Prime1 Giger Alien (Big Chap)

[burtial]

I honestly am starting to hate this hobby so much. I'm sorry, but this is absolute BS.

 

[clutch]

Prime 1 are such tools. They re-release it with the base that was wanted in the first place.

 

[Shoo]

Prime 1 are such tools. They re-release it with the base that was wanted in the first place.

I posted this on their Facebook as a long shot. ^_^

Gone is the backdrop wall, and instead, we have distilled the essence of this statue into its most compelling form.

Now could you "distill the essence" of your existing Warrior statue next, so that most people can actually display that one, too? : P

 

[BurningRage]

Closed mouth on the museum pose.

 

[fett1972]

The issue I have is not only that this is basically a reissue but also the fact the prime 1 were unhelpful towards almost everyone who received a damaged piece.
Under current economic pressures I believe P1 will lose slot of customers going forward

 

[clutch]

I posted this on their Facebook as a long shot. ^_^

Good one. Everybody hold off on future releases with huge bases. You'll get the displayable one later.

 

[clutch]

The issue I have is not only that this is basically a reissue but also the fact the prime 1 were unhelpful towards almost everyone who received a damaged piece.
Under current economic pressures I believe P1 will lose slot of customers going forward

I was thinking the same thing. Act like there's nothing left and then start cranking them out for new customers.

 

[Dundee]

Prime 1 supposedly didn't have replacement parts for broken big chaps. Yet there is this release. This is a new low.

 

[cpoll36]

Absolutely correct guys. I agree with every comment above. This does strike me as an incredibly cynical attempt on the part of Prime 1 to milk this project for everything it's worth, having addressed none of the concerns and grievances of previous customers. I wonder if the next batch will suffer the same issues and flaws as the previous one.

 

[Rotfish]

I can't speak for everyone, but myself (on behalf of the collector I sold my original to) and some others seem to have had luck getting replacement parts in the last few weeks. So maybe Prime 1 making more of these is what enabled them to help out again with problem orders from the first run. Wonder how soon this will be released. The theory I just mentioned wouldn't make sense unless this is mere months away.

As for the statue itself... as uncreative as this is, I must admit I like it a helluva lot more with the new base. 16" either side and you can rotate it more easily to display from whichever angle you like. Much more efficient footprint for such a tall, slender figure.

Lack of closed mouth on the action pose is a bummer, but having owned the original statue for all of three days, I actually quite like the open mouth portrait in person. My only gripe was that the inward curving of the teeth when viewing from the front is more obvious on this portrait, but if you display this from the side (my favorite angle), it's a stunner.

Curious what the price will be. I have a feeling they won't do us any favors in that department. The standard version with the 25-lb wall went up for $1700 three years ago. I imagine this will be at least $1700 again.

Regarding the Alien Warrior, it's possible they may reissue that one as well, but I don't think it's as popular as the Chap. We need to know two things: what the final ES will be and how much FOMO will follow. Personally I think it would be a stronger sell if they reposed it to stand up taller. Who's gonna pay 1/3 prices for one of the least popular Alien designs in a pose that can't hit 30" of height? Maybe they felt the big diorama base was the only way to make that statue viable.

 

[marker2037]

While I'm not a fan of this move from Prime 1 at all, I do feel happy for those of you who missed out originally and can now order this in a configuration you like. Prime 1 has absolutely ZERO excuses not to fix any previous orders where "parts were not available" and supply the damaged piece to fix those wronged.

I do like the base and wall of the original though more than this one. I was always skeptical of wanting/needing the wall on my order, but now that I have it in hand I have to say it's pretty awesome.

 

[burtial]

There is no chance of me siding with anyone who thinks this is okay. It's completely insulting on so many levels. They refused to help me (and MANY others) out with my damaged Chap, but a few months later start pumping out the SAME piece for new customers? **** them. On top of that, they are completely tearing down the standard and point of what a limited edition statue is. The whole structure of this hobby is based on the limited ES of a particular piece, because lets face it, otherwise there really isn't much value here. The actual materials and cost of producing this boils down to something that should sell for a few hundred dollars. To do this 5 or 10 years down the road would be bad enough (looking at you HCG), but to do this on the heals of the first one is insane.

 

[cpoll36]

Yes, I'm inclined to agree. I would have preferred a smaller scale statue (even in a different pose) which at least would have been resepectful to those who purchased the originals so that their statue remains what it should be: a limited run. This is unheard of, even in 1/6 collecting.

 

[Rotfish]

Yes, I'm inclined to agree. I would have preferred a smaller scale statue (even in a different pose) which at least would have been resepectful to those who purchased the originals so that their statue remains what it should be: a limited run. This is unheard of, even in 1/6 collecting.

Hot Toys has been doing it for years. Some of their reissues are even identical to the originals, no changes at all.

