Effect of Solar and Thermal influence on Dinosaur figures.

[Stegotyranno420]

I heard many contrasting and contesting fews on the topic of Sun/heat damage with dinosaurs. I mean as in leaving them on their selves but opening the windows to let the sunlight in, but the majority ends up on my shelf. Should I be worried and move it away, or leave it as is. Any possible damages
I live in West coast of the United states, temperatures range from 1.6°-40° Centigrade to  in case that matters

I apologize if there is already another thread regarding this.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

My current collection resides in my basement, which thankfully has no windows and remains generally cooler than the rest of the house.  That said there are a lot of issues to consider when talking about exposure to heat and UV rays.  Heat generally causes softening and warping, wings can sag, tails, ect.. It can cause them to fall over of off shelves.   UV is a lot worse as sunlight essentially breaks down rubber, latex, and plastic the more exposure it gets. Sun damage usually starts with discoloration and fading, leading to cracks and separation of joints, models may become brittle even.  In general it's best to not leave exposed to the elements if you value them much.

[triceratops83]

Oddly enough, I live in a climate where it is often between 35 and 40 degrees celsius for the major part of the year, and I've never had a problem with figures warping or developing a sticky residue. My collection though is largely kept out of sunlight, usually my curtains are drawn and when they're not, it's only the afternoon sun that gets in. I guess that makes a difference. I'm guessing that people who live in climates with vastly different seasons provide a contrast that maybe negatively affects their toys - freezing winters and brief hot summers. There's not a hell of a lot of difference between the seasons here in North Queensland. My take is just to not store figures where they get a lot of sunlight.

[Shane]

Over time, plastic is going to change and break down. Exactly how much time that's going to take will depend on the environment and what they're exposed to.

It's not particularly practical to not expose your figures to ANY light, unless you keep them tucked away in a closet, and then what's the point?

So what I typically go for is the middle ground. Don't keep lights on in rooms that you're not currently occupying. Don't put figurines in a place that will be exposed to DIRECT sunlight. I find it's fine to have a window shade open or something; as long as the figures aren't directly in the path of the sunlight, you're likely okay.

As far as heat, again, direct sunlight is an issue. Figures will get hot if they're baking in the sun's rays, and that can cause discoloration, fading, warping, or softening.

But long term, storage is another issue. If you're putting your toys away for a while, I recommend storing them somewhere that is NOT a garage or attic. Garages and attics get very hot, and long term this heat will damage figures. It will make them sticky or tacky to the touch, which is a result of the plastic starting to break down faster than it normally would, due to being accelerated by the long term exposure to heat. Depending on where you live and the local climate, garages and attics also get more humidity which can lead to moisture which can also damage figures long term.

If you're storing figures for a long time I'd recommend a closet or storage room that is climate controlled (nothing fancy, just something that's still maintaining the same temperature as the rest of the house).

[Kapitaenosavrvs]

As it was said before, Plastic breaks down over years. Like most Stuff. How fast this happens, is up to yourself a bit. I have my Collection on Shelves. Sometimes, in some seasons, Sun is there. I mostly live in Darkness at home with artificial Light and only Sunlight for the Plants because i live next to a Street and hate being in a Zoo and am afraid of People.

But i never buy Figures and put them on Display with a thought of "They will last forever". Older more simple Figures(Or Toys or whatever someone is collecting and displaying/playing) with way less Detail in Paint work and sculpt may be working better, because a difference is harder to see. Or they warp less, because they aren't that fragile and thinn.

Thats why expensive PVC Figures are something i like less and less. They look good, but to me, there is no reason to store everything away and never see them, because i want to look at them every 5 or 10 Years. But everyone collects different and thats okay. I try not to have them in direct sunlight, but i have LEDs in one case. An for me, i get the most joy of my Figures, when having them as a Part of my sourrundings and not stored in the Basement.

Of course my Collection is not huge. But i start to see and feel the Space problem. And i do not want to store Suff away. I did that years ago with all my Star Wars Figures and a few other Merchandise figures. Since i have zero Interest in them but also can't manage to sell them, they became mental ballast :D


I guess it is mostly impossible to not have Colour fading or slight warping when displayed "normally". Thats what most Figureplastics do i guess. Everything flows.

[Stegotyranno420]

Thanks for the answers. I would move my cabinet out of the sun light. I knew it could make figures sticky in extreme cases prior to posting but it sounds far more serious. Thankfully there has not been too much damages as of yet.