Which Medi SW Human Likenesses Would You Like To See Next

[The Josh]

If you're going to C4 he's going to be there.

Nope won't be going to that. We still have school.

 

[MaulFan]

Nope won't be going to that. We still have school.

Helloooo, field trip

 

[The Josh]

Helloooo, field trip

There's an idea.

 

[Darklord Dave]

I do believe that LFL has more control than Douglas has conjectured.

We know that Marvel dictates to SSC which characters they can and can't do. It could be that SSC takes 5 ideas to them and they say "no, no, yes, yes, yes," but there is influence there. The same could be the true of LFL. So it's possible that there IS a directive to Medicom that they only do armored characters now.

 

[automaton]

LOL that's kind of a riddiculous assumption or statement. Why on earth would Sideshow dictate what Medicom can or will produce??

If anything, Medicom is the one to set ground rules since Sideshow is the one distributing their product. They say how many Sideshow can have to distribute, which products they can distribute, etc. Not the other way around.

chill! business is business... each company has its own niche... do you really think you are going to see a SST Fett soon? or a Medicom Mace?

 

[PosterBoyKelly]

MEDICOM MACE! Awesome Idea!

 

[Ultimate Weapon]

Lucasfilm definitely does have a strong bit of control when it comes to its licensees. If you check out Andy Bergholtz's thread showing his collection he shows the original Mace Windu sculpt that he did and compares to the revised one that was done specifically at Lucasfilm's request. I don't know that there's a much more direct example than that, but it pretty much shows that Lucasfilm can look at the product and tell the artist to change it. I have heard of this with a few other specific items, but the examples escape me at the moment.

Lucasfilm can definitely "off-limits" any item they want. Topps created a Star Wars Galaxy card in the late 90's showing several "Yoda" species type creatures around a Buddha-like Yoda statue. It was nixed at Lucasfilm's request due to the desire not to allow anyone to speculate on Yoda's species or origin.

As far as what human figure I would like to see from Medicom, I would be really partial to either a Han Solo or Ben Kenobi from ANH, or Bespin Luke. All good choices.

 

[nash]

I do believe that LFL has more control than Douglas has conjectured.

We know that Marvel dictates to SSC which characters they can and can't do. It could be that SSC takes 5 ideas to them and they say "no, no, yes, yes, yes," but there is influence there. The same could be the true of LFL. So it's possible that there IS a directive to Medicom that they only do armored characters now.

sounds possible but imo highly unlikely LFL would limit a company in that manner. If Medicom puts out an awesome prototype non-armoured character, why wouldnt LFL want to capitalize on the future sales of that?

 

[nash]

do you really think you are going to see a SST Fett soon?

Of course I don't.

 

[nash]

I think the biggest issue that everyone could agree with on Medi is their price making it difficult to collect them in large numbers, you can get approximately 3 Sideshow SW figures for 1 Medi,

Sideshow figures are now around $70 shipped. That's 2 per 1 Medi. Sideshow's pricing is quickly closing the gap...not to mention you can get some Medi's (x3 wolverine) for $90.

I'd take quality over quantity any day.

 

[Ven]

Sideshow figures are now around $70 shipped. That's 2 per 1 Medi. Sideshow's pricing is quickly closing the gap...not to mention you can get some Medi's (x3 wolverine) for $90.

I'd take quality over quantity any day.

says you... i feel sorry for serpentor, who pays customs and fees to ship to canada..

 

[nash]

says you... i feel sorry for serpentor, who pays customs and fees to ship to canada..

then feel sorry for me too, because it costs me $25 just to ship one stupid SS figure to Hawaii.

 

[automaton]

Sideshow figures are now around $70 shipped. That's 2 per 1 Medi. Sideshow's pricing is quickly closing the gap...not to mention you can get some Medi's (x3 wolverine) for $90.

I'd take quality over quantity any day.

totally! you get what you pay for, and with Medicom, you are paying for a hell of a figure.

 

[DouglasMcc]

I do believe that LFL has more control than Douglas has conjectured.

We know that Marvel dictates to SSC which characters they can and can't do. It could be that SSC takes 5 ideas to them and they say "no, no, yes, yes, yes," but there is influence there. The same could be the true of LFL. So it's possible that there IS a directive to Medicom that they only do armored characters now.

