Just want your opinion, should I open my Palisades Muppets collection?

[JJandJanice]

Ok, some of you might know, I'm a hardcore collector of Muppets stuff collector and of course, my Palisades Muppets action figures are a HUGE part of my collection.

But the other day, I had a little mishap with my Rowlf the dog figure (as I've mention to member dwmckim, whom is in the process of selling his collection). The other day I had to wake up early for work, I was still half asleep and was aiming for the door. Unfortunately, I hit Rowlf and smack his package off the wall, and now the figure isn't hangable, needless to say, it did wake me up and also ruined my entire day, .

But also, some of my figures packages like Kermit and Piggy are also becoming discolored, I don't smoke, but it's probably because I live in a room with a big window, and even though most of the window is covered by a bookshelf, some sunlight can still get though.

I've always been for the most part one of those "mint in the package collectors," but after the Rowlf mishap and the discoloring of Kermit and Piggy, I'm giving some serious thought to just opening those figures. I most certainly WILL NOT open up my most rare and exculsive of figures like my "Wedding of the century Kermit and Piggy," Super Grover, Adventure Kermit or my Jim Henson and I won't open up my variants. But now maybe I should go ahead and open up the basic figures from the series. I know their worth more in the packages, of course, but I don't know, I'm just starting to give some serious thought to it.

Any thoughts...

 

[GonzoLover85]

The question is:
Are you ever going to sell them?
If you think you might sell your collection some day, for whatever reason; keep them in the package. As you said, they're worth more in their packaging.
But, if not, take em out. Toys are meant to be played with, posed and enjoyed.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Dearth]

On the whole, as a lifelong loose toy collector and huge fan of the Palisades figures, I definitely say open them, group them together, arrange scenes, enjoy them!

That does come with a proviso, however...

Don't open a white shirt Lips! Because of a problem with the chemicals at the factory, his paint will still be tacky and you can ruin his intricate paint job just by handling it.

Silver Lips seems to fare better, but I don't have the brown shirt version so I don't know about him.

But, if the packages are important to you-- and this advice is for anyone reading-- then get them out of a room where they will receive ANY sunlight. Store them somewhere dark, preferably somewhere they won't receive any UV light, even that from fluorescent tubing. A windowless room with incandescent lights, perhaps.

Of course, you could do the simplest thing... buy a replacement carded Rowlf (and Piggy and Kermit) and just postpone the opening decision for a while.

Or you could do the most costly thing... heh heh heh... keep your carded collection and begin a SECOND collection of them all loose. If you buy them in lots, you could even find some bargains on the more common figures.

Alex

 

[JJandJanice]

Well, I did it. I open up most of my palisades Muppets figures. At first I was thinking this was a mistake, but after opening Rowlf and Kermit, I was hooked and was actually pretty happy about doing it. Trust me, people that know me would be HUGHELY surpised to hear I did this.

I think I'll post pictures sometime in the furture.

Sadly, the left leg on Janice (of all figures) broke off, so I actually opened up her variant,

 

[Dearth]

Glad you enjoyed yourself doing it, and welcome to the world of loose collecting!

One thing you might want to consider doing right now, before you forget what came with whom, is put all the little accessories for each figure into separate little ziploc baggies, like the kind they use for jewelry and bead hobbies. Well, not one baggie per accessory, sorry, I meant one baggie per figure.

And just be warned that UV light can also damage plastic, ESPECIALLY white plastic, so you might want to still consider finding a windowless place for the now-loose collection, or possibly some UV filters for the window panes.

Alex

 

[JJandJanice]

Thanks for the advice Dearth, where they're being displayed at the moment isn't very close to my window, though I'll still find a way to block it just to be safe.

Also does anyone else have a problem with Floyd's hat? I can't get that hat on the right way.

 

[Dearth]

No, but I have had other figures with problematic hats. It's usually just a matter of the magnet being flipped upside down on one piece or the other, so they're repelling instead of attracting.

I had to fix a Samuel Arrow that had that problem, and also totally removed the magnet from a spare Beauregard's hat because I thought it should sit slightly further forward on his head.

I have some spare Floyd's in my custom fodder bin, I could send you another hat... but that won't fix the problem if it's the magnet in his head that's oriented wrong. If you want to send me the entire figure, I can test out both hats and either send him back immediately if one of them works, or if they both repel, I can flip the magnet in the spare hat and send him back with a repaired hat.

Ironically, this would be my second Floyd repair for a fellow MuppetCentral fan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYHkBES_lxs

This one was an arm swap, but thought I'd mention it. The owner, Taylor, was very happy to get a totally repaired Floyd back in the mail.

Oh, and somehow I overlooked the line above about Janice's leg breaking off. Janice is notoriously fragile, the tiny plastic posts that insert her limbs into the body have a tendency to break. I bought one on eBay that was broken in the package, specifically so I wouldn't feel as bad customizing her into Nurse Janice.

Her left arm was broken at the shoulder in the package. I repaired it with a nail, but it lost its 'ball-joint' and became just a pivot joint. (My wife thinks this photo is scandalous because I had removed the skirt, LOL)

I also used a tiny nail to create a new diagonal pivot on the right arm, so it could straighten out.

And here they are with their fantastic scrubs, made by a seamstress that I met on the last play I did. Can't wait until I get their hats done and finally paint the set for them.

I should be getting another broken Janice soon, from The Count, so if you want me to see if I can swap out any parts and make one good one for you and one doubly-broken one for my customs, let me know! (email address below)

Alex
ploovo241@aol.com

 

[Andibcool]

Well i know this whole discussion is already finished but i would like to share what i did.

First of all i live in germany so usually you could not buy thease figures in normal stores here. However some Onlineshops had em but sold em for more then they would cost in the US ( of course ) but even more then i did cost to import em.
Anyway i think i saw the muppet line wen they where released but was more into Zoids and my wife did say no way u buy Zoids and Muppets. Since thouse Zoids take away a lot of space i kinda agree with her on this.
Ok i forgot about em but rediscovered the line 2 or 3 years ago.
Lucky me i was able to get all the figures i wanted and i think i only miss the steppin out Rowlf from the normal series lines. I dont care much about him because i got the normal one from the Backstage set.
To be precise i bought all of em MOC still sealed and a lot in great shape.
I know i could maybe bought loose ones but im kinda picky with such things.
I bought a loose Mayhem stage set, kitchen set and a crash helmet Gonzo loose.
The Mayhem stage was dusty and Animal did come with missing his jaw on the head but the piece was still in the package so i fixed him.
The loose Kitchen has one issue with a peg in the front else a bit dusty too.
However i have them for display too but i also bought booth MIB again too.

I know they worth much more still sealed away in the boxes but i did get em all out and did place em. That way you can enjoy them the most. People come and look at the playsets with all this nice figures and say wow awesome collection.
They really look better with the playsets as diorama and all then in the boxes.
Also i dont intend to sell them again, these figuers will be the best Muppet figures ever made for a long time.
That said i still have a few spare ones MIB/MOC like all playsets beside pigs in space and the rare backstage set and some figures.
Some i got within a package sale i needed to buy to get a missing figure some i saw cheap and bought em.

Its really a shame we didnt see Sesame Street and others.

 

[JJandJanice]

Ok I just might do that Dearth, thanks a lot.

 

[momble]

Looks like its too late to say it but dont open them - even if you are never going to sell them to have them 100% complete would be a joy to look at every day and if you havent got them all it keeps the interest going. GonzoLover....have you made your avatar or did you link it from somewhere as I would love to have a larger version of it