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What I don't understand though is the willingness/eagerness of some of these people to scream "you wasted your money, you wasted your money, you wasted your money" in a fellow collectors face, before giving it a bit of Beetlejuice wrist action just to wrap things up.
Yes, it's only money. And we all spend it in the manner that gives us the most satisfaction.
Right now there's once again a big 'discussion' over Sideshow's pricing (with reference to the Luke Snowspeeder figure being set at $269.99). I'll no doubt be called an enabler for ordering at that price - though I'll be throwing an amount of reward points into the cost.
But it's where we all see value.
There's 'cutting corners' and then there's 'hitching a ride all the way there on someone else's back'.
Iminime: Hiring Trevor Grove and some of the the best 1/6 painters and tailors in the business to produce an original piece: cutting corners.
Redman: recasting and copying the work of another: cutting corners in a more 'understandable' way.
Of course it's wrong to recast. To steal another's work. But is it hurting Iminime's business? They have a strategy for limited releases at premium prices, and have built up a very loyal following to whom the product is regarded as the Rolls Royce of action figures.
Redman is never going to be able to have that claim, nor command the same after market values. And why I call them an 'odd sausage' is that while they hitch a ride they don't ride the whole distance. They get off and walk the final bit: they make changes, some of which are actually improvements. As in Angel Eyes' Remington; the spurs; the length of Blondie's jeans that suggest that at one stage they might have considered using a taller body (I got them onto a tall Coo which made the figure the correct 6'4" scale). Other changes are retrograde, such as the poncho or the fit of Blondie's shirt which will require a good deal of water treatment and futzing.
Apart from the sculpts the Redmans do differ from the Iminimes. So can it be said that Redman are copying the entire figure, or merely taking a pre-existing head sculpt and designing their own outfits based on the film rather than the previously released toy? The latter might explain parts such as the Remington or the spurs.
I have no justification for buying the bootlegs, yet neither do I feel any more guilt than buying a Head Play recast of a Hot Toys' sculpt. And this must also go for those retailers who stock both Iminime and Redman products. They're interested in the profit, and I'm interested in the bargain.
I've tried to make myself feel guilty, but it doesn't work. I see only the price and the opportunity, and the fun of messing with three lower end figures for the price of one of the originals. And that, I suppose, is where the mileage varies. It's the value you place on the items that attract your money.