Talk: Gold Plastic Syndrome

About TM megs, I think the plastic used has some form of GPScombined with problems with stress. From what I've found, the Beast Wars Metals Metals Megatron does not have the problems Hasbro's TM megatron has, nor does Armada Predacon. That, and the post common breaking points on toys with GPS are stressed areas like joints, pegs, and fist holes. --FortMax 15:47, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

I've been talking with Kyde, and he says that ABS plastic is the kind that GPS affects. (Versus PVC or nylon). I'll bug 'im to research it a bit more. You know, find out what causes the "swirlies." --ItsWalky 16:24, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Might not be the right answer, but my hypothesis is that the fillers and paint added to the plastic don't mix entirely right, like oil and water, and over time either chemically seperate or oxidize, leaving behind a messy gold powder and broken childhood memories. 70.161.57.72 03:33, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

Having talked with a few people who have snapped Megatrons, the breaks on that toy all sound very clean to me, and sound liek a "Gradual pressure" situation. As such, I can only conclude that the original TM Megatrons simply had the wrong kind of plastic for that joint, one that would not stand up to the constant pressure applied in transformation, not "bad" plastic. And as the article notes, GPS breaks are anything but clean... I've got a few toys that suffer from it... virtually all of them were like-new (being either purchased in sealed bubbles or were obvious display pieces), and they CRUMBLED near-instantly. There was no give, no pressure, just *turn * *CRUNCH* *flinders*. I'll be taking pictures of my GPS-affected Roadblock to illustrate. --M Sipher 19:49, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Will one of those pictures be used to illustrate this article? (I suppose for aesteric purposes, it should be a picture of Electro...)-Derik 06:26, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

No, I thought I'd just let it sit on my hard drive and I'd never show anyone. What the fuck do you THINK I even brought it UP for? --M Sipher 09:58, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Hey, I take notes and snap all sorts of TF related stuff and just have it sit on my hard drive. Mostly out of laziness for actualyl doing anythign with it. The Wiki is funt hat way- it's so much less WORK to put it up someplace... -Derik 12:00, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

RE: Joes: I clearly remember seeing posts in the Joe fandom, I forget where, though, that Serpentor suffered from GPS, and that one guy had Serpentor's entire thigh assembly collapse into dust and shards. -hx 23:16, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Skyquake

Does anyone know if the Predator Skyquake (aside from the missile launcher) suffers from GPS? I've been wanting to get all of the Predators and Turbomasters, but since I like to play with my TFs, I don't want to spend a lot of money on one who will crumble apart when I pick it up. --FortMax 16:06, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Skyquake isn't actually gold. That deeper bronzey color plastic is not at all known for disintegrating, although Skyquake IS notable for breaking off Predator gun handles because of his giant deep fists and overall mass going up against the same tiny pegs his little friends have.

(It is HILARIOUS that Siph hasn't actually uploaded those pictures of Roadblock ten months later.) -LV 16:57, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. Do you know if the Predator launchers get GPS? The launcher from my Stalker broke at the trigger, but I'm not sure if it was GPS or just because it was old hard plastic that really should have had a hinge to push the trigger. --FortMax 21:17, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Couple'a questions...

With the new Movie figures coming out, I've noticed Starscream has the characteristic streaks of color that are evident in toys that suffer from GPS. So what I'm wondering is a) do the swirls only appear in the ABS grade plastics, or so they appear in PVC as well? and b) What is the general life-span of a toy that suffers this lamentable condition? Dracokanji 12:51, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

I forgot to mention in the above post that I noticed Energon Starscream's transparent green wings seem to suffer from GPS. I myself rarely used the hinge on the wings used for the missile launchers (considering I LOST one of the missiles... ) but one day I noticed a break in the plastic around where the pin that holds it in place was situated. It didn't look like a stress fracture, but more like plastic rot. If anyone else has noticed this, maybe it should be added to the main article.

