The Energon Pub

Today, I bought the Animated Battle Begins 2 pack, Jungle Bonecrusher and four Legends class figures. By the time I'd finished unpacking them, I had approximately eleven billion twisty ties. Why do Hasbro use so many of the damn things? I don't want to sound like an old coot, but when I was a kid, TFs were in a plastic bubble glued to the backing card. When and why did these stupid bits of wire become needed?

Also: does anyone have any good uses for twisty ties, and do you untie them or just cut them?

I didn't see this one coming

I have no idea why twisty ties, frankly they just annoy me to tears. Ever tried opening a MP Prime? You can't!!

You're also in danger of breaking the toy if you just try to rip it out(like I imagine many kids would).

i tie them up into little figures

and they are pretty useless to me

Twisty ties are a security mechanism devised by Hasbro to deter criminals from stealing toys.

You see back in the 80's with the nice plastic trays and easy to get to toys, well they were easily swiped, which is why you where bound to see empty Transformers boxes.

People would just take them out of the box in less than 30 seconds, and put the box back, and walk out with the toy.

Twisty ties prevent this. Of course Hasbro likes to go overboard with the twisty ties.

But still they have a reason of being.

I personally use twisty ties to keep cables nice and tidy. They wrap around them and keep them snug.

You can use them to tie your PC wires. And yes they are a pain in the butt.

Is the theft thing really true? I guess it makes sense, but I still don't see the point of applying four of the sods to a Legends class figure. I mean, I can fit a Legends figure packaging and all in my pocket more easily than a Deluxe.

Sledge wrote:Is the theft thing really true? I guess it makes sense, but I still don't see the point of applying four of the sods to a Legends class figure. I mean, I can fit a Legends figure packaging and all in my pocket more easily than a Deluxe.

AFAIK Yes, don;t recall where I read it, but it said that in addition to fastening the figure top the packaging so it doesn't move around in transport, they where also added to prevent theft of the figures.

If I find the source I'll post a link.

japan does it the right way usually. (notice i say usually) when they just do a box, fig encased in two sides of clear plastic.
i invested in some small lineman's pliers. they snip those twisties off real quick like.

Ah yes, you see the twisties are in there for a few reasons, to keep a 'dynamic presentation' and deter theft are but two of the reasons.The REAL reason is the fact that Transformers are alive, and if left in their bubbles loose, they will break out and start beating up on other toys or stealing energy from the stores.

You see one day a Megatron figure burst out of his protective packaging and subsequently took over Zayres discount stores and drained them of all their energy. Hasbro got wind of this and decided from that point on all transformers will be packaged with many many many twisties and rubber bands... just in case. As this saps a Transformers strength and causes them injury if they escape on their own.

Ever wonder WHY some of your TFs seem to move or fall over on their own... now you know.

And knowing is half the battle.

A set of wire cutters makes twisty ties somewhat bearable.

What has been annoying has been Hasbro's use of tiny thin twisty ties that they then wrap around until there is no twisty tie left. Those little buggers are the hardest to get off (usually they are flush against the figure and you cant get cutters in-between the wire and figure). I've found the Titaniums are usually the worst affected by thsi problem, and they are the ones that chip paint the easiest.

I can deal with the twisty ties, it's those damn clear rubber band things that annoy me. It's like just when you think you've got it free and you start to transform it you run into another one. So you have to break out the scissors again.

Man, the worst offender had to be friggin Unicron. At least 20 ties on the damned thing. Chaos personified indeed.

Overcracker wrote:Twisty ties are a security mechanism devised by Hasbro to deter criminals from stealing toys.

You see back in the 80's with the nice plastic trays and easy to get to toys, well they were easily swiped, which is why you where bound to see empty Transformers boxes.

People would just take them out of the box in less than 30 seconds, and put the box back, and walk out with the toy.

Twisty ties prevent this. Of course Hasbro likes to go overboard with the twisty ties.

But still they have a reason of being.

I personally use twisty ties to keep cables nice and tidy. They wrap around them and keep them snug.

While possible I usually throw the whole theft thing out the window.

Have you ever seen Hasbro’s 25th anniversary GI Joe figures? The packaging is identical to the originals and like the G1 figures, had no bands or twisty ties.

