Suggestions for Re-Energzing the Star Wars 1/6th Scale Line

[zeiss]

Tailoring and paint apps cost money. Moreso to do it to a HotToys standard. You're requesting that they make all these quality changes while most are _____ing that they're charging too much. So they should lose customers to keep the ones who can afford HT? That means less product too, which in the end means less $$$.

You make a good point there, but I wonder how much some of these changes would really cost. I assume that improved paint apps would indeed add a lot to the cost. Fortunately, Sideshow has greatly improved in that aspect and mostly just needs to adjust here and there so that production pieces match prototypes and do better with quality control. However, better tailoring shouldn't cost as much as paint apps and would significantly add to the value of the figures.

There is also the unfortunate fact that Sideshow seems to already be increasing the prices of figures to almost match Hot Toys. If their past behavior is any indication, we may soon see some bare bones imperial general for over $100. If they do plan on going this route, then they must make some changes.

You want them to make releases more "consistent" to maintain attention then use HT as a comparison who release like 2 figures per license a year. We've seen what happens to lines like that with LOTR and Indy; fans bail and interest wanders.

I was actually thinking more along the lines of having 3-4 waves of figures a year. Hot Toys has a tendency to release a wave of figures based on a license in a short amount of time (ie, Terminator Salvation, Terminator 2, Iron Man 2). I think it would be great for Sideshow to release a wave (ie: Hoth, cantina scene, TPM) of 3-4 figures a season, take a short break, and introduce a new wave. That would allow excitement to build as each figure in a wave is introduced and allow sideshow to switch up character choices before fatigue sets in.

Upping the flashiness of the boxes would be superficial at best. Honestly, I think most could give two ____s or a ____ how the box looks so long as the product inside is awesome. HT has devolved in that aspect, returning to a 5-panel box with velcro closures. Now if you're talking about the DX figures, that's superficial garbage as well. A pretty box, a light-up metal stand and moving eyes all seem somewhat lame and seldom justify the price increase they fetch.

I admit that changing up the box design is the least important of my suggestions. However, I do think it would probably be one of the cheapest suggestions to implement and there are some MIB collectors that would be attracted to a new box design. I think it would be especially cool if box designs had some uniformity but were also unique to a particular wave (ie, an ice theme for a Hoth wave).

 

[thenammagazine]

There is also the unfortunate fact that Sideshow seems to already be increasing the prices of figures to almost match Hot Toys. If their past behavior is any indication, we may soon see some bare bones imperial general for over $100. If they do plan on going this route, then they must make some changes.

IMO, the costs have been, in most cases, justified. As you already pointed out, the quality has been increasing as the price has. Seeing Rex at $125 isn't a surprise. They told us ahead of time that they would be offering some "deluxe" figures. With that, of course, comes cost. I also feel that the Joe line, around this same price, is relatively justified. It's when they offer a barebones figure like Indy in German Disguise and slap on a $90 price tag (identical to the Adventure Gear released earlier), that pricing seems too high. Hiding that behind low edition numbers is a slap in the face. When that happens, collectors should vote with their wallets and hope Sideshow takes it for what it is, a "strike," rather than, "Well, I guess collectors have lost interest in 1:6 Star Wars."

I admit that changing up the box design is the least important of my suggestions. However, I do think it would probably be one of the cheapest suggestions to implement and there are some MIB collectors that would be attracted to a new box design. I think it would be especially cool if box designs had some uniformity but were also unique to a particular wave (ie, an ice theme for a Hoth wave).

Again, to me, this is unnecessary cost. I'd much rather have the $$$ spent inside the box than out. As far as I'm concerned, a MIB collector should understand his limited handicap and deal with it. It's not about the box, it's about what's in it and that's where 95+% of the cost is going. Case in point. As great as the Enterbay GOD Bruce is, I'd be much more interested in the figure minus the flashy base and box, than with them at the $300 mark.

Funniest response pic ever

My only suggestion to amp it up, more variety.

Every time I do that, I get a mandatory week's vacation from pantywaists.

 

[Kibishii]

Sideshow is Sideshow. And HotToys is HotToys. Buy from each for what they offer or don't.

