AFA Degrading (pic heavy) - For scottie_boy

Hi Guys,

I recently had the opportunity to pick up a couple more MOC's to go towards my last 17 POTF run. The figures in question were the two below:







Now the observant among you will notice they are both AFA graded. Furthermore, those who know me know I have a strong opinion where it comes to graded items and it isn't very complimentary.

I got these for a good price, basically because AFA cases in my opinion are a bit ****, which can be seen below.









So, there was only one course of action for these guys. Particularly because the dig has a lot of frosting which I want to deal with using the sunlight trick. So, the doctor is about to operate:



This edge is not sealed, so a screwdriver can VERY carefully be used to prise away the bottom flap in pieces. Be careful for flying shards and take your time.





OH NO! How will I know if I like the MOC or not without someone else's opinion? I guess I will have to use my eyes and opinion.



FREEDOM! AT LAST!



Much better I think.



Now for you luke.



Like a parcel force delivery driver, acrylic will not stop me!



Uh oh, Im lost without these





This tiny crack will get you a single tier 70. Although posting this when graded would have more than likely been certain MOC death. The card is in great shape, and the bubble, despite the crack is clear and good, and the figure is in great shape.



So, two free figures. Much better I think.

Ben, awesome stuff- exactly what I'm going to do to one of my new arrivals

I found running a stanley knife along the gap just cleanly takes the bottom of the case of so there is no risk of damaging the MOC and you can use the case again. Also the sunlight trick still works when sealed in AFA case. But if your breaking them out anyway no differance :wink: Nice figures, how many more you need :?:

Great to see this, thanks for posting Ben

Heroic :lol:




I am Mr Shifter and I see a whole army of SWFUKers here in defiance of tyranny. You've come to fight as free men... and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?
Aye, fight and free the prisoners.....Free them from living a life In a plastic case With an AFA Label And stored away ,for many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back out of that plastic case? they may try to imprison them for the rest of their lives, but ....Noooooooooooo......they'll never take...their FREEDOM!

Brilliant post, love acrylic..not a fan of afa!

Good stuff. Fair play to you 8)

I have one graded MOC and it'll be getting the same treatment now I've seen how easy this us to do... I'd been really concerned about how to get it out without damage - thanks for sharing

I have seen this on several cases now. Not only afa and I'm starting to think that it will happen to most/ all over time. I have a very old 4mm thick case housing a three pack right now and it is showing the same kinds of stress marks/ cracks. It usually start from the edges where the glue has been applied to bond the surfaces together. I know that the adhesive that is used is very strong so I wonder if over time it just degrades the acrylic?

excellent stuff, there is nothing more pointless than getting afa's "pro opinion" on items that get these grades lol

far better out of the case.

Caswellbot said:

I have seen this on several cases now. Not only afa and I'm starting to think that it will happen to most/ all over time. I have a very old 4mm thick case housing a three pack right now and it is showing the same kinds of stress marks/ cracks. It usually start from the edges where the glue has been applied to bond the surfaces together. I know that the adhesive that is used is very strong so I wonder if over time it just degrades the acrylic?

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Hi Chris,

Those stress/cracks can be caused by the 'forming' of the acrylic which is a process of bending under heat. The forming (bending) process needs to done at a precise cooling temperature but more importantly at a certain speed. The process places the acrylic under stress and if not performed accurately can lead to imperfections and potentially future problems as the acrylic ages - we all get wrinkles eventually! Also, sometimes the simple answer is best - it's been dropped at some point :lol:

The strength and lucidity of the bond is entirely dependant on the quality of the acrylic cement which 'welds' the two pieces together. As the surface of the acrylic sheets is changed, by the cement at a material level, this should not cause any cracking unless there were issues with the initial forming i.e the corner isn't a perfect 90' right angle and the acrylic has been forced to meet up.

Lastly, for Ben the Jailbreaker, nice work mate but please be bloody careful with those shards of acrylic - unlike glass the edges of the smallest pieces will be jagged and if one gets into an eye it would be f**king nightmare!

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Christian

Great stuff Ben! They are free from their shackles at last! 8)

Hey Christian, thanks for the reply. Ive attached some pics so you can see what Im talking about. It is a kind of "crazing" and not caused by it being dropped IMO. The cracks appear on a straight edge and not a bend which is why I thought it might be to do with the adhesive? Excuse the crummy pics.

Chris.


002 by Caswell2009, on Flickr

003 by Caswell2009, on Flickr

004 by Caswell2009, on Flickr

I'm inspired to bust this sucker out when he arrives.

Can I have the empty cases Mr-Shifter?

Good work by the way. AFA only just above Toy Toni, Poon and the repro guys in this hobby.

Caswellbot said:

Hey Christian, thanks for the reply. Ive attached some pics so you can see what Im talking about. It is a kind of "crazing" and not caused by it being dropped IMO. The cracks appear on a straight edge and not a bend which is why I thought it might be to do with the adhesive? Excuse the crummy pics.

Chris.

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Hi Chris,

Now that is interesting and something I've not seen before. Those "cracks" aren't to do with the adhesive and they are not as a result of the forming process (forming defects are often coupled with smears or clouding). My best guess is that it is simply a result of less than perfect acrylic sheet degrading. However, due to the size of industrial acrylic sheets (can be 2m x 5m +) it is virtually impossible to have a 100% flat piece (due to the cooling process) so perhaps if that material isn't perfectly flat and then adhered to the side piece it maybe under slight stress hence the crazing effect over time. Is it an old case?

SonofJango - your Zuckuss is a prime example of a low overall graded piece that would very much benefit from breaking out. Personally, I'd consider removing the Toys-r-us sticker and realigning the torn punch hole (probably the reason for a 60 card score) before popping into a new acrylic case (I might know where you can one of those!). The bubble and figure scores are good but AFA is so harsh overall on one minor defect on the cardback that I suspect it would increase in value and appearance by being out and about!

Cheers,
Christian

I'd be a bit careful with removing the sticker as I think those ones are a little too well stuck on to come off easily (although I maybe thinking of Kay Bee ones?). I know we've been through sticker removal before but maybe a few tips again? Oh and I know there are a lot of people who like the history behind these price stickers but that giant orange one does look a bit of an eye sore. I personally don't like any type of sticker on the front of my reseals but so far I've managed to peal them off intact and restock them to the back corner of the card so as to not destroy the history of the prices these things went for back in the day (as well as toy stores).

Ian

I've opened an AFA case on a postal disaster package and it's quite satisfying.

You can almost feel the figure inside giving a little cry of joy ... until it realises that it's not an 8 year old kid going to rip him out of his bubble and play with him and he's back inside a fresh acrylic before he knows what's happening :lol:

Fair grade on the zuckuss the tear above punch clearly draws the eye which detracts from the overall appearance of what is a nice MOC. Don't see see the point in breaking MOC's out of case. If you don't like AFA don't buy AFA. :roll: Nothing wrong with AFA IMO, I've brought a lot less crap since AFA have been around.

theforceuk said:

Fair grade on the zuckuss the tear above punch clearly draws the eye which detracts from the overall appearance of what is a nice MOC. Don't see see the point in breaking MOC's out of case. If you don't like AFA don't buy AFA. :roll: Nothing wrong with AFA IMO, I've brought a lot less crap since AFA have been around.

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Yep cause AFA are 100% accurate and reliable! wouldn't catch them making mistakes and grading crap :roll:

Yeah everyone makes mistakes including the hundreds of collectors that have brought TT, but the zuckuss isn't a mistake. so what's your point :?: