1/6 Hot Toys - MMS400 D18 - Iron Man 2 - Mark V Diecast Figure

[Boba Ben]

I see far too much complaining about "missing out" on this or that. You didn't "miss out", you failed to purchase one when it was available for sale for whatever reason, take some responsibility. These things are up for pre-order for at least a year usually, plenty of opportunity. If you want something that is gone badly enough pay up. It's ok if not everyone gets exactly what they want, exactly when they want it. Some of these die-cast 2.0 figures have been out less than a year and some people here seem to want a do-over for no other reason than the price has increased.

Could not agree more with all of this, 100%. It is a entitled world, to be sure.
"I missed out, now it is more expensive -- Hot Toys needs to re-issue it NOW so I can buy it".

The thing was available on pre-order like all the others for a long time. Like you said, if you did not get it and want it now... pay up.

Eh, I kinda disagree with you two on this one. If it was the Mark IV, II or even VI, I'd agree because they were on pre-order for those that like to go that route, but were also available and in stock on Sideshow and online retailers for a while, which is the standard for regular Hot Toys releases. Not everyone likes to pre-order or purchase from retailers that do pre-orders, and I have never had a problem with that for 99% of their releases, but during that time frame, there were a few Hot Toys releases where supply didn't seem to meet demand(Mark V and Yondu being a couple of them. I was lucky and was able to get a Yondu).

I think that's why Hot Toys made the announcement that they're reissuing the Infinity War Iron Man to meet the super high demand for him that they're seeing. Heck, they're reissuing the Thor and he was readily available for some time. Anyway, with the events of Endgame, I really wouldn't be surprised if Hot Toys takes a look back at the money that some of these high demand diecast armor pieces from the recent past are pulling and we get more reissue announcements in the future and the aftermarket value on these will be flattened out. It's nothing new to the Hot Toys game. I have Predators that used to be worth $800 that are now worth nothing due to updated releases from Hot Toys. At this point they've gotten so good, I wouldn't be surprised if we get straight reissues with little to no changes from time to time when the demand and opportunity for Hot Toys to make money for little effort is there.

 

[hokietwo]

Hot toys can only gauge figure popularity based on ques and pre-orders for actual certainty. Sure they can speculate to assume Iron Man will sell but that is a singular case in a portfolio of figure manufacturing. The Mark V was available normally just as everything else and had a lead time like everything else.

It’s not Hot Toys problem to watch a person’s budget and make sure product is available after pre-ordering. This is a lesson for people to understand if you want a figure bad enough then you need to pre-order. The indifference to not pre-order either is a demonstration of lack of real want or river boat gambling they can get a deal for launch discounts. You cannot have things both ways, circumstance tends to catch up as it did with the figures you mention.

This reissue phenomena is extreme special circumstance. They will not go down the straight re-issue route. That is business model suicide and it will water down the brand. The moulds are still hot for the iron man figure so that makes perfect sense. Thor was a shock and a more popular angle of the soon to be highest gross movie of all time. There’s not great imperical evidence reissue will be a norm. It’s mostly hopeful collectors tossing in the wishing well going for second chances of figures they regret not getting and seeing the prices jump. Re-issuing five figures out of 550 some releases is not a trend, it’s a rounding error.

Bottom line, if you want a figure then pre-order or else live with the consequences and get ready to pay the piper.

 

[bedot]

Hot toys can only gauge figure popularity based on ques and pre-orders for actual certainty. Sure they can speculate to assume Iron Man will sell but that is a singular case in a portfolio of figure manufacturing. The Mark V was available normally just as everything else and had a lead time like everything else.

It’s not Hot Toys problem to watch a person’s budget and make sure product is available after pre-ordering. This is a lesson for people to understand if you want a figure bad enough then you need to pre-order. The indifference to not pre-order either is a demonstration of lack of real want or river boat gambling they can get a deal for launch discounts. You cannot have things both ways, circumstance tends to catch up as it did with the figures you mention.

