As part of the cello tape collecting community I am utterly outrage after watching how you treat it... I demand that you put back the tape at once, and if that is not doable you should put on some new repro tape in its place.
I am wholeheartedly incandescent with rage at the prospect of what was a harmless, pure, classical hand-tooled vintage box being subject to your evil, partial-restoration techniques. The extra 75p in value this could have potentially added is going to destroy the secondary market, and the only thing I can do to offset the damage, is burn 150 original boxes in a wicker man ceremony (In all seriousness, it’s always good to see you pull these things together, Dave).
My favourite Toy Polloi videos take things that could be thrown away and transform them into display-worthy items; this video definitely fits that bill! This is an incredible end result. This 40 year-old box has been saved a sad fate and been brought back to life! I’m trying to figure out how to restore some old TSR role playing boxes and there’s some great tips in this video to help me. The paint does add another level of quality though I can see it might be harder to color match with a non-black box. Great work as always!
This is a great video, thank you! I have a B-Wing box in an equally poor condition that I need to repair and this video gives me hope 😆 As a side note, mixing watered-down Eva glue with the paint will give extra stability to the edges.
I love the box videos, even watching the previous one, I did not think the box would end up looking as nice as it did. It would look lovely on a shelf now, and it was hard to even call it a box anymore before.
Excellent job Dave, and a little nod for using the PVA bottle as a weight to secure what you've just glued! I'm definitely one for leaving the crease as they are, although i personally dont like those ugly holes left by cutting out POP's, stars, etc, in the past i have photocopied stars for Action Man boxes and patched them up with great results.
Thought I wouldn't think it possible? But I really got into your box repair video. I really appreciate your ingenuity and precision Dave! I was hooked!
I’ve done the ironing thing quite a few times and the looks you get from the Mrs. When she sees you ironing, only to realise it’s an old toy box are priceless! 😆
I recently restored a game box from the 1930's. It was very warped and all corners were separated. I used a thicker paper and double sided sticky tapes to make new corners. It's still a bit warped but it looks like it was never broken and is very stable. So good in fact that I brought it to a party and we played the game. Another time I tried to make an internal box to stabilise the outside. I failed. Such a box has to be the exact size to a micro-milli-meter to work. But it's great fun to restore old boxes, especially when it works!
You should get those clear plastic cases from deflector cases. They not only protect the box and give extra strength but also gives that shine you get from a new box!!
I have repaired boxes successfully in the past using an Ademco dry mounting heat press, i have access to this method due to being a picture framer.I have relined flattened boxes with thin card of similar colour using PVA glue then scoring and refolding before assembly.
Ahh the boxes for toys were always thrown by my parents and I remember after Christmas you could walk past a friends house and know what they got by the rubbish outside.
I have started using Document 'Paper' Repair Tape, it is Strong, acid-free, non yellowing, transparent tissue paper on any paper/cardboard repair. Great vid. it has certainly given me some ideas.
Excellent work Brother. It's a very necessary thing to preserve Our Toy History not only for Us but for the next Generation of Toy collectors. Thanks again for sharing 😊👍❤🇨🇦🇬🇧🎉🎉💯
Fantastic restoration! 👌 I've figured out what your superpower is: it is not technical skill, an eye for detail or experience (though you have all in abundance), it's your patience and your passion to bring toys that have seen better days, back to life. Bravo sir!
Thanks for this Toy Polloi. I have several Tyco RC / Metro RC boxes with similar issues, have just bought some zippo fluid, and some of that water activated paper tape, oh and the EVA glue, gosh, very helpful! My biggest issue with RC car boxes is the flaps which break off, and having to reattach them. I'll try your method.
Beautiful job Dave. I had that box as a kid, and it too was battered. I ended up tossing it away in my teenage years, really wish I hadn't. Love this video, great job as usual. Keep up the great work!
Awesome job. It makes so much fun to watch you repairing things. The box is now ready for display in a star wars museum. Keep up the good work. Stay safe.
Nicely done. Definitely feel the touch up with the paint is acceptable and makes a big difference. I have done such touch ups with a thin Sharpie marker, but it's not as neat a result of course.
