Hot Toys - MMS - The Avengers: Chitauri figures

[Khev]

I don't see how people can dismiss their designs. I think they are wicked cool.

And personally they say "Avengers" to me more than Loki does, just for the fact that Loki was introduced and continued on in the Thor movies whereas these guys are native only to Avengers itself.

 

[Invictus Sol]

An overpriced product targeted at an audence that can't afford it. And so they put themselves out of buisness becuase not enough people can afford the product they produce.

They seem to be doing better than ever. To me these characters aren't memorable enough to ever bother buying, even if I was an Avengers fan, but the price is average and should be pretty well expected by now (seriously, how long do people need to be in this hobby before they stop being 'surprised' when the prices are announced). If a character like Iron Man is $250.00 - $300.00 (depending on whether it's plastic or diecast) than something like the Chitauri is going to be at least as much. HT can't get any other use from the molds aside from these two and it will I'm sure be a much smaller run than something like the Mark VII.

 

[Sikatar]

I hate to see what prices will be like on figures when Avengers 2 and 3 come out.

 

[Riceroket]

I'm not interested in buying these, but I am excited to see others' pictures, especially from those that can afford to drop a grand and buy 4.

 

[Ramatuelle]

I could easily afford them, if I really wanted to. But I have no intention of spending $500+ on two characters that don't even have names. Space is limited here so space is limited to those characters I cannot do without.

Generalizations are bad. Plus, I have a feeling these are going to end up heavily discounted down the road. My guess is that few if any have an emotional connection to these characters, or a long history of reading about them in books. [What books...? lol] I don't think they'll sell well at this price point.

 

[Khev]

But I have no intention of spending $500+ on two characters that don't even have names.

They do have names: "Soldier" and "Commander." Plus there's the one you pissed off. His name is Phil.

 

[robbiethepainter]

I don't think they are going to be discounted because without preorders, they wont be as heavily produced. Retailers are starting to go back to the way things use to be of not speculating and just sticking close to the original orders. People had the same argument about the "over priced" Hall of Armors and though they can still be had, I don't think they were heavily order either and so they will start to disappear soon.
In regards to the price, the body is a one off. No more use after these are done. Second, the body has a full paint job. That is going to cost money. Comparing these to NECA supports this argument. NECA has had some good sculpts from time to time but the one constant that drags them down is the one or two step paint jobs. If they were to move to a more complex paint, the quality would shoot up along with the price. I'm fairly certain that these are going to have as complex paint app as the faces of humans. This costs more. Do I want these to be cheaper, hell yes, but what we pay for in the Renniasiance of 1:6 figures is complexity in sculpts, clothing and painting. Just wander into the custom section and see what people pay for a good paint job. There are good ones that are cheaper, but by in large the best costs money. Every step costs money to produce, whether custom or production.

 

[mikericm]

Where are all these HEAVILY DISCOUNTED hot toys that are being spoken of?

Waiting for New Goblin reference.

 

[Ramatuelle]

Whut? These items are not made to order. HT is not a special-order outfit. They have an edition size in mind and that is how many get made.

Do I want these to be cheaper, hell yes, but what we pay for in the Renaissance of 1:6 figures is complexity in sculpts, clothing and painting. Just wander into the custom section and see what people pay for a good paint job. There are good ones that are cheaper, but by in large the best costs money. Every step costs money to produce, whether custom or production.

That's nice and all, but all this presupposes the concept that people are ordering these mass-produced items in the first place. [THESE ARE NOT CUSTOMS. Apples and oranges.] If few people order them, it wont matter how much they cost to paint; profit will not be made.

Perhaps there are thousands of people out there salivating at the chance to drop $500+ on these two; but I would not bet a dollar on it.

 

[robbiethepainter]

Whut? These items are not made to order. HT is not a special-order outfit. They have an edition size in mind and that is how many get made.

That's nice and all, but all this presupposes the concept that people are ordering these mass-produced items in the first place. [THESE ARE NOT CUSTOMS. Apples and oranges.] If few people order them, it wont matter how much they cost to paint; profit will not be made.

Perhaps there are thousands of people out there salivating at the chance to drop $500+ on these two; but I would not bet a dollar on it.

