Opening old toys...

Discussion in 'Whatever' started by hellopike, Dec 11, 2019.

  1. hellopike

    hellopike S7 Royalty

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    Opening old toys...
    What are your thoughts on opening vinyl toys that are still stapled shut? I’ve bought a Gigan toy back in October, still in the bag, and I hesitated with opening it when I saw it was dated 2004... I mean it’s survived 15 years at this point, I would almost feel bad opening it now...

    And with that in mind, what is the timeframe in your mind for the amount of time that needs to pass before a toy is considered old? 10 years? 20? For instance, I’ve got transformer toys from my childhood that are old, but then I have reissue transformer toys I bought in 2000 which are at this point older than the originals were when the reissues were produced.

    Ultimately, should I open the 15 year old Bagged toy, releasing it from its plastic prison; or keep it as is because it’s already been bagged this long- what’s another 15-20 years, right?
     
  2. patrickvaz

    patrickvaz Addicted

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    Opening old toys...
    PHIL LET THAT MFER BREATHE!
     
  3. Smotemotem

    Smotemotem Toy Prince

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    Opening old toys...
    Do you have other sealed toys? Do you plan to resell someday?

    If the answer to both of those is “no,” I’d have to pop it open. It still has a lot of history, in or out of the bag. I’d still keep the bag & header though.
     
  4. foto junkaay

    foto junkaay Addicted

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    Opening old toys...
    Your toys, your business! I have stuff still in the original packaging only because I don’t have the space to display, some stuff, it just looks cooler as is.

    I’d say at this point, keep it bagged. Unless you have a perfect spot to place it once opened :)
     
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  5. akum6n

    akum6n Vintage

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    Opening old toys...
    Vinyl toys left in bag tend to get 'greasy' more frequently than those that are opened, all things being the same. Depends on the company and type of vinyl as well.

    Usually I will open my vinyls unless there is some special reason not to, e.g., it is an unpainted test shot that could be mistaken for a stripped vinyl if found loose.
     
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  6. xSuicide Squadx

    xSuicide Squadx Super Deformed

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    Opening old toys...
    I have a white test shot Zip Face Obake Dog and a black test shot Obake Dog still in their bags, only because they’re firsts of my favorite toy. I also have the very first painted Skull Brain still bagged and headered. I own a Kid Hunter, but I’m also wanting a still bagged one for historical sake! Like Kay said, your toys, your business! If anything I’d say if you can’t think of a logical reason(to you) why you should keep it sealed, open that bad boy up and appreciate it in all its glory! Gigan toys are bad ass!!!
     
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  7. zindabad

    zindabad Line of Credit

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    Opening old toys...
    I try to open and display everything partly because I like to play with my stuff and it deepens my attachment to the dolls.

    For stuff that should stay bagged due to the nature of the toy, test shots and sets that you'd want to display carded and such, I punch a hole in the bag if it hasn't been done already. Unsure what the precise effects of keeping the vinyl holed up with its own gases are long-term, but I don't really want to find out.
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2019
  8. Mark K

    Mark K Addicted

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    Opening old toys...
    Collecting vintage you don't run into this issue very often. I've freed many vintage toys in my time but these are some I choose to leave in the bag even though the bags are breaking down and the keshi is beginning to react with the bags. Enjoy your toys however you want. Your use of "old" to describe a fifteen year old toy made me lol out loud. Tarzan there turned 53 this year.
    [​IMG]
     
  9. eckotyper

    eckotyper Post Pimp

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    Opening old toys...
    I’m not the one to really answer. Toys usually don’t make it home from the office still bagged. On trips i break down toys in bag/header out of the box and flatten the header win a magazine to make it easier to transport home without damage.
     
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  10. gazpacho

    gazpacho Comment King

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    Opening old toys...
    I know many people like to have everything nicely displayed and organized with plenty of spacing between each toy to properly showcase them. I on the other hand try to emulate the look of a cramped and packed Japanese toy store (partly due to my tiny toy room, partly bc I enjoy the aesthetic) and keep some select things bagged on shelves as it adds to that look. Certainly some vintage toys that I received bagged, I will not remove. Also some special newer toys where the packaging/header is really nice tend to stay bagged on a shelf for a time. The mix makes for nice displays

    Also, I’m still fairly young so if the toy isn’t older than me it’s definitely not old!

    Lastly, Phil. You get a pass bc you rule but this thread definitely already exists ;)
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2019
  11. hellopike

    hellopike S7 Royalty

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    Opening old toys...
    I like the jam packed toyshop look too. And it’s definitely not my only bagged item, but 95% is opened. For now it’ll stay sealed up. Or maybe not. as for this thread already existing... eh. I’m a lazy man. ;)

    And @Mark K 53 years is pretty old for a bagged toy, you win. My bagged Gigan is just a teenager.
     