Well then, let me rephrase. Yes, Lucas Arts has final say over likeness and such. They also decide what is produced. HOWEVER, these rules have mostly pertained to likeness (they weren't happy with Mace ... they didn't cancel the figure, did they?) and the grey areas - i.e. non-cannon stuff that could muddle up future plans (such as the Yoda card someone spoke of earlier). Do you really think LFL would tell Medicom - one of the biggest licenses in Japan, "well, we are going to charge you out the arse for this license ... but you can only make figures of this type of character." If so, I am willing to bet that Medicom would have shown the LFL representative to the door. LFL has allowed a wide range of crazy products over the years - R2 trashcans, Stacking Chubbies, Star Wars Transformers, Star Wars toilet paper, etc. As long as the product didn't delve into the time frame Lucas put off-limit or represent the character in an unflattering light, they don't seem too keen to limit licensee's creativity. Plus, if you look at Star Wars licensed items from Japan and Asia, you can easily see those LFL quality people do not pay as close attention as they do to U.S. products. They will make Andy modify his Windu, but let Medicom release a Jedi Luke sculpt that looks NOTHING like Hamill? And there are many more examples. Long story short, in my opinion, the only reason Medicom hasn't made more non-armored figures is because everyone wants armored figures in Japan. Heck, look at all the whining for Vader, Fett, stormes, clones, etc. from SSC here.

 

[DouglasMcc]

totally! you get what you pay for, and with Medicom, you are paying for a hell of a figure.

Much like SSC, I think the value is variable. A complex figure like Vader or Fett ... or even Jack Sparrow is worth the extra money. However, are you going to tell me a Spidey in a single stretch fabric suit is worth 140 bucks? To me, its not. But, I guess there was not much more Medi could have done with Spidey so I hate to fault them too much. Its just the value and "you get what you pay for" shouldn't be given Cart Blanche to a company ... the items should be judged on a 1 by 1 basis.

 

[Serpentor]

then feel sorry for me too, because it costs me $25 just to ship one stupid SS figure to Hawaii.

Thats pretty stupid your in the same county and your paying nearly what I have to pay to order from sideshow. I paid 30 something for the last one I got which was Maul I have stopped ordering direct since then 90 US + exchange + tax plus a stupid handeling fee not worth it. Hence why I'll never order a Medicom figure from Sideshow.

back on topic I'd like to see them do Sidious if they were going to do a human figure. Also a RAH Yoda the VCD one looks great and all but we need super artuculated Yoda.

 

[automaton]

Much like SSC, I think the value is variable. A complex figure like Vader or Fett ... or even Jack Sparrow is worth the extra money. However, are you going to tell me a Spidey in a single stretch fabric suit is worth 140 bucks? To me, its not. But, I guess there was not much more Medi could have done with Spidey so I hate to fault them too much. Its just the value and "you get what you pay for" shouldn't be given Cart Blanche to a company ... the items should be judged on a 1 by 1 basis.

should i have specified? i was referring to Medicom's Star Wars products (as in the thread title "SW"), not Medicom in general.

 

[JABBATHERIDGE]

This is not meant to be a Medi-basher post, but I am curious about something. People always go easy on the Medi Jedi Luke's resemblance claiming its "anime inspired, its the way they make their figures." Well, I bought a ROTJ Medi Vader off Ebay a few weeks back and its looks amazing like Shaw in ROTJ. I have also seen pics of the new Jango Fett and its a dead-on likeness of Morrison. Neither of these figures look anime in the least. So, it seems to me that the excuse for Luke is invalid. It's simply a bad sculpt ... no ifs, ands, or buts.

P.S. As much as I have bashed Medi prices in the past, the ROTJ Vader was worth all 105 bucks I spent on him. He actually motivated me to prepurchase Boba. Might get a stormie too in the future when funds allow it.

Personally I don't like the Medi Luke Skywalker because I don't think it looks like Hammill, I think the figure has alot of other plus points like the tailoring or quality of the costume, but if we're just talking about sculpt alone then I don't think it's a good sculpt.

I like Medicom a whole lot but I don't think every figure they make is 100% perfect, although Luke was flawed some of their other figures like Vader and Stormies and now Boba and Jango are pretty close to being perfect at least IMO.

Whether something is a good sculpt or a bad sculpt is all a matter of taste it's in the eye of the beholder.

That's my take as a Medi fan anyway.

 

[JABBATHERIDGE]

Some great discussions and interesting theories being bounced around here guys, I guess none of us knows as an absolute certainty what goes on behind the scene with these licenses.

I'm not sure whether LFL would restrict Medi to making armoured figures so as not to clash with SSC's line.

If that is the case though it still leaves us with plenty of cool figures to come not to mention the clone variants.

I know when we discuss what we'd like to see next at Medi World there are always lots of trooper names on the list, so it certainly wouldn't discourage me from collecting either way.

Although I'd like to see them tackle more human likenesses as well, thanks for your input everyone.

 

[PosterBoyKelly]

However, are you going to tell me a Spidey in a single stretch fabric suit is worth 140 bucks? To me, its not.

You're right, Spidey isn't worth $140...he's worth $100, or do like I do and get him fro $85 from retailers