Regarding Room Temperatures (Bandai DX YF-19)

[Hagerstrom]

Here in the UK we're experiencing a delightful heatwave and I'm struggling to keep my office below 30c where I have my YF-19 boxed up in storage.

I had read on a collector blog that with Star Wars figures you should keep temps below 27c. Above that, the plastic would start to sweat with the oils coming to the surface.

Does anyone know if having temps around 30c can cause any issues to a Bandai DX toy?

[Sanity is Optional]

12 minutes ago, Hagerstrom said:

Here in the UK we're experiencing a delightful heatwave and I'm struggling to keep my office below 30c where I have my YF-19 boxed up in storage.

I had read on a collector blog that with Star Wars figures you should keep temps below 27c. Above that, the plastic would start to sweat with the oils coming to the surface.

Does anyone know if having temps around 30c can cause any issues to a Bandai DX toy?

No idea, but over here in California my stuff gets up to ~85F (29.5C) and I haven't noticed much of an issue.

I don't really have many older figures, just some Yamato V2 era stuff and a single V1. They're a bit newer than the old-school Star-Wars action figures (and probably use better plastic).

[MacrossJunkie]

Aren't Star Wars figures made primarily of pvc (I don't collect any modern ones, but I recall the old kenner ones back in the 80's that I had were kind of a softer plastic)? I can see those degrading in higher heat, but the DX YF-19 is I think made of abs and die cast with no vinyl or pvc content (I think?). I believe those kind of temperatures should still be fine.

Edited August 10, 2020 by MacrossJunkie

[Hagerstrom]

11 minutes ago, MacrossJunkie said:

Aren't Star Wars figures made primarily of pvc? I can see those degrading in higher heat, but the DX YF-19 is I think made of abs and die cast with no vinyl or pvc content (I think?). I believe those kind of temperatures should still be fine.

I can't find the post I saw but I'm sure they described the Star Wars figures as being PVC.

[MacrossJunkie]

I think the only PVC content from most Macross releases are things like the fixed pose hands and some with bendy head lasers. Otherwise Arcadia and Bandai mostly use die cast, ABS and PLA.

I used to live in a house where it got really warm (but still nowhere near 30 C) where I stored/display my stuff in the early 2000's, but the Yamato 1/48's I got from that time are still fine and there's no noticeable discoloration either.  Meanwhile, I had some stuff made with pvc like the Kaiyodo Evangelions which quickly turned sticky after a couple years. Some other pvc and rubber stuff split, cracked or warped over time.

 

[Mog]

There’s the potential for yellowing of the plastics.

Given that the YF-19 is already kinda beige or cream colored though, it may not be that noticeable.

[Hagerstrom]

19 minutes ago, Mog said:

There’s the potential for yellowing of the plastics.

Given that the YF-19 is already kinda beige or cream colored though, it may not be that noticeable.

If that is the case, that's frustrating since the YF-19 was expensive to get hold of. 

[spacemanoeuvres]

19 minutes ago, Hagerstrom said:

If that is the case, that's frustrating since the YF-19 was expensive to get hold of. 

Unless you keep them in a vacuum; they're all going to yellow and crumble to bits eventually.  You're mileage may vary; some folks have had valks for many years with no issues, while others have had them turn yellow after a short time.  There's a thread on yellowing Macross Frontier toys not far from the front page.

[Hagerstrom]

9 minutes ago, spacemanoeuvres said:

Unless you keep them in a vacuum; they're all going to yellow and crumble to bits eventually.  You're mileage may vary; some folks have had valks for many years with no issues, while others have had them turn yellow after a short time.  There's a thread on yellowing Macross Frontier toys not far from the front page.

I totally understand what you're saying. It took me a while to get hold of a YF-19. so I want to keep it in the best condition I can.

[sqidd]

UV light will do a lot more damage faster than temps will.

I think the toys that are in Styrofoam have more yellowing issues when they're stored. I think the foam breaks down then reacts with the plastic. A totally non scientific conclusion.