This reissue phenomena is extreme special circumstance. They will not go down the straight re-issue route. That is business model suicide and it will water down the brand. The moulds are still hot for the iron man figure so that makes perfect sense. Thor was a shock and a more popular angle of the soon to be highest gross movie of all time. There’s not great imperial evidence reissue will be a norm. It’s mostly hopeful collectors tossing in the wishing well going for second chances of figures they regret not getting and seeing the prices jump. Re-issuing five figures out of 550 some releases is not a trend, it’s a rounding error.

Bottom line, I’f you want a figure then pre-order or else live with the consequences and get ready to pay the piper.

Also, Howard I’m sure understands there is value in keeping some of your most popular items “rare/valuable” on the secondary market. So, maybe HT doesn’t reissue the Mark V or 47 but those figures drive sales of the 50 & 85 because the collecting base understands the value of purchasing a new Iron Man figure.

& the premium price on the secondary market allows Hot Toys to continually charge a higher premium at retail.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Boba Ben]

That's cool that you support the pre-order method, but I personally buy my Hot Toys from a particular online retailer that doesn't do pre-orders at all, so that's how I usually plan my purchases other than exclusives I really want. I'm not a big fan of the idea of paying a NRD on something one to two years before it's even released and then there's production issues or something else that come up from time to time. Also, almost no Hot Toys hold their retail value, which is the standard across the board with very few exceptions.

Maybe you're right. Then again, back in the day, I didn't think they'd do updated versions of Elder Predator, all the AVP Predators, three different Mark IIs, a billion different figures of the Ledger Joker and Batman, but they did. They also reissued the Hulkbuster just for the jackhammer arm thing and Mark 43 to go with him and the original figure didn't come out that long ago. I'm just saying, I really wouldn't be surprised, especially with Hot Toys and Asian love for Iron Man armors and wanting to keep the machine going for as long as possible. Look, I've got a lot of rare Hot Toys; Homecoming Iron Man, Diecast War Machine Mark 1, Bespin Luke, and DX11 Joker to name a few. It's cool to have something that's rare and sought after, but I really don't expect these to hold their value and I wouldn't be surprised if they reissue or make a better version of the ones I already have and devalue them on the aftermarket at any point in time and I encourage other Hot Toys collectors to hold the same mindset as that seems to be part of the Hot Toys business model. I've gone through it plenty of times with pieces in my collection that were once rare and sought after and aren't really worth anything anymore.

 

[hokietwo]

You are letting your personal experiences of collection value loss dictate your buying behavior. It’s evident in your passionate call out of the decreased values of some of the pieces you probably cherished.

You’re mixing drinks with the list cause you switched from re-releases to upgrades and that’s different. I have no problem if they improve on a figure and that can somewhat be tolerated as something new. As it keeps originals still unique enough to not be too heavily depreciated.

That is your choice to support a seller with no NRD, and you are not held to that. This is a disposable income hobby and if 20/30 bucks is causing pause that may not be the right hobby any more.

I disagree they do not hold their value. If you have a proper mix of popular pieces they appreciate quite well. I just did an inventory on my collection and it’s value on the open market even on eBay with fees would hold up quite well against most investments. My taste of figure aligns with more sought after pieces and that helps and is more a bit of luck when I have several ultra rare sought after items. But that is more contributed to my collecting style. Fans of GI Joe and Captain Harlock probably have a different view on their collection value.

 

[Boba Ben]

I like a lot of different properties and don't collect for aftermarket value, so it doesn't matter to me if they reissue or release a new version of something. I have the diecast and armor Unleashed Mark II and every release of Ledger Joker. A bunch of the original plastic Iron Man armors are still in my collection alongside the newer diecast versions. I've got niche stuff like Metal Gear and Resident Evil that I know for sure will never be re-released or reissued, but I love them anyway because they're cool. I've even still got a few of the original model kit Predators and colonial marines that weren't worth anything the last time I checked. I'm just saying, if they reissued Diecast Mark 1 War Machine or Mark 47 today and more collectors got the chance to buy them, I really wouldn't care. I'd probably be happy for people even though the value would go down.

 

[hokietwo]

To be clear I am not knocking anything you collect and it’s all good, we landed in this hobby with a passion for the best representations of things we like.

