1/6 Hot Toys C-3PO (See-Threepio) - TFA Version

[user 67922]

Love 3PO (OT and PT, not so much ST) and would be willing to fork out $400+ on a diecast version. I just can?t commit to a SS version that I?d struggle to sell at anywhere near retail once HT announce their own version.

 

[MyenShi]

Diecast doesn’t add much to a figure outside of added cost to us and physical weight which gives the illusion of being more premium.

$400+ Iron Man figures are already a bitter pill to swallow. They’re better than the older plastic figures because they’re designed better, not necessarily because they’re diecast. And a lot of exterior panels are still plastic anyway.

It’s a branding exercise and an excuse to charge a premium over regular figures.

They are fully capable of making a plastic C-3PO look accurate if they want to.

 

[FlyAndFight]

Love 3PO (OT and PT, not so much ST) and would be willing to fork out $400+ on a diecast version. I just can?t commit to a SS version that I?d struggle to sell at anywhere near retail once HT announce their own version.

HT's eventual 3PO would no doubt be better than SS's but it wouldn't be a HUGE difference, I would think. SS's is actually very nicely detailed and works well with the lighting and detailing. I think HT's may be slightly better detailed but the big difference would come from the finish, I would imagine.

In any case, I will definitely pick up HT's OT 3PO, no doubt, but SS's version is staying.

 

[mediame]

I like my SS C3PO aesthetically, however, I just last week tried to do a proper pose with him and gently moved his arm being careful with the range of motion due to the delicate design of the pistons attached to the arm, and wham just like that the piston broke....

 

[dukefett]

I remember reading when Hot Toys first launched their ANH figures, that they said they thought the Sideshow R2 and 3PO were good complements to their figures or something like that. Obviously they've done R2 already a couple times, but still probably the reason they didn't do them early.

 

[TaliBane]

Me thinking about what Hot Toys would do, I imagined they?d just let you throw C-3PO in a bag, inaccuracy be damned. Since most people wouldn?t notice.

But I suppose it would make more sense to offer a Deluxe ESB Chewbacca with 3PO-to-go.

Really thought we?d have the entire ESB line up by now. Really disappointed when I think about it.

I only really collect SW and INdy, but others on here keep saying that generally "HT doesn't care about anniversaries" in terms of figure releases.

I guess they at least acknowledged ESB this year so that's something, but yeah it didn't really add up to a whole lot other than Luke Snowpseeder and the cool retro-Kenner boxes.

The Kenner Boba paint re-issue was really nice, but we've had so many Boba repaints over the years it wasn't as impact-ful as it might have been.

 

[MyenShi]

There may have been a stronger push from the licensor for Hot Toys to plan for the ESB 40th.

Overall it felt like there was more merchandise from all fronts for this than ANH 40th.

We’re also seeing a more concentrated effort to push merchandise for The Mandalorian this year with weekly Mando Mondays.

Disney/LFL may be coordinating merchandise releases even more than before. Past anniversaries and Force Fridays did not feel as abundant or substantial.

 

[Lejuan]

Diecast doesn't equate to better quality but it is a distinct aesthetic quality that some collectors value. The argument that diecast is purely a gimmick doesn't hold up unless the argument is that the price point is inflated beyond its production cost when compared with all-plastic figures.

 

[MyenShi]

Yes, I do believe the cost of producing a diecast figure is overly inflated versus their plastic counterparts if we’re going by the Hot Toys Iron Man figures as per my other post. The production process is similar and the raw material is a bit more expensive than plastic, but not enormously so or they wouldn’t do it.

A lot of the diecast Iron Man components are also not visible, being buried inside the figures as structural support.

So it’s essentially $100-150+ over a plastic figure for a few bits of diecast metal on the outside, supported by some diecast metal on the inside. I don’t think that was worth the price jump for collectors, but it certainly has been lucrative for Hot Toys.

 

[jedijim3002]

They could add an extra accessory to an ESB chewy like they did with the Mark 45 ultron sentry or Obi Wan battle droid parts.

A fully realized 3PO is not complete until you include instant kill eyes.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mike86]

I feel like if we ever get a Chewbacca with broken 3PO in the backpack it’s fine to just have it be a static piece or couple pieces.

 

[MyenShi]

I feel like if we ever get a Chewbacca with broken 3PO in the backpack it’s fine to just have it be a static piece or couple pieces.

