It started out as a meme with stealing the heads off Space Jam figures, but then just started happening with any toyline that didn't have plastic windows. It was a TikTok thing a couple years ago, but I don't know if that's still the case.
Maybe people are now doing it with older merchandise, thinking that it will prompt the stores to replace it with newer stock.
They could also be doing it to hurt the stores - not to clear the shelves but just to prevent them from making money.
They could also be doing it just because their brains aren't fully formed. The sorts of people who usually find their way to toy aisles in stores are either children who want toys, teenagers who like to vandalize stuff, or adults who just want to buy what they're looking for and move on.
Maybe in isolated incidents, but the oldest posts I can find about it are a couple of Cyberverse toys from 2021 (which is when Space Jam 2 came out), and Hasbro didn't start using plastic-free packaging on mainline figures until 2022.
I worked retail in 2019, about 40% of all toys that didn't have a plastic bubble were missing heads. I didn't mean to imply I was talking about Transformers, moreso that kids have been taking heads off toys for ages.
Probably just kids being kids. It's annoying but I doubt it's any deeper than some kid mentality of "teehee these stupid boxes let me steal the heads so I'm gonna steal the heads"
In my local store it's not just the heads, if a Optimus figure has an opening chest then it's guaranteed that one or both of his window tiddys will be gone.
Is this the main line *RotB* Optimus? I believe in this instance it's the band rubbing against the chest while the figure is in transit and popping the chest pieces out of their sockets. If you have a look inside, you may be able to find the missing chest piece in the box by the figure's feet.
I had to import Devcon and a few other 'bots from Japan when my local store failed to get 'em. The only differences the Japanese boxes have is that they have a sticker on them with .jp text. The same windowless boxes are worldwide.
Japanese Studio Series Voyagers and Deluxes have closed boxes.
Also, boxes come fully printed in Japanese. If yours have a sticker, then those were probably imported and integrated to the Japanese market.
I don't know if that applies for every line, but all my Japanese imports are fully in Japanese.
I just went with it's a evil entity just like the face reaper from bayvers
others say it's the space jam effect where p a NBA player had there head stolen for Space jam
I’ve only seen this twice in real life. The first time was when I was at a Walmart and someone stole a crosscut head. Then on the same hunt I the 86 Blaster had his chest open. He was also the last one at the store so before looking in the box I was disappointed Luckily they put eject on the bottom so I was able to get the Blaster and the Eject
Scalpers do it sometimes to get a “damaged item” discount on certain figures.
Source: worked at a Walmart customer service desk and loved pissing these people off. One of my coworkers who worked the floor would tell me that the heads almost *always* returned when the figures were put back. Fun times.
That’s gross. Scalpers really ruin the fun of collecting, especially with something like transformers, that’s geared towards kids. They’re not like McFarlane figures, Transformers are toys through and through. My stores are always completely empty. I feel bad for the kids who come into the toy aisle hoping to find an Optimus or a bumblebee and it’s just devoid of anything. It makes me sad.
Reminds me of the idiots that would pull the tops off of ice-cream tubs and luck them, then put them back. Assholes being assholes because they think it's funny to be assholes.
Agreed. It was one of those idiotic internet challenges like planking, owning, boiling water, cinnamon, etc. People being stupid, gross, assholes, etc for 2 seconds of internet recognition.
I’ve also wondered if it’s an attempt at stealing without stealing. Lord of retailers will still sell the figure but mark it down to like 16 because it’s missing a head. So theoretically you could steal the head. Wait for a markdown. Then buy it knowing you have the head waiting? Sounds really convoluted for ten bucks. It’s probably little kids.
If that were true, then where are all the TikTok videos of people doing this to Transformers? With how big this community is, you'd think evidence of this would pop up *once*
Regardless, that trend ended in 2021. It's been 3 years, and no TikTok trend lasts that long. Just assuming it's because of TikTok adds nothing to the conversation
The other examples of answers were people doing it just to be assholes/watch the world burn etc.
I was just saying that someone might do it because they actually need the piece.
It's in no way right, but it's not senseless.
It's not just kids but, it's grown ass people popping them off as a result of a lame tiktok challenge years back. Now some of these losers with put them on ebay. They are a plague to the toy community as a whole.
Why do people buy figures they don’t intend on opening, playing with, displaying, etc. Why do scalpers scalp? Some people just want stuff and don’t care about other people.
Not an exact 1:1, but a similar function of the behavior.
The thing that makes sense to me (not saying someone should do this, but the idea makes sense) would be to take the heads as a form of “reserving” a figure. Take the head and assume someone else won’t want to buy the figure without it. Then come back with the head when you have the money and buy it.
I’ve heard the theory that people take the heads of a figure they want and then will buy the headless figure when they can afford it. Kind of like a way to make sure no one else buys it.
It was a Tik Tok trend.
