Set em free, and keep the header if it has awesome artwork.

What akum6n said; Bagged: Very early stuff I never got around to de-bagging, some unpaints, others that just have special memories and those I haven't got room to display. Everything else: unbagged and free.

Once de-bagged, the bag always gets separated, and the header card becomes a mystery. I wish when I first started collecting camera phones were omnipresent - because lately Ive started taking a photo of the toy in-bag before I open it - just so I can keep track of which header belongs to which toy.

Other than the above exceptions - it has to be out of bag. Imagine looking at a toy collection on shelves entirely bagged - that would be weird.

Interestingly Ive heard that some Japanese collectors like to keep in bag. Ive seen a few pics of collections which bear this out.

I'm sorry not to personally respond to everyone here, but I really enjoy reading all of these posts.

I used to collect the ToyBiz X-Men figures from 1992 to 1995. I had them all sealed, but one day when I was 14 or 15 (too old to "play" with them), I went nuts and opened them all. It was kind of thrilling, but after the dust settled I realized that I crossed the point of no return. They couldn't be displayed like before and lost all value. So while I buy these soft vinyl figures for love of the artists who create them and not a care for the value they might have, I'm kind of haunted by my regret of when I went on the x-men toy opening frenzy.

I regret opening some of my blistercard packed toys in the past - hence that point of no return...
But these are vinyl toys packed in a simple bag with header. I ALWAYS open them! And if you do that carefully, you can always repack them!

Hmmm.... but is it logical?


I have mixed feelings. Some stuff I just haven't gotten around to unbagging yet, others I remove and play with right away! Although, does anyone know if keeping them bagged might damage them? i.e. with the vinyl interacting with the plastic material of the baggie?

P.S. Found the other parts

I've seen a guy who had a bunch of bagged toys piled into a detolf case

It's like a claw machine full of vinyl.

Ha! I love that episode with the Spock doll.

I've thought about that too, since I don't think they necessarily use non-reactive bags. I suspect, however, that the vinyl material itself is much more volatile than the bags, so keeping the toys sealed without air circulation is probably more damaging in the near future. If you notice, some vintage vinyls were actually sold with holes punched out of the plastic bags, probably for this reason.

Not sure about all vinyls but with vintage it most certainly can happen:

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=44912&hilit=fireman

My Fireman's arm turned brownish from 40+ years sealed!

That sounds like a cool way to display toys waiting to be opened when shelf space becomes available

One of the reasons I moved to a bigger place in a cheaper part of town was to have more display room and.... I've already run out....

I've seen a couple of these still in the bag. They were both like that. Either a weird coincidence or a factory paint variation.

BTW quite a few bagged figures with headers aren't air tight, so there is some circulation. But even when stores completely wrap bagged figures in plastic (which is common in Japan), it isn't clear that that situation affects the toys.

I think it's more likely that the plastic itself is breaking down, which is difficult to prevent (in or out of the package) especially with super soft and clear vinyl. (Though it seems that clear vinyl generally (but not always) seems to stays better preserved when kept in its original packaging.)

Then some get really sticky, like the plasticizer in Vintage Star Wars figures (ex: 12" IG-88's accessories).

It's tough to stop the march of time in any case. Keep figures open or sealed as you like. I have a bit of both, but I generally do not open vintage figures. There are so few still out there sealed, so I figure if unsealed is what you're after, focus on getting them loose. Just my POV.

In terms of collecting bagged figures, for vintage and some modern, I think there's something special about having figures in their original state, in the bag with the header still attached, and seeing everything together like that, comparing them to other series + lines, etc. So yeah you can definitely enjoy figures MIB just as much as loose.

Oh dear! Then we'd all better listen to Tiny Spock!
Ok, I'll have to unbag everything as soon as I can put my house back in order. Although, I think it's only Buta stuff. I've not had any vintage figures come in it's original baggie yet.

Keep 'em bagged or bust 'em out?

Really nice lot Mark. I was just thinking about these guys earlier today when David revived the orange coloured thread (I always open expecting to see guys like this! ). Shame they don't get more love, but it's almost a blessing, because, as you pointed out, they remain very affordable.