is Hot toys dying out? anyone get any good deals on them lately?

[enyawd72]

Hot Toys and Sideshow have effectively achieved Shock and Awe, but at the expense of sacrificing the Fun of collecting. They are amazing to behold, true. But it is impossible to feel good about yourself after dropping $250 on a doll.

Bingo. That is exactly why I've gone back to modeling. For $26 and a little work (which is actually relaxing and fun) I have a Batman '66 figure every bit as nice as theirs. (And equally fragile, but hey, it was $26 and not $200)

[MIB41]

I think it depends on the character in question. The Batman '66 figures seemed to get a lukewarm response which is really interesting when you consider how well the box sets are selling. But I guess it's like anything. The market drawn to the Batman '66 license may not share the same passion for a Hot Toys product. Just because something is popular doesn't necessarily mean it has a strong base for a high end figure. Hot Toys core market may be younger and less engaged with this specific license and so there is not enough demand to keep these figures at retail or above in the aftermarket. But you can take a figure like the last Jack Sparrow DX figure and it still sales between $300 to $500 a pop.

I think what IS wearing thin is the general novelty of having a Hot Toys figure. It use to be ANY Hot Toys figure was a big deal. Now it's becoming more license specific. There's enough saturation that even Hot Toys can underachieve on some of these releases now. And of course that will bleed to the aftermarket if demand doesn't feed that sector. I think the Batman '66 figure may be symptomatic of that. And like any hobby, there's ebb and flows. The diehards who have mass collections of these figures may be trying to make space, so some good deals can probably be found from time to time. The Mego hobby has certainly seen those patterns.

[The Batman Professor]

Hot Toys and Sideshow have effectively achieved Shock and Awe, but at the expense of sacrificing the Fun of collecting. They are amazing to behold, true. But it is impossible to feel good about yourself after dropping $250 on a doll.

I'm watching them attack the wallets with their Star Wars license, and though it pains me, I'll walk on past and take my seat back in coach, thank you.

You have summed up exactly how I feel. I dropped over $3k with Sideshow/Hot Toys this year on Batmerch, and I AM DONE.

If SS/HT have alienated me, imagine how many casual collectors have dipped.

[Hedji]

Hot Toys and Sideshow have effectively achieved Shock and Awe, but at the expense of sacrificing the Fun of collecting. They are amazing to behold, true. But it is impossible to feel good about yourself after dropping $250 on a doll.

I'm watching them attack the wallets with their Star Wars license, and though it pains me, I'll walk on past and take my seat back in coach, thank you.

[jayraytee]

I used to buy Sideshow star wars figures and civil war figures when they first were making them, correct me if I am wrong, weren't they more like $50 each back then? Or less?
Now they are like what? $200 each or something? I sold off what I had and quit buying the new ones. I can't follow a line at that price, not even partially.

[clemso]

HT are getting way too expensive from new. The Marvel movie figures will still do well and i think Avengers AOU Hulk buster, Vision and Ultron will be a must. Thanos and Ronan from GOTG would be cool. I can't see it failing. Some of the quality of the sculpts is a bit hit and miss though. Got Elder Pred 2.0 from a collector the other day, the detail was just crazy. Will still pick up the odd few up if i can afford it but yeah, not going crazy like i did last year.

[Gorn Captain]

If HT and Sideshow hadn't gone for the deepest recesses of our wallets, I think it would have been a different story.
I just got a handful (which I traded), and then stopped completely, and I think I'm not alone.
I almost caved in for Batman 66, but the fragile quality of the suit, and the price (for a guy in tights) again stopped me.

The only one that I pre-ordered was Sideshow Snake. Still really overpriced, but I love this character.

I think the reason that prices are going down a bit, is that collectors are saying "no thanks" for the first time. For a lot of people, when you can't "collect 'm all", they sign off and leave.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I was slightly sickened to see the 66 Batman and Robin marked down, since I already have them.

I think greed may have slightly deflated their bubble for them.

Chris

[Gorn Captain]

Is the HT output also going down?
Seems like they're not releasing that much stuff anymore (and if they do, with delays), and some figures that were announced (like X-Men First Class) never got made?

[madmarva]

I had given up on Hot Toys and Sideshows, but the steep discounts almost drew me back in. I resisted, but the discounts made the figures very tempting. Zod was calling my name, lol.

It's also going to be difficult to pass up Han and Chewbacca next year.

[torgospizza]

The one HT license I'm still hoping for is Universal Monsters.

I don't even want to daydream about that, because I think they're oblivious to it. It would be a huge money-maker for them (I'd buy three or four figures, at the very least, myself), but I don't know how familiar they are with the characters or realize how iconic they are in the West. It's pure speculation on my part, but if we'd ever get anything from HT, it would be the Universal reboot versions of the characters we have on the way. Having said all this, I really, really hope I'm wrong.

[enyawd72]

^You're absolutely right. Hence the 30 different Iron Mans. Yeah, Japan likes robots. We get it.

The one HT license I'm still hoping for is Universal Monsters.

[torgospizza]

I wouldn't be surprised if we see Cesar Romero, since they said they're going to make more Batman '66 figures (fingers crossed for a Batgirl), but I doubt if we'll ever get a Ferrigno Hulk. HT is really Asia-based in their tastes to the degree we'll probably never see a Conan (this is me guessing based on interviews I've read w/ Howard Chan), unless Arnold makes that rumored King Conan film. I don't think HT gets our culture--they know and love Johnny Depp, so we get a Tonto, but no Lone Ranger. Well, who's buying a stand-alone Tonto?

[enyawd72]

I think a lot of it has to do with the licenses getting stale...I mean there are 30 different Iron Man figures for crying out loud. Try doing something original with the Marvel license. How about instead of Iron Man #31 give us a Lou Ferrigno Incredible Hulk, or a Spider-Man 2 Doc Ock.
Instead of a seventh Heath Ledger Joker how about Cesar Romero?

[torgospizza]

I think Hot Toys will keep doing okay, since they're setting the standard; however, Sideshow will wind up losing some fans with how crazy their prices are getting. What I think is great is how other companies are trying to compete with HT quality-wise (I'm thinking of Art Figures' Dredd, f.ex.), but keeping the prices about half of what HT expects. The prices are getting crazy for HT and SS figures, so a lot of us have to really pick and choose what we're getting, but other options (like Kaustic Plastik's "Fantasy Warrior" kit [seen here and the expansion kit here]) are a nice alternative for a lot of us.