Motormaster - Yellowing Plastic?

[Grimlocked]

Hey everyone, after Gamestop accidentally sold my pre-order on Motormaster but was able to get me a new one (After 2 weeks) I realized the one I bought has one of the affected batch codes with yellowing plastic.

What exactly does yellowing plastic indicate and is it something that is worth the hassle in trying to find a new one?

Thanks.

[Dark Rage]

From the Motormaster Yellowing thread (https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/the-ongoing-legacy-motormaster-batch-number-documentation.1233489/) on TFW:

U.S. batch numbers: 20521, 20831, 21131, 21171, 21231, 21271, 21321,
Canada batch numbers: 20911,
U.K./Germany/Europe batch numbers: 20831, 20881, 20891
Australia batch numbers: 20521, 20831, 20911, 21011, 21091
Japan batch numbers:
Shared batch numbers: 20831,

In addition, I will be separating the batch numbers by if they have pre-yelllowed out of the box or not.

Pre-yelllowed batches: 20521, 20831, 20891 (slight discoloration), 20911 (slight discoloration),
Still-gray batches: 20521, 20831, 20881, 21011, 21091, 21131, 21321, 21171, 21271

As for Yellowing, I'm not sure. People have reported their Cyclonus's and Netflix Soundwave have started to yellow. Oh, also the blue on SS86 Spike (but a bit more subtle).

[GotBot]

Some say the yellowing makes plastic more brittle but I have not experienced that. Hasbro stopped doing QC checks for 2 years, claiming Covid travel restrictions (not sure why they didn't have staff in the country of production already) and changed plastic suppliers. Now that is catching up to them. The list of characters known to yellow is large and ever expanding. The list I know of have all been confirmed with photographic evidence and includes, Siege Jetfire, Artfire, Cyberverse Arcee and Hammerbyte, Netflix Soundwave, Netflix boxset Megatron, ER Megatron, G2 Sandstorm, SG Starscream, Cyclonus, Kingdom/Legacy Blaster, ER Starscream, Soundblaster, ER Quint judge, Kingdom Tigatron and, as of yesterday, one single report yet of titan Cybertrron Metroplex. It affects white, grey, blue and beige plastics. Had nothing to do with sunlight or humidity. Hasbro knows the problem but have not fixed it. They have "tried to find the root cause" and as of yet don't seem to have done so (?). I mean, it's easy, stop using the cheap plastic you switched to lol. It is a massive problem that Hasbro is trying to downplay and sweep under the rug. I can also confirm 5 reports of people contacting Hasbro customer service to only be told "yellowing does not affect functionality and therefore a replacement will not be issued." And, 2 more who were told to send the item back, at their cost, to verify the issue claimed and then a cheque will be mailed....MAILED! LOL.

[JonoPrime]

Whole thread over at TFW2005 on it.

Not quite sure what to make of it myself as it does seem to be affecting certain bots, but hard to say if it's fully widespread or not.

Either way, if you're interested in what others have reported check out this link;

https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/wfc-siege-er-possibly-kingdom-figures-yellowing-quickly.1219262/

[Grimlocked]

Hey guys, thanks for the links - what I was trying to get at however was understanding if yellowing actually does anything (e.g. increase the chances of breaking?) Since I already know the batch code to the one I bought.

If it's really just a visual issue then on a practical level it's probably not worth my time to get a new one.

[Dark Rage]

Just wondering, anyone who's recieved their Motormaster from Amazon, has theirs come in yellowed already?

[Melomeca]

My amazon mm has the slightest yellowing, of one shade off, with a batch code 21231. It's not enough to complain, but noticeable if you look for it.

[Magnimus]

Hey guys, thanks for the links - what I was trying to get at however was understanding if yellowing actually does anything (e.g. increase the chances of breaking?) Since I already know the batch code to the one I bought.

If it's really just a visual issue then on a practical level it's probably not worth my time to get a new one.

It's just not known at this time. We still don't know what is causing this kind of discolouration (which is occurring sometimes right out of the box or over time after a figure has been available). Unlike "Gold Plastic Syndrome" where we had years of evidence and examples of products disintegrating, this current "yellowing" hasn't resulted in any known breakages yet, but there's no telling what the future might hold, unfortunately. At the best, you'll have an ugly figure on your hands. At the worst, it might develop into a breakage issue. It's just not possible to tell right now, and Hasbro is doing us no favours by refusing to address the consumer concerns about this.

[xueyue2]

It's just not known at this time. We still don't know what is causing this kind of discolouration (which is occurring sometimes right out of the box or over time after a figure has been available). Unlike "Gold Plastic Syndrome" where we had years of evidence and examples of products disintegrating, this current "yellowing" hasn't resulted in any known breakages yet, but there's no telling what the future might hold, unfortunately. At the best, you'll have an ugly figure on your hands. At the worst, it might develop into a breakage issue. It's just not possible to tell right now, and Hasbro is doing us no favours by refusing to address the consumer concerns about this.


