To Open or Not to Open / MOC (mint on card) Versus Loose

I'm both a MOC and loose collector, but have lately collected more loose than MOC.

For me personally, in regards to the loose figures I display them on their respective stands (Grayskull for Heroic, Snake Mountain for Evil Warriors) within the name labels. Another plus for me is having certain characters like Stratos and Horde Prime spruced up with great weapons by means of Spy Monkey's Armory Series. For my MOC collection, although I haven't done so yet, I eventually plan to put the bios from the cardbacks underneath my MOC collection on my wall :hmgrin:.

Regards,
Victor P.

I collect loose and MOC, I love seeing them both displayed either way.

I just bought my first arcylic case for shadow weaver just to compare to the zoloworld cases, and i gotta say i love it.

However, its way too pricey for me, i'll probably just buy a couple more for Teela, Fisto and maybe a couple of others.

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If you even wonder about opening them... open a few cheap ones, try it out and then decide if you need to get a replacement MOC fig(s). Otherwise you are an opener.

90% of MOC collectors KNOW they are MOC collectors... forever.

100% of opener collectors KNOW they are openers... forever.

The other 10% of MOC collectors need only to perform the test above. Then they will KNOW. (at least for that toy line) :D

Thank you all, all of your answers helped me make a decision! I am going to open up the figures that i do not realy like to save room. The ones that i do like will stay sealed. The odd shaped boxes will be opened also. If anyone has any advice on which figure are no good to open let me know.

Thank you ALL!

Clearly the correct answer here is buy a bigger house with a suitably sized toy room! :hmlol:

Then, buy two of every figure and have a loose and MOC collection, like I have. Haha.

On a serious note, if you don't open the MOTUC you don't get to experience the full value of displaying the 2nd heads and extra accessories. You also miss out on the opportunities to mix-match. Just a thought.

I open every figure when i receive them regardless if i will display them or not to check for QC issues.
If you use a hobby knife/blade and slice along the card at the bottom and then cut around the base just leaving the front edge uncut you can pull out the figure tray and put it back in again to store figures or display them in a MOC style.

You need to enjoy them, they are not really an investment due to so many people keeping them sealed up, if you want to make money buy some stocks on the share market instead:hmgrin:

The best of both worlds! Make three cuts on the bottom of the package to form a squared U shape, starting with the perforated edge. Pull out the figure from the "flap" you created. You can put it back and use a small bit of tape to hold it shut when you want to display the figure MOC. :hmgrin:

All good points above, but my contribution is this: I can always look at pictures of these figures (or any others) online if I'm feeling nostalgic. But the Classics line has impressed and inspired me to the point that I want to mix them with select pieces of vintage MOTU, as well as try my customizing skills with this line as my medium. For that, I gotta open 'em.
:hmgrin: I'd strongly consider the above suggestions regarding select openings to see how it strikes you. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by AdultCollector

The best of both worlds! Make three cuts on the bottom of the package to form a squared U shape, starting with the perforated edge. Pull out the figure from the "flap" you created. You can put it back and use a small bit of tape to hold it shut when you want to display the figure MOC. :hmgrin:

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Great suggestion, but I think you would loose the "M" in MOC if you did this...

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Originally Posted by Ornclown

Great suggestion, but I think you would loose the "M" in MOC if you did this...

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It could still be until you physically touched the figure, or took it out.

But you'd sure as hell loose the S from MO_C....but no matter, the carded display is still part of the fun. Being able to take it out and still put it back.

But the thing about the pulling it out the bottom is, the top of the inner bubble doesn't like to go back in place easily, I've used a ruler before to push it back up,
since there's not really any room to use your hand without potentially ripping the bubble off, and then that would be really pointless to have cut the bottom....

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Originally Posted by SunDevil

Gotta defend the MOCers here (like myself) -

They are NOT plastic prisons! They are like penthouse apartments from which the figs can observe all the goings-on in my hobby room. Of course, I do hang all my MOC MOTUC figures on the wall in their Zolo cases in a huge grid. I like to think they can even communicate when I'm not around!