Another great video Dave. Thank you for yet again sharing your wisdom and innovation. You do a lot more good for the fans than the elitist "collectors" will ever do. Please keep it up and remember, you have a lot of loyal subscribers who appreciate your videos
I have a very battered Firefox F7 box which I might give a go with this treatment, get some of that tape and EVA and get the iron out. See if I can make it a bit more stable
I might suggest dry erase markers. Especially for the black. I use them to touch up record jackets and board game boxes, etc. You can run over the fine lines, then wipe off the excess, either before it dries, or after, because in most cases these boxes are still shiny enough that dry erase has a hard time sticking to the cardboard. Try it out. Obviously on larger segments, it's more visible because the surfaces are no longer shiny, but where the cracks are, that are actual cracks in the surface layer, they are very hard to detect. It's great because you could never get a paintbrush into every single crack.
Really like the wabisabi restoration. I tried the lighter fluid on the modern SW Retro packaging to remove the ugly sticker. Why do they make the adhesive so strong on collectors items? Even after soaking for a while it still pulled off the print in little patches. Awesome video.
Great restoration! Painting the cracks seems to be hit or miss depending on matching color. I would skip that step myself or for a pristine looking box, would go with a repro box instead. For holding its shape, adding loose inner inserts boxes are great with the durability of holding its shape. Awesome you had the inserts.
Great tip with the lighter fluid. Another tape/sticker remover I accidentally came across is Uni-Solve Adhesive Remover (by Smith & Nephew). Comes in wipes and liquid. Meant for removing medical bandaging from skin, but it works great on old/dried tape and stickers. Is a bit strong, so one definitely needs to test when using on delicate items. Extremely useful stuff.
Nice one Dave. I can't see why anyone should have a problem with this. I've just replaced the end part of my old AT-ST's little top gun, which broke off decades ago. I carved out a new barrel end from a damaged old side cannon I found. Now THAT would pee the purists off!
I like using water based markers for repairing the coloring. You can get sets of 50+ colors on amazon fairly cheap. The important thing is that the markers are water based, so they won't leave a shine behind. I've seen people use a black Sharpie and it leaves a purplish shine behind once it dries.
what if you made a dummy box insert using the pattern of the original cut a posterboard and fold it the same as the original and insert it as a reinforcement to keep the original box sturdy. basically like a nesting doll.
I would recommend painting the boxes with indian ink instead of acrylic paint, as its less noticeable and gives a better finish as its more fluid and darker. I usually then would get those protective boxes from deflector cases to protect it and give the boxes further strength and that shine you get from a new box!! .
I saw your warning posts ahead of you posting this video. I have to say I'm confused about the hate. You take what is a nearly worn out thing that most people would have thrown away long ago and make it nice for display again. Amazing job as always. Having seen the ironing trick before for old video game boxes, and watching this video, I have to ask. Have you ever fixed a warped game board for a boxed game? I have two original Heroquest game boards that are both warped. I had considered trying to iron them to flatten them. But I was hoping to get some tips from someone that had done it before, or even maybe find a better way that I hadn't thought of. As always, keep up the amazing work.
Nice work !! Question wouldn’t the lighter fluid be absorbed into the carton material and pose a fire hazard having a dry box with some accelerant lying under a display case with lights ?
Most likely styrene. I am working on a Cobra Ferret at the moment which has all the clips broken. Drop me a DM with photos of the issue and I can see what I can suggest.
congratulations on your channel, I love it !! can you tell me which liquid product you're using in the video to remove the adhesives? Thank you very much !!
Is the gummed brown tape archival quality? also there’s a type of fine tape that is used for restoring book pages that is archival quality. is it strong enough for this kind of repair?
I would have thought Ink might be better than paint. This would allow for a lighter coat, where the Ink would only stain the exposed white veins, leaving any original black as-is. This however is all in-my-head, having never tried either method. Is there a reason why Ink but be a bad idea, or not yield a better result ?
Everytime you start playing that euro dance music(which I love) the lights dim, a disco ball appears and people in 80/90s clothing apparel start dancing around me. As soon as the music ends, the lights come back on the disco ball lifts back up and the people disperse. Weirdest thing....
