Condensation? Oil? Something inside plastic window of Retro-Heroes

[scott metzger]

Not sure what it means, but I did keep the bubbles from the packages (back in the old days, I found loads of uses for them), and I checked last night. They've just been laying out, and there was, indeed, little droplets all over the inside. It did feel a little oily/viscous, not watery. It is defintely something on the inside of the bubbles, and it seemed too uniform all the way down the length of the bubble to have come from just spraying the head with something.

I've seen some really odd stuff from Mattel, but this one is a new one.

[gummi]

"IF" Mattel even cares enough to resolve this issue.. it would take at least 5-6 months to see any change with the product/packaging manifest.

Regards,

g.

Hopefully they'll have it taken care of by Wave 2. Does anyone know how long each wave will be offered? I'd hate to miss out on the set altogether while waiting for the problem to be resolved. As much as I hate to do it, I may end up picking up the set and removing them from the cards.

[geoffdude]

I've waited until now to look for these figures at TRU in hopes that Mattel would get this issue handled. Unfortunately the two figures that my local TRU had in stock, Lex and Sinestro, both had the residue dripping down the bubble and Lex's nose was flat. Needless to say I passed. I guess for now I'll just cross my fingers and hope that Mattel gets this issue resolved on later shipments.

"IF" Mattel even cares enough to resolve this issue.. it would take at least 5-6 months to see any change with the product/packaging manifest.

Regards,

g.

[gummi]

I've waited until now to look for these figures at TRU in hopes that Mattel would get this issue handled. Unfortunately the two figures that my local TRU had in stock, Lex and Sinestro, both had the residue dripping down the bubble and Lex's nose was flat. Needless to say I passed. I guess for now I'll just cross my fingers and hope that Mattel gets this issue resolved on later shipments.

[bizzaro megomauler]

I hate to add fuel to the fire here, but silicone doesnt evaporate. The carrier substance used in the spray might, but the silicone itself doesnt...thats why its used in lubricants and sealants.

I wonder if the Mattel rep may be mixing it up with a silicone release agent they might use to get the heads out of the molds during manufacturing or something?

Great point, I think it may be the way the oil behaves, Silicone would probably clump as the agent disappeared. this would most likely account for why they seem to appear overnight, and why my blisters have developed this without figs in them. It has probably been there all along.

[Agent of SHIELD]

Is there a common store chain I can walk into to buy the long cotton swabs (mentioned a few pages ago) or do I need to order them online? (I tried a couple of drug stores, but they just had the little, double-tipped kind.)

[Captain]

I hate to add fuel to the fire here, but silicone doesnt evaporate. The carrier substance used in the spray might, but the silicone itself doesnt...thats why its used in lubricants and sealants.

I wonder if the Mattel rep may be mixing it up with a silicone release agent they might use to get the heads out of the molds during manufacturing or something?

[noelani72]

I re-read what Doc related to us from Mattel....has anyone here tried blowing a hairdryer in thru those hole to dry this stuff up? Cool, no heat obviously or lay em down in front of a box fan for a day or so.

[trekman101]

Our contact at Mattel got the answer.

The first batch of figures had paint migration onto the card, so the factory
spritzed the heads with silicone based oil that will NOT stain the costumes.

I noticed this on some of the GL's at TRU...thanks Doc

[noelani72]

I didn't snap pics of mine when I received em. Normally I do, but since every tom-dick-and-harry was already doing so....there was no point. :-)

I can guarantee my GA and Sinestro weren't like this upon arrival. I sat and stared at them...GA more than others. I held him side-by-side as I compared him to my vintage Mego on my repro card.

Plus, with my attention to detail (OCD) had this film been as visible on Day #1, "I" would have been the first to report (complain).

I am going to remove my Sinestro from his card, and probably the GL and GA. I REALLY REALLY hate to do this, especially since I had to pay a premium to obtain GA, but I am not going to have this stuff get on the figs. Hopefully, I can snag at least GA while at MegoMeet at MSRP to have one MOC.

