Certain figures are sticky. What is the cause?

[CityRaptor]

Taking them outside for that is okay. They are not vampires, you know. UV damage is the result of long time exposure.

[Pachyallosaurus]

Oh ok. So they should be fine as long as I don't keep them in direct sunlight for 5 hours...   

But can artificial light make them sticky as well?

[CityRaptor]

Depending on the light. UV light does. Also light sources that get very hot can do it.

[Pachyallosaurus]

Good to know. Thanks.

[tYRantOsAur]

I think they are just made that way or it could be light

[tYRantOsAur]

Just light

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

tYRantOsAu, warning issued for pointless posts.  use the edit post feature.

[Time is of the Essence]

I recently got a Jurassic Park Chaos Effect Compstegnathus and a Jurassic Park Chaos Effect Amargospinus. They were still in the box, but when I opened them (I do take dinosaurs out of the box, but I try to be careful with them) they were sticky. How do I clean them?

[Megalosaurus]

Try to wash them with lemon scent dish soap in a toothbrush, rinse and repeat. Then let them dry in the air 24h. And tell us if it helped.

[Time is of the Essence]

Thank you, I'll have to try that. I will let you know if it works. 

[LeapingLaelaps]

I don't actually have any issues with figures right now, but I had a few quick questions.

Besides keeping your figurines out of sun/UV light, keeping them at a good temperature that's not too hot, letting them breath, etc is there anything you can do to protect them from getting sticky and starting to deteriorate/leach plasticizer out? I've started reading about this issue lately and it's making me paranoid about my collection, especially my BotM stuff and Monster Hunter Figure Builders.

Also, if you do have a sticky figure, can you clean it up well or will it just eventually deteriorate and completely fall apart? I don't need to have them with me on my deathbed, and I'm not having kids to pass them on to, but I want to have them as long as possible, especially the more valuable ones

Thanks guys!

[CityRaptor]

Invicta Hunter posted something regarding tht earlier:

The toy wont be destroyed, don't worry about that it would take a good bit of time for that to happen. I don't think you can really stop it but like i said before you can use rubbing alcohol to clean it and then it should feel better. Just remember not to use it on soft plastics and painted toys. I think the stickyness comes about from the toy being left in direct sun light or being put somewhere cold.

So unless your figures suffer from this: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Gold_Plastic_Syndrome they should be fine.

[LeapingLaelaps]

Invicta Hunter posted something regarding tht earlier:

The toy wont be destroyed, don't worry about that it would take a good bit of time for that to happen. I don't think you can really stop it but like i said before you can use rubbing alcohol to clean it and then it should feel better. Just remember not to use it on soft plastics and painted toys. I think the stickyness comes about from the toy being left in direct sun light or being put somewhere cold.

So unless your figures suffer from this: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Gold_Plastic_Syndrome they should be fine.

Thank you very much! That makes me feel a lot better

[Concavenator]

I have a CollectA Deluxe Agustinia, which I bought way back in May 2012. Since mid-late 2018 I have been noticing that, whenever I touch it, it's getting sticky, and if I rub my fingers on the figure some paint comes out. Is there a solution to this? From what I have read, if I submerge it on alcohol, it would be fixed, but I've also read that the alcohol method shouldn't be used on a painted figure, which the Agustinia is. So, is there any other solution? I would feel sorry for tosing it into the trash, but then again, I wouldn't like to have a figure that's slowly melting in my shelf 

I even created a thread about it: http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=8483.msg250730;topicseen#new

[DC]

I have noticed the problem with some cheap chinasaurs. They can be made with salvaged plastics that will also cause a smell. Some primers used on rubbery plastics will react by becoming sticky. Improper drying before shipping is another possible source.

[BrontoScorpio]

I have this 'sticky' problem with all the Battat BMOS Dinosaurs I bought at some Canadian seller eviljam.
All other battat dinosaurs I bought else where are fine - Just those from this seller are ALL sticky.
I think he maiby got a hold of items put aside having failed the QA checks - and some how  managed to smuggle them out.
I don't think I should use any 'Alcohol' or other liquid solutions on those painted dinos -
so, I just leave them be -and wash my hands after I touch any of them - as their 'stickiness' really passes to the hand.

