1/6 Yoda

Collector Freaks Forum

Help Support Collector Freaks Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

JustinLuck

Super Freak
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Messages
3,949
Reaction score
0
Yoda was mentioned a few times in the podcast thread, but because of the controversy, I think he deserves his own separate discussion.

Some people have mentioned that they think Yoda should only be around $30 because of his small stature. But it must be remembered that the only reason Sideshow can offer most human figures for around the $50 price point is because they use standard pre-designed Sideshow bodies. Any character like Yoda would require a whole new body design. And to make the body articulated, like the standard bodies, would significantly increase design and manufacturing costs.

But why would you want a fully articulated Yoda, you may ask? Just because he is smaller than most characters does not mean he should lose posability. When I visualize Yoda, I first think of him on Dagobah in ESB. From that movie alone, think about all of his various stances. He pointed his walking stick in numerous directions to show body language. He crawled on his hands and knees while rummaging through Luke's belongings. He piggybacked over Luke's shoulders during training. He sat cross-legged on the edge of the swamp while Luke handstanded and lifted rocks. These are only a few of many classic poses he had throughout the saga.


When I think about the worth (cost) of a character, I think about the importance of the character to the overall Star Wars story and the innovativeness in the features and design of the figure. I think most can agree Yoda is extremely important. He taught Luke about the ways of the Force after all! And what has never been done before? A fully articulated Yoda of course! Numerous detailed models of Yoda exist, but no matter how detailed or good looking they might be, they all lack one thing--proper articulation!
 
Yeah, but your argument about the cost of making a whole new body only holds water if you were to assume they weren't ever going to use it again. There have been numerous discussions about small scale bodies and other characters to use them for, from cantina aliens Snaggletooth to Kabe, to Ugnauts, Jawas, a Chucky from Bride of Chucky, Puppet Angel from "Angel", to even Nick Knack from Bond- They'd get their money out of that body. If they charge more for a character on a tall body, which makes sense, it's only right they charge less for one of the "little people" bodies.
 
Yes, but even though all those characters that you mentioned are short, I'm not sure they could all share the same body type. Considering only the Star Wars characters for instance, Jawas are quite a bit taller than Yoda. So are the Ewoks. Wicket is shorter than most Ewoks, but his body shape is still quite a bit different than Yoda's.
 
Tom did address the problem of "perceived" value in releasing a Yoda figure. The same sort of discussion came up when discussing the LotR 1/4 scale. People think hobbits in 1/4 scale should be cheaper than say, Luke or Leia. But the sculpt costs the same, the development of the body costs more and the costume is more complex. They save a few cents in raw materials but overall it's just as expensive as a full size character.

The situation is maximized (excuse the pun) with a 1/6 figure as the development on those is far less expensive than the PFs because of the standard bodies.

But we've seen with the Buffy line that SSC is willing to make sacrifices. (How much profit can their be with a figure that has only a 750 run?) So I'm sure they'll do Yoda as he should be done, but we and they will have to make compromises for it to happen.

Just as I have no problem with a properly done furry Chewie that's $150, I have no problem with a Yoda that's $50 or more - as long as it's done right.
 
It doesn't mater to me how Sideshow delivers him, as long as it's in 1/6 scale, Fully articulated, costumed and accessorized accurately, has a perfect head sculpt and paint job, and is done in both Prequel Trilogy and Original Trilogy versions, I'll be very happy!
If that means I have to buy Dagoba Luke with him and another character for the NT Yoda, or that he costs $50+ individually, whatever it takes is okay with me.
 
Last edited:
Dave, it appears that most of us here understand the expenses and are quite willing to pay what is necessary for a great rendition. Do you think "perceived" value is really a problem? I think that demand will far outweigh the few who may balk at the price.
 
