Looking for Tips for Cleaning/Storing Transformers

[Thylacine 2000]

My collection was cocooned in bubble wrap and stuffed inside big plastic bins for 13 years. When I was finally able to unwrap them, the fumes were very noticeable and I got so woozy that I had to leave them in a room with the doors open overnight before I could finish. Should I ever have to move again (*throws salt over shoulder, spits three times*), I'll use paper towel instead of bubble wrap. Though there's no good substitute for ziplock bags when it comes to accessories.

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

I've always read that you can do a light soapy water wash to remove the stickiness. But it's just a natural part of plastics. I don't know the science, but some plastics just age this way. I've even had it happen to a couple toys that were just sitting out on a shelf, not confined.

Here's a thing I just googled:

Storing Plastic Figurines

Dear Donia, How do I store plastic figurines? Q. Dear Donia, I am currently working on storing my Star Wars figurine collection. I am putting individual figurines in low-density polyethelene bags with a small hole punched out for breathing. These bags are then going to be placed in trays (to...

www.ala.org

I have a few hundred Star Wars figures that have been packed away for 10 years that I should be checking on.

Well, that's some relief, then.

My collection was cocooned in bubble wrap and stuffed inside big plastic bins for 13 years. When I was finally able to unwrap them, the fumes were very noticeable and I got so woozy that I had to leave them in a room with the doors open overnight before I could finish. Should I ever have to move again (*throws salt over shoulder, spits three times*), I'll use paper towel instead of bubble wrap. Though there's no good substitute for ziplock bags when it comes to accessories.

Hmm, guess I'll scrap the plastic bag idea, accessories aside, then.

Maybe get some more paper towels. I was thinking newspaper, but maybe not?

I'm wondering if putting some sort of holes in the lid would help...

 

[CrockAlley]

Should I ever have to move again (*throws salt over shoulder, spits three times*), I'll use paper towel instead of bubble wrap. Though there's no good substitute for ziplock bags when it comes to accessories.

I just moved across the country last summer, and now I’m going to have to move across the country again this summer. This is after living in the same city for 40+ years. ‍

I should say, I’ve always stored my stuff in zipper bags, going back to the late 90s. Just about all of my TF (everything from G1 onwards) have lived in baggies, in bins, from 2010 to 2022, in an attic that got very hot, then very cold. I’ve had no noticeable problems. Outside a couple exceptions, I haven’t experienced any stickiness or yellowing.

Going forward, I should be more careful, but I don’t want anyone thinking that their figs are going to melt to pieces from being in plastic bags for a few years.

 

[Sciflyer]

Couldn't agree more re: plastic bags, CrockAlley. I've done exactly what you've done since the 90s as well, and my figures are all as decent as they were the last time I checked on them. I've opened them plenty over the years of course, but when not being transformed or displayed, many remain in bags that I bought back then.

 

[3210Self-Destruct]

I convert them to whichever mode is more compact, usually vehicle mode. I pop them into a ziplock bag (sandwich for scouts and legends, quart for deluxe, gallon for voyagers, etc) with accessories included in a smaller bags. I’ll bundle smaller figures into a larger bag together, and place them into large plastic totes where I layer them as evenly as possible. I try and keep figures from same or similar series (movie/studio series/HFTD, siege/universe 2.0/classics, etc) in the same tote, with preferred display figures placed near the top.

For cleaning, I give them a dusting with a rag or swiffer brush. Anything such as food/grease, I use a soft-bristle toothbrush with some warm water and dish soap, sometimes vinegar if it’s particularly bad. After cleaning I pat the figure dry with a cloth or paper towel, making sure to get any crevices that may retain water, then let them air dry before packing them up.

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

So... I don't have a lot of Ziplock bags around. However, what I do have is an abundance of plastic shopping bags we put aside from our groceries and such.

Is that about as good? Or should I go ahead and shell out for the bigger stuff?

Anyway, I got started earlier last night, and only quit when a headache crept up on me. I only got seven put away -- all of which I still have boxes for -- and already, the increase in room is surprising.

And that fluffy dust cloth tip was fantastic! I haven't needed anything more drastic than that so far.

 

[Sciflyer]

I would say that you are probably okay short term to use plastic shopping bags. However, if what you are after is a longer-term solution, plop down the dough and spring for the Ziploc bags.

 

[CrockAlley]

I use the plastic grocery bags for some of the bigger items. The main concerns are losing pieces because they can be easily missed in the folds of such bags, so pop off anything that might get lost and store that separate. Aside from that, it's just about preventing figs from bonking into each other and scraping paint and such, so the shopping bags are good for that.

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

So yeah, I'm still at this. I've been sidetracked by other projects that have been eating up my time to an unexpected level, but my wife has taken to helping out a bit with the ones in her area, dusting them off for me and putting them where I can get to them later (or hopefully sooner).

Running into a small problem, though... some of these guys don't seem to want to transform the way they used to.

Classics Sunstreaker, I barely got into vehicle mode, and Animated Rodimus Prime (I refuse to call him anything else) has one leg that's just sticking where you're supposed to bend it inward for transformation. The other worked fine, but I'm worried this one could break if I force it.

And somehow, Classics Prowl and Bluestreak, I'm almost terrified to even try.

Any advice/tips?

 

[Undead Scottsman]

I'm in need of reorganizing my displays so I've been on a dusting kick over the last few days which I finally finished. I bought some soft paint brushed which I use in conjunction with a swiffer.

I use the swiffer on large figures like titans, otherwise I proceed directly to the large brush, which gets most of the dust. Then I go over the figure with a small brush to get all the hard to reach nooks and crannies and hopefully anything I missed the previous times.

As for storing, I used to keep everything in cardboard boxes until I finally transfered everything to plastic tubs. My Armada bin is a little bit full though so I'm probably bending something in there. Not well stored.

 

[Agent X]

I'm just trying to figure out how to count the minions.

Do I count the partner figures separately (ex: jolt, sparkplug, blackout, etc) or consider them accessories and part of the figure?

Ones that came in team packs, do I count them each or as one (team)?

Then there are the (usually exclusive) multipacks.

Any from Micron boosters count as one each though.

 

[Platypus Prime]

Do you mean for ebay or for your own setup? For your own I'd just do whatever you feel like, such as "I have a collection of over 300 Transformers!" is fully valid (a hundred minicon three packs could do it) but if you're looking at a sale, it's usually the larger bot as the 'primary' and the smaller bots as an accessory, especially if it's one of those cases where the mini-bot is an integral part of the larger one, like Headmasters or Powermasters. Claiming Fortress Maximus as a four pack for Spike, Cerebros, Maximus, and Cog wouldn't go well.

 

[Sciflyer]

Running into a small problem, though... some of these guys don't seem to want to transform the way they used to.

Any advice/tips?

I would recommend slowly working the pieces back and forth to loosen them up before attempting their final configuration. Over time, joints may stick or stiffen, warp, or become brittle. If nothing seems to be working (and depending on how modern the figure is), you can use some light, indirect heat from a hair dryer to slowly reform warped plastic, if that is the culprit. Go slowly (notice a theme here?!) and stop frequently to let the piece(s) cool and then retry.

If none of that works, I would resort to leaving the figure as-is. Clean it, dust it, and then store it in whatever configuration it seems to want to stay in. In my experience, it just isn't worth forcing a transformation if the ultimate goal is storage. Best of luck!

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

Thanks! I'll give it a try!

As for how recent? Mid-to-late aughts.