"Preservation of Plastics" Topic

I've raised the topic of long-term preservation of plastics on TMP before. Someone on a different list posted this article in Slate Magazine that I think might be of interest.

slate.com/id/2221963

I'm not sure how long this article will be available online as I read yesterday that Slate is going to cease publication.

As I have said here before, I have many Airfix figures that are over 35 years old and showing no signs of deterioration.

I have quite a few Airfix figures that are about 40 years old, and snap easily if subjected to light pressure.

All the best,

John.

I used to have a model my Dad built in the '50s top early '60s. It was still intact and the plastic had not degraded. It was of course molded in styrene.

While issues like this may be important for museums, I have to wonder how important it is to gamers. I think even styrene plastic figures will outlast most gamers as it is…

Damon.

I can't tell you how many times I've found cracked and crumbling Marx figures at tag sales. Of course, I've found an equal number of broken old hollow lead figures as well.

I was just about to post this myself. I have 50-year-old models my father built. Despite being stored in an attic for the past 20 years, it would appear that there isn't any failure or degradation of the plastics used. The decals, paint, and sometimes the glue are a different situation in some cases.

I know that the soft plastic figures are a bit more susceptible and I've seen Airfix figures age poorly. But, at the same time, my first set (circa 1972) is still pliable.

Wyatt

I was recently given a large box of old Airfix polythene figures. They had an unpleasant acidic smell. After washing several times in detergent the smell went, but over half were un-usable – either with bits fallen off or so brittle that they broke on handling. Those with paint on seem to have survived far better than those without. The cream plastic AWI troops were in good condition (they might have been newer), all the rest were affected.

I think this anecdotal evidence regarding the stability of "old" plastic figures tells us something about lot control in injection molded plastics 30 years ago.
I find it hard to believe that the exact same resin was used throughout.

Or, perhaps the dyes used affected the plastics.

Apparently there was a period or a number of Airfix batches with contaminated plastic or something wrong with the plasticizer (whatever that is) and these fellows have become brittle with time.

I've heard of this many times, but none of mine have, and like Mike S, my first Airfix troops (Japanese) were purchased from a Zellers store 40 years ago. I still have them and other Airfix troops, all purchased mostly in Canada with the odd few from the UK. My battle reports often have the odd one of these, especially the old German panzerschreck guys, make frequent appearances in my battle reports on my site.
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Tim

My Airfix Ancient Brits have always been brittle, The Nappies and Medievals not as much. So go figure…

With the wide variety of plastics in use, it's almost impossible to predict their interactions, too. I've found different plastic items in the basement that have been touching for many years, and one of them has melted an indentation in the other.

It makes you wonder how long those prepainted plastics like WOTC's Star Wars and D&D, and Wizkids' 'clix figs, will last. And what happens if you store them in plastic totes? You might open it one day and find a bunch of transporter accidents instead of little plastic soldiers. Even the commons could become rare.

The first, and only (so far), comment on that article asks about other uses of plastics in art, such as acrylic paint. Just how plastic is acrylic paint? Can any of the chemists on TMP chime in? Will acrylic paint degrade? Should we all be heading back to enamels?

I have had thousands of both Airfix and Esci figures go brittle and fall apart. Yet, some of my oldest figures from Giant of Hong Kong, a very cheap company, they were perfecty fine as were some of my 60mm figures. A few of my MPC Ring Hand figures have been brittle but not many.

When boiled in water, brittle figures become soft again for as long as they are hot, but become brittle again when cooled.

Mike "Bunkermeister" Creek
bunkermeister.blogspot.com

The first, and only (so far), comment on that article asks about other uses of plastics in art, such as acrylic paint. Just how plastic is acrylic paint? Can any of the chemists on TMP chime in? Will acrylic paint degrade? Should we all be heading back to enamels?

"Plastic" is a generic term for an enormous range of chemical products.
I will not even attempt to define it.

Just for something to begin with, let's say that it is a "polymer", or a … No, let's not even go there.
It is like defining "food".

A plastic is a compound with a very large molecular weight. Let's stick with that, for the layman.
In a pure form, it has defined and set properties. Vary the original formulation, before polymerization, and you can modify its properties.
You can also modify the properties by adding "plasticizers", which are nothing but a chemical (or another plastic) which makes it more pliable, more flexible, less flexible, lowers or raises its melting point, and so on.

The properties of the "plastic" can be controlled by varying the chemicl makeup. You can get a very moldable plastic, which is very flexile, and takes paint without chipping, glues with simple adhesives, and so on. I would bet that the "perfect" polymer has already been formulated, and would cost around $35.00 USD for a single 25mm figure.

Let's not forget that the additional compounds may be imperfectly mixed within the lot. so, we may get some beads with more plasticizer than normal, and some with less. That means that some may be brittle, some not.
Dying the lot may also affect the physical properties. I wold be surprised if it did not.

Amd, as for "acrylic" paints, well, again the properties are a matter of recipes, voodoo and witchcraft. some will last, some will not.
Will it degrade? Maybe, it depends. Maybe not.