Great Restoration, the Box looks very good. Like your vids very much 👍 I think about a Box Restoration of an Twin Pod cloud car an think to brush or role a mix of Woodglue/water in the inside after ironing to give the Box stabilaty. The mix makes, so i hope, the sides harder and maybe tougher. What so you think about this? I know, its better to so only thats what ist needed and its mit original, but its a Restoration to have it in good shape for the next years. Hope you understand what i mean and can give me an anwer. Greetings from Germany Thomas
Look up a tape called jantac , it’s an industrial strength thin double sided tape used for sticking vinyl to walls , a lot quicker & stronger & less messy than using PVA
Whenever I buy blurays with slipcovers (particularly from Shout Factory), I always touch up the white creases on the edges by using a black sharpie pen then smudging it with my finger so it blends a bit better. It makes all the difference.
How ironic that it takes so much effort and patience to restore something that was designed to be disposable, versus the ease of restoring far more complex items. Also as someone's arsonist great grandfather will attest, Lighter fluid can be used to...touch up... far more than just old cardboard. The obnoxious neighbor's toolshed/pickup truck was positively *glowing* by the time ol' Grampy Jailbird was done with it.
Clearly the world needs Toy Polloi Tea Towel merch now.
That's a great idea!
As part of the cello tape collecting community I am utterly outrage after watching how you treat it... I demand that you put back the tape at once, and if that is not doable you should put on some new repro tape in its place.
I am wholeheartedly incandescent with rage at the prospect of what was a harmless, pure, classical hand-tooled vintage box being subject to your evil, partial-restoration techniques. The extra 75p in value this could have potentially added is going to destroy the secondary market, and the only thing I can do to offset the damage, is burn 150 original boxes in a wicker man ceremony (In all seriousness, it’s always good to see you pull these things together, Dave).
My favourite Toy Polloi videos take things that could be thrown away and transform them into display-worthy items; this video definitely fits that bill! This is an incredible end result. This 40 year-old box has been saved a sad fate and been brought back to life! I’m trying to figure out how to restore some old TSR role playing boxes and there’s some great tips in this video to help me. The paint does add another level of quality though I can see it might be harder to color match with a non-black box. Great work as always!
Wow - I am a big star wars collector and diorama maker and restoring boxes never even occurred to me. You inspire!
Came for the vintage box repair - stayed for the ironing 🧺☺️
This is a great video, thank you! I have a B-Wing box in an equally poor condition that I need to repair and this video gives me hope 😆 As a side note, mixing watered-down Eva glue with the paint will give extra stability to the edges.
Thanks Dave, truly enjoyed watching this. Glad you went the extra mile and painted the creases. Looks excellent.
Glad you enjoyed it
I love the box videos, even watching the previous one, I did not think the box would end up looking as nice as it did. It would look lovely on a shelf now, and it was hard to even call it a box anymore before.
Thanks. With time and patience you can make even the roughest box look very respectable.
Excellent job Dave, and a little nod for using the PVA bottle as a weight to secure what you've just glued! I'm definitely one for leaving the crease as they are, although i personally dont like those ugly holes left by cutting out POP's, stars, etc, in the past i have photocopied stars for Action Man boxes and patched them up with great results.
Thanks. Luckily the POP on this one is on the bottom, so doesn't show and I just left it as is.
Thought I wouldn't think it possible? But I really got into your box repair video. I really appreciate your ingenuity and precision Dave! I was hooked!
LEGO!! He’s gonna use LEGO to fix it. I shouted this at the screen. Great vid as usual Dave.
Great work turning what was an tattered box into a wonderful display item for your collection.
I used shoe polish to touch up the black boarders. It blends in nicely.
I liked all the white lines, but you did an awesome job on the paint detail. Good job!
I would normally leave those as well. But I wanted to show a step further for people who want to get a cleaner looking box. Cheers
I’ve done the ironing thing quite a few times and the looks you get from the Mrs. When she sees you ironing, only to realise it’s an old toy box are priceless! 😆
Maybe boot polish on a cotton bud would be good for the cracks and edges on these black boxes. Great content thanks for sharing.
