Talk:Gold Plastic Syndrome

2019-06-23T05:28:40Z

Aphelion05:

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. --[[User:FortMax|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." --[[User:ItsWalky|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. [[User:70.161.57.72|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. --[[User:M Sipher|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...)-[[User:Derik|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? --[[User:M Sipher|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... -[[User:Derik|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. [[User:Hooper X|-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. --[[User:FortMax|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.) -[[User:LV|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. --[[User:FortMax|FortMax]] 21:17, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

::"That deeper bronzey color plastic is not at all known for disintegrating" - I appreciate it was said two years ago, but *what*? Skyquake's supersight contraption breaks ludicrously easily, without warning or stress marks.--[[User:PTX-015R|PTX-015R]] 11:34, 13 May 2009 (EDT)

== 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? [[User:Dracokanji|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. [[User:Hooper X|-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. --[[User:M Sipher|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. [[User:Dracokanji|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?--[[User:MCRG|MCRG]] 07:06, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

:Yeah, TC is a textbook example of GPS. That's the whole reason why his gun is impossible to find. I don't remember anyone's lasting more than a few months "back in the day". The missile launcher bays are also known to just fall apart, as well as the tabs inside his feet.. --[[User:PTX-015R|PTX-015R]] 11:34, 13 May 2009 (EDT)

== 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. --[[User:FortMax|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 :([[User:AutobotFreak643|AutobotFreak643]] 19:09, 1 March 2008 (UTC)
:GPS breaks don't show stress marks.--[[User:FortMax|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.--[[User:Rosicrucian|Rosicrucian]][[User Talk: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. [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 19:25, 24 March 2008 (UTC)
::::Right. GPS is CRUMBLING like dried-out clay, not snapping. --[[User:M Sipher|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?--[[User:Rosicrucian|Rosicrucian]][[User Talk: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.--[[User:MCRG|MCRG]] 13:55, 7 April 2008 (UTC)
::Armada leader prime,his arms suffer from GPS. Who keeps removing the info about protoform starscream? [[User:Rhinox555|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.--[[User:Rosicrucian|Rosicrucian]][[User Talk:Rosicrucian|Talk]] 22:33, 14 April 2008 (UTC)
::::His cab's arms crumbled on mine for no reason. :-(. [[User:Rhinox555|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. --[[User:FortMax|FortMax]] 22:59, 14 April 2008 (UTC)
::::::My prime did not have stressmarks either,it just shattered for no reason. [[User:Rhinox555|Decepticon Rhinox]] 08:00, 15 April 2008 (UTC)
:::::::Yeaaaaaaah, i can add my Armada super base 'Prime to it, one of the arms turned to dust, without stressmarks with a bit of dust(ON the arm joint).--[[User:Sunjumper|Sunjumper]] 15:03, 6 September 2009 (EDT)
::::::::Talked to two people about the figure on a Convention today. Both of them had their figures succumb to GPS as well. So he definitely, '''definitely''' suffers from it.--[[Special:Contributions/86.87.28.191|86.87.28.191]] 15:32, 13 June 2010 (EDT)
:::::::::This needs investigation, since that'd be the first case of nylon-based gold(ish) plastic having GPS. I basically don't believe these were cases other than stress wearing out the joints in the elbows until I see otherwise. Considering this is five years later and there haven't been any widespread reports seems particularly against it being GPS.--[[User:MCRG|MCRG]] ([[User talk:MCRG|talk]]) 16:36, 3 February 2015 (EST)
::::::::::The case of Armada Super Base Optimus is more likely a result of the susceptibility of metallic plastics being more easily broken, rather than deterioration. The most common point of failure is a stress fracture that appears to run through where the rivet if positioned in the elbow. The thing is, brittle plastic will most likely NOT show stress marks - it's not "plasticy" enough to deform in a way that would produce stress marks. The problem is, the elbow used an octagonal lower piece that required a significant amount of force to make it rotate against the flat section of the bicep that holds it in position. Slowly turning the arm shows that the whole elbow section would warp to allow the bicep to reposition, and in the process it would damage the forearm joint. It was basically causing the swivel to ratchet itself apart slowly. Having the corners of the octagonal section be rounder could have potentially solved the issue. This is a case of manufacturers relying too much on the physical properties of the material to compensate for a lack of mechanical parts. --[[User:King Starscream|King Starscream]] ([[User talk:King Starscream|talk]]) 15:26, 22 April 2016 (EDT)
::::::::::: Minor correction here. The LOWER elbow breaks more often than the upper joint, but it's still due to the upper joint being shaped the way it is as well as the force needed to move the piece. Because of the shape and position of the elbow, the easiest spot to hold while turning it is the forearm, which puts pressure on the hole that the pin is running through. That's why basically ever Armada Optimus breaks in the exact same way - a crack running straight through that same pinhole. --[[User:King Starscream|King Starscream]] ([[User talk:King Starscream|talk]]) 15:30, 29 April 2016 (EDT)

