My recently purchased Lynx-o. Thinking about possibely sending it to AFA, but a few things on the card are holding me back. For starters, the bubble is slightly detached from the card on the bottom. There is also a mild crease in the bottom right corner. The card has a slight top end curl but otherwise sits flat. The major issue i’ve noticed is that his shield has a bit of what i can best describe as browning or flecking around the edges. It’s made from plastic so i’m a bit confused as to what it might be. As far as i can tell, i’m aiming at an AFA 70-75 at best if i send it. Anyone wanna give their input i’d appreciate it. Thanx.
I think that your guess sounds about right (I have never sent anything in yet but I plan on it as I have 2 bengalis moc I’m looking to grade, so you might want some one elses input on this). I will compare the pics with my afa 80 lynxo. I think the main thing will be the bubble lift (again I dont really know), also the bubble looks like the side of it on the left is over the edge of the card (maybe just the pic but thats how it looked when I looked at it)
As for the spots on the sheild all of the good guys from the final release have tendencies to get these “mold” spots, this can happen even with the figs being moc. Pumyra is the worst, then Bengali, then Jaga. So I think thats what it is. I hope I helped
Sal…If it makes you feel any better, all and I mean all of my AFA 80 figures which include Stinger,Bengali and Pumyra have bubble lift at the bottom. They also have bends on one of the 4 corners if not more. Not too noticeable but at the right angle you can see them. Take into consideration that an AFA 80 is basically a figure that came off the shelf and has minor defects, defects that would jump out at you. My suggestion to you is that if you can and want to get it graded…go for it. I have compared it to all my 80’s and yours look like it could be an 80 in itself…the lowest beeing a 75 which i doubt. If youre serious about getting it graded take my advice for what its worth…in the end you may have not only a nice grade but a cool case to go with it
One of the things AFA looks at when grading the bubble, figure, and card is presentation. What they look for are dents, dings, scratches, scuffs, seal, and alignment. From your pictures I see that the bubble is not aligned. Now that may not be a significant amount to knock it down 5 points but it could be a deciding factor when judging between say a 75 and 80. Now the bubble seperation on the bottom is kind of hard to see. There is a common “breathing” gap on the very bottom of most figures that is not bubble lift since it is not sealed on that part. Your picture looks like it may have actually lifted but it is still hard to tell. As long as 75% of the bubble is still attached it will be graded. If the lifting is significant then I would say the bubble would not get higher then a 70. If it is minor it should get a 75. The alignment should stop it from going higher then a 75.
The figure looks good and even with the problem with the shield it will probably get an 80.
The card is in good shape with the usual white mark here and there. With the corner crease it won’t go higher then an 80.
The overall score is going to be dependent on the bubble score. I would say a 70 but a low 75 would not be suprising. There was an 80 that recently sold on eBay for $125 range to give you an idea.
I actually picked up that AFA 80 Lynxo…I thought that it actually should have gone for more. My opinion is if you think that the AFA rating will be 75 or lower, I would recommend not getting it graded and instead picking up a case for it. I think you can pick up a case at the $25-$30 range (shipped). I know www.planetforce.com sells cases (I’m not sure about TCat cases tho). Most collectors look for an AFA 80 or higher, so I do not think a rating of 70-75 will increase the value of your figure, and a 70 might even hurt the value. If you do decide to go ahead with the grading process, best of luck!!
Thank you all very much for your input. You guys are by far the most knowledgable group of collectors i have ever met. I expect the figure to grade in the 70-75 range if i send it in, and to be quite honest with you all, i’d be quite happy with that. I used to be heavy into comic books a while back and when i started sending in my better books to be graded by AFAs’ equivelant CGC, i used to get very emotional and upset when i recieved lower grades. I’ve pretty much fully switched over to toy collecting altogether now and i’m determined not to fall into that same pattern with graded toys. Comic collecting is about putting all your books into a box in the back of a closet, but toy collecting is about displaying your figures for all to see. Having an awesome display case and an honest grade is good enough for me, even if it is a 70. lol. Thanx again for the advice guys, i’ll be asking for more opinions on other figures in the future.
I have actually looked into planetforce.com and many other websites and they dont seem to carry Thundercats sizes, and the best bet is to go with someone who custom makes them…particularly a place called Oscar’s cases http://www.oscarscases.com/cases.htm but i think they will make one for the regular Thundercats for about $35 plus shipping…with that rate being in mind anyone is better off paying a little extra for the grading and you will get a case that fits your figure just right. Just my opinion
