Gold Plastic Syndrome

Ouch.

Gold Plastic Syndrome (commonly shorthanded to GPS) is fandom terminology used to describe the phenomenon of a toy's plastic decomposing and becoming brittle to the point of shattering or crumbling under minimal-stress conditions. In the most extreme cases, toys have been reported to spontaneously crumble to small bits without any applied force at all, even if they're fresh out of their unopened package.

This breakage is different from the relatively more common stress-fracture type of plastic breakage that can occur in some Transformers toys; while normal stress fractures are universally heralded by stress marks on the toy, GPS breakage doesn't have that sign; it simply crumbles to pieces. The condition takes its name from the gold plastics of late Generation 1 through to Beast Wars that have proved the most prone to this sort of breakage. Despite the name, Gold Plastic Syndrome has been known to affect other types of plastic—most of them noted for a pretty metallic swirl in the plastic; the reason it has the "GPS" moniker is because gold plastic was the first and most common color observed to have this horrific phenomenon.

Thankfully, Gold Plastic Syndrome is generally unheard of in modern Transformers figures, with the last reported case being in 2015 with Unite Warriors Motormaster.

Etymology

The term was coined in an alt.toys.transformers post made by user Sky Shadow in September 2002.^[1] A post by Dave "Zobovor" Edwards, meanwhile, made in June of the previous year,^[2] is the earliest identifiable acknowledgment of the widespread nature of the phenomenon within the Transformers fan community.

Completing the journey from fan term to official term, "Gold Plastic Syndrome" was used by Hasbro designer John Warden at the Transformers Generations panel at Comic-Con International 2015 to describe exactly what would not happen to Combiner Wars G2-style Quickslinger.

Notability

GPS is widespread among toys made in the tail-end of Generation 1, typically the second year of Pretenders and even some European-market exclusives, Generation 2 and the Beast Wars series, but examples have surfaced from lines as recent as Universe (2003), the Star Wars Transformers and the 2007 movie. Transformers toys are not the only ones to suffer from this; there have been reports of G.I. Joe and Visionaries toys' gold plastics also crumbling seemingly of their own accord; even some Super Sentai and Power Rangers toys have been known to suffer. Probably the strangest is accounts of retro game collectors finding Majora's Mask cartridges shatter under minimal stress. Other retro robot toy collectors have referred to it as "Popy disease", after the metallic blue plastic favored by the company Popy that led to the demise of many a Dairugger / Vehicle Team Voltron.

The toys most likely to suffer from Gold Plastic Syndrome are those with gold or bronze plastic with a metallic swirl to it. There are other known cases with different colors of plastic—though usually there is a tell-tale swirl in the plastic.

Cause

Gleargh

Because this is not exactly an area of scientific notability there aren't any full studies into Gold Plastic Syndrome that we know about. Basically, it is thought that certain plastics weren't mixed as well as others, possibly because of the metallic pigment or colouring, so they break down more quickly.

It's not much of a theory, really; think more a hypothesis. Here's a more detailed attempt:

-Aernaroth suggests a cause for GPS on the Allspark

In short, the poorly-bonded plastic is so honeycombed with air gaps that the pressure required for movement will crumble it.

Hasbro have attributed it to "the amount of gold fleck included in the plastic", and have apparently reduced the amount in similar plastics of more recent vintage to prevent further occurrences.^[3] Later Hasbro said that they believe they've "alleviated the issues associated with the 'gold' plastic issue" through "trial and error." ^[4]

All in all, the actual causes of Gold Plastic Syndrome aren't a very big deal to Transformers fans—it's really pretty academic. Of more concern is the RESULTS (i.e., poor Electro crumbling to bits like an Oreo left in milk too long), and what to look out for. There's no certain cure here, no fix. If a toy has GPS, it will die if handled and transformed normally.

Seibertron.com has reported that Ace Hardware's "Lub-E" product may prevent GPS breakage, having applied it to an Electro pre-photo-shoot. This claim needs further verification, as it may very well be a coincidence that that specific Electro did not break at that moment. Other discussions of Lub-E or comparable shock oil products have recommended submerging the toy in the lubricant entirely, which many collectors would find unacceptable even if it worked.

The Symptoms

Nooo!

