Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #09 Christopher Eccleston

[Underworld54]

I have no idea how many employees they have but I have imagined it between 10 and 15.

I read on Facebook where someone placed an order during the flash sale and it took two weeks to ship his item, so we know their shipping department is pretty small.

 

[BagginsOfBagEnd]

What is the last figure BC released and when was it? At this point I think they are just going to forget everything else and focus on Bond. That means forget Clara, Captain Jack, and forget Penny Dreadful and the other lines. This company has way too many irons in the fire for it's size.

I agree with you as well. No idea what the last figure that they released was though Not a clue!! As much as I love these figures, hate that it takes absolute ages to get them in hand. Also seems in some cases, that figures get previewed and then never seen again (like the Sherlock Mycroft figure - what happened to that?). Was looking forward to the Captain Jack figure - who knows when (or even if) that will be available.

Think the last BCS piece I had was back in March/April this year - that was the eleven TARDIS.

 

[sirdoctor]

10th dr tardis was their last release

 

[Underworld54]

10th dr tardis was their last release

I meant figure wise.

 

[DVD1]

I think the last item I got was the 11 TARDIS.
Last figure was 10th Doctor (S4).
The 30 Nov release date for 9 has held for a while.

As for the others. I can't see why Clara and the others (up on preorder) won't be released. The line might in deed die with those.
With 11 and 12 sitting at those heavy discounts and not rushing out the door, it's no great sign that the market or interest is there for the line anymore.

Of course, the BBC haven't helped by dropping the show itself during 2016.

The company BC may, as stated focus on 007. I was excited for their Anderson lines but heard nothing for a while now.

Back to 9. If he is out on time, it should arrive before I head out in a Christmas holiday.

 

[pixletwin]

I am really only interested in Doctors, Daleks, Cybermen, and Masters. I can't see myself ever buying a companion (except in 5 inch scale).

 

[JonWes]

I don't think it's that dire, right now. For one thing, you can't REALLY just ignore the two Tardises that came out as releases. Obviously the time and money invested in those is the same or more as a figure, right? I can only imagine the delay between the last figure released (which I suppose was the series 4 10?) and Moriarty/9th Doctor is frustrating to them. But we've been given the reason for that delay, and after seeing the comparison pic between the factory's first pass at the 9th Doctor head and the final one I'm glad they didn't rush the product out, personally.

In my mind, diversity in lines is not a bad thing for BCS or fans of Who and Sherlock figures. Neither one of those properties is going to keep BCS going by themselves. It's why I think them getting Bond is a huge win for those of us who enjoy their other properties. If they have success with that, then they can support the other figures that maybe don't move the volume of bigger licenses.

As for juggling the different properties, once the figures are at the factory, the main thing BCS have to do is check on quality control. Which is what they did with the 9th Doctor and Moriarty figures, which is what is causing the delay. It seems like most of their work comes from the sculpting, pattern-work, painting and licensor approvals and revisions. So by the time we see a figure, a lot of work has already been done. From what insight we have into the process, it seems like most of the time the delays are caused by either licensor approval or at the factory level more than BCS's ability to work up more prototypes.

As for future figures... I really hope we get to that 8th Doctor figure! I do worry about how the companion figures will sell. I love that they are going for them. I worry a bit about Clara and Rose selling for different reasons, but I guess we'll see. If neither of them sold well, though, I don't know if that'd be the end of the full line. I would think they'd try Captain Jack because he has that Torchwood crossover appeal to him. And there are a lot of JB fans out there in general. And the 8th Doctor is a doctor.

 

[Ex-Parrot]

We also have no idea what the break even point on these lines is for Big Chief. If, for example, it took 50% of stock being sold to go into profit, and they regularly sold 70-80% pretty quickly, then the fact that the remaining 20% is harder to move, sat in stock longer, and was subject to discounts isn't really an indication of any problems with the line going forward. We have been told before that they have to make a minimum run size, and it may be that the line is profitable, and it is just that selling all of a run takes a while. So while I'm sure they'd love everything to be a quick sell out, the fact that things aren't doing that isn't necessarily a sign that the line is in any sort of trouble.