If Hasbro can cut back on the packaging with those figures, why not these?

Nail clippers work really well also.

Overcracker wrote:

Sledge wrote:Is the theft thing really true? I guess it makes sense, but I still don't see the point of applying four of the sods to a Legends class figure. I mean, I can fit a Legends figure packaging and all in my pocket more easily than a Deluxe.

AFAIK Yes, don;t recall where I read it, but it said that in addition to fastening the figure top the packaging so it doesn't move around in transport, they where also added to prevent theft of the figures.

If I find the source I'll post a link.

I dont have any links for you but I can add my almost 20 years or retail sales ,manegment and loss prevention knowledge to your voice.

The twisty ties are indeed in place to deter theft.

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:

Overcracker wrote:

Sledge wrote:Is the theft thing really true? I guess it makes sense, but I still don't see the point of applying four of the sods to a Legends class figure. I mean, I can fit a Legends figure packaging and all in my pocket more easily than a Deluxe.

AFAIK Yes, don;t recall where I read it, but it said that in addition to fastening the figure top the packaging so it doesn't move around in transport, they where also added to prevent theft of the figures.

If I find the source I'll post a link.

I dont have any links for you but I can add my almost 20 years or retail sales ,manegment and loss prevention knowledge to your voice.

The twisty ties are indeed in place to deter theft.

Thanx. When I find the source I'll be sure to post a link.

doomboy536 wrote:I didn't see this one coming

I have no idea why twisty ties, frankly they just annoy me to tears. Ever tried opening a MP Prime? You can't!!

Twisty ties serve two purposes:

1. It keeps the figure in the position that was desired within the packaging from the factory which I'm sure serves marketing purposes and hopefully helps push sales of the product by having it presented in an attractive manner.

2. It's a theft deterrent device which may or may not be something that the retailers request. How many Transformers have you seen stolen out of the packaging in the past 5 or 10 years? Far less than you used to when I was a kid back in the 80s.

Buy a wire cutter at your local hardware store or next time you go to Target or Wal-mart. Once you have a wire cutter, you'll never complain about twisty ties again because you'll be able to just pop the figure out of it's packaging after a few snips.

Nekoman wrote:

Overcracker wrote:Twisty ties are a security mechanism devised by Hasbro to deter criminals from stealing toys.

You see back in the 80's with the nice plastic trays and easy to get to toys, well they were easily swiped, which is why you where bound to see empty Transformers boxes.

People would just take them out of the box in less than 30 seconds, and put the box back, and walk out with the toy.

Twisty ties prevent this. Of course Hasbro likes to go overboard with the twisty ties.

But still they have a reason of being.

I personally use twisty ties to keep cables nice and tidy. They wrap around them and keep them snug.

While possible I usually throw the whole theft thing out the window.

Have you ever seen Hasbro’s 25th anniversary GI Joe figures? The packaging is identical to the originals and like the G1 figures, had no bands or twisty ties.

If Hasbro can cut back on the packaging with those figures, why not these?

Price point, most likely. I don't think the legends class figures, the Mini-Cons or scout class figures have twisty ties (could be wrong about the scout class). I imagine once the figures get to be around $10, they invest in twisty ties for the packaging because those are the better selling products and the most desired. Hasbro has stated time after time that the deluxe class ($10 price point) is the best selling size figure year after year.

Seibertron wrote:

Nekoman wrote:

Overcracker wrote:Twisty ties are a security mechanism devised by Hasbro to deter criminals from stealing toys.

You see back in the 80's with the nice plastic trays and easy to get to toys, well they were easily swiped, which is why you where bound to see empty Transformers boxes.

People would just take them out of the box in less than 30 seconds, and put the box back, and walk out with the toy.

Twisty ties prevent this. Of course Hasbro likes to go overboard with the twisty ties.

But still they have a reason of being.

I personally use twisty ties to keep cables nice and tidy. They wrap around them and keep them snug.

While possible I usually throw the whole theft thing out the window.

Have you ever seen Hasbro’s 25th anniversary GI Joe figures? The packaging is identical to the originals and like the G1 figures, had no bands or twisty ties.

If Hasbro can cut back on the packaging with those figures, why not these?

