years?"

That's what I'm here for, I'm looking for advice. Do you Seibertronians have any suggestions regarding upkeep of your figures? Is there a certain way or place they should be kept as to not have to suffer the same fate? I have tons of figures so if any of you have any suggestions regarding upkeep of many figures at once that'd be great too!

Thanks for helping! -and thanks for welcoming me to the Seibertron forums!

I don't own that figure, since I don't do any of the Beast-era stuff, but I think that particualr figure suffers for gold plastic syndrome (GPS). Which is basically a weakness in the gold plastic chemical composition that causes it to literally crumble. Not all gold plastic does this, just the gold plastic toward the end of G1 into G2 and some BeastWars figures. Don't worry this won't happen to all your figures over time. I have a ton of G1 figures that are perfectly fine.

edit:

here's a link to GPS info http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Gold ... c_Syndrome

As you can see Transmetal Megs is on the list.

Ah! I see. Thank you very much for this link. It's a shame that out of all the beast wars figures I've been searching for, Transmetal Megs is the only one with this issue. Guess I'll have to bare with my Armada "predacon" for a little while longer.

GPS sucks for sure. I'm trying to put together a Monstructor, two of is figures are mainly comprised of gold plastic. I'd like to get a Black Zarack as well, but fear of GPS keeps me from dropping the cash for him

Also I just noticed the Armada Optumus Prime is listed on the link I provided. How prevelant is the problem with him? I have him and never even given the gold on him a second thought. Should I be handling him with kid gloves?

BeastlyBlurr wrote:Ah! I see. Thank you very much for this link. It's a shame that out of all the beast wars figures I've been searching for, Transmetal Megs is the only one with this issue. Guess I'll have to bare with my Armada "predacon" for a little while longer.

You won't have to worry about figures degrading.. most figures will have a shelf life far longer than our own lives, so it won't matter And nice to see another Blurr fan on the boards.

El Duque wrote:Also I just noticed the Armada Optumus Prime is listed on the link I provided. How prevelant is the problem with him? I have him and never even given the gold on him a second thought. Should I be handling him with kid gloves?

The only relevant gold parts are the mini-con parts, something I'm sure you don't use frequently. I wouldn't worry about it..

El Duque wrote:The only relevant gold parts are the mini-con parts, something I'm sure you don't use frequently. I wouldn't worry about it..

Not sure I follow, I thought problem was in the elbows. What mini-con parts are you referring to?

Ah, the elbows. Well even as an Armada fan I'll admit that the figure is pretty much a freaking brick. And there's only a couple of angles that actually look decent for Optimus, so it's not like you're going to be changing his arm positioning 24/7 . There's other Armada figures to tool around with, leave the brick as it is

Blurrz wrote:Ah, the elbows. Well even as an Armada fan I'll admit that the figure is pretty much a freaking brick. And there's only a couple of angles that actually look decent for Optimus, so it's not like you're going to be changing his arm positioning 24/7 . There's other Armada figures to tool around with, leave the brick as it is

I'm not too worried, like you said he's pretty much a brick and I hardly ever touch him. I assumed GPS had left the equation by the time of Armada.

Yeah, it's been 7-8 years for the Leader figure. If it was going to break down for me, it would have already.

Blurrz wrote:You won't have to worry about figures degrading.. most figures will have a shelf life far longer than our own lives, so it won't matter And nice to see another Blurr fan on the boards.[/color]

Yeah You guys have been pretty helpful and I appreciate it. I had heard about this syndrome after watching a beast wars soundwave review but I didn't think much of it. Oh well, it could have been MUCH worse I suppose.

-and yes it's very good to be around a fellow Blurr fan. Beast Wars and Blurr, two of my favorite things to collect.. and I guess why I picked my name. xD Not sure if they ever did a Beast Era incarnation of him though.. I've seen his name shared with Silverbolt before though. Bah. I don't really know what I'm talking about anymore.

Just echoing that Transmetal Megs does suffer from GPS in his brown bits. I bought one MISB a few years back and when moving the dino head to transform him, the connecter pieces just crumbled. I picked up a Takara version to replace him, although I liked Kenner/Hasbro's deco much better. Like others have noted GPS is mostly a thing of the past. I do wonder about my Universe Micromaster Superion though. His gun is gold and it fits veeery tight into the fists. I'm hoping he's safe. Those guys are what? Three, four years old at this point?

The plastic will probably out-live you at the moment.

We should all probably be more concerned with the health of our hearts and being vigilant against cancer rather than a toy we can replace for less than $100.

I'm a downer, yea, I know.

Counterpunch wrote:The plastic will probably out-live you at the moment.

We should all probably be more concerned with the health of our hearts and being vigilant against cancer rather than a toy we can replace for less than $100.

I'm a downer, yea, I know.

But that's why we love you

And GPS is pretty much a thing of the past now, but it pays to be vigilant.

Counterpunch wrote:The plastic will probably out-live you at the moment.

We should all probably be more concerned with the health of our hearts and being vigilant against cancer rather than a toy we can replace for less than $100.

I'm a downer, yea, I know.

If I knew how to put the Debbie Downer sound effect into print I would put it here.

El Duque wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:The plastic will probably out-live you at the moment.

We should all probably be more concerned with the health of our hearts and being vigilant against cancer rather than a toy we can replace for less than $100.

I'm a downer, yea, I know.

If I knew how to put the Debbie Downer sound effect into print I would put it here.

Awesome.

and I agree with Jelze that GPS is a problem of the past.

Counterpunch wrote:

El Duque wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:The plastic will probably out-live you at the moment.

We should all probably be more concerned with the health of our hearts and being vigilant against cancer rather than a toy we can replace for less than $100.

I'm a downer, yea, I know.

If I knew how to put the Debbie Downer sound effect into print I would put it here.

Awesome.

and I agree with Jelze that GPS is a problem of the past.

Was Beast Wars Torca the last possible GPS victim?

Razorclaw0000 wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:

El Duque wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:The plastic will probably out-live you at the moment.

We should all probably be more concerned with the health of our hearts and being vigilant against cancer rather than a toy we can replace for less than $100.

I'm a downer, yea, I know.

If I knew how to put the Debbie Downer sound effect into print I would put it here.

Awesome.

and I agree with Jelze that GPS is a problem of the past.

Was Beast Wars Torca the last possible GPS victim?

Actually, movie legends scorponok, though it was an entirely different kind of plastic, more like rubber really.

Razorclaw0000 wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:

El Duque wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:The plastic will probably out-live you at the moment.

We should all probably be more concerned with the health of our hearts and being vigilant against cancer rather than a toy we can replace for less than $100.

I'm a downer, yea, I know.

If I knew how to put the Debbie Downer sound effect into print I would put it here.

Awesome.

and I agree with Jelze that GPS is a problem of the past.

Was Beast Wars Torca the last possible GPS victim?

The last confirmed case was RiD Megabolt, the repaint. That case is very mild though. A future candidate may be Movie Protoform Starscream, only time will tell.