== 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. --[[User:FortMax|FortMax]] 19:06, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

== Your toy is DOOMED! DOOOOOOOMED!!! ==

I was under the impression that GPS is not universal across the board, even in toys where it's common. Something about how some plastic batches weren't mixed well, but some were. Am I just confused and clinging to foolish hope? -- [[User:Repowers|Repowers]] 10:59, 28 June 2009 (EDT)
:I dunno. My Skyquake seems fine. My Electro hasn't disintegrated. I dunno about G2 Slingshot yet; I'll be getting to G2 after the Micromaster pictures, I think. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 12:00, 28 June 2009 (EDT)
::My Japanese Electro shows no sign of it, and so does my Skyquake--apart from the highly disturbing "birth" of a few little gold fragments the first time I folded his scope into his torso, but never again mind you. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] 17:19, 1 September 2009 (EDT)

==De-snarking?==

While the new information here certainly is welcome, where did all this talk about 'snapping like your grandma's ankles' and, worse yet, 'like a tight virgin in prison' come from? Way too many jokes are getting in the way of the facts here, I think. [[Special:Contributions/200.3.177.134|200.3.177.134]] 14:24, 15 July 2009 (EDT)

==Hasbro's Q&A session about GPS==

http://www.transformerland.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3481

It was noted here that hasbro is awere of the problem, and has done everything they could so that this might never happen again.(Hopefully this will save Protoform Starscream)--[[User:Sunjumper|Sunjumper]] 15:16, 1 September 2009 (EDT)

== Movie Legends Scorponok ==

I've seen many reports that the tip of Legends Scorponok's tail (originally made out of soft rubbery plastic) has a tendency to harden and then break. My Scorponok's tail appears to be very hard now, and I don't even DARE trying to apply force to it to see if it will break. Is this related to GPS? Should it be mentioned here? It seems to be a common problem, not a few isolated incidents.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 11:38, 20 September 2009 (EDT)

== Animated Arcee ==

Of course she isn't GPS, but she is so #$%& fragile. I believe she needs to be covered in this section. Specially her thumb (Arcee Thumbs Syndrome)_--[[User:ACIDSTORM92|ACIDSTORM92]] 21:44, 5 March 2010 (EST)
:We're not going to include every toy that breaks into this article. [[User:Interrobang|—Interrobang]] 23:48, 5 March 2010 (EST)
:Maybe, but her pink glittery plastic is kind of GPS to me, because of the nature of the plastic.--[[User:ACIDSTORM92|ACIDSTORM92]] 01:14, 6 March 2010 (EST)
:With Arcee, the common complaint is the stress marks on the thumbs, with them actually breaking being a secondary issue. The article repeatedly states that GPS does not have stress marks. Stress marks are a warning and a luxury where this particular thing is concerned. Since Arcee shows stress, she's not a case of GPS... just bad engineering/weak plastic. She doesn't belong here. [[User:Luke|Luke]] 18:33, 2 April 2011 (EDT)

== Universe 1.0/Cybertron (Europe) Micromaster Superion ==

[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-toy-discussion/300674-warning-universe-micromaster-superion-suffers-gold-plastic-syndrome.html] There's also talks about Movie Protoform Starscream, but reports on him seem to be 50/50 (mine was fine a week ago) suggesting that he came out in a transitional period when Hasbro fixed the problem.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 18:03, 16 December 2010 (EST)

== Youtube video for GPS ==

claywyatt1982 has uploaded a video demonstrating Gold Plastic Syndrome:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcjAUN5Ssj8

How about linking it on the page? I think it would be great to show people the fragility in action. [[User:Fiction Alchemist|C. V. Reynolds]] 05:35, 21 April 2011 (EDT)
:I WILL CRUSH YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS indeed.
:I don't think there would be a problem with putting it in the "External Links" session--we have several instances of linking to 'net fan reviews of, say, the release of Marvel #1, or MOSC rubber rot on the Pretender Monsters. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] 08:16, 21 April 2011 (EDT)

== Transmetal Megatron ==

So is [[Megatron (BW)/toys#MegaTransmetal|Transmetal Megatron]] GPS or not? According to this page it is, according to his page it isn't clear what is the cause of his fragility. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] 08:48, 22 September 2011 (EDT)
: In short, no. TM Megs has the problem of metallic plastic being more susceptible to stress, but doesn't just spontaneously disintegrate. --[[User:King Starscream|King Starscream]] 15:57, 10 November 2011 (EST)

== Cybertron Repugnus ==

I think [[Repugnus (Cybertron)|Cybertron Repugnus]] suffers from GPS, specifically at the lower jaws, which easily break when you try yo make him hold his tail/flail.
:That sounds more like a stress fracture than GPS. Remember, just because it breaks doesn't mean it is GPS. GPS is crumbling for no reason, not snapping when things are forced into tight spaces. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] 14:02, 18 October 2011 (EDT)
::It did not snap : it crumbled. First the peg, then the whole jaw. Looks like GPS to me, but I could be wrong. Just wanted to know if anybody else experimented this.[[Special:Contributions/82.238.12.114|82.238.12.114]] 08:48, 19 October 2011 (EDT)

