The Energon Pub

[Danish-Liokaiser]

"Batteries Included"
So says most of Hasbro's products there has electrical functions, such as lights and sounds ...

They simply dont think about the collectors ! ...

Now i need to OPEN 1 of the 2 TF:Animated Leader Class Meg's i have preordered, to remove the battery and re-seal the figure i wanted MISB ... in other words, it'll turn into MINT In Re-sealed Box ...

Why will i do this? ... Well, when the batteries corrodes (in 3 years?) it will ruin the figure, and maybe the box ... not sure about the box part. But if im ever planning on selling the figure, the buyer wont get a functional figure, if he decides to open it !

MISB is a nice thing indeed, just not when the damn battery is sitting IN the figure ...

Batteries included is a good idea for kids, who easily forget to buy batteries and such, but Hasbro dont think about the collectors ...

If i want a light and sound, i go and BUY batteries for my figures.

Its like they think that we're 2 stupid to buy the batteries ourself.

I know most of you dont care about it, but i do.

If i for example, buys a Generation 2 Optimus Prime MISB, then the battery in it is possible leaked and such.
And if i decides to open the box to play around with the figure? (I wouldn't, but i could) then i would have a defect figure.

And then, battery acid/corrosion is toxic, dont touch ! ...

It would be nice if Hasbro/TakaraTomy would produce figures without the batteries included, for the sake of the collectors, OR produce 2 diffrent versions !

1 with the Batteres incl. and 1 without ! ...

Give me YOUR oppinion !

[Sledge]

Serves you right for buying toys without any intention of playing with them, ya freak.

[Danish-Liokaiser]

Serves you right for buying toys without any intention of playing with them, ya freak.

You know, must of the TF collectors keeps there figures MISB. I have just started at it myself

[Sledge]

Oh, well if all the cool kids are doing it...


... I'll have to buy even more TFs to rip from their plastic prisons.

[videriant]

And what's with all the little holes in all the leader class now? In three years we'll have a whole layer of dust inside the boxes from the spiders and what-not that climb in there. I guess for leader prime you can keep pressing the button down until his batteries are drained. . .

[doomboy536]

Serves you right for buying toys without any intention of playing with them, ya freak.

You know, must of the TF collectors keeps there figures MISB. I have just started at it myself

With all due respect, that is blatantly not true. I think you'll find most collectors don't keep all their figures MISB. Toys are made to be played with!

Oh, well if all the cool kids are doing it...


... I'll have to buy even more TFs to rip from their plastic prisons.

Genius!! We can start a radical action group to liberate all those toys from their boxes.

"No matter if they reside in a store or in a collection, one day all toys will be free!"

[Sledge]

Can we break into MISB collector's homes and open all their toys? Can we can we huh huh huh?

Oh, and is it a sign of serious TF addiction that I'm thinking of getting some wire-cutters solely to cut those smegging twisty ties?

[doomboy536]

Can we break into MISB collector's homes and open all their toys? Can we can we huh huh huh?

Oh, and is it a sign of serious TF addiction that I'm thinking of getting some wire-cutters solely to cut those smegging twisty ties?

Yeah, we will, and it will be sweet. Imagine this, you're an MISB collector and when you wake up one morning, ALL of your TFs are opened and the boxes smouldering on a huge bonfire on the front lawn.

Wire-cutters! Genius idea mate! Why did I never think of that? I'd better go and buy some, then to do some 'quality control' I'd better go buy some TFs to see if the cutters work

[Sledge]

The pliers on my Leatherman have wire cutters, but they're sometimes too wide to get into the space between the tie and the figure. And I am sick and tired of spending time untwisting those bloody ties. I bought a load of Legends class stuff today. On average, they each had FOUR ties holding them in place. FOUR! Do Hasbro think the damn things will come alive and escape if they're not tied in place?

[8 bit]

I think you've raised a good point and I also agree with your approach of removing the batteries even if you plan on keeping them boxed. I don't think it would be too hard to work around the twisty ties and get a screw driver in where you need it to take the batteries out. And if you ever sold one of these boxed TFs from your collection, I'm sure a collecter would appreciate it doesn't have a corroded battery in it.

[Overcracker]

Well I personally don't keep anything MISB. I'll take a more Objective side, and say that maybe Hasbro could just include the batteries packaged to one side of the figure instead of installed inside them.

Still I think this whole thing of batteries leaking and ruining toys etc.. s a little exaggerated.

I mean I have an 8 year old R.I.D. Prime with its original included batteries. They still work, they have not leaked etc. The figure is fine.

Ohh and no most collectors don't keep things MISB. Most of us around here buy these things to actually transform them, and pose them etc.. Not to just stare at boxes with things inside.

And yes I do keep some boxes. Ones I like or ones that are easy to put the toy back in or remove it. I recently put that Same R.I.D Prime into his box, and he looks really nice. But I can take him out if I want to as its not sealed.

[Avatar Prime]

Can we break into MISB collector's homes and open all their toys? Can we can we huh huh huh?

Oh, and is it a sign of serious TF addiction that I'm thinking of getting some wire-cutters solely to cut those smegging twisty ties?

Yeah, we will, and it will be sweet. Imagine this, you're an MISB collector and when you wake up one morning, ALL of your TFs are opened and the boxes smouldering on a huge bonfire on the front lawn.

