NEW SS Ark vs. Proto SS Ark

[choopie]

I don't think I'd buy either one of them for $100, as I don't perceive that value in either one of them. I guess because of the material used in Hasbro's version (plastic just doesn't scream quality to me) and the inaccuracies of Sideshow's version despite my preferring polystone.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Weight isn't a pro or con for me.

I want accuracy.

That said, for some reason I have issues with the Hasbro ark as much as I do with the SS one.

For me, the Hasbro ark kicks ass on the lid (the angels, etc) but loses me on the poles, tapestry and the 'etchings' on the sides. For me, the SS poles and etchings just look better, and I love the idea of the real material granted its not wholy accurate.

My decision to keep the SS ark is two-fold: 1) I'm holding out hope that it will be "better in hand", and 2) I never got around to getting the Hasbro ark which is now as expensive as the SS one.

 

[thenammagazine]

Yeah, and there it gets back to cost. I guess the real question would be if you were at a store and the Hasbro Ark and Sideshow Ark were both $100 which would you buy? The heavy but not as accurate Sideshow or the more accurate but a LOT lighter Hasbro? And now that I think about it that might be a tough decision.

Which, to me, would boil down to which Ark looks better on the shelf.

Weight isn't a pro or con for me.

I want accuracy.

That said, for some reason I have issues with the Hasbro ark as much as I do with the SS one.

For me, the Hasbro ark kicks ass on the lid (the angels, etc) but loses me on the poles, tapestry and the 'etchings' on the sides. For me, the SS poles and etchings just look better, and I love the idea of the real material granted its not wholy accurate.

My decision to keep the SS ark is two-fold: 1) I'm holding out hope that it will be "better in hand", and 2) I never got around to getting the Hasbro ark which is now as expensive as the SS one.

I haven't tried it yet because I'll never have a use for them (NO SALLAH TO HOLD UP THE OTHER END - GODDAMIT SS!!!!! ), but the poles for the Hasbro Ark are removable which means a repaint would make them look much better than the orangy brown chopsticks they look like.

 

[bmarz1000]

Truthfully, you COULD remove the plastic poles on the Hasbro Ark and replace them with sanded, stained, wooden poles. They'd have to stick in the end the same as the plastic ones though. Agent5 actually painted his plastic ones with watercolors and added tassels to the ends. It looked really good!

 

[SwedishHeat]

I don't think SS has the rights to produce stand alone diorama pieces like the Ark and Idol Chamber, hence the pack in as accessories with figures.

That sounds right, but if that's the case I wonder who does hold the rights for dioramas. If SS is releasing generic polystone environments, and Gentle Giant is releasing resin 'bookends' that are really just dioramas, who's the company that's got the license and is holding back?? And would Lucasfilm really stomp on them if they released dioramas that were 'unlicensed', if in fact no one has the license??

 

[Entropy]

Yeah, and there it gets back to cost. I guess the real question would be if you were at a store and the Hasbro Ark and Sideshow Ark were both $100 which would you buy? The heavy but not as accurate Sideshow or the more accurate but a LOT lighter Hasbro? And now that I think about it that might be a tough decision.

As the Hasbro one only cost me $9.99... no contest.

Weight isn't a pro or con for me.

I want accuracy.

Exactly!

That said, for some reason I have issues with the Hasbro ark as much as I do with the SS one.

For me, the Hasbro ark kicks ass on the lid (the angels, etc) but loses me on the poles, tapestry and the 'etchings' on the sides. For me, the SS poles and etchings just look better, and I love the idea of the real material granted its not wholy accurate.

My decision to keep the SS ark is two-fold: 1) I'm holding out hope that it will be "better in hand", and 2) I never got around to getting the Hasbro ark which is now as expensive as the SS one.

I'm going to remove the plastic tapestry and poles and put a LED in it. It'll take up less space and look cooler sans poles with Toht looking in. I don't need no stinkin' poles. Hasbro Ark problems solved.

