The Energon Pub

What this article is basically about is addressing the issues of Degrading Transformers toys parts and specifially the boxes that house them..and a possible solution...

The Box Problem..

Well as much as we would like our Transformers boxes and mint packaging will degrade with time, even some to the point of desintigration, and depending on where you live, the humidity, and conditions of storage, your boxes may warp, or discolor as well..

With the aging Generation one fans and their collections from the 1980s, and with those who have managed to keep you out of box bots in Mint condition, we all know too well the problems we will face as we collect these items going into the future..

Wether you have opened your figures, or simply keep them in prestine condition, locked in storage.. the degrading of the card board is inevitable..Yet, this also raises safety concerns as to water damage from leaking pipes, A/C Units, or the accidental spills...

All good things come to an end.. and with a sizable collection we are even more frightened of breakages and potential issues that could damage our prized collectibles..

Then there is the issue of Rubber... it degrades over time as well.. and we all know our MP optimus Primes will need some serious tire work down the road, as the rubber flakes and rots over time..

What can be done you say??

I have pondered this same question over, and over, and over again..at the moment, nothing really, not unless you can place them in an air tight vault or clear box of some sort.. but then it becomes a pain if you want to remove them to showcase and replace for safe keeping.. plus it would cost a fortune to do that..

What I have come up with is actually a pretty nifty idea.. to say the least..cheap and practicle... but it would require someone developing this into a niche market for us collectors.. and we as a fandom would have to be very respondent and supportive to ensure the longevity of our collection..It would be wonderful if Hasbro's collectors club offered this as a service to their fans!! that would really be wonderful.. but for now, it is simply an idea I've toyed with, when woken up in the middle of the night with fear as to where and how my MISBs and MIBs, are doing and if they are safe...

A possible solution: Plastic book style boxes with removable trey inserts, molded to specifically house your plastic tray or foam treys for you transformers..with large printed art work designated for each box..

Lets say this collectible you owned in the box, got damaged..

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/ ... /WboxF.jpg

So you go online to the box shop, and place an order with the description of what you specific toy was.. you pick a box art style, pay 20.00 and out goes a full Plastic Box sent to your very house...

it would be just like these Takara Reissue boxes that were released awhile ago.. only they would be hard plastic, with huge designs made right into the plastic covers similar to how they meld designs on aluminum cans for coke and pepsi..never to fade or peel like stickers and sturdy, and safe for your aging transformers..

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/ ... /RboxF.jpg

since they are in book style boxes they hide the sun from directly hitting you transformer..and there could be a clear plastic window to view your bot without taking him completley out of the "Plastic" Box..

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/ ... nsert1.jpg

the Takara versions had paper booklets that told, In Japanese, the story of some of the transformers and such.. I say why not include the bio inside, with the same melding technique as the outer shell, and provide a small plastic pocket molded to the inner box cover and provide a sealable baggy for the original instructions..incase you threw yours away when you opened it originally...

When you decided to remove your Toy and display, simply use the finger friendly cutout on the top of the book, similar to the Toynami Robotech Masterpieces, and slide the PLASTIC trey out, and remove your Bot..

That same plastic trey could be used for display like the takara stuff..only in black colors or Blue or whatever with an etched predacon, autobot, decepticon, minicon, or maximal symbol..

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/ ... splay1.jpg

placing him back inside would be a snap.. just place him down into the foam insert, cut-out to match your bot, like the Botcon sets, See below:

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/ ... boxset.jpg

or the clear vacuum packing that orignally came with him could be used as well..similar to this trey design:

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/ ... nvoy20.jpg

But would be able to fit into this:

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/ ... nsert2.jpg

It would be a wonderful invention and would certainly stand the test of time, especially if those series of boxes were mass produced or set up to order in bulk..even without the fancy image Melding on the box face, it would still be a wonderful invention to protect your long term investment.. ofcourse the MISB, and MIB boxed toys would command a higher return in values.. but for those of you who would want to see your collection outlast the boxes and the test of time..this would be a wonderful way to do it..


The rubber tires issue:

the tires and rubber or wearable parts issue could be solved.. the tires could be fixed if a mold of the tire was cast in that softer pliable plastic that almost feels like rubber.. and replacement parts for known and wide spread issues could also be made through that same site..

I know this is purely a dream... but one day there might be a company that decides to do this.. and all those Out of Box toys and transformers you have from the 80s and so on, would have a highly desirable place to rest...and would allow safe and worry free storage..