Great video! I'm appreciating boxes and cardbacks more and more these days! 👌
I recently restored a game box from the 1930's. It was very warped and all corners were separated. I used a thicker paper and double sided sticky tapes to make new corners.
It's still a bit warped but it looks like it was never broken and is very stable. So good in fact that I brought it to a party and we played the game.
Another time I tried to make an internal box to stabilise the outside. I failed. Such a box has to be the exact size to a micro-milli-meter to work.
But it's great fun to restore old boxes, especially when it works!
You should get those clear plastic cases from deflector cases. They not only protect the box and give extra strength but also gives that shine you get from a new box!!
Fantastic work Dave, beauty of a box, keep up the great work! Cheers!
Now I will peel off the tape and price stickers from my cardboards and boxes like a pro. Thank you sir! Watching from Ecuador, south america
I have repaired boxes successfully in the past using an Ademco dry mounting heat press, i have access to this method due to being a picture framer.I have relined flattened boxes with thin card of similar colour using PVA glue then scoring and refolding before assembly.
Ahh the boxes for toys were always thrown by my parents and I remember after Christmas you could walk past a friends house and know what they got by the rubbish outside.
Same. Most of the time my mom bought from the catalog. Everything would be set up for when I woke up
It's alive! Alive! This video had even stronger 'Take Heart' / 'Heartbeat' vibes than usual!
Great job Dave! Watching you is like watch the Bob Ross of Vintage repair :D
I have started using Document 'Paper' Repair Tape, it is Strong, acid-free, non yellowing, transparent tissue paper on any paper/cardboard repair. Great vid. it has certainly given me some ideas.
You repaired a Star Wars box? YOU MONSTER!
The wife and I loved it. Always look forward to your work.
Excellent work Brother. It's a very necessary thing to preserve Our Toy History not only for Us but for the next Generation of Toy collectors. Thanks again for sharing 😊👍❤🇨🇦🇬🇧🎉🎉💯
Awesome video. Really enjoyed the part where you demonstrate how the edge wear can be toned down using black paint. That's a cool technique!
Fantastic restoration! 👌
I've figured out what your superpower is: it is not technical skill, an eye for detail or experience (though you have all in abundance), it's your patience and your passion to bring toys that have seen better days, back to life.
Bravo sir!
Big difference Nice Work Polloi
Thanks for this Toy Polloi. I have several Tyco RC / Metro RC boxes with similar issues, have just bought some zippo fluid, and some of that water activated paper tape, oh and the EVA glue, gosh, very helpful! My biggest issue with RC car boxes is the flaps which break off, and having to reattach them. I'll try your method.
Takes a ripped bit of tattered cardboard and turns it into a totally displayable collectors peice. Perfect.
Beautiful job Dave. I had that box as a kid, and it too was battered. I ended up tossing it away in my teenage years, really wish I hadn't.
Love this video, great job as usual. Keep up the great work!
Awesome job. It makes so much fun to watch you repairing things. The box is now ready for display in a star wars museum. Keep up the good work. Stay safe.
WOW. That was AMAZING. Really enjoy your content. 👍
Thanks so much!
I had the At-sat, loved it’s walking gimmick.
Amazing job, well done
For those interested, I would highly recommend looking into restorations of vintage comics as there are some shared techniques between these
Very good video again, I have a very very poor condition Tie Fighter box I've been putting off restoring for ages.
Nicely done. Definitely feel the touch up with the paint is acceptable and makes a big difference. I have done such touch ups with a thin Sharpie marker, but it's not as neat a result of course.
Outstanding job Dave! Wow, how I would just love to come out and just hang out with you for about a week and just watch you work brother!😁👍
🤣 It's actually pretty boring. Lots of waiting for paint and glue to dry mostly 😃
@@toypolloi 😂😂😂. Not a chance! Plenty of time for some good conversations 😁
Another great video Dave. Thank you for yet again sharing your wisdom and innovation. You do a lot more good for the fans than the elitist "collectors" will ever do. Please keep it up and remember, you have a lot of loyal subscribers who appreciate your videos
Wonderful video! Classic Toy Polloi goodness.
