Balrog vs. Grey Hulk - which will rule $$$$$$

Howdy folks! A bit of pointless speculation to stir up the
opinions on what will be the ultimate Sideshow "grail" piece?

In the first corner - Sideshow's Balrog Statue:

Original price: $300 + s/h (but could be got at a discount unlike GH)
Edition Size: 1000
Highest price sold for: One went for over $4,000 at one point.

And in this corner - Sideshow's Grey Hulk Exclusive:

Original price: $325 + s/h
Edition Size: 50
Highest price sold for: $1,600 so far and it has just been released.

My question to ponder is this: Which of these two behemoth's will
"rule the roost" as the Ultimate Sideshow Grail Piece price-wise?

My vote is for the Grey Hulk, due to it being significantly more
limited in availability - supply and demand - but I'm curious what
others here think on it. I think it'll only get more expensive as time
goes on but again - I'm just having fun tilting at windmills here.

Throw in your opinions!

JS

You forgot add in Gray Ardeth

... IMO, Balrog will dominate for now. Some are still paying 2-3000 for these bad boyz, considering the fact that there was 1000 of it made.

Both items with high price. But imo not worth their money....

Let the Balrog win! :chew

The only thing that's appealing about the Grey Hulk is the ES. If you did a poll as too which looks better the Grey vs Green dioramas, the Green would run away and hide. This would be a contest if it were the Green that had an ES of 50 because it looks 10x better.

With that said, the Balrod hands down. The Grey isn't even the best looking version of it's sculpt.

Darth Loki said:

The only thing that's appealing about the Grey Hulk is the ES. If you did a poll as too which looks better the Grey vs Green dioramas, the Green would run away and hide. This would be a contest if it were the Green that had an ES of 50 because it looks 10x better.

With that said, the Balrod hands down. The Grey isn't even the best looking version of it's sculpt.

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I totally agree. Gray is rare and will always command higher demand and price but the gray color does not contrast very well with the base and washes it out IMO. Green looks much better as it sets off the entire piece.

*Puts his money on the Balrog*

I think in a few years Gray Hulk will dominate.

Hulk and Spidey are two of the most popular characters Marvel has. Once the Vs line gets rolling with 10+ pieces under it's catalog people (most likely newcomers) will hear the tales of Gray Hulk. About 10 of these have been accounted for on ebay already. Once the quick flips die out on ebay you'll find collectors that shelled out $1,500 for a statue very hard pressed to give theirs up. Supply and demand comes in.

50 of these is not a lot. Balrog is cool and all but most people have no idea who he is. Spidey and Hulk are still very recognizable and with movies currently coming out they remain hot properties.

How many of the people who bought it for $1500 are going to ever sell it for much less than that?

The ones that are available will be inaccessible very soon. As this line grows in the future, how many new people will get into it, and how many of them will be completists? There are only so many to go around, and several are accounted for. People who really want the gray exclusive have very few options.

If 1000 Balrogs can allow the price to get past $2000, is it impossible for only 50 Hulks to do the same? I think the key is the continued growth and acceptance of the line. The Balrog was part of a larger line with many completists. For the Hulk to go through the roof, there need to be more Marvel VS. completists. Time will tell...

My thoughts are a lot of people have gotten into collecting statues and such because of the LOTR statues and have branched out from there. And for alot of them the Balrog will always be the grail of grails to have.

But if you look in the comic statues/collectibles area there are a lot of high priced grails. And alot of them have edition sizes of a couple thousand.
If you look back a lot of people thought why order the exclusive SS Marvel pieces they will be a few dollars higher or most likely under retail on the secondary market. The comic collectible market is pretty big market and Sideshow seems to have proven itself with the Marvel license to were their pieces are really gaining ground and fans.

SS is doing a great job so far with the Marvel stuff they are keeping the edition sizes low plus are having some of the industries best talents doing the pieces.

So I think the Balrog will maintain its value but I don't think it will ever get back up to $4000
I think the Gray hulk will pass the Balrog in value because it was an instant grail, and the Green one will also be up there in value just not as much as the Gray.

Viking28 said:

So I think the Balrog will maintain its value but I don't think it will ever get back up to $4000
I think the Gray hulk will pass the Balrog in value because it was an instant grail, and the Green one will also be up there in value just not as much as the Gray.

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I wonder though, with the Balrog there is no other real option (the Baby is a VERY different piece). With the Hulk, there is a better looking green statue out there.

The grey hulk will definetely go up in value. The SS Marvel vs. line is picking up really good and more and more people are becoming interested in it. All the completist are trying to snag this piece so down the line it will be really hard to get, therefore, increase in value.

LOTRFan said:

I wonder though, with the Balrog there is no other real option (the Baby is a VERY different piece). With the Hulk, there is a better looking green statue out there.

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The argument of there being a different version (even if it's better) assumes that the collector mentality is rational. We all see how a variant, either in comic book covers or a paint job in statues, commands great money regardless of there being a cheaper alternative out there.

A collector will seek out to complete the set. Painting a Green Hulk to make it gray doesn't work either for the same reason. No matter what hole is trying to be filled by customizing, the owner will always know is not one of the fifty and it will bother him to some degree.

We collectors sure are crazy, aren't we?

I Just got the Gray Hulk today and let me say it is impressive much more than the pictures show!HUGE I LOVE IT One of my favorite statues! This is the HULK I wish I could afford to get the green version!ARGGGGGGGGG

Viking28 said:

I Just got the Gray Hulk today and let me say it is impressive much more than the pictures show!HUGE I LOVE IT One of my favorite statues! This is the HULK I wish I could afford to get the green version!ARGGGGGGGGG

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Trade ya even up!

JS

Nope not going to happen, I've always liked the Gray Hulk and this statue is awesome! The size still blows me away. But if I did have a green version I think I would display one of them without Spidey.
10 out 10 my score for the statue!

Seeing pics of the green is torture right now. I still have to wait 4 agonizing days for this thing.

Give Hulky a 1000 ES and you would get it for 200

B A L R O G rulez!

Give Hulky a 1000 ES and you would get it for 200

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I WISH!! I would love to get a regular one for 200 or less! When you actually look at it this does have a 1000+edition size
50 of them are gray
500 of them are green w/light
750 of them are regular

I don't have a Balrog or a Gray Hulk, so why are we even discussing this..

I really don't get it... it's the exact same sculpt!!

If someone REALLY wants a grey Hulk, find a professional, he will repaint the Green to look exactly like the Sideshow Grey one for $80 at most...

If the Grey would have been a different sculpt, with a flat head, that would be another thing.

I love my collecting hobby, although I spent more than I would have EVER believed, but come on... There is a point of ridiculousness. How many are on this board who would plunk down, let's say $2500 for Gray, when they could get Green Exclusive for $800 and have it repainted for $80? Well, maybe if you are still in your early twenties and mommy and poppy are financing you, it's all good. Or if you are someone with more money than sense...

You are paying $1500 more that someone got paid $5 in China to paint in the first place.

On that note, I am getting the Green Exclusive, should be here in a few days.

Beren

P.S. Sorry for the burst, but with the escalating violence in the Middle-East, I'm starting to feel kind of stupid with my hobby...