Gold Plastic Syndrome usually has a few clear signs. Knowing how to tell the difference between Gold Plastic Syndrome and normal plastic breakage is very important for a Transformers fan who is collecting vintage toys. It's the difference between giving up on that toy completely (since if it has GPS, it's likely most other samples of the toy will as well) and buying a new copy.

• GPS usually takes place in metallic-coloured plastics, most notably gold plastic and bronze plastic; they tend to have distinctive "swirly," "sparkly" appearance.
• GPS breaks are NOT accompanied by stress fractures. There is usually NOT any visible wear before the breakage. This is really important. Plastic breaks. This is a reality of toy collecting, plastic gets old and it breaks. Gold plastic syndrome is breakage without warning.
• GPS breaks often leave a powdery residue and shards of plastic (though not always), the result of the plastic actually physically crumbling. Take a look at the picture of Skyquake's scope—okay, the bits of his scope—to the right. You can actually see some of the left-over shards of plastic. Keep in mind this picture was taken years after the break actually occurred—these are new shards of plastic which came off these pieces of scope during the process of moving the parts around for photography. Plastic should not be that brittle or delicate.
• GPS breakages don't need to involve any excess stress or force on a toy—simply handling a toy or opening its box can cause the breakage. If your toy breaks despite careful handling it's more likely to be GPS.
• GPS breaks often have rough, uneven edges with no stress lines around them. This is important—usually when plastic snaps it snaps cleanly (as is common with clear plastic), or it bends first (leaving a torn-off piece, or clear stresses around the break). If a break is uneven, with different colours and textures in it, yet there are no stress fractures around the wound, and especially if it leaves a powdery residue as well, it's almost certainly a GPS break. Take a look at the photo of Skyquake above for a good example of the ragged break. Okay... not good. What's the other word that's LIKE "good", but not actually good? Oh yeah. Horrifying. A HORRIFYING example.
• GPS plastics will sometimes feel brittle to the touch, sometimes making cracking noises as they're handled.

A really easy test to tell if you have GPS breakage is this—if a piece breaks off, try snapping it again. If it's normal plastic breakage, the broken piece should bend or bow, since it would have had only one fracture point and otherwise remained malleable; in that circumstance, even if it were brittle clear plastic, you would be able to glue it back into place, or at least get a replacement part. On the other hand, if the broken piece continues to repeatedly crack apart like a potato chip when hit with pressure from any angle, then you've almost definitely got Gold Plastic Syndrome.

GPS misconceptions

ALL GOLD PLASTIC WILL DIE!

Not true. It's only a specific composite of gold plastic only used during a specific era that will die, most prominently used from 1988 (second year Pretenders are notorious for it) and through to about the end of Beast Wars in 2000, although there are still a few very rare cases of post-millennium figures with this issue up until 2015. As far as we know modern toys do not suffer from GPS due to a reduction in the amount of metallic flakes in similar, but more recent toys.^[3] Toys with flexible nylon-based gold plastics, such as Superbase Optimus Prime's elbows, are not susceptible to GPS supposedly because of the plastic's composition. Even on toys well known for GPS, some of their gold plastic is less prone to break. Gold plastic which is nice and thick is much less likely to snap than gold plastic which is thin. Gold plastic which is under constant stress—like that at a joint—is also more likely to break. That said, some really nice solid parts can shatter like eggshells if it's real GPS we're talkin' about.

OKAY, BUT THEN ALL GOLD PLASTIC FROM 1988 TO THE EARLY 2000s WILL DIE!

Thankfully, no! There are various examples of figures built between the eighties and the early 2000s featuring similar-looking gold or bronze plastic - sometimes even exhibiting some of those much-dreaded swirly patterns - where such an issue has never been reported, like Archadis, Guiledart, G2 Bumblebee, Transquito, Snarler, 2003's version of San D-Go, and perhaps most ironically, Goldbug. Gold chrome, like that seen in Transmetal Cheetor and (the other version of) G2 Bumblebee, is also completely immune from GPS since it's merely painted rather than actually being gold plastic.

MY TOY BROKE, IT MUST BE GOLD PLASTIC SYNDROME!!!