Back to the original comments though, there is a definite groundswell of new collector entitlement, especially in this hobby with the price entry points raising faster and faster. There is natural envy and jealousy seeing people with large collections that have been in the hobby for years and new collectors realizing the game has changed for amassing a large collection.

Hot toys is chucking out more figures than ever and very few have the disposable income to hang with all the new releases. The drug mentality kicks in and breaks so many new collectors. These social media groups are crazy with collection dumping. Can see so much overextension of finances getting wrapped up in the hobby. Which is extremely easy to do.

 

[Boba Ben]

Thanks for the respectful responses.

Yes, I agree with you there. Entitlement isn't the right attitude to enter the hobby with and collecting can get out of hand very easily with the ever increasing volume and prices of these things. My collection, for one, is too big and I wouldn't mind selling some I don't need and keeping the best version of the same characters(I don't need six Ledger Jokers) and I have more stuff than I can display at this point.

I also think that I'm not entitled to aftermarket value on these things to stay where they are forever either. Hot Toys is going to do what they want to do and if they end up reissuing every diecast armor, it is what it is as far as I'm concerned and it would help me out with a couple figures I'm missing in my collection. A little off topic, but I'm also a pretty big collector of high quality vinyl Godzilla figures and X-plus, one of the best in the market ended up reissuing tons of them for the U.S. market after I had bought all the originals from Japanese retailers throughout the years. It was a bit of a bummer that my figures were no longer as rare as they once were, but it was nice that new collectors were able to buy them in the U.S. at reasonable prices, so a bit of a double edged sword there.

I do have a wide range of interests from Marvel to Star Wars and other smaller properties like Godzilla, Aliens/Predator and video game stuff, so it does help be be able to spread my purchases out over time when they stick around for a bit. It's usually worked out for me, but there are just a few that my strategy didn't work for, Mark V being one of them. Mark 46 and VI were my own fault for procrastinating and being annoyed by increasing retail prices.

 

[yy0925]

You are letting your personal experiences of collection value loss dictate your buying behavior. It’s evident in your passionate call out of the decreased values of some of the pieces you probably cherished.

You’re mixing drinks with the list cause you switched from re-releases to upgrades and that’s different. I have no problem if they improve on a figure and that can somewhat be tolerated as something new. As it keeps originals still unique enough to not be too heavily depreciated.

That is your choice to support a seller with no NRD, and you are not held to that. This is a disposable income hobby and if 20/30 bucks is causing pause that may not be the right hobby any more.

I disagree they do not hold their value. If you have a proper mix of popular pieces they appreciate quite well. I just did an inventory on my collection and it’s value on the open market even on eBay with fees would hold up quite well against most investments. My taste of figure aligns with more sought after pieces and that helps and is more a bit of luck when I have several ultra rare sought after items. But that is more contributed to my collecting style. Fans of GI Joe and Captain Harlock probably have a different view on their collection value.

Now it's possible that you are letting your personal experiences of collection value win dictate your buying behavior ;-)

I do agree with @Boba Ben that many (or even most?) things will lose value with reissues or upgrades. And yes: you must take upgrades into consideration, too. It's not another cup of tea at all. And you can't say that "because my figures are all sought after, none of the hundred others should lose value, either".
Although I am quite new to the sixth scales figures, I've been collecting Bluray steelbooks for years. My "personal experiences" are, that you never know whether a collectable item becomes a "grail" or not in advance. It depends on so many parameters and can be purely coincident. As long as you don't have a crystal ball, you NEVER know if a figure will sold out in pre-order and become sought after or not. So there is nothing wrong with the behaviour to wait for the first reviews and then to decide. There are many figures I regreted preordering and losing the NRD (i.e. JL Wonder Woman).

Speaking of which, loving to collect sixth scale figures doesn't mean that 20/30 bucks NRD are not money for me ;-)

 

[hokietwo]

Now it's possible that you are letting your personal experiences of collection value win dictate your buying behavior ;-)

I do agree with @Boba Ben that many (or even most?) things will lose value with reissues or upgrades. And yes: you must take upgrades into consideration, too. It's not another cup of tea at all. And you can't say that "because my figures are all sought after, none of the hundred others should lose value, either".
Although I am quite new to the sixth scales figures, I've been collecting Bluray steelbooks for years. My "personal experiences" are, that you never know whether a collectable item becomes a "grail" or not in advance. It depends on so many parameters and can be purely coincident. As long as you don't have a crystal ball, you NEVER know if a figure will sold out in pre-order and become sought after or not. So there is nothing wrong with the behaviour to wait for the first reviews and then to decide. There are many figures I regreted preordering and losing the NRD (i.e. JL Wonder Woman).