There is no chance of me siding with anyone who thinks this is okay. It's completely insulting on so many levels. They refused to help me (and MANY others) out with my damaged Chap, but a few months later start pumping out the SAME piece for new customers? **** them. On top of that, they are completely tearing down the standard and point of what a limited edition statue is. The whole structure of this hobby is based on the limited ES of a particular piece, because lets face it, otherwise there really isn't much value here. The actual materials and cost of producing this boils down to something that should sell for a few hundred dollars. To do this 5 or 10 years down the road would be bad enough (looking at you HCG), but to do this on the heals of the first one is insane.

You should contact Prime 1 about your damaged Chap now that they've announced this and see what they say. Them not treating you right after reissuing this would be the most scandalous aspect.

Regarding production costs, this stuff isn't all that cheap. Faken (a longtime member here and on StatueForum) now works for PureArts and posted a detailed breakdown of what's been happening on the manufacturing side of things in the last few years. Even barring the pandemic, material and shipping prices have skyrocketed. I've met people who've tried to get their own companies off the ground in the last few years and they say the same thing. It's incredibly difficult to make this kind of stuff unless you're a huge, well-established entity and even then, you're subject to the same production costs that plague the rest of the industry.

Some companies have tried to fight raising their prices for as long as possible. Some companies wouldn't dare to reissue collectibles because they still value collectibility from an ES standpoint (noble, but clearly not practical). Hot Toys and Prime 1 are not those companies. After the $400 Terminator jacket, nothing should surprise about the lengths P1 will go to make their nut. It'd be cool if Tweeterhead got the license to make Alien and Predator statues, but I don't think they wield a big enough stick to deal with Disney.

At this point, you really shouldn't buy unless you love the thing. Any idea of "value" you place on the collectible should be inherent to that specific chunk of polystone/PVC/etc that sits on your shelf and how you feel about it. ES is meaningless. I've seen limited pieces warm the shelves and abundant pieces shoot up in value because they were just that good.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying what's happening is right. But these companies aren't selling morality. You either like the plastic they're pushing on its own merit or you don't. Collectors will have to be a lot more discerning and a lot more realistic (or pessimistic, if you like) going forward.

 

[cpoll36]

Ha! Fair point about Hot Toys, that completely slipped my mind! I think I was thinking more custom figures for which slightly different rules apply. I think with those, reissues sometimes happen, but may need permission from the original run owner.

 

[burtial]

Hot Toys do not count, because there is no edition size, and the figures are not numbered. Apples to oranges comparison. It's also a product that's close to a tenth of the price of this.
Hot Toys doing an additional run of figures is no different than NECA doing the same thing, since neither company states how many will be made in the first place.

 

[marker2037]

Agreed, Hot Toys does it, but they don't count because nothing they make is "limited" to an edition size. They simply decide if they want to milk something again down the road.

As for this piece, it sucks from my perspective for sure, but then again I am not in this for resale value. This piece is a lifer in my collection for as long as my collection lives. The only thing I guess I am bummed about would be the fact that I can now choose which version I would want, Museum or Action, because at the time I ordered this both were waitlisted with the action waitlist already closed. Luckily my museum converted while I also decided the museum would fit better in my collection where I wanted to display him. The action would always be turned into a wall and not at me or the center of the room.

However, if my waitlist had never converted I would actually be pretty happy today to be able to have another chance to order him.

 

[Rotfish]

Hot Toys do not count, because there is no edition size, and the figures are not numbered. Apples to oranges comparison. It's also a product that's close to a tenth of the price of this.

Hmm. Fair point. But the ES of many Prime 1 pieces isn't even announced until close to production. The Big Chap's ES was a mystery for a good year or two, after which three little digits made everyone realize how great of a statue it was. I don't understand anyone who ordered in that time complaining that their piece is devalued due to more now entering the market. They placed the order when the quantity was still unknown.

Again, not defending Prime 1, but if ES is what got you to spend $2000 on a statue you were otherwise unsure about, it's time to rethink how you collect. And if you ordered before knowing the ES, "collectibility" shouldn't be a factor for you now.

This hobby has become too expensive for one's decisions to be motivated by arbitrary and often abstract concepts like ES. And we've seen how scummy companies can behave. There's no reason not to assume the only thing you'll get out of a transaction is exactly what's in the box, nothing more.

 

[fett1972]

Nothing P1 does comes as a surprise. I see lots of comments on previous posts regarding edition size. The fact is edition sizes are very important. Not only to a collector but also to the company. P1 have cancelled several pieces due to not enough orders being taken. Also regarding collectors placing an order before the edition size is announced. Yes that is correct. However P1 made the decision to announce the edition size. Collectors had ample opportunity to place an order. FOMO then made this item to immediately sell out. P1 appear to want things both ways. The item was not selling well initially so they release a low edition size driving up sales. Now the piece is reaching grail status and there is customer demand they decide to produce more.

P1 imho are a disgrace and treat their customers terribly particularly when it comes to replacements. However collectors also have to take responsibility as we keep going bavk for more regardless of how P1 treat us

 

[BurningRage]

Looks like closed mouth on the action pose for dx version.