Agree. And personal experience Yellowing figure is not a big issue,as long as yellowing evenly. I have a Robot Spirit Zeta Gundam had yellow only in front, so I had to give it sun bath in the back for 2 month until it become all yellowish. Then it looks great again. :D

[delrue]

From my understanding it tends to be the harder plastic they use for the joints and friction points (and then whatever else they use to fill that mold.) Makes me wonder if there's a resin mixed in with the plastic or something to that nature.

[Grimlocked]

It's just not known at this time. We still don't know what is causing this kind of discolouration (which is occurring sometimes right out of the box or over time after a figure has been available). Unlike "Gold Plastic Syndrome" where we had years of evidence and examples of products disintegrating, this current "yellowing" hasn't resulted in any known breakages yet, but there's no telling what the future might hold, unfortunately. At the best, you'll have an ugly figure on your hands. At the worst, it might develop into a breakage issue. It's just not possible to tell right now, and Hasbro is doing us no favours by refusing to address the consumer concerns about this.

That is fine as long as it's not breaking - some may call it ugly but it's just weathering to me at this point. Thanks!

[CobraCommander]

Another good reason to get rid of the window box, so you can't see the yellowing!

Hopefully this doesn't affect Bumblebee :D

[delrue]

See, what they need to do for the next movie is have Bumblebee white and then he gets painted yellow at some point and then the yellowing is an action feature.

[CyberDragon10K]

I recall hearing that the yellowing is due to Bromine being mixed into the plastic to make it fire resistant. Maybe the afflicted batches have too much Bromine compared to normal?

You see this more severely in old Super Nintendo consoles and the like.

[Marcotron]

I recall hearing that the yellowing is due to Bromine being mixed into the plastic to make it fire resistant. Maybe the afflicted batches have too much Bromine compared to normal?

You see this more severely in old Super Nintendo consoles and the like.


So, who's gonna light their transformers on fire to test this theory? :rofl:
Make sure to get it on video, make it a tiktok. That'll get the attention of Hasbro...

[Tiffster]

I work in plastic injection molding. If the factory uses regrind it sometimes affects color. Regrind is taking the excess plastic from a molding process (gates, runners etc) that get trimmed off the final part. This excess is reground and fed back into the injection mold to be used again. It saves cost and prevents waste but it could become contaminated. Not sure if this is what's happening or if the Virgin plastic is subgrade, or both.

[ngnaw]

What parts are yellowing? Any pics or proof?

[ngnaw]

Mine is 21431 and looks spectacular. I ordered from 2nd batch ordering of Amazon.ca for $103 CAD on August 1

[Tiffster]

Mine is 21431 and looks spectacular. I ordered from 2nd batch ordering of Amazon.ca for $103 CAD on August 1

Why am I thinking of Sienfeld??

[ngnaw]

Why am I thinking of Sienfeld??LOL Teri Hatcher wowzaaa! :bow:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQNkeugaAMc

[Tiffster]

LOL Teri Hatcher wowzaaa! :bow:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQNkeugaAMc

...there it is!

[Tiffster]

Is there a list of which batch numbers affected? I have two copies and need to decide which uo keep and which to return.

[Atomicgarden]

https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/the-ongoing-legacy-motormaster-batch-number-documentation.1233489/

Hi ! Somebody made a thread so we could try to find out which batch numbers are affected. It seems a bit random which ones are affected though.

[Tiffster]

My batch is 21231 so not sure....anyone else get that batch?

[Dark Rage]

https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/the-ongoing-legacy-motormaster-batch-number-documentation.1233489/

Hi ! Somebody made a thread so we could try to find out which batch numbers are affected. It seems a bit random which ones are affected though.

That link is in the first reply to this thread on the first page...

[Grayfox]

Can confirm its not 100%. My batch number is listed as one of the good ones, but my figure is messed up. Like, this is beyond yellowing:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52579848337_8f1316c732_w.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52580314001_9c14a9bb37_w.jpg

[Tiffster]

Can confirm its not 100%. My batch number is listed as one of the good ones, but my figure is messed up. Like, this is beyond yellowing:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52579848337_8f1316c732_w.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52580314001_9c14a9bb37_w.jpg

Browning

[evenstaves]

Browning

http://www.cybertron.ca/boards/picture.php?albumid=432&pictureid=4307

[Grayfox]

Indeed, lol
And of course, now that I need to exchange it, amazon is out of stock.

[savagephil]

My batch is 21231 so not sure....anyone else get that batch?

I got the same tiffster 21231 and I have one spot of yellowing by the right combiner leg. On left side where wildrider is