Do you think "perceived" value is really a problem?

i think it will be. i know you are passionate about having a fully articulated yoda, regardless of the price, but i think you're in the minority. sure everyone wants a high quality yoda figure, but i think sideshow correctly recognizes that not everyone is gonna want to pay $50 to $70 for him.

if you can get your fully articulated yoda, and get a really cool bespin luke at the same time, what's the problem? if sideshow slaps a $100 price tag on that 2 pack, the average fan might be more wiling to make that purchase. :peace

i'm actually happy with the two hasbro yodas i have. the sidehsow version would have to be really awesome for me to buy him. or i would get him if i could only get bespin luke or mace windu by buying the 2 pack.:cool:
 
I never collected Hasbro 12" because the quality just wasn't there. I would much rather pay extra for high quality workmanship than to buy inexpensive figures that are seriously lacking in many departments (paint job, articulation, detail work).

I still don't understand the argument that Yoda should be cheaper just because he is relatively small. Shouldn't he have the same amount of articulation as the other Sideshow figures? His character was just as mobile as any human (if not more so!). This will require a new body type. Hence the higher cost even though he physically may be smaller. Who wouldn't want Yoda to have a ball joint neck, shoulders, hips, along with elbow and knee joints and swivel arms, torso, ankles, and wrists? It's never been done before and this articulation alone would give a Sideshow Yoda undeniable value! I have a feeling his popularity is greater than some people might think.
 
I never collected Hasbro 12" because the quality just wasn't there.

well, the two hasbro yodas i have are very well done. sure they are not super-articulated, but the sculpts are top notch. they are much better than the average hasbro figure. speaking of hasbro, i seriously doubt sideshow will be able to top hasbro's R2-D2. he is near perfect. definately a high point in 1/6th star wars.

I still don't understand the argument that Yoda should be cheaper just because he is relatively small.

you and i understand that just because yoda is 1/4th the size of a regular 12 inch figure, he won't be 1/4th the price, but i'd wager we are in the minority. and i think sideshow realizes this.

I have a feeling his popularity is greater than some people might think.

sure yoda is popular. but it's unknown if the average person will be willing to pay what he's worth.

if you can get your dream yoda, but have to buy a regular 12 inch figure with him, would that be so bad?
 
captain sack said:
sure yoda is popular. but it's unknown if the average person will be willing to pay what he's worth.

if you can get your dream yoda, but have to buy a regular 12 inch figure with him, would that be so bad?


That is why I think the average consumer could be informed through proper advertising. The product description could highlight all the extra detail and workmanship that had to go into the figure. Statements that emphasize the design of a new articulated body and other innovative features could relate to the price increase. This product description could be listed where ever the figure is sold.

I would have NO problem buying Yoda with another figure. But what makes me concerned about "2-packs" is that I don't know if there will have to be compromises made to either figure because of a 2-pack price threshold. I'm not sure if a $100 2-pack is reasonable. If Anakin costs $55 because of additional accessories, I'm sure Yoda with a new articulated body would cost quite a bit more. And I don't want Dagobah Luke being sacrificed in quality. I hope to see him with a proper outfit (tank top included) and high quality facial sculpt that resembles Mark Hamill during those scenes. So he would cost $50 minimum.

OK, here's an idea for an appealing Yoda sold by himself:

How about multiple facial sculpts? Even as a puppet, Yoda was a VERY expressive character! If they released a Dagobah ESB Yoda, how about three or four different heads?

1) One neutral head with his classic look in ESB while sitting on a log.

2) One head with a concentrated expression, with eyes closed, while he lifts the X-Wing out of the water.

3) One where he has those 'evil' looking eyes and says "You will be, you will be..." in a deep menacing voice?

4) One with a surprised look (along with bugged eyes), like when he gets zapped by R2! Remember that?? Man, the ESB Yoda puppet's personality and realistic body language is heads and tails above any CGI character they made in the prequels. :Sigh: Aw, the memories...:angelsmil
 
Last edited:
Another question would be - is the new 12" license announced tomorrow LotR?
Because if it is, smaller standard bodies suddenly aren't a development done only for a Yoda and perhaps an Ep1 Anakin, but it is a development which has to be done for multiple characters...namely all the Hobbits.
That would let the dev. price of a piece like Yoda drop significantly.........
 
