1/4 Hot Toys - QS019 - The Dark Knight Trilogy - Batman Collectible Figure

[BrooklynWolf X]

Because there's never any love for sulu - he was always just one above the expendable crew member.

Oh LOL! Um, yeah that wasn’t what I was going for lol. But uh, can’t disagree with you there! Even in figure form he got the shaft.

 

[BrooklynWolf X]

I’m in no ways trying to say Hot Toys is perfect. Their Batman Begins reissue was such a joke I immediately had professional scans of the Enterbay cowl made and learned Z-brush so I could make my own version.

The QS009 and 1/4 Joker are a joke too honestly.

That doesn’t mean they’re cheep to produce.

Take a $200 unlicensed figure, make multiple times more copies, convert it into a licensed product with global distribution that doesn’t have to be bought in a weird obscure website or eBay AND has replacement parts support and you’re going to be at $250-$280 really quick.

That’s fair enough. I think we all can agree that these figures aren’t cheap to produce, but the end product needs to match the price point.

But when an 8 year old figure gets re-released and hasn’t received any MAJOR retooling and you’re gonna charge people the same price as Darth frigging vader...yo, somethings not right.

 

[BACON!]

I remember when the first QS was released. I passed on the Batman, but got the Endoskeleton. I am not passing on this one. I have never been a big fan of the Nolan trilogy, but this looks pretty special

 

[a-dev]

Inflation, economies of scale, retooling cost when making something again after a decade, are all a real thing. Seems some people just expect Hot Toys to keep increasing their complexity and reducing cost and thats not the way the world works. By the logic of people like you a new Mustang should still be $4,500 despite inflation and the fact cars have 586% more airbags than they did in the 60s.

Idk if you’ve ever made anything creative, taken an economics course, or worked in the manufacturing industry but it’s not easy work. I’d guess hot toys costs go up with their suppliers, their internal artists rates go up over time as they get better. There’s just so much that goes into these on a global scale that it’s amazing they get made at all.

I’ll concede Hot Toys are magicians. Not at turning people into sheep as you suggest but at delivering consistently crafted and well thought out products.

I’m just glad there are enough of us who appreciate the effort that goes into these to keep them running. They’d have gone out of business a long time ago if they catered to the smug *ss “I demand perfection and won’t pay a penny more than I did in 2007” crowd.

People like me?

For one thing, that combination of words...rarely going to go down well Secondly, I didn't actually offer any opinion on this matter. Merely chuckled at how BrooklynWolf was able to correctly anticipate that particular thing you ended up saying.

>edit< rereading your post I think you may have thought you were quoting BrooklynWolf.

Carry on.

 

[Zurdo95D]

I passed on this the first time around, but may pick it up. I've always thought it was a fantastic looking figure, but my main reason then was that Hot Toys didn't have a prolific 1:4 line. However, I wonder if that might be changing. Expanding into 1:4 seems like such a no-brainer, so I don't know why they haven't simply created a "Quarter Scale" or "Prestige" division.

• There aren't any 1:4 figure producers to speak of and HT already has the Big 3 licenses—Marvel, DC, Star Wars.
• Any cannibalization of their 1/6 sales would be nominal at most as they'd primarily be competing with companies like Queen Studios, JND and Prime 1.
• They could probably use most if not all of their existing vendor supply chain, all of whom would benefit by growing accordingly.
• And of course the larger scale would mean higher end, higher dollar products with even more realistic sculpts.

I'm sure Hot Toys has done several market studies, so it's entirely possible that either the market simply isn't there; the R&D and production costs are too high to justify; or the margins are significantly lower than 1:6.
That said, maybe they've been watching companies like Queen Studios and JND and seeing a growing market for 1:4 scale and 1:3 scale hyperrealistic collectibles in the last 2-3 years. I don't think HT would have any problem coming pretty close to, or matching, the level of detail and realism of those companies (especially if they can come up with a high quality rooted hair solution and maybe introduce a couple of other innovations not possible or practical with 1:6).
If they can keep the price point to around $550-$650 and have worldwide distribution, I think they'd both carve out a big chunk of the current 1:4 scale market and significantly grow the market by bringing in new collectors.
I know Hot Toys has already dipped a toe into each of the three major licenses (Batman & Joker/DCEU, Iron Man & Spider-Man/MCU, Vader, Boba, Mando/Star Wars), but to me it never seemed like they were committed to the scale. However, if they were to show up to the next major convention with a Quarter Scale section that featured prototypes for say Cap, Thor, and Black Widow (plus an obligatory Iron Man MK85); JL Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman; and Luke, Leia and Han, I'd definitely be ready to jump on board.

