Can anything be done to arrest the decay of Timpo figures? (1 Viewer)

[Bid_kahuna]

I got my Timpo things out of their boxes yesterday, where they had been sitting for several years. Last time I looked at them, they were all fine, but now, although most of them are still supple, a few have become very stiff and I accidentally shattered an Indian torso into glassy chunks while putting a different war bonnet on him, and I broke a cowboy's hand putting his revolver in.

I noticed this before in the early 2000s when a Timpo fort I bought on eBay crumbled in my hands when I tried to assemble it, but my own guys did not seem to have the problem until now.

I've heard this is due to a softener Timpo used in their plastic that kind of 'gasses out' over the years, producing the characteristic Timpo smell, and leads to the eventual disintegration of the figure. I've heard that even untouched figures kept in display cases can spontaneously shatter from the mere pressure of the waist pegs that hold the figure together.

This is horrible. I love Timpo swoppets more than any other toy soldiers. It breaks my heart to think of the figures I view as old childhood friends crumbling away. Is there any sort of process to arrest or slow this decay? Is there a sealer you can spray on them? This is so depressing.

 

[theBaron]

I don't think you can do anything about it. It has to do with the chemical formula of the plastic. it's not uncommon for other items made with early plastics to have similar problems due do their age.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Deitz]

I got my Timpo things out of their boxes yesterday, where they had been sitting for several years. Last time I looked at them, they were all fine, but now, although most of them are still supple, a few have become very stiff and I accidentally shattered an Indian torso into glassy chunks while putting a different war bonnet on him, and I broke a cowboy's hand putting his revolver in.

I noticed this before in the early 2000s when a Timpo fort I bought on eBay crumbled in my hands when I tried to assemble it, but my own guys did not seem to have the problem until now.

I've heard this is due to a softener Timpo used in their plastic that kind of 'gasses out' over the years, producing the characteristic Timpo smell, and leads to the eventual disintegration of the figure. I've heard that even untouched figures kept in display cases can spontaneously shatter from the mere pressure of the waist pegs that hold the figure together.

This is horrible. I love Timpo swoppets more than any other toy soldiers. It breaks my heart to think of the figures I view as old childhood friends crumbling away. Is there any sort of process to arrest or slow this decay? Is there a sealer you can spray on them? This is so depressing.

I have the same issue a few of mine have become brittle. Not sure if you can do anything. Although I keep them out direct sunlight.

 

[Oldallamerican]

It's all in the plastic and chemical composition and sadly there isn't much one can do - all the Timpo swoppets I got for my brothers for Christmas 75 snapped at the joints and they were kept in a fairly air-tight container. My first Airfix 1/72 scale figures, were WWI American Infantry and French. I bought them in Belgium in 1969; about fifteen years ago I got the WWI doughboys out hoping to use some for a school project for one of my sons when they crumbled apart in my hands. I had moved them into an airtight container in a dark place at least ten years before. Interestingly, the French, bought at the same time as the doughboys were in pretty good shape the last time I checked. I used some of them for a 12 Days of Christmas shot for another forum a few years back. So maybe additives to the plastic such as dyes has something to do with it as well?