Diecast Theory (A Humble Opinion)

[Mr Walker]

Given I'm a vocal critic of diecast, and I suspect in part the OP had me in mind when writing this, I'll say this OP... your theory, insofar as it may apply to me, is totally wrong. I don't give a crap if something's an "ultra super rare cool complete collection that is hard to come by". Toys are NOT investments, and the resale value means nothing to me. Be that an increase or decrease. My only criteria for judging a piece is that it has to look good on my shelf, and evoke a pleasing memory/emotion for me. I love my collection as a whole pretty evenly, but were I pressed for a favourite...

Hardly "ultra rare" and certainly not expensive. Go figure. Pun intended....

I'm all about zero compromises in appearance, poseability (if applicable) and quality. My concern is that diecast will impinge or negatively affect some or all of these criteria. My only reason. Not some imagined reluctance to upgrade. As far as it can be seen, it's already impinged upon poseability of WM Mk 2 with the flight stand - ie it's a no-go. I put forth the question in another thread... if we accept the permise is true that diecast is as adept at holding detail as plastic, and is as rugged, do we really want to compromise on poseability for what would be a visually identical product?

Now, before anyone else chimes in with it, there's zero reason the new joint system can't be done in plastic. Just to forestall that.

 

[BB&WSF]

The WM 2.0 thread looks like a new religion / life changing experience for certain folks.

"older plastic inferior releases"! "ultra super rare cool"!

If one has the knack of being a classy collector, it doesn't really matter you do not have the "ultra super rare cool" stuff.

People like dedguy can actually make even the original HT IM Mk III look worth getting; even now, when its re-release seems imminent:

Die cast or not, if one cannot pose / futz well, they can make even a $1000 figure look silly.

 

[spindrift]

The one thing for HT first and foremost is it's a business. The people clammorning for new suits need to realize HT has to balance the holy trinity of key success factors in product marketing.

1.Brand
2.Price
3.Value

They are not going to do anything that doesn't positively effect these above, if they are smart.
HT will always sell what is current and hot. With no more Iron man movies in the foreseeable future you could expect the production to start ramping down as interest fades. (As such with comic book movies soon)

There are other franchises such as the Star Wars trilogy coming up, a backlog of Batman/BTTF and things we haven't even thought of coming down the pipe.

Iron man is not good for HT in the long run and is a flash cash grab while it's hot. They cannot survive at these prices branding iron mans and expect folks to continuously buy the same 8 suits over and over again for the next 10 years. If they do, HT will make themselves non relevant and lose popularity (branding) ,customers (value) and profit (price).

Totally agree- however not so sure IM single moves are over- I see another in 4-5 years, maybe not with RDJ. Will IM stay " hot" for HT sales? That is the biggest question. HT will milk it for all it's worth and it could sustain them for another 5 years or more.

 

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

That Mark III repaint is brighter than the other candy red armors

 

[gunm]

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.

1. Not all collectors would think this way. In fact, I would argue that die hard collectors would hold on to older releases because they like the character and want all the variations and releases. I don't think toys provide a very good ROI for the average person (like me). I personally collect for the enjoyment of the hobby and because I like the characters, movies, or themes they represent.

2. I don't think plastic is "inferior" to diecast per se. It does seem like diecast provides more resilient joints and sturdier articulation for those joints. And some folks like the added weight for further stability, but as Howard mentioned in one of the most recent interviews, diecast takes longer for production and it's not going to replace the existing production processes and facilities any time soon. All the diecast after WM Mk2 has been pushed back, and HT still has a lot of regular plastic figs that it needs to push out as well as get ready for new product annoucements this year.

Anyways, diecast isn't going to be appropriate for figures like the latest Wolverine and other primarily "cloth-based" figures, and diecast is currently more expensive. The hobby is already out of reach for a lot of people and it doesn't make much sense to push the envelope too much more. I think the 1/6 bubble is going to burst soon.

 

[Ropen]

Jeez guys, just be glad none of you guys( maybe some) are into bandai and every toy brand that release multiple different versions of the same figure, I collect saint seiya figs and have been dealing with die cast figs my whole life and my opinion is that I would prefer Chinese die cast over Chinese all plastic figures zany day of the week. For some reason plastic Chinese paint is doo doo, for some reason when it's exposed to elements it starts to crack and and to fall off such as the case with my captain America shield.

Right now they are rereleasing figures that are way better in sense of articulation and mobility, give it five years and you might see three different versions of mkvii, that will have major improvements over the last one, such is the case in this business, there is always that figure that will change the collection and everyone will want all of the rest of the figures to be like that one.

It's never ending cycle.


I like die cast because of the paint won't crust off or fall of, it adds more realism and contrast to figure and the weight certainly helps, but if the die cast is too heavy it will stress the legs and cause it to fall off easily, and if the die cast figure is glossy you can easily tell which part is metal and which is plastic, unless they don't polish the die cast pieces...


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[koon]

I want Warmachine not because he's metal, but because I chose Batman Begins over Gunmetal Ironman. First of only three pieces that weren't in any of the movies right? I had IV back then, didn't think much of repaints, but if I was I'd be all over the blue one that never came out. I didn't go for Milk either, though it looked good and hung around teasing me for ages. I chose the Unleashed next. Then somewhere down the line I got interested in alt colours and I wanted Midas more than anything. A little less after someone spotted him in the movie. Then everyone also wanted him, probably having missed out on Gunmetal too, so I wanted him even more.

I don't have a VII, but I do have these...

Figuarts Ironmen are way cool! What are you die-cast lovers trying to say? You must be new to it.

Shoot, thinking about the wrong Ironman line.









Stealth or Prototype?