Much agreed! Yeah HT's 1/4 figures are few and far between, with their recent solicitations being reissues (more so this TDKR Batman and the IM Mark 42). I'm quite fond of their 1/4 line, so I'm quite interested to see what they put out. As you mentioned, it'd be awesome if they went ahead and expanded their QS line similar to their 1/6. 1/4 renditions of CA, Thor, BW, etc. would undoubtedly be the pinnacle for me. Not to mention, oh man, my biggest WANT would be a 1/4 Captain Marvel!

I guess some caveats to an expanded 1/4 line would be co$t and space, and to quote @darth dennis , "My wallet is thankful they haven't."

 

[Zurdo95D]

Oh yeah, it’s like I almost forgot I make a cape for this. I’d considered making a new cowl similar to my 1:4 Begins one but idk if it needs it enough for people to pay what it costs to make them.View attachment 545047

Nice display!

 

[a-dev]

Much agreed! Yeah HT's 1/4 figures are few and far between, with their recent solicitations being reissues (more so this TDKR Batman and the IM Mark 42). I'm quite fond of their 1/4 line, so I'm quite interested to see what they put out. As you mentioned, it'd be awesome if they went ahead and expanded their QS line similar to their 1/6. 1/4 renditions of CA, Thor, BW, etc. would undoubtedly be the pinnacle for me. Not to mention, oh man, my biggest WANT would be a 1/4 Captain Marvel!

I guess some caveats to an expanded 1/4 line would be co$t and space, and to quote @darth dennis , "My wallet is thankful they haven't."

Their 1/4 output has been disappointing overall. From 19 figures they've only done 10 characters. 2 of those are Baby Groot and Baby Yoda - not exactly collection centerpieces - they're so small they should just be accessories for normal sized characters not individual releases in their own right. And for a collector if you're gonna go bigger than 1/6 why not just get the lifesize ones? 1/4 barely registers. I dunno, maybe they sold well and what do I know but I don't understand the appeal, definitely not from a collector's POV. Lifesize, OK. But 1/4, for a character that tiny? And in the case of Groot zero companion characters from GOTG. Why bother?

Another two releases are very similar characters in Boba Fett and The Mandalorian. The rest are Batman, Ledger Joker, Iron Man and Spiderman - one Terminator and Darth Vader. And you have identical figures with Deluxe accessories and, lately, reissues giving a misleading idea of how broad the line really is if you were just looking at the QS numbers.

Not great for what initially seemed like such promise when they strongly hinted at Police Station Assault T-800, Predator, Dutch Schaeffer, Keaton Batman and probably others I've forgotten.

 

[Zurdo95D]

Their 1/4 output has been disappointing overall. From 19 figures they've only done 10 characters. 2 of those are Baby Groot and Baby Yoda - not exactly collection centerpieces - they're so small they should just be accessories for normal sized characters not individual releases in their own right. And for a collector if you're gonna go bigger than 1/6 why not just get the lifesize ones? 1/4 barely registers. I dunno, maybe they sold well and what do I know but I don't understand the appeal, definitely not from a collector's POV. Lifesize, OK. But 1/4, for a character that tiny? And in the case of Groot zero companion characters from GOTG. Why bother?

Another two releases are very similar characters in Boba Fett and The Mandalorian. The rest are Batman, Ledger Joker, Iron Man and Spiderman - one Terminator and Darth Vader. And you have identical figures with Deluxe accessories and, lately, reissues giving a misleading idea of how broad the line really is if you were just looking at the QS numbers.

Agreed, the seeming lack of variety in characters can be off-putting. Plus I think a fair criticism some have stated is that a few of the previous releases were a regression. For instance the Joker should have had multiple head sculpt options with different expressions along with PERS, a better base, etc. since the bar was set with the QS001.