I have a very battered Firefox F7 box which I might give a go with this treatment, get some of that tape and EVA and get the iron out. See if I can make it a bit more stable
I might suggest dry erase markers. Especially for the black. I use them to touch up record jackets and board game boxes, etc. You can run over the fine lines, then wipe off the excess, either before it dries, or after, because in most cases these boxes are still shiny enough that dry erase has a hard time sticking to the cardboard. Try it out. Obviously on larger segments, it's more visible because the surfaces are no longer shiny, but where the cracks are, that are actual cracks in the surface layer, they are very hard to detect. It's great because you could never get a paintbrush into every single crack.
Really like the wabisabi restoration. I tried the lighter fluid on the modern SW Retro packaging to remove the ugly sticker. Why do they make the adhesive so strong on collectors items? Even after soaking for a while it still pulled off the print in little patches. Awesome video.
I've used it on the retro collection as well with no issues. I have a video on it. Maybe they have changed the stickers since then.
Nice fix Dave,I do exactly the same to my dvd cardboard boxset covers
Great restoration! Painting the cracks seems to be hit or miss depending on matching color. I would skip that step myself or for a pristine looking box, would go with a repro box instead.
For holding its shape, adding loose inner inserts boxes are great with the durability of holding its shape. Awesome you had the inserts.
I really enjoyed this one, man! Thanks for the great video!
Great tip with the lighter fluid. Another tape/sticker remover I accidentally came across is Uni-Solve Adhesive Remover (by Smith & Nephew). Comes in wipes and liquid. Meant for removing medical bandaging from skin, but it works great on old/dried tape and stickers. Is a bit strong, so one definitely needs to test when using on delicate items. Extremely useful stuff.
Nice one Dave. I can't see why anyone should have a problem with this. I've just replaced the end part of my old AT-ST's little top gun, which broke off decades ago.
I carved out a new barrel end from a damaged old side cannon I found. Now THAT would pee the purists off!
I like using water based markers for repairing the coloring. You can get sets of 50+ colors on amazon fairly cheap. The important thing is that the markers are water based, so they won't leave a shine behind. I've seen people use a black Sharpie and it leaves a purplish shine behind once it dries.
what if you made a dummy box insert using the pattern of the original cut a posterboard and fold it the same as the original and insert it as a reinforcement to keep the original box sturdy. basically like a nesting doll.
I would recommend painting the boxes with indian ink instead of acrylic paint, as its less noticeable and gives a better finish as its more fluid and darker. I usually then would get those protective boxes from deflector cases to protect it and give the boxes further strength and that shine you get from a new box!! .
Thanks for the info.
Man I love this channel.
Brilliant. Great video as usual. Those vintage Kenner Star Wars boxes look ace.
You rock! Another great restoration thanks for sharing
Thanks for the content Dave!
Box looks good enough for my collection . This one still eludes me along with the atat but restoring this was a great idea and looks great on display.
Lovely work Dave.
Verrrry nice work. Another miracle performed. :)
Have you tried Sticky Label Remover for this sort of work? It’s less fierce than lighter fluid.
That box makes me want to paint one of my walkers to match it. I really like the black and dark gray pieces.
Its worth investing in a seam roller for wallpaper and borders, to flatten the card and stick the gummed paper down.
What about black shoe polish on the cracks?
Cherished child hood memories.
Great video, very instructive. Always enjoy your content!
Nice, I would have left it with the white wear showing too.
If I have a bad day I go to toy polloi
WOW! impressive, Most impressive.
yeah sometime last year I used the same darkening idea on a SW 1980 hoth box turn out well
I saw your warning posts ahead of you posting this video. I have to say I'm confused about the hate. You take what is a nearly worn out thing that most people would have thrown away long ago and make it nice for display again. Amazing job as always. Having seen the ironing trick before for old video game boxes, and watching this video, I have to ask. Have you ever fixed a warped game board for a boxed game? I have two original Heroquest game boards that are both warped. I had considered trying to iron them to flatten them. But I was hoping to get some tips from someone that had done it before, or even maybe find a better way that I hadn't thought of. As always, keep up the amazing work.
Can you use starch or sizing on cardboard? How about adhering a new layer of stiff thin cardboard to the inside of the box?
