Star Trek T1 Kirk w/ metallic green hair Variant?

[josephcardone]

It happens to certain vintage Star Wars figures as well. Same thing almost exactly.

[MRJ001]

it didn't "wipe" off mine. so i'm not sure why it keeps being stated that it's a layer of filth on top of the paint. i'm not a chemist so i can't answer if this is a chemical reaction between elements within the paint that happened over time. however, i do have decades of experience with artists paints and will state without a doubt that the iridescent quality is in the paint on this figure - it's not a film on top of the paint that can be cleaned off - it's not dirty. my guess is that this kirk doll exited the factory 40+yrs ago sporting the green metalic look. this is a legitimate variation - i wouldn't have posted a picture of a dirty toy and said look at my great find. golden manufactures artists paints today that intentionally exhibit this same iridescent/metallic feature - i'm sure someone did back then also

[Confessional]

^^ as an artist that's worked with oxides I have my own experiential take on it. Oxides can bind into materials. Regardless, I have numerous figures with it including a Tong Ape and I have a vinyl cleaner/conditioner product that removes it. It might take years to know if the pigment returns or otherwise if the conditions that caused it can be duplicated.

We obviously can't qualify the phenomenon here, but it comes up every few years on the forum. No one is trying to discredit you, just another interesting mystery in the Megoverse.

I like the way they look too!

[MRJ001]

ok.🙂 thanks for the info

[cjefferys]

my guess is that this kirk doll exited the factory 40+yrs ago sporting the green metalic look.

I agree, as I stated above, I remember seeing at least one Corny with the same green tinted hair back in the mid 70's. This isn't something that happens over time, they came out of the factory that way.

[MRJ001]

i think if it was a symptom of the deterioration of the paint - the surface would be more mottled - and not appear so evenly applied.

[Confessional]

*When*, doesn't preclude the potential cause…

Interestingly, the Twin Pines folks note: "Most vinyl plastics are normally colored by adding metal oxide pigments to the plastic mass before it is molded… Another way to color some vinyl compounds is simply to add a dye to the plastic mass before it is molded."

I still think we are seeing some photo-chemical reaction of either the vinyl/paint combo, or the paint through some minor form of degradation. Could have been common in a factory run of certain paints back in the day. Greening or odd looking photo-oxidation has also been noted in toys other than Megos.