Smoking-free environment
 

I saw that many times, whether it's on this board or eBay, were the seller will add this in his description; figures was on the shelf for display never played. And it comes from a smoke-free environment, something along those lines. I never understood what smoke can do to a figure, I mean is it important if it comes from a smoke-free environment or no?

Re: Smoking-free environment
 

Well, I know some materials can absorb the odor of cigarette smoke, so the item winds up smelling pretty bad. Not sure to what extent this applies to plastic, but I suppose the possibility is always there. Removing, if even possible, that smoke smell can be a pain as well.

Re: Smoking-free environment
 

I once got a mostly white figure from a smoker's collection and it had significant yellowish-brown deposits from smoke in all the little creases and detail lines, plus a fair bit of staining. And it smelled strongly. I cleaned the figure a LOT but to this day visible traces of cigarette smoke reside and staining remain.

Re: Smoking-free environment
 

Yeah, I forgot to mention that cigarette smoke can color some items as well, but you beat me to it.

Re: Smoking-free environment
 

So smoking can actually affect the figure? Wow, I didn't know that. I mean if you try and paint the cigarette residue, that could solve the problem?

Re: Smoking-free environment
 

You can try, but there's no guarantee it'll work, since some residue may be seen through paint. It depends on the paint color. And there's also still the smell to contend with, which as mentioned, is damn hard to get rid of completely, if at all. And painting a figure can make it look ugly, but that depends on your skill as a painter. With all the effort it'll take to remove evidence of smoking from the figure, you're better off trying to find one from a smoke-free environment.

Re: Smoking-free environment
 

That is why I prefer and tend to buy figures that are sealed and never opened. Less problems.

Re: Smoking-free environment
 

Well, you can always ask questions about the condition of figures from the seller before committing to a purchase. I've bought a few figures that are in perfectly fine condition, just ask if the figure has been in a smoking environment before. Besides, sealed figures are a rare commodity that's only going to get rarer as time goes on, so unless the figure is brand new, it'll be hard to get an older figure that is sealed (especially G1 figures) without paying a significant markup.

Re: Smoking-free environment
 

Items that come from Asian markets, come most of the time in sealed boxes.

Re: Smoking-free environment
 

Its just piece of mind letting you know that their items are from someone that doesnt smoke same with no pets
ie (pets didnt chew on toys or pee on them)...lol