I wish we were able to confidently say “when we get” instead of “if”.

Really no excuse for Hot Toys to not have C-3PO out, or the entire ESB cast assembled at this point.

 

[ZE_501]

I wish we were able to confidently say “when we get” instead of “if”.

Really no excuse for Hot Toys to not have C-3PO out, or the entire ESB cast assembled at this point.

Many of us have donned tinfoil hats in the past, wondering if there's some kind of twisted method to all of this.

Knowing what I know about collector psychology, it's not so far-fetched. Keeping the fans hungry, stringing them along, making them wait, holding their attention. Watching them buy other product in the interim just to get a Hot Toys fix, even though what they *really* want is that ESB line-up, because then they'd be "done".

OR...

It's all just random weirdness and not pre-meditated at all.

I would love to know what really goes on in that company. And we never will.

 

[FlyAndFight]

You would think that Hot Toys would know that they could reuse much of 3PO's body to make other protocol type droids such as the Death Star Droid, KP30, etc. There may not be a HUGE demand for the others, but they could be Con exclusives.

 

[MyenShi]

Many of us have donned tinfoil hats in the past, wondering if there's some kind of twisted method to all of this.

Knowing what I know about collector psychology, it's not so far-fetched. Keeping the fans hungry, stringing them along, making them wait, holding their attention. Watching them buy other product in the interim just to get a Hot Toys fix, even though what they *really* want is that ESB line-up, because then they'd be "done".

OR...

It's all just random weirdness and not pre-meditated at all.

I would love to know what really goes on in that company. And we never will.

Probably some truth to that.

I’ve always said it’s because of the lack of interest in Star Wars in Hot Toys’s domestic market. The Chinese market really doesn’t care about Star Wars.

So they just put out figures when they can, usually when it coincides with special dates like anniversaries, marketing campaigns like Force Friday and Mando Monday, and new movies and show releases.

 

[Mike86]

I mean we can’t complain too much really. They’ve done a lot with Star Wars in terms of figures. Not even just obvious ones either, but some that I didn’t expect.

Characters like Tarkin and Krennic for instance while fan favorites I never actually expected to get made. The Jawa and Gonk while overpriced is another that was fairly unexpected. We also have multiple eras covered and lots of variety between the main hero characters and a fair amount of enemy characters.

Certain ones like 3PO are odd omissions though. I mean they’ve been making Star Wars figures for what, like five or six years now? In all that time they’ve still yet to get to one of the main characters, while making two versions of his counterpart? Just weird.

 

[chrisstbh]

Certain ones like 3PO are odd omissions though. I mean they?ve been making Star Wars figures for what, like five or six years now? In all that time they?ve still yet to get to one of the main characters, while making two versions of his counterpart? Just weird.

8 years, no? I though Bespin Luke DX was 2012.

And maybe whoever is in charge just doesnt like the character.

 

[MyenShi]

While DX Luke was first, there was a large gap between that and what would be the start of regular releases.

The announcement that Hot Toys now had their own Star Wars license instead of piggybacking off of Sideshow’s didn’t come till 2014.

The first sole Hot Toys licensed Star Wars figures weren’t out till 2015. Five years ago like Mike86 said.

 

[ZE_501]

While DX Luke was first, there was a large gap between that and what would be the start of regular releases.

The announcement that Hot Toys now had their own Star Wars license instead of piggybacking off of Sideshow?s didn?t come till 2014.

The first sole Hot Toys licensed Star Wars figures weren?t out till 2015. Five years ago like Mike86 said.

That?s crazy when I think about it. In 5 years I?ve moved 3 times, ended a long-term relationship, started another (long-ish) one, got laid off once, changed careers and experienced a global pandemic.

That?s probably why HT?s Star Wars license announcement feels like over a decade ago.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dukefett]

Probably some truth to that.

I’ve always said it’s because of the lack of interest in Star Wars in Hot Toys’s domestic market. The Chinese market really doesn’t care about Star Wars.

So they just put out figures when they can, usually when it coincides with special dates like anniversaries, marketing campaigns like Force Friday and Mando Monday, and new movies and show releases.

Even though SW isn't huge in Hong Kong/China, the global demand right now is right back where they want it to be. Mando fever is huge and Marvel is dying out for the moment. I saw someone say there's some Endgame releases going for $150ish on the ground in HK. Hot Toys can't be happy about that.