State of the Star Wars Sideshow backlash?

I'm new to Sideshow 1/6 scale figures, but when I recently found out about them, I knew that I had to start collecting them. In the last month or so, I've managed to pick up almost all of the Star Wars line (with the exception of the Endor troopers and the EU figures) and I've started on the Lord of the Rings. I love them.

Anyway, in an effort to educate myself, I've been reading some of the older threads on the board and I came across this one. It's from last March, back before Sideshow had actually released any of their figures, and the gist of the thread was that some Star Wars fans were upset about the way Sideshow was going to be handling the line, largely because of the price of the figures and because they were limited edition. Not being very in touch with the SW collector scene, I was wondering if this feeling is still present.

Also, a number of people in the thread mentioned how only a few thousand of a figure wouldn't be nearly enough to meet demand, and implied that only the most dedicated or richest of collectors might be able to get them all. My own experience has been that it really isn't difficult at all to get Sideshow Star Wars figures on the secondary market (the exclusive versions are a little trickier, admittedly). I picked up all of my figures with two exceptions for less than retail -- sometimes a lot less. (The exceptions were Jedi Luke, which I got for $70, and Obi-wan, which I paid retail for.) Do you think that the figures are less popular than some people predicted? If so, why?

Too many figure and too much hype maybe. I know when the line was announced a lot of SW collectors jumped on board because it was new and exciting high end Star Wars line of collectibles. Once the new faded off a lot of people stopped buying and dumped their existing collections. Sideshow with the success of earlier sales increased edition sizes and price (which did not help the figures sales). A lot of people decided to buy from the secondary market instead to save money. I still love what Sideshow is doing with the Star Wars line but I usually wait and get better deals after the initial release. I don't particularly think they are worth what they go for on Sideshow's website, now if they updated their body I would pay probably a bit more even. Either way I hope the sharp decline in value doesn't hurt this line because a lot of these figures really rock.

Wow, my posting technique has changed much since then...

I think the situation is a little bit different from then, the cost of figures has gone up and people are kinda unhappy about that, I don't have a big problem with it, although it's nice to have a lower price if I have enough for a $55 figure then $60 probably wouldn't be too much to pay either.

Limited Edition isn't an issue since sometimes people are concerned if they are making too many figures and should have a smaller edition size. And Sideshow has been pretty good about having a large enough edition size for each figure.

Amir said:

Too many figure and too much hype maybe. I know when the line was announced a lot of SW collectors jumped on board because it was new and exciting high end Star Wars line of collectibles. Once the new faded off a lot of people stopped buying and dumped their existing collections. Sideshow with the success of earlier sales increased edition sizes and price (which did not help the figures sales). A lot of people decided to buy from the secondary market instead to save money. I still love what Sideshow is doing with the Star Wars line but I usually wait and get better deals after the initial release. I don't particularly think they are worth what they go for on Sideshow's website, now if they updated their body I would pay probably a bit more even. Either way I hope the sharp decline in value doesn't hurt this line because a lot of these figures really rock.

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Well stated Amir, I feel the same...Especially when you can buy a figure for $20 from Hastings...

I am one of those that have fun with my collection. All my figures are removed from box. Whether does the price of my collection soar, doesn't matter to me. If one is more concern about making money, I guess its better to invest somewhere else. I have never heard of anyone making a living out of investing in toys.

SSC has been fantastic with transforming the original Hasbro Star Wars 12" line to what we see now. I am quite sure I will continue to purchase every single piece of the SW 1/6th scale line the way things are going.

Puay said:

I am one of those that have fun with my collection. All my figures are removed from box. Whether does the price of my collection soar, doesn't matter to me. If one is more concern about making money, I guess its better to invest somewhere else. I have never heard of anyone making a living out of investing in toys.

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My question wasn't so much about the investment value of the toys as about the future of the product line. I like the fact that I was able to pick up most of my figures at a considerable discount, and I don't plan to sell them so in that sense it's good. But when limited edition products like these don't maintain their value and when they aren't selling out for quite a while (at least the non-exclusive versions) it's generally not a good sign.

icruise said:

My question wasn't so much about the investment value of the toys as about the future of the product line. I like the fact that I was able to pick up most of my figures at a considerable discount, and I don't plan to sell them so in that sense it's good. But when limited edition products like these don't maintain their value and when they aren't selling out for quite a while (at least the non-exclusive versions) it's generally not a good sign.

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I always felt one the reasons that this line is not as popular as it ought to be, being the lack of knowledge of its existence. Casual collectors especially have little chance to come in contact with SSC's product. Like yourself, you came to know about this line after a year and a half from its initial release.

Exactly, i only found out about this line back in june, And have since picked up Luke jedi, Obi-wan, Darth Maul, Leia Boushh, A rebel commando, Sith anakin, Plo Kloon, Kit Fisto and mace windo. I've got Luke bespin and The palps two pack on pre-order to boot.
I learned of star wars at the same time, and purchased Bruce campbell as ash, and two of the dead figures

i've also customized a luke jedi, Made an Aurra sing ( work in pprogress) and I'm working on a general kenobi and a'sharad Hett as well. Not to mention my Commisioned Sith Luke from Hurricane.

Had I known about the line sooner, I'm sure I'd have all of them, and a ben and leia on pre-order. I've only purchased ones I MUST have, and others as i find great prices.