Plastic prisons? That's MOC-ist! :P

Also, you can't spell MOTUC without MOC!

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I open everything, but I adore this response.


As far as OP's question, I agree that maybe you should try opening one or 2. Pick a couple that look cool and have a bunch of accessories, but aren't expensive enough that they'd be too painful to start out with.

I really enjoy the way toys are constructed, how the articulation works and how the sculpt looks from all angles. I think these figures feel really nice in my hands in a way that kicks the nostalgia up considerably more than looking at them does. After opening one, you may find that these things I like do absolutely nothing for you. Or, you may end up tearing into them all like a crazed kid on his birthday.

If you ordered a Castle Grayskull, that might turn out to be something that can be disassembled and stored back in its undamaged box with relative ease. If so, you've got to have at least one loose figure hanging out on the castle, just for a sense of its awesome scale!

I'm a MOC collector, and like you I'm also running out of space. I kicked around the idea of opening them, but I just can't make myself do it. I love the way these figures look in the packaging, and I hate having to dust loose figures. In the end, I decided to stash most of the larger figures/beasts away and just display the regular figures. When I run out of space to do that, I'll just start rotating things in and out of my storage boxes in the closet. That's another reason I've always kept my white mailer boxes.

don't do it:hmlol: you will subject your loose toys to dust:sksad: and paint wear:sksad:..... keep them in their plastic penthouses as SunDevil wonderfully put it!!!

they will thank you later for it...:hmwink:

MOC... (MINT ON COMEONLEAVEUSINHERE!!)

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Originally Posted by AGE

don't do it:hmlol: you will subject your loose toys to dust:sksad: and paint wear:sksad:..... keep them in their plastic penthouses as SunDevil wonderfully put it!!!

they will thank you later for it...:hmwink:

MOC... (MINT ON COMEONLEAVEUSINHERE!!)

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God I hated opening mine....if I could do over, I certainly would not have. I mean I like how mine look now loose, but that's because I can't go back in time, and have had to accept the loose collection. But everything I opened from October 2012 on, I have kept ever packaging, from before October I kept the cards and inserts, but not the bubbles. So from the Blastic figures I own on (Spikor on), I still have a possibility of repackaging my figures. I know it's not the same, but aesthetically it would be, to me.

And as far as the figures, I hated seeing just how many flaws these things had, and how many I had to fix just to make them stand up, or hold a weapon....I mean seriously. I was disappointed to say the least. Almost every figure before Demo-Man had at least one or two really loose joints. Draego-Man had loose knees, ankles and hips, and as heavy as he is, he looked stupid until I fixed him, if he didn't have that tail, he would have surely fallen over more than he stood.

I can't complain much about my Blastic figures, Mekaneck was flawless, Skeletor has one unfinished spot on his wrist joint, and small pinhole on one thigh. Spikor has a couple small spots on one bicep, Castle Grayskullman had a spot flake off on a calf, and when I rubbed it to blend the edges, it turned white.....?...., but I color matched it and now you can't tell. Rattlor fared a little worse than the rest, he has a few unfinished spots, and spots from the tan paint on the back of one thigh, and one knee joint has a line across it where the blue paint pulled off, but it's not very noticable, not like the pics of Spikor I have seen with the same problem, because it pulled just the blue off, and not the red under it.

But yeah, I prefer a MOSC collection for many reasons, and for MOTUC, QC issues are a huge reason I would have preferred to leave them sealed.

This is why i use the term... Hear no evil see no evil :)

all joking aside i do support loose or MOC.. everyone has their own thing... but personally MOC is the only way!

