Hot Toys getting kinda stale?

[OSA]

Why change a winning formula!

Hopefully after the Avengers we can see HT move onto other projects.

Good thing there's Enterbay other than that no other decent 1/6 companies which focuses on films or games.

 

[Sachiel]

Hopefully after the Avengers we can see HT move onto other projects.

Iron Man 3 and Thor 2.

 

[OSA]

Iron Man 3 and Thor 2.

Too right!

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

The only thing I don't like is when they keep pushing back releases like Tron's Sam Flynn and Sucker Punch but yet release more Predator and Iron Man figures in the meantime....

It'll be almost a year delay for the Lightcycle

 

[tinister]

It'll be almost a year delay for the Lightcycle

I waited and waited for the Lightcycle. Finally cancelled my pre-order to get the 89 Bats/Joker instead.

And I think they just recently released a pic of it and Sam Flynn looks even less like Sam Flynn than in the prototype pics

 

[tinister]

Im hoping things change next year after the whole Superhero movie overload is over. If you think about it, this is really the last year for half a dozen superhero movies every summer, with the Nolan batman films being over with, an atleast a couple years until the next spiderman and avengers hero movies. Im hoping that the vaccum created by the lack of obvious licences gives them a chance to branch out a bit.

That's what I mean. They need to plant some nice non-superhero seeds now so that there are nice buds once the Avengers hype goes away.

 

[kajobaldisimo]

i think Hot Toys will do what they want to do and is still good at what they do but i can understand where these 'disappointed' feelings come from.

a company that excited me constantly for some time is not delivering the same kick as before, but i can't really blame the drug and the dealer for my addiction.

my personal solution as a customer is to buy less toys and spend more on vacations. for now.

but i'll be back when that p2 is in stock.

 

[mazda-rx7]

I have not bought any hot toys for the past 6 months. My only wants will be the hulk. I'm saving for that big green monster. I started with the toy biz hulk. I might end it with the hot toys hulk.

 

[T.bowen]

i had a thread simila to this one not long ago and got shut down in the first day??? maybe even the admin agree now

 

[Lejuan]

i had a thread simila to this one not long ago and got shut down in the first day??? maybe even the admin agree now

I'm surprised that this thread hasn't been either closed or merged with any one of a number of 'Hot Toys sucks' threads tbh.

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

I think they just recently released a pic of it and Sam Flynn looks even less like Sam Flynn than in the prototype pics

That pic was so tiny you couldn't even tell who the person was though

 

[damagecase]

I got into HT because of the preds and now I may get out of HT because of them. Lol. I liked them better as kits honestly. And all the comic/movie stuff are from franchises I can barely approve of. Hollywood is bankrupt and now they're feeding on some of the characters I hold near and dear to my heart. The first Spiderman franchise ended horribly imo. Hopefully the next go around will be better but I feel like they may butcher yet another of my personal favorite villans. Both Hulks were weak though Ang Lees version at least had some heart, though poorly executed. Capt America is just blahhhh. Instead of making a black Nick Fury they should have made Steve Rogers black. At least, if your gonna take liberties, make sure they're worth taking and ad something to the story worth having. Wolverine butchered Deadpool and to a lesser extent Victor Creed. Although I must say Liev Schrieber did fantastic with what he had to work with. And X-men thought it fitting to kill half of the franchises main characters after 3 films. I have no real complaints about Thor and Iron man though. Nolan's Bats is good and the most worthwhile of any comic movie, followed closely by the Blade and Punisher movies, which HT have barely touched I might add.

Anyway, long story short, HT is getting stale but only because they continue to go after recent licenses, which is the exact opposite of what I thought three years ago. Lol. BTW, speaking of recent, whens the next Predator movie coming out? Been a while and I think the franchise has a couple pints of blood more the dorks in hollywood could drain out of it. I guess prometheus is do out later this spring so HT will have that coming.

