Close to on-topic...Captain Action advice needed?
So quiet here...helloooo?
I'm completely reworking/kitbashing/customizing those 7, Silver Age (well, not the yellow Wolfy, IMO) Marvel figures from the recent & now defunct (I believe) third attempted relaunch of Captain Action by Round2. These costume sets, overall, were excellent...and perhaps might have improved significantly as the line continued...? (The initially, wildly oversized masks, did improve their appearance for the final 3 figure releases.)
It was a terrific shame that so much excellent planning & work went into this line relaunch...only to have it die in one year. The price point was excellent, even if some important corners were cut or overlooked.
Props that Round2 wanted to sell these locally at toy stores. Kudos! Too bad that 10-12yo males have little interest in playing with a 12" doll...who can "turn into" characters that would seem unfamiliar, since they don't look like their current movie versions.
Great idea to redesign the Captain Action base figure! In many ways, Captain Action's legacy began as a significant improvement on the robotic physique (and "hard hands") of the original GIJoe...prompting Joe's redesign & king-fu grip. Yet vintage Cap had a goofy face and ridiculously long forearms! And the newly sculpted base figure ALSO had a goofy face (stubby neck) and ridiculously long forearms...???
Oh...sorry...my question...
The Hawkeye figure comes with purple rubber arm bands...as in "rubberbands." How can I treat these to preserve them, without softening, discoloring or otherwise degrading the rubber itself?
Some suggestions:
Keep them out of direct sunlight.
Maybe rub them with a little Armor-all (car cleaner). That may help them.
If you store them, keep them in paper bags (plastic bags can cause them to degrade faster).
Hope they are made of good quality rubber. To some extent you are stuck with the materials used in making them, and cheaper materials won't last as long.
Low humidity can help as well.
-Rob