I can no longer stomach retail "mass market" figures… anyone else?

[Dino_Ranger_White]

So, over this last weekend I was out and about… decided to look at the toy aisles
at Target and Walmart and even stop by Toys 'R Us. I used to be hardcore at this, collected
DC Universe Classics, Marvel Legends, Movie Masters, Power Rangers, Star Wars
and loved it. The hunt was always a good time, even if I came up empty.

Several Target stores were doing resets and I saw the new 6" DC Multiverse line, the BvS figures,
new Dino Charge figures and I also came across a couple of the "Wave 3" cases of The SW Black Series.
Found Kylo Ren with the revised sculpt and paint, and then at another store found a Rey/BB-8 with
revised paint hanging out in a different aisle. I have been on a HUGE Episode VII high…
loved Rey, Finn, BB-8, Han / Chewy and Kylo Ren.

So I picked both of these up after reading reviews of the "improvements" Hasbro made to each.
After buying them, that night I looked at them for a long while and looked around my room and something hit me.
Why did I just pay $21.39 each for these? The paints are not great, they just look cheap and if
I really want a Kylo, Rey and BB-8 "Why not just wait for the Hot Toys ones"… and there it was.

I ended up returning them yesterday… and when I did that and walked out of the Target store, I felt really sad.
Kind of like the end of an era. My collection has become all Hot Toys, I don't have any more retail figures and "the hunt"
is no more. Am I a Hot Toys snob?

I thought more about that last night and came to the conclusion that it is not so much about being a snob,
or "anti-retail" when it comes to figure collecting… it is all about what I get for my hard-earned money.
I think those Black Series figures broke me. They just looked so cheap… and yet they were OVER $20.00 each.

I get it, that the HT version of Rey and BB is 12x that price… but it is more about how great they look, and
the effort and engineering and pure artistry that goes into them. It is literally like buying fine art. What would I buy
something poorly executed and cheaply put together when I can afford to buy the FAR superior version.
Having the best representation of the character that there will EVER BE in figure form.

Just kind of curious if anyone else here who has collected for a long time have gone through this.

 

[GeneralZodLives]

I used to collect a lot of the smaller scale figures found at Walmart, Target, etc. but stopped when the prices started going up. They hit a price point that was just too much for me to pay for what I got. I will still pick up a figure here and there if it's a character I really want but I probably only buy 1-2 a year.

 

[Jameson Rook]

While I don't blame the rising cost, I do consider it one of the reasons why I'm exclusively collecting 1/6 figures. They're pricier, but they also look much better that I only need ONE representation of a character.

I think the lower end figures are fine for casual collectors, but being more dedicated collectors, we all know we have to be really picky, thus I just forgo all the smaller scales stuff.

 

[jankatana]

I can no longer stomach retail "mass market" figures… anyone else?

I went through the same thing a few years ago, it started with the original hot toys Avengers preorders, problem was i had no money for them but did have a massive Legends, gijoe and lotr collection that looked nasty in comparison, SO decided to sell the lot in batches over the last few years. It was a really strange transition from toys to serious collectables, it was the end of an era for sure. Problem is do i prefer having 20 ok characters on a shelf, or just 1 great icon, thats unless money isnt an issue for us collecters

 

[a-dev]

Kinda the opposite for me. I've started to appreciate my NECA figures more and have almost cut out Hot Toys. Even though I went up to 1:6 figures with real clothes I never stopped finding entirely sculpted figures appealing and liked collecting the same characters in different scales. And now, with Hot Toys focussing on stuff I don't collect, that leaves only NECA for the most part.

 

[Bgnyc007]

That's why I'm moving towards statues and once in a while a hot toy.

 

[jankatana]

@a-dev thats a good point about neca, they are doing some great stuff, Raziel being one of the few small scale figures i kept hold of.
Hot toys hasnt been exciting or unique (in a good way) for a long time

 

[Dino_Ranger_White]

I have had way too many bad experiences over the years with statues breaking, so I am staying completely clear of those, lol.

