Seeking Advice
 

I've been keeping the toys from childhood in a storage unit and recently rented a space that I can move them to and sort through. I've got Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Power Rangers, Exosquad, Toxic Crusaders, Terminator, Alien Versus Predator, Biker Mice, and some others. To my disgrace they've mostly been stored in moving boxes and grocery bags until now. Which brings me to several question about what I can do with them.

Storage - I'd like to put them into individual cases. Looking for options shows that there are various plastic tubes and clam shells for different types of figures.
- Which of these would work better for me?
- Is there another option I haven't uncovered?
- What are good storage options for accessories?

Information
- Is there a resource available that would tell me what scale each figure is and what size case I'd need for them?
- What about matching accessories to each figure?

Maintenance - Several show discoloration. Accessories have a bend to them. Others have "ooze" residue to clean off.
- What are my options for restoring and preserving them?
- Are there any precautions to be wary of?

Also I have the original packaging for many of them. Most of which is warped or faded.
- Is this worth keeping?

Hi there,

There are numerous sites that have specially made protective cases for each type of figure. Toyshield etc, just search action figure protection. Theres stuff for packaged action figures and loose.

I would keep the packaging unless the packaging is way to messed up.

Restoring action figures takes time to learn, but there are basics. Soft tooth brush NOT HARD, and non greasy soap or soap with no moisturizers in it. No stripping agents, no paint thinners. etc Youtube is a great source here.

Good luck, sounds like fun to go through all of that stuff!

For accessory storage, you might try poly zip bags. Polypropylene is safe for plastic figures and paper and is used in archiving. Here's a link to a One Per Case post discussing their uses, where to buy, and sizes that work best. Some people don't recommend keeping figures in air tight bags so you may want to buy some with a vent hole or refrain from zipping the bag up all the way.

One Per Case: PSA: How to Store Action Figures Like a Boss

If you're need to straighten any accessories, you should be able to heat them up and they will return to the original form or close to it. Many people will recommend using hot water but if you have a lot of accessories to work on, it would probably be quicker and easier to use a hair dryer. 30 seconds to a minute should be enough.

For TMNT resources, you can try this site: The Virtual Ninja Turtle Museum

It doesn't have scale info, but it might help you figure out which accessories go with each figure. One important thing to remember with vintage TMNT, the later figures often had accessories made in different colors of plastic. For example, I have the Coil Force Raph and he came with pink weapons but the Coil Force Raph pictured on the site shows blue weapons.

For Transformers, I would suggest Seibertron.com and TFWiki. These sites are pretty good sources of information but you will have to do some digging to find what you want.
https://www.seibertron.com
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Main_Page

Seibertron has lots of galleries for all of the Transformers lines. As you scroll down the main page, you should see a section called Transformers Galleries with a few of the newest galleries profiled. You should see a link near the title to View All of the galleries. From there, you can filter the galleries down to a specific line such as Generation 1 or Generation 2. You could also search for a specific character.

For TFWiki, use the search bar is on the left side of the site. You can search for specific characters or toy lines. Because Transformers has numerous continuities and toy lines, your searches will most likely route you to a webpage that will give you several options to help you navigate to the info you want. For example, if you search for Generation 1, you'll be taken to a page giving you options to view info on the cartoon, the American toy line, the European toy line, the comics, etc.

I can vouch for long term success with poly zip bags for loose items. The difference is obvious when you compare duplicate items where one is stored inside a bag: the backup item that was exposed to air has a white film on it, and some of the colors are faded or changed in strange ways.

Let us know if you have any items to sell or trade. There are lots of lurkers here who are looking to fill gaps...!