The Energon Pub

I was under the impression that modern toys had the whole gold plastic thing under control? And sorry, I'm not confirming it isn't, but....



My Combiner Wars G2 Slingshot (Quickslinger) took a tumble this morning. From the top of my detolf (about 5 feet) onto a carpeted floor, and the nosecone which is a separate black plastic piece came off because the gold plastic piece around it broke. Now... for it to break like that... really doesn't seem like a sufficient fall or hard enough surface to do that kind of damage.

Are they any other reports of this figure becoming brittle? The most modern GPS issue I'm aware of is the first SW TF Falcon. Are there still others?

I wouldn't rule it a GPS break just because of the color. Besides, you said it was because of a fall i.e. a sudden introduction of great stress. Looks like the fall wasn't as gentle as you thought, 5 feet is quite the distance (try belly flopping from the highest diving board next time at the pool). Also, the construction of the nosecone itself isn't that ideal:



Notice how the screw is supported only 75% by surrounding plastic? An impact in just the right spot can easily force the black piece to rip enough of the thin area off for a total break.

What I will say is that from what I have experienced, some sub-types of plastics used or even colors have differences in overall tolerances, minor as they may be. Meaning some handle stress better than others. Especially yellow can be quite troubling if not used properly. The flat gold used for CW G2 Quickslinger may be more delicate, but nowhere near the metallic swirly Gold Plastic of old.

shajaki wrote:I was under the impression that modern toys had the whole gold plastic thing under control? And sorry, I'm not confirming it isn't, but....



My Combiner Wars G2 Slingshot (Quickslinger) took a tumble this morning. From the top of my detolf (about 5 feet) onto a carpeted floor, and the nosecone which is a separate black plastic piece came off because the gold plastic piece around it broke. Now... for it to break like that... really doesn't seem like a sufficient fall or hard enough surface to do that kind of damage.

Are they any other reports of this figure becoming brittle? The most modern GPS issue I'm aware of is the first SW TF Falcon. Are there still others?

Slaaaag! Trouble is, the latest plastics used by Hb and Takara don't have the oomph of the older ones. That and bad design.

Also doesn't help that Hasbro generally uses cheaper plastic on a lot of exclusives and repaints like these compared to the retail versions.

Emerje

I don't think that toy is old enough to suffer from it one way or another. Electro and Slingshot held up pretty well for five years or so.

Also, don't underestimate the floor beneath the carpet. Drop something from only a few feet at the wrong angle and carpet barely absorbs any of the impact.

I think there's no cause for alarm here. The real tell would probably be the elbows in a few years. Those teeth will shatter quick if the gold's a compromised formula.

I wasn't meaning to incite panic, just wondering if anyone else has had the same issue. Thanks for the insights

shajaki wrote:I wasn't meaning to incite panic, just wondering if anyone else has had the same issue. Thanks for the insights

Don't you know? The 'P' in 'GPS' stands for 'Panic'!

ScottyP wrote:

shajaki wrote:I wasn't meaning to incite panic, just wondering if anyone else has had the same issue. Thanks for the insights

Don't you know? The 'P' in 'GPS' stands for 'Panic'!

Or "Paranoia"

shajaki wrote:I was under the impression that modern toys had the whole gold plastic thing under control? And sorry, I'm not confirming it isn't, but....



My Combiner Wars G2 Slingshot (Quickslinger) took a tumble this morning. From the top of my detolf (about 5 feet) onto a carpeted floor, and the nosecone which is a separate black plastic piece came off because the gold plastic piece around it broke. Now... for it to break like that... really doesn't seem like a sufficient fall or hard enough surface to do that kind of damage.

Are they any other reports of this figure becoming brittle? The most modern GPS issue I'm aware of is the first SW TF Falcon. Are there still others?

Same thing happened to my Combiner Wars Blades, which doesn't have any gold plastic. Slipped off the shelf onto the carpet and the back tail fin snapped off. I figured it was because of it being made from sparkly red plastic. But nope!

The quality of the plastic and the height of the fall will undoubtedly result in breakage. Best to keep combiners and the like on the bottom shelf.

For what it's worth, I JUST broke the elbow of my '07 movie protoform Starscream...

To be fair, that elbow joint was way tighter than it needed to be, and the figure is 11 years old at this point, so it's probably not actually the gold plastic's fault...

Chimera245 wrote:For what it's worth, I JUST broke the elbow of my '07 movie protoform Starscream...

To be fair, that elbow joint was way tighter than it needed to be, and the figure is 11 years old at this point, so it's probably not actually the gold plastic's fault...

According to tfwiki, 2007 Protoform Starscream suffers from GPS, however, they only indicate that it occurs on the plastic hinges connecting the small wings to his body. If the elbow joints are made of the same plastic, then I'm sure the same is bound to happen.

jprime69 wrote:

Chimera245 wrote:For what it's worth, I JUST broke the elbow of my '07 movie protoform Starscream...

To be fair, that elbow joint was way tighter than it needed to be, and the figure is 11 years old at this point, so it's probably not actually the gold plastic's fault...

According to tfwiki, 2007 Protoform Starscream suffers from GPS, however, they only indicate that it occurs on the plastic hinges connecting the small wings to his body. If the elbow joints are made of the same plastic, then I'm sure the same is bound to happen.

The entirety of Protoform Starscream is made of the same plastic pretty much, it seems. Mine broke his elbow and his hand last year, as well. He's a fragile boy, that one.

GPS can kind of be compared to rusting. Flaking, joints seizing and eventually breaking. It's even similar in color

I don't remember how long ago this happened, but my a chunk of one of the shoulders of my Legends Blackarachnia just fell off for no apparent reason. Not sure if it's GPS or not, but my heart sank.