Is Hot Toys becoming more mainstream?

I just saw a Ford commercial promoting guardians of the galaxy vol. 2, and at the beginning the Hot Toys logo can be clearly seen on a box with a lifesize baby Groot figure that a guy is giving as a gift to his girlfriend. Its clearly not the actual box the figure will come in, and I'm not sure if its the actual figure either, but the fact that the Hot Toys logo is clear as day in a Ford commercial in the U.S. makes me think that Hot Toys is no longer "our little secret" as figure collectors. Thoughts?

Saw that too. I thought it was cool actually.

Is mainstream bad? Is is like a band "selling out?" Opening up your products to a bigger audience seems like a smart idea to me. No different than Sideshow having products in Big Bang Theory.

I think it kills the rarity of a product , but that's success. I don't know if I would collect as many at these prices if I knew they were highly mass produced and could be found in clearance areas down the line. I would just shop the secondary market, like I do not for most of the TFA lines.....mainly because most were over produced....

Actually picked up Phasma for 150 brand new. Likely due to over production.....feel sorry for those who paid 249.00


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It's probably a good and bad thing. Good because the audience grows and maybe HT starts tailoring their choice of products closer to the American appetite, so to speak, and less toward the Asian market...more Aliens, Terminator, Batman '66 and others and less Iron Man, Iron Man, IRON MAN.

Of course the other side of that is it could also mean greater exposure could push them even more toward the popular mainstream characters.

Lee in MI said:

It's probably a good and bad thing. Good because the audience grows and maybe HT starts tailoring their choice of products closer to the American appetite, so to speak, and less toward the Asian market...more Aliens, Terminator, Batman '66 and others and less Iron Man, Iron Man, IRON MAN.

Of course the other side of that is it could also mean greater exposure could push them even more toward the popular mainstream characters.

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More Disney!

xipotec said:

I think it kills the rarity of a product , but that's success. I don't know if I would collect as many at these prices if I knew they were highly mass produced and could be found in clearance areas down the line. I would just shop the secondary market, like I do not for most of the TFA lines.....mainly because most were over produced....

Actually picked up Phasma for 150 brand new. Likely due to over production.....feel sorry for those who paid 249.00


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Honestly is any of the new stuff coming out by any company really "rare?" Individual items may have a small production run but now days it seems like if you miss something there are 20 other figures / statues of the same character just as good to pick from. And if it means I can get something for cheaper just by waiting a few months than that's good for me.

Once I saw a CNN special on Hot Toys a few years ago, it had hit the mainsteam...

EDIT: Found it on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Dvl3RD3BM

It's not necessarily a bad thing, and it's not like a band "selling out," it just makes it less of a hidden gem for collectors. When I first started collecting, I had no idea there were better—and more high-end—figures than what you could find at Wal-Mart. I just had a craving one day for a super-detailed and highly accurate Iron Man statue. So I did quite a bit of google searching until I stumbled upon Hot Toys. I had no idea an action figure could look so amazing. "Screw statues," I thought...and so it began.

So I guess my point is that I love seeing the awe on people's faces when they see my collection and their first time seeing a Hot Toys figure. Most people, when they think of an "action figure," they picture a cheap toy that can be found in any store's toy aisle. I guess by them going more mainstream, more people will know about them, and it will kind of lose it's specialness IMO.

And yeah, part of the thrill of collecting was being able to snag something before it sold out. Going more mainstream will obviously increase production even more than it already has in the past couple years (I think the last time I saw a pre-order sell out quickly was the Stealth Mark VII), meaning that just about everyone and their brother will have one. Again, losing its "cool factor." IMO.

For now, I'm happy about it. I feel like some of the more recent announcements have stayed at the 220 or so price because of the brand being so popular and I think it enables Hot Toys to not inflate their prices too much more anytime soon. Will the prices go up? Of course eventually but maybe we can still ride the 220 or so wave through the end of 2018 at least.

HT just posted about this on their FB page, so seems like its definitely coordinated.

Maybe this is Disney promoting them? Kinda worried about them getting too cozy, Disney can't get close to anything without putting a ring on it

It's because of the Little Groot figure. There's a lot of people interested in it even though they are not figure collectors. It isn't really the same thing as collecting 1/6 HT though imo because Groot is life size.

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Buy what you love, not because of some perceived "rarity", and you will always be happy.

Stryker2011 said:

More Disney!

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This..

Becoming more mainstream? Hot Toys is mainstream.

I think no matter how "mainstream" or recognizable the hot toys brand is or becomes it won't really change things. Most people will still be shocked by a $200+ doll/toy because they aren't collectors.

Mr Walker said:

Buy what you love, not because of some perceived "rarity", and you will always be happy.

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Amen!!

Yup no longer a rarity or hidden gem.

Put them all up for sale.

They just opened their flagship Mainland store INSIDE Shanghai Disneyland. That should tell you quite a bit about their relationship with the Mouse House and their full-on embrace of mainstream. The shear price point will maintain some exclusivity but lets face it, Star Wars and Marvel are absolutely mainstream now. People who ten years ago would have ridiculed grown men buying Star Wars merchandise now are wearing SW and Marvel clothing, dresses, back packs, accessories.

The benefit for collectors are bigger/deeper lines being produced (like background characters, multiple/outfits versions of characters, potential vehicle releases, etc) but also with larger runs being made R&D and development costs are stretched across a much larger release base which hopefully will improve quality and lock in the price point where it is.

Also I feel that with a much larger eye on them, including that of LFL in a different way and stars of the movies themselves, they will strive to put out the best product possible (albeit this did not work that way on the new Chewie so there goes that theory).

I still can't walk in to, Target or Toysrus to buy one off the shelf, so no.