Even with that plan, I almost kept the SS Ark as well.

 

[bmarz1000]

I just got my Quantum shipping notice tonight. Seems it'll be "in hand" to critique sooner than expected. I'm kind of excited now that it's shipped.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I just got my Quantum shipping notice tonight. Seems it'll be "in hand" to critique sooner than expected. I'm kind of excited now that it's shipped.

Already! Oh man. I have to admit I'm very eager to finally gets some pics of this very mysterious ark.

 

[Darth Madden]

I'm actually eager to see some pics too... bring em on.

 

[bmarz1000]

It's estimated to arrive on the 20th. It weighed in at 8 lbs! I hope I don't get it first! My pics suck!

 

[Wor-Gar]

8 pounds! Damn that's gonna hurt the wallet. Plus the signature charge! PLUS CA tax!!!

But mine must be coming soon then too, there's only 4 or 5 of us Freaks that kept him here.

 

[Bamboota]

That shiznet is to expensive!! I don't thikn it's worth it really in my opinion...but Tip of my Hat to who ever got one.

 

[LordAzrael]

I had mine on flexpay from the start so no cancelling here.

 

[RichAlot]

I'm keeping my exclusive. I have the Hasbro ark, which is nice, but no one seems to mention its two-tone paint job. I guess my plan is to see which one I like better and get rid of the other. I have an inclination that I'll be keeping the SSC one b/c the quality will be there even if it's not dead accurate.

 

[Deckard]

I still have mine on order but I'm gonna cancel if it isn't too late. Dissapointed by the ark and the sunburn paint job on Toht's face.

I'm done spending alot of money on something, just to have to spend more money to get it right.

If Henry Sr. turns out as good as the proto, he'll be my last 1/6 from Sideshow. If not then I'm selling the rest of my SS Indy stuff and sticking with HT.

Not looking to start a someones better then anyone else arguement, just feel like opening a HT figure is a real special event now, worthy of taking the day off, waiting for it, unboxing the beautiful packaging...

and getting a SS figure is just all worry if its going to be broken or mispainted or need to go back for a replacement, or just look radically differant then what I payed for 6 or 8 or 12 months ago. I buy 1/6 from two companies, over the past 6 months ones releases have always improved from the prototypes and the other's have decreased, it aint rocket science. Evolve or die. Especially in such a tight, competitive market in such a time for people who are struggling just to keep their homes, let alone toys.

 

[thenammagazine]

I still have mine on order but I'm gonna cancel if it isn't too late. Dissapointed by the ark and the sunburn paint job on Toht's face.

I'm done spending alot of money on something, just to have to spend more money to get it right.

If Henry Sr. turns out as good as the proto, he'll be my last 1/6 from Sideshow. If not then I'm selling the rest of my SS Indy stuff and sticking with HT.

Not looking to start a someones better then anyone else arguement, just feel like opening a HT figure is a real special event now, worthy of taking the day off, waiting for it, unboxing the beautiful packaging...

and getting a SS figure is just all worry if its going to be broken or mispainted or need to go back for a replacement, or just look radically differant then what I payed for 6 or 8 or 12 months ago. I buy 1/6 from two companies, over the past 6 months ones releases have always improved from the prototypes and the other's have decreased, it aint rocket science. Evolve or die. Especially in such a tight, competitive market in such a time for people who are struggling just to keep their homes, let alone toys.

If that's the case, your priorities are screwed. If you're looking to stay in a home, why would you be spending money on action figures in the first place, let alone ones that run $150+? Additionally, setting expectations for a $100 figure to match the quality of a figure that costs 60% or more, at $150+, is absurd.

 

[Deckard]

If that's the case, your priorities are screwed. If you're looking to stay in a home, why would you be spending money on action figures in the first place, let alone ones that run $150+? Additionally, setting expectations for a $100 figure to match the quality of a figure that costs 60% or more, at $150+, is absurd.

