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

[Darklord Dave]

That's just not true.

The Colonial Marines were labeled as model kits because they didn't have the license to call them "action figures". They were no more a model kit than the military figures you buy today. They came with a body in clothing and you had to put the armor on yourself. There was a thread here dedicated to building them up accurately, hardly a model kit. They were still better than a Sideshow figure at the same time. The bodies were better (better range of movement), the TrueType was miles ahead of the Buck.



It took HT about 2 years to get to the level that they really started kicking ass. MMS started in 2005/06, by 2007 they released the POTC Jack Sparrow which was my first Hot Toys figure, and it was so much better than the ANH Luke it was silly. In 2008, they released the Tumbler, which was an incredible piece of work. At the time, Sideshow admitted there was no way they could do something like that. And SSC had been in business for 6 or 7 years at that point.

From when SSC started, how long did it take them till they could get to the point that they could engineer Grievous?? 5, 6, 7 years??? As Dave said they tried to stick with a price point, which wasn't working out for them. But to try and explain away SSC's shortcomings by saying "it took Hot Toys a while, too" is just patently false.

One of my first HT was the pseudo NEO - I actually changed the body for a Dragon body because I hated the HT body so much.

 

[Prime Clone]

They were no more a model kit than the military figures you buy today. They came with a body in clothing and you had to put the armor on yourself.

Thanks for the clarification. Only ever saw the armor in the box and assumed it was a snap-together figure.

But to try and explain away SSC's shortcomings by saying "it took Hot Toys a while, too" is just patently false.

Not defending Sideshow, just pointing out that things didn't "change overnight" when HT started making figures as Dave implied.

 

[user 19388]

So what is an acceptable price point for this I wonder? $175? $199? The Tamashii c3po was $400 out the door, granted it weighs a I'm a poopie pants-ton being made of metal but that was a f@*☆ing expensive figure. How many people bought that day one? Obviously it didn't sell too well at that price cause it got some pretty big price cuts later on down the line from stagnate stock. Got mine from HLJ.com for dirt cheap. Guess SS figures you can flex pay all their stuff so higher prices are feasible. Figure looks potentially good at this point, just wait it out cause I'm sure they're making tons of them. If you like it and want it there's reward points, flex pay and other retailers with discounts eventually later on down the line when no one is buying this at premium rate.

 

[Darkarn009]

So what is an acceptable price point for this I wonder? $175? $199?

if it was $179.99 i would of said hey its light on accessories but i still would have ordered it.

 

[DCFett]

I understand where you're coming from too but like I said a lot of the stuff at lower prices I wouldn't have had as much interest in just because a lot of older items didn't look as good (with some exceptions of course).

Thats a bit of a relative comment as "back then", there wasn't a whole lot to compare in the market. Most of us "ole tymers" were comparing SS Jedi Luke to our hasbro $20 figures, so if you were in the game back then, your pov just would have been different. Just saying.

 

[Asta]

I haven't researched this, so I'm not going to say it's not true, but my wife collects high end dolls with much smaller es than we see and the prices for her are fairly stable from year to year ( although her aftermarket stuff is insane) so I don't see what the difference is, the bodies on her stuff look pretty much like the ones on my figs. Of coure this doesn't handle the other factors you mentioned, but I would think that if we were to blame it entirely on the factories, it would be across the board, not just on a couple toys from SSC.

It has to factor into the equation, though some companies might be absorbing the losses to retain their price point.

China’s wages are set to increase by 10 percent or more in 2014, driving more low-cost manufacturers out of the country and boosting consumption, according to analysts at firms including Bank of America Corp.

China Wages Seen Jumping in 2014 Amid Shift to Services - Bloomberg

Lee Hopley, EEF's chief economist, said that while the difference in wages paid in the UK and China is still enormous the gap is closing and overall the cost advantage of basing manufacturing operations in China has been eroded, when elements including transport and logistics are included.

Production returning to UK as cost advantage in China diminishes | Business | The Guardian

 

[koon]

I'm still trying to justify Sideshow Vader...

 

[LipSmack]

I'm still trying to justify Sideshow Vader...

looks like a steal now... maybe thats their tactic rising prices make past prices look desirable

 

[karamazov80]

Thanks for the clarification. Only ever saw the armor in the box and assumed it was a snap-together figure.

You did have to manually put the Aliens Marines together (same with the old Predators).

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

I just went and scanned my collection (only OT, except for TPM Ewan ), the best ones in terms of final quality:

1. Desert Sands Deluxe Sandtrooper
2. Bossk
3. RotJ Vader
Honourable mention: Greedo

Literally the only human characters I would not upgrade to Hot Toys in a heartbeat are ANH Obi-Wan and Lando.

It's cool that we agree on the HT Mark Ruffalo Solo , but I have to pull you up here. ^

1. ALL the SSC Stormie armours are the same; very inaccurate & wonky. The armour pieces are loose on the body, & the bodies themselves are floppy. I had the Sandie Corporal - & sold it quick smart.

2. Bossk. Nice enough figure, but it ain't Bossk on screen, it's an approximation - a very idealized version. It's more like a realistic CLone Wars version or something.

