Even pre-ordering to lock in the cheaper price is a risk, because it commits you to buying something that may not turn out as expected. So there's no easy answer.
I'm envious of collectors who have the willpower to stick to one property, or one type of figure. My collection, on the other hand, has ended up as a bit of everything. There's so much being made now, and a lot of the interesting things are by third part companies, but I try to be a bit more choosy.
I was all but limiting Star Wars to the Original Trilogy, then Rogue One, Solo and The Mandalorian happened!
I do find it easier nowadays saying no to things. But when something as unusual in the market as Zorro appeared, I couldn't say no.
LOL. Ditto. But I just roll with it. Because, *historically speaking*, started with Middle Earth (books) then there was Star Wars and then comix and then random stuff like Alien, Predator, Zorro. One of my relatives had the old original paperback of Zorro, which I thought was pretty good as stories go.
So have shelves that eventually evolve to loose groups based on the movie, show, or book. Try to keep costs down by not being a completist. Except these days friggin' Mando has to come along
but even then, some stuff will get skipped like Death Troopers (probably LOL am fanatical about the show.....)
Had my eye on this fig for a while; Banderas IMO was the perfect Zorro. And it's ZORRO. Sorry there isn't a DX version with Tornado
. PO'd from SSC with coupon and a few points, so not too bad$$$. IMO from what I have seen, the fig is a bit over-priced; for me disappointed in the plastic mask and fixed hat; hard to say yet about portrait paint.
But the shelf effect looks excellent; also it's kind of unusual IMO to have a portrait with an expression where it doesn't go bad. This so far looks OK.
(Also (sorry Big Chief fans) u'd hafta go far to be as bad as Big Chiefs' Rose Tyler
, that I only picked up 'coz she was 50% off. She's still terrible and can only display her sideways as an accessory to Tennant's Dr. Who.)
Apparently WETA had a Zorro statue at one point which am sorry I missed. But looking forward to this one, and the elusive search for a 1/6 scale Andalusian horse.
Edit: Will just throw this is in for those also looking for a horse at some point:
Kristin Campbell, 30 Years Horse Breeder, Lifetime Horse Owner
Answered June 2, 2018
They state in the movie that it is an Andalusian, but the feathering on the feet marks it very plainly as a Friesian, as does the very high step. Andalusians step high, but nothing like a Friesian.
Judy Reinsma, Bred and raised horses for about fifteen years.
Answered February 28, 2019
A Friesian. One of the last horses to perform with Banderas in the Zorro movies is still alive and lives on a beautiful ranch in Santa Ynez, CA. How do I know? He is owned and adored by a close friend. He carried her to many, many wins over the years in dressage competition.
and:
To prepare for his role, Banderas practiced with the Olympic fencing team in Spain for four months, before studying additional fencing and swordsmanship with Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones.[3] The three were trained by Bob Anderson during pre-production in Mexico, spending 10 hours a day for two months specifically on fight scenes from the film.[4] "We used to call him Grumpy Bob on the set, he was such a perfectionist," director Martin Campbell reflected. "He was incredibly inventive, and also refused to treat any of the actors as stars. They would complain about the intensity of the training, but having worked with him there's nobody I'd rather use."[5] During interviews for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Anderson rated Banderas the best natural talent he had worked with.
Bob Anderson said of Antonio Banderas: "You need four elements to make a champion [fencer]: anticipation, a superb sense of rhythm, timing, and physical ability, particularly leg strength. Banderas had them all." [from: By the Sword]
