This is my first post so go easy with me

Its about a boba i have, hard to describe but i will do my best. This is not a repro as he is from my childhood collection so bought back in 79' the question is the material they used for his limbs (not torso thats totally normal) seem to be painted? or something is happening to the plastic??  e.g. if i get his limbs wet they go sticky until the next day when they dry and go hard again ?? and the voilet colour reveals a white color underneath when rubbed again only when he is wet, but i am 100% sure he is not painted?? please help been bugging me for ages now  probably a simple answer and only i dont know lol. Ihave shown the back of his legs because it is easier to see there.

thanks guys lobotic out.....

its just degradation ,,, too much sun at one time

Hi hellhippie,

I knew that was gonna be the answer it must be degradation as i never display figs in the sun because of the discoloration issue, thanks for clearing that up

do you know if there any way to stop this proccess? or help prevent it none of my other childhood figs have any problems like this at all.

As Bill said this is plastic degradation. There are many thoughts on why the plastic degrades at the rate it does such as the exposure to sunlight, heat, humidity (environment in general) but the fact is that plastic has a chemical composition that wont allow it to last forever so this stuff will eventually break down regardless, it is just the rate that we can try to control. Sometimes figures can get a sticky, tacky feel to their limbs and you may even see droplets formed on them that is caused by degradation also.

hello again, perfect answer thank you! so the stickiness that comes with getting his limbs wet is simply age! i guess nothing lasts forever and if i want to try and keep him in the state he is i will try different temps and i am not getting him wet anymore!! thanks again trapped texan

a good way to get rid of the stickiness is to give it a warm water bath with some mild soap . wet is fine , I wash all my new figures this way when I get them . it also makes them feel like their mine

If you want to see some other examples of degradation check out this excellent thread showing some typical and not so typical examples along with some good theories too: https://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/t3379-everything-you-always-wanted-to-know-about-discolored-figures-but-were-afraid-to-ask?highlight=everything+you+ever+wanted+to+know

hellhippie wrote:

a good way to get rid of the stickiness is to give it a warm water bath with some mild soap . wet is fine , I wash all my new figures this way when I get them . it also makes them feel like their mine

Thanks hellhippie, good advice, i have been cleaning mine with cold water and cotton buds i didnt know what was safe and boba has been like that for couple of years now cant wait to get rid of the sticky feel, i like the fact of doing it with all new figs is there a time limit?

no , just be careful not to use any chemicals on them . just warm water and a bit of soap , and a q tip for hard to reach places

hellhippie wrote:

no , just be careful not to use any chemicals on them . just warm water and a bit of soap , and a q tip for hard to reach places

Got it thanks hellhippie!! oh and just replied to your other post

hellhippie wrote:

a good way to get rid of the stickiness is to give it a warm water bath with some mild soap . wet is fine , I wash all my new figures this way when I get them . it also makes them feel like their mine

Couldn't be more spot on. I've washed almost every figure I have so far with warm water and a little bit of Dawn dish soap. It really helps with "frosting" and surface dirt on white colored figures    and like Bill said, q-tips for the harder to reach areas.

I had a Boba like this but I think I sent it to Jim to be customized and painted into "Fettpool"

darthmatt22 wrote:

hellhippie wrote:

a good way to get rid of the stickiness is to give it a warm water bath with some mild soap . wet is fine , I wash all my new figures this way when I get them . it also makes them feel like their mine

Couldn't be more spot on. I've washed almost every figure I have so far with warm water and a little bit of Dawn dish soap. It really helps with "frosting" and surface dirt on white colored figures    and like Bill said, q-tips for the harder to reach areas.

I had a Boba like this but I think I sent it to Jim to be customized and painted into "Fettpool"

Hey Matt, Well boba's getting a bath tomorrow I will let you know how it goes, I am so careful with my figs but I must admit the whities are the biggest worry, so this new info about cleaning them is a gift. I will have look "fettpool" up sounds interesting.
Well thanks to all of the team been a valuable day for me, big day tomorrow get my comicon tickets for London woo hoo!!