The paint is a big issue for me. Mattel was doing ok with their retail lines previously… but the new stuff for BvS is pretty awful.
The Black Series figures are bad, overall bad. They are charging more and more for less quality.

I completely disagree with Hot Toys not being unique or exciting. For just one example, have you seen Hulkbuster?

 

[a-dev]

For an Iron Man armour that's unique and exciting but in the context of Hot Toys overall output against other things that could be made it's just another Iron Man really and not very surprising that they would make it.

 

[KitFisto]

Personally, I only collect PF's, but I understand. I used to collect this stuff too, but after getting into the higher end stuff, the plastic toys just weren't worth the money or effort and I didn't display them so why bother? Gave all my Hasbro stuff away to my cousin years ago.

 

[SAB]

So, over this last weekend I was out and about… decided to look at the toy aisles
at Target and Walmart and even stop by Toys 'R Us. I used to be hardcore at this, collected
DC Universe Classics, Marvel Legends, Movie Masters, Power Rangers, Star Wars
and loved it. The hunt was always a good time, even if I came up empty.

Several Target stores were doing resets and I saw the new 6" DC Multiverse line, the BvS figures,
new Dino Charge figures and I also came across a couple of the "Wave 3" cases of The SW Black Series.
Found Kylo Ren with the revised sculpt and paint, and then at another store found a Rey/BB-8 with
revised paint hanging out in a different aisle. I have been on a HUGE Episode VII high…
loved Rey, Finn, BB-8, Han / Chewy and Kylo Ren.

So I picked both of these up after reading reviews of the "improvements" Hasbro made to each.
After buying them, that night I looked at them for a long while and looked around my room and something hit me.
Why did I just pay $21.39 each for these? The paints are not great, they just look cheap and if
I really want a Kylo, Rey and BB-8 "Why not just wait for the Hot Toys ones"… and there it was.

I ended up returning them yesterday… and when I did that and walked out of the Target store, I felt really sad.
Kind of like the end of an era. My collection has become all Hot Toys, I don't have any more retail figures and "the hunt"
is no more. Am I a Hot Toys snob?

I thought more about that last night and came to the conclusion that it is not so much about being a snob,
or "anti-retail" when it comes to figure collecting… it is all about what I get for my hard-earned money.
I think those Black Series figures broke me. They just looked so cheap… and yet they were OVER $20.00 each.

I get it, that the HT version of Rey and BB is 12x that price… but it is more about how great they look, and
the effort and engineering and pure artistry that goes into them. It is literally like buying fine art. What would I buy
something poorly executed and cheaply put together when I can afford to buy the FAR superior version.
Having the best representation of the character that there will EVER BE in figure form.

Just kind of curious if anyone else here who has collected for a long time have gone through this.

The next step is when you leave Hot Toys and are only interest in niche figures from smaller companies.
And then from there, you will only be interested in insanely priced custom job runs of 10 from sculptors on this board.
You've taken the first step, friend. Good luck on the journey.

: D

 

[gypsycatcha]

Kinda the opposite for me. I've started to appreciate my NECA figures more and have almost cut out Hot Toys. Even though I went up to 1:6 figures with real clothes I never stopped finding entirely sculpted figures appealing and liked collecting the same characters in different scales. And now, with Hot Toys focussing on stuff I don't collect, that leaves only NECA for the most part.

Im exactly the same. Im kinda bored of hot toys figures and the prices are pretty high imo. Neca are doing some great stuff. Their work is getting much better and the price point is superb.

 

[RiggsMcClane]

I collected much of the same. Completely understand moving away from some of those lines. Particularly Marvel, DC, and lines like them. When colored plastic passes for painted it's time to move on. I still think a lot of what Diamond Select and Neca put out are good.

 

[Nitro Spawn]

I too called it quits on the 6" figures for the same reason. With the cost increase, one series of marvel legends was the cost of a hot toys figure. The paint apps seemed to be getting worse too.

