Hi,

Just a quick question. I have two Luke Ponchos with different coloured plastic faces. I've been told that it might just be discolouration but it really doesn't look like it to me. (I have a lot of loose figures and I'm used to differences caused by sun-bleaching etc) One looks like it was moulded in a pink plastic and the other in a much paler plastic.

Just wondered if anyone else has this or whether it really is just fading?



-J

I would say faded!

As on all Lukes! (Farmboy from SWSCOUT and the famous Palitoy Luke Bespin).

Lets see what the others say

Wolff

dont think its faded as the paint looks ok.

DLT9 wrote:

dont think its faded as the paint looks ok.

That has nothing to do with the chemical reaction on the plastic!

Please make differences between:

Pigment degardation from paint
adhesive agent degardation from paint
Pigment degradation from pigments in the plastic
and plastic degardadtion (i.e. yellowing)!!!

These can come up together...but its not a MUST!!!!

There is so much differnet chemical reaction, sublimations, etc. possible!

The fading from a "flesh" colored plastic has nothing to do with changing from the color painted on it!


I give one example:

The green torsoed Boba Fetts and the green limbed Chewbaccas have normal paint jobs on it...(the obnes I have here). And these are "sunlightdamgaed" or not? (I dont like that term sunlightdamaged because its just wrong!...but well thats another story!)

For the faces: red pigments (especially the ones from the 80s...modern stuff)..can loose color or sublimate out of the plastic....then the plastic appears pale!

Regards

Wolff

i think you got me wrong i mean if its from the sun then the paint must have faded or discolerd too.

DLT9 wrote:

i think you got me wrong i mean if its from the sun then the paint must have faded or discolerd too.

I got you right...and the answer is NO!

These are three different materials (to make it easy): The plastic, the pigments in the paint and the adhesive! All react different.

And the sun only starts the chemical reaction. There is other more important components.


Problem is the term "faded". Which means the sun makes it pale...thats not correct if you see it chemically! The Sun only accelerates and/or start a reaction!

I dont know better in english...but believe me: A plastic can "fade" without destroying or changing the paint on it!


edit: plastics are normally white or transparent. They get their color because there are pigments that are given to the plastic! A flesh face probably has: yellow, blue and red pigments in it (plus white if its a transparent plastic). If one pigment gets harmed the plastic color changes. Normally the dark pigments getting harmed faster....here: the blue and the red ones.....the face gets more yellowish and paler!

Again...very different in english for me...maybe some native guys can chimn in!

Wolff

Nicely summarized Wolff.

Plastic degradation: A radical problem, both from a chemical as from the collector's point of view.