If HT won't do a line based off of television characters, who else can?

[Motuxmen]

If I did own my own figure manufacturing company, trust me, there wouldn't be 50 different variants of the same damn armor no matter how sad.

And I would be glad for someone to call me pathetic for being that pathetic.

Good luck. The variants are the best way to keep a company solvent. Like it or not. And the fact they sell shows you would be in trouble for poor business plan.

 

[Motuxmen]

I don't think the risk is all that big for HT to be honest. I'm just assuming here, but wouldn't the ratings mostly come from fans of all things geek? And aren't those the same people that end up buying figures from HT, DCdirect and various other companies? Also, don't they usually only produce 10s of thousands of a figure rather than a million? Someone mentioned prison break. Let's not forget, that was during a time when HT was still in their infancy trying to learn the market. If the prison break figures didn't set the toy collecting world on fire...well, let's be honest here...a guy in prison garb isn't going to turn heads. The two leads and their outfits don't really make for a compelling collectible. THOSE were niche characters IMO. Sort of why HT didn't produce anything from inception, stating that the characters in suits are a hard sell. While I'm sure it saddens fans of the movie...there is a ring of truth to it.

If that experience soured HT view on making product from TV shows, I think it's time they gave it another shot. The DCTVU may not be a goldmine...but it's for damn sure a gold shaft.

If it where a gold mine it would be tapped. How many companies do you know that would not explore a "goldmine"?

You make it seem like everyone who watches thes buys. That's not how it works. If you "assume" it's just fans that watch these, then you must "assume" those same fans watch the movie versions. And those movie figures don't always (in fact rarely) amount to actual hits. It's flawed logic, to start with, becuase it doesn't fsctor in price or if these people actually collect or even know about hot toys, if they have the money, or jobs, or Internet, or buy online, or a hundred other factors that take that "ratings" number and continue to cut down even potential customers. You also fail to consider how many people say they want a figure only to not buy it for a hundred reasons (don't like the nose, the suit is rubber other bs) or can only buy so many. companies like hot toys and sideshow and King arts and play imaginative all hire and pay for market research and studies and surveys and have (for hot toys 15) years of their own sales data to use to make these decisions. But somehow the people that have almost none of that think they know what is more profitable becuase they like it. Come on now.

You show me a single TV show that has spawned a successful adult collector line. Even if there are any, none I can think of off the top of my head, there are thousands that crash and burn.

The risk for hot toys is there. If it where a no risk venture why do you imagine they wouldn't do it? It's silly.

 

[gravewolf]

Just because we ourselves want a certain figure to be made doesn't mean other people will buy one once it is made. It's really hard to plan, design and manufacture a single figure and it's even harder to know if it will sell. Plus you have to factor in the cost of the license of a character then things get more expensive and complicated. I can't blame HT for sticking with proven sellers like ironman. They are still in the business of making money and if I was in their shoes I would do the same. They can't please everyone and sometimes we just have to be patient. There are so many characters out there with their own fanbases and it's hard to figure out which ones will guarantee a sale. On the brightside there are other companies like ACI and Art Figures that are making good figures at very good prices.

 

[davejames]

After watching those two trailers and seeing her in action kicking ass, I am DEFINITELY wanting a Supergirl figure now. Whether an official one or just a custom I try to put together myself.

 

[Darklord Dave]

Your only hope is Threezero, and they already have enough on their plate.

There is another...

 

[BrooklynWolf X]

If it where a gold mine it would be tapped. How many companies do you know that would not explore a "goldmine"?

You make it seem like everyone who watches thes buys. That's not how it works. If you "assume" it's just fans that watch these, then you must "assume" those same fans watch the movie versions. And those movie figures don't always (in fact rarely) amount to actual hits. It's flawed logic, to start with, becuase it doesn't fsctor in price or if these people actually collect or even know about hot toys, if they have the money, or jobs, or Internet, or buy online, or a hundred other factors that take that "ratings" number and continue to cut down even potential customers. You also fail to consider how many people say they want a figure only to not buy it for a hundred reasons (don't like the nose, the suit is rubber other bs) or can only buy so many. companies like hot toys and sideshow and King arts and play imaginative all hire and pay for market research and studies and surveys and have (for hot toys 15) years of their own sales data to use to make these decisions. But somehow the people that have almost none of that think they know what is more profitable becuase they like it. Come on now.

You show me a single TV show that has spawned a successful adult collector line. Even if there are any, none I can think of off the top of my head, there are thousands that crash and burn.

The risk for hot toys is there. If it where a no risk venture why do you imagine they wouldn't do it? It's silly.

