Ever watched pleather disintegrate in front of your eyes over 48 hours?

Yeah, people who can have climate-controlled storage areas are very lucky. Not every part of the world has the ability to do that.

In this case, the box was shrink wrapped.  I’m confident that it was never opened.

I have no idea how the seller stored the figure or if he/she was even the original owner.  I bought it from an individual seller in Japan on Yahoo! Japan auctions using a proxy service, so there was no direct communication.  I have learned some valuable lessons from this experience and will ask these questions in the future.

It is summer (at least in Florida) and it is VERY humid here.  The figure probably did go through quite a few temperature and humidity changes from Japan to here as it was passed from the seller to the proxy to the carrier and finally to me.  Now that I think about it, this is the only 1/6 figure I’ve gotten from Japan outside of the Leon Kennedy I got from Mandarake a few months ago.

Whatever it was, at the end of the day, it’s just bad luck and “tough noogies” for me as we used to say here in the states.  

Maybe I’ll write a country song about this hobby:

“When the skin tones don’t match,
and the clothes don’t fit,
the pleather is cracking,
and you paid too much for this (bleep)”

skywalkersaga wrote:Yeah, people who can have climate-controlled storage areas are very lucky. Not every part of the world has the ability to do that.

A portable humidifier/dehumidifier goes a long way to help.

Pleather is usually cloth-backed PVC. PVC goes brittle when exposed to UV radiation (e.g. sunlight). It also absorbs and releases moisture depending on the humidity level so deterioration can be minimized by storing in a dark room with a constant humidity.

Another thing to keep in mind when dealing with pleather: anyone using an air ionizer/purifier anywhere near 1/6 figures with pleather/rubber will quickly experience degradation because these devices cause a negative reaction with the materials. This was experienced some years ago by collectors with both new and old figures where the rubber on vintage and reproduced G.I. Joe wet suits began to degrade almost immediately. Through investigation those folks discovered the culprit were these devices nearby/next to the figures. Keep this in mind if you have one of these things in your home.

Yeah this is one of my biggest fears, I have a few modern "leather" items that I check almost monthly tho if they are damaged I don't think I would feel them as much as losing a holy grail like you did. However I still find it interesting that some 21st century toys pleather items that I have are still in really good condition, the same goes for a pair of lanard toys the ultra corps leather jackets....

I think a lot of these companies go for the cheapest thing they can get which for the prices they ask shouldn't be, it sort of remind me of how hasbro's pleather goods would start to fall apart a year into having taken them out of the package.

Theboo-bomb wrote:However I still find it interesting that some 21st century toys pleather items that I have are still in really good condition, the same goes for a pair of lanard toys the ultra corps leather jackets....

Not all pleather is made from the same plastic. Most of it is PVC but some is made from polyurethane, which is a lot more stable than PVC.

I bought a DIG diving figure, that was in fairly bad shape, and flaked the last remnants off. I wound up taking the suit apart to make a pattern.
I also bought a Dr Cube that had one wrist cuff starting to flake, I am careful to not look at it funny, just in case.
Both figures were purchased knowing the issues, but it must be upsetting when you buy hoping for a better quality.

Taking the suit apart to make the patterns would probably be my best bet as well, but I haven’t sewn action figure costumes in nearly 20 years.  The sewing machine, tools, fabric, thread, etc. are long gone, so I would have to go out and buy everything I need.   Granted, that would probably cost less than one 1/6 figure these days, but I really don’t want to get back into the sewing game again, and that’s a lot of ramping up to do for what would likely be a one off project.

I’m trying to find an alternative I can live with.  I’m looking at this set.  It’s pretty much her costume without the camouflage.  The camouflage is kind of silly anyway since she was operating in New York and primarily at night in this era and not a forest.



Another option would be to combine the black leather pants with a camo top like this one:



I’m not sure what I would like better.  I can attach her black hood to either top.   Using the full pleather set gives her a more consistent look while the camo top/black leather pants combo retains other elements of the original design.  I’m still on the fence, but leaning towards going all black with her metallic green arm guards, bow, quiver, and arrows.

I've got a few ideas I could mock up. What's the body, an S23?

I’m not sure the body she’s on was ever officially released.  It looks like it falls somewhere between a S12D and a S23B.  I think she’s closer to a S12D, but I have to buy her a new body anyway, so a S23B is fine.  I’d love to see your ideas!  I welcome any help I can.get at this point since bashing has never been my strong suit.

Obviously not what I really want(ed) but I suppose it will do for now until I can figure something better out.

She looks quite good, actually. Possibly even more practical/realistic -- in a manner of speaking -- than if it were all pleather?

Looks pretty good to me.

I think she looks way better now!

Thanks, everyone.  I have her sitting on my desk while I’m working, and I’m surprised myself at how quickly she’s growing on me.  This was intended to just be a stop gap until I find another one or decide to invest in a sewing machine, but now I think I might be perfectly good with what I’ve got going on here.

