General Marvel Legends

docsilence said:
Maybe this is something that belongs in its own thread, but: any best practices for keeping older figures from kinda... degrading over time? I was doing a complete Marvel Legends overhaul last night and I gave myself an existential crisis trying to prevent Spider-Men or really any female character from before 2024 from having warped legs if they're either posed or stored wrong. And Genis-Vel, one of those TRULY FUCKING WEIRD random characters I genuinely just love owning, felt almost... brittle? And I took Sasquatch out to put him back on display and his hips felt super loose. Mind, I'm neurotid AF about storage but I feel like even laying them gently on their back in a protective container isn't enough to stop the ravages of time. Should I be oiling big figures' joints, or regularly watering translucent characters? Splinting skinny legs in storage?
Click to expand...
I think the quality of plastic is one of those things you don’t appreciate until years later. All of it will eventually break down over time. Best I can suggest is avoid leaving them in the same pose with weight applied, since the plastic will eventually settle in that position. Also keep them out of heat for long periods. For Genis specifically, his semi translucent plastic might be more brittle than other figures. It’s a problem that’s encountered a lot on Transformers figures with clear plastic parts. Gold plastic has a similar issue.
 
docsilence said:
aybe this is something that belongs in its own thread, but: any best practices for keeping older figures from kinda... degrading over time?
Click to expand...
Nope.
As long as you're storing them as gently as you can then that's all you can do (I lay them down in storage boxes and separate each 'layer' of figures with a layer or two of bubble wrap, try not to have softer plastic parts touching anything else in case they become tacky and ruin something, and try not to stack figures too deep so there isn't too much weight on them).


This shit is just -gonna- degrade over time. And modern action figures are definitely worse for it. I've tossed 6-year-old Marvel Legends because they turned to junk, while I'm still displaying figures that are 20-35 years old. Obviously, having the figures on display is probably worse for them, as the joints are under tension and have weight on them. Anything deeper than a standing-straight-up pose will fuck with any figures that have softer knees (most Hasbro Legends until pinless). But yeah.. that's just time, my friend. It'll do its magic on our toys as it does on us.
 
I figured there's only so much we can do. I store mine flat on their backs and layer them with either bubble wrap or a a cloth if I'm worried about paint or pressure. I honestly think "let someone else enjoy them before time destroys them" might be the first reason to divest some of my collection I've had that really resonate since I really, truly get joy out of cracking open a box of figures I haven't tinkered with in six months and messing with them all so I don't offload stuff very often at all.

My folks loaded me up with a couple of boxes of childhood toys a while back and I did a big "disinfect and assess project. The old 5POA stuff survived okay, but they felt... well, sweaty, which I know is basically "hi your toys give you cancer," but my gawd the box of transformers and Gobots was a wasteland of broken bits.

I should really unload some Iron Men to people who love the character more than I do. A hall of armor is fun to set up but I feel like his pearly plastic figures are going to be the first ones to explode.

I'm STRESSING about Sasquatch's hip joints. They didn't feel break-y, they felt floppy. Maybe they were floppy when I first took him off the shelf and stashed him though. I think the Alpha Flight figures with the shiny plastic like Guardian will crap out first.
 
docsilence said:
I honestly think "let someone else enjoy them before time destroys them" might be the first reason to divest some of my collection I've had that really resonate since I really, truly get joy out of cracking open a box of figures I haven't tinkered with in six months and messing with them all so I don't offload stuff very often at all.
Click to expand...
Definitely goes back to 'if you're never going to display it, why do you have it?'
 
Damien said:
Definitely goes back to 'if you're never going to display it, why do you have it?'
Click to expand...
I definitely have a large collection of "I don't display this guy but I use him in photos and stuff often enough to be worth it" as a secondary category. Basically my entire AIM/Hydra troop box is for when I get motivated and want to do some photo setups of Captain America beating the bag out of fascists.
 
