|
Post by jw2010 on Dec 3, 2012 23:33:26 GMT -5
Hi: Just wondering . . . Does anyone know if FLUORESCENT LIGHTING causes any harm to the Johnny West Series of figures (i.e. cracking, fading, breaking down of materials/plastics, etc.). Thanks for the info.
|
|
|
Post by terryschimm on Dec 4, 2012 1:41:08 GMT -5
Some types of light are worse than others, but I think just about any will eventually do some damage over the long term. All my Marx figures are in darker parts of my house & my GI Joes are in total darkness unless I'm in the room.
Terry
|
|
|
Post by whiteboymarx on Dec 4, 2012 19:41:09 GMT -5
I think that the further away you keep your figures from any light the safer. I keep the curtains on the south side of my living room closed at all times. I keep some figures on a desk by the west window but there is two sets of sheers filtering out the sunlight and the neighbours added a second floor to their house which blocks out almost all the sunlight now. It's impossible to keep a large collection away from all sources of light unless you want to keep it stored away in boxes. My advice is just don't keep your figures too close to any sources of light. Brian
|
|
|
Post by terryschimm on Dec 4, 2012 21:58:08 GMT -5
To add to Brian's point, I've found that figures stored away in boxes for decades, (the longer the better, imo) tend to be exactly like they were when put away, providing moisture, mice & such haven't been involved. (temperatures don't seem to matter) When I got my Joes & Johnnys (including a Daniel Boone, the most brittle of all figures, yet mine's still rock solid) from my grandma's after 30 years, it was like I'd just seen them yesterday. I've also bought many from those same circumstances.
Terry
|
|
|
Post by jw2010 on Dec 4, 2012 23:54:13 GMT -5
Thanks for the input, Guys. I have a curio cabinet for display purposes that has one socket at the top for a light bulb. I decided that a standard/incandescent light bulb would probably produce too much heat as it is positioned only about 3" from the tops of the figures' heads. I was thinking (hoping?) that one of those compact fluorescent type of bulbs would be okay because it generates virtually no heat; my concern is whether or not the light rays themselves would pose a problem (i.e. you know, like how posters fade from the sunlight in a shop window). Technically, a fluorescent light is neither an incandescent bulb nor natural sunlight . . . so that is why I was wondering if its particular properties would pose a problem. ** Hope my question is a little clearer this time around.
|
|
|
Post by stewartsattic on Dec 5, 2012 6:19:13 GMT -5
Hey Gunslinger, flourescent lights do produce UV light. So can be damaging to printed / paper items. I would go with an LED light, no UV and virtually no heat and the bulbs last longer. I'm in the process of upgrading all my long bulb flourescents to LED... little expensive but produce a better light and safer. Scott
|
|
|
Post by jw2010 on Dec 5, 2012 15:57:33 GMT -5
Thanks for the info . . . although I have no printed matter in this cabinet. Probably UV is not good for the plastics, either.
|
|
|
Post by tumbleweed on Dec 6, 2012 9:14:13 GMT -5
I believe Terry has the right idea and coupled with your plans you should be Ok. I don't think you plan is to leave the light on "all the time" in the cabinet, just when as Terry said you are in the room or "showing them off" My Daniel Boone was also stored in a box in the shelves under our bed, and I would only get him out once a year or so, just to check on him. He looks mint. But if you are going to have them out in the cabinet anyway, they are going to receive natural light, light from the room light fixture if there is one, each time you cut on the switch, and then thirdly the cabinet light. In museums they rotate their display pieces from storage to display then back to storage for this reason. TW
|
|
|
Post by jw2010 on Dec 6, 2012 14:41:28 GMT -5
Good info.
The cabinet is a "corner" version in the dining room. That area's overhead (incandescent) light is rarely on, there is no window in the room for direct sunlight, and the cabinet light would only be on "as needed" to view the contents.
So . . . all in all, it looks like I have little to fret over. I will check, however, to see if I can locate one of those LED-type bulbs for inside the cabinet.
Thanks, everyone.
P.S. While I appreciate the reasons for storing the dolls, er, action figures, in the dark (i.e. preservation), I bought these so that I could ENJOY the display. If these rot after I'm gone, it's not going to matter much to me. I just want/need them to last as long as I do. ;D ;D
|
|
|
Post by whiteboymarx on Dec 6, 2012 18:59:10 GMT -5
JW I agree with what you said, What's the point of storing figures in the dark when I bought them to enjoy on display. I think storing my figures is getting a little too serious with collecting. The fact is that of all the figures I've purchased I've never noticed any that have faded, if this was a serious problem I'm sure some would already be faded when I first acquired them. Brian C
|
|
|
Post by jw2010 on Dec 7, 2012 23:26:14 GMT -5
Good points, White Boy.
I have only built My Collection since 2008. There is no discernible change in the colours in the four years that I have had these figures . . . which, as you all know, are 40-year-old toys by now.
We know what time has done to some of the "caramel" figures i.e. brittle, crayon odour, crumbling. It would be interesting to see just how much shelf life is left. 20 years? 40 years? Or more?
Long Live Johnny West !
|
|
|
Post by tumbleweed on Dec 9, 2012 12:06:40 GMT -5
I agree JW, long live Johnny West. Mykol, which I haven't heard from by the way ( has anyone, is he OK), once said that "plays with dolls" is associated with what we do, which is 100% inaccurate. Not on Mykol's part, but on the part of the people who think this way. We are preserving history in two ways, an accurate portrayal of the old west, and collecting action figures that have a meaning to being an American. If our youth are interested in something, that is what they are interested in being a part of. Some don't know the pleasure of Johnny West, and when they see a display or mini Johnny Con that WE arrange to set up or be a part of, an immediate light goes off, and another generation is brought on board. I don't if anyone else has had the pleasure of being present when this type of thing happens, but it is so rewarding. So many feelings, ( warm and fuzzy, flash backs to our first introduction to Johnny West, hope for the future in something besides i-pads and video games. I saw some young rough, tough, football players about 12 years of age immediately change personalities when they saw "wow, cool, look at the big O'l cowboys and indians, Man, where did these come from". Sorry to ramble, but Brian you are right, I didn't store my Johnny's to protect them, but because I didn't take the time to properly display them. But since I have been on the Ranch, I have learned that I ain't weird, or abnormal for having Johnny's out on display, but that there are others out there who when they see them on display, confess their interest too. I would have never known about my friends or the football players if the hands on opportunity had not presented itself to them. Thanks for the encouragement my friends. Tumbleweed.
|
|
|
Post by savewithdave on Dec 9, 2012 12:57:21 GMT -5
AWESOME!!!!
Dave & Donna (X)
|
|
|
Post by jw2010 on Dec 9, 2012 14:18:18 GMT -5
A-Hem. " ... collecting action figures that have a meaning to being an American."CANADIANS have an "Ol' West" history, too . . . just so you know. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why Louis Marx felt it worthwhile to manufacture these figures out of the Scarborough, Ontario factory at the same time as the USA figures were marketed. And, yes, I play with dolls again after a 40-year hiatus. ;D
|
|
|
Post by tumbleweed on Dec 9, 2012 15:43:33 GMT -5
Sorry. LOL Yes, you are a North American. Border Town was one of my favorite TV westerns. But then again I am ignorant on many things, that is why I have to take my foot out of my mouth so often. Canadian Ol west is something I have not read much about. That's why it is good to have North American/Canadian pards around here to educate me. TW
|
|