KNOWING WHAT YOU NOW KNOW, WHO PLANS ON BEING DISAPPOINTED ON JAN 1ST?

[Amir]

Poll?

I reserve judgment. Frankly it's win-win for me, since one less license I care avbout means more money to spend on the current offerings.

Exactly how I feel, this will undoubtedly bring a lot of new customers Sideshow's way, the WOW community is HUGE! I particularly could care less about it but I know there will be lot's of people buying and collecting this line.

 

[gdb]

With Sideshow in the role of distributor of Hot Toys and Medicom and with a limited number of buyers for their high end products it makes sense to build their marketability by reaching out to WoW and bobblehead fans. As I understand it, Sideshow began as a "garage kit" model sculpting company. So to put them on the couch for a second, it makes sense that they might be more inclined to do more statues and PFs and let their business partners take more of a lead role in growing the 1:6 figure market. And as Dekadantdave pointed out, Sideshow's business partners are redefining what you can do with a figure.

 

[The ill Jedi]

Ghostbusters figures would kick ass, I'd love a Peter Venkman with Proton pack!

 

[geto10]

YES, and I don't want the 5th Element bobbleheads or WoW statues BTW!

 

[sladesuperagent]

I love Star Wars but my interest has waned. I'm finding that I want to collect other film properties that I grew up with as well as some new ones and Sideshow seems to have abandoned most of their existing licenses except for the ones that are a no-brainer sell. The Warcraft announcement was disappointing but there will still be some fans that support it (all two of them I believe) but I am relieved to know that it won't have any impact on my wallet. Hot Toys continues to amaze with the quality and variety of licensed properties they are championing under their Movie Masterpiece series which is undoubtedly the best 1:6 movie line ever and I will gladly pay 2-4 times the price for these over Sideshow's. This is probably why they have not added any of Hot Toy's recent products (Rocky, Terminator, Robocop) to their site because they know that Hot Toys is beginning to steal their thunder.

Agreed. And furthermore, I think every member of this board has a right to a screwface when they are tempted by the Sideshow machine with some great announcement and it turns out to be "Police Academy 5: Miami Beach" bobbleheads (sans Guttenberg=mass hysteria!). This is free speach and critique. And it is exactly why this board exists.

 

[The Josh]

While I find WOW not that an exciting of an announcement I'll stay the optimist I am and see what they have Jan 1. As I said I'm glad for the fans of WOW and I hope for SS the line is a success. Like CM said though these kind of announcements in the end aren't a bad thing for me as they allow me to spend more on LOTR and SW.

 

[316what]

WoW will sell much more than any Kurgan. I trip over that damn NECA boxset every time I go into Spencers.

 

[sladesuperagent]

WoW will sell much more than any Kurgan. I trip over that damn NECA boxset every time I go into Spencers.

I had a Spencer toy X-Mas this year--18" NECA John Lennon and the Animated Beatles Box Set from McFarlane. I would have never bought those figures myself, but I'll take them as gifts! And I plan on picking up the South Park 4-pack!

 

[Ironman1188]

I'm not into WoW, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't purchase a 1:6 offering from it.
However, I can understand folks disappointment at all the hoopla and buildup for a grand announcement then it not being remotely close to anything that you like.
I was somewhat stoked for the 5th Element. I liked the movie and would have loved some figures, but the bobbleheads? Nope. Are there more bobblehead collectors than figure collectors?
I dunno, might be.
I can think of a lot of figures from existing lines [who wouldn't have let out a sigh of relief and joy had Ygor been announced?] that I'd like to see announced as well as new lines. Of course my tastes vary from genre to genre from sci-fi to WWII to superheroes and from character to character from Octaman to Batman to John Wayne.
Here's to hoping that 2007 will bring more to [1:6] Sideshow collectors than Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.

 

[customizerwannabe]

Who in their right mind would want a fifth element bobble head???

 

[sladesuperagent]

I...I really don't know. Probably the same people who wanted figures for Battlefield Earth.

 

[EVILFACE]

I...I really don't know. Probably the same people who wanted figures for Battlefield Earth.

Come on, who wouldn't want a Travolta figure in that stupid outfit lol.

 

[dekadentdave]

Travolta looks like some genetic experiment gone awry between a Predator and a Klingon.

 

[sladesuperagent]

Travolta looks like some genetic experiment gone awry between a Predator and a Klingon.

Do you mean in the movie or in his everyday-weirdo-Scientologerrific life?

 

[dekadentdave]

Do you mean in the movie or in his everyday-weirdo-Scientologerrific life?

