1/6 Luke Skywalker: Red Five X-Wing Pilot Sixth Scale Figure

[galactiboy]

I'd agree the potential for likeness is strongest with the Sideshow Luke, and in all honesty with all of the Sideshow sculpts. However, the final product has failed to deliver on the potential of the underlying sculpt. Whereas HT actually gets as much out of each sculpt as I think is possible, they just don't start out as nice.

And in the end you get a better looking product overall from HT, even if the likenesses are not as strong.

 

[Darth Mangler]

This sculpt is good, but as usual the paint apps hold it back. At this stage of 1/6 production, SSC needs to up the game on pain application to the sculpt. Their padawan Obi is a good sculpt too, but in person it looks more like a toy due to the paint. HT's has been delivering great pain apps for a long time.

 

[Kadman88]

Pain application haha great typo and especially apt with sideshow paint apps being a pain.

 

[devilof76]

Agreed it is a fact, and there are no arguments. PLease re-read the portion of my thread :

"Perceived licenses cost and manufacturing aside/there are no excuses. HT has the same license, and has factories in the same district of Hong Kong, as do many other companies in the 1/6 game."

I would be surprised if it cost the same for a native and an American company to do business in China. Is it a closed debate as to whether the reason Sideshow can't compete on the cost level is inferior management, or because of Chinese business advantages for nationals? Does China allow foreign companies to play on a level field with their own? I know there are incentives for American companies to do business there, but I doubt it's at the expense of their own competitive advantage.

All I know is that when the Tumbler was originally offered, a Sideshow rep commented that they had no idea how they could offer it for the price it retailed. He said Sideshow would have had to charge at least $1000 if they had made it. He didn't say why. I'd like to know.

 

[Prime Clone]

"Perceived licenses cost and manufacturing aside/there are no excuses. HT has the same license, and has factories in the same district of Hong Kong, as do many other companies in the 1/6 game."

But SS's admin and distribution are in California, paying US wages. That would be where most of their overheads are. They're obviously looking for ways to cut costs since they've started shipping to non-US customers direct from Hong Kong.

 

[Darth Mangler]

All of this is just conjecture. None of it really matters. If SSC can't compete pricewise in the market, or charge more, but deliver a superior product, they will cease to operate in the Star Wars 1/6 market eventually. People will pay a higher price is quality is there and superior craftsmanship is there. That is not the case here.

 

[Jaymas]

All of this is just conjecture. None of it really matters. If SSC can't compete pricewise in the market, or charge more, but deliver a superior product, they will cease to operate in the Star Wars 1/6 market eventually. People will pay a higher price is quality is there and superior craftsmanship is there. That is not the case here.

I agree in theory, but sometimes there is a market even for poorer quality stuff. What may happen though if SS can keep selling this kind of quality stuff at these prices, Hot Toys may figure they can charge even more for their stuff. I hope not, though i am sure all these prices will keep creeping up as much as they think they can get away with.

 

[Hollywood]

All of this is just conjecture. None of it really matters. If SSC can't compete pricewise in the market, or charge more, but deliver a superior product, they will cease to operate in the Star Wars 1/6 market eventually. People will pay a higher price is quality is there and superior craftsmanship is there. That is not the case here.

 

[galactiboy]

Agreed... if Sideshow were known for the the quality of their final product being as high as possible then I think a price tag at or higher than HT would be understandable and even justified, but at a higher cost and less product and amount of product there's just no way to justify it.

I haven't complained at all regarding the price on the AT-AT Driver and Tie Pilot (even though they are sparse on accessories) which price-wise are the same or a bit higher than HT. With those you can be fairly certain the final product will be comparable to the prototype, but with any human likeness its guaranteed the quality will drop and often times you end up with weird QC issues that should not be happening.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Like all the flashing on the hands.

 

[FlyAndFight]

I've got this one ordered and hopefully shipping out soon. I hope I'm not disappointed.

 

[TaliBane]

Luke looks no worse than Han and Ben here. Looks more like Hamill than they do Ford and Guinness.


If the eyes on this Pilot Luke were better painted and made more livelier and the helmet had a nice worn look to it instead of looking like grey styrofoam, it'd be a little easier to swallow.

It's kind of frustrating.

Sideshow sculpts in general are better in terms of likeness, but they lack finer sculpt detail, have 2010-era paint apps (I've said before that HT figures from that era have better paint apps than SSC figs of today) and always have varying eye issues that render the eyes unrealistic. The Hoth heads had realistic "glass" eyes, but the process ballooned the faces, so now they've gone back to the old painted system, but they look like the old SSC eyes again - complete with black outlines.

Many SW HT sculpts on the other hand - to me - have mediocre likeness (Ben and Han in particular,) but with ultra fine sculpt detail and ultra realistic paint apps. Their eyes - while yes, often seeming dead - look like shrunken down human eyes. It's uncanny.

Yet HT wins people over with this combination - you can see the process happen in forums where people question the likeness, but then as pics start to show the ultra-realism of the head, the resistance subsides. Ben is the perfect example. People start to see it as "HT Ben" not "Alec Ben" and it evolves into a good likeness. I've felt the same thing happen with me.

SSC is left out in the cold. Their heads - despite often a superior basic likeness - are dismissed for the distorted faces of the Hoth figs, or the off eyes, slightly lackluster paint and soft hair sculpt of the Luke X-Wing, or the multiple issues of the Drake. While it's true SSC heads do sometimes tend toward caricature, it's probably due to the lack of detail in the sculpt.

I back Sideshow (but yes, criticize/mock at times) because they do the lesser cool characters I want. But I really worry where this is heading for them - especially with the new $200+ pricing, because no one will buy a $250 version of a "character HT won't do."