Again thats not what I'm doing, nor is that my case, I'm not comparing it to the more expensive one price wise. I'm simply saying that most of the figures I get from SS tend to have problems and then have to go back or whatever and I wasted taking that day off of work, while due to the fact that HT are hand painted, they are less likely to arrive with a problem. Someone painted it themselves not a machine, so I dont have to even worry about a splotch or is the right eye an inch too low and painted on his cheek because no one glanced at it. Its a simple issue of QC which is what I've been saying for a while now. SS said they were going to adress this by putting someone at the factory full time. We'll see if thats happened pretty soon and if it did, Henry should have no reason to come out worse then the proto, like with differant glasses for example.

With the money thing, everyones home or whatever comes first. THat is exactly my point. But if a company does want what little money we have left over, then they have to compete with other companies that sell the same kind of products. Thats just common sense. I'm not saying they have to start hand painting their products to do this, just ensure the process of going from proto to product isn't as problematic as it has been time and again with this particular company. It doesnt matter how much they cost, its a matter of upkeep.

From proto to product HT has always improved while SS has not, the extra money goes to the extra accessories and fancy packaging and hand painting, but both companies some of that money needs to go to ensuring the product isn't harmed by poor production standards. I mean I'm no Jim Kramer, but I got a feeling even charging less, Sideshow probably makes a profit. Call me crazy.

When the proto pics go up we start ordering SS stuff right? Then most people end up canceling because the updated pics show up, and quality has decreased. Add to that that SS prices are and have been steadily increasing with no realy sign of a payback in better quality for that increase. I feel like I'm paying a higher price for a bare bones Indy in German disguise, because so much R&D went into Vader and the SW line they needed to make it back another way.

With HT when proto pics go up people order, then they update and make things better, like completely resculpting Marcus, and more people order. Put some work into your company and your products and no matter what you charge, have some pride.

 

[thenammagazine]

At their pricepoint, HT's issues are pretty much unforgiveable. Before making a blanket statement like that, you might want to spin around in the threads here. There've been MANY QC issues with HT, whether it be sending out a figure with two right arms, busted wrist pegs, sloppy paints, rotting rubber, lazy eyes, or even the shoddy likeness of Jackman's Wolverine. It's natural to expect that at HT's higher prices, the quality should be higher. That's my point.

Additionally, while we'll never really know for sure until HT makes their edition sizes public, I still think it's a safe bet to say that Sideshow produces overall a considerably higher quantity of figures and a wider range of product than HT. So that's something to take into consideration as well.

 

[kl241]

SDCC is going to be very telling whether or not this line is going to continue. If nothing is announced that will pretty much seal the fate of the line. Cancellations of the Ark are continuing to climb up to 100 and soon the low-quantity indicator will disappear. This can't be good for Sideshow. They are going to take huge losses on Indy just like Hasblo did. Every licensor has dropped Indy like a hot potato. It just isn't a profitable license. It's sad because I waited my whole life for a dream line of high quality collectibles and now that I'm finally getting a lot of things I always wished for it always seems to end just when its getting started. There are so many cool figures that could come out of this line that will probably never happen.

 

[Something Sexy]

SDCC is going to be very telling whether or not this line is going to continue. If nothing is announced that will pretty much seal the fate of the line. Cancellations of the Ark are continuing to climb up to 100 and soon the low-quantity indicator will disappear. This can't be good for Sideshow. They are going to take huge losses on Indy just like Hasblo did. Every licensor has dropped Indy like a hot potato. It just isn't a profitable license. It's sad because I waited my whole life for a dream line of high quality collectibles and now that I'm finally getting a lot of things I always wished for it always seems to end just when its getting started. There are so many cool figures that could come out of this line that will probably never happen.

Eh, even if we don't see anything at SDCC I still think they will finish off the PF line with one Indy from each movie and same with 1/6th. SSC said they are taking this license slow and not going to bang a lot out right away so I will give them the benefit of the doubt that we will have Indy around for a while maybe just not as frequent.