I just started collecting plastics out of nostalgia and I hear there are still tournaments for the OG beyblades, but there's just one thing that I don't get - how do you guys still use them? For one, the parts aren't manufactured any more and are basically irreplaceable and for another, plastic that's 20+ years old has got to be pretty brittle. I'm sure I'm missing something here but how is it there are still tournaments with enough people willing to risk their hard-to-find, expensive, and finite collection of parts on a sport where it's all but guaranteed you'll break or at least chip your attack rings and wear down your rubber tips?

Toys are meant to be played with. (most) Plastic Gen beys are a lot more durable than one would think, and due to the relatively low weight, it takes a long time for rubber to wear. As long as the plastic hasnt been sun damaged they really arent all that more brittle than they were 25 years ago.

That's not to say that there isn't a concern for it though, and there has been a massive push to 3D scan, and make available, almost all attack rings and most bases for 3D printing. Rubber tips as well.

You have to accept that things are going to break. There have been breakages at every plastics event I’ve played in. People mitigate this by avoiding the parts and specific colors of plastic that are known to be the most brittle. Thankfully, the original series didn’t power scale the same way later series did, so there is plenty of very usable stuff from every sub-series, and a lot of it is fairly common.

Another way people are dealing with lack of access and breakages are reproductions. There was a project a few years ago that recreated one of the best Japanese stadiums. It’s fantastic and we have a bunch of these now. Reproduction parts have also gotten quite good. It makes figuring out what should be legal a bit more complicated, but I think it’s a fine trade off.

I highly suggest checking out https://www.plasticsdb.com/ and the Plastics channel in the Discord!

Toys are meant to be played with. (most) Plastic Gen beys are a lot more durable than one would think, and due to the relatively low weight, it takes a long time for rubber to wear. As long as the plastic hasnt been sun damaged they really arent all that more brittle than they were 25 years ago.

That's not to say that there isn't a concern for it though, and there has been a massive push to 3D scan, and make available, almost all attack rings and most bases for 3D printing. Rubber tips as well.

How is the whole push for 3D printing coming along? Are there any places where I can buy blades for a reasonable price that match the quality of the originals? Also, that might work for plastic parts but how do you deal with stuff like rubber tips or weight disks?

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You have to accept that things are going to break. There have been breakages at every plastics event I’ve played in. People mitigate this by avoiding the parts and specific colors of plastic that are known to be the most brittle. Thankfully, the original series didn’t power scale the same way later series did, so there is plenty of very usable stuff from every sub-series, and a lot of it is fairly common.

Another way people are dealing with lack of access and breakages are reproductions. There was a project a few years ago that recreated one of the best Japanese stadiums. It’s fantastic and we have a bunch of these now. Reproduction parts have also gotten quite good. It makes figuring out what should be legal a bit more complicated, but I think it’s a fine trade off.

I highly suggest checking out https://www.plasticsdb.com/ and the Plastics channel in the Discord!

Where can I find these repros, and do they make rubber tips and metal parts as well?

As stated prior, as far as i am aware, no one is selling printed beys.

Here is the link to the thingiverse folder with all the scans.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6526417

Rubber has also been solved through 3D printing. Again, i am not aware of anyone selling them.

Weight disk repros are in the works afaik, but nothing is available yet.