Brown tape recommendation... get the kind that has the string embedded in it...much more stable:)
Does the lighter fluid leave a scent once evaporated?
No. Once it's gone, it's gone.
looks great better way you did it save vintage box and just get a repo love these videos the most
Nice work !! Question wouldn’t the lighter fluid be absorbed into the carton material and pose a fire hazard having a dry box with some accelerant lying under a display case with lights ?
It evaporates within a few minutes, leaving it no more flammable than any other cardboard 😉
I have used WD-40 to remove sticky residue, so if you're worried...
Mate, how could I go about repairing the main cannon clips on the G.I. Joe Persuader?
Most likely styrene. I am working on a Cobra Ferret at the moment which has all the clips broken. Drop me a DM with photos of the issue and I can see what I can suggest.
@@toypolloi Will do, cherrs
0_0 this is insane. It NEVER occured to me that you could restore a F*(*&^ING BOX. Well done, mate. Well done.
congratulations on your channel, I love it !!
can you tell me which liquid product you're using in the video to remove the adhesives?
Thank you very much !!
Lighter fluid, you will see me use it in lots of videos. Cheers
Great Restoration Dave, I'm going to try this but I'm struggling to find EVA glue anywhere, everything seems to be PVA. Any idea where I can get some?
Check out the tool shop on toypolloi.com cheers
Excellent!!!!!!
Is the gummed brown tape archival quality? also there’s a type of fine tape that is used for restoring book pages that is archival quality. is it strong enough for this kind of repair?
have you seen the card design on the retro collection figures
Yes. And I've talked about them in my reviews. Not a fan.
I would have thought Ink might be better than paint. This would allow for a lighter coat, where the Ink would only stain the exposed white veins, leaving any original black as-is.
This however is all in-my-head, having never tried either method. Is there a reason why Ink but be a bad idea, or not yield a better result ?
Great video! Please name of fixing tape?
Check out the tool shop on toypolloi.com You'll find all I use there. Cheers
If I send you a few shirts will you iron them?
Don't tell Mrs TP.
Looks great, the white crack marks you’ve left for now actually do give it a more vintage wabi sabi look to it
Everytime you start playing that euro dance music(which I love) the lights dim, a disco ball appears and people in 80/90s clothing apparel start dancing around me. As soon as the music ends, the lights come back on the disco ball lifts back up and the people disperse. Weirdest thing....
Great Restoration, the Box looks very good. Like your vids very much 👍
I think about a Box Restoration of an Twin Pod cloud car an think to brush or role a mix of Woodglue/water in the inside after ironing to give the Box stabilaty.
The mix makes, so i hope, the sides harder and maybe tougher.
What so you think about this?
I know, its better to so only thats what ist needed and its mit original, but its a Restoration to have it in good shape for the next years.
Hope you understand what i mean and can give me an anwer.
Greetings from Germany
Thomas
In the meantime don't ANYONE walk near this box with a lit match!!😳🔥😳🔥😳🔥
Look up a tape called jantac , it’s an industrial strength thin double sided tape used for sticking vinyl to walls , a lot quicker & stronger & less messy than using PVA
With the iron do use just heat or steam as well?
Just heat.
@@toypolloi Ta!
I was going to be SO disappointed in you in you hadn't blackened in the stress marks. This box was so beaten up that it needed that additional TLC.
Whenever I buy blurays with slipcovers (particularly from Shout Factory), I always touch up the white creases on the edges by using a black sharpie pen then smudging it with my finger so it blends a bit better. It makes all the difference.
I was thinking about using Sharpies - I've touched up knocks on black picture frames with it before.
Apparently they go purple over time so lucky I wasn't doing it. However, I've got some Vallejo black paint already so...
I want to put stuff in that box!!!
I was going to suggest just getting a slab of foam to fill out the inside of the box.
How ironic that it takes so much effort and patience to restore something that was designed to be disposable, versus the ease of restoring far more complex items.
Also as someone's arsonist great grandfather will attest, Lighter fluid can be used to...touch up... far more than just old cardboard.
The obnoxious neighbor's toolshed/pickup truck was positively *glowing* by the time ol' Grampy Jailbird was done with it.