austin532 | 467 Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 I'm curious to see if "Ironing" out a box actually works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonebone | 1,307 Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 12 hours ago, austin532 said: I'm curious to see if "Ironing" out a box actually works. They call it pressing in the comic book scene. And some comic book collectors have already shown before / after photos of pressing with pretty amazing results. Bottom line, if a crease is whitened already (color cracked) on the box or manual, pressing will look better but not fix issue. If the bend is very slight without the color break (think more of a waviness or a bowing rather than a full-fledged crease) then the issue can be remedied 100% by someone who knows what they are doing. To the point you would never know the damage was there even if you looked at that area with magnification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 (edited) 14 hours ago, austin532 said: I'm curious to see if "Ironing" out a box actually works. 1 hour ago, jonebone said: They call it pressing in the comic book scene. And some comic book collectors have already shown before / after photos of pressing with pretty amazing results. Bottom line, if a crease is whitened already (color cracked) on the box or manual, pressing will look better but not fix issue. If the bend is very slight without the color break (think more of a waviness or a bowing rather than a full-fledged crease) then the issue can be remedied 100% by someone who knows what they are doing. To the point you would never know the damage was there even if you looked at that area with magnification. It really does work if the box is minimally damaged and the color is intact, as @jonebone pointed out above. Here is a video that does a decent job of explaining the process. I am going to try this some time in May and will post my results. I have enough low value game boxes that I can get lots of practice. Edited March 2, 2020 by DoctorEncore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austin532 | 467 Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 I get how it works but aren't you basicly adding moisture to the box? Meaning it's now moisture damaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 15 minutes ago, austin532 said: I get how it works but aren't you basicly adding moisture to the box? Meaning it's now moisture damaged. No, you only use the heat, no steam. Some people actually recommend putting a paper towel or something between the iron and the box so it can pull moisture out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH | 4,903 Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 (edited) 22 minutes ago, austin532 said: I get how it works but aren't you basicly adding moisture to the box? Meaning it's now moisture damaged. Not quite. Keep in mind that there is always moisture in the air. Everything that exists, somehow, has to adjust to normal fluctuations in temperature and humidity if it's going to stay intact for long periods of time. Of course, everything is aging and deteriorating. The key is to control the amount of humidity and pressure being applied to the paper in such a way that it doesn't even do microscopic damage but kind of reverses the damage back to it's normal, expected state. What these techniques do is control the humidity and heat up to a point where the paper is more pliable, and then hard pressure can do the rest. I've read up extensively on this and I am planning on getting a book press for my own repairs, and I need to see if I can find a machine shop that can create some special sized, steel blocks for proper weight and spacing. When you want to get real technical and careful on the most damaged but sensitive items, you have to have the right water too. You'd think that distilled water would be what you'd want to use and, in some cases it is. However, distilled water can be problematic and be a bit to harsh, and IIRC, mineral waters that are very pure, but not 100% like distilled often work best. I think the idea is that the distilled water isn't natural to the paper making process so it's a bit harsh on the paper. Having a little bit of controlled "contaminants" that might be natural to the paper making processes keeps it intact and bonded. Archivist have been treating and repairing paper and books for centuries and their techniques have become quite sophisticated. All we are really adding to the equation is handling cardboard and that is mostly the same thing but with a different glue agent to hold the fibers together a bit better for the thicker paper. But, much of what applies to paper applies to cardboard and archivist have already been working for years to straighten, flatten and stabilize this stuff. Edited March 2, 2020 by RH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH | 4,903 Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 9 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said: No, you only use the heat, no steam. Some people actually recommend putting a paper towel or something between the iron and the box so it can pull moisture out. You should use steam. Ironing with an iron could possibly cause problems, but once you get into pressing paper, the water helps keep the paper/cardboard intact and prevents it from getting brittle. Heating up paper actually deteriorates it. I have no clue if you can see that damage under a microscope but it dries out the fibers of the wood and, like I mentioned earlier, there is humidity in the air. Air that is normal to most indoor climates has just the right of water in the air to keep paper from rippling, or to little to keep it from getting brittle to rapidly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trifecta | 235 Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 (edited) P.O.W. Prisoners of War (Oval Seal) Box: NES-EW USA Cart: NES-EW-USA Manual: NES-EW-USA Nintendo Power Advert: PMG-VR-USA Smooth Black Dust Cover Spoiler Edited March 27, 2020 by Trifecta 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 11 minutes ago, Trifecta said: P.O.W. Prisoners of War (Oval Seal) Box: NES-EW USA Cart: NES-EW-USA Manual: NES-EW-USA Nintendo Power Advert: PMG-VR-USA Textured Black Dust Cover Reveal hidden contents Nice! Thanks for sharing. It's tough to find those SNK boxes in good condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trifecta | 235 Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 1 hour ago, DoctorEncore said: Nice! Thanks for sharing. It's tough to find those SNK boxes in good condition. You're very welcome. I have at least one more to contribute very soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austin532 | 467 Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Thanks for the contribution! Glad to see other people contributing here besides @DoctorEncore and myself. You say the sleeve is textured but the game came out in 1989 so the sleeve should be smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trifecta | 235 Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 It looks textured to me. What does it look like to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 (edited) 49 minutes ago, Trifecta said: It looks textured to me. What does it look like to you? For some reason someone started calling that pattern smooth a while ago, so that's what we've been calling it. It is technically smoother than the other main type which is kind of rough, or as I prefer to call it, crosshatched. As @austin532 mentioned, the "rough" sleeves came later (around 1991, I believe). I actually agree with you and would call these older sleeves textured, but the convention was put into place well before I became a big contributor. UPDATE: Added a textured/crosshatched sleeve pic. Edited March 26, 2020 by DoctorEncore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH | 4,903 Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Now that I'm actually paying attention, it's almost like they took a mold from leather for the "smooth" type. It's a rather random pattern. I wonder how they made that and if it was for a counterfeiting measure, which is a weird detail to care about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 19 minutes ago, RH said: Now that I'm actually paying attention, it's almost like they took a mold from leather for the "smooth" type. It's a rather random pattern. I wonder how they made that and if it was for a counterfeiting measure, which is a weird detail to care about. Agreed. The leathery texture is actually even more pronounced on late ljn/Acclaim releases Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH | 4,903 Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Very interesting. I think one is a mold from leather or pleather, and the other is from cloth. After further thought, I think this could be a counterfeiting measure, like I suggested. But, the point isn't to prevent bootleg cases from showing up, but once kids had handled these cases again and again, they may notice smooth plastic and think it's "fake", and shun it. It's a subtle detail but it works. That, or maybe they just wanted it to seem a bit less sterile than truly smooth plastic. Who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austin532 | 467 Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Right, smooth was set as the name for cases from 85-91, textured is for cases from 91-94, and rough is for late release Acclaim/LJN/Virgin games. The smooth ones have a cracked design to them, the textured ones have more of a crosshatch pattern, and the rough ones have a very rough feel to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trifecta | 235 Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 (edited) Gremlins 2 The New Batch (Oval Seal) Box: NES-2Z USA Cart: NES-2Z-USA Manual: NES-2Z-USA ☆ Nintendo Power Advert: PMG-USA Warning Leaflet: NES-RPTV-USA Registration Card: SUN-NES-US Smooth Black Dust Cover There was some damage to the plastic, but the top of the box had its plastic completely intact. Spoiler Edited March 27, 2020 by Trifecta Formatting changes 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 15 minutes ago, Trifecta said: Gremlins 2 The New Batch Oval Seal Box: NES-2Z USA Cart: NES-2Z-USA Manual: NES-2Z-USA ☆ Nintendo Power Advert: PMG-USA Warning Leaflet: NES-RPTV-USA Registration Card: SUN-NES-US Smooth Black Dust Cover There was some damage to the plastic, but the top of the box had its plastic completely intact. Reveal hidden contents Nice! That game is ridiculously hard to find in good shape, much less sealed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austin532 | 467 Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 Indeed, it's one that rarely shows up sealed and in good condition. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trifecta | 235 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 On 3/27/2020 at 4:54 AM, austin532 said: Indeed, it's one that rarely shows up sealed and in good condition. Congrats. Thank you. I plan to do some more soon. Is the M.C. Kids unboxing still on target for April? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austin532 | 467 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Most likely. I don't have a set in stone date as to when I do unboxings but I'm hoping to unbox M.C. Kids soon and then Adventures in the Magic Kingdom and Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout sometime in June/July. I still want to unbox Star Wars as well but I feel like my lack of knowledge of that universe wouldn't do the video any justice. I know how the Star Wars fanboys tend to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 NFL (Oval Seal) Box: NES-FN-USA (90804) Cart: NES-FN-USA Manual: NES-FN-USA Playbook Poster: LJN-FN-US Ljn Advert: LJN-NES-US Nintendo Power Advert: PMG-MW-USA Smooth Black Dust Cover Spoiler Gallery 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trifecta | 235 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Code Name: Viper (Oval Seal) Box: NES-VP USA Cart: NES-VP-USA Manual: NES-VP-USA Nintendo Power Advert: PMG-CC-USA Poster: CAP-NES-US-2 Captain Commando Refund Certificate: CAP-NES-US-1 Registration Card: CAP-NES-US-1 Smooth Black Dust Cover Spoiler 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austin532 | 467 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 1 hour ago, DoctorEncore said: NFL (Oval Seal) Box: NES-FN-USA (90804) Cart: NES-FN-USA Manual: NES-FN-USA Playbook Poster: LJN-FN-US Ljn Advert: LJN-NES-US Nintendo Power Advert: PMG-MW-USA Smooth Black Dust Cover Reveal hidden contents Gallery Interesting, looks like the cart is discolored or is that just the lighting? Looks like the box also got water damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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