Is Sideshow gearing itself AWAY from 1/6 Figures?

[The Josh]

On a pessimistic note I'd say Sideshow are gearing themselves away from 1/6th scale figures.

On a optimistic note I'd say Sideshow are smart. They haven't stated outright that they are distancing themselves away from 1/6th figures. That said, it is smart for an expanding company to diversify in order to expand and have that buffer zone should the market sour anytime in the future. Sideshow have done more for 1/6th than any company that I am aware of. That people see value in Hot Toys or Medicom astounds me. I will always hope for more 1/6th figures from Sideshow as they suit my pocket, and it's why I have my cupboards overflowing with their stuff. I don't necessarily want the best. I am staunchly Sideshow and they are good enough for me, and better than any other company out there, as seen according to my needs, which they fulfill. They are in it for the money, which they need to be in order to pay salaries and have a happy staff, and where they could distance themselves from the collector, in order to raise their profit potential, they haven't done as yet, so I hope they may gear up again, if appropriate licenses can be obtained.

I'm with TheObsoleteMan as far as Star Wars goes. That must be a huge burden, to extract a profit from such a costly licence, if indeed they are making a profit from it, and so I understand why their focus is primarily Star Wars at present. All this for the fans.

What he said.

 

[King Darkness]

That people see value in Hot Toys or Medicom astounds me.

What exactly do you mean stinky man?!?!?!?!

 

[dekadentdave]

What exactly do you mean stinky man?!?!?!?!

Yeah, Hot Toys is the undisputed heavyweight of the 1:6 market.

 

[nash]

I think he means they are too expensive.... but i firmly believe in you get what you pay for.

 

[creecher]

Downunder, I can get three or four Sideshow figs for one of those Hot Toys or Medicom figs. It costs just as much to ship a fig from Hong Kong or Japan as it does to get one shipped from America, and we, here downunder, are just down the road. I find that insane. You can't tell me Sideshow is three or four times worse than HT or Med.

 

[nash]

I think that's a bit exaggerated creech. MAYBE 2 sideshow figures for one Hot Toys/ Medicom figure. but the price gap is slowly closing as Sideshow starts distributing HT and Medi, and the prices of SS figures go up

 

[King Darkness]

Downunder, I can get three or four Sideshow figs for one of those Hot Toys or Medicom figs. It costs just as much to ship a fig from Hong Kong or Japan as it does to get one shipped from America, and we, here downunder, are just down the road. I find that insane.

Oh, I see what you mean.

I thought you were implying that Hot Toys sux ass crack

I admit they are more than SS, but I feel they are better than SS.

 

[dekadentdave]

Oh, I see what you mean.

I thought you were implying that Hot Toys sux ass crack

I admit they are more than SS, but I feel they are better than SS.

Yup! About 3 or 4 times better!

 

[EVILFACE]

If LOTR sells then why only 3 or 4 figures in over a year instead of over a dozen like $tar War$?

Highlander could have had another round without Ramirez.

I don't think so. Highlander, the real and only good movie, had only 3 characters: MacLeod, Ramirez and Kurgan. The rest are WTF cares characters that would rot. Without Ramirez, they lost 1/3 of the lines potential right there. Yea, they could have done Medieval Kurgan to go with Medieval Macleod but the line would have ended there after 4 figures. (Sorry guys, Duncan is a wannabe)

LOTR, there is no problem with taking your time. Other than the lackluster head sculpt of Aragorn, the rest of the figures have been great, with very nice detailed outfits. Far more intricate than what Star Whores outfits have been so for. SS pumped out SW left and right early on, prolly because they were mostly Jedi and outfits pretty much similar. Now that they are moving on to other characters, that line is slowing a bit as well.

And yes HT is god right now and have some licenses I'm interested in.

 

[King Darkness]

(Sorry guys, Duncan is a wannabe)

No need to apologize, its true

 

[DBoz]

Hot Toys has no value? You've got to be kidding. They are expensive, yes, but they have raised the bar for 1/6 figures. They are making figures that people want at a quality level that is second to none. As far as Sideshow doing more for 1/6 than any other company, I have to disagree with you. They have had some good licenses, but ended many lines seemingly incomplete. Also, the quality of their accessories is miles behind some of the other companies. It is common among BBI, Hot Toys, Dragon and others to have weapons with working slides, cloth pouches, boots, etc. They improve with each new release, however, Sideshow is still using the same molded pouches on their new John Wayne Green Beret that they used on their Platoon figures.

I can understand the point of view that Sideshow fits a niche at their price point, but in my opinion, they are about the middle of the 1/6 market. They get good licenses, but don't really do much innovative with them.

As for Buffy fans only wanting the core characters, that's not entirely true. However we would like the core characters first. After that, there are many monsters that would have been better choices than the ones they put out. The Judge, Adam, Caleb, Anyanka, etc. There are so many characters that could have been done that fans would have scooped up (provided the sculpts were decent and not deformed by the molding process): Anya, Dark Witch Willow, Tara, Human Darla, Dawn, Cheerleader Cordelia, Glory. I would have rather had any of these than Origins Angelus, D'Hoffryn or Der Kindestod. As for the Angel line, it never had a chance. 3 figures and it's over. Angel, was basically a rehash with extra accessories, but a logical place to start for that line. Cordelia suffered from a bad sculpt and the worse female Art S. Buck body. Then there was Lorne, which is a great figure, but the line is now dead. Where are Wesley, Gunn, Fred or Illyria? Those are core characters. Wesley especially. His evolution as a character is one of the things at the heart of the whole Angel series. And then Sideshow suspends the line saying they've done the core characters. Huh?