Speaking of which, loving to collect sixth scale figures doesn't mean that 20/30 bucks NRD are not money for me ;-)

I’m quite emotionless actually in the statement of collection value. I collect what I like, as I said its the market sentiment and some luck that the figures I like hold value better.

As for waiting to pre-order it is an absolute right and decision. No one is holding a gun to you for smashing a pre-order button. It equates to a political saying. If you don’t vote, don’t *****. For collecting, if you do not pre-order when it is readily available to you then bare the consequence of your action or inaction.

As for deposits, it’s opportunity cost. Again if you are not willing to pay it and secure your spot in line your chances to acquire something is less than 100% and risk has now entered the equation. At the macro level, the loss of a few NRDs in the cost of a Hot Toy collection is going to be negligible. I’m wagering more figures are kept rather than cancelled putting down NRDs.

Be thankful there are NRDs of smaller deposits available as opposed to Asia where your que coupon is paid in full and they have your money the whole time you wait. NRD deposit is a happy middle ground the way it is setup today.

 

[hokietwo]

Iron man.

 

[tbrisko]

Iron man.

Awesome.

 

[Red Wolf]

Iron man.

Yummers! This guy is on my very short list. Congratulations

 

[yy0925]

I’m quite emotionless actually in the statement of collection value. I collect what I like, as I said its the market sentiment and some luck that the figures I like hold value better.

As for waiting to pre-order it is an absolute right and decision. No one is holding a gun to you for smashing a pre-order button. It equates to a political saying. If you don’t vote, don’t *****. For collecting, if you do not pre-order when it is readily available to you then bare the consequence of your action or inaction.

As for deposits, it’s opportunity cost. Again if you are not willing to pay it and secure your spot in line your chances to acquire something is less than 100% and risk has now entered the equation. At the macro level, the loss of a few NRDs in the cost of a Hot Toy collection is going to be negligible. I’m wagering more figures are kept rather than cancelled putting down NRDs.

Be thankful there are NRDs of smaller deposits available as opposed to Asia where your que coupon is paid in full and they have your money the whole time you wait. NRD deposit is a happy middle ground the way it is setup today.

I agree with you in general. Just wanted to say that to pre-order everything you like based on the promotional images is not always the right solution, either, and that there is no need to question the hobby because one cares about the opportunity costs.

Back to topic: I never realized how awesome this one looks. I guess the high aftermarkt value also helped building up the hype

 

[yacobschlomo]

I personally don't pre-order figures (with a few exceptions) until after I see in hand reviews. For the Mark V, I even held off for two weeks after the first reviews started going up because I wasn't sure I wanted to upgrade from the plastic version. I eventually caved and order early May 2018 and the figure shipped less than two weeks later. And boy am I glad that I did. I have somewhere around 50 Iron Man figures now and this is definitely in my top 3.

 

[ZE_501]

[...]I have somewhere around 50 Iron Man figures now and this is definitely in my top 3.

That's an insanely tough choice and changes from time to time, but at the moment I'd agree.

1. Mark IV -- comic vibe, great engineering on the toy, great accessories, hungover Tony with donuts is one of my favourite MCU scenes.

2. Mark V -- cool suit-up scene, a nice, more grounded tussle with Vanko showcasing some hand-to-hand, with a very superhero-y moment kicking a car out of the way. Outstanding engineering and finish on the toy itself with lots of options.

3. Mark XLVII -- unique colour-way referencing the Ultimates look, representing Tony during a peak of confidence, engineering, mentoring and good old-fashioned-saving-people-on-ferries-style superhero-ing. The suit conveys a sense of optimism and naiveté in spite of being technologically heavy, from a fun film introducing one of my favourite Marvel characters. The toy itself has great engineering and shows some nice bulk with great accessories.*

I was so hell-bent on having only one Iron Man to represent the character, but can't say I regret having all my favourite armours.


