Whatever the reason, genuine inability, lack of desire or just complacence, there is an undeniable fact that Sideshow's production does not match their prototypes. Forget if they are comparable to Hot Toys or not, that's a subject the will forever be in debate, and one based on opinion anyway. What isn't in debate is that Sideshow continues to show prototypes that are a misrepresentation of the final products. There's a general understanding that what is shown in trade shows, conventions and used to sell the product are indeed prototypes, but one thing Sideshow is more guilty of than any other contemporary sixth scale company is their dramatic drop off from proto to production. A lot of the hate that gets lobbed at Sideshow could easily be avoided if they would just present a better, or more realistic, prototype the use to sell their products. When you leave customers feeling baited by a proto that doesn't properly reflect what they are gonna receive in-hand, how can you not expect a back lash?
HT is far from perfect, their likeness' are often lacking, they sometimes have products the fall apart or deteriorate over time, or have overly fragile products that can be easily damaged if not handled properly. And likely a few other things people can point to as problematic areas that they could address. But one thing HT almost never does, is produce a proto that grossly misrepresents what customers will receive in production, often times even release a superior product to what was advertised.
I'm not defending Sideshow or Hot Toys, both are flawed in their own ways, but Sideshow shots themselves in the foot when they tease a superb prototype only to drop the ball in production.
Now I need a nap. All those words.,.....
