1/6 Hot Toys - MMS 237D06 - Iron Man 2: 1/6th scale Whiplash Mark II Collectible Figure

[Boba Ben]

I'm just curious at what price point people here will be maxed out for a HT 12 inch figure they want? The price creep is just insane at many multiple times inflation.

Although I have paid more than 400 on some figures in the secondary market 300 or so is my limit. The only figures that would get me to pay more for would be a HT Marvel comics line.

Despite that I have Whiplash on my maybe list. It's almost hopeless to resist.

This figure is beyond my limit. I don't like to, but I'm willing to pay $200+ for a really good figure of an iconic character like Darth Vader or the Terminator, but $400 for Micky Rourke in a mech suit from his 3 minute scene from a movie that I didn't like all that much isn't something I need. I got the original Whiplash for $120 and that'll be just fine for me.

 

[morphosis]

This figure is beyond my limit. I don't like to, but I'm willing to pay $200+ for a really good figure of an iconic character like Darth Vader or the Terminator, but $400 for Micky Rourke in a mech suit from his 3 minute scene from a movie that I didn't like all that much isn't something I need. I got the original Whiplash for $120 and that'll be just fine for me.

And i think thats a good way to go about buying your collectibles. Why buy something you don't really like or want. No matter if its $100 or $400. Too many people get into buying whatever is new just to have it. They don't think about if they even like the character or movie. Its like even if this Whiplash was $100, if you didnt like the film, why buy it?

 

[JonWes]

I'm getting there. I thought this was too cool to pass up, but I'm passing on a lot of the IM3 extraneous armors, and to be honest there will have to significant costume changes for me to get many more Avengers that have already had figures before.

 

[Boba Ben]

And i think thats a good way to go about buying your collectibles. Why buy something you don't really like or want. No matter if its $100 or $400. Too many people get into buying whatever is new just to have it. They don't think about if they even like the character or movie. Its like even if this Whiplash was $100, if you didnt like the film, why buy it?

It's about how much I like something and the price I'm paying. Back when Iron Man 2 Hot Toys figures first started being released, they were right in the price range that I felt comfortable with spending on collectibles and I got a level of enjoyment out of them that matched the money I was spending. I didn't love the movie, but I'm a Marvel comic book fan and I thought the Iron Man and War Machine designs from the film were cool. I got a good deal on Whiplash, so I picked him up too. I still have them on display and like them quite a bit, but as prices continue to rise, figures that I'd probably pick up because they look cool and would be neat to add to my collection can no longer be justified on those reasons alone. Whiplash looks very neat, but I, and I'm sure quite a few others, don't have enough of a reason to drop $400 on him. I'm happy for those that are excited about getting him, though.

 

[cultpredator]

Looks like I can get this from a supplier in europe at trade for 280

 

[Niltusk]

Its not like they just said OMG its diecast lets jack it up to 400 bucks. Its larger than a standard release, so even in plastic it was going to be more expensive, yeah, the diecast is factoring into that, but if people think this would be 250 in plastic, they're fooling themselves.

 

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

I'm just curious at what price point people here will be maxed out for a HT 12 inch figure they want? The price creep is just insane at many multiple times inflation.

Although I have paid more than 400 on some figures in the secondary market 300 or so is my limit. The only figures that would get me to pay more for would be a HT Marvel comics line.

Despite that I have Whiplash on my maybe list. It's almost hopeless to resist.

My personal max on 1/6 is $500 but that's reserved for figures I feel I must own. The Diecast line is pushing my max for what I would consider a normal release.

 

[morphosis]

It's about how much I like something and the price I'm paying. Back when Iron Man 2 Hot Toys figures first started being released, they were right in the price range that I felt comfortable with spending on collectibles and I got a level of enjoyment out of them that matched the money I was spending. I didn't love the movie, but I'm a Marvel comic book fan and I thought the Iron Man and War Machine designs from the film were cool. I got a good deal on Whiplash, so I picked him up too. I still have them on display and like them quite a bit, but as prices continue to rise, figures that I'd probably pick up because they look cool and would be neat to add to my collection can no longer be justified on those reasons alone. Whiplash looks very neat, but I, and I'm sure quite a few others, don't have enough of a reason to drop $400 on him. I'm happy for those that are excited about getting him, though.

Yah, i just think people who be happier if they bought stuff they absolutely loved more than just because it looks cool. The Mandarin figure looks AMAZING, but i hated the film and i wouldn't spend any money to get it just because he looks great.

