Before I begin my hypothesis let me start of with a disclaimer: This is merely my opinion and one that I took time as well as effort to formulate. I am taking into consideration both sides of the coin here, not merely the "Pro Diecast" side (of which I am apart of).
Just for a bit of context I only own one Iron Man figure, and that is Iron Man 2 Mark II Armor Unleashed. I enjoy the figure quite a bit. I've held and examine other Iron Man releases and enjoy quite a few of them (didn't much care for the Midas). I receive the first diecast release this week, the Iron Man 3 War Machine Mark II (which I am considering doing my own review of which will be slightly different in style than I have seen on here).
I do not believe a low post count or my join date makes my opinion any less valid than say someone who joined three years ago with other 4,000 posts. I do not have the time nor inclination to post as much as some do (not that there is anything wrong with it). I browsed this board for near a year prior to signing up and garnered quite a bit of knowledge in that time frame; however, in saying that, there are some on here that think because I am relatively "new" (in regards to my shown join date and post count) then I am inexperienced and I should be weary of how I post. Illogical if you ask me- but nevertheless I think my theory on the diecast praise and resistance is valid and worth a look-see.
Hot Toys did their first "upgrade" with the Mark I armor, aptly named "Mark I 2.0" and it featured some updates (most noticeably a superior Robert Downey, Jr sculpt). It wouldn't be outside the realm of possbility to expect Hot Toys to capitalize on potential profits on the collector market and re-release different armors with 2.0's (such as they have with Ledger Joker). It is my understanding that the original Mark I armor release fetched a pretty penny in the aftermarket with collectors prior to the 2.0 release (which that now is going for $300 plus), and then comes the 2.0 and the original release is unloaded at cost or barely above to gain funds for the 2.0 or whatever reason that owner may have.
Enter diecast.
My hypothesis for the anti-diecast is this (and this is one theory for one reason, I'm certain there are many other reasons): What if Hot Toys does 2.0s on armors such as Mark I, Secret Project, Mark II Unleashed, Mark V, Mark VII but with diecast parts? These items are rather difficult to come by (I have browsed the BST board here and haven't seen Mark V hardly at all). These "gems" would no longer be as sought after as they are now if there were to be 2.0 releases with updated materials and/or new accessories, new boxes, etc.
This, in turn, would make the people late to the game able to fill the holes in their respective collections without having to get second hand products for a hefty mark up. We can buy brand new products with updated engineerng, materials, etc and be able to have complete collections (which seems to be a thorn in the side of some collectors/members of this hobby). When that happens the guy with every release of Iron Man armors is faced with a couple dilemmas, those being:
1. He/She no longer has the "ultra super rare cool complete collection that is hard to come by" and everyone now can have it... but with updated materials/accessories/boxes/etc. Not cool man! I put the time and effort into buying them when they came out or paying the inflated aftermarket price! So should everyone else!
2. Shucks... now I have to be a get rid of my older plastic "inferior" releases in favor of the new heavier updated diecast releases that I like better. My collection is now antiquated! However I will now lose money I initially invested and also spend a considerable amount of money replacing my first collection.
So I can see the resistance in that respect.
However this is an exciting idea for new collectors. We were unable to obtain a lot of these and now we potentially have the opportunity to have complete collections.
Just for a bit of context I only own one Iron Man figure, and that is Iron Man 2 Mark II Armor Unleashed. I enjoy the figure quite a bit. I've held and examine other Iron Man releases and enjoy quite a few of them (didn't much care for the Midas). I receive the first diecast release this week, the Iron Man 3 War Machine Mark II (which I am considering doing my own review of which will be slightly different in style than I have seen on here).
I do not believe a low post count or my join date makes my opinion any less valid than say someone who joined three years ago with other 4,000 posts. I do not have the time nor inclination to post as much as some do (not that there is anything wrong with it). I browsed this board for near a year prior to signing up and garnered quite a bit of knowledge in that time frame; however, in saying that, there are some on here that think because I am relatively "new" (in regards to my shown join date and post count) then I am inexperienced and I should be weary of how I post. Illogical if you ask me- but nevertheless I think my theory on the diecast praise and resistance is valid and worth a look-see.
Hot Toys did their first "upgrade" with the Mark I armor, aptly named "Mark I 2.0" and it featured some updates (most noticeably a superior Robert Downey, Jr sculpt). It wouldn't be outside the realm of possbility to expect Hot Toys to capitalize on potential profits on the collector market and re-release different armors with 2.0's (such as they have with Ledger Joker). It is my understanding that the original Mark I armor release fetched a pretty penny in the aftermarket with collectors prior to the 2.0 release (which that now is going for $300 plus), and then comes the 2.0 and the original release is unloaded at cost or barely above to gain funds for the 2.0 or whatever reason that owner may have.
Enter diecast.
My hypothesis for the anti-diecast is this (and this is one theory for one reason, I'm certain there are many other reasons): What if Hot Toys does 2.0s on armors such as Mark I, Secret Project, Mark II Unleashed, Mark V, Mark VII but with diecast parts? These items are rather difficult to come by (I have browsed the BST board here and haven't seen Mark V hardly at all). These "gems" would no longer be as sought after as they are now if there were to be 2.0 releases with updated materials and/or new accessories, new boxes, etc.
This, in turn, would make the people late to the game able to fill the holes in their respective collections without having to get second hand products for a hefty mark up. We can buy brand new products with updated engineerng, materials, etc and be able to have complete collections (which seems to be a thorn in the side of some collectors/members of this hobby). When that happens the guy with every release of Iron Man armors is faced with a couple dilemmas, those being:
1. He/She no longer has the "ultra super rare cool complete collection that is hard to come by" and everyone now can have it... but with updated materials/accessories/boxes/etc. Not cool man! I put the time and effort into buying them when they came out or paying the inflated aftermarket price! So should everyone else!
2. Shucks... now I have to be a get rid of my older plastic "inferior" releases in favor of the new heavier updated diecast releases that I like better. My collection is now antiquated! However I will now lose money I initially invested and also spend a considerable amount of money replacing my first collection.
So I can see the resistance in that respect.
However this is an exciting idea for new collectors. We were unable to obtain a lot of these and now we potentially have the opportunity to have complete collections.