I had an old old Yamato YF-19 yellow on the bottom only. It spent about 10 years on a stained wooden shelf (on a Flightpose stand). I think that was a case of "off gassing" like Styrafoam does. I think it's plastic dependent too. I had a very old Gakken Ride Armor right next to that YF-19 and it didn't yellow at all.

Keep your toys out of the UV light and in a temperature stable environment if you can. Not a bad idea to kep them away/out of any material that is prone to off gassing.....like Styrafoam.

[MacrossJunkie]

Yep, definitely try to keep them out of UV light. Personally, I keep the window blinds closed, the windows have a UV blocking film and all the lighting in the room is from LED lights. They provide the least amount of heat compared to CFL and incandescent lights and also the least amount of UV, and even then it's diffuse lighting bounced off the walls and such and has to go through the glass of the display cabinet so the negligible amounts of UV they produce is reduced further.

If one is worried about minimizing UV, definitely move away from fluorescent lights, particularly the CFLs. Even though it's not as much as sunlight, it's still a decent amount. I've had lamps with white plastic housing that have yellowed from fluorescent lights, particularly in the areas closest to the bulbs.

There might be other environmental factors like pollution/ quality of air or whatever.

Finally, there just might not be anything you can do. Sometimes there are just batches of plastic that destabilize or are just prone to yellowing and it comes down to luck I suppose. But I guess it's still better to control the factors you can control. People have had stuff that has never seen the light of day still yellow over the course of some years.

 

[Hagerstrom]

6 hours ago, sqidd said:

UV light will do a lot more damage faster than temps will.

I think the toys that are in Styrofoam have more yellowing issues when they're stored. I think the foam breaks down then reacts with the plastic. A totally non scientific conclusion.

I had an old old Yamato YF-19 yellow on the bottom only. It spent about 10 years on a stained wooden shelf (on a Flightpose stand). I think that was a case of "off gassing" like Styrafoam does. I think it's plastic dependent too. I had a very old Gakken Ride Armor right next to that YF-19 and it didn't yellow at all.

Keep your toys out of the UV light and in a temperature stable environment if you can. Not a bad idea to kep them away/out of any material that is prone to off gassing.....like Styrafoam.

Thanks for the info.

[Hagerstrom]

2 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

Yep, definitely try to keep them out of UV light. Personally, I keep the window blinds closed, the windows have a UV blocking film and all the lighting in the room is from LED lights. They provide the least amount of heat compared to CFL and incandescent lights and also the least amount of UV, and even then it's diffuse lighting bounced off the walls and such and has to go through the glass of the display cabinet so the negligible amounts of UV they produce is reduced further.

If one is worried about minimizing UV, definitely move away from fluorescent lights, particularly the CFLs. Even though it's not as much as sunlight, it's still a decent amount. I've had lamps with white plastic housing that have yellowed from fluorescent lights, particularly in the areas closest to the bulbs.

There might be other environmental factors like pollution/ quality of air or whatever.

Finally, there just might not be anything you can do. Sometimes there are just batches of plastic that destabilize or are just prone to yellowing and it comes down to luck I suppose. But I guess it's still better to control the factors you can control. People have had stuff that has never seen the light of day still yellow over the course of some years.

 

Appreciate the feedback. I only have LEDs in my office, so that should be fine. I also keep the blinds closed but since I don't have air con it's just the room temps that's a concern.

I was looking at getting a glass cabinet (https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/detolf-glass-door-cabinet-black-brown-10119206/), nothing too fancy.

Can't really enjoy the toy if it's storage.

[sqidd]

11 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

Yep, definitely try to keep them out of UV light. Personally, I keep the window blinds closed, the windows have a UV blocking film and all the lighting in the room is from LED lights. They provide the least amount of heat compared to CFL and incandescent lights and also the least amount of UV, and even then it's diffuse lighting bounced off the walls and such and has to go through the glass of the display cabinet so the negligible amounts of UV they produce is reduced further.