Wire-cutters! Genius idea mate! Why did I never think of that? I'd better go and buy some, then to do some 'quality control' I'd better go buy some TFs to see if the cutters work

You should put all the figures around the sleeping MISB collecter when you do it, all of them staring at him as if they are ganging up to get revenge on him or her for all that time stuck in the box prisons. Probably scare the heck out of the collector.

[decepticonjon]

sledge: lineman's pliers baby.. solve all your worries.
and not all batteries corode and melt your tf's after 3 years.

[i_amtrunks]

Well I personally don't keep anything MISB. I'll take a more Objective side, and say that maybe Hasbro could just include the batteries packaged to one side of the figure instead of installed inside them.

That would be a great compromise, except Hasbro could never do it.

Sometimes the batteries used in figures are the smaller watch batteries, and I'm sure that there are plenty of kids out there who would be likely to swallow them due to their size, then come the law suits against Hasbro.

Of course the way the world is now, people would sue Hasbro even if no child did swallow the batteries, just because they can.

[Agent 007]

Serves you right for buying toys without any intention of playing with them, ya freak.

You know, must of the TF collectors keeps there figures MISB. I have just started at it myself

NO! THE SICKNES IS SPREADING! FREE THEM!!!!

[videriant]

Nail clippers work for the twist ties. They're pretty safe too.

[decepticonjon]

i live the commando. i expect my toys to do the same as well.

[Megatron's Lapdog]

No doubt, you have to open them and play with them. I paid $120 plus $20 for a Costco Cybertron Optimus Prime and Wing Saber 2-pack MISB in perfect condition on E-bay. You know what I did with it?



That's what I did with it...I had willpower for about an hour...

[Mykltron]

Haven't you seen the Toy Story films?

[Jazz Reborn]

you make a good point. but i dont intend to sell my toys. i stand by my toys until the end!

[woosh]

Wow, i still have no idea why someone would buy a toy and NOT open it. Whenever I buy something, i can't wait to open it up/use it.
If batteries are included, they should be separated from the fig in package. THAT is a solution.

[Magnimus]

While I understand your frustration even though I open all my figures, a batteries NOT included policy for Hasbro does not make sense from a marketing standpoint.

One might argue that, in general, the demographic for toys and action-figures is shifting away from young kids to young adults and adult collectors since action-figures are quickly becoming out-paced by videogames. The toy aisles of big box stores are puny compared to what they were like when I was a young kid in the late 80's and early 90's whereas the videogame and electronics department has exploded. Based on this idea, it would make sense for Hasbro to cater to adult collectors, many of whom collect MISB (although equal or more open their stuff).

However, Transformers, as a property/franchise, still generates substantial interest from kids, especially today with Transformers Animated and the live-action movie franchise picking up speed. Adults are bringing their kids into Transformers while other kids are finding Transformers on their own through other media. Transformers has been consistently popular with kids whereas other franchises, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, depend on a boom and bust cycle (fueled in no large part by generational nostalgia).

Since Transformers still attract kids, but must compete with the lure of video games and other passive electronic media, it makes sense for Hasbro to try and attract kids to its figures with electronic and interactive features in Hasbro's bigger toys. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Transformers Animated will be the first TF line to feature figures that talk! Making their toys interactive, and allowing kids to play with this interactivity while the toys are still in their boxes and in the stores, increases the likelihood that the young consumer will feel compelled to buy the toy or bug his or her parents to buy it.

Removing the batteries and sealing the figure up completely in collector-friendly packaging would cut off a desirable demographic who might otherwise shy towards the interactivity of videogames instead of action figures. Like it or not, Hasbro still sees itself as as producer of products for children; it does cater to adult collectors, but only as a complimentary demographic since these adults will still buy the stuff that appeals to young kids.

While MISB collectors might be frustrated, Hasbro has more to gain by packaging their figures with batteries so kids can test them out in the store.

[Overcracker]

Since Transformers still attract kids, but must compete with the lure of video games and other passive electronic media, it makes sense for Hasbro to try and attract kids to its figures with electronic and interactive features in Hasbro's bigger toys. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Transformers Animated will be the first TF line to feature figures that talk! Making their toys interactive, and allowing kids to play with this interactivity while the toys are still in their boxes and in the stores, increases the likelihood that the young consumer will feel compelled to buy the toy or bug his or her parents to buy it.

Good post Magnimus. Although if by talk you mean Transformers that yell phrases from the show they belong to. Then no its not the first. R.I.D Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus had phrases too.

Still you make an excellent point about the interactivity of the toys.

And again I say battery corrosion seems to have been exaggerated a bit too much.

[leader magnus prime]

Oh, well if all the cool kids are doing it...


... I'll have to buy even more TFs to rip from their plastic prisons.

amen to that brother

[Liege Evilmus]

I think the best solution for toys that need batteries vs MSIB would be to have Hasbro include them in their own blister pack with the paper work.

It doesn't realy matter to me though, any MSIB figures that I have, are gonna stay that way, and the ones I have open well I rip those out right away as TF sounds are annoying.

Also, I never once bought batteries for one of my figures, I can live without seeing Supreme StarScream light up.