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

[PubJedi]

Aww dang! I was really looking forward to this figure, ever more so then HT Chewie, X-wing Luke was the first ever SW figure I had when I was a kid & has always had a special place in my heart....

Just not $240 special - crazy price!

 

[Mike86]

Yeah, I'm not saying they won't be close... but if they are debuted within the next 6 months I don't expect them to be more. Han and Chewie represent Han as a "regularly" priced HT figure and Chewie being a bit higher. I'd think both Luke and Leia would be more like Han's price, so the total would be more like $450.

I tend to agree that Luke/Leia will be around the same price as Han/Chewie. They might price Luke a bit higher as he's a bit more desirable to a larger segment of collectors but they might price Leia a bit lower to offset the cost of Luke so that more people will be inclined to buy the two pack or both individually.

 

[Rorywan]

Adding depth to all this price debate, is the fact that we have absolutely no idea what the production head sculpt will look like. Paying this type of cash on a guaranteed level of sophistication is one thing, paying it for what could be a weird plastic looking dolly head is quite another.

Still haven't seen a SS human headsculpt that reflects this type of pricing. And the last few have been atrocious at any level. Bearing little resemblance to the proto shots.

 

[galactiboy]

Adding depth to all this price debate, is the fact that we have absolutely no idea what the production head sculpt will look like. Paying this type of cash on a guaranteed level of sophistication is one thing, paying it for what could be a weird plastic looking dolly head is quite another.

Still haven't seen a SS human headsculpt that reflects this type of pricing. And the last few have been atrocious at any level. Bearing little resemblance to the proto shots.

Nope... not a single one. The best paint job I've seen of a production Sideshow head in-hand was their Hawk figure.

I actually took a picture of him next to the godawful Drake; strange how Sideshow could take massive steps backwards like that

But even still... that head is not as nice as the paint work from the run of the mill grey market company. Decent, even some specs of color and nice variations. But the hair line is very air brushed looking and there's a lack of definition to the work.

 

[Mike86]

Yeah that definitely is one thing about Sideshow. Their head sculpts for human characters that I've seen aren't up to par with Hot Toys at all. I guess we'll see how the upcoming Snake Plissken and Luke/Han in their Hoth gear turn out but the work I've seen of them so far doesn't justify Hot Toys level pricing.

 

[CaptnRex]

Wow, $240! Does it come with R2?

 

[karamazov80]

Wow, $240! Does it come with R2?

Sorry, no. However, it does come with a huge FU.

 

[youbastards]

Sorry, no. However, it does come with a huge FU.

LOL

 

[SithThundercracker]

 

[King Darkness]

Adding depth to all this price debate, is the fact that we have absolutely no idea what the production head sculpt will look like. Paying this type of cash on a guaranteed level of sophistication is one thing, paying it for what could be a weird plastic looking dolly head is quite another.

Still haven't seen a SS human headsculpt that reflects this type of pricing. And the last few have been atrocious at any level. Bearing little resemblance to the proto shots.

Nope... not a single one. The best paint job I've seen of a production Sideshow head in-hand was their Hawk figure.

I actually took a picture of him next to the godawful Drake; strange how Sideshow could take massive steps backwards like that

But even still... that head is not as nice as the paint work from the run of the mill grey market company. Decent, even some specs of color and nice variations. But the hair line is very air brushed looking and there's a lack of definition to the work.

Hoth Han and Luke will be the testing grounds. If Sideshow fails there, fawk 'em.

 

[Pixelpiper]

Every new figure at Sideshow has been delayed - quality control is as plausible a reason as any.

Argue however you will about Drake, but the biggest "FU" is the fact that while they're shipping one thing, they're still showing something completely different on their site. I don't have a problem with someone selling botched likenesses, weird looking head sculpts, whatever. But not getting what you paid for is a problem. If a production piece is materially different than a prototype, then you need to update your marketing materials once that product ships. Otherwise you're just leaving yourself open for chargebacks or worse.

 

[PopCultKid]

I know that it's easy for us to speculate and assume from this side of the fence without knowing all the details and costs that go into contracts, licensing, R&D, production, etc. I've understood and accepted why prices have been creeping up for a while, but now it's getting to an unjustifiable point... this figure being the king of all that is unjustifiable!!

I've been saying this a lot recently (sorry if I sound like a broken record to those who have read my posts) but it's getting impossible to rationalize the constant periodic price hikes. The quality of the entire game on a whole (speaking about all companies) was clearly improving for a while; that paired with some other variables legitimized the increase but now it's just getting fkin' insulting. It's been a while since HT (and others) have been making leaps in improvements. Aside from little improvements (i.e. minor things in IM armors, Armory cowl eyes, etc.), they stopped making big strides in improvements. They haven’t been revolutionary or broke major new ground in quite a while. Really, the large majority of everything that HT released in the last 3 years is pretty comparable. Some of their older releases being even better than recent ones! But yet the hikes continue....

