1/6 Hot Toys - MMS - Thor: Ragnarok - Valkyrie Collectible Figure

[orwell3825]

Has a figure shown up in another figures promo image and then not been produced? None come to kind. Usually when they’re in promo pics, they come.

I was positive that Crossbones was in a promo for the Captain America from Civil War but upon checking again I can only find a promo with a cracked Crossbones helmet.

 

[warmachine333]

I was positive that Crossbones was in a promo for the Captain America from Civil War but upon checking again I can only find a promo with a cracked Crossbones helmet.

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[matmurdock]

Baze was in the promo shots for Chirrut. Sadly Baze has not been released.

 

[Malgus]

I hate when HT does this--Yellowjacket, Crossbones, Ultron Drone, '66 Joker, etc. I understand that they don't want to put resources into figures that could be potential money losers, but they should really have a business model that allows them to produce short-run b-listers. I'm sure if they offered a "limited edition" line that was capped at maybe 1,000 or 1,500 figures (whatever makes sense) those would sell through like hotcakes, even at a premium. Limited figures would probably do very well in the secondary, so you'd have both collectors and speculators grabbing them up. Hot Toys could probably outsource the entire development operation to a subcontractor and just oversee quality control.

People are giving Hot Toys a pass for their greed. They seem to only want to make figures they can sell tens of thousands of. They can easily make these missing figures and sell a few thousands and make a nice profit. They don't want to make a nice profit. They want to be able to only make figures that sell in the teens of thousands these days. That is a problem for collectors.

 

[Dino_Ranger_White]

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Ah, memories… I would have been all over that figure.
Having his helmet and a Vulture helmet makes me sad of what could and should have been.

 

[Motuxmen]

People are giving Hot Toys a pass for their greed. They seem to only want to make figures they can sell tens of thousands of. They can easily make these missing figures and sell a few thousands and make a nice profit. They don't want to make a nice profit. They want to be able to only make figures that sell in the teens of thousands these days. That is a problem for collectors.

There’s zero evidence that they could make a few thousand and make money. We do not know their profit margins at all for any figure. But King Arts owner publicly said they didn’t make any profit for years, and that when they started to profit it’s still smaller margins for adult high end collectibles the any other toy his factory has ever produced. So saying it’s all about greed has no basis and all the known evidence contradicts it. Plus, they are a business. Selling things for money is the entire point.

A figure like Yellow Jacket could not be produced in small numbers and make a profit when compared to the figures hot toys has produced.

 

[melkorjunior]

There’s zero evidence that they could make a few thousand and make money. We do not know their profit margins at all for any figure. But King Arts owner publicly said they didn’t make any profit for years, and that when they started to profit it’s still smaller margins for adult high end collectibles the any other toy his factory has ever produced. So saying it’s all about greed has no basis and all the known evidence contradicts it. Plus, they are a business. Selling things for money is the entire point.

A figure like Yellow Jacket could not be produced in small numbers and make a profit when compared to the figures hot toys has produced.

I don't know anything about their profit margins, but Crossbones, at least, could have been produced cheaply if Hot Toys didn't include a Frank Grillo headsculpt and just made the helmet non-removable. Maybe the lack of a Grillo headsculpt would be a dealbreaker for some fans, but I certainly would have picked it up. Then again maybe Hot Toys assumes the popularity just isn't there, and that's a problem for villains in general. For myself, I'm just glad we're getting *some* villains anyway. Red Skull and Iron Monger look amazing on my shelf, and Hela is a nice surprise.

 

[gunm]

No one other than an industry insider really knows what the margins are, what Hot Toys themselves needs/wants to make for themselves, and what the typical "profitable" production run is--any profit relies on selling all products out as well, which is something no one can reliably or accurately predict. If they make a fig they show, great! If they don't, move on.

 

[davejames]

I guess I'm one of the few who actually thought the black leather outfit with white markings on her face was the cooler look in the movie.

 

[gmoney5000]

Ah, memories… I would have been all over that figure.
Having his helmet and a Vulture helmet makes me sad of what could and should have been.

I find it surprising for HT to make a pass on making a figure for a villain portrayed by an A-lister such as Michael Keaton. I can understand why they would pass on Cross Bones and Yellow Jacket since the characters and actors themselves aren't popular enough to warrant it...but for Keaton Vulture, that is a bit of a head scratcher and a missed opportunity.

Since he is rumored to return for SM2, here's hoping they finally make him!