Where do you get the information on the edition size is being predetermined? Are you guessing or have you been told something? I am not saying they only make what is ordered, but retailers have stated that they have a window of time to make their pre-orders and then they can't make anymore after that. To me this indicates that pre-orders influence the process.

Comparing customs to production is not apples and oranges in the sense they both have a process and series of steps. Both customs and production require a complex set of events to complete. No matter what people speculate, these are still basically made by human hands. By breaking down each step of the process into manageable tasks allows the work load to be distributed to multiple hands to make for a more efficient system. With efficiency comes lower cost. That is where customs and productions diverge.

I think the Asian market is greatly underestimated on this board when it comes to it purchasing power and its influence on the hobby.

 

[subzro]

Whut? These items are not made to order. HT is not a special-order outfit. They have an edition size in mind and that is how many get made.

If they want to sell 10,000 but only have PO for 3500 they are not going to make an extra 6500 and hope they sell. They will make a couple hundred (give or take) extra and that is it.
Adjusting production to match orders is a normal part business for any company.

 

[Khev]

I wonder when 1/6 inch figures and 1/4 PF's will be the same price. In 2006 you could get 5 figures for the price of one PF ($50 vs $250.) No the price of a PF ($400) doesn't even cover the cost of TWO 12 inch figures.

 

[SurlyJ]

The Asian market is pretty underestimated, but typically, Asians go for heroes and villains don't sell as well. Going by that pretty common trope, I doubt these will be any more popular in Asia than they are here. If anything, less so.

 

[SurlyJ]

I wonder then 12 inch figures and 1/4 PF's will be the same price. In 2006 you could get 5 figures for the price of one PF ($50 vs $250.) No the price of a PF ($400) doesn't even cover the cost of TWO 12 inch figures.

I was thinking about that, or really, how the high price of a good pf Seems to be more justified. I am willing to get that most non-collectors wouldn't be as surprised by my deadpool pf costing 350 as they would be by my iron man ht costing 250. I go back and forth on it myself.

 

[robbiethepainter]

I wonder when 1/6 inch figures and 1/4 PF's will be the same price. In 2006 you could get 5 figures for the price of one PF ($50 vs $250.) No the price of a PF ($400) doesn't even cover the cost of TWO 12 inch figures.

The thing about that time is the bodies were standard coming from Hot Toys. They had base bodies standard so all they had to do is make the clothes and heads. Paint jobs were as simple as the PF's too. Now you have HT building bodies specific to the character or at least close to it, which means more production cost. Also the paint jobs are crazy complex on a lot of these. PF's costs, I would guess, are in the molds and resins. The good thing is the molds are easy and relatively cost effective but they don't last long which means multiples are made which then costs more. PVC is a low cost material but the start up cost is high because of the nature of the molds required. PF's process are best for short runs and PVC for large ones.

 

[Boba Ben]

Where are all these HEAVILY DISCOUNTED hot toys that are being spoken of?

Waiting for New Goblin reference.

Don't forget the free Angelica figures. $224.99 retail. I doubt they're moving too many of those at that price if they can give a pretty good number of them away as a promotion.

 

[chewdeezy]

Anything from the Avengers will sell better than the Green Goblin or Angelica.

 

[robbiethepainter]

Im guessing the convention and special figures are predetermined editions. Which would explain why they say an edition size. Also they run the risk of either selling quickly or not at all.

 

[Ramatuelle]

Where do you get the information on the edition size is being predetermined? Are you guessing or have you been told something?

An edition size is how many of a given thing will be made.

"How many" always equals a finite number. "We're making 2400 of these" means.... wait for it.... that they are making 2400 of them. A finite number. This goes not only for HT, but anywhere!

I don't know what the edition size for this will be. But HT knows, and that is how many of them will be made. This is hardly news; when HT sells out of an item, that's all there are. They don't make a given figure forever.

Anyone about to post "BUT WHO TOLD YOU THEY'RE MAKING 2400?!!!!" please re-read paragraph #3 up there.

p.s. and if HT does not have a finite limit on their figures, cool. Please let me know what they say when you try to buy HT Loki or Nick Fury from your comic shop or SSC nowadays, should be interesting. [Not talking about ebay, or the secondary market.]

 

[Khev]

I wonder if they'll make this dude now.