New Hot Toys Terminator Character Poll

[MaulFan]

There's a reason T1 gets ignored. T2, T3 and T:S have full actor likeness rights and the works worked into the contracts and are covered under the film license for any merchandising. Anyone that wants to make a T2 Arnold product need only get the T2 license to make it look just like him if that's what they want.

T1 only covers characters and costumes, any portrait rights have to be acquired in addition from the individuals and in some cases the actor/actress may not grant it. T1 requires extra work and money, so that's why it gets passed over when an equally popular sequel is easy to deal with.

 

[Hydeous]

Someone posted here, it was on their Facebook page I think.

I thought they said that there's only 1 more figure left, and then they released those connor V2 teasers?

I think they should put an end to any salvation line, and start making T1 or T2 stuffs.

 

[FACEBOX]

There's a reason T1 gets ignored. T2, T3 and T:S have full actor likeness rights and the works worked into the contracts and are covered under the film license for any merchandising. Anyone that wants to make a T2 Arnold product need only get the T2 license to make it look just like him if that's what they want.

T1 only covers characters and costumes, any portrait rights have to be acquired in addition from the individuals and in some cases the actor/actress may not grant it. T1 requires extra work and money, so that's why it gets passed over when an equally popular sequel is easy to deal with.

ALSO, Hot Toys has already made T1 figures.
I want my T-X and Marcus Endo.

 

[MaulFan]

Well I was just adressing the broader aspect of why hardly any company touches T1 with a number producing from T2.

And while HT did do T1 figures already, they haven't properly represented the film, other than fodder for kitbashes, their original T1 figures are fairly useless for representing the film, the T-800 has his face ripped away unlike the film and with no Arnold likeness (understandably) and Reese is in an outfit we hardly saw him in. Proper T1 representation from HT would be their original T-800 but with correct Arnold portrait(s) and a 1984 fatigues Reese.

 

[a-dev]

There's a reason T1 gets ignored. T2, T3 and T:S have full actor likeness rights and the works worked into the contracts and are covered under the film license for any merchandising. Anyone that wants to make a T2 Arnold product need only get the T2 license to make it look just like him if that's what they want.

T1 only covers characters and costumes, any portrait rights have to be acquired in addition from the individuals and in some cases the actor/actress may not grant it. T1 requires extra work and money, so that's why it gets passed over when an equally popular sequel is easy to deal with.

I know all that but its no excuse if you ask me unless there is some downright refusal by the actors to grant likeness rights. T1 T-800 and Kyle Reese are guaranteed sellers just like T2 T-800 and T-1000. Some company should have gone to the extra trouble by now. Surely they know as well as we do how, relatively speaking, over-saturated the market has been with T2 stuff and that if theres new Terminator figures to be made its from T1 where, again, they're talking about guaranteed sellers...not Sarah's roommate and her boyfriend - the core protagonist and antagonist of a classic film.

Anywho hopefully this situation will soon change.

ALSO, Hot Toys has already made T1 figures.
I want my T-X and Marcus Endo.

What Maulfan said. These figures possibly have a certain nostalgiac appeal for early Hot Toys but as far as representing The Terminator they fall way short. If these had been T2 figures everyone would still be acting like they didn't exist and wanting new ones - lack of accurate likenesses really hurts figures.

 

[Centrocal]

You guys need to understand the out come of the poll has no impact on which one Hot Toys is already making. Obviously they plan on making both versions eventually.

Tommy Richardson made this post on his blog before the poll went up

HOT TOYS《TERMINATOR SALVATION》 1/6系列，在未來一段頗長的時間將不會再有新角或新版本登場。大家期待的T-BIKE、BLAIR WILLIAMS、KYLE REESE、T-800或是MARCUS WRIGHT VER.2.0 ...等都不會出現。要期待的，倒不如期待真正最受大眾擁戴的那位TERMINATOR吧。

And translated by Darren:

you should not expect to see anymore T:S figures. There are no plans at the moment to expand the line."one would be better off anticipating the one Terminator that every collector covets."

So its already happening and 'The one Terminator' could be either one, however for most fans, T2 was the first movie they saw because they were too young for the first one. You have to remember when T1 came out no one knew what it was or what it was going to be, it was a sleeper hit. When T2 came out Everyone was hyped for it so it had twice the audience. So when people think of Terminator they think Arnold on the bike with the glasses all in black

 

[MaulFan]

I think market oversaturation is only relative to product sales, and from a company perspective, the market isn't oversaturated because there's money to be made.

Sideshow's done well with T2, NECA looks to be having strong success, HCG seems to be doing well with their items.

Unless a company feels there's a good profit in it for them to pursue a license involving extra leg work, they'll continue to just pour milk from the ones that don't. As long as T2 and T:S, T3 doesn't seem to be a good seller), can sell well for companies, there's little financial reason for them to go after the extra rights to do T1 properly. Look how many figures T:S has resulted in, think of how many variants, if HT repeats figures Sideshow did, from T2 they could get, and look at how few, likely to sell well (meaning not Sarah) figures you could get out of T1. If I were a company, I'd save T1 for last if at all once I've milked every dollar I could out of the easy licenses.

At this point, T1 figures with Schwarzenegger's likeness and Biehn's are the only acceptable T1 figures to me, at current HT prices, I have no interest spending that on a figure to need to buy a new head and pay for a paint job.

 

[a-dev]

Good point about a companies view of 'oversaturation', as long as it sells they don't care.

