Guess Toyfair will say a lot
I bet you are correct. I don't have much faith in QMx anymore for this among other recent reasons. Their pattern seems to be to dangle a carrot in your face to get you excited, then pulling it away as soon as the ToyFair is over. They tease with no or very little payoff. Hot Toys, on the other hand, consistently roll-out new and/or alternate concept figures in varying scales and genres. Super complex and yet they never seem to miss a beat. If HotToys teases a prototype at show, you know they will produce it for market within a year or so. QMx could've done a similar thing with their niche licenses, but haven't progressed much. In addition to their 1/6th scale teases, some of their high-end studio models haven't seen the light of day either. I do realize that Avengers and Star Wars figures, for example, have way more popular appeal these days than Star Trek, The Princess Bride, Supernaturals, etc.-- but there are a lot of collectors who love those genres nevertheless. I don't know the business of 1/6th scale or how the risk assessment works, but consistency of releases seems key -- especially after having teased so much in shows -- which would help to keep momentum and interest alive, correct?
So as Jerry Seinfeld might say: "What's... the Deal... with THAT!?"
QMX are going to go down as being the Kings of missed opportunity too. Between the excitement and positive feedback for the Discovery S2 premiere, the announcement of the new Michelle Yeoh series, and this year's upcoming Picard series...not to mention the new animated series...there is more mainstream excitement for Star Trek than there has been for a long time...Star Trek had not felt this alive in awhile...what a great time for QMX to begin killing off the 1/6 Star Trek license...???
QMX are going to go down as being the Kings of missed opportunity too. Between the excitement and positive feedback for the Discovery S2 premiere, the announcement of the new Michelle Yeoh series, and this year's upcoming Picard series...not to mention the new animated series...there is more mainstream excitement for Star Trek than there has been for a long time...Star Trek had not felt this alive in awhile...what a great time for QMX to begin killing off the 1/6 Star Trek license...???
To be fair, reading everything so far doesn't sound like they're killing the line, but Nanjin isn't involved anymore. But QMX basically doesn't say anything so it's pretty much to better to assume nothing is coming until it's announced. I know they're a small company but they're pretty frustrating.
We’re all very doom and gloom here, aren’t we?
Nanjin Tam leaving QMX is indeed very sad, but from what I read here, this was his decision. No?
As far as Hot Toys showing something at a trade show and then releasing it in a few months, that’s not always true. I’m sure if we all think about it we can think of a few that got got cancelled, or at least delayed by quite a bit.
As far as wondering why QMX hasn’t commented on the situation, why would they? Since when does a manufacturer, distributor, or, franchisee tell the fans what their whole business model is? Or how they structure their business? This age of social media is great for communicating throughout fandom, but it sometimes gives us fans the false impression that we’re entitled to know every detail of things we care about... Just because we care, or are concerned. Sometimes we’re lucky and have an insider like Nanjin who posts lots of info... Some companies would freak out about that. I’m encouraged that QMX doesn’t seem that bothered by his openness.
I too have my doubts about the line continuing, but I think it’s a little early to pronounce the line dead. Cynicism has a way of gaining traction and becoming self-fulfilling prophecy. Enjoy what we’ve got, support the line, and hope for the best!
All good points and I agree...I think my frustration was causing me to get a bit carried away in hyperbole. I think I have been spoiled the the also problematic year in advance pre-order Hot Toys business model...as frustrating as the wait can be there is something about their "we show things at shows to gauge interest..."model that is beyond frustrating. Before I spend money on Scotty per se instead of using money and precious shelf space on a Star Wars figure from Hot Toys I want to know that he will actually be a part of an eventual 1/6 Star Trek collection...We all collect differently and when the Ghostbusters came out from Blitzway a lot of collectors picked their favorite...for me it was all 4 or bust. If they had released individually and Ray or whoever was sold out or even worse just not released I would have skipped the whole thing.
QMX management just released a statement regarding the situation:
“We are aware of the interest in our ongoing license for the various Star Trek franchises. We have been very blessed to have this license, and have enjoyed the enthusiastic feedback we have received for all of our past and current releases.
Regarding the departure of one of our employees recently, QMX found his desire to make the development and production process more cost effective for the company, as well as the ability to pass those savings on to our customers, unacceptable. Additionally, this individual wished to deliver product in a timely manner, with the highest quality possible. This overall desire of his to pay homage to the original source material - treating it in a respectful manner, as well as appreciating and respecting the customers that pay for these items, was the final straw. He choose to leave, but clearly as you can see by what is written above, he was not a good match for our company. We wish him well in his future endeavors.”
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Is THAT for real?! In other words: “We didn’t like the fact that Nanjin was finding ways to put out a quality product and save the customers money. We want to be able to make cheap garbage when we see fit, and tack on additional costs to gouge the customer. Go F#&k yourselves, fans. We’re here to rape your wallets.”
Is THAT for real?! In other words: “We didn’t like the fact that Nanjin was finding ways to put out a quality product and save the customers money. We want to be able to make cheap garbage when we see fit, and tack on additional costs to gouge the customer. Go F#&k yourselves, fans. We’re here to rape your wallets.”
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