Price point, most likely. I don't think the legends class figures, the Mini-Cons or scout class figures have twisty ties (could be wrong about the scout class). I imagine once the figures get to be around $10, they invest in twisty ties for the packaging because those are the better selling products and the most desired. Hasbro has stated time after time that the deluxe class ($10 price point) is the best selling size figure year after year.

Makes sense, but Mini-cons and scouts did have twisty ties and bands. I specifically remember mini-cons having them because my cat stole one and hid it. I spent a whole day trying to find that thing!

Seibertron wrote:

Nekoman wrote:

Overcracker wrote:Twisty ties are a security mechanism devised by Hasbro to deter criminals from stealing toys.

You see back in the 80's with the nice plastic trays and easy to get to toys, well they were easily swiped, which is why you where bound to see empty Transformers boxes.

People would just take them out of the box in less than 30 seconds, and put the box back, and walk out with the toy.

Twisty ties prevent this. Of course Hasbro likes to go overboard with the twisty ties.

But still they have a reason of being.

I personally use twisty ties to keep cables nice and tidy. They wrap around them and keep them snug.

While possible I usually throw the whole theft thing out the window.

Have you ever seen Hasbro’s 25th anniversary GI Joe figures? The packaging is identical to the originals and like the G1 figures, had no bands or twisty ties.

If Hasbro can cut back on the packaging with those figures, why not these?

Price point, most likely. I don't think the legends class figures, the Mini-Cons or scout class figures have twisty ties (could be wrong about the scout class). I imagine once the figures get to be around $10, they invest in twisty ties for the packaging because those are the better selling products and the most desired. Hasbro has stated time after time that the deluxe class ($10 price point) is the best selling size figure year after year.

That's more to keep with the vintage feel. Like Hasbro's TRU Transformers Re-issues. Those did not have twisty ties, the packaging was identical to the G1 packaging, with the plastic trays and easy to get to figures.

Those are specially designed to evoke the old packaging so no twisty ties.

However I did find one example of a 25th anniversary Gi Joe figure with a clearly visble twisty tie:
Cobra Driver with HISS Tank.


You can see a Twisty Tie there.

Probably the Human figures packaged alone don;t need them since they are smaller.

Overcracker wrote:

Seibertron wrote:

Nekoman wrote:While possible I usually throw the whole theft thing out the window.

Have you ever seen Hasbro’s 25th anniversary GI Joe figures? The packaging is identical to the originals and like the G1 figures, had no bands or twisty ties.

If Hasbro can cut back on the packaging with those figures, why not these?

Price point, most likely. I don't think the legends class figures, the Mini-Cons or scout class figures have twisty ties (could be wrong about the scout class). I imagine once the figures get to be around $10, they invest in twisty ties for the packaging because those are the better selling products and the most desired. Hasbro has stated time after time that the deluxe class ($10 price point) is the best selling size figure year after year.

That's more to keep with the vintage feel. Like Hasbro's TRU Transformers Re-issues. Those did not have twisty ties, the packaging was identical to the G1 packaging, with the plastic trays and easy to get to figures.

Those are specially designed to evoke the old packaging so no twisty ties.

However I did find one example of a 25th anniversary Gi Joe figure with a clearly visble twisty tie:
Cobra Driver with HISS Tank.


You can see a Twisty Tie there.

Probably the Human figures packaged alone don;t need them since they are smaller.

Dang, I was caught.

But, the HISS only had about two wires on it, where as Overcast had about four (I think, I may be one or two off on both…).

What was really annoying was some of the mini-cons and Titaniums. I almost had to get wire cutters on the Titaniums.

I will say this however, Hasbro has cut back on twist ties. 08 BB for example was held in place by only one, kudos to Hasbro.

I've never seen a Transformer stolen from it's packaging in going on 25 years. Is/was this an American problem?

And I'm still not clear on why so many ties are needed on smaller figures. Four on a Legends class figure is surely overdoing it.

Aaah, another fan of airwolf.

Twisty ties are liked by my pet pigeon to make a nest out of.

It took my sister and I 30 minutes to free thundercracker.

I prefer the JPN packaging myself. Moulded plastic casings that are then just taped together. Cut the tape to release the figures. Even the deluxe carded figures are taped. Simply cut the tape and slide the card out. No card destruction and to display them back on card is easily possible!