I'm beginning to see why a few posters here get snarky with you. It's just the way your posts are worded. It just comes off as...condescending.

You make it sound like I'm damning HT or demanding them to make figures from certain properties. All I'm trying to express is that it's a shame a big company like HT took risks in the beginning only to play it safe nowadays. Sure some of those risks failed, but when they got it right, they hit big and never looked back.

And I never said these IPs are gold mines. I said gold shaft. They may not bring in the dough like iron man or batman, but with the MILLIONS of viewers watching the aforementioned shows, you're telling me 2% of that can't equate to decent sales? By decent sales, I'm talking about sales numbers for figures such as reeve supes, west batman, Keaton batman...these are properties that are only recognized in English speaking countries I.e. America. Since HT is an Asia based company and, let's be honest here, their main focus is Asia/China...if it weren't for fan demand and outrage, they wouldn't even touch those properties because those don't sell in China. Figures such as Bale batman, iron man, jack sparrow, captain America were THE HOT NEW $#!+ when they were produced. The moment they hit the market, boom, double to triple the price. Months later, they're still commanding outrageous prices.

Reeve supes? Keaton batman (although his price has steadily increased since release...but it took a while to get there)? Nicholson joker? West batman? Yeah...not so much. Hell there are sellers selling batman and robin as a combo for either less than $180 or a little over $200 in China. Now the next figure that will be a tell tale sign of "what sells and what doesn't"...

Marty Mcfly. Next year, he's gonna be in the bargain bin here in guang Zhou. Mark my words. Oh he will definitely sell like hot cakes in the states...but in Asia? Nah.

I'm well aware HT main goal here is to make money. No s#!+? But don't speak to me as if YOU know the market. No one does.

I know you've defended HT for quite some time now...but chill out bruh. I know you're not here to Take care of anyone's feelings and probably don't give a crap about whose toes you step on. But just a word of advice man...chillax.

 

[BrooklynWolf X]

Just because we ourselves want a certain figure to be made doesn't mean other people will buy one once it is made. It's really hard to plan, design and manufacture a single figure and it's even harder to know if it will sell. Plus you have to factor in the cost of the license of a character then things get more expensive and complicated. I can't blame HT for sticking with proven sellers like ironman. They are still in the business of making money and if I was in their shoes I would do the same. They can't please everyone and sometimes we just have to be patient. There are so many characters out there with their own fanbases and it's hard to figure out which ones will guarantee a sale. On the brightside there are other companies like ACI and Art Figures that are making good figures at very good prices.

Oh I know we have to be patient. Patience has been gained the hard way through trickled releases like returns batman, Marty Mcfly and so forth.

It's unfortunate is all. I'd love for art figures to make figures from the DCTVU...but don't they do it illegally? The whole dredd fiasco comes to mind with AF.

 

[Kebron]

You show me a single TV show that has spawned a successful adult collector line. Even if there are any, none I can think of off the top of my head, there are thousands that crash and burn..

Off the top off my head. Star Trek, Battlestar Galatica, Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Firefly. Really though depends on your definition of adult collector line and successful. Price point on item? If the company is still around? If there is still a active collectible line?

Star Trek bit of a no brainier there, BSG popularity died down a lot like some of the movie lines Hot Toys has done but was super popular a while back, Walkind Dead and Game of Thrones hottest things on TV right now and both have ver popular collectible lines, Firefly still popular to its fans and had a pretty active collectible line.

 

[gravewolf]

Oh I know we have to be patient. Patience has been gained the hard way through trickled releases like returns batman, Marty Mcfly and so forth.

It's unfortunate is all. I'd love for art figures to make figures from the DCTVU...but don't they do it illegally? The whole dredd fiasco comes to mind with AF.

Trickled releases is all we can expect HT with figures like Marty and other older characters, HT will concentrate making figures that are sure sellers. AF has released figures without licenses but that's how HT also started. If these companies get big enough HT will have competition which may get them to release more figures and might drive down the prices a bit. I actually love my "daedd" figure, it's really well made and I'm happy they made him since no one else has released one.

 

[Antihero]

The Batman '66 figures didn't sell well so HT will stay away from TV shows for the time being....

 

[BrooklynWolf X]

Trickled releases is all we can expect HT with figures like Marty and other older characters, HT will concentrate making figures that are sure sellers. AF has released figures without licenses but that's how HT also started. If these companies get big enough HT will have competition which may get them to release more figures and might drive down the prices a bit. I actually love my "daedd" figure, it's really well made and I'm happy they made him since no one else has released one.

