Collectors: Don't leave your stuff out in the light!!
Posted: 11 Oct 2013, 22:09
I'm a fairly heavy figure collector so I had to learn this the hard way, but I hope that my advice and knowledge can help others to preserve their collectibles. Light destroys pretty much everything! Most people know direct sunlight fades clothes, but light of almost any kind damages almost anything to various extents! The brighter and less filtered (more UV components) the light is, the more damaging. The resistance of the receiving object is another big factor. But almost anything can be damaged as far as I know, so the only safe way to keep anything in perfect new condition is to leave it in a dark cardboard box forever.
Take a look at this hoarded stash of "new" limited edition (3000 ever produced) once highly sought-after Hyper Fei-Yen Kaiyodo toys on Ebay. This guy ruined all his Fei-Yens so they are worthless now! Probably shouldn't even be selling them for that much but he might not realize that his unopened product is severely light-damaged.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VIRTUAL-ON-RVR- ... 5af5fcc3ea
Unfortunately, figures in general are fairly susceptible to light damage, and in particular this Hyper Fei-Yen is ultra vulnerable due to the type of paints used on it. Fortunately, relatively few figures were ever painted using such vulnerable paints, but for a number of years, various Japanese PVC figures were released which would be destroyed by even the slightest amount of light in a very short time.
Can you guys spot all the defects with that Hyper Fei-Yen? (It helps a ton if you have a bunch of real ones like I do, but I'm curious what someone who has never seen a proper looking one before would be able to spot). My own Hyper Fei-Yens look pretty much like that one lol. I do have a spare set that I kept in a dark cardboard box forever since the beginning, but I've never checked them to see if they look ok or not. (I did that out of luck, not due to knowing about light damage).
Take a look at this hoarded stash of "new" limited edition (3000 ever produced) once highly sought-after Hyper Fei-Yen Kaiyodo toys on Ebay. This guy ruined all his Fei-Yens so they are worthless now! Probably shouldn't even be selling them for that much but he might not realize that his unopened product is severely light-damaged.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VIRTUAL-ON-RVR- ... 5af5fcc3ea
Unfortunately, figures in general are fairly susceptible to light damage, and in particular this Hyper Fei-Yen is ultra vulnerable due to the type of paints used on it. Fortunately, relatively few figures were ever painted using such vulnerable paints, but for a number of years, various Japanese PVC figures were released which would be destroyed by even the slightest amount of light in a very short time.
Can you guys spot all the defects with that Hyper Fei-Yen? (It helps a ton if you have a bunch of real ones like I do, but I'm curious what someone who has never seen a proper looking one before would be able to spot). My own Hyper Fei-Yens look pretty much like that one lol. I do have a spare set that I kept in a dark cardboard box forever since the beginning, but I've never checked them to see if they look ok or not. (I did that out of luck, not due to knowing about light damage).