The Energon Pub

I hope you guys maybe able to answer. First off I am sort of a new collector. Started when the first movie came out. I loved Transformers when I was a kid. Sort of forgot about them over the years. Shame on me. Any way. I am starting to run of out room for all of my Voyager Class Transformers.

My question is as a collector should I open them to display them or leave them in the box? I am so undecided on what I should do. Any feed back would be awesome.

Hey there and welcome to the site and the fandom!

There's no right way to display your figures. It all comes down to what makes you happy. I can understand the space issue, having experianced it myself. If you decide to keep them all in boxes, maybe there's a spare closet that you can store some of them in at least temporarily? Sure while in the closet they cannot be seen, admired or adored, but at least you've made room to expand your collection until you move or aquire more display space.

If you do decide to open them (which is what I do) then you must decide whether or not to keep the packaging. If you do decide to keep the boxes, then that's even more space you'll have to take up. If you decide to throw out the boxes (which I do) then you don't have to worry about that, though eventually you'l run out of space again due to loose figre congestion.

I hope that's helped a little.

You speak words of wisdom good sir. But I am still not sure on what I should do. Some I wont ever open like my SDCC Soundwave. Bah such a hard decision. Thanks for the info.

AlidarJarok2 wrote:You speak words of wisdom good sir. But I am still not sure on what I should do. Some I wont ever open like my SDCC Soundwave. Bah such a hard decision. Thanks for the info.

Yeah, it's never an easy decision to change your collecting or displaying habits. The short term space gains might not be worth the long term regret in having all those opened boxes.

PS. Always good to have a romulan defector among us

Welcome aboard AlidarJarok2!

I'm a mixed loose and MISB collector (usually opening one or two instances of a mold, and keeping repaints, and especially exclusive repaints, MISB).

What I've found for MISB stuff is large totes (18 gallon or larger) can hold alot of figures, keep them safe, and allow you stack pretty high without risking crush damage on lower figures. You can get cheaper brand ones on sale for under $4 USD these days if you have access to Home Depot or Lowe's and check the ads frequently.

Loose figures get gently wrapped in double thick newspaper and nestled *as tightly as possible* together in more totes, to prevent jostling.

Good luck!

I don't think I will open them just yet. I just wish they where not in such big boxes. Thanks for the info again.

This was also a dilemma for me for a while back when I first started collecting not just Transformers but also other toys are well. What I ended up deciding was to open those that you really want to try out (transform, display...etc) and keep those that you like them as boxed up. Personally I rarely open up the leader class figures because of their large size and already transformed in box, I keep them stacked up in their boxes for easy storage.

Wow you guys are awesome with all the fast reply's. As of right now I got a bit more room to work with. Just need to find that pesky Lon Haul and Grindor.

I am afraid soon I will not have any room left.

I always open them. I like to fiddle around with my figures. And I don't really love the packaging most times. With them open I can have more fun with my display (various poses and groups).

This is such a crappy topic...and I mean because it sucks to start running out of room. I refuse to decrease the number of TF's I have, so space becomes an issue. You can never have enough Transformers, and it's impossible to ever have enough space.

Personally, I display my TF's on rotation, so the older ones get mothballed for a few months while newer acquisitions take their place on the shelves.

I usually open up those with boxes that I can put the figures back in, keeping them MIB.

I also keep most of my Hasbro deluxe figures MISB, since most of them come in bubble packaging. Why Hasbro and not Takara? Hasbro's delux packaging glues the sides of the bubble onto the front of the cardboard, whereas Takara's grips around the back of the cardboard, making it look MISB even after it's been opened, at least from the front.

I can never resist opening them. The only time I keep one MISB is if I have a second one I can open. I think many of them do look really cool in the box but they are too much fun not to open. They do look more organized when displayed in boxes though. Just my 2 cents on the topic.

I open them all. Boxes are recycled.

A cluttered display is an eyesore. Really. Have a few out at a time, rotate them out, etc...

open them!

First of all, welcome to the forum.

My main question to you is why did you collect the movie toys in the first place? Was it because you were a fan of the toys or because you thought they would be valuable in the future? If you were a fan of the toy then rip them open and indulge in awesome engineering and detailing that these newer figures have over their predecessors. If it is for the supposed value of the toys in the future well generally speaking there is a good chance this line may not make big bucks in the long run due to easy availability of the figures. So rip them open and enjoy them.

I open everything. To me transformers need to be opened and played with to fully enjoy them. Other figures like GI Joes or StarWars basically only have one "mode" and it's clearly in view in the packaging. They may have some accessories and other stuff that can be added to the figure, but for the most part what you can see in the packaging is what you get. Transformers on the other hand by their very nature only display half of what they are in their packaging. It's really a personal choice. Do you want to open them and transform them? If so have at it.

I'm new to collecting as well and I display my Transformers so they come out of the boxes. I enjoy TFs for the multiple modes and especially enjoy particular figures that have well designed transformations. I also rotate my displayed figures and change them up from alt and robot modes.

On a side note, if you decide to open and display your transformers collection, you would also need to at least dust once per month or you have a display case to keep out the dusts.

I suggest you to open them and keep the boxes like I do, because, even if you open a Transformer it is still valuable when you want to sell it, and keeping the box makes it even more valuable despite being opened. And, unlike some Star Wars and GI Joe toys, most Transformers are made to play and not to display.

Man, I can't help but opening them! The only things I have MISB are all of my Encore releases and a few exclusives. I just have to play with the damn things! I do understand MISB collectores however, that just ain't for me.