Damien said:
Definitely goes back to 'if you're never going to display it, why do you have it?'
Click to expand...
I’m one of the weird exceptions to this rule. I don’t maintain a display. I found doing so to be tedious. I’m much happier just pulling out my bins on a regular basis and going through them when I want to see my figures, although I will have a few on my nightstand at any given time. At the moment, I have the Inhumans out.
 
Xavion2025 said:
I’m one of the weird exceptions to this rule. I don’t maintain a display. I found doing so to be tedious. I’m much happier just pulling out my bins on a regular basis and going through them when I want to see my figures, although I will have a few on my nightstand at any given time. At the moment, I have the Inhumans out.
Click to expand...
That's what's going on around my office desk - I have a few displays (a big Marvel roster OVER my desk I rotate out) but on the left and right of my workspace? Whoever I'm fascinated with on a given day. Today I've got a bunch of figures I pulled out of my Asgardians box because I was sorting them with the new Enchantress and was like: well shit, these guys are fun, let's put Ulik on the desk for a week and enjoy him.
 
Xavion2025 said:
I’m much happier just pulling out my bins on a regular basis and going through them when I want to see my figures, although I will have a few on my nightstand at any given time.
Click to expand...
This is me.
Honestly it’s mostly because I don’t have room at this time, but also my main joy in these is actually playing with them, so I need to have some in touch-distance pretty much constantly. This is also a big reason I buy multiples of favorite characters/figures, so I can have one in reach all the time no matter where in the house I am. I wind up getting build-up of figures on surfaces near where I generally sit/lie down. I’m actually just about to put a bunch in temporary bins because I’ve got workfolks coming to assess my A/V systems on Monday. Like right now I have three piles of figures by the couch: one on the table in front of where I sit, one underneath said table, and one at the foot of the couch.
 
PantherCult said:
I have ALOT on display.... well over a thosand figures - but I do keep some in boxes because one day - in our post-retirement house -- I'm going to have a basement with double the display space. So that stuff is in a waiting room, so to speak.
Click to expand...
That's one of the reasons while we look at houses, one of the sticklers is a finished basement, so I can create a display room/rafting/photo setup space. I wouldn't be opposed to getting one that needs to be finished, as it would give me a little more room for design for a contractor to finish off, but I'd rather just have to worry about getting all the cabinets/shelving for it all.
 
SalemCrow said:
That's one of the reasons while we look at houses, one of the sticklers is a finished basement, so I can create a display room/rafting/photo setup space. I wouldn't be opposed to getting one that needs to be finished, as it would give me a little more room for design for a contractor to finish off, but I'd rather just have to worry about getting all the cabinets/shelving for it all.
Click to expand...
We bought our first house almost two years ago and a great dedicated display space was a hope of mine. I have an office with a bit of that, but it's also my working space and eventually will need to double as a spare bedroom. The grand display will have to wait until the future. My father in law is a bit of inspiration here - he was into model trains his whole life but never had a space for it, but still collected bits and pieces over the years. They retired a few years ago in the north GA mountains into a house they built themselves (literally - he was a lifelong contractor). They made sure to build a house big enough to have room for all the kids and grandkids to come stay, including a whole top floor dedicated to his model train room. Every time we visit he's excited to show me the progress he's made building it out, with particular pride over the parts his grandson has been helping him with. One day!
 
Similarly, my then girlfriend now wife and I bought a house in summer 2022. I was hoping to have a decent display space that turned out to only be a few bookcases worth in our shared office. While I don't think we see this as our "forever home," our really favorable interest rate might dictate that it is. That being said, I had to have a come to Jesus moment with myself to stop buying and stashing things in my closet for "one day when I have more space." I further narrowed in my focus and scope of teams I'm building in Legends, import figures, or lines that I'll dip a toe into just because the figure looks cool. I've also started going through my closet and working on clearing a few things out here and there that likely wouldn't see a display case anytime soon. It's honestly been a little liberating.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top