The only thing HT has upcoming that even draws remote interest from me is Bane and P2 redux. And I don't know if I can muster any excitement for either yet.

 

[tinister]

That's a great point. That Hollywood's penchant for rehashing material is rubbing off on HT.

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

As of five minutes ago, No!

 

[Azrael23]

But HT isn't the only 1/6 manufacturer. They might be your favourite, you might like their products best, but there are others out there. It's crazy then to insist that HT tackle every license. If they're wrong for not taking on your preferred licenses, what does that make every other 1/6 maker out there?

I don't believe this has anything to do with a preferential line. Personally I believe HT has already stretched themselves thin as it is. I would be far more content if they focused on rounding out some of the licenses they've neglected (Expendables, Watchmen, Blade etc) and starting on ones they've announced(X-Men) as oppose to burning out lines such as Ironman and Batman.

The only problem I have is them constantly making all those ironmen it's ridiculous IMO.

I concur. Between the two Ironman films there have been 18 releases from that line. Between Avengers and the upcoming 3rd Ironman film I shudder to to think how many more will be added.

 

[Preshea]

Licenses.. Always licenses!

One thing don't like that everything they produce HAS to be blockbuster film based. I for one don't feel soldier story and other like companies fill my want of random military figures. HT's was great at those types of figures as well. I don't understand why they'd want to give that up when all it would take is rehashing some parts, mixing up bits and pieces they've already made as well as throw in a new piece here and there.

No film references to be nitpicked against. No deadlines to match film releases. No outside likeness approval to be determined. Just creative freedom and imagination.

 

[nexus]

I wonder if Hot Toys has to pay upfront of its licensing. If so you'd think they'd want to get out product to start recouping some of their investment. If not, I wonder how long they can hold until it reverts to someone else. If there is no major downside they might just be tying up some licenses like Green Lantern and X-Men to keep out of the hands of competitors. Unfortunately smaller companies can't compete because they probably have to both "pay to play" and hit minimum sales targets. So from HT perspective they can keep themselves going with Batman, Iron Man and Terminator while they figure the next potential moneymaker. That's probably why announcements are made and then it's crickets after that, and the one and dones are so common. Unless someone like a Hasbro steps in with a premium line, HT and Enterbay are going to be the only real game in town for the next 3-4 years at least.

 

[tinister]

I think the licenses have an expiration date. So you can say pay 100K for the right to make Predator figures for a year. If you don't make any within that year - that's your loss. The studio still keeps the 100k. If HT is in fact sitting on the licenses so that competitors can't use it - that's a losing strategy. Not to mention unfair.

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

If they do pay for licenses, they've already lost money by not producing anything from their backlog.

 

[Grosby]

Newer licenses they buy before the film comes out and without even seeing it, I thought. With The Dark Knight, for example, I thought it was said somewhere that the film's trailer was the most footage they had to go on for the V1 Joker.

Some licenses they probably wouldn't have picked up if they knew how the film would later be received, they might drag their feet when it comes to making a figure of it. Green Lantern is maybe an example of that. For all they knew, Green Lantern could've been another Iron-Man and so they snatch the license up with that in mind. Then it comes out and it turns out not to be the case...

Plus, other things must come up that take precedence. One license they picked up turns out to be a big success and the other turns out to be a bomb. The thought then might be to put all the energy into the success. Then another success comes along and they continue to focus on that at the expense of the lacklustre licenses they picked up long before.

As far as losing money, they probably lose less money not making the figure than they do making the figure. If they make the figure they have to sell it. And if they make the figure, that's time that could've been spent on a sure-fire seller like something from The Avengers.

I don't think that's happening with every delayed licenses but I think that's possibly what's happening with some. That's what I'm thinking anyway.

As it is now though, HT have been making film figures for 7 or 8 years and there hasn't been a single example of where they've announced a license and not eventually released something, or no? Maybe that day will come but but I don't think we can say that's it definitely the case with anything yet.