There are plenty of ways for plastic to break that aren't related to Gold Plastic Syndrome. Repeated stress on a plastic, dropping a toy, a toy with metal parts that damage the plastic parts, thin plastic, or simply the use of translucent plastic, which is more brittle. Just because a toy breaks doesn't mean it's Gold Plastic Syndrome. Look for the symptoms (listed above) and ask around before assuming that every single copy of this toy is destined to die a painful and horrible death.

ONLY GOLD PLASTIC GETS GOLD PLASTIC SYNDROME!

Not quite true. Observations suggest that it should probably be called "Metallic Plastic Syndrome". It's those metallic plastics, most commonly the gold and bronze plastics used for almost ten years by Hasbro and Takara, from around 1989 to 1998. However, it's possible that any colour of plastic could be susceptible, given enough time. So keep a close eye on your Fire Convoy, kids; that pretty metallic swirl in his plastic isn't promising... maybe.

MY TOY IS DOOMED!

Okay... not exactly a misconception. Your toy is probably doomed... but there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

You see, the thickness of the plastic seems to affect GPS. Also, the amount of stress on it affects it. While some toys are known for breaking just by having their packages opened—guys like Randy, Roadblock and Generation 2 Slingshot—others, like Skyquake and Pyro, can remain intact if they are handled with extreme care (and never ever transformed, of course) because the parts that are made of GPS plastics are large and thick and otherwise robust. GPS is an inconsistent process—eventually your toy will crumble, but there's no telling how long it will take. With delicate handling (read: almost none) you can maintain a GPS-afflicted toy in your collection for quite some time.

Also remember that the evidence for Gold Plastic Syndrome is completely observational. There seems to be some evidence that different plastic batches were less affected, that some releases of the toys were less affected. You might luck out and get an Electro that never crumbles to dust, or you might be really unlucky and get multiple Electros, all of which break horribly. This page is a caution more than anything else. Know what you're getting into when you buy a toy known to be afflicted by GPS.

Toys commonly associated with Gold Plastic Syndrome

The Transformers

• BlackZarak (1988) is the first known sufferer of GPS and easily one of the most depressing cases due to his rarity and hefty aftermarket pricing. Forget transforming him - simply standing him up is a risk. His golden feet and shield have to be under stress to function as intended, leading to cases of shattered toys fresh out of the box, or even when still inside it. The Headmaster figure, double cannons, and city antennas are all likewise gold plastic and all need to be inserted or swiveled into position, and his pack-in partner Black Roritchi, almost entirely made of gold plastic, transforms by folding in half. This is a toy to be handled as little as possible, if ever.

• Pretender Monsters Bristleback and Slog (1989) both suffer, but at different severities. Bristleback has multiple points of failure, the most obvious being the thin edges of his fist-holes, which can snap if his gun is pushed too far in. When forming Monstructor, sliding the combiner's fist in place can sometimes be enough to create a large crack through his legs, sometimes even splitting them entirely. (If you're feeling crafty, you might try shaving a tiiiny bit off the sides of the fist's connector plug. Better that less-than-mint condition than the "very broken" type.) And while his monster-limbs are fairly thick plastic, which is usually safer, they are also attached really tightly, which means applying too much pressure to turn them can cause fractures. Slog is not especially susceptible on his own despite the sheer amount of gold plastic, but forming Monstructor requires another toy (Birdbrain) to be inserted up inside his gold-plastic torso, which can put too much stress on the thinner sides if jostled or pushed in at a bad angle.

• Ultra Pretenders Roadblock and Skyhammer (1989) are particularly notorious. Roadblock's innermost robot has three peg holes, two in the fists and one on his back, that are particularly susceptible to cracking and shattering, leaving many a Roadblock hand-less... or arm-less, as sometimes the posts attaching his arms to his torso will crumble around the pin keeping them in place. Meanwhile, the entire bottom of Skyhammer's large vehicle shell is made of gold plastic and it is very prone to breakage. Not to mention how much gold plastic is on his inner shell and his robot mode.

• Killbison (1989) is one of the comparatively few Takara-market-only toys of the era to have this problem. His arms and back (including the head) are metallic-gold plastic. Most of this plastic is fairly thick, giving it a fair amount of resilience, but his fists and the joint for Liokaiser's fold-out foot are thinner and run a higher risk of breakage.

Well, crap.

