Gold Plastic Syndrome

This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.

Ouch.

Gold Plastic Syndrome (commonly shorthanded to GPS) is fandom terminology used to describe the phenomenon of a toy's plastic decomposing and becoming brittle to the point of shattering or crumbling under minimal-stress conditions. In the most extreme cases, toys have been reported to spontaneously crumble to small bits without any applied force at all, even if they're fresh out of their unopened package.

This breakage is different from the relatively more common stress-fracture type of plastic breakage that can occur in some Transformers toys; while normal stress fractures are universally heralded by stress marks on the toy, GPS breakage doesn't have that sign; it simply crumbles to pieces. The condition takes its name from the gold plastics of late Generation 1 through to Beast Wars that have proved the most prone to this sort of breakage. Despite the name, Gold Plastic Syndrome has been known to affect other types of plastic—most of them noted for a pretty metallic swirl in the plastic; the reason it has the GPS moniker is because gold plastic was the first one observed to have this horrific phenomenon.

Etymology

The term was coined in an alt.toys.transformers post made by user Sky Shadow in September 2002. A post by Dave "Zobovor" Edwards, meanwhile, made in June of the previous year, is the earliest identifiable acknowledgment of the widespread nature of the phenomenon within the Transformers fan community.

Completing the journey from fan term to official term, "Gold Plastic Syndrome" was used by Hasbro designer John Warden at the Transformers Generations panel at Comic-Con International 2015 to describe exactly what would not happen to Combiner Wars G2-style Quickslinger.

Notability

GPS is widespread among toys made in the tail-end of Generation 1, typically the second year of Pretenders and even some European-market exclusives, Generation 2 and the Beast Wars series, but examples have surfaced from lines as recent as Universe (2003), the Star Wars Transformers and the 2007 movie. Transformers toys are not the only ones to suffer from this; there have been reports of G.I. Joe and Visionaries toys' gold plastics also crumbling seemingly of their own accord; even some Super Sentai and Power Rangers toys have been known to suffer. Probably the strangest is accounts of retro game collectors finding Majora's Mask cartridges shatter under minimal stress. Other retro robot toy collectors have referred to it as "Popy disease", after the metallic blue plastic favored by the company Popy that led to the demise of many a Dairugger / Vehicle Team Voltron.

The toys most likely to suffer from Gold Plastic Syndrome are those with gold or bronze plastic with a metallic swirl to it. There are other known cases with different colors of plastic—though usually there is a tell-tale swirl in the plastic.

Cause

Nooo!

Because this is not exactly an area of scientific notability there aren't any full studies into Gold Plastic Syndrome that we know about. Basically, it is thought that certain plastics weren't mixed as well as others, possibly because of the metallic pigment or colouring, so they break down more quickly.

It's not much of a theory, really; think more a hypothesis. Here's a more detailed attempt:

“

The problem likely arises, as with many composites, when the bonding between the polymer and the dye/particles breaks down. This could occur do to a natural chemical/phase change of the plastic, due to oxidation, for example, or by another mechanism, say the forces incurred by the toy being played with, or more likely, due to some combination thereof. In any case, when the bonds between the particles and the polymers break down, you would get small voids in the plastic structure. If this occurs frequently enough, the structure would become effectively porous (that is, it would be filled with lots of tiny voids/cracks where the polymers and particles have come apart). With even a slight amount of force, some of these cracks/voids could expand, even slightly, to the point where they intersect another void and join, making an even bigger crack. Once a critical crack length is reached, the sample fractures. So effectively, the plastic becomes more brittle, and this would also explain it "crumbling" as well as cracking.

”

-Aernaroth suggests a cause for GPS on the Allspark

So what it amounts to is: "The plastic crumbles a'cause it ain't very good."

Hasbro have attributed it to "the amount of gold fleck included in the plastic", and have apparently reduced the amount in similar plastics of more recent vintage to prevent further occurrences. Later Hasbro said that they believe they've "alleviated the issues associated with the 'gold' plastic issue" through "trial and error."

All in all, the actual causes of Gold Plastic Syndrome aren't a very big deal to Transformers fans—it's really pretty academic. Of more concern is the RESULTS (i.e., poor Electro crumbling to bits like an Oreo left in milk too long), and what to look out for. There's no certain cure here, no fix. If a toy has GPS, it will die... maybe. See below for a potential solution, at least a temporary one, to GPS.