The hunt used to be fun but with traffic in my area getting way worse , and the stores taking forever to restock , my time was just more valuable than the hunt.

After a couple one hot toys (Thor) I was hooked.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Lovepumper]

Oddly enough I've moved backwards. I've always collected 1/6th and 1/4th, but recently picked up some Black Series figures and 6inch Batman vs Superman figures and was delighted with the overall money I spent on them.

 

[sedge]

(And now, for something completely different.)

It's rough, man. I collect dolls in addition to figures, but a lot of them are high end-- Tonnor, Integrity, Disney Store LEs, all of which retail around $100-$200. Yet, the 12-year old girl in me demands that I also collect Monster High dolls (yeah, I said it, wanna fight about it?), which go for $12-$25... and the QC reflects that. You really gotta get your eyeballs up in there, make sure the face decals are on right and there aren't any thin patches of hair (which is hard to tell even when you have the box in hand), because one, I bought, so much hair was missing I went and taught myself how to install doll hair. Oh, and necklines on clothing-- some styles, you get 3 out of 10 that were done up right and not completely asymmetrical.

And then there are the accessories, with limited (and not great) to no painting, that I tend to take off right away with the idea that I'll fancy them up... but I usually just end up losing them. And then I realize that I'll never be like these madwomen so I just lie down on the couch and stuff candy down my gob. At least with your standard toy store action figure, fancying up the paint job is less of an ordeal.

 

[jankatana]

I recently got a small Mega Bloks Assassins Creed flying machine set, its so sweet I love it. Its like lego but more friendly on the eye, the Ezio figure included is more stylish and rounded and well articulated. Considering getting some of the COD sets. Unusual stuff like this makes me happy.

 

[Taibhse]

I used to collect the Star Wars Galactic Heroes, specifically the Cinema Scene Vehicle Packs..because they were iconic OT with twist, but I tend to agree with a lot of the other posts, much of that end of the toy market seems to be much more expensive, and yet lower quality nowadays.
So, although I still make the occasional (impulse) purchase, if I see something I like..tbh, I pretty much focus entirely on more expensive 1/6 and 1/4 figures now.. and because of the cost, I'm very picky about which of those I purchase.

 

[Vetinari]

Yeap... Pretty much reaching that point myself - I'm on the verge of dumping my first batch of mass market figures onto Evilbay (some of them look like they'll fetch a surprisingly high price since they've now become collectibles in their own right hopefully that'll mean I'll get a nice little windfall to put towards some figures that I genuinely want, maybe even put it towards my first custom headsculpt commission, be that in 1/6 or 1/3 scale. Yeah... I've got two scales that have taken over from the multiple mismatched, and often poorly scaled within a single range, figures that used to dominate for me).

I find it far more fun to kitbash 1/6 (or ...far larger) action figures/dolls of characters that I love than to clutter up my shelf space with 20+(++) subpar figures that never had a very good likeness/posing ability in the first place. Somehow it's far more satisfying to slowly piece together a handful of representations of my own interpretation of characters that personally mean a great deal to me. Like Sir Samuel Vimes, and (surprise surprise) Lord Havelock Vetinari, than it is to own many many figures from a property that, although I adore it, doesn't actually feature 50+ characters that I truly love.

(Though of course I'm still keeping my fair share of Neca, Figma, Play Arts etc. So I've not quite been as ruthless as I could have been when I decided to cull the herd! Though the ones I'm keeping inhabit a grand total of one shelf so I think I've been quite sensible, and depending on Big Chief's continued output the very last dregs of my previously huge Who-collection may well vanish.)

 

[svander]

Too much crap out there. I limit myself to 1/6 scale hot toys and other high quality brands mainly. Now having 40 plus of them, I'm more selective because of space constraints and collection cohesiveness.

I still like some NECA pieces for shelves but that's as much variety of size/brand as it gets in my collection.