There's already been one reported case of a Protoform Starscream suffering from a GPS-like disintegration, but that user added extra paint details using some kind of paint markers, which may have accelerated or enhanced the process. -hx 17:47, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Yeah. Enamel paints can have odd chemical effects on certain TF plastics. I painted an old Tracks black about a decade back, and the paint made the blue car-panel parts all gummy. I'm disinclined to think Protoscream will have issues unless you start adding chemicals into his mix. --M Sipher 01:42, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

I forgot to mention one last thing. Is there any way to prevent the plastic from deteriorating? I don't do custom painting, so that won't be a problem. What I am worried about is if oxidation has something to do with it, and how long older figures (g1, beast wars, etc.) lasted before turning to powder. Dracokanji 01:32, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

Thunder Clash

Okay, I see Thunder Clash got pulled off the list, but I'm going to dispute that one. Mine in particular, which I keep in the box 95% of the time, cleanly (no whiteness) snapped off both ratchet tabs within the feet a couple years back. A year after the right fist split cleanly on the inside (also without whiteness). I'm terrified to touch the handgun. This sure as hell sounds like GPS to me, don't you think?--MCRG 07:06, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Seibertron's Slingshot gallery

Seibertron's G2 Slingshot gallery has come pics of a very broken one. We might want to use one of those for the main pic. --FortMax 03:22, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Variants

Can a similar form of GPS happen to Alternators? My Rarley played with Hound Alternator is showing MAJOR signs of stress all over, especially on the shiny green areas. He is one of my favorite figures, I really don't want him to break :(AutobotFreak643 19:09, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

GPS breaks don't show stress marks.--FortMax 20:05, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Worth noting though that it's only called "Gold Plastic Syndrome" because that's the most common plastic to show the classic symptoms. It's really a problem with any swirly/metallic plastic.--Rosicrucian^Talk 20:10, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

That's something else - other shiny/metallic plastic is more prone to *breaking* due to stress, yes. Looking at you, TM Megatron, but it's not the sort of "randomly crumble into flinders/dust out of nowhere" behavior that GPS specifically refers to. -hx 19:25, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Right. GPS is CRUMBLING like dried-out clay, not snapping. --M Sipher 21:35, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

UT Optimus Prime

You haven't really specified which UT Optimus Prime has GPS. You say "Leader Class," but there isn't a toy from that entire franchise family that has metallic plastic for its fists. Can you be more specific?--Rosicrucian^Talk 15:51, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Of course, the simple answer is that none of them have GPS, unless the K-Mart super base version's cab starts exploding.--MCRG 13:55, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

Armada leader prime,his arms suffer from GPS. Who keeps removing the info about protoform starscream? Decepticon Rhinox 22:22, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Armada leader prime had no gold plastic on him, just gold paint applications.. Even the K-Mart super base version didn't have any on the arms. As for Starscream, the only confirmed cases of him showing symptoms are on custom figures who have been repainted.--Rosicrucian^Talk 22:33, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

His cab's arms crumbled on mine for no reason. :-(. Decepticon Rhinox 22:36, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Superbase Prime does indeed have gold plastic, most notably the cab elbow joints, supermode "ears" and minicon-activated blasters, but he does not suffer from GPS. GPS breaks are uneven and leave plastic dust and plastic shards. They also do not leave white marks on the plastic since GPS isn't a stress fracture. I don't have my Superbase Prime in front of me, but I'm pretty sure his gold plastic is unpaintable, meaning it isn't the type of plactic that can be affected. Also, there has been exactly ONE case of Protoform Starscream disintegrating, and it was a figure the owner had painted. --FortMax 22:59, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

My prime did not have stressmarks either,it just shattered for no reason. Decepticon Rhinox 08:00, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

Torca & Killbison

Does he actually have GPS? All I've seen are ones with a snapped tail joint. Also, I've heard varying reports on whether Killbison actually has GPS or not. --FortMax 19:06, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

He does. The leg armor on mine has a rather large chip, and I've seen cases where the side panels are cracked or completely snapped off. Xeno the Hedgehog 19:17, January 28, 2010 (UTC)

Neon Plastic Syndrome

It's been my experience that neon plastics are just as prone to breaking as metallic and clear plastics. By neon, I mean any plastic that appears to visibly fluoresce. The plastics in question are further distinguished by a level of translucency, particularly where the plastic is thin. I realize that there is already an article on neon, but that article refers to the word in its derogatory context more than it does the nature of the plastic itself. Your thoughts? Xeno the Hedgehog 19:15, January 28, 2010 (UTC)