I couldn't agree more...the Sideshow vs. Hot Toys debate is as long winded and beaten to death as the Bowen vs. Sideshow debate.

Tailoring and paint apps cost money. Moreso to do it to a HotToys standard. You're requesting that they make all these quality changes while most are _____ing that they're charging too much...

You want them to make releases more "consistent" to maintain attention then use HT as a comparison who release like 2 figures per license a year. We've seen what happens to lines like that with LOTR and Indy; fans bail and interest wanders.

Upping the flashiness of the boxes would be superficial at best. Honestly, I think most could give two ____s or a ____ how the box looks so long as the product inside is awesome.

...Now if you're talking about the DX figures, that's garbage as well...and seldom justify the price increase they fetch.

There are times when Nam can be a blowhard, but I agree with everything he is saying here.

Sideshow is NOT the same quality as Hot Toys and I don't think they try to be. Sideshow's prices have been rising, but so has their quality (at least in 1/6th ). If Hot Toys were making Star Wars 1/6th, they would be 180-200 EASY after license fees. A few of you have talked about "not needing all the gear." I PROMISE you if Sideshow skimped on gear, people would be whining about that even more.

My only gripe with Sideshow's 1/6th line is that the paint apps can be SO hit and miss. However, there is NO way I am expecting a $125 1/6th compete with Hot Toys 1/6th in terms of paint apps when the price can be so different.

 

[devilof76]

Sideshow isn't Hot Toys quality, but that doesn't mean that they aren't quality figures. The fact that a thing can be better does not mean it's not good. This is why the line is in no need of new energy. It sells because it is a good line. Period.

 

[CaptnRex]

I would have thought that Hammerhead, Greedo, Rex, Cody, Emp and Throne and the inevitable ESB stuff is plenty of "energizing" for the line.

Sure, there's been a lot of Trooper announcements but isn't it better that Sideshow do the Troopers so that we have the opportunity to buy them - rather than them not do them at all?

Not long ago majority of discussion was based on "where's the armoured figures"? Here they come.

 

[Darklord Dave]

Here are my suggestions for improvement:
-Redesigoned boxes. It is time to change the boxes. They have become VERY boring. Hot Toys runs circles around Sideshow in this category.

I would disagree with some of this.

The boxes are beautifully designed structurally. Unfortunately regarding the art they are extremely limited as to what they can do because of LFL.

-Better clothing tailoring. The tailoring of outfits makes a huge difference in a figure looking like a high-end collectible rather than a toy. Sideshow has vastly improved from their earlier efforts, but clothing still does not look nearly as nice as those on Hot Toys figures.

-Better paintjobs. Sideshow’s getting better but it isn’t nearly flawless like Hot Toys offerings.

We've seen dramatic improvements in both tailoring and factory paint jobs and experiments are developing to make both significantly better.

-Better spacing of releases. Sideshow spaces the announcements of figures so sporadically that the line oftentimes loses momentum.

Unfortunately a large business that is dependent on certain creative talent and overseas manufacturing will always be subject to vagaries that cannot be predicted. Certainly there is a release schedule on paper that is well thought out and balanced, but a sculpt might have to be tweaked or a production sample not up to snuff and a character or 2 or 3 might get pushed down in the schedule leaving gaps so that it appears that they're just "churning out clones" or something of the like.

-Introduce a DX line of figures for important redos. Figures like Jedi Luke and Bespin Han need to be redone. Nuff said.

This I agree with. I'd love to see a DX Jedi Luke with all the looks from RotJ. There could be a pilot Han too that combines ESB and ANH.

And to address something else that has come up in this thread - the price creep. People are demanding all of the above, but don't want the prices to get any higher. Unfortunately reality makes that impossible.

It's not like they're increasing the prices without making the figures better (like some competitors). Granted that HT is doing some things that SSC is not and their figures are more expensive. So if we want all these improvements we have to be prepared to pay for it.

 

[firefly2121]

Personally I have to agree with Darklord Dave and Nam...There is no real need to change what Sideshow has going with the Star Wars line...Love the boxes, designs and sculpt...What I would wish is for certain characters to be made soon.

