action figure accessories you hate the most

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Bobbi's picture
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Joined: 2009-10-14

At the moment, I have a special hatred of the tiny extras that come with Power Rangers - the little tiny ones that peg into their belts. Our boy takes those off and they are currently in a pile near my bathroom sink, just waiting to be knocked into the drain by a cat.

In general, I think my least favorite accessory was the Playmates Star Trek phaser that had the energy beam coming out of it. Those just never looked right to me. I think I disliked those even more than the neon-colored accessories that you'd sometimes end up with.

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Brian's picture
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Joined: 2010-06-07

Oversized spring load, neon colored launchers from the GI Joe line.

They never even make it out of the package with me.

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Rann's picture
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Joined: 2012-01-04

I quite agree about the neon pink rifles, etc...also GIANT rocket launchers designed to clip on to a figure's ankle!

...but frankly, it's a toss up as to which I hate more...unsightly, off-model accessories or those which CANNOT BE GRIPPED by the figure they come with! Sheesh! Why bother?

Another pet peave: getting far more accessories included with any figure than can be displayed with it. I mean, once their hands are both holding weapons, and their holsters and scabbards are filled, what do I do with the remaining tiny accessories? (And that would include alternate hands & heads I won't be displaying.) Sure, I can stick such remnants in little plastic bags, or even apportion them out to other likely "have not" figures, but I've always dreamed of a better solution, especially with higher end Japane$e figure$ which can be replete with accessories. There's got to be a better way...

For instance...my Mac Factory Guyver figures...I wish these came with stands that had provisions built in underneath (or even contained a little drawer) which could be used to store superfluous accessories...

Oh, and trading cards, whistles, tin buttons are NOT accessories, IMO...

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Joined: 2012-01-07

Rann wrote:
Oh, and trading cards, whistles, tin buttons are NOT accessories, IMO...

Yep. Right now, the stuff that interests me the most is 3rd party not Transformers. This stuff tends to be a bit pricey, and is obviously aimed at adults who probably have little interest in silly little cards with an image of the toy on it. Yet almost every company that makes these things includes one of those goofy cards with it. I don't like them, yet can't bring myself to throw them away for some reason.

Bobbi's picture
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Joined: 2009-10-14

Rann wrote:
Oh, and trading cards, whistles, tin buttons are NOT accessories, IMO...

I agree, although I have to admit that some of them I really like. I liked the trading cards in Playmates Star Trek, and LOVED that Marvel Legends used to include comic books.

The pin buttons, though? Those just end up in a box in the basement.

We used to have a lamp whose base was an empty mason jar - I filled it with the neon Star Trek accessories, but seem to have misplaced it in a move. Having said that, I bet Rob could find it in the basement in under five minutes. He's handy that way.

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Joined: 2012-02-07

I don't mind alternate heads and hands and such; the more the merrier, and I wish more toy companies did this. Also, my general thought is that the more accessories, the better, as long as they don't jack the price of the toy up too much. That GI Joe Pit Commando came loaded with accessories, which is great.

I will say as a kid I loved the characters who could store accessories, though. Destro could put his gun in his backpack, Cobra Commander could put his gun on his hip, and I was overjoyed when I finally found a Storm Shadow (which was really really hard to find as a kid) with all his stuff. Soundwave could store his guns (without the silver tip) and a cassette. So I do appreciate toys that can store their own weapons. Heck, as inaccurate as they were, I liked the storage shell turtles a lot.

Back to the topic, and going back to the added expense thing, I absolutely hated the accessories that came with the Young Justice figures. The smaller sizes had the pieces of the hall of justice which I never was able to complete, were hidden in the package, and I'm sure added significantly to the cost. And the bigger figures came with gigantic set pieces, which I still debate about throwing out since they take up so much space.

Oh, and these Transformers Prime mechtech weapons. And the Classics line does such a great job with their weapons.

Edited to add: Are you a Soul of Chogokin collector? That's what I was thinking about when you mentioned the stands holding everything. They do such a great job of getting the stand to hold every single accessory that it does spoil you.

Emerje's picture
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Joined: 2012-01-04

I like getting extra weapons, heads, hands, and whatnot, but I hate it when I feel like I'm paying almost as much for these things as the figure itself. Unless we're talking about something that takes a lot of work to produce these things shouldn't have effect on price.
Case in point: Transformers: DotM MechTech weapons. Hasbro used these to justify making smaller figures. They look awful, have no basis on the movie, and barely work the way they're supposed to. For the most part they've done away with them, but the figures are still smaller and the price has gone up even more.

Oh, and the ziplock bags that come with figma kinda annoy me, too. They're useful if you don't save the boxes, but are a pain to fit back in once you take the stand and hands out. For that matter the little cube that comes with Revoltech figures is pretty pointless, too. They aren't big enough to store most accessories, they're just kinda there.

Emerje

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Nebraska's picture
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Joined: 2012-01-03

I hate accessories that contain string. Ziplines, missle launchers, etc. The string just gets tangled up in the junk box anyways.

Also, I hate suction cups. Who needs suction cups?

BKP
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Joined: 2012-01-03

Bobbi wrote:
At the moment, I have a special hatred of the tiny extras that come with Power Rangers - the little tiny ones that peg into their belts. Our boy takes those off and they are currently in a pile near my bathroom sink, just waiting to be knocked into the drain by a cat.

In general, I think my least favorite accessory was the Playmates Star Trek phaser that had the energy beam coming out of it. Those just never looked right to me. I think I disliked those even more than the neon-colored accessories that you'd sometimes end up with.

I think I cut off every one of those phaser blast effects. But I still miss that line of figures.

I also hate every bow accessory with an arrow permanently attached.

Anonymous (not verified)

Build-A-Figure pieces. I rarely complete the figure. Even when I want to complete it, there is always one that is way too hard to find. I would rather have the figure be sold separately by itself.

Swift's picture
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Joined: 2012-01-04

I too hated the Star Trek phasers! They were truly terrible, and just looked awful. I'm also not a fan at all of energy effects or "in motion" or "using their powers" accessories done poorly, like the countless MU Iron Mans that came with that energy blast that didn't look right in the slightest, ever, much like the webbing that's come with plenty a Spider-man. It's usually too heavy and droops under its own weight or makes the figure impossible to stand on its own. I love extra hands and heads, but don't love finding a place to put them nor digging through parts when I want to change out the display. The biggest one for me though is when a figure has guns and no holsters, or even more frustrating, guns molded into holsters when they have a loose sidearm.

simian's picture
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Joined: 2012-01-03

I remember I really hated the projectiles that came with the figures for The New Batman Adventures. They just relied on you pushing the projectile out of a holder, with the tension built up by the size of the projectile and the holder causing it to shoot out. Dammit, if I'm getting a projectile I want something spring loaded. Anything else and I may as well just fling it myself.

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Collecting Heroes's picture
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Joined: 2012-02-15

I remeber a toy line that had action figures and vehicles on ziplines and stretchy strings that wrapped up on their arms. They always ended up in a jumbled mess. The concept was cool, but the exicution was terrible. They were in the mid 80's. I forget what they were called.

- Matt

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Collecting Heroes's picture
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Joined: 2012-02-15

Sky Commanders, that's what I was thinking of.

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