Gold Plastic Syndrome

From MediaWiki
Revision as of 06:46, 19 March 2009 by Maintenance script (talk) (Importing text file)
Jump to navigationJump to search

[[Image:|right|250px|thumb|Emoformer: He breaks himself.]] Gold Plastic Syndrome (commonly shorthanded to GPS) is fandom terminology used to describe the phenomenon of a toy's <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Plastic" title="Plastic">plastic</a> 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 <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/MISB" class="mw-redirect" title="MISB">unopened package</a>.

This breakage is different from the relatively more common stress-fracture type of plastic breakage that can occur in some <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Toy" title="Toy">Transformers toys</a>. All noted instances of GPS have occurred in hard, glossy gold-colored plastics that appear to have a "swirl" to their coloration.

<a name="Notability"></a><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Notability">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Notability</span></h2> GPS is notably widespread among toys made in the tail-end of <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Generation_1" class="mw-redirect" title="Generation 1">Generation 1</a>, typically the second year of <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Pretender" title="Pretender">Pretenders</a> and even some European-market exclusives, but examples have surfaced from lines as recent as <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Generation_2" class="mw-redirect" title="Generation 2">Generation 2</a> and the <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beast_Wars_%28toyline%29" title="Beast Wars (toyline)">Beast Wars</a> series. Transformers toys are not the only ones to suffer from this; there have been reports of <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/G.I._Joe" title="G.I. Joe">G.I. Joe</a> and Visionaries toys' gold plastics also crumbling seemingly of their own accord.


<a name="Cause_of_GPS"></a><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Cause of GPS">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Cause of GPS</span></h2>

<center> <table style="width: 90%;" cellspacing="0">

<tbody><tr> <td style="padding: 0pt 1em; text-align: right;"><div class="tti_messageboxdiv" style="border: 1px solid rgb(159, 159, 255); margin: auto; padding: 0.5em; width: 100%; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 255); text-align: center;">[[Image:|left|125px|Kup piece.gif]] <span style="font-size: 125%; font-weight: 900;">You left a piece out!</span><hr> This article is a " title="Category:Stub">stub</a> and is missing information. You can help Transformers Wiki by <span class="plainlinks"><a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&action=edit expanding it</span>.


</div> </td></tr></tbody></table> </center>


<a name="GPS_misconceptions"></a><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: GPS misconceptions">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">GPS misconceptions</span></h2> [[Image:|right|250px|thumb|The one image for the wiki you don't want to be able to make.]] The most common misconception about GPS is that all gold-colored plastic can suffer from this rot. Only certain plastic grades (described above) have been noted to be susceptible to GPS crumbling; in the past few years, more durable, pliable plastics have become the norm for toy construction, so the gold plastic on more recent toys like <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Cannonball" title="Cannonball">Cannonball</a> are highly unlikely to have the flaw.

Also, not every type of plastic breakage is the kind caused by GPS. In most instances of broken toys, visible stress marks appear long before any breakage in the form of discoloration (since these plastics have a bit more "give" to them), and are typically very clean "snaps" due to excess pressure. Even if not subject to "true" GPS breakage, older gold plastics tend to be rather brittle and more likely than most to snap under relatively light stresses. But "true" GPS breakages seemingly come from simple decomposition of the plastic without any form of excess force at all, and the breaks tend to leave shards of plastic and dust, appearing similar to dry Play-Doh crumpling.

Additionally, it is not limited to gold plastic. Some other older metally-swirled plastics may also suffer. However, it is far less common and is possibly related, though it is just as likely (such as Transmetal Megatron) that it is simply cast out of more easily broken plastic.


<a name="Toys_commonly_associated_with_Gold_Plastic_Syndrome"></a><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Toys commonly associated with Gold Plastic Syndrome">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Toys commonly associated with Gold Plastic Syndrome</span></h2> <a name="Generation_1"></a><h4><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Generation 1">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Generation 1</span></h4>

<a name="Generation_1-2_Transitional_Phase"></a><h4><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Generation 1-2 Transitional Phase">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Generation 1-2 Transitional Phase</span></h4>

<a name="Generation_2"></a><h4><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Generation 2">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Generation 2</span></h4>

(Slingshot is infamous for being made almost entirely of gold plastic, and has been reported to come apart straight out of the package <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/2b8b3dec846e5479?hl=en" class="external autonumber" title="http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/2b8b3dec846e5479?hl=en" rel="nofollow">[1]</a>.)

<a name="Beast_Wars"></a><h4><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Beast Wars">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Beast Wars</span></h4>

<a name="Other_notable_instances"></a><h4><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Other notable instances">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Other notable instances</span></h4>

<a name="Clear_Plastic_Syndrome"></a><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Clear Plastic Syndrome">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Clear Plastic Syndrome</span></h2> There is a similar condition in figures made with translucent and transparent colored plastics. Though it doesn't seem anywhere near as bad as Gold Plastic Syndrome (which can affect ANY part of a figure), it seems to affect mostly the joints, either pivot or ball versions. The main cause of this is the higher friction ratio the plastic has (pin joints seem to be more susceptible) and the lower flexibility of the plastic. Some toys were made entirely of clear plastic and didn't fare much better than ones made entirely of gold plastic. Sorry, <a href="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Starscream_%28Movie%29#Toys" title="Starscream (Movie)">Starscream</a>.


<a name="Etymology"></a><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://tfwiki.net/w2/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Etymology">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Etymology</span></h2> The earliest use of the term that can be found in the alt.toys.transformers archives dates to September 2002 in a post by user Sky Shadow <a href="http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/2b3d532961b2c2dc" class="external autonumber" title="http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/2b3d532961b2c2dc" rel="nofollow">[2]</a>, though it is unclear from his usage of the term whether or not it was already in use. A post by Dave "Zobovor" Edwards, meanwhile, made in June of the previous year,<a href="http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/6ed7e0f3586f37e4" class="external autonumber" title="http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/6ed7e0f3586f37e4" rel="nofollow">[3]</a>, is the earliest identifiable acknowledgment of the widespread nature of the phenomenon within the Transformers fan community.

Retrieved from "https://tfwiki.duckdns.org/index.php?title=Gold_Plastic_Syndrome&oldid=201789"