I've never bought any Hot Toys stuff before either and don't know much about hte company but I'm a huge zombie, horror and RE fan. I feel like getting them all but that adds up to a LOT. Is the quality really that much better?
Is the quality so much better, as in is it worth the extra money? That's a tough one. Maybe. Depends on the license. I love Hot Toys figures and have a few now(12+) and I'm content with the price I paid for each. I do think they're overpriced at $120, $95 tends to be a more reasonable price for what you're getting most of the time, with the qualification that your basis of comparison is Sideshow. Compared to Medicom Hot Toys is a good value for what you get.
IMO, a good Hot Toys figure is far better than even a great Sideshow figure. The quality of the outfit is immediately apparent out of the box. The body Hot Toys uses is far better quality in terms of stability and better proportioned(imo). The accessories are of a MUCH higher level of quality. Basically you will definitely notice the difference. Whether it's worth the cost, that's a tough one, up to the individual buyer.
For what it's worth, if I had to choose which company made figures from a favorite license of mine, I'd choose Hot Toys.
I have to get the exclusive Chainsaw killer and probably R.P.D. Leon for sure but I'm wondering if I could the others cheaper elsewhere or is it best to go through Sideshow?
I just ordered the exclusive Chainsaw Ganado through Sideshow, but all things being equal I'd rather go through Sideshow for most figures. In addition to their great customer service you get the bonus points, which really add up. However in this case the price difference is significant enough that I ordered the other figures I wanted from Toys2.net. The figures will all be cheaper through other retailers, but you'll get them later, and Sideshow is more reliable than probably any of them. Also Sideshow has cheaper shipping inside the US than pretty much any of the retailers.
I've heard a couple of complaints about toys2.net's preorders, but those are fairly old and not really blatant enough for me to distrust them. I've dealt with toys2.net a few times and they seem to be pretty on the up and up to me. In any case I hedged my bets and chose the Money Order payment option when I preordered, their FAQ says that you can pay through PayPal when the order comes in and they send their payment request, which is a fairly safe bet to me. If the order doesn't come in, I don't lose anything. And these will likely be easy to find for the first month or so after release. Shipping for the two figures is $25 from Canada to the US, which with their much lower pricing isn't so bad.
Other retailers include alteregocomics.com, amazingtoyz.com, bigbadtoystore.com, they're all fairly reliable. There's a few more retailers I'm sure others here would recommend.
If you only got three, which 3 would you get?
I did in fact only order 3: the exclusive Chainsaw Ganado, RCPD Leon, and mutated Krauser. I really like the regular Krauser and might buy him as well if I have the cash when they're out, or maybe just get some of his gear loose on ebay.
I was also curious at Krauser's arms, I could see they bend but I don't see a joint. Are they rubber with a joint inside?
They're rubber/silicone over an articulated skeleton. Hot Toys uses this kind of body when the clothing doesn't cover the body completely, as in Rambo or Rocky. This body is fairly limited articulation and reputedly fragile. My Rambo is still good as new, but I'm *very* careful with posing. I take it very slowly and if there's any resistance at all I stop moving. It's unlikely you'll get extreme poses out of either Krauser(at least in the arms, the legs are probably normal Hot Toys articulated legs, hard plastic) but if you go slow and keep him in one pose it should be fine.
I hope these comments have been helpful.
