Are all miniatures bound to perish?

[Xantippos]

I was wondering, having bought some very old second hand sets from eBay (more than 30 years), like Britons and other Airfix, that they have become very brittle and break at the smallest touch, having lost all their elasticity.

I wonder, will this happen to all miniatures in 30 years? or the plastics used today are of a different type? have this figures just been exposed to excessive sunlight or other agents that have degraded them?

I have also experienced, that my Orion Gladiators, which were very elastic, and the flash was impossible to remove before, and now, after being most of the time in a box, now after 5 or 6 years the flash can be removed easily as they are less elastic and more hard. Is this the first sign of what will happen to a lot of the sets, or they will not degrade further?

[Bluefalchion]

I purchased most of my ESCI, Matchbox, Atlantic, and Airfix figures new in the box in the 80s. They have been stored in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight, for the vast majority of the intervening years. I have not noticed any change at all in the characteristics of the plastic.

Perhaps you got your hands on some first-run Airfix bods from the late 60s? Perhaps 50 years can accomplish what 30 cannot...

[Wheeling Turn]

This happens with plastic bods left too long into sunlight. Had the same experience with some second hand models and some of my own standing for years at the window

[Jesse]

When I was a child I inherited my uncle's Airfix 1/32 plastic figures he propably got somewhere in the end of 60s or early 70s. They are still as good as new, except the ones I chewed on...
They have always been kept inside and out of sunlight.

[Mário]

It depends a lot. I have old Airfix figures bought in the 60s. Some are excellent, almost as new, some others are britle and break at the lightest touch. I cannot find a reason why some are good and others are not. The storage conditions were the same, the only difference must be in the type of plastic.
But in the end all plastic will become brittle, it may take ten years or 100.
Enjoy them whyle you have them.
Mário

[Paul]

viewtopic.php?t=4589

Mario is correct, it doesn´t matter how or where you store them, eventually they are all doomed, you cannot stop time.
http://www.miniatures.de/plastic-corros ... antry.html

[Xantippos]

Very surprising. I am very puzzled about the Italeri Confederate Infantry turning brittle in just 10 years. Maybe a bad mixture of the plastic resulting in some defectous sets? maybe when they tried to make them with that sort of grey they chose a plastic that degrades very easily?

Because my Confederate Infantry is not grey, but tan, and was purchased in 2007. Maybe the changed it because of this.

[Mário]

Hello
I think it is completely random, my Airfix soldiers were bought between 1966 and 1970 and were used for playing/ war gamming between 1965 and 1972 and between 2005 to present. The “casualty rate” (not counting “missing in action” i.e. lost) varies enormously:
WW1
British Infantry (my first box ) less than 10%
German Infantry 35%
French Infantry 60%
American Infantry 15%
British Artillery 40%
WW2
British Infantry (first type) less than 10%
German Infantry (first Type) 35%
Russian Infantry 65%
Japanese Infantry 60%
US Marines (first type) less than 10%
Commandos (first type) 80%+
British paratroopers 30%
Africa Korps (first type) 50%
8th Army (first type) 40%
ACW
Union less than 10%
Confederation 25%
Artillery 50%
US Cavalry 0%
Napoleonics
Highland Infantry 0%
French Cuirassiers 0%
Others
Romans 80%
Britons 60%
Foreign legion (first type) less than 10%
Arabs 0%
As you can see the number of broken figures varies a lot between sets. Some are very brittle, some are as new after more than 40 years. There might be a tendency for green figures to be in better shape, but there are exceptions.
We should learn with the Romans: CARPE DIEM; live your days, this is true for us and also for our little soldiers.
A good day for all.
Mário

[Xantippos]

Curiously, all my childhood figures didn't have this brittle effect, I suppose that plastics used from the 1980s to now are more brittle-resistant than older types.

With one exception; some 1/35 Russian soldiers bought in a street market, I think a copy from Atlantic ones, became repentinely brittle after many years having them, and they started to break in every limb, weapon, etc. It was only when I bought a big lot of damaged figures by eBay I found many types affected by brittleness.

[NathanIW]

I'm another person with figures from the 80s that are still as pliable as ever. I think there's been huge variety in plastic formulas and there's no way for sure to know when and if the dreaded plague will strike.

One thing I've noticed though, is that there's no shortage of small things I want to paint. Will I be somewhat sad if some of my painted stuff eventually goes brittle and breaks if you touch it? Yep. But I'm sure I'll have something else to paint.

[Beano Boy]

Forget,the 30 years! I`ve been painting now for about 7 year`s ,miniatures that is, and recently some of the HAT figures have become very britle,mostly the ends of muskets breaking off if knocked!They are all stored in special draws,and are not exposed to the open elements.The Cause is:The rubbery models have just soked up the oil in the enamel paints I use and a chemical change has taken place.I`m not a pleased Bunny, right now because I`ve painted hundreds in the same way.So careful is what I have to be when handling them.