Thing is too yah HTs prices have risen, but so haven't 2nd Market prices and they are usually way higher than retail. So collectors are a big blame as well for rising costs. I remember when you couldn't give away HTs TwoFace/Dent. Now he's $400+. I paid like $110 for him off eBay at one point. Even newer figures like Hawkeye and Fury were/are selling for $400+, those were only $189 retail and they are from last year. So collectors are to blame for a lot of it.

And I honestly dont think $399 for this Whiplash is that bad considering he's $100 more than the Hulk, but he's got far greater intricate detail, has metal parts, exchangeable head, etc etc....Also once this hits eBay, its going to be far more than $400. I love the Hulk, don't get me wrong, but Whiplash is far more intricate design. So im not shocked with the price. Tamashii C3PO also was $399. Granted it was mostly diecast and extremely accurate, but still retailed at $399 on SSC. I picked it up for $300 on Amazon because he was on sale for some reason which i was happy about

Just comes down that you cannot get everything. Buy the stuff you really really want because you love the character & movie. If your not a huge IM fan or didn't like the movie, then really you really shouldn't feel bad that you didn't buy it just because it looked cool.

 

[Invictus Sol]

Very well said, Ben. In that context it's easy to see why it would be a pass. For me, this just has such a unique design, and so reminiscent of the comics, that there's no way I'd skip it, so long as I'm being responsible in other areas.

As for the price, I'm always surprised at the "HT's really jacking the prices on us (not directed at your comments, btw)" comments because compared to releases like Silver Centurion, Iron Patriot, Monger or especially a POS like Midas, this figure fits right into the continuum (as mentioned by Niltusk, Robbie and morphosis). These figures are expensive, for sure, enough that I wanna slow down and start investing more of my money elsewhere, but I don't see the gouging other people see.

 

[Racetrack]

Its not like they just said OMG its diecast lets jack it up to 400 bucks. Its larger than a standard release, so even in plastic it was going to be more expensive, yeah, the diecast is factoring into that, but if people think this would be 250 in plastic, they're fooling themselves.

Not really larger. It's 13 inches. Looks big but it's not. I think considering the other 3 IM diecast figures are 285-309 then it shouldn't be more than 350 tops.

Sideshow are also partly to blame. I think it's like 300 in Asia. Sideshow are buying these wholesale in huge numbers I doubt they are paying more than 200 a unit because they are HT biggest customer by far. Even factoring shipping and taxes they are putting a huge markup on HT figures.

 

[kanine]

I agreed that people willing to pay whatever price HT sells for contributes to the $400 price of this. The prototype of this was shown at cons with HT's other IM diecasts and Robocop last year, and they only cost around $300 bucks, $350 would have been more fair IMO.

 

[Racetrack]

Very well said, Ben. In that context it's easy to see why it would be a pass. For me, this just has such a unique design, and so reminiscent of the comics, that there's no way I'd skip it, so long as I'm being responsible in other areas.

As for the price, I'm always surprised at the "HT's really jacking the prices on us (not addressed at your comments, btw)" comments because compared to releases like Silver Centurion, Iron Patriot, Monger or especially a POS like Midas, this figure fits right into the continuum (as mentioned by Niltusk, Robbie and morphosis). These figures are expensive, for sure, enough that I wanna slow down and start investing more of my money elsewhere, but I don't see the gouging other people see.

Which version of the comics does it look like? Can you post a pic. I can't remember him looking like this though he's not a character I followed.

 

[Invictus Sol]

Should've been clearer, as Whiplash was also not a character I followed, either. Like Iron Man or Monger, it reminds me of the comics or seems comics-inspired in a way that say the X-Men Sentinels (especially future) are not. If this precise design wasn't in the comics, it could've been.

 

[Niltusk]

Not really larger. It's 13 inches. Looks big but it's not. I think considering the other 3 IM diecast figures are 285-309 then it shouldn't be more than 350 tops.

13 is not larger than 12?

 

[Racetrack]

13 is not larger than 12?

12 is an average for a figure depending on a characters height. 13 inches is a negligible difference to justify the price as you implied. If he was Iron Monger or Hulk big then I would agree.

 

[Niltusk]

12 is an average for a figure depending on a characters height. 13 is minor to justify the price as you implied. If he was Iron Monger or Hulk big then I would agree.

You think he'd be diecast, Hulk or IronMonger size and be 400? Hope you're joking or toking. Why would he be Iron Monger size, anyways? Sorry, thats just dumb.

Hes going to be "bigger" than a standard release as I already stated. I don't know how hard that is to understand, I never mentioned or implied him being the size of Iron Monger.