  12. hellopike

    hellopike S7 Royalty

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    Opening old toys...
    If it’s a new toy purchased at release I almost always open it up. Unless it’s like @akum6n said and there is something special about it that it being sealed is relevant to it, or if the packaging is especially nice... but the Gigan is a little older and like I said I almost feel bad opening it for some reason.
     
  13. hellopike

    hellopike S7 Royalty

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    Opening old toys...
    I do have other sealed toys and I don’t think anyone ever *plans* to resell something when they buy (and if you are, that’s a problem) but shit happens... never say never.

    Save the bag and header?? I usually toss them, and then write my name on the foot of the toy in ballpoint pen; so I know who it belongs to. ;)
     
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  14. Michael Beverage

    Michael Beverage Line of Credit

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    Opening old toys...
    Typically I like to open everything except a few small form factor toys that display well in bags. Vintage stuff (truly vintage), if I bought it sealed, stays sealed. I don’t plan on buying any more sealed vintage unless it’s a mini possibly. For example the Tiger 7 minis display well sealed.

    Also sealed vintage in plastic shells with ornate backing cards are a no brainer to keep as such. You just don’t get the same enjoyment out of a sealed toy in general though, for so many reasons.
     
  15. JoeMan

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    Opening old toys...
    I guess the other question appearing here is how old is a toy before you consider it vintage? Even toys from the 90s or very early 2000s in my mind could be vintage. Truthfully I have a lot of Nostalgic Heroes Tetsujin toys and I look at them and To me they are vintage, but probably not to many here.
     
  16. Michael Beverage

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    Opening old toys...
    I’ve always taken the conservative view when it comes to Japanese toys, and think of late 70’s-extreme early eighties as the cutoff for designating something as vintage. But I guess it’s somewhat arbitrary. As time goes on everything once new becomes vintage.
     
  17. Roger

    Roger Vintage

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    Opening old toys...
    We've bounced this around a few times, but I think if it's a Showa-era toy, and/or was made when the show was on the air, you can call it "vintage."
     
  18. Roger

    Roger Vintage

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  19. JoeMan

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    Opening old toys...
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  20. hellopike

    hellopike S7 Royalty

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    Opening old toys...

    That’s often my question, and in response to @Roger - what if there was no show to go with the toy? Are original real head fighters vintage yet? Or secret base or Gargamel toys that may be coming up on the 20 year mark? Or are they not, because many of those toys still endure and continue to be produced in one way or another?
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2019
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  21. Roger

    Roger Vintage

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    Opening old toys...
    My rules aren't written in stone, but I consider the late 80s/early 90s the cutoff point, at least for collectors of Japanese monsters and robots. That's the end of when monster and robot toys aimed at Japanese kids were made in Japan, and when game consoles started to become commonplace in peoples' homes. Character toys didn't end, but the nature and scope of the business was fundamentally changed after that.

    I don't consider anything by Gargamel, Secret Base, Super7, etc. "vintage." They may be vintage-style and made in Japan, but they weren't produced in or around the Showa era and marketed to Japanese children. Same goes for B-Club reissues and new toys by M1GO and the rest. Not "vintage" in my book.
     
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  22. zindabad

    zindabad Line of Credit

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    Opening old toys...
    Don't really know my shit, but this is how I've thought of it as well. "Old" can be however old, "vintage" is both old and made originally for kids.
     
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  23. Smotemotem

    Smotemotem Toy Prince

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    Opening old toys...
    From the feedback here, it seems that years passed isn't a helpful cutoff. Thinking of old toys in "periods" (like the Golden, Silver, Bronze, age of comics) might be more helpful. But then the question of "Can we come to a consensus about the events that marked such transitions?" comes into play.
     
  24. Roger

    Roger Vintage

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    Opening old toys...
    Showa vs. Heisei vs, Reiwa works for me.
     
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  25. Patrickg2k

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    Opening old toys...
    I don't know why people bother touching staples at all. When you remove staples, you not only partially destroy the header but you are altering the original presentation of the packaging - the header is meant to be presented in a folded manner.

    If you want to open a toy, use a pair of scissors and cut open one side of the bag, horizontally - right underneath the header. Then you can keep the entire packaging intact. If you make the slit on the backside then you can display the toy in it's original packaging again if you'd like.

    As for opening versus not opening, I clearly have put some thought into this and my sentiments echo the other Patrick's...LET 'EM BREATHE!! Toys look better out of the packaging and plastic bags deteriorate over time and could eventually damage a toy.
     
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