3. Vader 2.0 - again, nice toy, but so many issues. SO MANY.

4. Greedo. AWESOME figure - it IS one of their best. Still not perfect though.

5. Bespin Lando. Nice enough likeness & outfit, but the head's too big for the body - that kills it. This one could definitely do with a HT upgrade, & I'd buy that.

We agree on some things though.

 

[Prime Clone]

Another downside of the high price is fewer/more expensive heads on the secondary market. I had been hoping to upgrade my Tatooine & Yavin Lukes.

 

[TaliBane]

Hot Toys continued to develop and improve and raise prices and other 1:6 manufacturers (including SSC) stepped up their game. Instead of rejecting a license because of the cost, or not developing a figure because it would be too difficult "for a price" they went ahead and did it anyway and priced it at a cost they had to in order to make a profit, no matter how high that price might be.

Not sure I understand this logic. You seem to be inferring HT forced SSC into taking on more detailed and complex figures despite prohibitive costs, forcing them to raise prices drastically. Yet SSC did Jabba and throne - an ambitious and somewhat risky 1/6 SW figure set - eight years ago, at the very beginning of the license. Long before the influence of HT.

Leia Boussh - a somewhat more complex figure than Luke X-Wing - was seven years ago and 1/4 the cost.

The only thing HT seems to have really pushed SSC on is headsculpts, the one area HT still, years later, seems way ahead of SSC on. And, ironically, Luke X-Wing is the first SSC head to look very close to HT quality (in proto.)

This may be the watershed figure that shows that no matter how great something is, there actually is a price point that collectors won't go beyond. But I suspect that it's just the vocal minority that is price resistant and this figure will sell fine.

Honestly, it seems more like a vocal majority in this thread, but who knows how about the wider collecting community. It's a figure that certainly deserves to sell - it's SSC at its finest. A pity the price has clouded that.

 

[LipSmack]

Not sure I understand this logic. You seem to be inferring HT forced SSC into taking on more detailed and complex figures despite prohibitive costs, forcing them to raise prices drastically. Yet SSC did Jabba and throne - an ambitious and somewhat risky 1/6 SW figure set - eight years ago, at the very beginning of the license. Long before the influence of HT.

Leia Boussh - a somewhat more complex figure than Luke X-Wing - was seven years ago and 1/4 the cost.

The only thing HT seems to have really pushed SSC on is headsculpts, the one area HT still, years later, seems way ahead of SSC on. And, ironically, Luke X-Wing is the first SSC head to look very close to HT quality (in proto.)




Honestly, it seems more like a vocal majority in this thread, but who knows how about the wider collecting community. It's a figure that certainly deserves to sell - it's SSC at its finest. A pity the price has clouded that.

But Jabba was made of cheap materials, and by todays standards could be improved... and he was expensive compared to the other figures in the line

Leia is a good example though, I see about the same Quantity of outfit there (Quantity is not a typo)

 

[TaliBane]

But Jabba was made of cheap materials, and by todays standards could be improved... and he was expensive compared to the other figures in the line

Leia is a good example though, I see about the same Quantity of outfit there (Quantity is not a typo)

Jabba was rotocast but a huge amount of sculpt/tooling. What I mean is that him with throne was pretty ambitious as a figure choice - and sort of risky (and other than glass eyes and a better paint job, I'm not sure a Jabba today would be much better - the sculpt is spot-on.)

People seem to be trying to legitimize this Luke price in various hypothetical ways, but the reality is, last year SSC released a Snowtrooper for nearly ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS less.

And that had pretty much zero re-use potential - this Luke has a ton.

 

[creature4000]

I think a lot of people complaining about the price will still buy him. This will sell fine... Even with coupons and RP SS's Luke will sell fine. I doubt HT makes one anytime soon.

 

[TaliBane]

I think a lot of people complaining about the price will still buy him. This will sell fine... Even with coupons and RP SS's Luke will sell fine. I doubt HT makes one anytime soon.

HT will move on to ESB soon enough and there's really only three full outfits to do for Luke in ESB - and two of them have already been done.

Had this figure been $200 or under, this thread would have been a lovefest. It's so well done.

 

[Racetrack]

This is outrageous and sad! I pushed my figure price comfort zone and bought the deluxe Vader. But this doesn't even come close to that release. I'm sorry to say this might be close to the end for me in this hobby. I love collecting these figures, but can't justify the unreasonable jump in prices. I really hope SSC reads our comments!

I'm sure they know about this. This discussion is being had in other places too like on their FB page. They would never reduce the price on this figure to save face but we'll know if they have taken peoples concerns on board when the next figures go up for pre-order. Tie pilot should be up soon and he better not be more than the scout. Wolverine, etc. We won't really know until another human SW character is up for order though.

 

[devilof76]

These kinds of prices can only be a plus for racking up rewards points.

I was going to say, "Only if people pay them," but I just paid $120 shipped for Baroness and got 283 points for my troubles.

 

[Qrest Fourstar]

People seem to be trying to legitimize this Luke price in various hypothetical ways, but the reality is, last year SSC released a Snowtrooper for nearly ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS less.

And that had pretty much zero re-use potential - this Luke has a ton.

Must agree

 

[Qrest Fourstar]

HT will move on to ESB soon enough and there's really only three full outfits to do for Luke in ESB - and two of them have already been done.

Had this figure been $200 or under, this thread would have been a lovefest. It's so well done.

must agree