Leaving Hot Toys behind...

[enyawd72]

Well, after debating it for a long time I decided to get out of collecting Hot Toys figures. I've already sold five of them and canceled another six I had on preorder with Sideshow.

I've long had a love/hate affair with Hot Toys. They are simply some the best looking figures ever made...but, and I know some may disagree with me...I think they are terrible toys.

The outfits, joints, swappable hands etc. are all so delicate, fragile, and easily damaged they have basically no play value as far as I'm concerned. I'm afraid to even pose my Spider-Man figures for fear of tearing the delicate rubber webbing covering his suit. If I try to raise the arms on a couple of my figures they won't budge and feel like they're going to snap off at the shoulder.

At the end of the day, I decided they're just too expensive to sit there on a shelf doing nothing. I get much more personal enjoyment out my old cheapo Toy Biz figures. I'll take fun over flashy any day.

CAPS.jpg

[Boywonder0]

I've disagree with you before but man are you right with this! I have a Keaton Batman which I don't dare to pose as I feel the rubber suit may brake. Also have an Adam West Batman which I have to touch, ahem, with gloves... Even Hot Toys sent a little note with the figure stating how fragile his suit is... Imagine displaying a $200+ figure with a pull or a run...

If you can't pose your figures that renders them statues... And I hate statues... I am anyhow very selective with Hot Toys and don't pick everything they offer. But if I ever felt tempted to grab their 1:6 Star Wars figures their poor quality had convinced me otherwise...

[MegoSteve]

I really like Hot Toys, but I agree, too. They've definitely raised the bar on the design, but their toys' fragility is stunning. It wouldn't bother me as much if they stood behind their $200+ products, but they don't. Every single one of those First Avenger Captain America shields is peeling or will peel, and I haven't heard a peep from Hot Toys about it.

I think that in a few years, collectors are going to be really, really disappointed by what they can get for their older Hot Toys figures in the aftermarket.

[palitoy]

I've heard from an industry insider that those suits will break down and not to buy any.

[kerowack]

I picked up the classic batman and robin and called it a day. They are beautiful in my glass case and probably the safest toys in the basement as far as a fire sale goes, but it get more of a kick out of he funko stuff than I do the average hot toy. I'm honestly much more disappointed in the Star Wars black series. They've mailed it in for almost a year now and the newer offerings are meh. I bought jedi Luke simply out of the obligation to the collection....I won't be doing that again. I'm cherry picking the entire line from now on. I'm passing on yoda based on early shots....freaking yoda!!!

[4NDR01D]

I've heard from an industry insider that those suits will break down and not to buy any.

"Rubber is like humans, it's fine stuff, but it will rot"- Ray Harryhausen

[Hedji]

There's nothing worse than a purchase that makes you feel foolish. And Hot Toys has done that a bit. The pricing is nothing short of obnoxious. I bought Batman and Robin, and there are times when I think I'm a sucker for doing so. But it's worse when, with normal, collector-careful handling, you put a snag or run in the tights. Then you feel REEALLY foolish.

The Star Wars line is ready to gain steam, and I'm happy to watch the train go by I think. When you're looking at $500 for two dolls (Han and Chewie), you really have to question why you work so hard at the job where you earn your money.

Yes, they look beautiful. But… they're supposed to be toys. At some point everyone will have every character ever dreamt of and the market for these will fall out. It has to.

[Gorn Captain]

I can't blame you.
I'm very careful with my HTs (I have six, which I've traded), but already have three with damage. The leg protectors of my Predator snapped off without the slighest pressure put on them. And don't get me started on the Cap America shield. The paint flakes off when you dust it (which I do with a light brush). Drake's smart gun is beyond delicate, I don't dare move him.
They are things of beauty, but over-priced and over-fragile.
Action figures should have a range of motion, it's included in the description "action".
I'm very pleased that they got the SW licence. I hope everybody now sells the Sideshows that I have on my wantlist. They will go to a good home!

[warlock664]

I can understand where you're coming from; for what they cost, it would be nice if Hot Toys figures were more durable. For me personally, though, the "play" value isn't important. I treat these as posable statues: I put them in a specific pose, place them in a glass cabinet, and pretty much leave them alone.
I read threads on individual figures on the Sideshow Freaks website, and if there are specific limitations or problem areas with one, I treat them with kid gloves (literally with the '66 Batman, I handle it with gloves on). I haven't had any problems with suit deterioration on any of the figures I own yet, although I do own a few Batmen that I'm watching closely. My First Avenger Captain America shield hasn't started peeling yet, but I haven't handled it since putting it in a display case, so it certainly may at some point.
For me, the appeal of the Hot Toys figures is the attention to detail in the costuming and the (mostly) incredible, life-like sculpts. While I have some nostalgia for the action figures I grew up playing with, for the most part the Mego aesthetic no longer appeals to me. I'd rather display more detailed, realistic figures than play with durable, simplistic toys. That's just my preference, though, and is counter to the thinking of most people here, I imagine.