Good point.

 

[Darth Kustomizer]

Color me disappointed!

 

[figuremaster_les]

Not too concerned. I guess I'm a cautious optimist.

I am hoping for SS to expand into other areas.
To be honest, I think of SS as a different kind of line producer than trying to keep up with the Hot Toys/Gods of the 1980's movies type of toys, as SS cannot catch them now. HT has that market cornered and SS is good at providing those to us as they are.

If anything, I hope Sideshow will expand into areas that only they could capture as well as they do...
For ex., Silent and '30's movie stars....Imagine that kind of stuff...NO ONE IS DOING THAT! Have a Mr Smith Jimmy Stewart next to a set of the Marx Brothers...or other greats of the best period of movies ever...Humphrey Bogart, Cagney, Gary Cooper, Katherine Hepburn, those guys!

Here's one for ya Slade, if Sideshow would make 1970's Blaxploitation guys, SHAFT, Black Belt Jones, Coffey, those kinds of figures....(Imagine the boxes!!!)
NO ONE IS DOING THAT....
There's lots of Bruce Lee, but no Rudy Ray Moore! WHY???Those dudes kick butt too! That would go a long way towards filling some open and untapped zones and make them have an even richer toy line base.
TV shows too! Gilligan's Island, Jackie Gleason, Dick Van Dyke, SO many more are out there for the doing!

THAT kind of thought in the company would keep me happy. If they keep trying to keep up with other companies, then they are following, and not leading. I Think they should lead. They have lead for a long time. I am optimistic that with some challenging and innovative lines, they won't lose that lead.

As for PFs and other areas, such as statuary and other things, keep on producing and finishing started lines. Don't stop on LOTR. Make more PF rarities. More! Make those better than anyone else.
I don't even collect those, but I can see the zeal they have generated in those lines, that are really a SS specialty now.

Otherwise, what your poll seems to be about Slade, is about fear of no real new movement.
I hope for SS's sake that they do indeed go where no other company has gone before.
That kind of expansion would breathe some newer life into their image.

I bet ya! I remain hopeful!

 

[sladesuperagent]

If they keep trying to keep up with other companies, then they are following, and not leading. I Think they should lead. They have lead for a long time. I am optimistic that with some challenging and innovative lines, they won't lose that lead.
Otherwise, what your poll seems to be about Slade, is about fear of no real new movement.
I hope for SS's sake that they do indeed go where no other company has gone before.
That kind of expansion would breathe some newer life into their image.

You make some good points, Les. I'm trying to be optimistic too, but what really grinds my gears is the hype Sideshow throws at US, the really hardcore collector who spends all this time gooning about their product, but then annouces figures based on a video game (or bobbleheads based on a crappy sci-fi film). They aim those announcements at us specifically--the freaks, but then are all shocked when we are like, "Huh? What's WoW? Is that like Diablo?" I didn't add that 3rd option on the poll, someone here feel we needed a 3rd, G-rated choice (obviously, they were wrong). I feel like this is an outlet where Sideshow should be listening, but they are not. How many of us were REALLY HOPIN' FOR WARCRAFT STATUES? A handful of us if that? I understand it's a hugely popular game, but VIDEO GAME COLLECTABLES DON'T SELL. OK, these might sell (and I'm hopeful for that) b/c you may have a few crossover collectors, but I pretty much think it's two different markets. Now, I'm glad there are people excited, b/c their gonna pay the tution for the Sideshow employee's kids and not me. I only hope this trickles down to a Richard Roundtree Shaft figure for me in the future. And I guess I just wanna be the last to know about it.

 

[LordAzrael]

I talked to a half dozen friends who play WoW and they pretty much all said they'd be interested in figures of THEIR own character but not anything else. That's without discussing the price. Someone used to do this but got taken to court by Blizzard. I doubt SSC is going to individual characters of players. Admittedly my sample isn't large - but it did get 100%. Combine that with the results of this poll and I think it might be looking like a mistake.

 

[The Josh]

I talked to a half dozen friends who play WoW and they pretty much all said they'd be interested in figures of THEIR own character but not anything else. That's without discussing the price. Someone used to do this but got taken to court by Blizzard. I doubt SSC is going to individual characters of players. Admittedly my sample isn't large - but it did get 100%. Combine that with the results of this poll and I think it might be looking like a mistake.

Well, kind of what I did at best buy yeseterday. Asked a couple people and they where like yeah but like you I didn't mention a price either. They didn't say anything about wanting their specific homemade character but I think we basically got the same response.