 

[ebor]

I don't begrudge anyone purchasing and enjoying this figure-the last Sideshow figures I purchased was the R2D2 and Snake Plissken--I had no qualms with my perception of value on those two--both were $150 (I think) both were good value for what I received, in my opinion. I just can't equate the same for this figure and the cost it is. At the end of the day--I don't care about licensing fees, production costs ect., I just want a decent representation of my favorite characters at a reasonable cost. To me this misses the mark.

 

[Jaymas]

I've got this one ordered and hopefully shipping out soon. I hope I'm not disappointed.

I hope you're not either, and there is a chance you won't be based on the fact that so many opinions differ on here. I like HT Han and Ben, which I have in hand, and I am looking forward to getting HT Luke, but some say they are all garbage. I am happy with the likeness of those figures, but others say it looks nothing like who they are supposed to look like. There does seem to be some consensus here about what is "good" and what isn't, but not so much that you can't find someone who either loved or hated just about everything and anything.

So anyway, in the midst of a barrage of posts saying the quality isn't worth the price (including myself) people are ordering this, and you have ordered it. Good for you by the way. If you like it and find it worth it to buy than that's all that matters. I guess all I am saying is, that I have no idea how to know for sure what will sell, and for what price, and what will not. I am with many other people here who think the figure isn't worth more than $150 when compared to what seems like higher quality figures from Hot Toys - but if enough people buy Red Five, what will I know?

Anyway, I'm not trying to call you out. I really do hope you like the figure when you get it in hand. I love my Hot Toys Ben and Han in hand and some people think I am crazy for saying so, but it just goes to show you how different opinions can be on here and how diverse the market is and what people think is most important about a figure in order to want it and buy it.

 

[Jaymas]

I don't begrudge anyone purchasing and enjoying this figure-the last Sideshow figures I purchased was the R2D2 and Snake Plissken--I had no qualms with my perception of value on those two--both were $150 (I think) both were good value for what I received, in my opinion. I just can't equate the same for this figure and the cost it is. At the end of the day--I don't care about licensing fees, production costs ect., I just want a decent representation of my favorite characters at a reasonable cost. To me this misses the mark.

I feel the same way and I bought 2 R2D2's

 

[TaliBane]

I feel the same way and I bought 2 R2D2's

It's 10% undersized and that's a major error in my book, but the flak SSC R2 got was bizarre and undeserved. It's a really nice figure.

 

[FlyAndFight]

I hope you're not either, and there is a chance you won't be based on the fact that so many opinions differ on here. I like HT Han and Ben, which I have in hand, and I am looking forward to getting HT Luke, but some say they are all garbage. I am happy with the likeness of those figures, but others say it looks nothing like who they are supposed to look like. There does seem to be some consensus here about what is "good" and what isn't, but not so much that you can't find someone who either loved or hated just about everything and anything.

So anyway, in the midst of a barrage of posts saying the quality isn't worth the price (including myself) people are ordering this, and you have ordered it. Good for you by the way. If you like it and find it worth it to buy than that's all that matters. I guess all I am saying is, that I have no idea how to know for sure what will sell, and for what price, and what will not. I am with many other people here who think the figure isn't worth more than $150 when compared to what seems like higher quality figures from Hot Toys - but if enough people buy Red Five, what will I know?

Anyway, I'm not trying to call you out. I really do hope you like the figure when you get it in hand. I love my Hot Toys Ben and Han in hand and some people think I am crazy for saying so, but it just goes to show you how different opinions can be on here and how diverse the market is and what people think is most important about a figure in order to want it and buy it.

Excellent post and I do appreciate your thoughts on this figure. (I tried to leave reputation but apparently had already done so not long ago...)

Even though I've wanted an X-wing or Snowspeeder version of Luke for the longest time, when this one was announced, I too balked at the price and the limited number of items included. It was only after seeing it go on sale and receiving an opinion from someone that I trust, that I pulled the trigger.

I understand that many do not wish to reward SS's price-point or bare-bones figure releases by purchasing this one immediately.

My main concern is with the head sculpt. If it doesn't win me over, I'll port over an HT Luke noggin and call it a lesson learned. I'm truly rooting for Sideshow, though.

 

[qbomb71]

OK. I have to say that price is the only major thing wrong with this release. I paid $220 plus shipping (used a $20 coupon). The suit and helmet are outstanding. The sculpt is very good and it just feels right. The paint apps are not HT's quality, but I feel the youth of the character in it. It's hard to explain, but I really like it. I had every intention of swapping out the sculpt with a HT's farm boy Luke and now I don't see it as necessary. If this figure were $189 or even $199 I think the reception for it would be much better. Here are my pictures under home office lighting with the blinds open (no flash). I am not a photographer, just point and shoot. It is what it is.

 

[TonTon]

Nice clear photos, qbomb!

Is Luke's right pant leg futzable to have it drape a bit over the boot the way we saw it in the prototype? Haven't seen anyone really futz that yet.

 

[TaliBane]

OK. I have to say that price is the only major thing wrong with this release. I paid $220 plus shipping (used a $20 coupon). The suit and helmet are outstanding. The sculpt is very good and it just feels right. The paint apps are not HT's quality, but I feel the youth of the character in it. It's hard to explain, but I really like it. I had every intention of swapping out the sculpt with a HT's farm boy Luke and now I don't see it as necessary. If this figure were $189 or even $199 I think the reception for it would be much better. Here are my pictures under home office lighting with the blinds open (no flash). I am not a photographer, just point and shoot. It is what it is.

Thanks so much for the great pics, qbomb! I really appreciate people taking the time to post these. The headsculpt is really not too bad at all. I think my only lingering concern is the "too tanned" skintone.