Hot toys pumping out figures too fast?

[holtrax]

I think the problem with hot toys is they have grown to big for their own boots. They are releasing too many figures some of which will never see the light of day ie ripley aliens, batmobile 66, marty mcfly part 2 etc. Its sad but they have become a company now that just release very bland figures from iron man or star wars non stop instead of focusing and taking time to get right the classics which made them popular in the first place.

I can't see them continuing to operate at this pace and i can also see them alienating a lot of collectors because of unfinished lines or saturation of the marketplace with figures. I mean its getting to the point where its now ridiculous the amount of things and the type of figures they release. If iron man or a storm trooper has a change in his jock strap you can now guarantee hot toys will have a figure out about it.

 

[Darkseed]

The pace this year has been extreme but as Leia and Fett round out the OT line, I'll have time to rebuild my toy savings. My collection has been streamlined to SW and with limited interest in TFA characters, I'll take a breath until OT ramps back up.

 

[bbl]

Well the thing is, i used to collect all sorts of franchises but now only star wars and indiana jones. Still have a few other figs, but won't get any new. Some people do get everything and hot toys says a figure fails to sell pretty fast. If i need to choose between a robocop that i like and a vader that i love, robocop loses. Not that i don't want it, but i can't spend €500 a month


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[darth dennis]

Personally I think that they both release things too fast, and are also pricing them way too high. If you don't have at least 500$ extra each month, then I don't see how anybody can keep up with them. I, a college student in Greece certainly can't, so I came up with a few rules:

1) No "double figs": Meaning, if I get Batman, I won't get JL Batman with slightly longer ears and a darker shade of grey. I'll only get a double character if I have extra cash and the newer version is drastically different.

2) "If you start it, you've got to finish it": I can't just buy Han Solo and Luke, I have to complete the whole OT "team". But, since I don't care for Old Ben Kenobi or Leia, I won't commit to buying these figures.

3) No things that just look cool: I love Robocop's look, or the T-800's leathers, but I don't have any attachment to the characters, so they're a no-no for me. No John Matrix, no Ripley, none of that. I'm mostly a comics person.

And so, I've decided that I will collect only these things from now on:

1) Star Wars: Only the Sith Lords/Bad Guys. I was never a big Jedi fan, so this helps me a lot. Since I only have to get Boba, Vader and Kylo as of now.

2) Marvel: Only 5 or so characters I love (like Deadpool, Black Panther, Doctor Strange and Moon Knight and Ghost Rider if they ever get movies) and most of Spider-Man's villains. So, that means that I'll not be getting any GotG or Avengers or anything like that. I didn't grow up with any of them (I've gone back and read most of their stories, but I have no attachment to them), so I don't see the point in collecting them.

3) DC: My "main" line. I won't be bying anything and everything, but that's where I'll be giving my cash. I'll try and assemble a Justice League, gather most Batman Villains, all of the good stuff. I grew up with the JL series, so that's what's nostalgia for me. I still won't get double figures, but I'll try to at least get one fig per character.

See, I used to collect minimates, mostly Marvel, and I caught myself spending 200$ on small figures, every 3 months or so. Thefore, I think that this "line" is a breath of fresh air for me, so I'll try to stay away from Marvel. But yeah, HT is going nuts with the release and pricing.

Your rules make great sense, wise beyond your years, you are. I am fortunate to be solely focused on Star Wars and only 1/6 figures and 1/4 statues (aside from the 1/5 mythos). That keeps things a little more under control than if I also collected DC, Marvel, etc. Right now I do feel the strain of the OT and TFA stuff coming out in virtual waves. I stayed clear of most of the trooper variants and only see Han, Luke, Leia and Poe as remaining figures for consideration from TFA. Like someone else said, I think 2016 will settle down a bit...

 

[Matt S]

I've got Vader and Farm boy Luke coming next week and probably a TFA trooper too. I feel your pain. Fortunately I don't need everything OT that HT is pumping out...just almost everything.

I passed on SpacePooper and Stormie Luke. I just would love to see a Tarkin figure soon.

Tarkin would be awesome. They need to do a 'bare bones' subline for the human figures = $189 or less, one weapon or accessory. Tarkin would be a prime candidate for that

 

[SwedishHeat]

I jusr wanted to know. Do you you guys also think hot toys are pumping these figures out too fast?

No, HT has delivered the entire ANH crew* in less than a year.

Where's Drax? Where's Elias? Where's Barbossa? Where's R'as? Where's John Connor?

What HT has done with Star Wars is unprecedented, and I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

At this point, I couldn't imagine waiting another 5 months for an Obi-Wan, and another 4 months after that for Darth Vader. I have them all now, it's done. And I'm moving on. Let them ride out the TFA hype, which I'm not buying anything, then bring on the ESB series.

If I want any of the TFA figures, I'l buy them in 18 months while people are dumping them, meanwhile, I'll trade them my MISB Han/Chewie for their entire TFA collection.

 

[Victοr]

Your rules make great sense, wise beyond your years, you are. I am fortunate to be solely focused on Star Wars and only 1/6 figures and 1/4 statues (aside from the 1/5 mythos). That keeps things a little more under control than if I also collected DC, Marvel, etc. Right now I do feel the strain of the OT and TFA stuff coming out in virtual waves. I stayed clear of most of the trooper variants and only see Han, Luke, Leia and Poe as remaining figures for consideration from TFA. Like someone else said, I think 2016 will settle down a bit...

Thanks mate! And if there's one thing I've learned about collecting with a budget, is that you have to be careful. To be honest, collecting can turn into an addiction if you're not careful. I look back on some purchases I made, and I'm really questioning my resistance. I bought stuff I hadn't even heard about, just because I was a completionist. That can't happen with 1/6 stuff, especially with their prices, so I'll be selective.

