Missiles & Launchers

[chewy]

I leave them out so that the missiles don't shoot out and go skidding under the bed when I go to reposition my figures!

[racerguy76]

Originally Posted by Richter

This is why automotive springs sag over time, etc.

Automotive spring sag because they have been overloaded. Compressining them beyound thier usable range. Also driving on rough roads, the spring being in consant action very long period of time are another cause. Spring sag always comes back to abuse. If you never drive the vehicle and just let it sit, the sag will not be noticable in our lifetimes.

[Shepp]

I used to store missiles in the guns while on display. That changed one fateful day when a Megatron figure (Titanium G.I.Joe) took a dive from the top shelf and caused a domino effect.

This was in the middle of the night, roughly at 3 AM.

Woke up and scared the crap out of me because it activated a number of light and sound features, as well as caused many missiles to launch all over the place.

From that moment on I store most accessories that aren't required along with the instructions.

And I now remove batteries immediately when I get a figure.

[Richter]

Originally Posted by chewy

I leave them out so that the missiles don't shoot out and go skidding under the bed when I go to reposition my figures!

Better reason right here :P

Ya I think Echo is right, springs will lose thier springyness if the launcher in question requires you to over-compress the spring to lock the missile in place. Other, better designed launchers won't require you to overcompress the spring and therefore won't do any long therm damage.

So, taking this into account, what's the verdict?

[Bruticus82]

Originally Posted by chewy

I leave them out so that the missiles don't shoot out and go skidding under the bed when I go to reposition my figures!

Best answer right here. I would also have accepted "so they don't go skidding down the air vents" and "so they don't get lost in my piles of laundry".

[racerguy76]

I leave all of mine out. As stated in the previous thread about this topic all of mine go into a chinese takeout box. Air vents and dirty laundry are good enough reasons to leave them "uncocked".

[GMfan]

....you sleep on that Transformers bed with Optimus pillow? :P

[Scrapper6]

I've long kept the springs in the launchers when they are on display or in storage. I haven't had any problems with most of my figures... Energon Sixshot fired his missile without me touching the damn thing earlier this week though.

And Energon Slugslinger's launcher wouldn't allow the missile in anymore. So I pried the thing apart and removed the spring (the firing mechanism accidentally came out too and I'm not sure how to get it back in since the tip of the launcher is glued on and I already stressed out the damn thing just taking the thing out... SIGH) This allows for the missile to remain in place unless he's pointing straight down, which isn't going to happen in robot mode or vehicle mode unless the launcher is flipped down behind his back in robot mode.

I lose the functionality of the launcher, but maintain the ability to display the figure.

I also removed the spring from my Beast Wars Scorponok because the claw wouldn't stay in there in claw mode. It won't stay in there now for certain poses where the claw is angled downwards I'd wager, but he can stand in robot mode with two claws. Sure I lost the functionality of the Cyber Bee launching gimmick, but Scorponok was a second hand figure anyway with looser springs. (Since he didn't come with his missiles I can't even tell if those springs are also loose.)

That being said... I may reconsider my policy of leaving the missiles inside of the launchers for extended periods of storage. (IE Years and Years of being in big rubbermaid bins) I already remove the Beast Wars missiles... and the Beast Machines ones, so it isn't like it's a total bad idea.

While on display however I'll leave them in. (If the spring fails... then it fails. And if necessary I might just remove it, but that's only if it fails.)

Sure it decreses the value of a figure, but I won't be letting any of them out of my hands until I'm dead anyway or at least I'd wager I won't be. So it's not a big deal.

Here's something to consider though... What about Armada Cyclonus' Mini-Con activated missile launchers?

[racerguy76]

Originally Posted by GMfan101

....you sleep on that Transformers bed with Optimus pillow? :P

Heh. No actually my dog does.

[TMIIWonkoNemises]

Originally Posted by racerguy76

Heh. No actually my dog does.

Adorable.

I didn't know there'd be consequences to leave the missiles in.I usually keep all the accessories in because I fear losing them.I'm still keeping them in,even though the springs will cause problems over time,but hey,their toys....all toys need to be either worn down or broken,for kids and collectors alike.