I'm sorry that you are so angry about this IM. I guess you can count me as one of the former in your groupings. I am, above all else in the world of collecting, a Planet of the Apes fan. Over the years, we have discussed our collections at great length... from Power Records to Addar Model Kits to 8" Mego figures to Topps trading cards to the Medicom Kubricks & vinyl figures. At one time, I've even owned a couple of Planet of the Apes white chocolate lollipops before my mom had me throw them out. I collect all things Apes... with the exception of the 6" Hasbro Signature Series line that came out around 1998. They were SO bad, it took Target to clearance them out at $2 each for me to finally buy Dr. Zaius...which for anyone who knows me is saying a lot.
I'm also looking forward to seeing the very first Planet of the Apes Hallmark Christmas Ornament this year. That is crazy!
Like many of you Ape fans who are my age, I saw all of this films in the theater originally... most of them on opening weekend. So I've had a front row seat on ALL things Apes that has come down the pike over the years.
However, no part of my collection has given me as much enjoyment as my 12" Ape figure collection. Being a Captain Action fan, I longed for Apes in 1:6 scale even during the Mego period. So when Sideshow announced that they were launching a 12" figure line I was in heaven. The wait for those figures (from February 2004 to September 2004) stands as the longest and most painful of this hobby. I even attended SDCC that summer for the first time for the sole purpose of seeing the prototypes at the Sideshow booth. And for a short, marvelous time, the promise of that line burned bright.
Yet, if I had to pick my favorite piece in my 12" Ape collection, it would be the Hot Toys General Ursus figure. In fact, Ursus is probably, hands down, my favorite figure in ALL of my collection... and that is again saying a lot considering my opinion of gorillas! It really saddens me that those three gorillas are all that we will probably ever get from Hot Toys.
Unfortunately, a lot of things have changed in the intervening years since those Hot Toys Gorillas. The price for 12" figures have escalated to such a degree, I have found myself unable to keep up. Paying $120 for each of those gorillas hurt financially back in 2009... however looking back they appear to have been QUITE the bargain.
I started this post by saying that I'm an Ape fan first and foremost. But to a slightly lesser degree, I have been an avid 12" collector for decades. Besides the Apes, I own 12" figures of Ash (Army of Darkness), Sweeney Todd, Buffy and Angel, Watchmen, Hellboy, Phantom of the Paradise, Michael Jackson, as well as having a significant array of figures in the Star Wars, Star Trek and Lord of the Rings lines. These figures come from all different manufactures: Sideshow, Medicom, Hot Toys, Hasbro and Toy Biz. Also with the help of my dad, I have the entire Firefly crew in 12" custom form. Rounding out my collection, I have also collected 12" prototypes/test shots of the 12" Hasbro Apes which were released in 1998, which became my namesake on these boards.
So why am I boring everyone with all of this... because I haven't pre-ordered a 12" figure since the Hot Toys Luke Skywalker in 2011. The escalating prices of these pieces have become so prohibitive financially, I've have to bow out of 12" collecting entirely. Long gone are the days of the $20 Hasbro 12" figure or when Sideshow offered affordable ($50-$100) figures. Case in point, I have been awaiting for Sideshow to release Hoth Luke and Hoth Han in the 1:6 scale ever since they announced they had the licence in 2005. And now that they are FINALLY here... and arriving with a hefty $200 price tag... it looks like I'm going to have to pass on them. And that goes double for the $350 Tauntauns as well. I cannot tell you how sad this makes me feel... knowing that these figures are not going to be a part of my collection.
Furthermore, Asmus has started up their Lord of the Rings line and I would SO love to add those to my already complete 12" Sideshow collection. But I just can't swing those prices. I even pre-ordered the Witch-King hoping I could scrape up the funds when the time came, but cancelled just before they started shipping. And with the ThreeZero announcement of the 12" Game of Thrones license (which is currently my VERY favorite show), I am in 12" figure hell. I want so desperately to have these figures but I can't start ANY of these collections and still provide for my family. They, of course, come first. Before Apes or figures.
Gee... I would hate to be a Batman or Marvel fan and a 12" figure collector now. So many GREAT items coming from Hot Toys at insane prices. That new 3 figure Batman Armory Set is amazing... but for $600? GADS! I would feel like my two interests were eating each other.
I don't think I'm the only one... to have been priced out of this hobby.
So here comes NECA. They are about to launch a detailed figure line of my favorite film series. So it's not going to be 1:6 scale, my favorite scale. But that also means that they are not going to be $200 either. I think I can actually afford to buy a $20 6" figure and not break into a cold sweat. And it looks like POTA couldn't be in better hands. NECA has made quite a name for themselves in the world of 6" figures (would that mean they are 1:12 scale?). Perhaps they have found a scale that many collectors are currently favoring. In fact, Hasbro has finally embraced the scale by starting the Star Wars 6" Black Series. That series has been wildly successful.
I know you really wanted them to produce something in 12" but perhaps they do not hold the rights to do so. I don't think they hold the master toy license for POTA that would allow them to entertain the idea. It would be interesting to find out exactly who DOES own the right to make 12" figures for Planet of the Apes. What if Hot Toys still owned the rights and was just sitting on them? That would be sad, indeed.
I think NECA is simply playing to their strengths by concentrating on the scale that has been so successful for them. You claim that there are 12" collectors that NECA is denying product for, yet what about the 6" figure collectors, that have been denied quality POTA product that NECA will be providing for?
It seems to me that there is another "huge existing fan base", the 6" figure collectors that will directly benefit from NECA new line.
I'm really curious to see how deep NECA is going to go into this line. We could see figures made in plastic that has NEVER been produced simply due to the fact that the smaller scale makes it more cost effective. Perhaps we might finally get a decent Julius figure... who is now, oddly enough, only available as a Kubrick (I own it)... or the entire Orangutan Tribunal from the first film! Or Dr. Zaius in his Armageddon Garb from Beneath... commericially available only as an Addar model kit!
So IM please don't be bitter with me for being excited for this new NECA line. At least be happy for me, your fellow Ape brethren, that I will finally be able to participate in this hobby that I love so much... figure collecting.
Sorry for the long post... I just had to get it off my chest.