Seriously, what once was the bane of my toy collecting existence I am almost begging to have back.

It was nice at first, we got those cardboard twist tie-esque things, those weren't so bad. They were more ecologically friendly and they were fairly easy to remove quickly.

But now? Those elastic bands they're using instead are awful. You pretty much have to cut them off to get a figure out, which can be a real pain, and puts the toy at risk depending on what you have to cut with and where the band is located.

The hell Hasbro?

 

I admit I do not like the elastic bands myself, just means I have to be EXTREMELY careful in not cutting the figure inside.

I'd welcome a return to the cardboard twist ties.

 

Trying to remove the plastic bands, I ended up popping off Hardhead's Titan Master's left arm. Bright green piece. Onto my friend's lawn.
By some grace of God, it landed on a dead patch so I was able to see it (the next day).

Hate those bands.

 

They are awful! And the reason I started to carry a pair of nail clippers in my car.

 

Oh goodness no, I never want the old twist ties to come back. I wouldn't mind the recyclable cardboard ties coming back though.

I've never had issue with the plastic bands. Cutting them is easy for me, and I've never had them or their placement affect the figures themselves.

My issue with Hasbro packaging is when they place figures in bubbles so tight (typically with no tie or band keeping them in place) that you have to shoot them out of the bubble or they start to warp the figure. I've lost two weapons from the two Kreon Class of sets thanks to the former; while the latter mostly affects Marvel 3.75 figures, it's annoying to have limbs or weapons warped by the bubble.

 

I really would like to see them return. They were just so useful for me with other stuff. This new method is quite annoying.

 

Those paper ties were much better.

I'd still prefer to go without any ties at all and just have a clear plastic overlay as seen in Takara products.

 

wut? those elastic bands snap pretty easy if you pull them decently hard. just stick your finger under there and pull.

 

Actually getting a finger under there, unless you have tiny little girl/child-sized fingers isn't exactly easy to do.

 

well shit, maybe that's a rude awakening for the size of my hands...

 

Cardboard ties were fantastic. I use my tiny fingers to rip the bands and I have several scars from the incisions they've made.

 

Cardboard ties were super neat. They first used those in Generations wave 1 with Drift, WFC Optimus, etc., right? I'll agree that the new rubber bands are a pain, especially with all the other tape and glue the packaging already has.

Now I'm gettin' all nostalgic... man, I remember Christmas 2003, getting Armada Unicron and being so excited. Looking back though, I only really remember the literal hour of undoing twist ties more than I remember actually playing with the thing  

 

See above.

 

I was OK with the twist ties.

Until.....

Unicron.....

 

Holy shit do I fucking hate the new plastic bands they use now. Call me a wuss if you want, but I dread opening Hasbro figures because I never have a pair of well-sized scissors around, so I have to tear the figure out with my bear hands, and it is not fun. I've cut myself various times with those things.

To be honest, (holy shit i say that way too much) I kind of liked the massive buildup and anticipation I got while undoing the mass amounts of twist ties on larger figures. The ones with metal wire inside them also had some utility to them, but I think the paper ties were the best overall.

 

Why not just cut the ends of those bands off from behind the bubble with some snips or nail clippers if you're worried about damaging the figure?

 

I can't stand these elastic bands either. They're tiny and, when clipped, get everywhere. I say go back to the paper ties. Those were not bad in hindsight.

 

I guess your prayers were answered. My TR SDCC Fort Max was packed with the cardboard twist-ties.

 

I HATE the current plastic bands.
I have to use my knife to cut them, the bits get all over, and I risk damaging the figure. Trying to remove a figure with just your bare hands is nigh impossible.

I wasn't a big fan of the wire twist ties, but the paper ones were fine. I sure wouldn't mind going back to them.