 

[gmoney5000]

I don't know anything about their profit margins, but Crossbones, at least, could have been produced cheaply if Hot Toys didn't include a Frank Grillo headsculpt and just made the helmet non-removable. Maybe the lack of a Grillo headsculpt would be a dealbreaker for some fans, but I certainly would have picked it up. Then again maybe Hot Toys assumes the popularity just isn't there, and that's a problem for villains in general. For myself, I'm just glad we're getting *some* villains anyway. Red Skull and Iron Monger look amazing on my shelf, and Hela is a nice surprise.

That's the thing though HT is in't in the business of "cheaply" producing anything. Sure, their most recent releases may now be lacking in the plethora of accessories their older releases were accustomed to, but you kinda answered your own question right there.

HT is in the biz of making money, first and foremost, and secondly, they are in the biz of producing HIGH-END, HIGHLY-DETAILED toys. If they did put out a cheaply produced Cross Bone or any villain, you can guarantee YOU would then be b itching about the step back in terms of quality.

In the end (even if there doesn't seem to be a direct correlation), for HT quality and profitability are tied together, so their decision whether a figure gets made is one based purely on profit and I don't blame them for not putting out Cross Bones, who, in my opinion would have been a bust. He probably would have been on the after-markets for much less than retail (see Ultron Mk. 1, Quicksilver, Nick Fury for reference of outstandingly marked down prices years after).

 

[Chronos1919]

Hard to complain about their business strategy when they seem to be succeeding at what they do.

 

[davejames]

I find it surprising for HT to make a pass on making a figure for a villain portrayed by an A-lister such as Michael Keaton. I can understand why they would pass on Cross Bones and Yellow Jacket since the characters and actors themselves aren't popular enough to warrant it...but for Keaton Vulture, that is a bit of a head scratcher and a missed opportunity.

Since he is rumored to return for SM2, here's hoping they finally make him!

To me it's a missed opportunity not so much because of Keaton, but because it was such a cool and memorable character design. I don't normally collect villains, but this is one of those like Hela that I'd want just for that reason alone.

 

[jacerc130]

Losing hope that this will see the light of day...……….SO...…………….DRINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[The Buffinator]

I guess I'm one of the few who actually thought the black leather outfit with white markings on her face was the cooler look in the movie.

She looked cool/badass wearing that outfit in the movie, but IMO on the early prototype it looked a bit frumpy (although the tailoring looks improved in the shot from the Loki release). The head sculpt still looks a bit soft - needs to show some attitude.

 

[subzro]

I find it surprising for HT to make a pass on making a figure for a villain portrayed by an A-lister such as Michael Keaton. I can understand why they would pass on Cross Bones and Yellow Jacket since the characters and actors themselves aren't popular enough to warrant it...but for Keaton Vulture, that is a bit of a head scratcher and a missed opportunity.

Since he is rumored to return for SM2, here's hoping they finally make him!

I thought it was because of the insane size of the wings that he did not get made. They would been something around four feet wide in 1/6 scale.

 

[gmoney5000]

I thought it was because of the insane size of the wings that he did not get made. They would been something around four feet wide in 1/6 scale.

Yeah, I'd imagine that's part of it, but if memory serves me correctly Vulture had an earlier version of the wings that were much smaller.

 

[Chronos1919]

Yeah, I'd imagine that's part of it, but if memory serves me correctly Vulture had an earlier version of the wings that were much smaller.

You’re right. That image is of the flight suit with the high altitude vacuum seal.

He had smaller wings earlier in the film:

 

[Motuxmen]

I don't know anything about their profit margins, but Crossbones, at least, could have been produced cheaply if Hot Toys didn't include a Frank Grillo headsculpt and just made the helmet non-removable. Maybe the lack of a Grillo headsculpt would be a dealbreaker for some fans, but I certainly would have picked it up. Then again maybe Hot Toys assumes the popularity just isn't there, and that's a problem for villains in general. For myself, I'm just glad we're getting *some* villains anyway. Red Skull and Iron Monger look amazing on my shelf, and Hela is a nice surprise.

I don’t think crossbones would be that cheap. It’s a new head, either face or mask, new boots, shin guards, vest, armor, and gauntlets. That’s a lot of tooling and paint and assembly.

I agree it would be nice to have more characters, especially villains. But hot toys knows what sells for them and at costs they can be comfortable with. And they have the most info.

 

[gmoney5000]

You’re right. That image is of the flight suit with the high altitude vacuum seal.

He had smaller wings earlier in the film:

View attachment 411376

Yup! I knew they were smaller...that's about Falcon size. Definitely do-able!