== 10th Anniversary Dinobot ==

Dinobot's beast mode toes have crumbled on me for no reason. Has anyone else had this happen to them? [[User:Tom Servo the Great|Tom Servo the Great]] 14:16, 18 October 2011 (EDT)
:I had the entire right shoulder assembly on mine just snap right off, apropos of nothing. I'd say that's GPS, all right. --[[User:AutoFire|AutoFire]] 17:40, 29 October 2013 (EDT)

== Ultimate movieverse Optimus ==

A gentle toss to the floor tore the cab's arm off. i had bought it not even half a day ago, i think it might be GPS. the symptoms matched up, but either way, i returned it, so i cannot check again. (sorry for the wording.) [[User:CrowBuster|CrowBuster]] 17:15, 3 January 2012 (EST)CrowBuster

:No way, even if that figure did have GPS, it's way too soon for that to be the cause of yours breaking. Your "gentle toss" was probably not as gentle as you think.--[[Special:Contributions/76.226.102.10|76.226.102.10]] 17:27, 15 April 2012 (EDT)

== Remove mention of TM Megatron? ==

Given that [[Megatron_(BW)/toys#MegaTransmetal|TM Megs's own writeup]] says he DOESN'T actually suffer from GPS, shouldn't that toy's mention on this page be removed? --[[User:AutoFire|AutoFire]] 23:41, 1 November 2013 (EDT)

== TF only? ==
Is GPS something that only affects Transformers, or has it been noted in various toylines in general? Cuz for whatever reason the way I'm seeing the article written, it seems like it's a problem specific to the transformers brand. {{unsigned|BlackStarscream}}
:G.I. Joe has [[Serpentor]], who's listed on the page as suffering from it. I did a quick Google or two and couldn't find any mention of other toylines having a big problem with gold plastic. I saw someone ask about it on a Lego site, but none of the people there reported any problems with Lego products containing gold plastic. --[[User:Abates|abates]] ([[User talk:Abates|talk]]) 00:51, 28 January 2014 (EST)
::Supposedly some Visionaries figures also suffer from it, but I'm not sure which ones. --[[User:Monzo|Monzo]] ([[User talk:Monzo|talk]]) 01:39, 28 January 2014 (EST)
:::Definitely other lines have it. Snizzard Lips, a gold and green snake monster from the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Evil Space Aliens line (1993) has GPS. It's very hard to find one whose tail has not partially crumbled. Related is "Popy disease", sparkly blue plastic that tends to shatter just like GPS. Notable examples from Popy's Chogokin line are Gordion (released as Gardian in the Godaikin line in the US) whose knees notoriously shatter and Albegas Beta (the blue Voltron II robot in the Voltron line) whose legs and other blue plastic body parts like to shatter. In fact, even the Diaclone F-15 Robo predecessor to Thundercracker's sparkly blue plastic wings crumbled on me (that was pretty heartbreaking) and my friend's Microman Microchange Browning (the blue one) had a waist that just crumbled even though he was extremely careful with it. --[[User:Ginrai|Ginrai]]
:::Probably the strangest one: you know how Zelda games tend to come in gold cartridges or disks? Well, the Majora's Mask one is made of metallic gold plastic. Needless to say, the first image result for "Majora's Mask cartridge broken" is a picture of one with a massive piece sheared right off and no visible bends or stress marks, and there's a whole lot of other pictures that seem to show the same problem. Even found a video of a guy describing how his copy basically shattered after it fell off the shelf.[[User:MBG|MBG]] ([[User talk:MBG|talk]]) 16:31, 21 October 2018 (EDT)

== TM2 Megatron? ==

While, at this point, it is quite obvious that Transmetal Megatron is NOT in any way afflicted by plastic degradation, I've noticed that the lower leg pivots on my Transmetal 2 Megatron are starting to splinter and flake away from the joint rather distressingly. It leaves the same sort of ragged edges, dust, and splinters that GPS typically results in. I'm not really sure how many others have noticed a similar situation. Indeed, I only realized that the plastic fragments were coming from that particular figure on close examination, since they were falling off of an otherwise obscured part. Can anyone confirm whether or not this is actually the case? --[[User:King Starscream|King Starscream]] ([[User talk:King Starscream|talk]]) 16:11, 28 December 2015 (EST)
:I came on here to find this exact issue since I couldn't find any mention of it anywhere else, mine was also suffering from the flaking issue on his lower leg, and then finally snapped this past week just sitting around. I don't know if it's a design flaw or an issue with the red plastic, but the other leg is disintegrating and flaking as well. [[User:Aphelion05|Aphelion05]] ([[User talk:Aphelion05|talk]]) 01:28, 23 June 2019 (EDT)

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Talk:Gold Plastic Syndrome