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Modding Toys Right Out of the Box
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Zobovor
Feb 1, 2018, 12:14:06 AM2/1/18
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It's so weird to me that there are so many people willing to disassemble their toys and make wholesale modifications to them immediately after purchase. Stripping the chrome off of Generations Jetfire. Drilling holes into Titans Return Broadside. Shaving plastic off of Titans Return Wolfwire.
I saw a discussion somewhere else about Titans Return Trypticon... not just the leg fix, but apparently there's a tail fix as well. "Okay, so now that you've spent $150 on this toy, take everything apart and start gluing these pieces together..."
Me, I generally only break out the super glue if something has actually broken off one of my toys. (Which I've had to do with G1 toys more than anything else. I can't even remember the last time I had a modern-era toy break. Maybe that boomerang-shaped Scourge from 2011 or thereabouts, and that's only because his beard was so fragile.)
Don't these people ever worry about resale value? In ten years' time when these folks get bored with their toys and sell them off, are they going to actually disclose that they made significant modifications that you could only ever see if you dismantled the toy completely?
Zob (has a few G1 toys that are probably more glue than plastic at this point)
I saw a discussion somewhere else about Titans Return Trypticon... not just the leg fix, but apparently there's a tail fix as well. "Okay, so now that you've spent $150 on this toy, take everything apart and start gluing these pieces together..."
Me, I generally only break out the super glue if something has actually broken off one of my toys. (Which I've had to do with G1 toys more than anything else. I can't even remember the last time I had a modern-era toy break. Maybe that boomerang-shaped Scourge from 2011 or thereabouts, and that's only because his beard was so fragile.)
Don't these people ever worry about resale value? In ten years' time when these folks get bored with their toys and sell them off, are they going to actually disclose that they made significant modifications that you could only ever see if you dismantled the toy completely?
Zob (has a few G1 toys that are probably more glue than plastic at this point)
Avaran
Feb 1, 2018, 6:16:04 AM2/1/18
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Well, for Trypticon the tail fix is because it can jump out permanently from its normal position by moving the tail normally, and then it just hangs limply afterwards...moving it then can also permanently damage the parts unless you open it up and glue it together (the parts you glue should probably have been factory glued, they are supposed to stay together but they fall apart if the screw on the tail is just a teeeensy bit not as tight as it should be the first time you move the tail).
Other modifications:
Generations Rattrap can put to much pressure on the ankles/knees when you swing them down to lock in robot mode position, so i shaved off a small amount of plastic so that the joint will not crack as online pictures showed it was prone to do.
Universe Ironhide: Back when this was the best Ironhide we got, I made a change to his head so that he could look up and not constantly look down due to some weird design issues.
Combiner Wars Silverbolt: Shaved down plastic on the nubs beside the joint that folds out the Superion head, since it can crack if you apply pressure a bit wrongly.
Missassembly is not really in this category, but I always try to fix those after opening the toy. Unless it is nearly impossible, as in Pirates vs Knights Cannonball's switched thighs that cannot be separated without breaking.
Usually I only do those modifications to safeguard my figure from breaking permanently if the modifications are not done.
eric....@gmail.com
Feb 1, 2018, 3:11:12 PM2/1/18
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I usually only mod toys that I have no intention of ever selling so resale value isn't an issue.
Zobovor
Feb 1, 2018, 9:10:48 PM2/1/18
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On Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 4:16:04 AM UTC-7, Avaran wrote:
> Usually I only do those modifications to safeguard my figure from breaking
> permanently if the modifications are not done.
Oh, I totally get the reasoning behind it. I'm just surprised so many fans are willing to commit to these changes. I believe pretty strongly in not making modifications to toys that are part of The Collection with a capital "C," but maybe I'm in the minority?
> Usually I only do those modifications to safeguard my figure from breaking
> permanently if the modifications are not done.
Zob
banzait...@gmail.com
Feb 1, 2018, 11:30:15 PM2/1/18
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Realistically, I don't think there is much resale value once these toys are out of the box. If resale value is a concern, you should never open them, but where's the fun in that???
-Banzaitron
-Banzaitron
Zobovor
Feb 1, 2018, 11:43:20 PM2/1/18
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On Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 9:30:15 PM UTC-7, banzait...@gmail.com wrote:
> Realistically, I don't think there is much resale value once these toys are
> out of the box.
On a long enough timeline, I see the resale value falling on a curve. There will always be a dip in value for a contemporary toy that is a) still currently available at retail and b) out of its original packaging. After a number of years have passed, though, and the secondary market is the only place to get that particular toy, it still has the potential to sell for more than MSRP.
> Realistically, I don't think there is much resale value once these toys are
> out of the box.
This is all academic, of course, but sometime when I go trolling on eBay I already see various toys with third-party add-ons attached. Sometimes I find it appealing but sometimes the presence of third-party components is a major turn-off. If I want to add a Transformers toy to my collection, I want the toy as Hasbro or Takara intended it, not the toy with random MakeToys or Dr. Wu parts stuck on it.
Zob (expects that one day, Titans Return toys with stickers in good condition will command a premium)
Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.
Feb 2, 2018, 9:37:42 AM2/2/18
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On Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 10:43:20 PM UTC-6, Zobovor wrote:
> On Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 9:30:15 PM UTC-7, banzait...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > Realistically, I don't think there is much resale value once these toys are
> > out of the box.
>
> On a long enough timeline, I see the resale value falling on a curve. There will always be a dip in value for a contemporary toy that is a) still currently available at retail and b) out of its original packaging. After a number of years have passed, though, and the secondary market is the only place to get that particular toy, it still has the potential to sell for more than MSRP.
>
I find that the secondary market prices for Tr Fortress Suckimus already going up slightly.
> On Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 9:30:15 PM UTC-7, banzait...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > Realistically, I don't think there is much resale value once these toys are
> > out of the box.
>
> On a long enough timeline, I see the resale value falling on a curve. There will always be a dip in value for a contemporary toy that is a) still currently available at retail and b) out of its original packaging. After a number of years have passed, though, and the secondary market is the only place to get that particular toy, it still has the potential to sell for more than MSRP.
>
> This is all academic, of course, but sometime when I go trolling on eBay I already see various toys with third-party add-ons attached. Sometimes I find it appealing but sometimes the presence of third-party components is a major turn-off. If I want to add a Transformers toy to my collection, I want the toy as Hasbro or Takara intended it, not the toy with random MakeToys or Dr. Wu parts stuck on it.
>
>
> Zob (expects that one day, Titans Return toys with stickers in good condition will command a premium)
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