Comicave studios and play imaginative

[Motuxmen]

I reached out to some people I Know and got some info about Comicave and their relationship with PI. They are both owned by the same conglomerate. Comicave itself is a new entitie and most of its employees are spun off from PI. They are essentially the same company. That said, I've been told they are aware of their past issues and are working to address them. I also reached out to some people at PI and this is the statement I was given....

Hi Ty,

Thanks for reaching out to us!

Comicave Studios has begun manufacturing certain figures for us (starting with the Iron Man Mark 43, 44 and 45), as we hold the Marvel license for the Super Alloy figures. They have also begun providing marketing & sales support, hence they are also selling our existing products, and promoting them.

Comicave Studios is a subsidiary of the Al Ahli Holding Group from Dubai, and we have a sister company, Comicave Retail, also in Dubai. Comicave Studios is the manufacturing arm and produces high end collectibles for licensees of Marvel, including PI.

Hope this helps to clarify things, if you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you.


Thanks & Best Regards,
Daphne Tan
Marketing & Communications

 

[Plastic Bateman]

Comicave Studios is a subsidiary of the Al Ahli Holding Group from Dubai, and we have a sister company, Comicave Retail, also in Dubai. Comicave Studios is the manufacturing arm and produces high end collectibles for licensees of Marvel, including PI.

Well that's deliciously vague. I wonder who these other mystery licensees are...

 

[Motuxmen]

Whom ever it is, it's new. The whole CMC studios is new so who knows.

 

[Ol' Shellhead]

Al Ahli Holding Group from Dubai

interesting

 

[jcm3]

From a post made by Comicave Studios...

"Just to clarify, Comicave Studios will be the manufacturer of the HulkBuster, not Play Imaginative. Comicave Studios is a subsidiary of the Al Ahli Holding Group from Dubai, and we have a sister company, Comicave Retail, also in Dubai. Comicave Studios is the manufacturing arm and produces high end collectibles for licensees of Marvel, including PI. Beginning in April 2015, Comicave Studios will manufacture certain products for PI, starting with the Iron Man Mark 43, 44, and 45."

Hmmmm. This month? Kind of hard to believe.

 

[Motuxmen]

It just means they are starting the process in April.

As for the line about PI not making them, and CMC a doing so. Yes, that's the case. But PI and CMC a are owned and operated by the same parent company. They are operating on the same license. Most of the people staffing CMC/Comicave are people that work(Ed) for PI.

This is no different then PI spinning off the "super alloy" brand as its own. Comicave is just an off shoot of PI. Yes, different compny now. Three months ago they where all under super alloy or PI.

 

[jcm3]

Suggestion that PI is merely the master license holder in Singapore...

"If you go to the company’s Facebook page, there is a lot of confusion about their products because some of their official images have the Play Imaginative logo on it. Play Imaginative is the master license holder for Marvel in Singapore, so Comicave Studios had to get their license though them.

The figures aren’t made by Play Imaginative, just licensed by them so we don’t have to worry about another quality control disaster."

 

[jcm3]

It just means they are starting the process in April.

As for the line about PI not making them, and CMC a doing so. Yes, that's the case. But PI and CMC a are owned and operated by the same parent company. They are operating on the same license. Most of the people staffing CMC/Comicave are people that work(Ed) for PI.

This is no different then PI spinning off the "super alloy" brand as its own. Comicave is just an off shoot of PI. Yes, different compny now. Three months ago they where all under super alloy or PI.

So Play Imaginative is essentially rebranding themselves as Comicave Studios as a means of distancing themselves from past mistakes and bad publicity?

 

[Motuxmen]

That's more less the bottom line. Though they can't close PI completly becuase PI owns the license.


And yes, going forward Comicave is the stated production company. But Comicave is owned and operated by the same people that owned and operated PI. Staffed by the same people. But they are also the new sales division of PI going forward. And marketing. Essential everything that used to PE under the play imaginative and super alloy brand will now be under super alloy and Comicave (CMC). But again, this is not a big shake up. It's former (and in some cases current but transferred) play imaginative employees, all under the same old umbrella, all owned by the same company. Yes, the name Comicave is new. Just started operating under that name this year. But it's still the same owners and operators.