*The XLVII barely edges out the XLVI for me as I think the bold separation in colour-blocking works better and particualrly on the arms, less busy in sixth scale.

 

[hokietwo]

That's an insanely tough choice and changes from time to time, but at the moment I'd agree.

1. Mark IV -- comic vibe, great engineering on the toy, great accessories, hungover Tony with donuts is one of my favourite MCU scenes.

2. Mark V -- cool suit-up scene, a nice, more grounded tussle with Vanko showcasing some hand-to-hand, with a very superhero-y moment kicking a car out of the way. Outstanding engineering and finish on the toy itself with lots of options.

3. Mark XLVII -- unique colour-way referencing the Ultimates look, representing Tony during a peak of confidence, engineering, mentoring and good old-fashioned-saving-people-on-ferries-style superhero-ing. The suit conveys a sense of optimism and naiveté in spite of being technologically heavy, from a fun film introducing one of my favourite Marvel characters. The toy itself has great engineering and shows some nice bulk with great accessories.*

I was so hell-bent on having only one Iron Man to represent the character, but can't say I regret having all my favourite armours.


*The XLVII barely edges out the XLVI for me as I think the bold separation in colour-blocking works better and particualrly on the arms, less busy in sixth scale.

Mines fluid as well.

1. Mark VI Diecast
2. Mark V Diecast
3. Mark I 2.0

I appreciate the Mark I more and more as I really love the grounded design and that some really smart dude built it in a cave, from a box of scraps.

 

[yacobschlomo]

That's an insanely tough choice and changes from time to time, but at the moment I'd agree.

Yeah, almost like asking which kid is your favorite

Mark VI is probably #1 for me over the four because I like the triangle arc reactor and they additional grey pieces more than the design on the IV. The 46 concept is second and then the V is 3rd, followed closely by the IV.

War Machine Mark I diecast tops all of them though.

 

[Wor-Gar]

That is an amazing picture, hokietwo.

I'm sorry I missed this figure. Really looks sharp... but the height threw me off originally and I didn't think it would look right with my VI and 45, since its the tallest yet should be the shortest. I still have the plastic V as consolation.

Of course, HT has really screwed the height differentials across the DC board, so I guess it doesn't matter now.

 

[ZE_501]

Mines fluid as well.

1. Mark VI Diecast
2. Mark V Diecast
3. Mark I 2.0

I appreciate the Mark I more and more as I really love the grounded build that some smart dude in a cave built it, from a box of scraps.

Solid list. If they produced an updated Mark I they could take my money. Again.

Yeah, almost like asking which kid is your favorite

Mark VI is probably #1 for me over the four because I like the triangle arc reactor and they additional grey pieces more than the design on the IV. The 46 concept is second and then the V is 3rd, followed closely by the IV.

War Machine Mark I diecast tops all of them though.

The Mark VI just has a nice aggressive look to it, but it gets edged out of my Top 3.

1. Mark IV -- archetypal, comic vibe.
2. Mark V -- unique and heavily mechanized looking.
3. Mark XLVII -- uniquely bright and powerful vibe.
4. Mark XLVI Concept -- it just looks bright and sporty, which I like. Currently displayed with the XLVII Stark head-sculpt.
5. Mark VI -- aggressive lines thanks to the triangular arc reactor and probably the colour-blocking.
6. Mark XLVI -- the O.G. "modern era" armour. Like its 2 variants, sleeker and refined but still obviously industrial/mechanical looking.
7. Mark III -- started it all, I dig the simplicity.
8. Mark VII -- bulky and armed to the teeth.
9. Mark LXXXV -- I'm waiting to see how the production release from HT turns out, but it's my favourite of the 'organic' armours.

Honourable Mentions:

• War Machine Mark I
• War Machine Mark III
• Mark 49
• Iron Monger

Mark 49 is unique but otherwise too organic and alien looking for me. Love those two War Machines but they're too far off the 'superhero vibe' which makes sense given they're actually military hardware. Iron Monger is a beast and I'd buy the hell out of a diecast update.