Rainman project: Overlook Caretaker

[stiff_richards]

Remember a few months back seeing 7-8 Bickle sets rotting in the sales thread for RETAIL??? Because Lee did 25 of each set. I'm not saying that this figure **** is an investment but it does give piece of mind that your money's at least safe. With a free for all like this yeah we're all gonna get one. But plan on keeping it lol.

 

[The Danger]

Just hope you'll never be in a position where you'd have to sell it because with this idea it's like buying a $2000 TV or some **** lol

Hahaha, that's exactly right... maybe he'll cap it off after a certain point if it gets out of hand. Sometimes, even things with a large ES maintain and/or increase in value. I guess we'll find out his plan eventually.

 

[DKA8976]

Every one of RM's releases - even Bickle - have evened out and gone above original sale price at some point. I wouldn't worry about getting your money back out of Jack if you want to. You may have to sit on him a bit longer, but I do think it will be pretty easy after a while.

 

[chubbyman]

ok guys!!!!!

I just talked to lee and this is how the torrance release is going to work....

He will give us the date and for that 24 hour period everyone is entitled to buy which set they would like. After doing so your name will be put on the list of which set u purchased and this will determine how many sets are sold of each. After the day of sale they will no longer be available. He said this way everyone gets a chance at he figures...

omfg yes best news ever i love everyone in this community!!!

in regards to the number, don't worry about it, just get your order in asap.

i actually think 24 hours is too much time, how about 1 hour, and he announces the time beforehand. I'm sure people who want it will mark that **** on their calendars, phones, tattoo it on their wives forehands.

 

[DKA8976]

Some of us can't though. I teach and can't carve out certain hours.

 

[venomboy]

I understand the concept of everyone getting a chance but believe it or not guys, some of us are more interested in small runs and limited pieces.

I tend to agreed =P

 

[Kubrick]

I like this direction. I hated how people could be quick on the mouse-draw on releases then be like "oh I have a medical emergency, selling my HC set for 1K" **** that. The worst kind of flipping and it happens on a lot of releases.

Now we see who is in it for the art and who still thinks this is an "investment".

I couldn't be more stoked for this release. I was sweating getting a H+C set but with this new system I am confident I'll be able to display my favourite movie of all time. I would love to be able to display Danny, the trike, the twins, but simply can't budget that amount.

Happy collecting

 

[meth head]

I don't like this direction.

A) A part of the RM model is limited availability. That's part of the appeal if you like it or not.

B) And this is the most important part. I do believe the quality will suffer if he goes 24hr open ended. That is likely to double his usual numbers, most of them being DX or DXX. That's a lot of work for such a small team! Something will give.

Edit: just for the recorded, I want a fullset and will still get one. Never been about investments for me. That doesn't mean to say the limited nature of these was a bad thing. So will the price reflect this then? The fullset should be cheaper if being offered on a larger scale, surely?

 

[AaronsFigures]

awesome news best news i have heard for a while was worried i wouldnt get one. nice one

 

[EdgarFigaro]

Interesting that Rainman might change his way of selling..

I'm all for everyone getting what they want but have to echo what others have said. I worry the quality might go down, turnaround times will also be much slower like this.

So will the price reflect this then? The fullset should be cheaper if being offered on a larger scale, surely?

Good point, if the items are being produced in larger quantity, it should reflect in the price. I kind of doubt it will though.

 

[meth head]

It needs to! If this is opened ended even if it's only for 24hrs, the fullset pice should be around the price of a fullset Iminime.

 

[karamazov80]

But there's no real change in the economy of scale here. It isn't like increasing edition sizes by 20-30% or whatever are going allow him to bulk order parts that will cut down drastically on his costs. Resin, clothing material, paint, packaging materials, bodies, and of course labor should all be about the same, so the cost to customers should be the same.

Regarding bodies, since Hot Toys' bodies aren't currently available to my knowledge, I'm assuming this guy will use a knock-off or alternate brand for the full sets and DXs.

An interesting sales decision by Rainman. On balance, I think it's a good one, but we'll see.