Not great for what initially seemed like such promise when they strongly hinted at Police Station Assault T-800, Predator, Dutch Schaeffer, Keaton Batman and probably others I've forgotten.

It does feel unfortunate HT hasn't released those that they said they intended to make. I'd definitely want a 1/4 T-800 police shootout figure (It was supposed be be 'coming soon' ). A 1/4 Reeves Superman and Keaton Batman would be tremendous pairing.

 

[BrooklynWolf X]

I’ve given up on expecting HT to explore other characters in 1/4 scale.

 

[a-dev]

I don't know that 1/4 would ever get the range of characters we have at smaller scales (and possibly nor should it) but I did think we'd have more than we have right now. Hot Toys have been pretty conservative with the scale - the safest of the safe superhero characters and current fad characters they think will appeal to impulse buyers (perhaps rightly, I don't know).

Yes they made a T-800 endoskeleton but why did it end there for classic 80s licenses that were once their bread and butter? Did the Endoskeleton bomb? Did it bomb so hard they decided they weren't even gonna try out a T-800 with an Arnold likeness? Did it bomb so hard they decided that Predator, an entirely different but also older license, would probably fail aswell? Did this extend even to older iterations of major superheroes to get them cancelled before they began? I'd love to know. What happened to that early excitement that Hot Toys themselves seemed to have.

 

[BrooklynWolf X]

I don't know that 1/4 would ever get the range of characters we have at smaller scales (and possibly nor should it) but I did think we'd have more than we have right now. Hot Toys have been pretty conservative with the scale - the safest of the safe superhero characters and current fad characters they think will appeal to impulse buyers (perhaps rightly, I don't know).

Yes they made a T-800 endoskeleton but why did it end there for classic 80s licenses that were once their bread and butter? Did the Endoskeleton bomb? Did it bomb so hard they decided they weren't even gonna try out a T-800 with an Arnold likeness? Did it bomb so hard they decided that Predator, an entirely different but also older license, would probably fail aswell? Did this extend even to older iterations of major superheroes to get them cancelled before they began? I'd love to know. What happened to that early excitement that Hot Toys themselves seemed to have.

I gotchu fam:




That’s why lol

 

[Hologram AI]

I gotchu fam:
View attachment 545168
View attachment 545169
View attachment 545170

That’s why lol

You dropped this:

 

[BrooklynWolf X]

You dropped this:

Lol i figured Disney would’ve sufficed

 

[nexus]

Agreed, the seeming lack of variety in characters can be off-putting. Plus I think a fair criticism some have stated is that a few of the previous releases were a regression. For instance the Joker should have had multiple head sculpt options with different expressions along with PERS, a better base, etc. since the bar was set with the QS001.



It does feel unfortunate HT hasn't released those that they said they intended to make. I'd definitely want a 1/4 T-800 police shootout figure (It was supposed be be 'coming soon' ). A 1/4 Reeves Superman and Keaton Batman would be tremendous pairing.

If HT nailed Reeve's likeness '78 Superman would be about as close as one could get to printing money.

After taking another look at what all they've released, I get the feeling that the only reason Hot Toys may be producing these figures is a purely defensive business strategy to tie up the three major licenses and thereby essentially kill the 1:4 scale figure market as a whole. Sure, their 1:4 figures sell well and appreciate in the secondary, but they may not generate the same margins as 1:6. If that is the case, the purpose of the reissues is probably not to please collectors, but rather to simply renew those major licenses.

For the most part Hot Toys doesn't seem to be developing universal 1:4 body systems and there are no female figures, which to me would signal a higher level of commitment. Without HT setting a standard, there's nothing for unlicensed companies to knock off. At the same time, established producers like Blitzway, ThreeZero and Asmus no doubt consider it too risky and expensive to jump into 1:4 scale without a strong enough license. If any of those companies were to acquire even one of the Big Three licenses (especially MCU or Star Wars) they could seriously start building out the 1:4 market. Since Hot Toys is sitting fat and happy atop their 1:6 empire, they probably don't want to open the door to anything that might threaten that. So rather than launching a division to develop prolific product lines that would generate literally millions of dollars in additional revenue, maybe Hot Toys figures it's easier to do the bare minimum for the licenses and collectors while cutting off the oxygen necessary to grow the 1:4-scale figure market.