In either event.. there is something that may need to be done.. cause one day those boxes will just fall apart, or those collectors who threw away their boxes may want to store those collectible transformers toys and be able to open them again if they change their display every 3 or 4 months like I always did.. when I had a display..

Anyhow.. thanks for taking the time to entertain an idea of mine... maybe we will see something like this on the market one day..either way I hope something happens so that I can finally stop worrying if my boxes get dented or wet, or burned up from heat, or warped from humidity in the attic..you name it!!

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/ ... setbox.jpg

hey if they can do Strong Plastic book style boxes for coin collectors what about us Transformers collectors??

Great idea.. great idea!

this would also prevent a lot of shipping damage etc.

neliz wrote:Great idea.. great idea!

this would also prevent a lot of shipping damage etc.

after market resells would be alot easier to ship.. true dat!!

I like the idea. Clear plastic containers are the cheapest solution, but finding ones that are air-tight is harder. Light is a factor, so opaque would be best for long-term storage.

Why don't you have a display anymore?

DavidBeoulve wrote:I like the idea. Clear plastic containers are the cheapest solution, but finding ones that are air-tight is harder. Light is a factor, so opaque would be best for long-term storage.

Why don't you have a display anymore?

I moved in with my Girl in her new house, I helped her find and close on, but the attic is the master bedroom, so I had to leave my collections at my parents house in their attic, which I had stored there since I sold my condo back several years ago when my babies momma and me split..so for now, I have split custody with my daughter and son, and my collections.. which one day soon, I shall gain custody of both.. that's it in a nutshell..

Target has a bunch of display cases on their website. I'm sure that some of these will work

SnapTrap wrote:Target has a bunch of display cases on their website. I'm sure that some of these will work

Well I think those display cases are really cool!! Nice, but what I was suggesting was that there be plastic boxes that replace decrepid or missing boxes for transformers.. each boxes are to fit that particular bot.. with a foam insert to fit the bot and a pocket in the open flap that will house the instruction booklet..

Let me look around the net and see if there is a place...

Check out this manufacturer site, it has hinged boxes, you could order it in Black with an etched Autobot symbol or decepticon or Maximal or Predacon...that would be cool.. though i was thinking of a grey or silverish color.. that would be cool too..

Engrvers stores in the mall are cheap to...

I was thinking of the 5100 C style..... what do you think??
http://www.oppenheimplastics.com/hinged_boxes.php

those boxes look a lot like the stuff they use to sell "special edition" videocards in... you'd only need a good foam insert for that and you'd be set.

Is it safe to store TF in the attic?

Wouldn't that be closer to the heat of the sun?

Auto Bot wrote:Is it safe to store TF in the attic?

Wouldn't that be closer to the heat of the sun?

heat is a problem, humidity as well heat and moist air rises so in essence it's possible that your toys go damp and mouldy if you live in an area with lots of warmth and humidity.
I myself store most of the toys in a dark basement where it remains quite cool.

neliz wrote:

Auto Bot wrote:Is it safe to store TF in the attic?

Wouldn't that be closer to the heat of the sun?

heat is a problem, humidity as well heat and moist air rises so in essence it's possible that your toys go damp and mouldy if you live in an area with lots of warmth and humidity.
I myself store most of the toys in a dark basement where it remains quite cool.

Unfortunately I live in VA, where there are generally no basements needed.. but no the Attic does get hot, but it's essentially a sealed space so while it's humid outside, it's just hot in there.. and even with my collection in the attic I still feel like I need to do something...

But what I was suggesting about the boxes was that we really need some kind of blanket box type thing that can be used for our transformers..

I'd like a plastic version of the Book Style boxes like the replica transformers from Takara had, or like the Toynami Masterpiece Robotechs..

All that need be done is place a molded autobot symbol and decepticon symbol on the covers..or etched, or if they had a clear plastic insert so you could place a name badge down the spine.. that way you knw who it is when they sit on the shelf..

I put all the TF boxes in a big PVC box with wheels. Much like a plastic treasure chest.

The TF themselves gets their posing time inside PVC cabinets with sliding transparent doors.

I'd totally love something like what Skywarp-2 is suggesting. It would have to be up to one of the aftermarket shops to put this together. I have a lot of TF's that were either reissues or just my nicer G1 toys that I would store in a nice display box like this, mainly my G1 Starscream and Ultra Magnus.

I wonder what production costs would be on something like this? Foam and plastic are cheap, I suppose the artwork and it's application to the box would be the majority of the cost. Anything else you can think of that would be involved?