But in terms of quantity of sellers they'd get out of T1, I definitely count 3 and maybe 4 - thats as much total figures as we've gotten from Predator (which really only had 2 guaranteed sellers) and Alien, the original classics in their respective franchises that Hot Toys were dramatically building up to with all their figures from the sequels. I think this ought to bode well. So why wouldn't they consider 3 or 4 guaranteed sellers enough potential profit to do the extra legwork involved in the licensing? But maybe you're right. Maybe they'll leave T1 till last like they did the original films in the Alien and Predator series.

 

[MaulFan]

As long as we get BD versions from T2 and proper likeness and costume figures from T1, I'll be happy, those are the 2 things most missing from my Terminator collection, that and young John Connor, but that's not going to happen.

 

[Hydeous]

There's a reason T1 gets ignored. T2, T3 and T:S have full actor likeness rights and the works worked into the contracts and are covered under the film license for any merchandising. Anyone that wants to make a T2 Arnold product need only get the T2 license to make it look just like him if that's what they want.

T1 only covers characters and costumes, any portrait rights have to be acquired in addition from the individuals and in some cases the actor/actress may not grant it. T1 requires extra work and money, so that's why it gets passed over when an equally popular sequel is easy to deal with.

Is this the same case with the first predator? Cause if it is, then we can expect a T1, as they did get the likeness right for P1 already.

 

[MaulFan]

Is this the same case with the first predator? Cause if it is, then we can expect a T1, as they did get the likeness right for P1 already.

Yes, pretty much any movie prior to 1992 other than Star Wars or Indiana Jones, didn't include likeness rights in contracts. T2 was at the real start of the big movie merchandising boom and secured those rights when it was made.

Hot Toys would have to go back to Arnold's people to get any T1 heads approved same as they did with Dutch.

 

[Centrocal]

Yeah since they already got a line of communication with them, Arnolds people would be more likely to work with them again.

 

[MaulFan]

Yeah since they already got a line of communication with them, Arnolds people would be more likely to work with them again.

Of course they'll work with them again, and presumably from the Dutch experience HT sculptors and painters may know what to do, but it's still another company that has to be paid and someone else to give input on a portrait, and like I said, T2 and T3 HT can do whatever they want and need only the film license holder to say it's ok to sell.

We'll probably get T1, but my guess is we get it last. For the most part, they're just clothed figures and the extra leg work, I think T2 with the various BD designs will probably appeal more to Hot Toys creatively up front, and it's an easier license to work with.

 

[a-dev]

So its already happening and 'The one Terminator' could be either one, however for most fans, T2 was the first movie they saw because they were too young for the first one. You have to remember when T1 came out no one knew what it was or what it was going to be, it was a sleeper hit. When T2 came out Everyone was hyped for it so it had twice the audience. So when people think of Terminator they think Arnold on the bike with the glasses all in black

You make a good point. In fact I never saw T2 in the cinema as I was only 9 I think. I too think of the Terminator 2 look but I've gotten older and realised the merits of the first film over the second and also recognised the relative neglect of T1 when it comes to figures and its been annoying. I don't understand the urgency for yet more T2 figures when still no truly satisfying T1 figures exist in any scale plus - I'm loving the NECA figures right now, I'm buying the hell out of the 7" ones and will have one of each of the 12". I hope its really the guarantee it would seem to be that a T-1000 wave of figures be made....but these figures have really made me switch priority to T1 in the Hot Toys arena because T2 is being well served right now by NECA if people would shed any snobbery they may have towards sculpted lower end figures..I say 'lower end' but its not like we're talking Playmates here.

Once again, I do want HT T2 figures, I'd just love to see an increase in votes for T1, not necessarily to pass out T2 but just to demonstrate an audience if Hot Toys need any more persuading.

OK..I'm going to shut up about the T1 VS T2 thing for now as its getting repetitive even for me.

 

[MaulFan]

Hopefully HT would not gauge film support, or really, they should have options in that poll for multiples.

If they truly understand the collectors, they should realize a large ammount of the T2 votes would actually click a "T1 and T2" option if it were there, but they can only pick one so they pick the one that matters most, even if it just barely edges out the other.

 

[Boba Ben]

I remember back in the day when McFarlane Toys was the leader in the toy industry, they created an Arnold T2 Terminator figure and a T-1000 for their Movie Maniacs line.

They were both originally sculpted to have the actor's likenesses. However, when they came out, the T-800's face was pretty much missing entirely so it could not be identified as Arnold. What's the story behind this? Shouldn't McFarlane have been able to keep the Arnold likeness if it was tied to the movie license?

 

[MaulFan]

I remember back in the day when McFarlane Toys was the leader in the toy industry, they created an Arnold T2 Terminator figure and a T-1000 for their Movie Maniacs line.

They were both originally sculpted to have the actor's likenesses. However, when they came out, the T-800's face was pretty much missing entirely so it could not be identified as Arnold. What's the story behind this? Shouldn't McFarlane have been able to keep the Arnold likeness if it was tied to the movie license?

I've heard stories that McFarlane produced a few things back in the day without licenses to do so, something shady could have been behind that. The specific story I heard was that they didn't have the SCREAM license for their horror figure and some weird tweaks to the design got it released and on shelves.

 

[Hydeous]

So I guess its safe to say that they are gonna make T2, and eventually a T1, rite?

Thread closed

 

[MaulFan]

I think T2's a pretty safe bet and probably eventually T1, I hate to say but we might see T3 before T1.

 

[Centrocal]

For me, what really made Terminator 1 stand out is the music, that techno music was so much a part of the movie I always hear it when i think about the movie. When i was a kid I actually called that genre 'Terminator Music'
And its completely missing from T2 ( Mostly because it was sooo out of date ) T2 has a very different feel.