Hot Toys putting Sideshow to shame.

With the release of the new Joker from Hot Toys, which is by far the pinnacle of 12" figures IMO, it seems Hot Toys is on a mission to show Sideshow just how to do a 12" figure the right way. With every new wave of figures from Hot Toys including the Dark Knight, Predator, Planet of the Apes and Iron Man, they continue to upstage Sideshow in almost every way possible. The figures are so incredibly life-like with amazing paint and basic application of features. This leads me to ask, what is Sideshow waiting for? Why are they letting Hot Toys pass them by in a trail of dust like a fart in the wind?

My hobby consists of collecting any and all things related to Raiders of the Lost Ark and it pains me to see so many incredible figures being put out by Hot Toys because I need to stay focused on my true hobby even though I desparately want most of what Hot Toys is putting out nowadays. I can't stray or I will continue to stray further. Still, somewhere in the back of my head, I'm wishing...no, wait, praying that Sideshow will dump the Indy license and hand it over to a company who will put all of their effort, heart and soul into an amazing line of Raiders figures and continue it into all 3 other Indy films. Sideshow just can't keep up with the level of quality presented by Hot Toys yet their prices continue to rise.

What is the cause of all this? Is Sideshow short on hiring solid talent across the board? Is it a lack of care from upper management? Do they just accept decent sculpts and ideas over sending it back to the drawing board to get better, dare I say...perfect? Don't get me wrong, Sideshow has come out with some amazing stuff but overall they don't hold a candle to where Hot Toys is at right now and they don't seem to concerned about it. Even Sideshows incredible stuff (Indy PF) still had problems out of the box and issues that needed addressing but in my mind those issues should have been addressed long before these items went into production. Most of what they put out is just short of wonderful and needs attention right out of the box.

I remember years ago when I first saw Sideshows stuff in person I was completely blown away by them. Now, in such a short period of time they've been left in the dust by a company that really seems to take this seriously. So, where did they go wrong and what can they do to improve? Do they care enough to improve? Do you think that every new announcement from Hot Toys will push Sideshow to strive to do better or are they just happy where they're at, being middle-class citizens instead of the top spot they once held?

What say you?

I think the biggest issue for Sideshow is they need to step up their paint work. The clothing (most of the time), accessories and sculpts are fantastic. But the paint work, while great 5 years ago, has really fallen behind.

Using the cast-in-color heads has helped, but not getting rid of the doll-dot and not having enough QC over the paint is really hurting the final figure. The prometheus was step in the right direction, but they need to get the paint work closer to HT.

Well it is evident that both company's have in some way merged duties and share licenses so I don't think HT's is deliberately trying to undermine Sideshow in that aspect.

I would imagine they meet to every now and then to distribute duties in respects to each license, it seems the norm that SS would do the bigger piece and HT's the 12" figure. Not all the time but in most cases.

SS's body has also been upgraded so that should be some sort of proof that technologies are being shared.

Even the best Sideshow figures look like dolls, which they are, of course. However, all of the latest Hot Toys are so incredibly life-like it's scary. The only thing that gives them away is the sculpted hair. While I do agree completely that much of Sideshows clothing app's are very good, they're still steps behind Hot Toys and most of SS's sculpts generally resemble the characters while HT's are just DEAD on.

You are stating what is already well known here.

HT is damn good, but not always dead on.

Are you just noticing this now?

Personally i just don't think SS is that good at 1/6, and also like to try to take the cheap ways out. They're not just putting SS to shame, they're putting everyone almost to shame. IMO SS is last in the high end 1/6 dept.

I don't think SS will be doing 1/6 much after SW.

HOT TOYS is the king when it comes to 1:6 scale.

SIDESHOW is the KING at everything else especially 1:1 (my favorite line)


both company's have my vote.

I couldn't agree more that SS's PF figures are the bomb. It just sucks for me that the only one I really, really, REALLY wanted still had issues out of the box.

Personally i just don't think SS is that good at 1/6, and also like to try to take the cheap way out.

Click to expand...

I agree and I wonder why this is?

