Which is exactly why a kickstarter campain would be the most viable option. Come up with an estimate as to what creating the figures would cost including the license and set that as the goal.

Just a moment...
http://www.kickstarter.com/hello?ref=nav


When we did it for a band we knew, they had a goal budget of $10,000... they raised over $30,000. The pledges were tiered so that if you pledged $20, you get a copy of the album, $40 and you get an autographed copy, $60 and you get the autographed copy plus a button and sticker, $100 and you get all that plus a T-shirt, $200 and you get all that plus a thank you in the credits, $500 and you get all that plus execitive producer credit, etc.

You could tier it with trading cards, extra figure parts and accessories, stickers, maybe different artwork on a backer card only for kickstarter backers, or multiple figures, etc. In this way, some fans might actually essentially preorder for $1,000 instead of just the individual figure cost. They get some extra bonus stuff and the ability to fund the project.