[Quen]

I've been having this problem with my Battat Diplodocus. (It had to be that one, didn't it?) I've had it for five years, and it was in the original plastic bag when I got it. It was always kind of tacky to the touch, but it's been getting worse lately. Pet hair sticks to it, and it leaves a sort of oily residue on my hands after I touch it. I thought it had something to do with the paint before I saw this thread.

When I dust my collection, I rinse off the large ones in the bathtub; sometimes I hand-wash with dish soap. Using soap on the Diplodocus helps with the stickiness a bit. I would like to try scrubbing it due to its wrinkles, but I don't want to damage the paint. I guess I'm asking if anyone has had success and undamaged paint using the scrubbing method on their own old Battats?

[Varanops]

Three items.  The first is that after moving from a very humid climate to a warm but dry one almost two years ago, many, if not most, of those of my "plastic" prehistorics that had been demonstrating a tendency to go sticky on me, stubbornly resisting all my efforts at cleansing, seem to have become cured.  I can't think that my efforts belatedly bore fruit, because many of the worst (some jiggly Italian dinosaurs in particular; they practically glue themselves to my hand if I touch them) I had not even attempted to clean, yet many of them seemed self-cured, as well, or at least dramatically improved.  (Not those jigglies, though; I still haven't got the carpet accretions removed from one I accidentally dropped on the floor.  (Carpet-cleaning services, take note; fortunes to be made.)) 
The second thing is that a few of my old '50's/'60's Marx items (but only those of the light green hue) have started to crumble a bit (here a foot, there a tusk or tail tip) with even the most careful handling.  The grays and the browns retain their durability, as cautious "stress-testing" on my part seems to demonstrate.  I never noticed this in the Marx greens until well after my move, and I should mention that only a few seem to behave in this fashion, but every couple of months of so, another one falls victim.  I haven't tried gluing the amputated members back on because the fracture sites seem brittle, crumble easily, and one attempt to replace a broken fin on a prized Marx Kronosaur resulted in a second fin biting the dust, so I gave up the attempt.
The third thing seems equally strange.  On a few (this time only the rusty-red ones) of my dinosaurs from a non-Marx prehistoric playset bought decades ago (I didn't save the box (oh, how I kick myself!) and can't recall the manufacturer, but they resemble the old Sinclair gas station give-aways in configuration) shed paint (or, more properly, very thin plastic integument or integral dye, as they are not painted) onto my fingers when I handle them.  (Darned difficult to wash off, too.)  This, also, only started some time after my move.
The second and third things I mentioned may have nothing to do with the stickiness problem, or they may be related.  Either way, they don't seem out of place in this discussion -- especially if there is a relationship -- but I offer them under correction and have no desire to introduce topics that are not relevant.  Please accept my apology if I bored anyone with items two and three, of if they seemed non-apropos to the stickiness discussion.
I did not notice any of these three changes until well after my move (several months to a year, at least).  Considering the timing, I'm tempted to attribute all three (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly -- sorry, I couldn't resist) to (dare I say this?) climate change (my move from East Coast to Western U.S.), but this is only a guess, and what (if any) part cold and/or heavy humidity versus heat and/or dramatic dryness plays is conjectural at this point.  My admittedly small sample experience inclines me in that direction, anyway.  Anyone have similar happenstances to relate?  Your thoughts on the matter of possible connectivity are earnestly solicited.

[Halichoeres]

V @Varanops those are interesting observations. I never really considered humidity as a factor. I live in a moderately humid place (Great Lakes region), but I used to live in the desert, and after I moved here I noticed that some of my books' covers tended to bow. I wonder if a good dehumidifier might ameliorate both problems.

@Quen in my experience cleaning only helps temporarily. Sorry to hear the stickiness has afflicted such a prize.

[Wallnut]

The toy wont be destroyed, don't worry about that it would take a good bit of time for that to happen. I don't think you can really stop it but like i said before you can use rubbing alcohol to clean it and then it should feel better. Just remember not to use it on soft plastics and painted toys. I think the stickyness comes about from the toy being left in direct sun light or being put somewhere cold.

Like kenner Red rex.