The boots are cracking/peeling and will have to be replaced eventually, and I still have a few pieces from the original that I want to incorporate, but I think I’m going to try something different this time and take it slow.  Instead of rushing out and buying whatever’s available to fill in the gaps, I’m just going to wait for the right pieces to come along.  She’ll kind of be a work in progress that continues to evolve over time.

I think that approach will make the hobby much more enjoyable for me.  I can even start building some of her friends and allies from the Zenoscope universe.  It’s kind of therapeutic in the sense it will help me learn patience and to stop being such a perfectionist in terms of every single detail having to be character accurate.

Longer term projects are often the way to go, though I completely understand that it's can be easier said than done when it comes to having the patience for them. Good luck with building the other characters to go with her. : )

I'm still planning on putting one together, but since it's taking me a while I thought I'd put my potential recipe for the outfit:

S23b or S33b body depending on how we want the thighs and how tight the outfit layers end up
Steampunk Sonja green pants
Cowgirl chaps over top
3rd party black boots with side straps from some agent set (or Nancy in Hell boots maybe)
Leopard print tube top
hatshot Tifa sleeveless black zip short vest over the tube top
Belt from the Double Agent Zero figure from VeryCool.

These are all items that ended up in my misc drawer, so hopefully it works out the only question mark I think is with the chaps over the pants due to material, but I may have camo shorts or something in there when I look from when I tried to make Sheena.

I can attest the Steampunk Red Sonja pants are nicely made and seemed very sturdy. But just be aware they are quite bulky and therefore may not fit underneath chaps. Might be easier to use some kind of thinner leggings if layering.

I came across these, which would be thinner and have a very similar look to the camo on Robyn.  Chaps over those leggings would probably recreate her old look pretty well.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/-/274840489197?mkevt=1&mkcid=16&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&media=GMAIL

Thanks, Kallor.  I have looked at those camo pants before, and I agree that combined with chaps, they could replicate her old look.  I really appreciate the thought you’ve given this.

I’m really starting to like this new look, though.  There’s some work I’d like to do on the accessories (maybe find some black pouches instead of brown, find a better strap for her quiver, etc.), but the foundation is there.

Believe me, no one is more surprised than I am since I tend to be very rigid about costume details being authentic and such, but I can still take one look at her and still think “Robyn Hood”.  I love the pleather used in those pants (it’s the stretchy kind and just feels like good quality), and I like that the black top and hood are one peace and that the hood is stretchy so it fits nicely over her head.

I’m also thinking of getting a sewing machine, so that’s the route I would probably go if I decided I want to recreate her original costume.  The green camo they used is way too light and makes it look faded.

Again though, thank you so much for all of the suggestions.  It definitely helped me get rolling!

So I decided to try one more time with Robyn Hood and the Unholy Grail. This seller was based here in the States, was the original owner and had kept the figure in a climate controlled environment. The box had been opened, but the figure had never been displayed and was in pristine condition.

I was pretty much over it, but I was always curious as to whether or not the issue was that the first one I bought simply wasn’t stored properly. This time, it was more like going downstairs to the casino while staying in Vegas. I had some play money, and while I really didn’t expect to have anything to show it by the end of the night, you never know, right?

Well, the end of the night was all it took. I started off by just trying swap out the right hand, and an hour later, I had another pile of hot peeling garbage. At least I was able to replace the last Robyn head that I had ruined (no more boiling water/hair straightening attempts for me) and I have her non-pleather accessories and weapons intact, so not a complete loss. It just served to reinforce the rule I had already put in place about avoiding older figures with pleather outfits in general and older Phicen figures with pleather outfits in particular.

I think it is a lesson well earned for all of us, but thank you for the confirmation and sorry for your troubles.

Man, that is really too bad. I wonder if they had just used a particularly cheap pleather for this figure specifically…? I haven’t seen this happen on any of their other figures.

I’ve seen it on this one, Liesel Van Helsing, and Valkyrie (the earlier, funky looking one, not Skarah or Tariah). The last two were online, not in person. They must have sourced out some bad pleather around this time frame.

yea I saw the Power of Valkyrie one had flaked on some pictures as well. I had been actively looking for a copy of it only because it was based on a comic I worked on many years ago. I gave that up cause it looks like the figure doesn't really hold up anymore as it was one of tbleague's first figure.

I wish they had held off for a few years and were doing those indie comic characters now as opposed to the “historical” stuff they’ve been trotting out. I would have bought pretty much all of them.

What did you do on the book?

Xavion2004 wrote:I wish they had held off for a few years and were doing those indie comic characters now as opposed to the “historical” stuff they’ve been trotting out.  I would have bought pretty much all of them.

What did you do on the book?  

I drew the first two issues =D.





I didn't design the costume though, they gave that to me. I'm not sure if they ever used that digital image though for anything. The tbleague version came out a bit bustier than I had drawn it. (to no one's surprise).

I was just waiting for you to tell me you designed the costume after I made that “the funky looking one” comment. I have a rare gift for sticking my foot in my mouth like that.

That book just went to the top of my reading list.