Fred barton 1:1 Robocop bust

[Phil Sierra]

This is a surprise. I didn't expect to see Fred's Robocop bust on Sideshow. Anyways I always enjoyed Fred Barton's work. What I really want is a 1/4 scale ED-209, Robocain and Robocop. Make it happen Fred.

 

[Balsquat]

Thanks Reinhardt. And thank you sideshow and Fred Barton for coming to an agreement. I'm so happy about this announcement.

Reinhardt: will this be for sure displayed at the con?

 

[JEDSTER]

Appreciate the info man
Awesome

 

[bigsilva77]

Alright folks, I just got off the phone with Fred. We chatted for some time, but here are some high level points that came out of the discussion:

1. This was planned to be a Fred Barton exclusive, and apparently Sideshow originally didn't want it (or wanted it at a substantially discounted rate, that wouldn't necessarily benefit Fred), but then Comic Con was coming around and I guess they contacted him and really wanted to show it at their booth. It sounds like they came to a deal that was agreeable by both parties.
2. The Sideshow version will be the same item, the only difference being that those who order from Sideshow won't get the item until Q4, where if you have ordered from Fred, he is starting to ship these after Comic Con.
3. The delay is partly due to the bolts, and partly due to the fact that these are all done with much more care than items that are mass produced overseas. He mentioned all the different paints that are used, all automotive (so therefore the best quality around), all the different layers of paint, the fact that the teeth and gums are hand painted, etc... I have to admit, I was really getting excited when he was talking about the whole process of making these. As a result of all this work, they are made in batches of 25 or so, so they won't all be available at the same time.
4. He said they are almost already sold out, so I'm not sure how many Sideshow will be getting.
5. Not sure on edition size, but my impression was that it might change, but it sounded like he didn't want it to.
6. These will not be made overseas, so for those ordering from overseas, it won't be cheaper to order through Sideshow
7. Another delay was in him getting the best shipping rate possible. You could have received it earlier, but you would have had to pay much more in shipping.
8. He said that for those that take a magnifying glass to the item, you might find it not looking perfect. This is for a few reasons. One was that he was actually going for something as realistic as possible. He said Robo himself didn't look perfect, that the metal parts were cut and each part wasn't necessarily perfectly cut. He introduced that into the bust in certain places to add realism to the piece. It sounded like if it was perfectly clean, it might not look as realistic. At the same time, he isn't a machine, so there might be little imperfections, but nothing like what you get if it were coming from a mass produced factory overseas.
9. Anyone who ordered from Fred WILL get their item and it won't ship out until he is happy with the item. He said he's been doing this for many many years, and knows what he is doing. He did also say that no matter how good they are, there will always be people that will be unhappy, and he can't do anything about that.

Hope this helps. I have no doubt that this will blow away almost anything that we normally get from overseas. I still remember all the QC issues with the Iron Man bust. I don't see this happening at all. I for one am still massively excited about the item.

I have to run in about 30 minutes or so and won't be back at a computer for some time now, but if you have any questions, I'll try to answer as best as I can either in the next 30 minutes, or later tonight.

Sound like a bunch of mumbo jumbo, just to make you guys who ordered from him that are all pissed off and thought you're getting a deal and now SS has they're hand in the limited edition of 250 also. If you think he's making more than 250 you might be wrong, 250 don't sound like a mass production. Now if you guys receive the 250 and SS has their own mass production than you guy s did Great. But I doubt that's the case!!

 

[Atheris]

Ok, I may have been a little pre-mature in my previous post regarding this whole Fred/sideshow thing.

I sent an email to Fred asking him the same questions everyone else was asking. He actually called my cell minutes later to follow up with me and explain the whole situation.

He sounded very sincere in what he was telling me about how this all worked out. Apparently SS initially didnt have any interest in carrying the bust as it was exclusive through Fred only. As comic-con got closer SS switched gears and expressed interest in having it displayed at their booth. Sounds like the trade off was that they would also have it PO'd through their site if it was going to display at their booth. Since Fred has been dealing with SS for a long time he agreed...which makes sense in a business relationship.

He assures me their will be very little differance in shipping cost between SS or through him.

He also assured me the ES WILL STAY THE SAME.

SS will have no art box for the bust as their getting them direct from Fred.

Hes making them in small batches which take time, which is why other busts will be shipping later in the year.

So the only thing people are really losing out on here is $42.50 in SS points and maybe flex paying it if they cant pay it all upfront..which is not that big a deal really if you think about it. Other than that you will be getting the exact same bust made by Fred.

I actually feel for the guy after speaking with him for about 20 minutes. I dont think he predicted all this to be such a headache. I think the big issue was how it was "perceived" when we all saw it up on SS site today. Left alot of people thinking (including me) saying WTF?