If one is worried about minimizing UV, definitely move away from fluorescent lights, particularly the CFLs. Even though it's not as much as sunlight, it's still a decent amount. I've had lamps with white plastic housing that have yellowed from fluorescent lights, particularly in the areas closest to the bulbs.

There might be other environmental factors like pollution/ quality of air or whatever.

Finally, there just might not be anything you can do. Sometimes there are just batches of plastic that destabilize or are just prone to yellowing and it comes down to luck I suppose. But I guess it's still better to control the factors you can control. People have had stuff that has never seen the light of day still yellow over the course of some years.

 

I bought a good UV light meter so I would know for sure how much UV I was dealing with. Glass, etc will reduce UV. So will blinds. And as you mentioned reflected UV is lessened (what it reflects off of effects how much gets reflected.

To get my toy room down to what museams consider an acceptable UV level I had to black out the windows in the room. With the room door open there is only one UV source (window) that can shine and relect light into the toy room. It's almost 30frt from the door. I had to put a very good quality UV film (most are crap, I found a test) on it to get Uv levels down to acceptable.

Edited August 11, 2020 by sqidd

[Mommar]

I'm more struck by the idea 86 is considered a heatwave.

[derex3592]

....SERIOUSLY....

[Hagerstrom]

1 hour ago, Mommar said:

I'm more struck by the idea 86 is considered a heatwave.

It's been hitting 36c in the south of England but it's my office that's been going up to 30c.

[Slave IV]

6 hours ago, sqidd said:

I bought a good UV light meter so I would know for sure how much UV I was dealing with. Glass, etc will reduce UV. So will blinds. And as you mentioned reflected UV is lessened (what it reflects off of effects how much gets reflected.

To get my toy room down to what museams consider an acceptable UV level I had to black out the windows in the room. With the room door open there is only one UV source (window) that can shine and relect light into the toy room. It's almost 30frt from the door. I had to put a very good quality UV film (most are crap, I found a test) on it to get Uv levels down to acceptable.

I'm curious about your UV meter tests. The ceramic based films I buy for my cars mostly claim over 99% UV protection and I wonder how accurate that is. I know from my less scientific tests that my cars stay WAY cooler than other cars parked in the same area and if my windows are rolled up, I never get any sign of sunburn or tan on my arm but if the windows are down, I can feel my skin start to burn almost immediately.

[Mommar]

12 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

I'm curious about your UV meter tests. The ceramic based films I buy for my cars mostly claim over 99% UV protection and I wonder how accurate that is. I know from my less scientific tests that my cars stay WAY cooler than other cars parked in the same area and if my windows are rolled up, I never get any sign of sunburn or tan on my arm but if the windows are down, I can feel my skin start to burn almost immediately.

That may also depend on the levels of UV in the area you live.

[Slave IV]

Just now, Mommar said:

That may also depend on the levels of UV in the area you live.

Yeah...but the film should block the same %. Either way, I know the film works very well but just curious about the numbers since @sqidd actually went and got a meter for it.

[MacrossJunkie]

1 hour ago, Slave IV said:

I'm curious about your UV meter tests. The ceramic based films I buy for my cars mostly claim over 99% UV protection and I wonder how accurate that is. I know from my less scientific tests that my cars stay WAY cooler than other cars parked in the same area and if my windows are rolled up, I never get any sign of sunburn or tan on my arm but if the windows are down, I can feel my skin start to burn almost immediately.

You probably wouldn't notice much difference if you coated your car's windows with ceramic coating or not as far as getting sunburned goes. From what I've read, glass blocks nearly all UV-B and UV-C, of which UV-B is what causes sunburn. However, it still lets through most of the UV-A wavelength because it is closer to the visible spectrum which is of course what passes through so that you can see out a window. UV-A will cause eye and skin damage even if you're not getting sun burned.

I have no idea about the veracity of the claim about ceramic coatings blocking 99% of UV. They could mean just UV-B or UV-C for all I know, in which case that would very likely be true. I have Armor Shield IX from AvalonKing, which claims to block UV and sunshine (what does that even mean by blocking sunshine? sunlight obviously goes through. Glare reduction?), applied on my car including all the windows, but I don't have a UV meter to test. But I know with or without, I've never gotten a sunburn when the windows are up. I still wear sunscreen if I know I'll be stuck driving for a while in sunny weather to prevent cell damage.