I had posted a seperate thread about the clamshells I've seen here before and their dimensions....not one person measured em to see if these Mattel cards fit inside. Silly me, had forgot the Indy I got from Dave at the last MegoMeet and did a quick comparison last night. The Castaway Toys clamshells are different dimensions than the Mattel cards....by at least an entire inch in both directions...no way will the cards fit. Guess I can brush off the old toolkit and make some repro Mattel cards and go clamshell route...

[mitchedwards]

I check the figures my wife set aside for my Birthday. Superman was OK. Sinestro was the worst with oil runns onthe card, followed by Lex and Green Lantern. So I get to open my presents early to free them from the oil cocoon

[toystalker]

i wouldnt waste my time making a post if it was not accurate

ive been in the toy buying and selling game 20 years, ive dealt with afa and ukg regarding detailing of figures cardbacks and bubbles... im not a kid who jumped on the drip bandwagon

i opened one of my sealed cases of figures went over it with a magnifiying glass... was crystal clear... i stodd it up in the stock room on a shelf, central heating on in the day and -0 degrees at night while im at home

i come in to work around 9-30 am and inspect the figure and there it is runs down the inside of the bubble no magnifier needed its right there... and this particular figure was not touching the bubble... other figures have runs no where near where the head is

this is no theory this is fact

as i said it would have been interesting if i have a time capture camera to se what happened - maybe the spray was there all along but it was clear... maybe the light, heat, cold, eliments exposure started the eveporating process ? ive no idea

i could do without all the bad press on these i invested a few grand in them... im not hear to make it up as i go along

everyone is experiencing different situations - this is mine

good news is the figures are still selling well i just sold a superman in the last few mins

poof just like magic it was there one minute and now the figure is gone

doc any news on that strange phenomena

[EMCE Hammer]

I doubt that you missed it. In the fake light of TRU, it's easy to see. I know I checked mine over well trying to make sure I got the best ones on the peg. Something is happening as time goes on that makes it more and more noticeable.

Edit - Megosteve beat me to the punch, I was responding to Dwayne

[MegoSteve]

There's no way it could have appeared in an empty bubble without the figure it was sprayed on being in the package now is there? It was obviously there already, I just missed it before.

I'm just not buying your theory that it's been there all along and no one here spotted this until recently. We have dozens of guys here pouring over every minute detail on these figures and not one of them spotted huge drips on the insides of the bubbles until now? Not likely.

It's just odd. I'd think that if this stuff is migrating over time from the heads you'd see it on the loose figures' heads, too, not just the bubbles.

I went through some of the old threads looking for pictures of carded Retro figures and I'd be curious to see what they look like now. Lonnie posted some good closeups of his at Mego Talk - View Single Post - retro hero arrival, and I do see a couple of tiny spots on the inside of his Sinestro at the upper left and a possible spot on Superman on the right near the belt; if Lonnie took pictures now, they'd look a whole lot like Chad's pics here: Mego Talk - View Single Post - Condensation? Oil? Something inside plastic window of Retro-Heroes

I'd bet if we asked Lonnie to take pictures of his carded Sinestro now, or if Chad had pics of his carded figures when he first got them, that we'd clearly see this is an issue that occurs and worsens over time, not that no one spotted it before.

[enyawd72]

What I don't understand is why the drips seem to have appeared out of nowhere on the blisters of my figures.

I examined these pretty closely when I purchased them in early February and they did not have this drippiness that they're now displaying. The drips developed over the course of 6 weeks.

Actually, I don't believe anyone's drips just "appeared" overnight. I'm not calling anyone a liar, mind you, I simply think you may not have noticed it until you knew about it and were looking for it. It's also hard to see unless the light is just right.

I opened all my figures immediately when I got them, and never noticed any residue. My loose figures were on the shelf, the empty cards/bubbles in an open box. After reading about the issue, I pulled my empty cards out, and three of them had it to varying degrees. There's no way it could have appeared in an empty bubble without the figure it was sprayed on being in the package now is there? It was obviously there already, I just missed it before.