[Xantippos]

Hmm. Just as well I've painted nearly all my soldiers with water based acrylics.

Beano Boy, what enamels did you use? because I bought a big lot of horses, badly painted with gloss paints, that are still as elastic as when they were new (Airfix and Esci). Maybe it is just the HaT plastic that reacts with enamel...

[HoScaleGeek]

In the case of Airfix the brittleness may depend on the different chemicals needed for getting a certain plastic colour. The most notorious Airfix troops that get brittle are some of the brick red ones, and the olive troops that are somewhat darker. In general, the more dark or less bright and shiny the colours look, the more prone they are to break soon. One recognizes this brightness or shine when comparing a breakable figure with a good one. The ones that look shinier and brighter will stay like new so far and they may well be from about the mid 70s. I don't have any trouble with a set like Guards Colour Party even it has been bought in this cartoon like 60s box design. Only the pink plastic ones of Guards Band are a bit less flexible but not dried out. Union Infantry, also no problem at all. The bright light yellow ones also OK. On Ebay or Marktplaats (a Dutch trading site) I carefully look if for example the Ancient Britons have those parts still on them that are thin, long and sticking out, such as the bows and arrows. If some of them appear to have broken off I don't buy it.
One time I asked a dealer on Marktplaats to try to bend the arms or legs of the soldiers because the plastic colour made me somewhat suspicious. He reported back that they snapped. How ever sorry I am for the guy who wanted to sell them, I'm glad I noticed that in time.

[Xantippos]

Certainly, cream-coloured soldiers are less prone to become brittle, but all the same I have some brittle too. I have some Highlanders that if you look too hard at them they will disintegrate... .

But really, I've only had brittle-soldier experience buying one lot from eBay, which it already was a "casualty" lot, as all soldiers had something broken. All the other lots from eBay were ok. I suppose I haven't bought so many vintage soldiers yet....

[David O'Brien]

My first ones to go brittle were cream coloured Airfix Nap French Infantry. This was after a few years and they were of course bought from new. Some over 50 years old are as springy as the day they were made. I showed some pics on the Strelets forum a few years ago of the first type Airfix WWII Germans, they were the same batch of dark grey plastic and all painted. Some cracked up under the strain of combat and some stay pliable. All the ones called Fritz and Otto survived but Hans and Klaus perished. It is something to do with their little plastic karmas and birth signs without a shadow of doubt. They only crack if they have been cursed. The only prevention is to cover each one with several inches of pva glue, say aprayer and encase them in a block of resin.

[David O'Brien]

Part two

Seriously

The main factors responsible for causing chemical changes to polymers are:
•light
•heat
•oxygen
•moisture
•ozone or other atmospheric contaminants
•contact with chemical agents in use, cleaning, repair or by accident
•biological attack
from the Plastics Historical Society

btw polymers = plastics

So my block of resin wasn't entirely whimsical as the list above just about includes everything. The speed of deterioration is the difficult part as some, the Hans and Klaus, go quicker but you can spot the signs. One of the signs is the plasticizer (usually oil) comes to the surface and placed on white paper will, after a few days, often show the oil spots. I am just doing that with some of those overpriced Dragon kits whose fantastic tracks have a tendency to go brilliantly brittle. Once you know they are breaking up throw them away or give them a decent burial. Don't forget only diamonds are forever.
More gen on
http://www.plastiquarian.com/index.php?id=7&subid=134

BTW I like the weeping bit ----this bit:

Signs associated with chemical degradation may be:
•discolouration
•embrittlement
•severe crazing
•crumbling (especially of foams)
•blistering
•bloom
•weeping
•odours
•surface acidity

you see even plastic figures have profound feelings about their mortality.

David

[Xantippos]

Gosh! that is a very mind-boggling fact. Maybe they were in different sprues, and one of them had more oil in it's mix or something like that.

[Emperor]

As I have learned at Higher school of technological studies, plastic is one of material that can-t perish after 1000 of years...That's why it is one of most dangerous waste because it is not bio/degradable in easy way...Since it can-t be degraded in short terms of time, when people dump plastic things, it accumulate...When it accumulate it is waste since everything that is useless and accumulate and cant be degraded...Plastic is a synthetic material, you get it from other materials... Some plastic are polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, the nearly indestructible plastic ...
Plastic is not an organic material, so it compose no-t so easily...

[Xantippos]

Maybe it will not perish, but a single soldier can fragmentate into zillions of small pieces. I know for sure, as there was one old greenish-white bucket in a land plot where I was, and it 10 years or so, you where able to find small pieces of the brittle plastic everywhere. It was an absolute mess. Just one plastic bucket contaminated at least 1 acre of land.