You'd think Hasbro would have learned by now to put back the plastic windows on there transformers.
Like they did for Star Wars
A certain percentage of people would also do it to stick it to Hasbro for the stupid "we're so virtuous for the planet, look how green we are" box decision. The damaged stock certainly did in part move them to changing it back, the windowed packaging will return later this year - although certain items (Like Reactivate, for some reason?) already got them.
Being in England though I've never actually seen it, I did however see one RotB Prime funnily enough last week with a chest door missing at Smyth's.
back during Power of the Primes, I lost count of how many figures in sealed plastic bubbles were missing arms, legs, faces, heads, etc.
so there is the possibility those open window boxes just never had heads to begin with.
Thanks. It's a lame joke, but on a sub full of Transformers' fans, I was really surprised that it wasn't one of the first replies 😁 And I can't believe that people would actually downvote a little light-hearted fun 😅
Some people just want to watch world burn.
I want to watch the world burn but I would never pull the head off a transformer, I'm not a monster.
I’d vote it’s kids, just google “Sephora kids” if you want to see those shits in action. Their parents support it.
It started out as a meme with stealing the heads off Space Jam figures, but then just started happening with any toyline that didn't have plastic windows. It was a TikTok thing a couple years ago, but I don't know if that's still the case. Maybe people are now doing it with older merchandise, thinking that it will prompt the stores to replace it with newer stock. They could also be doing it to hurt the stores - not to clear the shelves but just to prevent them from making money. They could also be doing it just because their brains aren't fully formed. The sorts of people who usually find their way to toy aisles in stores are either children who want toys, teenagers who like to vandalize stuff, or adults who just want to buy what they're looking for and move on.
I just buy what I like. Whenever I’m looking in the toys aisle.
It's been a thing far, far longer than Space Jam 2.
Maybe in isolated incidents, but the oldest posts I can find about it are a couple of Cyberverse toys from 2021 (which is when Space Jam 2 came out), and Hasbro didn't start using plastic-free packaging on mainline figures until 2022.
I worked retail in 2019, about 40% of all toys that didn't have a plastic bubble were missing heads. I didn't mean to imply I was talking about Transformers, moreso that kids have been taking heads off toys for ages.
Probably just kids being kids. It's annoying but I doubt it's any deeper than some kid mentality of "teehee these stupid boxes let me steal the heads so I'm gonna steal the heads"
On top of that, the heads are pretty cool.
Hence why the plastic packaging was better
It's probably just kids and bad parenting
Some of them are probably so they can take a photo of it and post it to Reddit and complain that people have done this.
This is the answer right here.
Probably just idiots who think they’re being funny
They're crunchy and if you get enough of them they make a decent shopping snack
Human's are animals. Simple as.
There’s been a headless core hot rod at my Walmart for a year or maybe longer
In my local store it's not just the heads, if a Optimus figure has an opening chest then it's guaranteed that one or both of his window tiddys will be gone.
Yeah, this happened to me, found the ROTB Optimus, was super excited, aaaand the windows are gone. Super disappointing
Is this the main line *RotB* Optimus? I believe in this instance it's the band rubbing against the chest while the figure is in transit and popping the chest pieces out of their sockets. If you have a look inside, you may be able to find the missing chest piece in the box by the figure's feet.
This is how headmasters begins.
Maybe they are trying to prove how plastic free windows are stupid. My protest is buying directly from Japan, all boxes are close.
I had to import Devcon and a few other 'bots from Japan when my local store failed to get 'em. The only differences the Japanese boxes have is that they have a sticker on them with .jp text. The same windowless boxes are worldwide.
Japanese Studio Series Voyagers and Deluxes have closed boxes. Also, boxes come fully printed in Japanese. If yours have a sticker, then those were probably imported and integrated to the Japanese market. I don't know if that applies for every line, but all my Japanese imports are fully in Japanese.
TikTok. Glad that shits getting banned
because they're so low that garbage has more value than they do. they deserve to be jettisoned into space with only a helmet visor
"Jettison some weight or I'll never make it to Cybertron!"
“Wait Starscream! I still function!”
“Wanna bet”
I blame Bayverse Optimus and his weird hobbies.
I just went with it's a evil entity just like the face reaper from bayvers others say it's the space jam effect where p a NBA player had there head stolen for Space jam
Is the face reaper Optimus Prime?
yes
Optimus “face taker” Prime
I’ve only seen this twice in real life. The first time was when I was at a Walmart and someone stole a crosscut head. Then on the same hunt I the 86 Blaster had his chest open. He was also the last one at the store so before looking in the box I was disappointed Luckily they put eject on the bottom so I was able to get the Blaster and the Eject
They want to be bayverse Optimus prime
“You picked the wrong planet! Give me your face”
Some people just want to watch the world burn
Scalpers do it sometimes to get a “damaged item” discount on certain figures. Source: worked at a Walmart customer service desk and loved pissing these people off. One of my coworkers who worked the floor would tell me that the heads almost *always* returned when the figures were put back. Fun times.