If Sideshow could have addressed their quality issues (e.g. Willow, Faith and Cordelia final product heads) and listened to the fans as to what figures they wanted, the line would have sold much better.

 

[Darklord Dave]

I disagree about the character choices in the Buffy line - sure I'd like to have seen the boring humans too. But when they see the humans (besides Buffy) not selling, I can see why they did as many monsters as they did. And Der K is still one of the coolest figures in the line.

Personally, I used to say that I'd never buy a statue too, but the PFs became gateway drugs for me - they were too cool not to get, and since I don't play with my 1/6 that much I could tolerate a more detailed rendition of a character in a single pose. And seeing some of the fully sculpted stuff in person made me get into those too, although I'm still not getting all the statues.

Every company must evolve or die, (unless they're doing okay remaining stagnant like Dragon and just keep punching out Germans.)

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

I disagree about the character choices in the Buffy line - sure I'd like to have seen the boring humans too. But when they see the humans (besides Buffy) not selling, I can see why they did as many monsters as they did. And Der K is still one of the coolest figures in the line.

I think the humans would have continued to sell just fine if not for the dodgy Faith and Willow releases.

 

[creecher]

And Der K is still one of the coolest figures in the line.

Not only in the line, but a cool stand alone figure, and innovative to boot.

As for no value, maybe I was a touch hard. I meant value for the dollar, and they aren't that far in front to warrant the price. Unfortunately not everyone lives in the states, where Sideshow is giving you a better price point.

I can't wait to see Enterbay kick their Hot butt, with an Indiana for a start. Photographic sculpts impeccable detail and innovative body. If I am having to pay top dollar, Enterbay all the way.

Hot Toys has no value? You've got to be kidding. They are expensive, yes, but they have raised the bar for 1/6 figures.

I wonder what people would think if Sideshow started charging high prices, along with a higher end figure as an end result.

 

[DBoz]

I wonder what people would think if Sideshow started charging high prices, along with a higher end figure as an end result.

If the figure was of the same quality as the Hot Toys figures, I would have no problem paying higher prices for Sideshow stuff.

Even at the lower prices, I don't buy much Sideshow because they are not as good. I would much rather save my money and buy 1 Hot Toys figure than 3 or even 4 Sideshow figures. I prefer quality over quantity. I have nearly 100 figures on display around my apartment (including Sideshow, Dragon, BBI, Hot Toys and some customs) and I spend much more time admiring and staring at the 3 HT Aliens and 1 HT Predator I have than any of the other figures I have.

Anyway, I kind of get the feeling that this discussion is getting a bit heated, and I never meant to cut down anyone's opinion. It's all just a matter of personal preference.

 

[creecher]

In the end, yes it is. We are still non the wiser, whatever our preference, as to what Sideshow is doing, which is the question. If it gets heated, is what discussion gets at times. Opinions get cut down, opened up and possibly changed. It is good to see what others opinions are, and why they are held.

 

[sueworld]

Yes, they are. The writings been on the wall for some time now, and I for one think it's a crying shame.

I have not interest in collecting PF statues, partly because they are just clothed static displays, and partly because I just don't have the money to squander on such expensive items.

The 1/6th scale figures were very reasonably priced, and could be posed and displayed any way that you wanted and didn't take up buckets of room in the process!

I can see that from now on I'll have to continue to get my Sideshow 'fix' by trawling eBay and picking up old figures from there.

All very sad really.

 

[thamesvalidude]

As for Buffy fans only wanting the core characters, that's not entirely true. However we would like the core characters first. After that, there are many monsters that would have been better choices than the ones they put out. The Judge, Adam, Caleb, Anyanka, etc. There are so many characters that could have been done that fans would have scooped up (provided the sculpts were decent and not deformed by the molding process): Anya, Dark Witch Willow, Tara, Human Darla, Dawn, Cheerleader Cordelia, Glory. I would have rather had any of these than Origins Angelus, D'Hoffryn or Der Kindestod. As for the Angel line, it never had a chance. 3 figures and it's over. Angel, was basically a rehash with extra accessories, but a logical place to start for that line. Cordelia suffered from a bad sculpt and the worse female Art S. Buck body. Then there was Lorne, which is a great figure, but the line is now dead. Where are Wesley, Gunn, Fred or Illyria? Those are core characters. Wesley especially. His evolution as a character is one of the things at the heart of the whole Angel series. And then Sideshow suspends the line saying they've done the core characters. Huh?

If Sideshow could have addressed their quality issues (e.g. Willow, Faith and Cordelia final product heads) and listened to the fans as to what figures they wanted, the line would have sold much better.

Got to say I agree enteirely (sorry Dave). I bought the "odd" figures like Der Kindestod and D'hoffryn just to support the line in the hope that all the key characters would be made and now i am stuck with monsters I don't really want and yet have no where near a full core character assortment. I am really, really disappointed with Sideshow at the moment:

Angel cancelled before it ever got started
LOTR so slow it's stopped
No Craig Bond

At least I'm saving money I guess

 

[IrishJedi]

I wonder what people would think if Sideshow started charging high prices, along with a higher end figure as an end result.

If Sideshow ever made figures of this quality I would gladly pay the higher prices, if necessary:

 

[King Darkness]

If Sideshow ever made figures of this quality I would gladly pay the higher prices, if necessary:

That pretty much sums up how I feel.