That's all that matters. I look over at my detolf and think of how much is in there. I start computing for a few seconds and then just think. Ah, **** it. They're worth it. Bring on Leia.
Yeah, I agree. It's a significant amount of money, but the quality of the (HT) figures is just wonderful. And although 'investment potential' has never been why I buy such things, it's somewhat reassuring knowing that the HT figures will, at the very least, hold their value. That was certainly one incentive to go ahead with the line, given that I sold my ThreeA Adventure Kartel collection to fund the HT
Star Wars run. It became increasingly clear that Adventure Kartel figures, likely given the relative obscurity of the line and thus the smaller pool of ThreeA collectors, are open to shockingly wide disparities in perceived value and
real value. I don't think that will be an issue with the HT figures.
And the thing is, with each new figure added to the HT line-up, you remember just how astounding in concept design and costuming
Star Wars was. Familiarity and pop culture repetition have dulled that somewhat, but these figures remind you just how stunningly creative and confidently unique these characters are: I mean, Vader, Chewbacca, droids, Jawas, etc. - all of them were just so incredibly well realised and no two alike. And yet, when assembled all together, they complement each other perfectly.
Wow! Surprising, actually - I was thinking it would be closer to $3K AUD but you've managed to get some amazing one-off deals. I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to pull the trigger on the sandtrooper which will be my first Hot Toys purchase. Can't quite seem to justify starting over on another line after investing so much in Sideshow over the years, many of which sadly look pretty bad in comparison now. :-(
But it's really only the human likenesses that suffer with Sideshow, as everyone says. Their
Star Wars robots and creatures are terrific, and they're really in demand, so you shouldn't have any regrets there. Indeed, I've been after the SS Tusken Raider, but it's bringing big $$$ on Ebay these days, as is Greedo, etc.
With respect to the HT figures, I did try to shop around to find the best prices (even in the face of our lousy Australian dollar), and other forum members like
Sidewinder were very helpful in passing on some tips for stores and pricing. And I'm also personally happy to order from Singapore and Malaysia, whereas some collectors shy away from the Asian market (I don't know why?). I was able to find some good prices that way (at least when compared to Australian retailers), but I would have been able to get even lower prices if I'd gotten into the line sooner and
pre-ordered! I only jumped in around mid-2015, so I did miss the boat on the original Stormtrooper. Locally, I was also able to take advantage of the
Popcultcha sale periods and discount events that occurred coming into Christmas, so that helped somewhat.
Still, they're expensive damned things...
- I'm glad mine should be here tomorrow 