Seibertron.com has reported that Ace Hardware's "Lub-E" product may prevent GPS breakage, having applied it to an Electro pre-photo-shoot. How true this is still needs some pretty extensive testing, as it may very well be a coincidence that that specific Electro did not break. Because as noted below, which toys snap and when (and where) is not exactly consistent...

The Symptoms

Gleargh

Gold Plastic Syndrome usually has a few clear signs. Knowing how to tell the difference between Gold Plastic Syndrome and normal plastic breakage is very important for a Transformers fan who is collecting vintage toys. It's the difference between giving up on that toy completely (since if it has GPS so will any other sample of the toy) and buying a new copy.

• GPS usually takes place in metallic-coloured plastics, most notably gold plastic and bronze plastic.
• GPS breaks are NOT accompanied by stress fractures. There is usually NOT any visible wear before the breakage. This is really important. Plastic breaks. This is a reality of toy collecting, plastic gets old and it breaks. Gold plastic syndrome is breakage without warning.
• GPS breaks often leave a powdery residue and shards of plastic (though not always), the result of the plastic actually physically crumbling. Take a look at the picture of Skyquake's scope—okay, the bits of his scope—to the right. You can actually see some of the left-over shards of plastic. Keep in mind this picture was taken years after the break actually occurred—these are new shards of plastic which came off these pieces of scope during the process of moving the parts around for photography. Plastic should not be that brittle or delicate.
• GPS breakages don't need to involve any excess stress or force on a toy—simply handling a toy can cause the breakage. Looking at it funny sometimes does it. Spitting on it, maybe. Opening its box. Anything. If your toy breaks despite careful handling it's more likely to be GPS.
• GPS breaks often have rough, uneven edges with no stress lines around them. This is important—usually when plastic snaps it snaps cleanly (as is common with clear plastic), or it bends first (leaving a torn-off piece, or clear stresses around the break). If a break is uneven, with different colours and textures in it, yet there are no stress fractures around the wound, and especially if it leaves a powdery residue as well, it's almost certainly a GPS break. Take a look at the photo of Skyquake to the right for a good example of the ragged break. Okay... not good. What's the other word that's LIKE "good", but not actually good? Oh yeah. Horrifying. A HORRIFYING example.
• GPS plastics will sometimes feel brittle to the touch, sometimes making cracking noises as they're handled.

A really easy test to tell if you have GPS breakage is this—if a piece breaks off, try snapping it again. If it's normal plastic breakage, the broken piece should bend or bow instead of just snapping like dry wood; there should be some give in the plastic, even if it's a brittle, clear plastic—so you should be able to glue it back into place, or at least get a replacement part. On the other hand, if the broken piece snaps like your grandmother's ankles in a rugby match, then you've almost definitely got Gold Plastic Syndrome.

GPS misconceptions

ALL GOLD PLASTIC WILL DIE!

Not true. It's only a specific composite of gold plastic only used during a specific era that will die, most prominently used from 1988 (second year Pretenders are notorious for it) and through to about the end of Beast Wars in 2000, although there are still a few rare cases of post-millennium figures with this issue up until 2007. As far as we know modern toys do not suffer from GPS due to a reduction in the amount of metallic flakes in similar, but more recent toys. Toys with flexible nylon-based gold plastics, such as Superbase Optimus Prime's elbows, are not susceptible to GPS supposedly because of the plastic's composition. Even on toys well known for GPS, some of their gold plastic is less prone to break. Gold plastic which is nice and thick is much less likely to snap than gold plastic which is thin. Gold plastic which is under constant stress—like that at a joint—is also more likely to break. That said, some really nice solid parts can shatter like eggshells if it's real GPS we're talkin' about.

Furthermore, there are various examples of figures built between 1988 to 2007 molded in similar-looking gold or bronze swirly plastic that do not suffer from this issue, like Blaze Master, Archadis, San D-Go and perhaps most ironically, Goldbug. Gold chrome, like that seen in G2 Bumblebee and Transmetal Cheetor, is also completely immune from GPS since it's merely painted rather than actually being gold plastic.

MY TOY BROKE, IT MUST BE GOLD PLASTIC SYNDROME!!!