 

[BurningRage]

Maybe one day they’ll release that 1/4 Stormtrooper.

 

[BrooklynWolf X]

If HT nailed Reeve's likeness '78 Superman would be about as close as one could get to printing money.

After taking another look at what all they've released, I get the feeling that the only reason Hot Toys may be producing these figures is a purely defensive business strategy to tie up the three major licenses and thereby essentially kill the 1:4 scale figure market as a whole. Sure, their 1:4 figures sell well and appreciate in the secondary, but they may not generate the same margins as 1:6. If that is the case, the purpose of the reissues is probably not to please collectors, but rather to simply renew those major licenses.

For the most part Hot Toys doesn't seem to be developing universal 1:4 body systems and there are no female figures, which to me would signal a higher level of commitment. Without HT setting a standard, there's nothing for unlicensed companies to knock off. At the same time, established producers like Blitzway, ThreeZero and Asmus no doubt consider it too risky and expensive to jump into 1:4 scale without a strong enough license. If any of those companies were to acquire even one of the Big Three licenses (especially MCU or Star Wars) they could seriously start building out the 1:4 market. Since Hot Toys is sitting fat and happy atop their 1:6 empire, they probably don't want to open the door to anything that might threaten that. So rather than launching a division to develop prolific product lines that would generate literally millions of dollars in additional revenue, maybe Hot Toys figures it's easier to do the bare minimum for the licenses and collectors while cutting off the oxygen necessary to grow the 1:4-scale figure market.

That is a very well thought out observation.

Especially the part about threatening their empire. If you have any time, you should read through the Star Trek thread. It’s a huge task, since it has hundreds and hundreds of pages (unfortunately I can’t find the exact page...but if you choose to do so, god speed lol) but the man responsible for the past few and current Trek figures Nanjin Schubert Tam posts there regularly. Within that thread he gave us collectors a bit of a peek behind the curtain and some of the info he dropped, with regards to HT, Howard chan, was pretty telling.

In a nut shell, as I’ve also come to the realization long before I read Nanjins posts, Howard isn’t anyones friend and is pretty much a d!ck in the industry.

It was already hinted at when enterbay revealed their 1/4 terminator figures. HT revealed their 1/6 ver within seconds of EBs reveal.

Like...go to hell with that HC.

 

[Gipetto0812]

Not great for what initially seemed like such promise when they strongly hinted at Police Station Assault T-800, Predator, Dutch Schaeffer, Keaton Batman and probably others I've forgotten.

Man, I remember when they teased that 1/4 Police Station Assault T800. I was so looking forward to that. I really thought they were going to release it (and other Terminator characters) to compete with the Enterbay T2 figures but unfortunately that didn't happen. The T1 and T1 Arnold T800s are characters I would prefer to have at the larger scale.

 

[sj2106]

I wonder why they only do the Bale figures in quarter scale. Do the 1/6 Bale figures sell that much better than Keaton and Affleck?

Also surprised they've never done Luke is quarter scale. Obviously they can't do every figure in both scales but it does feel they're leaving money on the table by not making more of the more iconic characters.

 

[GreenRanger-Kush]

This is the ultimate figure for TDK Trilogy fans.
Amazing base representing all the villains, right accessories, amazing bust to have on your desk if the figure is in your cabinet or whatever. What else can fans wish for.

This will be the last time I'll address this but if Hot Toys would ever do a 1/4 Batfleck, I would say they are either making the Armored or Knightmare Batman, purely because those are the most recognisable but a BvS one would be the dream...

A gargoyle base, maybe a light up cowl bust, kryptonite spear.....

 

[Zurdo95D]

I wonder why they only do the Bale figures in quarter scale. Do the 1/6 Bale figures sell that much better than Keaton and Affleck?

Also surprised they've never done Luke is quarter scale. Obviously they can't do every figure in both scales but it does feel they're leaving money on the table by not making more of the more iconic characters.

A 1/4 Luke would go hand-in-hand with the 1/4 Vader! I presume a ROTJ Luke would be on the cards IF one were to be made.