Oh man, I love my daedd figure. *bro fist*

I wish there was more competition in this field.

 

[BrooklynWolf X]

The Batman '66 figures didn't sell well so HT will stay away from TV shows for the time being....

That's only because figures such as '66 batman are aimed for collectors that were exposed to it (same goes for '89 batman, reeve superman). I've met a few collectors here in GZ where their first response to both batman and robin were "wtf is that $#!t". I've never wanted to punch someone in the head before for insulting my childhood...As much as I wanted to punch them in the face...I can't fault them for their initial reaction because while we were enjoying our blockbusters, they were figuring out how to make a living...

anyway...All they cared about was the new stuff because THOSE are the ones that are relevant to Asia/them now ever since China opened up the doors for Western blockbusters.

My point: today is different compared to the past where geek culture is concerned. There's more exposure to shows such as flash, arrow, AoS, walking dead, GoT through the Internet and bootleg DVDs. There is a small but strong fanbase in Asia. since figures based off of our childhoods are seeing great sales in the states and moderate sales in Asia...I strongly believe if HT were to test the waters with the aforementioned shows, I'm almost positive they'll be greeted with strong sales numbers. in the end, that's all that matters to them.

 

[gravewolf]

Oh man, I love my daedd figure. *bro fist*

I wish there was more competition in this field.

Lol, my daedd looks good together with my robocop. It sometimes takes one successfull tv character figure released to get ht interested. To be honest I'm also hoping for a tv daredevil figure, but I'm figure company agnostic so whoever releases a high quality one at a good price will get my money.

 

[CloudN]

Pretty much any company can do a line based off television characters.
I wonder if it has something to do with the TV studios are less likely to open the licenses for products. Not a lot of TV series have 1:6 toylines. I can only think of Buffy, Star Trek, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead and Dr Who

 

[karamazov80]

There is another...

Star Ace? QMX? This would have been a nice niche Enterbay could have filled, but they don't seem interested in even being in the same ballpark as Hot Toys with their releases now.

 

[davejames]

I know a lot of people on here aren't their biggest fans, but personally I'd be perfectly happy if even Sideshow made some Flash, Arrow, or Supergirl figures. And I'm sure they'd be much better sellers than the basic comic book versions of the characters they've been making, so it's odd to me that they haven't tackled them yet.

 

[spindrift]

I know a lot of people on here aren't their biggest fans, but personally I'd be perfectly happy if even Sideshow made some Flash, Arrow, or Supergirl figures. And I'm sure they'd be much better sellers than the basic comic book versions of the characters they've been making, so it's odd to me that they haven't tackled them yet.

Won't pay HT prices that SS has been asking lately for figures that are..ooopps better not say more!

 

[Sidewinder]

There's plenty of shows I'd like figures of, the superheroes are covered through all the movies imo. They will eventually do an Arrow and a Flash when there's a big screen version of them. I don't think HT or Threezero have the time to be adding even more licences.

SSC to me is the one with hardly anything on their plate concerning the 1/6 market. Their comic book versions and some Star Wars as well as the one Indiana Jones seem to be about it for them right now.

 

[Motuxmen]

I'm beginning to see why a few posters here get snarky with you. It's just the way your posts are worded. It just comes off as...condescending.

You make it sound like I'm damning HT or demanding them to make figures from certain properties. All I'm trying to express is that it's a shame a big company like HT took risks in the beginning only to play it safe nowadays. Sure some of those risks failed, but when they got it right, they hit big and never looked back.

And I never said these IPs are gold mines. I said gold shaft. They may not bring in the dough like iron man or batman, but with the MILLIONS of viewers watching the aforementioned shows, you're telling me 2% of that can't equate to decent sales? By decent sales, I'm talking about sales numbers for figures such as reeve supes, west batman, Keaton batman...these are properties that are only recognized in English speaking countries I.e. America. Since HT is an Asia based company and, let's be honest here, their main focus is Asia/China...if it weren't for fan demand and outrage, they wouldn't even touch those properties because those don't sell in China. Figures such as Bale batman, iron man, jack sparrow, captain America were THE HOT NEW $#!+ when they were produced. The moment they hit the market, boom, double to triple the price. Months later, they're still commanding outrageous prices.

Reeve supes? Keaton batman (although his price has steadily increased since release...but it took a while to get there)? Nicholson joker? West batman? Yeah...not so much. Hell there are sellers selling batman and robin as a combo for either less than $180 or a little over $200 in China. Now the next figure that will be a tell tale sign of "what sells and what doesn't"...