There are plenty of ways for plastic to break that aren't related to Gold Plastic Syndrome. Repeated stress on a plastic, dropping a toy, a toy with metal parts that damage the plastic parts, thin plastic, or simply the use of translucent plastic, which is more brittle. Just because a toy breaks doesn't mean it's Gold Plastic Syndrome. Look for the symptoms (listed above) and ask around before assuming that every single copy of this toy is destined to die a painful and horrible death.

ONLY GOLD PLASTIC GETS GOLD PLASTIC SYNDROME!

Not quite true. Observations suggest that it should probably be called "Metallic Plastic Syndrome". It's those metallic plastics, most commonly the gold and bronze plastics used for almost ten years by Hasbro and Takara, from around 1989 to 1998. However, it's possible that any colour of plastic could be susceptible, given enough time. So keep a close eye on your Fire Convoy, kids; that pretty metallic swirl in his plastic isn't promising... maybe.

MY TOY IS DOOMED!

Okay... not exactly a misconception. Your toy is probably doomed... but there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

You see, the thickness of the plastic seems to affect GPS. Also, the amount of stress on it affects it. While some toys are known for breaking just by having their packages opened—guys like Randy, Roadblock and Generation 2 Slingshot—others, like Skyquake and Pyro, can remain intact if they are handled with extreme care (and never ever transformed, of course) because the parts that are made of GPS plastics are large and thick and otherwise robust. GPS is an inconsistent process—eventually your toy will crumble, but there's no telling how long it will take. With delicate handling (read: almost none) you can maintain a GPS-afflicted toy in your collection for quite some time.

Also remember that the evidence for Gold Plastic Syndrome is completely observational. There seems to be some evidence that different plastic batches were less affected, that some releases of the toys were less affected. You might luck out and get an Electro that never crumbles to dust, or you might be really unlucky and get multiple Electros, all of which break horribly. This page is a caution more than anything else. Know what you're getting into when you buy a toy known to be afflicted by GPS.

Toys commonly associated with Gold Plastic Syndrome

Generation 1

• BlackZarak

Rather depressingly, BlackZarak's feet and shield tend to shatter. Since both parts have to be under stress to function as intended, this particularly expensive toy is almost never intact. The Black Roritchi redeco of Fasttrack included with him is almost entirely made of gold plastic. Good luck...

• Bristleback

Bristleback on his own isn't in too much danger, as he has a fairly minimal amount of moving parts. However, when combining with the other Monster Pretenders, sliding the Monstructor fist in place will usually be enough to create a large crack through his legs, sometimes even splitting them entirely. Watch out for his fist-holes as well, as the plastic is very thin around that area.

• Roadblock

The innermost robot has three peg holes, two in the fists and one on his back, that are particularly susceptible to cracking and shattering, leaving many a Roadblock hand-less.

• Skyhammer

One of the most notorious toys. The entire bottom of his large vehicle shell is made of gold plastic and it is very prone to breakage. Not to mention how much gold plastic is on his inner shell and his robot mode.

• Slog

Slog is notable because his gimmick requires another toy (Birdbrain) to be inserted up inside his gold sections. His thin gold sides will crumble like a good fruit cake (just not as moist or delicious) if Birdbrain jostles around too much.

• Killbison

His arms and most of his torso (including the head, which you have to shove into the port) are gold plastic. Considering how combiners worked in G1, this basically means that trying to combine a G1 Liokaiser is probably going to make you end up in tears as your Killbison shatters like a cheap knockoff toy.

Generation 1-2 Transitional Phase

Well, crap.

• Skyquake

Skyquake is another toy notable for having a gimmick which makes the whole thing worse. Skyquake actually has two colours of metallic plastic on him: One is a dark bronze, the other a light bronze. It is the light bronze plastic that is most likely to break. Unfortunately, the light bronze plastic also forms Skyquake's scope. You're supposed to put a Predator jet's scope slide into that part of him. But the union is not pleasant for the one on the receiving end. Take a look at the picture to the right. These are the parts left of Skyquake's scope after another Predator tried to unite with him. Actually... that's not even all the parts, that's just all that could be found.

This is a gimmick which should never be used by modern collectors. Never, ever, ever, ever. Never transform him again either: the scope won't withstand being swung around and latched into position or having his stabilizer fins leveraged inside it. The moving plate over the light piping on the back of his head is that brittle light bronze too.

