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A question for all you collectors of small things in blister packs (eg Hot Wheels, Matchbox or whatever). Do you keep them unopened with blisters intact, or do you try to carefully extract them without damaging the packs too much so you can zoom the models round the kitchen table?
I'm a 1:43 collector, so mine almost always come in boxes/cases you can unpack easily and then repack afterwards without package damage. The only exceptions are partworks in blisters, which I try to open carefully, but it's always obvious afterwards that they've been opened. But partworks are usually cheap'n'cheerful, so it doesn't matter too much.
So what do you do with yours? Are there cunning tricks to opening blisters without damaging them??
I'm a 1:43 collector, so mine almost always come in boxes/cases you can unpack easily and then repack afterwards without package damage. The only exceptions are partworks in blisters, which I try to open carefully, but it's always obvious afterwards that they've been opened. But partworks are usually cheap'n'cheerful, so it doesn't matter too much.
So what do you do with yours? Are there cunning tricks to opening blisters without damaging them??
Due to a recurring lack of space, my 3-inch diecast cars are kept in their blister packs, and those are kept in boxes, but I try to open the blister first, as carefully as I can, just to see the car in my hands. From time to time I try to add some paint detail, but I haven't done that in years. And then they're back in their blister.
As for collectible 3-inch models sold in thick clamshell blisterpacks, mostly american ones, I make an incision on the reverse side with a hobby blade and try to pry the car out. It's a bit of a hassle, and they've lost their appeal anyway. I mostly stick with 1/43, apart from Matchbox, Hot Wheels and Majorette. And 1/87 models.
Speaking of Matchbox, the ones I find at Action are sold the vintage way: in a cardboard box. So the packaging is plastic free. But the end flaps are glued, meaning it's impossible to open them without damaging the box.
About 1/43 partwork models, they're often sold in plastic boxes these days, and those take more room than blisters, which can be stacked together when emptied.