 

[jkno]

Since I mostly collect OT Imperials I'll say what improvements can be done here:

- less floppier bodies
- armor to stay on the body better - my stormies have very loose shin guards and please fix the chest plate already
- helmets to be a bit improved in accuracy terms
- bring the big items: E-web cannon with the future Snowtrooper, Speederbike with the Scout and maybe a Dewback (other SW fans that collect more than Imperials I'm sure they would like other big items) - the thrones for Thrawn and Palps are a big start already
- better face sculpts, I know who Piett and Praji are and they are ok, but when getting Veers or Tarkin I want to see there Julian Glover and Peter Cushing.


From a non-Imperial point of view I'm sure fans would like more aliens and droids. Even I would like to get some droids.

 

[sithlord13]

i think the paint apps and sculpts are improving as people had said
the problem sideshow has (imo) is that
1/ hot toys paint apps are outstanding - and everyone wants that level of quality
2/ the spacing of the items has (as ive said before) been poor- too long a wait between items, multiple clones in a row- the line loses momentum and without a movie to bouy it back up - the buzz fades a bit.
the catroon is all well and good but i cant say im rabid about it


just an aside- the boxes are fine-
the clothing is nice and the new bodies are much better -
just kept improving the sculpts, and the paint- watch the price and
teh choice of exclusive item- so very dull ones out there!!

 

[HYMN]

They just have to make 1/6 Dooku and Grievous figures. There will be an explosion. That's clear.

 

[uzumaki_1]

My suggestion is to stop making the star wars/indy line and hand over the license to Hot Toys. Sideshow are never gonna improve their clothing and paint app jobs until they bump up the price of the figure. Its as straight forward as that.

 

[The Josh]

So if we want all these improvements we have to be prepared to pay for it.

Pretty much! Sad thing is these toys are like anything else people want, want, want but will never be willing to pay more. No matter what they might say in this thread.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

I have to agree with Nam in that Sideshow is who they are and Hot Toys is who they are. They make similar product but not similar in any other way really.

Ht makes a lot of great stuff. I'm really into the Iron Man line they having all the versions of IM so far. Let's take their BW figure that just was announced. Its looking like $150-$170 price wise. As is its a nice looking figure but not worth the asking price. The sculpt needs some work to be closer to ScarJo and sure as heck needs some more items to come with. Fix those two things and then we can start asking the current price. Which really isn't all that far off say as Iron Man or War Machine.

Let's compare that to say the GI Joe line from Sideshow. Every figure in that line has come with more stuff than you can shake a stick at. Even if you get the regular its as many items as say a HT military figure. Take Duke for example: People that have him have said its taken 30 mins to get him ready to go. Thats a lot of stuff for any figure in that you don't have to put together piece by piece. His cost: $125 or in my case the regular at $118. So quite a bit cheaper than the HT BW figure already.

You've also got the SW figures. The basic figures have gone up in price thats a fact. They still continue to come with quite a bit for their price as well as showing improvements across the board. Factor in the armored figures like Rex which when you look closer at what you get he's justified to his price range.

All in all the SW line is fine. Without a new movie coming out you won't see it going crazy. Also the fact that its now been out a while that new crazy selling fast feeling won't be the same. Assuming things don't bottom out I'd say the SW line will be around quite a while selling just fine as it does now.

 

[Billy Ray]

I would have thought that Hammerhead, Greedo, Rex, Cody, Emp and Throne and the inevitable ESB stuff is plenty of "energizing" for the line.

Sure, there's been a lot of Trooper announcements but isn't it better that Sideshow do the Troopers so that we have the opportunity to buy them - rather than them not do them at all?

Not long ago majority of discussion was based on "where's the armoured figures"? Here they come.

Yeah, I don't get that. For years people cried for armored trooper figures. Now that we are getting them, people are crying about that...I guess some people are just never happy.

I've been happy with SS's offerings since day one. Sure, prices have steadily climbed, but so has their quality. Sure, we get the occasional bum figure, but I think they have doen an awesome job in terms of variety of characters. The best part about SS is that they listen to collectors. People hated the "doll dot", no more "doll dot" (sure it took them a while), people complained about the Buck, now we have the Pro (maybe not the best 1/6 body, but still an improvement).