• Predator missile launchers

The Predator launchers are made worse by their design. The pegs are tiny; many other weapons with a similar peg have the same problem. However, the Predator launchers are worse off, as they are also used by larger figures like Skyquake. Also, the "trigger" has no hinge, relying on the plastic to bend to push the actual internal trigger. And guess what plastic with GPS doesn't do very well?

• Thunder Clash

Thunder Clash's problems are mildly less obnoxious than Skyquake's due to more judicious use of metallic plastics, but the toy's ankles will break extremely fast, as will the handgun peg if not handled with care.

• Pyro

Although Pyro's gold plastic parts are mostly thick enough that he can safely be moved in either mode, if you transform him you WILL crack him in half at the waist. Eventually, the elbow ratchets will also start to shatter from the constant spring stress. The rifle handle is also prone to sheering off.

Generation 2

• Electro

Oh, God, my knee! MY KNEEEEEEE!!

There's a reason that Electro sits up at the top of this page. Poor guy just can't catch a break, it seems.

Wait... actually, no. That's the entire problem. The poor guy totally can catch a break. All the time. Because he is designed to die. Basically anything on Electro's body is susceptible to shattering like glass the second you touch it.

• Slingshot

G2 Slingshot is infamous for being made almost entirely of gold plastic, and he has been reported to come apart straight out of the package. Worse, he's known for being another toy whose gimmick will destroy him, like Killbison and Skyquake. Slingshot's head is a post which is designed to plug into Silverbolt (or any other Scramble City leader), so that Slingshot can form an arm or a leg. Doing this will destroy your Slingshot.

• First Aid

The last thing you'd want from a rare unreleased figure, one that can easily cost past four digits on the incredibly scarce occasions where it might appear for sale, is for it to crumble into dust right before your eyes. Sadly enough, this might be a reality for G2 First Aid, as his chest/combiner port and legs are entirely made out of the dreadful swirly gold plastic. Considering the historical value of this toy, as fewer than a dozen are estimated to exist, it is advised to never attempt combining it into Defensor, or (preferably) to never transform it in the first place.

Beast Wars

A mighty Dinobot warrior... bested by his own crumbling joints.

The one part of Megatron's Movie Jazz cosplay he didn't want to recreate.

• Grimlock

Just... take a look at the picture to the right. Grimlock's gold plastic can break pretty damned hard. The fact that he uses a gold plastic ball joint for his hips is not really a good thing. Common breakages include the insides of his legs (where his chest pegs into them in beast mode) and his mutant face (which is very thin). Grimlock can survive for a while in a collection, though; the fact that most of his problems occur in robot mode means keeping him in beast mode can extend his lifespan a fair amount.

• Optimal Optimus

The sparkly dark brown plastic used for his wheels and turrets suffer from this. The block that holds the batteries is the most likely to break, as the "soft" ratchet joint requires the affected plastic to bend.

• Randy

Poor, poor Randy. This is one of the legendary Gold Plastic Syndrome toys. Imagine, if you will, a toy with an entirely spring-loaded transformation... made entirely out of gold plastic. Ouch, right? Well, don't worry. You'll never have to see what a mess that could be, because this toy will shatter into a million pieces the moment you open it. Ouch.

• Transmetal Megatron (Hasbro version)

He'll snap at the waist, the shoulders, the... well, anything that's made of that brown plastic. This is technically Brown Plastic Syndrome, but regardless of what you call it this toy will end in sadness. The Japanese Metals version uses black instead of the brown, so it seems to be immune. The fragility of the waist may be due to GPS, a design flaw, or a combination of both; the Takara version's immunity to this issue (because its brown parts are black plastic) seems to suggest that GPS may have a role.

• Silverbolt (Magnaboss component)

Despite having a dangerously large amount of bronze plastic, Magnaboss Silverbolt is... actually fairly stable. The main breakage point is where his tail connects to his body. As well, Skywarp, his Japanese counterpart, is just as likely to suffer from this. That said, just... be careful, okay? Be careful.

• Soundwave

His entire fraggin' body is composed of gold plastic, so it's a crapshoot. The places on his body where the sides hinge open as part of his transformation are the first to go, however.

• Torca

His legs, tail hinge and sides are prone to Gold Plastic Syndrome.

