Underworld54
Super Freak
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What is with the uninspired look of the AoU head sculpts. They look lifeless.
1/6 Hot Toys - MMS 296 - Avengers: AoU - Vision
- Thread starter WalkingDeadZombies
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Well yes and no, of course there is always complaining about price there always will be. There's complaints about sculpts, costumes etc and why not? we know Hot Toys can achieve virtual perfection in these areas so when they don't we complain, justified? well that's debatable which it seems is exactly what we do, is'nt it?
Regarding Visions price it's £195 in the UK, Black Widow (with quite a few extras) - £180 Hawkeye £180 Chewbacca a complex figure £175, that extra £15-£20 may not seem a lot but it is and I think people have every right to question the whys and wherefores of price increases.
Not that complaining, about prices anyway, makes any difference to anything, Hot Toys will continue to charge whatever they want and regardless of what's said here their figures will sell out.
BlackWidow89
Super Freak
I pre-ordered Vision though Big Bad Toy Store. Can't wait to get him. 
Motuxmen
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The difference in price don't take a lot of factors into account. Black widow is a third or fourth generation figure, meaning lots of tooling is reused. Tooling being the largest actual production cost for a figure (outside of machines) means they can now afford to add unique accesories and still keep the same margins. For Star Wars chewy, the body could easily be reused from other parts already tooled. And again, tooling being the single largest production cost..saves money.
Vision has a unique altered substructure. The hard lines and angles on the torso. Meaning it needs new tooling. The head is the first Paul head. The cape is a new design. Add all that up and you get a much more expensive figure to produce. Significantly. I don't have the numbers, but from my experience i would say the vision figure is two or three times as expensive as BW(or more) to produce. Probably 1.5 to 2.25 times of chewy.
And you can't also hold hot toys responsible for currency flux. The price we pay is not the price hot toys sells it for. The distribution network has to raise that costs to cover those currency issues, the import costs, the warehouse costs, the shipping costs. The man hours to sort, lable, do orders, ect. So when comparing price the only prices you can put on hot toys are the prices hot toys sells theme for in home market. The rest is just part of us buying and importing them. And the currency ups and downs isn't something hot toys controls. If the euro or pound or Canadian dollar or US dollar recovers , say just one of those markets gets a huge boost would you want hot toys to then increase cost to your market(or that particular market). If not then you can't expect them to cut prices when that market under performs.
So anyway...just saying well ....figure x has more stuff and costs less so figure Y that has less should cost less doesn't take in to account the majority of the things that actually effect prices.
Vision has a unique altered substructure. The hard lines and angles on the torso. Meaning it needs new tooling. The head is the first Paul head. The cape is a new design. Add all that up and you get a much more expensive figure to produce. Significantly. I don't have the numbers, but from my experience i would say the vision figure is two or three times as expensive as BW(or more) to produce. Probably 1.5 to 2.25 times of chewy.
And you can't also hold hot toys responsible for currency flux. The price we pay is not the price hot toys sells it for. The distribution network has to raise that costs to cover those currency issues, the import costs, the warehouse costs, the shipping costs. The man hours to sort, lable, do orders, ect. So when comparing price the only prices you can put on hot toys are the prices hot toys sells theme for in home market. The rest is just part of us buying and importing them. And the currency ups and downs isn't something hot toys controls. If the euro or pound or Canadian dollar or US dollar recovers , say just one of those markets gets a huge boost would you want hot toys to then increase cost to your market(or that particular market). If not then you can't expect them to cut prices when that market under performs.
So anyway...just saying well ....figure x has more stuff and costs less so figure Y that has less should cost less doesn't take in to account the majority of the things that actually effect prices.
The debate over price will never end. And it is our right to do so, but we need to understand everything. A start up company has little overhead and can benefit from a smaller profit margin. In order to grow they need to be more competitive, thus having better value with pricing. Eventually as they grow and the bigger and more successful the company becomes the more profit it needs to run. Larger facilities, increased number of employees, more money into development, expanding lines and licensing fees, more machines and in house production versus using other companies to make products for them thus insuring better quality/desired results, expanding product awareness through marketing such as the exhibits and toy shows. The list can go on and on.... My point is it's not just inflation. As the fan and consumer we are paying for all of this. Prices have increased because they need to. We can come to terms with this and continue to buy, or feel we are being taken advantage of and move on... I'm sure their profit margins have grown, not shrunk. But its needed for them to survive. Their not the "new" or "little" guy anymore. They are making products in greater numbers, selling in more markets. Also, It's easier and more profitable to not have exclusives. One of the reasons we are most likely seeing less figures with exclusives. But in my mind, that also means for me no need to pre order a figure I'm not 100% into. My only complaint about an NRD is that it takes anywhere from 8 months to nearly 2 years sometimes for these things to materialize. A lot can change in that time. But it has become a necessary evil. If people continue to pre order and then cancel, Hot Toys will over produce, distributors will get stuck with product, and in the long term that hurts us because they could start scaling back and making less and not taking chances on properties they may have otherwise made. As fans we don't want the "bubble to burst", but eventually it will. OK, my rant is over. flame away, but be nice.. 
ScottPSU
Super Freak
Yep. Complaining that "Figure A" has less stuff than "Figure B" and therefore "A" should be cheaper ignores manufacturer production realities. Remember, this is a business, with both fixed and variable costs. I'm sure HT could have made this figure at a lower cost, but at what effect on its quality? Personally, I am glad HT strives to be a high-end market provider and I am willing to pay more for it. Not everyone will agree and that's fine. The vote we all have is with our wallet.
Invictus Sol
No Life in the Void
Well written post with a lot of great points, loki (only quibble would be add some paragraphs). The lack of exclusives (I seem to have noticed it around the same time as all the Star Wars previews/pre-orders started dropping) is something I've been wondering about, too, as previously it seemed like a hallmark between the two companies. I thought maybe SSC had lost a bit of leverage with HT, somehow, but it may be that HT is just looking to shave down costs wherever they can.
..... Sorry... 
cofphoto
Super Freak
He's sad because he really, really wanted to be MMS300.
Guff
Freaked Out
£195 from where? Not seen him up for order anywhere in the UK yet...
BagginsOfBagEnd
Super Freak
Still waiting to pre-order him
...hopefully collectiblesdirect will be putting him up for pre-order soon!! 
I pre-ordered him from Sideshow. Now bring on Scarlet Witch and Ultimate Ultron!
Navy1991
Super Freak
Bought this bad boy in 3 seconds from the PO. Then I thought... Dang, I shouldn't have wait!
Guff
Freaked Out
Cheers. Think I'll wait and see if anyone else is selling for a bit cheaper.
canadaclone
Candid connections: Platform for casual relationsh
I am quite impressed that the price is $219, that is a great deal for these figures when so many are high $200 and low $300 on a more regular base, bring on $219 all day long!!!
I am definitely getting him!
I am definitely getting him!
Natalie Rushman
Super Freak
I feel like $219 is the new $189
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