General Hot Toys Discussion Thread

Figured I should make a specific thread to discuss any general Hot Toys updates, suggestions or anything in general.

Is it just me or does everyone thinks that HT is taking waayy too many licenses and producing so many protos etc and that they should concentrate in releasing more products.

I mean, they haven't even released comedian's official pics, or the rest of the watchmen members, for that matter. But they are already taking new licenses like Matrix etc. And announcing new figs (e.g. mark 3 BD, Astroboy, MMS DX, Mars Attack, a new T600 variant etc) almost on a weekly/monthly basis.

I think its bout time they start shipping those MMS DX Jokers, Marcus, etc.

Discuss!

I'm sure they can handle it. All the protos come from a different department. I'm sure manufacturing is where the delay is coming from. They have some of the best sculptors in the business working for them and they need to keep them busy.

They are a pretty savvy business, given their ability to anticipate precisely what the geek community wants out of a toy based on some really terrific licenses. Part of what makes geeks geeks is our ability to "geek out" at teasers and stuff that won't actually be here for a long while. We can speculate, b*tch and moan, rejoice, etc., and when something is announced many months before its release, anticipation is built up along the way. Another part of it is, we're never satisfied and keep wanting more crap we don't need, and most of us probably can't afford. Hot Toys understands this, and by stringing out releases in lieu of protos and new announcements is really giving us what we want, even if we don't realize it. Half the fun is in the build-up and the chase.

Could not have said it better myself. They are a business first and foremost and in a bad world economy have found a way to be lucrative and are going to exploit that by whatever means neccissary and I do not blame them one bit. They have revolutionized collector's standards and know they can not be touched. For lack of a better term, they're "hot" right now pun intended. They need to capitalize on their momentum as much as they can in t he next couple years while there is extreme interest in their product. They should put out MORE stuff. They will expand, strike while the iron is hot and hopefully know when to pull out a bit before the market is oversaturated. They make it, we buy it, they make money. Make no mistake about it they are in a business to make money and they would be foolish not to milk a hungry market for all it's worth.

If they did mars Attack I'd like to think there is a chance they'd do Farscape...

I don't care what they pump out, as long as they bring on more apes.

Expansion is a product of success. They've been quite successful at what they've being doing, and as long as they keep up the quality of their products, more power to them.

Plus, eventually, all this stuff is gonna come out. Just maybe not as soon as you would like. I wish I could say the same for my other major collecting addiction--Minimates. Seems like half their announced stuff doesn't get enough pre-order retail support, and gets cancelled.

HT is doing great IMO. I just wish they can get more variety in the expression of their HS.

karamazov80 said:

They are a pretty savvy business, given their ability to anticipate precisely what the geek community wants out of a toy based on some really terrific licenses. Part of what makes geeks geeks is our ability to "geek out" at teasers and stuff that won't actually be here for a long while. We can speculate, b*tch and moan, rejoice, etc., and when something is announced many months before its release, anticipation is built up along the way. Another part of it is, we're never satisfied and keep wanting more crap we don't need, and most of us probably can't afford. Hot Toys understands this, and by stringing out releases in lieu of protos and new announcements is really giving us what we want, even if we don't realize it. Half the fun is in the build-up and the chase.

Click to expand...

I totally agree with you! Great post!

I sure hope that Hot Toys has plans to extent their current lines while tending to their new ones.

Will there FINALLY be a Comissioner Gordon for their Dark Knight Line?

Are they going to do more B.P.R.D. members that just Hellboy and Abe?

Will we see a full Watchmen line up?

And (most importantly to me) WILL THERE BE MORE APES!!!

Each time I hear of another acquired license by Hot Toys, I fear that the answer to each question is no.

Are they going to suffer a similar fate to Sideshow, where they ship one or two pieces from a license before it is forgotten about...Jurassic Park or Reservoir Dogs anyone?

And I'd be happy if they never shipped those DX Jokers...just to keep the Batman fanboys whining...whining like Star Wars fans...

J/K

Protozaius said:

I sure hope that Hot Toys has plans to extent their current lines while tending to their new ones.

Will we see a full Watchmen line up?

And (most importantly to me) WILL THERE BE MORE APES!!!

Each time I hear of another acquired license by Hot Toys, I fear that the answer to each question is no.

Click to expand...

I'm with you. I love the products that we are getting, however I'm hoping they revisit some of the current lines they have out right now. Primarily the original Predator line, I would love some more soldiers, but at this point it's not looking good.

And like you I want some other watchmen figures but who knows.

It's really no surprise all the new BD Ironman pics have 'milk' written all over them.

Protozaius said:

Will there FINALLY be a Comissioner Gordon for their Dark Knight Line?

Will we see a full Watchmen line up?

Click to expand...

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Gordon is a Gary Oldman likeness issue, isn't it? Otherwise, yeah, he's sorely missing from the TDK lineup.

Watchmen is the most important to me, and I'm hoping so hard they at least put out Rorschach and Nite Owl before they quit, if not the whole team.

More Predator dudes...

Well, in my case, I was hoping that they could at the very least, complete and release all watchmen fig if not (rorschach and nite owl 2, since they are already released a comedian proto), like if they had released all six's protos or production 4 months ago, when I just watched the movie, I'd totally get all of em. Right now, I just need to get rorschach, nite owl and the comedian.

I guess they just need to improve on their time management, that's all.

in the case of watchmen, i think ht is simply adopting a wait-and-see approach. they want to gauge the popularity of the silk spectre and comedian figures first before commiting vast amounts of money, time and resources to doing the rest of the line. like it or not, watchmen is a somewhat niche market, and ht being a business first and foremost would pursue a series only if they're confident of turning a profit from it. in short, i don't blame them for "delaying" figures.

having said that, i do agree that they should consider both depth as well as breadth in their product line-up. it's great that they have such a wide variety of licenses, but they should also consider the fans when going deeper into a particular range. planet of the apes is another good example. looks like the range has stopped at the gorilla soldiers. i don't think a property like that requires costly intricacies such as likeness rights or fabrication issues, cos the apes are fairly similar in terms of clothing/hair materials and there's no likenesses to strictly adhere to, unlike a gary oldman, where the gordon figure HAS to look like him or it's not gordon. with a zaius or zira, u could be slightly off the underlying actor's features and it wouldn't matter.

I would like a Dillon, Mac or a Blaine.. Please, HOT TOYS!

tylerdurden said:

i do agree that they should consider both depth as well as breadth in their product line-up.

Click to expand...

Definitely.

I'm growing tired of HT grabbing all these licenses just to offer one key figure along with a 2nd tier character and then playing "wait-and-see" while milking the Jokers and Ironmen.

It's a business, I know...

I don't have to like it all the time.

HT is too quick to abandon a line if they can't get their $125+ for it anymore. I'd like to see them offer some simpler characters for $80 (like a Gordon or a Bishop) and keep the line alive. There's no reason Two-Face needed to coast $150.