[Mr.Marion]

I see their appeal. If somebody has a Theatre room I can't think of figures that would look better in a display case. That being said they aren't my bag. I Enjoy the marvel movies but don't love them enough that I want to buy $200 highly detailed film accurate statues/dolls of each one.

[The Batman Professor]

I'm done after the '66 Batmobile. If that is never released, then I'm done now. Overpriced to the point of parody.

[MIB41]

Collecting is always going to be subjective. When I think about the high-end priced figures, like Hot Toys, my expectation and reason for paying that high price is for it's accuracy in appearance. So I understand the materials used are going to be scrutinized more on appearance than for play value, which they were never made to be. Hot Toys figures ares limited-articulated statues in realistic costumes. In my book, they are absolutely made for appearance first, and limited posing second, but never for play. They're limited edition pieces of art that never fail to impress when people see them. So, for me, their pricing and sustained market value seem to go hand in hand. If they were overpriced based on demand, then the secondary market would soak that up and ultimately undermine the front line pricing strategy. That's not happening. Most go up in value.

I think where I find the irony in this, and a bit of tunnel vision, are the demands people then put on figures not even a quarter of that price (and even less in aftermarket value). And where price IS involved, they astonishingly choose to look the other way when vendors try to sell "limited edition" figures with a few gimmicky bells and whistles to jack the price through the roof, even though common sense and logic says you can buy the 40 year old original for the same or less cost. Where are the mass critics for that screw? And my opinion on that topic is not aimed at Dwayne or anyone specifically in this thread. It's just a contradiction I read in certain circles that just makes my eyes roll. Everyone is certainly entitled to an opinion but when it comes to pricing, I think you have to look at your competition and the product offered and make sound decisions that go beyond simply wanting something. Every Hot Toys figures I have I could profit handsomely if I sold them all today. I can't say that for the eight inch counterparts that get so much more scrutiny put to them.

[enyawd72]

I think they're worth the price for the craftsmanship, but I just hate that once you have them in hand you can't really do anything with them.

It's like marrying a Playboy bunny who's taken a vow of abstinence. Doesn't matter how beautiful she is if you can't touch her!

[Gorn Captain]

I do realize they are mainly for display, and aren't going to see much action, but I don't understand why they made their materials so fragile.
Toys from the past have shown us that there are materials out there that can take some (gentle) handling.
If I buy a car, and the paint comes off in the carwash, I'm going to be unhappy and complain.

[MIB41]

I do realize they are mainly for display, and aren't going to see much action, but I don't understand why they made their materials so fragile.
Toys from the past have shown us that there are materials out there that can take some (gentle) handling.
If I buy a car, and the paint comes off in the carwash, I'm going to be unhappy and complain.

I think allot of the fragile material comes from having to meet not just the look, but texture of the real thing. Plus I think sometimes people confuse fragility with lack of quality. You can't put a Mego style suit on a Hot Toys figure, anymore than you can take a Mazaradi into a Maaco paint shop and expect a $200 paint job to serve it justice. We're talking about two entirely different functions here. And if we're going to be entirely honest in the origins of figures like Mego, those were virtual rack toys in the beginning, selling for barely $2.00. There were no quality assessment for collectors when these figures were made back in the 70's. They were cheap toys meant to be played with, so they were built accordingly. Of course, anyone who put them through the paces realized some lasted longer than others, but none of them were indestructible by a long shot.

Today that same figure made "new" has been manipulated into a "collectors item" where people of my generation and up are forced to pay inflated prices for those "memories". To me the truth of those memories really lie in those old figures, not these new ones. But I'll pay median prices for the perceived thrill of buying something comparable to the old ones my parents bought me. That has it's value... to a point. But I do have a ceiling on what I will pay for a NEWLY made, mass produced, figure. A brand new figure should never cost as much, or more, than a vintage figure. Even with the meaningless extras thrown in. I find that kind of treatment detrimental to the hobby and essentially an insult to people who celebrate it's memory fondly and with genuine respect. To me when you pay homage to a figure, you celebrate everything that made it good, including it's accessibility to kids. The latter has been virtually stripped clean save for a few who take pride in being competitive. If John Doe working out of his garage can make a figure for a price that competes or beats a company that makes ten fold more, there's a problem. And that's the cancer in this 8 inch format right now. And that's with all of the licensing rational figured in.

Hot Toys has had it's share in that, no doubt. But I think it's reached a ceiling for the moment on prices for the average figure (not specialty figures like the Hulk). And plus those figures can be an investment if hard times, or a change of mind calls for them to be liquidated. I haven't suffered any buyer's remorse on any of them yet. I think they're like a good stock. If you lose interest, you can sell them off and make a little profit in the process and move on. But it's nowhere near the bottomless money pit that most Mego-style figures are today. That's why I'm just buying really the ones I truly want. The "collect them all" philosophy is a scary thought in this market and one I don't want to get so addicted too, that I lose track of what I'm buying and why. With Hot Toys, it has to be a very iconic figure for me to buy it. So I'm especially picky in that department.