Spontaneous MOC bubble cracking

I was home for the weekend and decided to catalogue my collection, i only got as far as photographing my MOC's but did notice a number of pieces had deteriorated over time. Everything has been in a cupboard for at least 20 years but my childhood X-Wing and Wampa seriously look like i had some sort of fetish in my youth - they're so yellow. A couple of jedi MOC'S have bubble yellowing too.
Anyway, what concerned me most was the bubble on my Kenner 21 back Powerdroid which seems to have cracked on its own. The bubble always had a dent in the corner but i am 90% sure it was intact and has been in a star case since i bought it. Has anyone else experienced this happening?
Cheers

It's gonna happen to them all one day I'm sure.
Yes there are things we can do to delay the process but I do believe it's inevitable that these will all ultimately crack at one point.
I'm sure that some bubbles will be better than others.
I'm not looking forward to when I have to move houses next!

I've been wandering lately how long a MOC will last. I mean in 200 or however many years surely most will have deterioted so badly the only thing left will be the figure? I don't no maybe they will last 1000 years. As for your Power Droid sorry to hear that. I think the two main factors in deterioation are sun light and temperature.

Is there anything that you could possibly apply to perishing plastic to keep it from becoming brittle?

I keep mine flat when not in display to minimise the stress/weight of the figure on the bubble, out of direct sunlight and heat.

When shed loads of POTF figures start coming off bubbles then I'll worry. The figures are heavy, the bubbles brittle.

Considering the amount of MOCS out there, it's still very, very rare to hear of them cracking or coming off cards for no reason.

Postage disasters we see a lot, but damage from no obvious source I can only think of afew in the last couple of years.

I predict well be pushing up the daisies before we see it happening a lot. And even then, if yours are well looked after, they'll just be worth more if you dare send them in the post :lol:

I display my MOC's like this to help take the pressure of the bubble not sure if it helps at all but helps me sleep better. :lol: Still thinking of takeing 12 backs down and storeing them flat. Perhaps in some acrylic draws like a mechanic's tool cabinet. So you can pull them out when you want a look.

Cheers for the feedback lads, i've been storing all my MOCs laid flat as ive never lived anywhere big enough for a display.
The cracks are all directly around the dent and my engineers brain has been mulling over the possibilities of the stresses from the dent working their way out via a crack in the deteriorated plastic. Or my mum could have dropped it when she was dusting.

It's happening all the time. Most common has to be bubbles falling off cards rather than cracking. Bubble just came away from that Meccano Yoda mis-bubble I have. Nothing you can do other than seal it back up or leave it.

Got a few like that where the bubble has started to come off. Then again I was collecting them like that (cheap).

I think u got to take into consideration the type of bubble seal and how wide the bubble seal is round the card is. The waffle pattern seal seems to b strongest and have a combo of that and a relatively wide surface area seal all round the card should equal solid attachment that should remain intact for the foreseeable future. Hopefully :wink:

Something weird happened to my Bib Fortuna MOC in starcase hanging on the wall in my mancave a few months back. The figure has risen and his head has cracked through the bubble! God knows whats gone on! It has never been moved as im the only person that has access up there??? Presume it's some kind of temperature thing as when its cold its freezing in there and when its hot its like the bahamas in Cleethorpes

Clarkspie&chips said:

Cheers for the feedback lads, i've been storing all my MOCs laid flat as ive never lived anywhere big enough for a display.
The cracks are all directly around the dent and my engineers brain has been mulling over the possibilities of the stresses from the dent working their way out via a crack in the deteriorated plastic. Or my mum could have dropped it when she was dusting.

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Your Mum does your dusting around your figures?

Ha ha, well not intentionally but mothers do have a tendancy to want to tidy things away!

Chiffy i'm loving the sound of your possessed Bib Fortuna, you haven't got him next to a copy of the Book of the dead by any chance? Keep a chainsaw handy if you have.

chiffy said:

Something weird happened to my Bib Fortuna MOC in starcase hanging on the wall in my mancave a few months back. The figure has risen and his head has cracked through the bubble! God knows whats gone on! It has never been moved as im the only person that has access up there??? Presume it's some kind of temperature thing as when its cold its freezing in there and when its hot its like the bahamas in Cleethorpes

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Sounds like my attic. Not best for storage, but if it's all you got...


The levitating Bib does sound strange :?

Storage is difficult. But for ones most priced valuable, a bottom drawer in a cool and dark bedroom would do the trick. Also, a dehumidifier is gold, not only for collectable, but for family health as well.

chiffy said:

Something weird happened to my Bib Fortuna MOC in starcase hanging on the wall in my mancave a few months back. The figure has risen and his head has cracked through the bubble! God knows whats gone on! It has never been moved as im the only person that has access up there??? Presume it's some kind of temperature thing as when its cold its freezing in there and when its hot its like the bahamas in Cleethorpes

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Gutted to hear that mate

kvavik said:

Storage is difficult. But for ones most priced valuable, a bottom drawer in a cool and dark bedroom would do the trick. Also, a dehumidifier is gold, not only for collectable, but for family health as well.

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i echo this comment