We’ve been saying for a while that these companies will overestimate the collector’s addiction and price themselves out of the business one day. I think we’ve come closer to that day sooner than we thought. This is the first time we’ve seen this massive hack & slash sale happening on SSC. They are absolutely choking on all of this dead stock. As I said in another thread, it may be just an influx of less popular characters, some popular characters not living up to expectations, and the overproduction of EVERYTHING all happening at once. I’d take it as a really bad sign if I were SS. Whatever it is, it’s no doubt the worst time possible to launch a super bare bones $240 fig….

You’d think that they have their finger on the pulse of the market, so maybe they know something we don’t, What that may be… I have no ****** idea…

 

[PopCultKid]

R2 is too short next to 3PO. Is this already known and I'm just catching on?

 

[Cavlcade]

With this release Sideshow are getting close to Big Chief prices.

 

[slynger]

I wonder what this means for the upcoming TIE Pilot. $230 with nothing but maybe a blaster and some switch-out hands?

 

[PopCultKid]

I wonder what this means for the upcoming TIE Pilot. $230 with nothing but maybe a blaster and some switch-out hands?

This means SS is looking to ram this Luke release up our butts, and they're hoping there will still be room to fit a TIE Pilot

 

[galactiboy]

Sorry, no. However, it does come with a huge FU.

repped

So I was curious on how pricing has been over the years... so did quick tally of prices of "regular" figures from the SW line since it's start. Just getting release dates and prices off of MWCtoys and trying to get the run of the mill (not armored, or one-off bodied) figure prices.

March 2006- $50 Jedi Luke
April 2007- $60 Endor Trooper
April 2008- $60 Praji
January 2009- $70 Antilles
November 2009- $90 Lando
September 2010- $95 Emperor (regular was $90)
December 2011- $90 Cantina Band
December 2012- $135 Sandperson
April 2013- $150 Padawan Kenobi
coming soon:
November 2014- $200 Hoth Luke
October 2015- $240 X-Wing Luke

So, not particularly scientific and I just based them on when they released and tried to get a year or so in-between. But figures crept $10 or so per year for awhile then stabilized for a couple years around $90. Then there was a pretty significant jump from $90 up to $135 and now we've quickly gone through $200 on up to $240.

 

[Wor-Gar]

But its just that they figured out that high-end isn't mass market. It's not a volume business which would work for a $50-$90 figure -- they had edition sizes of 35,000 at one time. They realize its niche but collectors are rabid and will spend tons of money. So sell fewer and at much, much higher prices that the market will bear. Ironically, the excellent craftsmanship has actually expanded the market. But its still niche.

 

[galactiboy]

The numbers are certainly lower than the first releases... but I don't think they've lowered them much after the $90 price point. I could be wrong, but no way to know since I don't think the publish those anymore.

If quality was going up, I'd be less annoyed; but it's just not happening or if it does it's inconsistent at best.

 

[marker2037]

When this went up I ordered it just out of habit but I just went in and officially cancelled and was sure to mark that it was due to the price point. It felt good, VERY good to remind myself that I control this hobby of mine, not a collectible company, no matter how cool something might look. If a company wants my business then they need to play by my rules. $240 for barebones Luke? I'm out.

Good for you!

"Ruke, I am your father...."

Does Sideshow still answer questions in the 'ask Sideshow' section here? I doubt we'd get an answer but its worth a try.


I almost want to order him just to cancel so I can click the "too expensive"option like others have.

Everyone should do it

The backlash on FB is real. No amount of spookfest related talk is stopping people from complaining. Well, except a couple of regular ass kissers.

I'm a big part of that. I've made my presence and opinion known and this is TOTALLY against what I normally do. I'm rarely the outspoken one to complain about anything, but I couldn't idly sit by with this.

Sorry, no. However, it does come with a huge FU.

repped

So I was curious on how pricing has been over the years... so did quick tally of prices of "regular" figures from the SW line since it's start. Just getting release dates and prices off of MWCtoys and trying to get the run of the mill (not armored, or one-off bodied) figure prices.

March 2006- $50 Jedi Luke
April 2007- $60 Endor Trooper
April 2008- $60 Praji
January 2009- $70 Antilles
November 2009- $90 Lando
September 2010- $95 Emperor (regular was $90)
December 2011- $90 Cantina Band
December 2012- $135 Sandperson
April 2013- $150 Padawan Kenobi
coming soon:
November 2014- $200 Hoth Luke
October 2015- $240 X-Wing Luke

So, not particularly scientific and I just based them on when they released and tried to get a year or so in-between. But figures crept $10 or so per year for awhile then stabilized for a couple years around $90. Then there was a pretty significant jump from $90 up to $135 and now we've quickly gone through $200 on up to $240.

I miss those $90 figure days. It didn't break the bank completely and yet you still felt like you got a pretty decent depiction of the character for the most part. Sometimes it was even excellent. What was ANH Vader back in the day? $120?