Retrax (1997 original figure) and discolouration?

[Anonymous X]

I have the 2022 reissue Retrax, but yesterday found I had my 1997 (1998?) original figure stashed away. But! While the reissue is bright white, the original is this slightly pearly stained-dentures shade. Was the original off-white, or has it discoloured in the last quarter-century?

(The reason I ask is that with Google image search, it's quite difficult to pick out which images are of the original figure and which are the reissue. I assume most are the latter, having remembered how much more difficult it was to take photos of stuff and put them online back in the '90s.)

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Could you take a picture of your two Retraxes? It might help.

For what it's worth Seibertron's gallery is definitely an original, and I wouldn't say it's bright white.

 

[Anonymous X]

Could you take a picture of your two Retraxes? It might help.

For what it's worth Seibertron's gallery is definitely an original, and I wouldn't say it's bright white.

Ah, that’s helpful! Thanks. Definitely seems off-white there, which is a good clue. Particularly if it’s a fairly old photo.

 

[Anonymous X]

Hmm, doesn’t really seem visible in this quickly-taken photo, but in real life it’s quite a contrast. Brilliant white versus stained dentures off-white.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I can see it. Reissue on the left, original on the right, yes?

 

[Anonymous X]

I can see it. Reissue on the left, original on the right, yes?

That’s it, yes. Sorry it got compressed a lot posting here. Original figure (right) looks more yellow-tinged to the naked eye.

 

[Anonymous X]

Done some more research. The colour difference doesn’t show up as well on screen as it does in real life, even using photos taken on my “good” camera. The older Retrax definitely has discoloured over time, unfortunately, but seems to have been more yellow-tinged on its yellow parts to begin with than the recent reissue. Oh well. Owned it since 1998, and it was on an open shelf for years, before I learnt not to store figures out of direct UV, so probably to be expected.

(That said, I’ve got figures as old if not older which have survived unscathed by UV discolouration. It’s all rather random.)