 

[DKA8976]

Heisenberg: You have no basis to establish that estimate. The fact is we have no idea what the equilibrium price is for this stuff because Lee has never satisfied demand. We also don't know what kind of profit Lee or Robbie were going to make in the first place or if this was an attempt to curtail diminishing profits. Again, I doubt this is going to result in an explosion of Jacks out there and we have no reason to anticipate a significant drop in quality, especially considering both the track records of those involved and the divided responsibilities.

 

[greatlakes6]

One way to appease VIP's or concerns over quality issues, is to have Lee paint a limited amount himself and the rest done by Aeon. The true limited edition will be based on his hand painted sculpts.

 

[karamazov80]

Again, I doubt this is going to result in an explosion of Jacks out there and we have no reason to anticipate a significant drop in quality, especially considering both the track records of those involved and the divided responsibilities.

If there was a case where additional effort would have led to decreased quality, it would have been the Bickle sets, as he essentially released 2 separate figures at once there, with higher edition sizes than usual even on the double full and DX sides. But I don't recall people complaining too much about the quality (likeness was the major complaint there, followed by some problems with Aeon's eye paintwork and the minor issue of his drilling holes in the haired sculpt without painting them over). So I don't think there's a basis for that opinion. Others have criticized him for "rushing" to finish a sculpt or whatever, but that's a different argument.

 

[chubbyman]

All i'm gonna say is, if Rainman decides to do it this way, he would have accounted for the increase in demand and thus, production. As an artist, I believe quality is most important to him. I absolutely DO NOT mind waiting longer if it means I will be able to display Jack, Danny on a TRIKE!, and the twins as it is a very important movie to me.

 

[meth head]

Heisenberg: You have no basis to establish that estimate. The fact is we have no idea what the equilibrium price is for this stuff because Lee has never satisfied demand. We also don't know what kind of profit Lee or Robbie were going to make in the first place or if this was an attempt to curtail diminishing profits. Again, I doubt this is going to result in an explosion of Jacks out there and we have no reason to anticipate a significant drop in quality, especially considering both the track records of those involved and the divided responsibilities.

What

I have never disputed the artistic talents of RM or Robbie. Both know exactly how I feel about the work they put out. However, it's simple economics, if something is limited you can demand a higher price for it. You open end the quantity and it becomes 'less desirable.' Of course I am not suggesting for one minute this is less desirable, but you can see the point I am trying to make.

 

[karamazov80]

All i'm gonna say is, if Rainman decides to do it this way, he would have accounted for the increase in demand and thus, production. As an artist, I believe quality is most important to him. I absolutely DO NOT mind waiting longer if it means I will be able to display Jack, Danny on a TRIKE!, and the twins as it is a very important movie to me.

People have been criticizing Rainman for putting the business ahead of the art for years now, re-using sculpts, "rushing" figures out, expanding the number of full or DX sets, etc. And I don't see this as a sea change really. He does cater to the market. That's why he's doing Jack Torrance, and why he did Bill V2 and Bickle beforehand--customers demanded it. Catering to the market is also doing a better job of meeting demand. On balance, I suspect that the ability for customers to get what they want will outweigh any concerns here or there about the loss of "art" and specialness due to edition size IMO (again, I don't think the quality argument holds much weight).

I recall when the Dude was coming available, and he increased the full set edition size by 10 or 15 to account for demand when the set sold out during the VIP stage. Some were outraged. But the sky didn't fall there, and because of that decision folks who otherwise wouldn't have had a chance (self included). I think the greater good is accomplished by the strategy he's got in mind, but whether or not this hurts his business in the long run is an open question. It's possible.

 

[meth head]

I am happy about 'the greatest happiness for the greatest number' principle, however, that needs to be reflected in the price does it not?!

 

[karamazov80]

Well the price should reflect a balance of what he's willing to do it for and what people are willing to pay, which is the foundation of any economic transaction. Considering that the price will be stated up front, and only those willing to pay what he asks are going to commit to buying it, I don't see what incentive he would have to charge less than usual. Sure, if only 5 people place orders out of a feeling that he's charging too much for a figure with an open-ended edition size, then he may need to go back to the drawing board. But I don't see that happening.