It's a good thing that you've settled down on what you want collect. I alternated between games, minimates, 1/6, comics and tons other before settling on just a few comics per month (I have a monthly sub) and primarily 1/6. I'd love to get all SW, but I was always an Empire/Sith guy (not that they're in the right, it's just that their outfits are more interesting than brown robes), so I'll have to settle for just them plus the odd Bounty Hunter or Villain.

But DC will be my main line, no matter how tempting others are. I love Dr. Who, but I'm only getting the NuWho Doctors, I have no interest in having all 13, no matter how cool the display would be. Same goes for classics like Predator or Alien. No emotional attachment = No buy.

 

[a-dev]

Luckily for you they're throwing up a T-figure every two years.

I suspect they're done with Terminator. They'll release that Pops figure because they've taken preorders for it but nothing else.

 

[Malgus]

I am waiting on Phasma, Kylo, Officer Throoper, Mark 45 1/6 and the Afleck Batman so I can't say they are releasing it too fast.

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

I suspect they're done with Terminator. They'll release that Pops figure because they've taken preorders for it but nothing else.

No (2.0) T1 T-800 Endo thus far, is lame.

 

[Mike86]

I think the problem with hot toys is they have grown to big for their own boots. They are releasing too many figures some of which will never see the light of day ie ripley aliens, batmobile 66, marty mcfly part 2 etc. Its sad but they have become a company now that just release very bland figures from iron man or star wars non stop instead of focusing and taking time to get right the classics which made them popular in the first place.

They focus on what sells like that fact or not. Marvel and particularly Iron Man is hot at the moment. Same goes for Star Wars. The classics are what got them to where they are but I can't say I blame them for going where the money is. They still sprinkle releases of classic characters too but they just aren't as frequent.

 

[The Skull]

No (2.0) T1 T-800 Endo thus far, is lame.

Agreed, didn't they show a prototype of the new endo with that awful head, even that didn't get to PO yet, not sure I care if it does judging by the look of it anyway. The only Endo needed is a new 2.0 T1 or T2 endo, that will sell, is iconic and a badly needed redo, most collectors of the terminator line don't even have that represented in their collection at all and the ones that do are the very outdated one or the 1/4 scale version.

 

[third3ye]

Merch follows content, and right now SW, Marvel, and DC are king. All HT releases through summer will be TFA, BvS, and CW. We may see other classic sci-fi properties like Terminator and Aliens get released during a slower season, but fact is the last Terminator movie underperformed and Prometheus met a mixed response and didn't do well internationally. Predator seems to be Howard's fave among the classics, that property seems to be the exception but with all the tentpoles coming out in the next couple years, they'll probably put that on the backburner until the new Predator film comes out. BTTF was released for the anniversary, so there's always that to look out for with classics, but that could be a pretty long wait.

 

[Deeznutz6]

The prices are to high for a good looking Canadian boy like me to even allow myself to consider collecting TFA HT products. Even the OT are extreme calculated purchases. And they have to be the Best of the Best. In 2015 I purchased three HT figures BD Robocop, Chewcacca and Sandtrooper. I think 2015 best of the best were purchased!!

Same here, the exchange is killing it for me, I have nothing on order for next year as much as I like th forc awakens stuff, just to expensive for toys

 

[Cocoboloboy]

No, HT has delivered the entire ANH crew* in less than a year.

What HT has done with Star Wars is unprecedented, and I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

At this point, I couldn't imagine waiting another 5 months for an Obi-Wan, and another 4 months after that for Darth Vader. I have them all now, it's done. And I'm moving on. Let them ride out the TFA hype, which I'm not buying anything, then bring on the ESB series.

If I want any of the TFA figures, I'l buy them in 18 months while people are dumping them, meanwhile, I'll trade them my MISB Han/Chewie for their entire TFA collection.

This. This, 100% this.

Although I will be picking up some TFA figures while there's a lull in OT goodness. Just not all of them.

 

[BurningRage]

Not fast enough since I'm still waiting for the 1/4 Stormtrooper and Vader.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Thankfully, with ANH being finished off at long last -- after waiting some 15 years to get them all -- I'm actually tightening up my collection.

For me, now that Star Wars is no longer this open-ended collection, it makes me focus in on everything else to finish off. My collection is, for the first time, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for a final completed display.

From here on out, I will only be picking up a few select pieces, and moving my money to custom figures of characters that will never be made.



For the record, I have only one Avengers figure -- Loki -- and likely I will keep it that way. NOT being into collecting Marvel (or DC) saves a ton of dollars.

 

[Jokes & Bats]

It's taken about three years for Batman Returns.

It's teased a load of figures never released.

If the Star Wars figures weren't coming out until next year, everyone would be moaning.

I've loved the last two months - seeing the Star Wars figure come rolling out. Perfectly timed for the film.

The more the merrier.

 

[Collectorcol]

Depends if you collect IM.

Doesn't really matter how many they put out. Buy only what you want, or can afford.

 

[sithlord13]

I spend years saying I would stick to only Star Wars but caved and bought some terminators and then fell to the mcu.
I then sold some of the terminators and only kept the few I really loved and I think I might do the same with a couple of the mcu.
Star Wars wise I sold most of my pt stuff and now have all the ot stuff out there I want so am looking forward to any ot stuff but frankly the force awakens stuff leaves me cold. Don't like the designs and the sheer number of troopers already released boggles me.

I would love by to sort them lives out regarding the more diverse lines ie doc brown and Marty 2. And for others figures like Drax.

I feel they haven't done themselves any favours this year.