I don't think that it is Sideshow slacking, so much as Hot Toys single-handedly raising the bar so high. Sometimes, its just not possible to compete with someone that pulls so far ahead of everyone else. However, as long as SS can keep licenses like Star Wars and GI Joe away from Hot Toys, they will still be able to sell their 1/6 stuff. To me, quality is great, but I buy stuff based on the license, and if Hot Toys were just releasing generic army guys, I wouldn't care about them.

All I collect is 1/6 Star Wars Stuff and if Hot Toys was making them I would sell all my SS for Hot Toys. Just about all of my SS 1/6 Star Wars heads have been repainted. I hate the SS paint aps. they SUCK. I'm hoping SS is taking notes from Hot Toys.

EVILFACE said:

HT is damn good, but not always dead on.

Click to expand...

Pretty much. They make some dang nice stuff and a lot of it is quite impressive. The same 4 me can be said with Sideshow. I just simply kick back and enjoy what I'm getting from both companies as it makes collecting more fun 4 me at least.

but you have to take into consideration the price difference between HT and SS too... I think SS prices are on par with their quality, and so does HT. Which is good for me because I cant cope with HT because their stuff is just gettin better and better which makes it hard for me NOT to buy. Which is good, but the prices are crazy! Maybe they should pace themselves better. I think this would in turn boost their sales. This year? Too many!!! pred, dutch, J.connor, T-600, hellboy,abe, joker,godfather.... TOO MANY AT 1 TIME!!! WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE? SS on the other hand takes it slow and easy, which gives us time to get some moolah to spend on them again!

Price is always a factor, what you have to decide what you want on the shelf.

Which of these would you want on your shelf to show off?

Sideshows Hellboy?


Or Hot Toys version?

Sometimes, its just not possible to compete with someone that pulls so far ahead of everyone else.

Click to expand...

I don't buy that. Why can't they pull ahead? If the sculpts are lacking, hire new sculptors. If the paint is lacking, hire new painters. It seems cut and dry to me.

I think Hot Toys can charge a bit more for the superior quality and I'd be willing to pay more for a figure that is pretty flawless right out of the box, as it should be. We shouldn't have to adjust things, buy new clothes or paint them up. This is part of the production process that I just can't figure out what Sideshow is doing. For instance, Belloq's tie. How simple is it to check out the film and see his tie was never that short, but if you want to to look right we have to take it upon ourselves to adjust it. It should have been addressed somewhere in production that it was too short and adjusted in the production process, not when we get it out of the box. Hot Toys doesn't seem to have many of those problems where SS is full of them. Unless there is something I'm not aware of (and there may be) I just cannot figure out why this is?

On another note, the price of many of SS's figures is going up with quality remaining neutral.

EVILFACE said:

Which of these would you want on your shelf to show off?

Sideshows Hellboy?

Or Hot Toys version?

Click to expand...

Nuff' said. HT rulez, SS droolz.

ofcoss the HT one!
but cash... I would be able to buy it... if only HT paced themselves...maybe one series at a time? That would be nice. Gives me time to recuperate cash wise.

Now granted, there is about a 100 dollar difference between those 2, but still, it's what you want on the shelf.

EVILFACE said:

Now granted, there is about a 100 dollar difference between those 2, but still, it's what you want on the shelf.

Click to expand...

$100 and about 4 years

But, I had bought the cigar version and while it was decent enough, as soon as I heard HT "might" have the license I sold the Sideshow one.

SOLIDSNAKE said:

HOT TOYS is the king when it comes to 1:6 scale.

SIDESHOW is the KING at everything else especially 1:1 (my favorite line)


both company's have my vote.

Click to expand...

just imagine what would happen if hot toys started making premium formats and 1:1 stuff.

now i know expertise in 1/6th scale doesn't necessarily translate into larger formats, but i'm dead certain ht would learn very quickly and then blow everyone away with their quality.

True, there are some years, and I don't think SS Hellboy would look that bad now, but still they handed them off to HT for a reason.

And it is one of the few characters produced by both companies that can be shown side by side.