• The missile launchers shared by all six Predator (1992) toys are likely to self-destruct in two ways. Loading a missile when the toy is holding the launcher can cause the peg itself to give before the rather strong internal spring does. Additionally, launching a missile is a gamble. Either the plastic is able to bend enough to release the internal catch, or it isn't and snaps off.

• Skyquake (1992) is another toy notable for having a gimmick which makes the whole thing worse. Skyquake actually has two colours of metallic plastic on him: One is a dark bronze, the other a light bronze. It is the light bronze plastic that is most likely to break. Unfortunately, the light bronze plastic also forms Skyquake's scope. You're supposed to put a Predator jet's scope slide into that part of him. But the union is not pleasant for the one on the receiving end. Take a look at the picture to the right. These are the parts left of Skyquake's scope after another Predator tried to unite with him. Actually... that's not even all the parts, that's just all that could be found. This is a gimmick which should never be attempted by modern collectors. Never, ever, ever, ever. For the same reason, don't transform him: the scope won't withstand being swung around and latched into position (the plastic around the swivel-pins is particularly thin) or having his stabilizer fins leveraged inside it. The moving plate over the light piping on the back of his head is that brittle light bronze too, but it is at least loose and thick enough to be less risky.

• Thunder Clash (1992), Skyquake's Autobot counterpart, has fewer parts jeopardized by metal-swirly plastics, but the toy's ankles are definite risks, as is the handgun peg if not handled with care. Removing the ratchet "catch" from the feet and sanding the handgun's peg a bit will also help by reducing the force put on those parts without noticeably altering the toy.

• Pyro (1993) has a gold plastic waist which puts him at high risk of cracking in half during transformation, and clipping his gold feet into position in robot mode is a bad idea too. The elbow ratchets are also risky due to the constant spring stress. And of course, his rifle handle is prone to shearing off.

• The e-Hobby exclusive The Transformers: Collector's Edition Megatron Black Version (2001/2009) has metallic brown plastic that can crumble if one attaches the sword or rifle in the hand in robot mode or a stock in Walther P-38 mode.

Generation 2

Oh, God, my knee! MY KNEEEEEEE!!

• There's a reason that Electro (1994) sits up at the top of this page. Poor guy just can't catch a break, it seems. Wait... actually, no. That's the entire problem. The poor guy totally can catch a break. All the time. Because he is designed to die. Basically anything on Electro's body is susceptible to shattering thanks to having many many thin joints made out of metallic gold plastic.

• Slingshot (1994) is infamous for coming apart straight out of the package.^[5] Worse, he's another toy whose gimmick will destroy him, like Skyquake. Slingshot's head is a post which is designed to plug into Silverbolt (or any other "Scramble City" style torso-bot) so that Slingshot can form an arm or a leg. If you're unlucky, you're going to end up with his head trapped inside a connector joint.

Beast Wars

A mighty Dinobot warrior... bested by his own crumbling joints.

The one part of Megatron's Movie Jazz cosplay he didn't want to recreate.

• Grimlock (1997) uses metallic gold plastic ball joints for his hips, which is not really a good thing. Common breakages include the insides of his legs (where his chest pegs into them in beast mode) and his mutant mask (which is very thin).

• The Magnaboss component Silverbolt (1997), despite having a dangerously large amount of metallic bronze plastic, is... actually fairly stable. The main breakage point is where his tail connects to his body. As well, Skywarp, his Japanese counterpart, is just as likely to suffer from this. That said, just... be careful, okay? Be careful.

• The Hasbro version of Transmetal Megatron (1998) has a tendency to snap at the waist, the shoulders, the... well, anything that's made of that dark semi-metallic brown plastic. This is technically Brown Plastic Syndrome, but regardless of what you call it this toy may end in sadness. This breakage may be due to GPS, a design flaw, or a combination of both; the Takara version's immunity to this issue (because its brown parts are black plastic instead) seems to suggest that GPS may have a role.

• Optimal Optimus (1998) uses sparkly dark brown plastic for his wheels and turrets, which can suffer from GPS. The block that holds the batteries is the most likely to break, as the "soft" ratchet joint requires the affected plastic to bend. The pieces that connect his wings to his arms are also made from the same sparkly brown plastic.