 

[Slave IV]

5 minutes ago, MacrossJunkie said:

You probably wouldn't notice much difference if you coated your car's windows with ceramic coating or not as far as getting sunburned goes. From what I've read, glass blocks nearly all UV-B and UV-C, of which UV-B is what causes sunburn. However, it still lets through most of the UV-A wavelength because it is closer to the visible spectrum which is of course what passes through so that you can see out a window. UV-A will cause eye and skin damage even if you're not getting sun burned.

I have no idea about the veracity of the claim about ceramic coatings blocking 99% of UV. They could mean just UV-B or UV-C for all I know, in which case that would very likely be true. I have Armor Shield IX from AvalonKing, which claims to block UV and sunshine (what does that even mean by blocking sunshine? sunlight obviously goes through. Glare reduction?), applied on my car including all the windows, but I don't have a UV meter to test. But I know with or without, I've never gotten a sunburn when the windows are up. I still wear sunscreen if I know I'll be stuck driving for a while in sunny weather to prevent cell damage.

 

Yeah, I get ceramic tint mostly for the heat blocking and again, my non scientific tests have shown that my car is much cooler than cars parked in the same area with regular tint. I just looked up some specs and the films say they block Wavelengths 300-380nm which is most of the UV-A that isn't covered by the glass alone.

[MacrossJunkie]

3 hours ago, Mommar said:

I'm more struck by the idea 86 is considered a heatwave.

Pretty normal here in PA during the summer. I hate when it's been getting into the mid 90's though.  But without AC, 86 outside and sunny would make it feel like a heatwave indoors regardless. Actually, it's the accompanying humidity that usually gets me. It's far more tolerable if it's a dry heat.

2 hours ago, Hagerstrom said:

It's been hitting 36c in the south of England but it's my office that's been going up to 30c.

You poor guy... I don't know how people do it. My AC broke down for a week last summer and when it got up to those temps, I was just constantly sweating and couldn't sleep. It was miserable.

But then again, I'm also outside in 10 C weather in shorts and a t-shirt without feeling cold. I probably just have a high internal body temperature or something. I'm much happier in colder climates and don't think I could ever live in places further south, especially without AC.

[MacrossJunkie]

5 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

Yeah, I get ceramic tint mostly for the heat blocking and again, my non scientific tests have shown that my car is much cooler than cars parked in the same area with regular tint. I just looked up some specs and the films say they block Wavelengths 300-380nm which is most of the UV-A that isn't covered by the glass alone.

Oh okay, so it's a tint specifically for the windows to block light and not a protective coating for the paint for the purposes of putting a shine on your car and making it easier to clean.

I misunderstood. Totally different things then.

[Slave IV]

15 minutes ago, MacrossJunkie said:

Oh okay, so it's a tint specifically for the windows to block light and not a protective coating for the paint for the purposes of putting a shine on your car and making it easier to clean.

I misunderstood. Totally different things then.

Yeah, for the windows. There’s also specific windshield film that lets through most the light (70-80%) but also has similar heat blocking properties. 
The main point is these films seem to protect me and my car interiors very well and I’ve recommended them to people to put on their home windows for the same reason. I have an older car without the tint and old paper that I leave in there gets crusty and yellowed. My other cars with tint preserve everything inside like they are unaffected at all. 

[sqidd]

2 hours ago, Slave IV said:

I'm curious about your UV meter tests. The ceramic based films I buy for my cars mostly claim over 99% UV protection and I wonder how accurate that is. I know from my less scientific tests that my cars stay WAY cooler than other cars parked in the same area and if my windows are rolled up, I never get any sign of sunburn or tan on my arm but if the windows are down, I can feel my skin start to burn almost immediately.

