Official Harry Potter Figure Discussion Thread

[warlock664]

Just wanted to share a couple pictures of Luna and Bellatrix after a little work was done to them. I think they both look pretty nice now.
View attachment 475046
View attachment 475047

Nice! They look much better now!
I recently picked up the Deluxe Bellatrix (w/Dobby) for $137 on Amazon. It?s good to know how much a little futzing can improve it.

 

[kltrooper]

Nice! They look much better now!
I recently picked up the Deluxe Bellatrix (w/Dobby) for $137 on Amazon. It?s good to know how much a little futzing can improve it.

Thanks. And yea I recently saw them listed on there for that price and was kickimg myself. Dang good price for both.

 

[ChibiSchmoo]

Amazon's had several good prices lately. I picked up Newt for $135 and Griphook for $79. Seems like they then dropped further to 112/75! Maybe someone can order some Ginnys and Lunas and drop the price for me?

Actually they have school robes Ginny for $146 which is pretty good.

Wish I'd held out on Bellatrix and Lucius. I got pretty good deals at the time, but they're better now.

They have Prisoner Bellatrix for 101 right now if anyone wants her.

 

[DioramaMaker]

Amazon's had several good prices lately. I picked up Newt for $135 and Griphook for $79. Seems like they then dropped further to 112/75! Maybe someone can order some Ginnys and Lunas and drop the price for me?

Actually they have school robes Ginny for $146 which is pretty good.

Wish I'd held out on Bellatrix and Lucius. I got pretty good deals at the time, but they're better now.

They have Prisoner Bellatrix for 101 right now if anyone wants her.

Lord I'm happy I offloaded Newt when the HT one was announced then. I was lucky to get back what I paid plus a little. Never thought he'd drop this low.

 

[QuiGonFishing]

Halloween Hermione in the House!

 

[BagginsOfBagEnd]

^ Nice! The first year Potter kids still have the best head sculpts IMO...if only they were still making them like this.

 

[jra81984]

^ Nice! The first year Potter kids still have the best head sculpts IMO...if only they were still making them like this.

That is back when they actually invested in what they produced. If they continued that level of quality all along, we would have some absolutely incredible figures now.

 

[QuiGonFishing]

That is back when they actually invested in what they produced. If they continued that level of quality all along, we would have some absolutely incredible figures now.

Exactly right, JRA. Either someone performed some really bad financial modeling, or someone got greedy (or both) at Star Ace. If they had been willing/able to retain sculptors like KA Kim, who did Hermione above, this collection could have been mind blowing. Now, it could scarcely be more obvious that they are cutting their losses and coasting on this license while it lasts with some figures barely beating Barbie quality (with a rare exception here and there).

[Here?s My Theory]
My guess is that when the line started, there were more folks in the customer base who were impressed by what they saw in the early releases than there were actual BUYERS for those early pieces. I admit to being one of those folks.

I loved the kids, but it was clear that theY were producing these figures along chronological lines according to the order of the film releases. I think an AWFUL lot of people were either exclusively, or at least mainly, interested in the older versions of the characters. So by and large we waited.

I think a lot of us out-waited Star Ace?s financial projection. They were likely top heavy under the weight of the cost of acquiring the exclusive license and were counting on heavy sales of the first (or second at the latest) wave of releases. When that didn?t pan out, the money dried up and they had to start producing their figures on a shoestring budget no longer able to attract top sculpting talent.

So the later figures (ironically the ones everyone was waiting on and would have produced the kinds of sales they needed) suffered from painful mediocrity at best, and downright awfulness at worst (I?m talking to you, Teen ?Hermoine? [sic])...

After that, it?s pretty much been a spiral downward.

What might have been...

That said, I?m still here if the stumble on some good ones! Still want a great set of Deathly Hallows Big Three, and Minerva, and a few others.

Shall see.

 

[The Green Goblin]

I think that theory is spot on, and I think that is exactly what killed the SH Figuarts Harry Potter line. People thinking that older versions are guaranteed when a company starts off with the youngest versions. You can't get older versions if the IP doesn't sell enough to make the cost worth it.

I think that starting with the older versions is something MacFarlane did right, but the issue with that line is that the quality is straight up **** on those figures.

I think that the whole "I'll wait for the version *I* want" mentality is what kills Harry Potter action figures lines.

But also, Star Ace was botching likenesses pretty early on. SS Harry has a bad likeness, CoS Quidditch Harry has a much better likeness.

 

[kltrooper]

One of the big things is the paint work. I've seen such improvements on these figures with a solid paint job. The sculpts for the most part have actually been pretty solid. Now the stupid accessories and variations is just lazy.

 

[jra81984]

I think that theory is correct. I was even guilty of not getting the year 1 figures at first in hopes of other versions coming out. Then seeing quality dwindle, it made me decide to get them. They should have started with the later movie characters first as some have said here.

 

[jankatana]

Just got child Harry again from Vstore, pure luck they had one return to stock super cheap. Such a great figure

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[jankatana]

Just seen this Mattel Hagrid on Smyths toys. Hmm

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[ChibiSchmoo]

Quick Amazon price update: I just finally picked up Ginny (Robes ver) for $116 after watching her drop lower every few days. She'll probably go even lower, but figured I didn't want to risk missing out if she didn't. Keeping an eye on Luna (robes ver) now at $144. Prisoner Lucius is still around $76. Newt $108.

If the description I'm reading of that Hagrid figure above is correct, its only 11" tall??

 

[The Green Goblin]

Just waiting to see what Chronicle Collectibles is going to do with the license. They teased the license forever ago, and I'm hoping they make some quality figures, not just prop replicas. Not sure how they'd even be able to top the wands that Noble Collection has done.

 

[Xman1990]

Just seen this Mattel Hagrid on Smyths toys. Hmm

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To be fair the new star ace hagrid doesn?t look much better, what height is the Mattel hagrid ? Is it taller than the other figures ?

 

[jankatana]

To be fair the new star ace hagrid doesn?t look much better, what height is the Mattel hagrid ? Is it taller than the other figures ?

LOL

Not sure, i need to go to my local shop and see.
Tempted to get him as love the crappy Dumbledore and McGonagall

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[ChibiSchmoo]

Luna (robes) just dropped to $116 on Amazon
Pulled the trigger

 

[kltrooper]

Not too bad. Looks a little old and definitely too dark of a skin tone but will definitely be picking him up as he is a major improvement over the younger version. If they can paint him pale and make him look younger this could be pretty solid.

 

[whitd]

Hmmm, he looks like he?s 30 years old.


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