On the flip side, if they are struggling to get into the black and make a profit from their releases at all, then that would certainly be cause for concern. But without access to the financials (which of course we will never have) then it's pretty tough to know from our position on the outside which of those is actually the case, short of them coming right out and telling us.

But given that Big Chief was struggling with securing enough capitol just to go forward in the early days, against the fact that in recent years they have expanded their deals with not just the BBC, but also taken on other high profile (and one would imagine, not altogether cheap) licenses as well, and now have James Bond on the cards on top of that, not to mention how much they have expanded their work as distributors of other companies releases in recent years, leads me to personally suspect that they are, more likely than not, sitting rather comfortably right now, all things considered, and that even the odd under performing release may not be anywhere near the threat that it once would have been. And as one of their highest profile lines, that Doctor Who releases probably aren't going away any time soon, and, as mentioned above, will probably only benefit from them having something as sellable as Bond should prove to be.

I mean Hell, they still have two Doctors and two companions up for pre-order, so while the release gap may be extensive, they don't seem to be showing any signs of giving up or slowing down, as far as planned releases go. And we could the the Eighth Doctor and Jack Harness pop up at any time for pre-order (my guess if just after the Ninth Doctor ships...whenever that is).

So while I sometimes personally question the logic of some of their choices, I think Who is relatively safe still, and that the Doctors, at the very least, would still each sell enough to be at least considered worth doing, without risk of taking a loss on any of them. Other characters, not so sure (but again, Big Chief should have a pretty good idea at this point how viable future companions would be, for example).

Maybe I'm overly optimistic, but I'm not too worried yet. Just wish their production turnaround wasn't quite so long, but then with the fall in the pound, and just how far in advance the decent quality factories tend to be booked (and by players making far bigger runs) there probably isn't a lit a smaller scale player can do on that front, other than trying to make sure that when it is their turn that the factory results are of high quality, and are worth the wait.

Just my take, anyhow.

 

[DVD1]

Decided to watch 9th Doctor shows in a build up to the release.
I think that 9 has looked pretty good from the off. He has a paired down look to begin with, so he's quite a basic look all round.
My only gripe is that Mr E didn't contribute a signature.

 

[ThatDarnGamer]

Big Chief have stated they will show updated samples of the figure on Monday, please be good

 

[DVD1]

As mine is bought and paid for.... I guess I'm just getting whatever comes off the assembly line!! Haha.

I've been happy for the most part with all of my Who product from BC. I certainly can't complain about my display, which I really like.
Being honest, I don't put the figures 3" from my eyes like, ever. I've taken close up photos but they never really work as they are either distorted because they are close ups, or colors come out wrong because of flash, lighting or whatever.
So me, I'm looking forward to this one. A lot !!!

 

[BagginsOfBagEnd]

As mine is bought and paid for.... I guess I'm just getting whatever comes off the assembly line!! Haha.

I've been happy for the most part with all of my Who product from BC. I certainly can't complain about my display, which I really like.
Being honest, I don't put the figures 3" from my eyes like, ever. I've taken close up photos but they never really work as they are either distorted because they are close ups, or colors come out wrong because of flash, lighting or whatever.
So me, I'm looking forward to this one. A lot !!!

Yeah, this is one of the ones I paid for in full - so me too! Agree with the second part of your post - these figures do look pretty good on display - so no complaints here either!

 

[ThatDarnGamer]

 

[matrix69]

View attachment 304562View attachment 304563

 

[thamesvalidude]

Looks excellent to me! ����

 

[BagginsOfBagEnd]

That's a pleasant surprise! He looks pretty darn impressive in those pics.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Okay I'll eat some crow. I feel better about Bond now.

 

[pixletwin]

Nice. Honestly,the jacket worried me the most. But it looks great!

 

[Kleinesoldaten]

Very good sculpt and an overall excellent looking figure. I'm going to love setting this one on my Who shelf.

 

[Underworld54]

I think he looks good.