 

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

You think he'd be diecast, Hulk or IronMonger size and be 400? Hope you're joking or toking. Why would he be Iron Monger size, anyways? Sorry, thats just dumb.

Hes going to be "bigger" than a standard release as I already stated. I don't know how hard that is to understand, I never mentioned or implied him being the size of Iron Monger.

 

[Racetrack]

You think he'd be diecast, Hulk or IronMonger size and be 400? Hope you're joking or toking. Why would he be Iron Monger size, anyways? Sorry, thats just dumb.

Hes going to be "bigger" than a standard release as I already stated. I don't know how hard that is to understand, I never mentioned or implied him being the size of Iron Monger.

13 inches isn't bigger. It's about average. As already stated Diecast costs around the same as plastic.

 

[Niltusk]

.

pretty clear

 

[Boba Ben]

Yah, i just think people who be happier if they bought stuff they absolutely loved more than just because it looks cool. The Mandarin figure looks AMAZING, but i hated the film and i wouldn't spend any money to get it just because he looks great.

Thing is too yah HTs prices have risen, but so haven't 2nd Market prices and they are usually way higher than retail. So collectors are a big blame as well for rising costs. I remember when you couldn't give away HTs TwoFace/Dent. Now he's $400+. I paid like $110 for him off eBay at one point. Even newer figures like Hawkeye and Fury were/are selling for $400+, those were only $189 retail and they are from last year. So collectors are to blame for a lot of it.

And I honestly dont think $399 for this Whiplash is that bad considering he's $100 more than the Hulk, but he's got far greater intricate detail, has metal parts, exchangeable head, etc etc....Also once this hits eBay, its going to be far more than $400. I love the Hulk, don't get me wrong, but Whiplash is far more intricate design. So im not shocked with the price. Tamashii C3PO also was $399. Granted it was mostly diecast and extremely accurate, but still retailed at $399 on SSC. I picked it up for $300 on Amazon because he was on sale for some reason which i was happy about

Just comes down that you cannot get everything. Buy the stuff you really really want because you love the character & movie. If your not a huge IM fan or didn't like the movie, then really you really shouldn't feel bad that you didn't buy it just because it looked cool.

Mandarin does looks pretty cool. I almost caved when he was on sale at Alter Ego Comics this past Sunday.

I don't like toy scalpers and after market opportunist any more than the next guy, but I personally believe that any thriving collectible market has to have a secondary market built into it's framework in order to thrive. Overall, expensive collectibles exist and continue to sell because people perceive, perhaps imagine at times, a high value attached to toys, baseball cards, comic books and so on. The secondary market helps to keep the machine running. When one sees these toys sell for $400 on the aftermarket when they sell out, it makes he or she believe that they got a good deal paying $300 for them. It's a cycle, but when Hot Toys and other collectible companies keep pushing the price higher and higher, they risk squeezing out the secondary market and breaking the machine. If people no longer see these things sell for more than they paid or not selling at all, they might start thinking they're paying too much on the direct market and the illusion of the collectible market might start to fall apart.

I got C-3PO for $270. I feel he was worth that price being almost full die-cast metal. Definitely don't think he was worth the $400 price, though.

Very well said, Ben. In that context it's easy to see why it would be a pass. For me, this just has such a unique design, and so reminiscent of the comics, that there's no way I'd skip it, so long as I'm being responsible in other areas.

As for the price, I'm always surprised at the "HT's really jacking the prices on us (not addressed at your comments, btw)" comments because compared to releases like Silver Centurion, Iron Patriot, Monger or especially a POS like Midas, this figure fits right into the continuum (as mentioned by Niltusk, Robbie and morphosis). These figures are expensive, for sure, enough that I wanna slow down and start investing more of my money elsewhere, but I don't see the gouging other people see.

Thank you.

I can totally understand that. Certain collectibles just speak to us and we have to have them. I'm sure if they released a 1/6 Nemesis from Resident Evil, I wouldn't think twice about plunking down $400 for him.

At least for me, a big part of the pricing difficulty comes down to how long I've been collecting these darn things and the price trends I've seen over the years. I got the very first MMS Aliens Marines and Predator releases way back when and have been collecting their products ever since. They're certainly antiquated and outdated in most collectors' eyes these days, but they were the greatest figures ever made in my eyes when I first put them together and looked at the finished product. The detailed armor, accurate clothing. There was nothing else like them out there back then. They were also $80, though. Prices slowly crept up over the years as quality also increased, but recently there have been some huge and very steep increases and discussion in threads has gone from talking about how cool a figure looks to speculating on just how expensive the figure will be and then bickering about whether the price is reasonable or not, which sort of bums me out.