Thursday, January 3, 2008

COLLECTOR'S CORNER: MORE MEGO Q & A!

Question

Message: I just got handed a couple of Mego 1974 Star Trek figures, now
being somewhat familiar with the Mego Line (at one point as a child in the 70's I had the bridge crew and Klingon, plus the PoA line - and two sets, the PoA village and the Enterprise bridge set) I know about how much they're worth off card and on...

But here's my real question - the cards are very badly damage, the bubbles
are also badly damaged, however the figures are dead on mint, as far as I can tell. Should I keep them on the damaged cards or open the figures and place them in an archival storage box of some kind? I know that the older Megos have problems with the plastic deteriorating (I've purchased two vintage Galen/Corneilius and both their legs broke in very light play). Will the 70's era smashed bubbles harm the mint figures inside?

Thanks.

William




Answer:
Hi William,

Let's start off with talking about the damaged packaging your Star Trek
figures are currently in. Leaving them in smashed bubbles won't harm the figure unless of course the plastic from the bubble is touching the figure. The Mego Corporation, while trying to cut costs, switched to inexpensive plastics at the end of the 1970's. This caused many of the figures heads to turn grey almost by the time they left the factory according to Marty Abrams, then Mego Corp President. Free radicals, sunlight and humidity ( not to mention dust, my mortal enemy ) are the real culprits regarding deterioration. As long as you store them in a cool dark place you should have no problems. As far as values are concerned, if the cards are in the poor condition you describe, they'll be worth pretty much what a loose figure is booked at. Secondary market values will fall around the $60.00mark per crew member. Needless to say, 2nd and 3rd series Aliens will run you much more so start saving your pennies. Hope this helps and remember,
Mego Lives!


Robert
Megocentral.com

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