• Beast Wars 10th Anniversary Dinobot

Quite impressively, 10th Anniversary Dinobot has two kinds of metallic swirled plastic, both of which seem to have hit their expiration dates around 2013. In other words, basically any part on him is highly fragile, although he's most likely to break at the neck, hips, and helmet. At this point, keeping the toy MISB is the best way to display him.

Beast Machines

• Snarl

Like Randy, Snarl is an atrocious example of a victim to Gold Plastic Syndrome; it seems that the longer the figures are left in sealed packages, the more brittle they are upon opening said packages. All manner of extremities will simply snap off of Snarl's body, most easily among these being the ankles.

• Striker

Striker has an entirely gold plastic dinosaur shell which relies on ball joints to move and shift. He also has gold plastic pegs that tab into gold plastic slots. Transforming Striker is a suicide mission... for him.

Robots in Disguise (2001)

• Air Attack Optimus Primal

The sparkly brown plastic, like that on Optimal Optimus, can shatter. This condition most often results in the feet breaking.

Universe (2003)

• Megabolt

Having limbs cast primarily in gold plastic is not a good thing. Fracture points include his forearms, the holes that lock his arms in place in crawling head mode, lower legs near the knees, and his head.

• Micromaster Superion

Large parts of combiner kibble suffer from GPS, particularly the peg that connects Ro-Tor to Superion's torso piece. The white painted fists are also highly susceptible to breaking at the clips.

Energon

• Scorponok

The pale gold plastic used in several parts of this toy seem to be prone, notably the (largely painted) front panels of the shoulders. The weight of the arms alone when in robot mode can be enough to cause the panels to break and tear in half.

Cybertron

• Repugnus

Repugnus is a more recent victim of GPS. His thigh covers and robot mode "hands"/Spinosaurus head are made of black-painted gold plastic. Insertion of his flail weapon into his hands can cause his thin jaw parts to break into pieces. His thigh covers are not affected due to their static position and lack of moving parts. There were several unaltered re-releases of the original figure up until 2010, making it not the last figure with GPS to be manufactured (see below) but technically the last one to be commercialized.

Star Wars: Transformers

• Millennium Falcon/Han Solo & Chewbacca

Particularly, the Chewbacca half suffers from GPS. His legs can lock up and ultimately snap off. His upper arms are also said to fall victim as well.

Transformers (2007)

• Protoform Starscream

One of the latest sufferers of GPS. The plastic hinges that connect the two small wings to his body are especially brittle, because the plastic housing the joints is thin and gives way over time to a crumbly mess. The thumbs are also prone to break.

Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

• Stratosphere

The latest known victim, Stratosphere suffers from GPS in his legs and shoulders.

Other notable instances

• Diaclone Powered Convoy

The "chrome" version of the pre-Transformer version of Ultra Magnus has this problem with its swirly blue plastic.

• Serpentor

While not a Transformer, he is also known to suffer from this problem—especially through his hips, given the leg construction found on G.I. Joe toys of the era.

• Unite Warriors Motormaster

As with Powered Convoy, the Unite Warriors release of Motormaster is prone to breakage on the waist due to his swirly gunmetal plastic.

Toys often mistaken for having GPS

A number of toys have gold parts that easily break not due to the plastic used, but due to structural problems with the part designs themselves.

• Transformers (2007) Legends Class Scorponok

Legends Scorponok's tail stinger, originally soft and bendy, tends to harden after a while and then becomes prone to breaking. While the stinger is made of a golden plastic, the cause for this problem appears to be the use of an inferior plasticizer rather than traditional Gold Plastic Syndrome.

Fiction

Animated cartoon

At some point during the great war, a vaccine for Gold Plastic Syndrome was developed by Red Alert. The AllSpark Almanac II Swindle, Swindle and Swindle claimed to be the only licensee of the cure in the Nexus Cluster. Swindle's Spiel, 2015/10/03

Ask Vector Prime

In Primax 185.0 Beta, the S.T.A.R.S. weaponized Gold Plastic Syndrome and invented the Photo Degradation Protocol in a failed attempt to fight off Galvatron's mindless hordes of Decepto-Pack-enhanced human slaves. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/04

Timelines

First Aid contracted GPS during the war against the Cybertronian Empire. The disease prevented him from properly combining into Defensor. Customization class G2 Ratchet bio

External links

• Demonstration of Gold Plastic Syndrome in effect at YouTube
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