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Originally Posted by shadowfall1976

God I hated opening mine....if I could do over, I certainly would not have. I mean I like how mine look now loose, but that's because I can't go back in time, and have had to accept the loose collection. But everything I opened from October 2012 on, I have kept ever packaging, from before October I kept the cards and inserts, but not the bubbles. So from the Blastic figures I own on (Spikor on), I still have a possibility of repackaging my figures. I know it's not the same, but aesthetically it would be, to me.

And as far as the figures, I hated seeing just how many flaws these things had, and how many I had to fix just to make them stand up, or hold a weapon....I mean seriously. I was disappointed to say the least. Almost every figure before Demo-Man had at least one or two really loose joints. Draego-Man had loose knees, ankles and hips, and as heavy as he is, he looked stupid until I fixed him, if he didn't have that tail, he would have surely fallen over more than he stood.

I can't complain much about my Blastic figures, Mekaneck was flawless, Skeletor has one unfinished spot on his wrist joint, and small pinhole on one thigh. Spikor has a couple small spots on one bicep, Castle Grayskullman had a spot flake off on a calf, and when I rubbed it to blend the edges, it turned white.....?...., but I color matched it and now you can't tell. Rattlor fared a little worse than the rest, he has a few unfinished spots, and spots from the tan paint on the back of one thigh, and one knee joint has a line across it where the blue paint pulled off, but it's not very noticable, not like the pics of Spikor I have seen with the same problem, because it pulled just the blue off, and not the red under it.

But yeah, I prefer a MOSC collection for many reasons, and for MOTUC, QC issues are a huge reason I would have preferred to leave them sealed.

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Originally Posted by shadowfall1976

God I hated opening mine....if I could do over, I certainly would not have. I mean I like how mine look now loose, but that's because I can't go back in time, and have had to accept the loose collection. But everything I opened from October 2012 on, I have kept ever packaging, from before October I kept the cards and inserts, but not the bubbles. So from the Blastic figures I own on (Spikor on), I still have a possibility of repackaging my figures. I know it's not the same, but aesthetically it would be, to me.

And as far as the figures, I hated seeing just how many flaws these things had, and how many I had to fix just to make them stand up, or hold a weapon....I mean seriously. I was disappointed to say the least. Almost every figure before Demo-Man had at least one or two really loose joints. Draego-Man had loose knees, ankles and hips, and as heavy as he is, he looked stupid until I fixed him, if he didn't have that tail, he would have surely fallen over more than he stood.

I can't complain much about my Blastic figures, Mekaneck was flawless, Skeletor has one unfinished spot on his wrist joint, and small pinhole on one thigh. Spikor has a couple small spots on one bicep, Castle Grayskullman had a spot flake off on a calf, and when I rubbed it to blend the edges, it turned white.....?...., but I color matched it and now you can't tell. Rattlor fared a little worse than the rest, he has a few unfinished spots, and spots from the tan paint on the back of one thigh, and one knee joint has a line across it where the blue paint pulled off, but it's not very noticable, not like the pics of Spikor I have seen with the same problem, because it pulled just the blue off, and not the red under it.

But yeah, I prefer a MOSC collection for many reasons, and for MOTUC, QC issues are a huge reason I would have preferred to leave them sealed.

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same here bro, i wish i didn't open my figures...well atleast the ones i didnt need two of, for example: BA He-man and King Grayskull. I couldn't resist opening Granamyr. I'll eventually get another to keep MISB.

Now I keep em MOC, and buy extras if i really wanna open them.

but I display both.

Hey guys, just getting back into MOTU and have started to collect the new line of Classic figures, So far Ive managed to collect 4 (He-Man, Skeletor, Man At Arms and Battleground Evil Lynn). Im having a lot of difficulty trying to decide whether I want to open them and display them or keep them in their plastic prisons. Ive been browsing a lot of member pix and these have to be the coolest figures Ive ever seen articulation wise, but that just makes the decision harder lol. Is anyone in the same boat as me as deciding whether or not to open or not to open them..

Welcome to collecting MOTUC, that's a nice start!