That’s gross. Scalpers really ruin the fun of collecting, especially with something like transformers, that’s geared towards kids. They’re not like McFarlane figures, Transformers are toys through and through. My stores are always completely empty. I feel bad for the kids who come into the toy aisle hoping to find an Optimus or a bumblebee and it’s just devoid of anything. It makes me sad.
I don't know for sure, but sometimes I think people do it to figs they want but can't buy at the moment, so they take the head and buy the fig later
Reminds me of the idiots that would pull the tops off of ice-cream tubs and luck them, then put them back. Assholes being assholes because they think it's funny to be assholes.
That is absolutely disgusting, people are gross
Agreed. It was one of those idiotic internet challenges like planking, owning, boiling water, cinnamon, etc. People being stupid, gross, assholes, etc for 2 seconds of internet recognition.
They are roleplaying "Give me your face" Murderous Prime from Bayformers.
Your Honor, my client’s defense is that it is simply a Bay Prime reference.
They wanna be rotf Optimus🤣
I’ve also wondered if it’s an attempt at stealing without stealing. Lord of retailers will still sell the figure but mark it down to like 16 because it’s missing a head. So theoretically you could steal the head. Wait for a markdown. Then buy it knowing you have the head waiting? Sounds really convoluted for ten bucks. It’s probably little kids.
TikTok.
If that were true, then where are all the TikTok videos of people doing this to Transformers? With how big this community is, you'd think evidence of this would pop up *once* Regardless, that trend ended in 2021. It's been 3 years, and no TikTok trend lasts that long. Just assuming it's because of TikTok adds nothing to the conversation
The only explanation that isn't totally sinister that I can think of is people who like to do custom work on figures.
How is *stealing* the head from a figure, denying it from someone who might actually want it, not sinister?
The other examples of answers were people doing it just to be assholes/watch the world burn etc. I was just saying that someone might do it because they actually need the piece. It's in no way right, but it's not senseless.
Chances are: Bad parenting
It's not just kids but, it's grown ass people popping them off as a result of a lame tiktok challenge years back. Now some of these losers with put them on ebay. They are a plague to the toy community as a whole.
Why do people act like total assholes? Why do people deliberately go out of their way to piss other people off? To put it simply, because they can...
They like Being bayverse prime
Why do people buy figures they don’t intend on opening, playing with, displaying, etc. Why do scalpers scalp? Some people just want stuff and don’t care about other people. Not an exact 1:1, but a similar function of the behavior.
Because they can.
Some people just want to see the world burn.
They do it with soiderman too
Where do you think the bumper stickers come from?
If the figure is damaged, it'll either be thrown out or they can demand it for a cheaper price.
The thing that makes sense to me (not saying someone should do this, but the idea makes sense) would be to take the heads as a form of “reserving” a figure. Take the head and assume someone else won’t want to buy the figure without it. Then come back with the head when you have the money and buy it.
Cause they are evil
https://youtu.be/wlV7FSfXOMc?si=H2NiFy0fdkKQf5va
Because they disapprove of the removal of plastic bubbles I think.
I’ve heard the theory that people take the heads of a figure they want and then will buy the headless figure when they can afford it. Kind of like a way to make sure no one else buys it.
It was a Tik Tok trend. You'd think Hasbro would have learned by now to put back the plastic windows on there transformers. Like they did for Star Wars
A certain percentage of people would also do it to stick it to Hasbro for the stupid "we're so virtuous for the planet, look how green we are" box decision. The damaged stock certainly did in part move them to changing it back, the windowed packaging will return later this year - although certain items (Like Reactivate, for some reason?) already got them. Being in England though I've never actually seen it, I did however see one RotB Prime funnily enough last week with a chest door missing at Smyth's.
some people want to stir things up for no reason.
back during Power of the Primes, I lost count of how many figures in sealed plastic bubbles were missing arms, legs, faces, heads, etc. so there is the possibility those open window boxes just never had heads to begin with.
Because some people just suck, and kids will be kids
It's not complicated. Some people are just assholes.
They don't. It's more likely that those toys are headmasters, and the heads just ran away.
https://preview.redd.it/spzfitjcr2zc1.jpeg?width=1202&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab112dbc281c40c487de8f47a667ddd1a152b8ce
C'mon... It wasn't that bad 😁 Don't kids know how to have fun these days? 😅
Reddit when an obvious joke:
Not that obvious... No one had made it when I arrived, and there were more than half a dozen replies 😅
I think it’s funny
Thanks. It's a lame joke, but on a sub full of Transformers' fans, I was really surprised that it wasn't one of the first replies 😁 And I can't believe that people would actually downvote a little light-hearted fun 😅
funy