Ever heard the saying..."Meet the new boss, same as the old boss"? That's this.

All that said, they have also hired a new PR person. And got some consultants to help rebrand and fix things. That consultation is (from what I was told) lead to this new direction. So maybe things will change. Maybe it gets better. And I am hoping that is in fact the case. I'd love to see the 1/4 mk44 and 45. The protos where stunning. But my reservations come from them doing this before and still having the same people at the top. I Would love to be wrong. And I'd be first in line to buy.

My point thru all this has just been to let people know what is going on.

And I did this thread becuase I reached out and got an official response I wanted to share, along with the unofficial stuff I heard over the last ten days asking questions.

 

[Motuxmen]

And I do want to thank Play Imaginative for actual getting back to me with a reply and doing so in remarkable time. Something hot toys would not do in any offical capacity. It's refreshing. Especially given how critical I have been of the CMC/PI deal. Stand up move for sure.

 

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

So you're jumping the fence now?

 

[Motuxmen]

So you're jumping the fence now?

Nope. My view has not changed. All I've ever talked about in this issue is how CMC and PI are the same and that history is still attached. Whatever it may be. That's not changed.

 

[jcm3]

I wonder what this means with regard to all the other Iron Man armors they had shown? Will we even see the ¼ Mk42 or are they just skipping ahead to the Mk43 now? YesAnime seems to be the US distributor and at the last show the only PI Super Alloy items they had on display were Superman and Bataman.

 

[Motuxmen]

I wonder what this means with regard to all the other Iron Man armors they had shown? Will we even see the ¼ Mk42 or are they just skipping ahead to the Mk43 now? YesAnime seems to be the US distributor and at the last show the only PI Super Alloy items they had on display were Superman and Bataman.

I asked...here's the answer I got. And there are nearly two hundred other figures PI has shown in the last three years. A large majority will not make it to market. But, some will. All the ones listed for sale on the Comicave sitecare still "planned" releases.

Anyways...here's what Pic said when I asked them what you asked..

"Hi Ty,

No worries, just hope that it helps to clarify things.
PI is still producing other figures, such as the Iron Patriot, and the Iron Man Mark 42, which I know many customers are waiting for.


Thanks & Best Regards,
Daphne Tan
Marketing & Communications "

They will be sold by or thru Comicave

 

[Taibhse]

Thanks for the updates Motu.. I'm going to wait and see, if the PI/Super Alloy/Comicave leopard has changed its spots.. if so, I may be tempted.

 

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

Thanks for the updates Motu.. I'm going to wait and see, if the PI/Super Alloy/Comicave leopard has changed its spots.. if so, I may be tempted.

Pretty much my sentiment: wait and see, there's no harm in it. Enjoy the proto's shown and hope for the best. The best being a competitively priced, solid product that can keep Hot Toys on their 'A' game.

 

[jcm3]

So where does one buy these Comicave Studios products? They apparently will be selling 500 of the 1/12 scale Iron Man mark XL Shotgun figures at SDCC but I cannot find any retailers offering it (or any of their other products) for preorder in the US. They indicate Bluefin distribution as the US distributor yet don't seem to be featured on their website and they do not sell direct.

 

[Motuxmen]

Comiccave is Playimaginative. Look for it under that name


https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/search.aspx?search=1/12 play

Super Alloy: Die-cast collectible figures by Play Imaginative

 

[jcm3]

I tried that but it only shows older items from when they were made by Play Imaginative. While the whole thing sounds like a shell game to me it does seem that older items are/were handled by Play Imaginative with YesAnime as their US distributor while the newer ones are being handled by Comicave Studios with Bluefin as their US distributor. I've emailed both but have not heard back yet.

 

[skullboy]

Play Imaginative Is just the license holder, comicave states here they are a different company and will be taking over manufacturing, branding etc etc. Here watch for yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYbxSuHPC6E