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Collecting => Customs => Customizing Tips and Tricks => Topic started by: Phrubruh on July 11, 2007, 03:38 PM

Title: Opening vtac clam shell without destroying it
Post by: Phrubruh on July 11, 2007, 03:38 PM
Any ideas on how to open a sealed vtac clam shell without destroying it?
Title: Re: Opening vtac clam shell without destroying it
Post by: Ruprecht on July 11, 2007, 03:42 PM
You'd probably have to catch a scalper douche in the act...
Title: Re: Opening vtac clam shell without destroying it
Post by: Jesse James on July 11, 2007, 04:08 PM
I slice only the bottom 3 heat seals, in the back, and very carefully.  This makes a sort of "flap" you can open to pull out the figure and the tab, while not being immediately noticeable.  It's my best suggestion to you Paul, hope it's of some help.  It's how I'm saving the clamshells to display with the cards...
Title: Re: Opening vtac clam shell without destroying it
Post by: Phrubruh on July 11, 2007, 04:22 PM
Are you cutting around the bottom three heat seals? I want to keep one of the cases for a future carded custom figure of my daughter simular to the one I made years ago for my son.

Actually, the easiest way I've found to remove the POPs without cutting the case is to bend back the back corner of the case and reach in with two fingers and pull out the POP. The plastic bends back again and looks like it was never opened.
Title: Re: Opening vtac clam shell without destroying it
Post by: Jesse James on July 12, 2007, 01:02 AM
What I do is cut around the bottom most 3 heat seals...  I cut in the back, kind of slicing in behind it between the two halves, then I just cut the "ends" of the back of the heatseal off (this is hard to explain, really).  By cutting the 3 bottom heat seals on the back then like this, you can just lift the back half of the clamshell up and slide the figure out as well as easily nab the tab of course.

It's not markless and you can obviously see the cuts to the bottom 3 heat seals, but they're small generally, and I keep them to the back of the clam shell of course so when the CS is hanging on display you can't see any cuts. 

It is just my way of keeping things displayable though, and I've found no perfect way of getting heat sealed clamshells apart unfortunately.  :-\
Title: Re: Opening vtac clam shell without destroying it
Post by: Darth_Anton on July 15, 2007, 09:43 AM
I cut the inside corners of the back of the shell with an exacto, the two side and the bottom. Sometimes the knife goes through to the front half, but regardless, it still looks good and hold together nicely for re-use.
Title: Re: Opening vtac clam shell without destroying it
Post by: Glassman6 on July 17, 2007, 11:25 AM
I just cut the center botom heat seal. Just cut around it. Then i slip the carded figure out of it and it closes back and looks fine, minus the cut piece.