• The Fuzor Torca's (1998) legs, hip armor panels, tail hinge and sides are all prone to Gold Plastic Syndrome.

• The Mutant Soundwave (2000) has his entire fraggin' body composed of gold plastic, so it's a crapshoot. The softer plastics are far less likely to crumble, but the places on his body where the sides hinge open as part of his transformation have a high risk of snapping.

• Beast Wars 10th Anniversary Dinobot (2006) has two kinds of metallic swirled plastic, both of which seem to have hit their expiration dates around 2013. In other words, basically any part on him is highly fragile, although he's most likely to break at the neck, hips, and helmet. At this point, keeping the toy MISB is the best way to display him.

Beast Wars II

• Bigmos (1998) has GPS problems that are bizarrely not his many many many metallic gold plastic parts; his turquoise-colored plastic parts are the brittle ones, to the point of snapping right out of the package. Notable breakage points include the mosquito leg connectors snapping right off, tight hip/thigh swivels resulting in crumbling, and occasionally the robot feet can break due to being really thin pieces. Basically, be very gentle with anything molded in turquoise, be very gentle and take extra caution when twisting tight joints.

See here for a minor example of breakages.

Beast Wars Neo

• Randy (1999) is one of the legendary Gold Plastic Syndrome toys. Imagine, if you will, a toy with an entirely spring-loaded transformation... and an outer shell made entirely out of metallic gold plastic. Ouch, right? The stress of staying in beast mode in package, the mode with the very compressed springs, is often enough to break the joints holding his beast-mode sides on before you even open the package. If you're lucky enough to have one still intact, keeping him in robot mode is the best way to keep him intact. For a while longer, at least.

Beast Machines

• Snarl (2000) is an atrocious example of a victim to Gold Plastic Syndrome; it seems that the longer the figures are left in sealed packages, the more brittle they are upon opening said packages. All manner of extremities will simply snap off of Snarl's body, most easily among these being the ankles.

• Striker (2000) has an entirely gold plastic dinosaur shell which relies on ball joints to move and shift. He also has gold plastic pegs that tab into gold plastic slots. Transforming Striker could prove to be a suicide mission... for him.

Robots in Disguise (2001)

• Air Attack Optimus Primal (2002), the biggest toy in the line, has large expanses made of sparkly brown plastic, which, like with Optimal Optimus (see above), can be prone to shattering. This condition most often results in the feet breaking. The 2018 Encore reissue does not suffer from GPS.

• Megabolt (2003) has limbs cast primarily in gold plastic, which is not a good thing. Fracture points include his forearms, the holes that lock his arms in place in crawling head mode, lower legs near the knees, and his head. On top of this he has other design flaws that can lead to non-gold-plastic parts snapping off, so, good luck!

Choro-Q

• The pinned metallic flake plastic hinges on Rodimus Convoy Metallic Version (2001) have become prone to breaking after two decades.

Universe (2003)

• Many combiner kibble parts to Micromaster Superion (2003) suffer from GPS, particularly the peg that connects Ro-Tor to Superion's torso piece.^[6]

Alternators

• Swerve's (2004) elbow joints, poseable fists, thighs, and even rocket launchers are all made out of gold plastic, but the leg joint takes the cake for being one of the easily snapped areas due to its tight construction.

Unicron Trilogy

• Cybertron Repugnus's (2006/2010) robot mode "hands"/Spinosaurus head are made of black-painted gold plastic. Insertion of his flail weapon into his hands can cause his thin jaw parts to break into pieces. His thigh covers are made of the same plastic, but due to their static position and lack of moving parts are very, very unlikely to break.

Star Wars Transformers

• General Grievous's (2006) pelvis, arms and legs are all made out of gold plastic with many thin parts in the jointing, leaving them especially prone to breakage.

• Millennium Falcon/Han Solo & Chewbacca (2006) has problems with the metallic-brown plastic, especially the Chewbacca half, where his legs can lock up and ultimately snap off. His upper arms are also said to fall victim as well.^[7]

Movie toys

• Protoform Starscream (2007) has plastic hinges that connect the two small wings to his body which are especially brittle, because the plastic housing the joints is thin and gives way over time to a crumbly mess. The thumbs are also prone to breakage.

