Trouble at t't 40th Mill!

Hi All,

I've had to take a long break from the hobby and have now returned. All of my 40th uniforms have been stored in boxes in one corner of a bedroom. Last night, I started to open them to get some of my men out on display again and had a load of horrors!

The black scuba suit has gone completely hard - nothing to be done but to start again, I'm afraid! Anyone here have any of the modern replicas from Cotswold? Are they good? Do they degrade?

The Jungle Explorer belt has just disintegrated. Is it worth buying a spare, or should I use another belt?

My orange frogman suit seems OK at the moment... Any comments re. this, please?

Finally, my first issue German Stormtrooper jacket buttons seem to have randomly rusted. Not all of them and not all the same amount. Anybody had success getting them shiny again, please?

That was just last night!

I'm dreading the next batch I want to open...

Are there any other uniforms that are particularly prone to failing, please? I may as well start with the most problematic... I've already removed all of the 40th gripping hands, (don't like grippers anyway), and replaced them with the original hard plastic version and I know about helmet strap staining.

Any advice will be welcome!

Thanks.

Yeah, my (still sealed) black frogman has perished too.

Welcome back to the forum Big Bear.

Yup, we've all been there haven't we?

Sadly, I think there are big issues with the plastics and other materials in the 40th range.

I'm wary buying certain bits due to this.

I never store any of my 40th with headgear or weaponry due to bleeding of colour and plastics.

Is the buckle of the Explorer belt still intact ? If so, you could make a new belt with some suitable pleather or some such.

The frogman suits are a bugger for deterioration, similar to the vintage.

Don't know about Cotswold, but I'd certainly try one rather than shell out on a 40th that will go over time.

I have a couple of 50th anniversary frogmen and the suits look in pretty good nick 6 years on.

Might be worth a try to look for one of those?

I never been a big fan of 40th , I predicted it would pollute vintage stuff and cause all sorts of problems . I would suggest you don`t buy 40th if you can avoid , I only have very few bits of it . I would replace what you can with vintage items , the prices seem very similar . I thought the problem regarding the 40th Grippers was cured regarding melting ect ? Like Kev , I am very suspicious now buying stuff , it`s always worth asking the seller out right . " Is this genuine and not 40th " ? There are loads of sellers giving false and questionable descriptions of stuff . I have started sending stuff back that hasn`t met the sellers descriptions , don`t put up with it !!! eBay will normally back you if your honest . I can not help you much regarding the frogman stuff , I gave up trying to keep good examples of the rubber suits and jackets some time ago .

Welcome Back , hope you stick with the hobby and us .

Welcome back BigBear! really pleased you found your way back to us. Terrible news about your collection though! Hopefully we can help guide you to finding the pieces you need?

Thanks guys and gals, I've emailed Cotswold to see which of their frogman suits they recommend. I've already got the 50th one and the GI Joe version, which has thicker rubber, so we'll see... I've also got a sack full of vintage bits and pieces that I've never really sorted, so I'll have to rummage and see what I've got there. I got very despondent last night, but stopped short of throwing all of my 40th stuff in a skip! I'll get it sorted... I don't mind replacing 40th bits with vintage, but wouldn't go the other way. Time for bed! Booooing...