The design for yoda would be unlike any other character for Sideshow to produce. First there is the matter of his height. Yoda is slightly over 2' tall (about 2'2"), even little people of different types aren't anywhere near this short except at an early age. Yoda also reminds me of people who have a condition known as achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism in which limbs are disproportionately smaller than the average human being in relation to their body. Perhaps a better example would be that of an infant since Yoda's limbs aren't too out of the norm, except perhaps the legs, but he does appear to have a larger head in relation to his body than normal for an adult, much like a baby would. This would create another challenge since Yoda's height is already half that of the average adult who has achondroplasia, meaning his limbs and body may have to be made shorter than any other character. These reasons are probably why Yoda was a puppet and later a cg effect in the films, meaning no one living could portray him (actually, someone perhaps could have at a young age, due to Yoda's height [actor Verne Troyer of Austin Powers fame is 2'8" in comparison] but the search might have been extremely difficult). Still I think Sideshow might be able to cut corners in his design by making small stature figures, either of children or little people (midgets, dwarfs, etc.), and then trimming off the excess from various limbs or taking those parts and shrinking them. This may still require new pieces specially built for Yoda to be made, and may sound somewhat simple in theory, but I wonder if this would be truly cheaper and quicker than designing a new body from scratch? And would it really work?

As for how much I'd pay for Yoda, I only want Yoda (right now) from "Empire Strikes Back", so what I'd pay would depend on which version came out and when. Of course, how he looks and what he comes with would matter too. I purchased some weiners Dragon (Dragon Models Limited) made to give him whenever I finally bought a Hasbro Yoda figure, but it seems I may be reserving them for Sideshow's when he eventually comes around. I like having multiple accessories even though I usually don't care to display many of them with their respective figure. I too would want a highly articulated Yoda, and if that means a higher price point than one might expect, I won't mind, just as long as I think, or Sideshow, more importantly, thinks it's justified.
 
Last edited:
I trust sideshow will do the right thing and make Yoda to scale and fully articulated. I don't mind paying the regular price really as long as he comes with decent accessories, which will sell the figure. Sometimes smaller is more expensive because it is harder to paint and everything has to be customized in some way. Can't wait.
 
I would SO pay $150 for a decent Chewbacca in heartbeat! Why do I feel any of the odd sized characters would be years away though?

For the 13"/14" SS dolls, aren't they basically the same torso as a regular body with arm and leg extensions added? I would figure most smaller characters could also use the same little person torso, with different arm and leg extensions to adjust. I can see where Yoda MAY be too small for that. I think a few different heads packaged with him specific to the movie they are making him from would be a brilliant solution.
 
Even a hobbit body would be too tall for Yoda and I doubt the torso or any other part could substitute.

I like the idea of 2 or more head sculpts for Yoda - a fighting expression and a contemplative expression would be my choice.

And I do like the OT Hasbro Yoda I have, it is a great sculpt even if he can't do much but hold his cane. But no way this little guy is going to face off against Sidious.
 
$150 for a chewy? I'm not much of a fan then cuz i'd rather save that money and add it towards a PF. it'll prolly be worth that much, but i'm out.

But the Yoda, 40-45 is not right to SSC. i'd imagine 60-ish with the usual exclusive, and non-exclusive versions. I dunno about the multi-expression yodas to help add to it and get people to spend more for it. to me, it kinda defeats the purpose.

i had to snicker though...

"there's the pissed off yoda look, there's the constipated yoda look, and then there's the "my jedi master lightsaber, get me ...bad mofo on it, it has...yeah,...my bad mofo, it is"

The part of Yoda will be played by Samuel L. Jackson, and the part of Mace Windu will be played by Super Grover!...er...i mean, Frank Oz.
 
There are those of us who enjoy poseability and therefore we have no interest in the PF line. Even if I had $400 lying around, I know I would not purchase a PF sculpture, but would highly consider an expensive 1/6 articulated figure.
 
Back
Top