• Revenge of the Fallen Stratosphere (2009) has gold plastic in his shoulders and thighs, and there have been reports of these parts crumbling. Additionally, more commonly-reported breakages are the toy's lower knees and the hinges connecting the wings—but neither of these parts are the ones made of gold plastic! Poor guy can't catch a break—or, well he can.

• Costco exclusive Battle Ops Bumblebee (2010) has metallic dark gray plastic in the upper and lower body that display textbook GPS symptoms. The figure will eventually self-destruct during transformation due to said plastic's use in most of the leg and car roof joints. Ironically, the gold painted portions are mostly a different, more resilient plastic.

Transformers (2010)

• Creator Primus (2010) features swirly metallic blue parts that eventually hit their expiry dates 13 years later, and they're very prone to crumbling, with the most aggressively affected area being his arms.^[8] To make matters worse, his shoulders are on a ratchet joint, so bending his arms requires one to press down on them with a modicum of force that the figure might not withstand. Considering the relative rarity of this figure, it's probably for the best to just not touch it at all.

Unite Warriors

• Motormaster (2015) is the last figure that's currently known to suffer from GPS, with multiple copies being heavily prone to breaking apart on the waist right after being taken out of the box—and of course, once one peers closer, they'll find that same familiar swirly plastic, this time in gunmetal grey.^[9] In contrast, others who've purchased the figure at at later point have reported never facing this issue at all even after years of owning him, which might suggest that later runs of the Stunticons 5-pack have fixed this issue. Regardless, for those who do not want to take the risk, a popular solution involves replacing Motormaster's waist with that of his cheaper Hasbro version.

Other notable instances

• The "chrome" version of Diaclone Powered Convoy, the pre-Transformer version of Ultra Magnus, has this problem with its swirly blue plastic. Given the age and relative rarity of this toy, this is particularly troublesome for hardcore collectors.

• While not a Transformer, G.I. Joe's Serpentor is also known to suffer from this problem, especially through his hips, given the groin-breakage-prone leg construction of the standard 1980s G.I. Joe figure.

Toys often mistaken for having GPS

A number of toys have gold parts that easily break not due to the plastic used, but due to structural problems with the part designs themselves.

• The Armada Super Base Optimus Prime figure's elbows/biceps are made of gold plastic, and the lower joint has been known to break very easily. However, the plastic doesn't exhibit the "crumbliness" typical of GPS; instead, it seems likely that the break occurs when the elbow joints are lined up for them to sit behind the combined mode's back. In this configuration, the red and blue joints don't have room to bend around each other. The way to alleviate this issue is to pull the shoulder out, then bend the top joint (the red one) first, before moving the arms in any other direction.
• Energon Scorponok has pale gold plastic on the (largely painted) front panels of the shoulders, and moving the shoulders for transformation (particularly into jet mode) can cause the panels to tear in half. However, the plastic itself isn't the problem; rather, it seems to be the result of the toy's design, where the corners of the front panels aren't quite symmetrical, and the one with more clearance is on the opposite side. A running change saw these panels swapped to alleviate this issue. Swapping the panels to the opposite sides, has a higher chance of reducing breakages.
• Another Scorponok, the 2007 Transformers movie Legends Class Scorponok, has a tail stinger made of soft and bendy golden plastic, which tends to harden over time and become prone to breaking. The cause of this problem seems to simply by the use of an inferior plasticizer, rather than traditional Gold Plastic Syndrome.

Fiction

Animated cartoon

At some point during the Great War, a vaccine for Gold Plastic Syndrome was developed by Red Alert. The AllSpark Almanac II Swindle, Swindle and Swindle claimed to be the only licensee of the cure in the Nexus Cluster. Swindle's Spiel, 2015/10/03

Ask Vector Prime

In Primax 185.0 Beta, the S.T.A.R.S. weaponized Gold Plastic Syndrome and invented the Photo Degradation Protocol in a failed attempt to fight off Galvatron's mindless hordes of Decepto-Pack-enhanced human slaves. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/04

Timelines

First Aid contracted GPS during the war against the Cybertronian Empire. The disease prevented him from properly combining into Defensor. Customization class G2 Ratchet bio

See also

• Another common problem since 2018.

References

External links

• Demonstration of Gold Plastic Syndrome in effect at YouTube