Marty Mcfly. Next year, he's gonna be in the bargain bin here in guang Zhou. Mark my words. Oh he will definitely sell like hot cakes in the states...but in Asia? Nah.

I'm well aware HT main goal here is to make money. No s#!+? But don't speak to me as if YOU know the market. No one does.

I know you've defended HT for quite some time now...but chill out bruh. I know you're not here to Take care of anyone's feelings and probably don't give a crap about whose toes you step on. But just a word of advice man...chillax.

Again, I find it funny that I am told to relax and I'm talking down, in a post where I perceive the same thing from you. first, I do know the market. I've explained this, and though people may not like it, I've also demonstrated it. Its my family business. My father owns a production/development studio. My brother works in game programming and art direction. So does one of my sisters. I've worked in the field since I was a kid. Left becuase I got bored, joined the marines, got out and now am (and have been for over ten years) back working in the industry. Currently it's mostly prop and cine stuff. But I've sculpted and painted and even tried talent mangment for a bit. So sorry, I do know the market. Lots of the people that work in it. So let's move on from that.

As for me talking down, or condescending..you may take it that way. Not much I can do about that. People take issue with me becuase I disagree. It doesn't matter how i say it. Go back and look, I can point out a few cases in the last two weeks. Where I said sorry I disagree. And got the same attitude you are giving. Most the time I don't even bother with the dress up. Crap I write is long enough as is. I don't do the cute little gifs or memes or emoticons. If I did it changes nothing. It's text on a screen. How you take it is a reflection of you not me. Not being smart or funny. But if you read tone or thinking I'm doing or speaking in anyway that's you making that choice. There's no body language or inflections for you to base any of that off. Same as with anyone on here. We don't know anyone else(for the most part). So whatever tone or attitude you feel is there is one of your own making.

And yes, I do end up defending hot toys a LOT. But someone should. they get called all kinds of disrespectful things, accused of all kinds of things, and all with very little information about the reality behind why things go the way they do. And since most people don't know or don't care why things work like they do and have a hard time seeing past their own life experience and job experience and collecting experience misinformation and erroneous information and opinion based on bad information gets tossed around. And if you are one of the people who is actually looking for information or understanding or sees that everyone basically says the same thing so it's got to be true..I think a counter point should be made. And since I have a little more info and experience (it's not something I'm doing to get popular(that should be obvious) or impress people or its not some special ability or whatever..i just happen to have born into a family that does this that's all) I feel I should speak up. So I do. I stand out becuase I'm often the only one saying what I do

Do I think hot toys is perfect? Not at all. Do I think each figure can use improvements..probably. But that stuff gets pointed out every other post for hundreds of pages. And often with pretty crappy wording. Calling Howard Chan every name in the book, and accusing hot toys of scamming and ripping people off and being lazy and more. Complaining about how the design sucks. Even though that's a marvel issue. And so much more. How would you feel if it where your friend or your family or your business that was talked about like that?

 

[Motuxmen]

Also...you said hot toys doesn't take risks and they play it safe and they changed. I've pointed out before, and even showed or listed nearly every non marvel figure they did from 2000-2010(up till then they had only a few im1 figures) and then every figure from 2010-2015. Not only has hot toys not stopped taking risks, they have been taking more. I don't recall the exact numbers off the top of my head..it's in the aliens ripley thread if u want to see all the data..but essential the first 10 years they made around 130 non marvel figures. Since 2010 (half the time) they have made 130. So they doubled non marvel production. Took risks on 66 batman and ichobod crane and lots of others.

But they have never been a large player in the TV market. Ever. As I said, it's a market that has never been a big producer in collectible figures. Is it possible they will take a shot and try it out..maybe. But live action TV shows have an evening complicated licensing situation then movies. I'd say probably two or three times as complicated. Fsctor that with the extremely low numbers (there may be a larger number watching on bootleg and illegal copies, but there's no way to know that and you can't base a multimillion dollar product on that) in relation to theatrical. Hot toys doesn't have to look at box office, you can find the actual number of tickets used.

And this does not happen in a vacuum. What I mean is they have to choose between a TV show that has 1-2 million viewers versus a movie that may have 40-100 million. Even if you go by the 2% number you brought up(which isn't a realistic number) why would you go for the added hassle, and risk of doing the TV when you can do the movie? Hot toys has established relationships and deals with a majority of the movie studios they make product from. That makes a huge difference as well.

Edit-and to give you an idea how many people see these movies, or at least the official estimates...Avengers had 72 million tickets used/sold...PotC had 62 million. The average weekly viewing for flash is 2 million people with iTunes and other digital and 7 day dvr factored in. The difference is huge.