Check this out:

https://cool.culturalheritage.org/waac/wn/wn30/wn30-2/wn30-204.pdf

[Slave IV]

11 minutes ago, sqidd said:

Check this out:

https://cool.culturalheritage.org/waac/wn/wn30/wn30-2/wn30-204.pdf

Thanks! I mainly use Llumar film and that one seems to be one of the top performers tested and museum approved! 

[MacrossJunkie]

I really wish I could tint my car windows for the same reasons you tint yours. PA seems to be pretty strict about window tinting and can't even tint the front windshield at all other than a few inches on the top which is worthless.

[Slave IV]

4 minutes ago, MacrossJunkie said:

I really wish I could tint my car windows for the same reasons you tint yours. PA seems to be pretty strict about window tinting and can't even tint the front windshield at all other than a few inches on the top which is worthless.

I think the front windshield thing is mostly illegal but the specific film Llumar and other companies make for the windshield is basically unnoticeable, especially if you have a good install. I've been pulled over more times than I care to mention and even got hit with having tint on the side windows once but the cops have never noticed or mentioned windshield tint that was always on my car. I don't like very dark tint so most of my cars are tinted with very light film (50% or more) but the tech is so good on them that they do the intended job for me which is blocking UV and mainly HEAT! Llumar's windshield tint is I think 80% light transmission and the advertised specs (which seem to match tested specs in many cases) show that it blocks more heat than darker films from lesser companies.

[Sanity is Optional]

11 minutes ago, MacrossJunkie said:

I really wish I could tint my car windows for the same reasons you tint yours. PA seems to be pretty strict about window tinting and can't even tint the front windshield at all other than a few inches on the top which is worthless.

I wish they were like that around here. Everyone's so tinted that as someone in a Sedan it's severely impacting my ability to see traffic. Can't see anything ahead of the car in front of me, can't see the driver in a vehicle, can't tell if a car with their backup lights is about to pull out or will continue sitting another 2 minutes futzing with their phone.

Edited August 11, 2020 by Sanity is Optional

[Jasonc]

This happened to just about all of my Milia 639 figures I had purchased, with the exception of one set that I received from Japan about 3 months ago. Maybe that set was in a cooler shop, but the ones that I opened in my closet, which usually stays quite cool, had signs of sweating oils out. Again, these I have only seen in those Yamato figures, and they aren't made of the same plastic that the Yamato/Arcadia valkyries are made of, as is with the DX valkyries. I think you should be OK.

 

[MacrossJunkie]

5 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I wish they were like that around here. Everyone's so tinted that as someone in a Sedan it's severely impacting my ability to see traffic. Can't see anything ahead of the car in front of me, can't see the driver in a vehicle, can't tell if a car with their backup lights is about to pull out or will continue sitting another 2 minutes futzing with their phone.

I wish I had that problem. I can't see past people's windows to what's ahead of them anyways because nearly everyone drives SUVs and pickup trucks these days.

[Hagerstrom]

14 hours ago, Jasonc said:

This happened to just about all of my Milia 639 figures I had purchased, with the exception of one set that I received from Japan about 3 months ago. Maybe that set was in a cooler shop, but the ones that I opened in my closet, which usually stays quite cool, had signs of sweating oils out. Again, these I have only seen in those Yamato figures, and they aren't made of the same plastic that the Yamato/Arcadia valkyries are made of, as is with the DX valkyries. I think you should be OK.

 

My Yamato YF-21 I was handling the other day in the hot weather, the plastic felt absolutely fine.  Same with the Neca ED-209 I have, the plastic doesn't feel any different. It's because the YF-19 was expensive and I've been after one for a while that's making anxious.

[vladykins]

I've only found this to happen with some of my small gashapons; never with any larger toys.

[Mommar]

21 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

I really wish I could tint my car windows for the same reasons you tint yours. PA seems to be pretty strict about window tinting and can't even tint the front windshield at all other than a few inches on the top which is worthless.

So what happens if you buy a car from someplace in Texas, New Mexico or Arizona?  They all come tinted mandatory because of the intense heat.  Would PA force you to remove it?