God bless being a full time college student with a full time job for Goof-off money, gas for the car, and a cell phone

Hey lerath666, maybe we should start a thread on 'How and when did you know of the SSC SW 1/6 line?'

As one who has been collecting these since the beginning and having every single exclusive version of each figure, I have to say that the line seems to be slowing down in popularity a bit. I think my favorite thing so far has been Jabba, I mean for all of you who have him go take a look at his awesomeness. Now I do think once Sideshow start releasing Vader and Troopers it will gather steam quickly.

Without the element of surprise there is little excitment for us fans.

The recent releases has been predictable in a certain sense, all popular characters in standard 12" figure bodies. Not to mention, they are all humans. Its getting a bit boring.

Give us something different that we would least expect... a couple of Jawas, a Gamorrean Guard, General Grievous, a Tantuan, Sand people... and we will all go crazy again.

It's hard for me to say that interest in the line is sagging, because I've known about it from the beginning, and my interest only increases. I've only owned Obi-wan and Anakin until the last month, and now I either have all of them or they are on pre-order (with the exception of three, which are being held by a friend in Texas).

Looking at them all together, I can say that it's a very nice collection of Jedi with an interesting selection of odds-and-ends characters (most of them Jabba-related) thrown in for good measure.

Taken as a whole, the line doesn't really form any sort of cohesive whole, though, does it?

Well, that's to be expected. They're releasing these things in ones and twos, after all. So it's gonna take some time for the overall series to take shape. It's not like the Sideshow/Weta LOTR statues, which, initially, were released in waves. This is a collection that one has to build, and to have patience in the building.

I don't think the line is at risk. It's a cash cow. Sideshow looks at sales in the long term, I think, and so they don't worry overly much if a few figures hang out in the warehouse for a year or two. Eventually, history has shown, any stragglers will go away to eager collectors and/or customizers. It's just a matter of being patient.

And just look at all they have yet to do! Armored figures galore! You can bet on a Armies of Star Wars trio of Stormtrooper, Snowtrooper, and Scout Trooper, as well as a trio of Clone Troopers. Vader is coming, as well. And any company that can give us the Bubo creature pack can certainly release a 1:6 Yoda.

The key to maintaining interest is to maintain the quality, which becomes tough to do when key artists like Andy Berkowitz are lost to companies like DC Direct. If they can hang on to the others like Oluf (whose work is amazing!), then there is still hope in that regard.

Other than that, maintain the quality control on the paint applications. Let's not have any Star Wars Faramirs, please.

Star Wars fans are everlasting. I see no reason why the SS 12" line shouldn't continue for quite some time. Besides, if it doesn't, we've already got enough amazing figures to constitute a beautiful collection.

heres an advice:


DONT EVER TOOK TOO SERIOUSLY WHAT IS BEING SAID IN THE STAR WARS SECTION.THE PEOPLE HANGING THERE ARE RETARDED.WAIT FOR THE NEXT SW FIGURE TO BE ANNOUNCED,YOU'LL SEE WHAT I MEAN...

Shai Hulud said:

DONT EVER TOOK TOO SERIOUSLY WHAT IS BEING SAID IN THE STAR WARS SECTION.THE PEOPLE HANGING THERE ARE RETARDED

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Dude, you do know you're "hanging in the Star Wars section," right?

it's the non-elitists bringing the line down. damn them.

all collectibles (for the huge majority) can be bought at a discount if you wait, especially SW because there are so many companies releasing them.

My attitude is if its a quality and must have SS 1:6th release then I usually will buy direct from SS

If its something I can do without Ill watch on the secondary market

Ive found the must haves increase in price or at least go on the secondary market the same as on SS and the "can do withouts" decrease

Sometimes my opinion on the must haves and the do withouts hasnt been bang on

But then again Im not selling atm any parts of my collection so Im not that bothered

Im happy with my purchases to date apart from a nieve buy in the beginning of my collecting career on an Ultimate Villain (paid £50 for it)

Monk said:

Dude, you do know you're "hanging in the Star Wars section," right?

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Shai is "a retarded" too!

Monk said:

It's hard for me to say that interest in the line is sagging, because I've known about it from the beginning, and my interest only increases.

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I would say interest is fine as well. I don't see it sagging just people approaching things differently like waiting for a better price. 4 me my interest only keeps getting higher with each figure. I love whats going on and am excited by what I'm seeing in this line and the LOTR line as well. I feel they're worth buying direct from SS. I think you get every pennies worth but thats just me. I truly enjoy collecting these figures and look forward to all that is to come especially with SS and HT working together.

What is going on in the Sideshow line is a natural trend. Big explosion followed by a settling.

We see that with the price point and the edition sizes. No biggie to me. Its still the juggernaut of Sideshow.

pixletwin said:

What is going on in the Sideshow line is a natural trend. Big explosion followed by a settling.

We see that with the price point and the edition sizes. No biggie to me. Its still the juggernaut of Sideshow.

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Bingo.


Another point is that there have been quite a bit of "Jabba's Palace" specific releases which, if one has not purchased Jabba, would really not be as appealing. I passed on the whole Jabba set because I did not want the palace to be my main focal point in 12" SW figs, so each subsequent "Palace" release has been skipped by me, for the most part. The figures may indeed be amazing, but because I don't wish to recreate that scene, interest is lacking. By the way, this line DEFINITELY needs some armored figures in a big way (Storm/clone/biker scout/Vader,etc...)