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Looking for advice on pulling/pushing pins out of transformers. Right now I use pliers and penny-nails but it is hard work and I sometimes hurt myself or the figure. Any help or direction would be great.

Well there are several methods/Techniques.

Tools: On Amazon.com I ordered a watch pin removal kit, which helped a lot with removing the pins that aren't stuck in that hard. Pilers are a must, as is a hammer and a strong enough pin to pound in.

Methods:
1: First off, if you don't already know, make sure that the side you're pounding on is the side without teeth digging into the plastic. This is important as it holds the pin to the plastic, and if you hammering out from the teeth are closest to then you'll be dragging the teeth all along the plastic. Not only will it be a royal pain, but it may loosen up the hole for the pin.

2: Some say that putting the plastic figure itself in boiling plastic makes the pin come out easier. However, I find this method doesn't work all that well, especially for the longer pins.

3: This method is what I find to be the best with troublesome pins, and that is heating the pin up. It warms up the plastic, which allows the pin to come out easily. You can use a smoldering iron to warm up the pin. However, be sure not to touch the plastic itself with the iron.

I use the boiling method, myself, and it works fine for me. A lot of the pins have a gripping portion which are designed to hold the pin in place. If you can displace that part first, then the pin should come the rest of the way. I use a mini-screwdriver with a caliber roughly equal to that of the pin for the shoving part.

That soldering-iron idea still scares me...