Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who Figures

[histrionics]

Well, this is sad news. I was patiently waiting on my Definitive 4th Doctor because it really looked like a project Big Chief put a lot of effort into. I ordered from Sideshow so I'm guessing it won't be hard to get my deposit back.

Big Chief was always a frustrating maker to buy from because of the often poor quality of their figures, but I sure admired them for tackling the weird and varied but vital licenses that other companies didn't touch. Despite Big Chief's problems I bought their products and supported them.

 

[Mike86]

I had considered a Doctor Who figure but have never been the hugest fan. Kinda glad I didn’t order anything recently.

My only Big Chief Studios figure is my Roger Moore Bond. It’s an okay figure but didn’t really blow me away or anything.

 

[tjg]

It’s probably too soon, but has anyone ever offered a 6th Doctor sculpt? Gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way after all…

 

[secondevil]

I can’t believe the announced new Gerry Anderson 6 inch figures this year - not just that but multiple waves. Hard to believe they thought these latest pre orders would solve the liquidity problems - that is probably the most disingenuousness chapter in this story.

There is pretty much zero chance as a customer of recovering anything from this, which is really sad as I had three figures on pre-order.

I can imagine some sculpts or pre production prototypes could get sold at some point - I dread to think how much for.

 

[BagginsOfBagEnd]

I'm out $300+, money I could really use right now Only reason I hadn't already cancelled it was because I had already paid it off with a payment plan over a year ago, and was still thinking about whether to keep it or not.

nice of the co-owner to come on here a couple months ago and just lie to everyone. crooks

Yeah that’s pretty much how I’ve been about my orders with them for the past few months. Wish I’d have acted and just cancelled, the warning signs were there. 5 figures, £1,300+ down the drain. I’ll fill in that form they sent and send it back but I am not holding my breath over ever seeing any of that money again. Daylight robbery doesn’t even come close.

Stopped paying in full for orders a while ago and after this I’ll no longer be doing payment plans either…just the deposit from now on or waiting for actual release. A very expensive lesson learnt unfortunately.

 

[Tom Day]

Those extreme sales didn’t happen by accident. They got more and more desperate, and if you’re being charitable, which I want to be, then they were trying to stay afloat, trying to honour their commitments etc. But at the same time selling a figure at half price, while good for the buyer, means there’s even less money to go to people who have lost money with them. And yet, all’s e heard for many years was ‘don’t criticise us, you don’t understand the toy industry, we’re the experts’.

 

[Ineffable_Force]

I can imagine some sculpts or pre production prototypes could get sold at some point - I dread to think how much for.

I doubt this will happen, I imagine most of that stuff got taken home, including some of the other stuff and statues from other companies that they had around the office.

If they ever decide to sell those things they took, they'd get prosecuted for withholding company assets during liquidation.
(assuming they were bought on company dime)

Sad truth is, most of it will end up in a skip as it's near impossible for a third party (not the financial advisors) to value a load of loose heads and accessories they find in a drawer.
The only things that will end up at auction/sale will be sealed/packaged items from the warehouse and things like laser cutters/ 3D printers and furniture from the office.

 

[sueworld]

Oh bugger! I was hoping I'd see my order for the Master for-filled. The way they carried on combined with todays financial climate I can't say I'm totally surprised though.

 

[chrisstbh]

I wonder if any unfortunate souls placed orders with them yesterday, cause the website was still up and running even after the email went out.

 

[HAL9000.]

The company has always been a bit of a trainwreck. If you guys don't think BCS knew about this when you were pre-ordering figures a while ago then you're kidding yourselves.

They knew about this weeks ago because they sold a load of their stock off to another retailer. That retailer then sold Doctor Who figures and Hot Toys at 70% off retail. You could get the 9th, 11th and 12th doctors for £74.99 in the UK.

 

[Rogerbee]

Bit disappointing,

It could also hurt existing stock, if you get one with a defect, you're stuck with it. I know a store with 9 and 10 on display and they both look fine, but, they've sat there since release and will probably, unless they take a loss on them and mark them down, sit there for a good while longer. It would be nice if someone else could buy up moulds and toolings, someone like Star Ace or Mars spring to mind.

Ah well.....

 

[Rogerbee]

They knew about this weeks ago because they sold a load of their stock off to another retailer. That retailer then sold Doctor Who figures and Hot Toys at 70% off retail. You could get the 9th, 11th and 12th doctors for £74.99 in the UK.

£74.99 is still pricey for what you get. I paid that for an HT Bruce Lee (New and MIB, yes, they did cost that much once!) and it was of significantly better quality.

 

[chrisstbh]

They knew about this weeks ago because they sold a load of their stock off to another retailer. That retailer then sold Doctor Who figures and Hot Toys at 70% off retail. You could get the 9th, 11th and 12th doctors for £74.99 in the UK.

Master Replicas by chance?

 

[Underworld54]

Did the Definitive 11th Doctor ever make a release? I wouldn't mind tracking down a headsculpt to replace my old 11th.

 

[davejames]

The poor reaction to those Definitive figures probably didn't help matters. They clearly poured a ton of money into those, and collectors seemed to be mostly unimpressed.

 

[VincentVegaFFF]

Did the Definitive 11th Doctor ever make a release? I wouldn't mind tracking down a headsculpt to replace my old 11th.

Nope. Last Doctors released were 13 and 3, none of the definitive figures got released.

 

[Ineffable_Force]

I wonder how far long those Daleks got?

We were told the tooling cost for those was phenomenal, hence the absurd pre-order price.

Edit: Also those Flash Gordon 'Rocket Cycles'. They commissioned a modelmaker to do a very limited run of those, but I never saw anything after the initial prototype.

 

[Underworld54]

Nope. Last Doctors released were 13 and 3, none of the definitive figures got released.

I wonder if the headsculpts have been completed and they'll get released on AliExpress or something?

 

[HAL9000.]

I wonder if the headsculpts have been completed and they'll get released on AliExpress or something?

They seem to have sold off any excess stock they could, but would imagine they have plenty of parts left before liquidation. It'll all be sold to pay creditors etc

 

[pixletwin]

They seem to have sold off any excess stock they could, but would imagine they have plenty of parts left before liquidation. It'll all be sold to pay creditors etc

Likely all of those funds will go to secured creditors and there won't be a dime left for any of us.