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My Girlfriend bought me a 20th anniversary DVD edition Optimus Prime. I want to open it so badly but the packaging is mint. I would like your valued opinions, open it or get if AFA graded?

Thanks for the input,
Bassman9027

I have this same dilemma. I just bought TRU Masterpiece Optimus Prime a few weeks back and want to open it, but think it looks so cool in package.

Really, if you intend to play with it, bust it out. That's what Transformers toys are made for, after all.

If it's just gonna sit on your shelf anyway, you might as well leave it boxed, at least so you can sleep on it for a while.

If you do want to keep it sealed, just get an acrylic case. Don't buy into that whole AFA graded bulls***.

If you want to play with it then play with it. It's a toy for god's sake - that is what it was made for and it's a damned good one! Just open the box carefully.

Bassman9027 wrote:My Girlfriend bought me a 20th anniversary DVD edition Optimus Prime. I want to open it so badly but the packaging is mint. I would like your valued opinions, open it or get if AFA graded?

Thanks for the input,
Bassman9027

enjoy yourself! open it! when you finish playing with it. put it back on the box. but you must play with it! feel the plastic texture, the need to transform it! you must!

Mykltron wrote:If you want to play with it then play with it. It's a toy for god's sake - that is what it was made for and it's a damned good one! Just open the box carefully.

Take it out! Enjoy it! But just keep everything mint, cut the tape with a blade and keep all ties and what not. I have all of the Hasbro MP's and could not resist opening MP Grimlock, he was much too bad a$$ for me not to take out and display for a few months. When I was done I put him back together with all original packaging and put him in TF storage. All of the others are mint in box, but sometimes it's just impossible not to open them.

slimjim0 wrote:Take it out! Enjoy it! But just keep everything mint, cut the tape with a blade and keep all ties and what not. I have all of the Hasbro MP's and could not resist opening MP Grimlock, he was much too bad a$$ for me not to take out and display for a few months. When I was done I put him back together with all original packaging and put him in TF storage. All of the others are mint in box, but sometimes it's just impossible not to open them.

Ya, open it, transform it, play and display it. When you find you no longer will touch it, put it back in the box like he said (although that seems like a lot of work ). Anyway, just take it out and have some fun first. This rule applies to all kind of toys especially those who can transform.

I've never seen the point of AFA. If you like it in box, keep it in box. If you want to play with it, then play with it. IMO the memories you'll have playing with the figure are usually worth more in the long run than a box on a shelf or in storage.

Which is worth more to you: the enjoyment you would get out of playing with it, or the extra $50 you might get if you keep it sealed and sell it a few years from now?

We're not talking about a G1 figure from 1984, which could be worth hundreds or thousands. It's unlikely that this figure is going to be a worthwhile "investment". AFA grading would be a waste of money.

than you all for your input, as an update I decided to open it and might I say it is a spectacular toy. I figured I would never sell it because it was a gift and it is a figure I have always wanted.

one more 'ting, how does everyone store their transformers? I just moved in to a new apartment and I have my collection in bins, at my old place I had shelves from ikea but the transformers were so heavy the shelves started to bend down (I have primarily "ultra/leader class" figures.

I have loads of figures in all areas of the house, boxed up or displayed. For me, at least, the important thing is protecting them and keeping them inside the main living areas so they're "climate controlled" and not subject to funky smells, as opposed to keeping them stored in a garage, basement, attic, etc. For instance, all of my Hasbro MP's are bubble wrapped, boxed and stored in a closet. G1 figures, all boxed together and stored in another closet. But all of the new figures like the Hasbro Prime and Takara AM's, and FOC figures are currently out on display. Either in my curio or NIB around it. I'm probably at the more extreme end of preserving them, but I'm also a collector so I have a different idea on how to store or display them. Anyway, hope this helps!

Bassman9027 wrote:one more 'ting, how does everyone store their transformers? I just moved in to a new apartment and I have my collection in bins, at my old place I had shelves from ikea but the transformers were so heavy the shelves started to bend down (I have primarily "ultra/leader class" figures.

For storage, plastic bins are good. But don't you want to display them instead?

I'm setting up a display room in my basement, and I'm going to get several of these:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/produ ... #/10119206