 

[Mad Old Lu]

I've been mostly happy with Sideshow's offerings. I agree the box art would be an unnecessary change. If anything, it would be a good place to cut costs and make a more simplified box, but I'd just as soon have them stay the way they are.

The only thing I would want them to improve would be the paint apps. The sculpts are 99% home runs, but more often than not, the paint apps ruin the sculpt. There are different levels of bad painting of course, ranging from great to okay to bad: like sloppy squirrelly eyes on Stormie Han and Luke, or plain bad like ROTLA Indy. I'm usually pretty forgiving if they are merely "okay" like ANH Han and Luke. And then there are great paints on figures like Old Ben and Henry Jones Sr. I wish they could raise their painting average to at least avoid ever seeing the squirelly eyes and bad paints again.

And I'm pretty happy with the tailoring of the outfits. Every once in a while they see them cut costs in a way that takes away from the final piece (like switching to a cheap material from the proto). But personally I still view the clothes as far superior than anything Hasbro ever made. They are all mostly A+ to B+ which is still pretty darn good.

I think Vader was a good kick to the line last year, and I think Boba will be another big kick when he's finally announced. There are still plenty of major figures that are yet to be made which will keep the line energized and exciting for a good while.

 

[thenammagazine]

Yeah, I don't get that. For years people cried for armored trooper figures. Now that we are getting them, people are crying about that...I guess some people are just never happy.

I've been happy with SS's offerings since day one. Sure, prices have steadily climbed, but so has their quality. Sure, we get the occasional bum figure, but I think they have doen an awesome job in terms of variety of characters. The best part about SS is that they listen to collectors. People hated the "doll dot", no more "doll dot" (sure it took them a while), people complained about the Buck, now we have the Pro (maybe not the best 1/6 body, but still an improvement).

As I said in the other thread, for YEARS people whined about armored figures. In 2009 Sideshow was very adamant that 2010 would be the year of the armored figure with aliens coming in 2011. Everyone raved. Now here we are not even halfway through 2010 and all the little whiny people are crying that they're tired of armored figures, there's not enough variety, the line is dead, there's no value in it, blah blah blah. Next year, they'll move the whining into, "Sideshow, there's too many alien no-names and not enough variety!" I suspect that 2012 will be the year of the droids and they'll move the _____ing onto that. Thankfully in 2012, the world ends and so does the whining.

 

[the dude person]

As I said in the other thread, for YEARS people whined about armored figures. In 2009 Sideshow was very adamant that 2010 would be the year of the armored figure with aliens coming in 2011. Everyone raved. Now here we are not even halfway through 2010 and all the little whiny people are crying that they're tired of armored figures, there's not enough variety, the line is dead, there's no value in it, blah blah blah. Next year, they'll move the whining into, "Sideshow, there's too many alien no-names and not enough variety!" I suspect that 2012 will be the year of the droids and they'll move the _____ing onto that. Thankfully in 2012, the world ends and so does the whining.

.

 

[Apone]

Who's general yawn? Did you mean 'Admiral' Yawn? (like admiral thrawn?)

Yea...that dork..i tried to erase him from my memory... YAWN

 

[Apone]

Upping the flashiness of the boxes would be superficial at best. Honestly, I think most could give two ____s or a ____ how the box looks so long as the product inside is awesome. HT has devolved in that aspect, returning to a 5-panel box with velcro closures. Now if you're talking about the DX figures, that's superficial garbage as well. A pretty box, a light-up metal stand and moving eyes all seem somewhat lame and seldom justify the price increase they fetch.

I never thought I would say this...but I totally agree with Nam here.

 

[thenammagazine]

Upping the flashiness of the boxes would be superficial at best. Honestly, I think most could give two ____s or a ____ how the box looks so long as the product inside is awesome. HT has devolved in that aspect, returning to a 5-panel box with velcro closures. Now if you're talking about the DX figures, that's superficial garbage as well. A pretty box, a light-up metal stand and moving eyes all seem somewhat lame and seldom justify the price increase they fetch.

I never thought I would say this...but I totally agree with Nam here.

​

 

[Darth Mitchell]

What is it with people saying Hot Toys is better then Sideshow and Sideshow should hand over the Star Wars license to Hot Toys...
Isn't this a Sideshow fan forum???