This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki. 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 one observed to have this horrific phenomenon. 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. car ac repair st augustineTransformers toys are not the only ones to suffer from this; air handling unit york cataloguethere have been reports of G.I. Joe and Visionaries toys' gold plastics also crumbling seemingly of their own accord; auto body shops in mcallen txeven some Power Rangers/Super Sentai toys have been known to suffer.

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. 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: The problem likely arises, as with many composites, when the bonding between the polymer and the dye/particles breaks down. This could occur do to a natural chemical/phase change of the plastic, due to oxidation, for example, or by another mechanism, say the forces incurred by the toy being played with, or more likely, due to some combination thereof.

In any case, when the bonds between the particles and the polymers break down, you would get small voids in the plastic structure. If this occurs frequently enough, the structure would become effectively porous (that is, it would be filled with lots of tiny voids/cracks where the polymers and particles have come apart). With even a slight amount of force, some of these cracks/voids could expand, even slightly, to the point where they intersect another void and join, making an even bigger crack. Once a critical crack length is reached, the sample fractures. So effectively, the plastic becomes more brittle, and this would also explain it "crumbling" as well as cracking. So what it amounts to is: "The plastic crumbles a'cause it ain't very good." 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.[1] Later Hasbro said that they believe they've "alleviated the issues associated with the 'gold' plastic issue" through "trial and error."

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 a soggy Tim Tam in a cup of coffee), and what to look out for. There's no certain cure here, no fix. If a toy has GPS, it will die...maybe. See below for a potential solution, at least a temporary one, to GPS. 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 so will any other sample of the toy) and buying a new copy. 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 instead of just snapping like dry wood;

there should be some give in the plastic, even if it's a brittle, clear plastic—so you should be able to glue it back into place, or at least get a replacement part. On the other hand, if the broken piece snaps like your grandmother's ankles in a rugby match, then you've almost definitely got Gold Plastic Syndrome. ALL GOLD PLASTIC WILL DIE! MY TOY BROKE, IT MUST BE GOLD PLASTIC SYNDROME!!! ONLY GOLD PLASTIC GETS GOLD PLASTIC SYNDROME!Has Primus sent us a cure for GPS? had Electro survive a photoshoot. What is the source of this possible cure? Oh, God, my knee! 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. 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 term was coined in an alt.toys.transformers post made by user Sky Shadow in September 2002.[6] A post by Dave "Zobovor" Edwards, meanwhile, made in June of the previous year,[7] 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. 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. 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. 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 ↑ Q&A, August 2009: "When we used gold metallic plastic in the past we discovered, along with many of you, that it becomes brittle over time.