Deciding to be a loose collector or MOC one is a personal call, I suggest going with whichever makes you feel better. Display space may also be a factor to take into consideration. Personally, I like to take the figures out of the packaging so that I can display and pose them for photography. They also take up less space than with the packaging and mailer boxes. Finally, as a new collector, you may find better deals on loose sets of figures!

In that regard, look through the Marketplace forum here and you'll often find some cool members that are willing to help you out with your collection without having to be at the mercy of eBay. Also, keep an eye out for special sales on Mattycollector, like Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Well, I hope this helps!

Who says you can't do both I have a small mint on card collection. as well as a loose one, try to do both. within reason of course money wize.but its up to you.

I will say go loose, an I say that for only one reason.

You cant decide yourself if you want to MOC or Loose already.

That alone, tells me that you alreadywant to open one from your own comments. I say go for it.

I was a MOC collector when I started also. Loved having them sealed and hanging on display. But when I accidentally damaged a case an said I would rebuy it an opened that one to inspect it, there just was no comparison.
Once you hold one of the figure itself in hand out of the packaging... forget it. EASY choice, a loose collection is the better way to go.

Try this.

Open 1 figure; whichever that you want to open the most; if you prefer to have them MOC then it wouldn't be hard to replace that one figure as your still very early into the line.

BUT, if you enjoy posing an displaying them loose more, then you will know your answer.

From me personally, I GUARANTEE you wont regret opening one to look at, an that once you do open one, you WILL want to open the others as well.

I did. Opened that one that got damaged, an within minutes I could NOT take it, I had to immediately open the other 19 I had as well.

BEST DECISION EVER!

[0] regrets not staying a MOC collector.

I had to open most of mine, I still hate it to this day, sure they look decent enough standing on my shelves, but I still look at my pics when my collection was all MOSC, and I still hate that I opened them. I do however keep the packages now so I can return some of them back to a carded look anytime I want to.

This says nothing to which I prefer, I prefer MOSC, but to satisfy myself in the beginning, I bought a couple extras to open, I decided I wanted to keep them MOSC, but something I thought was going to happen didn't and now I wish I never opened them.

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Originally Posted by Replikor

I will say go loose, an I say that for only one reason.

You cant decide yourself if you want to MOC or Loose already.

That alone, tells me that you alreadywant to open one from your own comments. I say go for it.

I was a MOC collector when I started also. Loved having them sealed and hanging on display. But when I accidentally damaged a case an said I would rebuy it an opened that one to inspect it, there just was no comparison.
Once you hold one of the figure itself in hand out of the packaging... forget it. EASY choice, a loose collection is the better way to go.

Try this.

Open 1 figure; whichever that you want to open the most; if you prefer to have them MOC then it wouldn't be hard to replace that one figure as your still very early into the line.

BUT, if you enjoy posing an displaying them loose more, then you will know your answer.

From me personally, I GUARANTEE you wont regret opening one to look at, an that once you do open one, you WILL want to open the others as well.

I did. Opened that one that got damaged, an within minutes I could NOT take it, I had to immediately open the other 19 I had as well.

BEST DECISION EVER!

[0] regrets not staying a MOC collector.

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when I was at a local toy shop purchasing a classic fig the clerk was opening one for a costumer who wanted the figure loose when he mailed it to him, and he let me play around with it putting it in various poses and I must agree it is a totally different feeling to have a loose one. It prompted me to buy one more figure that went to the store to buy.

If you have a nice display room with plenty of space I'd say keep them on card.Just more visually appealing to me personally.

Do what makes you happy. You're the one paying for them.

I'm a MOSC collector because that's how I prefer to display mine. However, I occasionally will get a duplicate when money allows just to tear into these things. They are wonderful figures to pose.

Just remember that once you tear open that packaging your decision can't be undone.

guys last year i bought a local guys classics collection of 30 figs/beast/etc for a 1000 and i just cant bring myself to open them i mean teela and wun-dar are way to expensive to pop