I think if people whoe PO'd the piece got a heads up about it all...it would have been less dramatic when SS put it up. But again, the intention from the beginning was never for SS to carry this......that happend after the fact. So in his defense, he was sort of caught between a rock and a hard place with it all.

He actually charged the remaining balance for the bust to my CC while we were talking and tells me it will be shipping next week sometime....which is fine with me.

All in all, I think some of us (me included) jumped the gun on this whole thing. But mostly due to lack of information. Now that Fred has explained this to me I totally understand his position in it all. Hes a really nice guy I honestly believe he will take care of everyone who ordered one through him.

He's probably gonna need a bottle of tylenol after its all over though lol

Chris

 

[CAIN MKII]

With Fred's robo bust displayed at SDCC, We can expect a load of attention to his product line and may be it will help bringing ED209 and RoboCain to production.

Thank you all guys for the updates, I'm so eager to receive mine...not until the end of SDCC

 

[ashkanls]

If he was almost sold out he had zero reason to work with SS to move 15 of them. He probably only sold 50-60 of them to us so he had to move the other 200.

 

[Atheris]

From what he tells me, it was based more on SS wanting to get involved with the bust after the fact. Hes probably got a few left to be sold, but after comicon they will probably be sold out a-sap being displayed at the SS booth.

Chris

 

[ashkanls]

From what he tells me, it was based more on SS wanting to get involved with the bust after the fact. Hes probably got a few left to be sold, but after comicon they will probably be sold out a-sap being displayed at the SS booth.

Chris

You missed my point.

I make a headsculpt. I make 100 of them or plan on 100 (it has become public knowledge that there will be 100). I sell 20 and I hit my sales peak..... Now have I to talk it up to move my other 80 other wise it looks bad that there is little demand. What do I say? I have a low quantity hurry up before its to late for you. Wait SS wants my head sculpt, great now I can move the other 80 SS wont get involved with just a few. They get involved with 150 at the least.

 

[Atheris]

You missed my point.

I make a headsculpt. I make 100 of them or plan on 100 (it has become public knowledge that there will be 100). I sell 20 and I hit my sales peak..... Now have I to talk it up to move my other 80 other wise it looks bad that there is little demand. What do I say? I have a low quantity hurry up before its to late for you. Wait SS wants my head sculpt, great now I can move the other 80 SS wont get involved with just a few. They get involved with 150 at the least.

I dont think it was a matter of pushing units, Freds reputation and name is out there. Alot of serious collectors out there know who he is. I dont think he needed SS's name to sell more......maybe to help in distribution...but thats about it. I can see why SS wanted to get involved later. They probably didnt expect to much interest in the piece to begin with (given the failure of their PF robo)...plus theirs a new Robo movie coming out. Business wise, they would be smart to jump on this now...given that hes planning future robo releases.

In addition, when you've been doing business with a big name for years. Odds are your going to keep the relationship strong and use it to your advantage.

Im in real estate, I have lenders to help with mortgages and investments on projects or sales. If I have a lender with ALOT of disposable income to make us both money....odds are im gonna try to keep that business relationship going weather I think hes a prick or not.
In business its not about what you know, its about who you know....and make no mistake....this is a business a FIRST. Its advantageous to Fred and SS to both keep their relationship with eachother going.

At least thats what I'd do if I were Fred...

Chris

 

[Balsquat]

Wait? Why is the pf a failure? Last I checked it was sold out. Reg and exc.

 

[Atheris]

Wait? Why is the pf a failure? Last I checked it was sold out. Reg and exc.

It took forever for that to happen, plus the whole "articulating" PF concept I dont think was much of a hit. Even resale on those pieces now is about what SS sold them for years ago.

But more than anything, with a new Robo movie coming out....theirs money to be made.

Chris

 

[Reinhardt]

Thanks Reinhardt. And thank you sideshow and Fred Barton for coming to an agreement. I'm so happy about this announcement.

Reinhardt: will this be for sure displayed at the con?

Yes it will. And Fred will even be there one of the days.

 

[Ash Housewares]

Here's my opinion. I'm just glad to see some updated pics and as long as it arrives looking like those I'll be more than happy.

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

Wait? Why is the pf a failure? Last I checked it was sold out. Reg and exc.

the pose sucked & the sculpt wasn't that hot either

if there's ever another 1/4 made, I hope that it's the gun firing pose

 

[buzzybean]

the pose sucked & the sculpt wasn't that hot either

if there's ever another 1/4 made, I hope that it's the gun firing pose

BB

 

[tylerdurden]

wow, i gotta say this thread has taken a turn for the dramatic and unexpected.

it is slightly disappointing to see brand new pics suddenly pouring in from SS instead of fred. it just feels to me like he didn't quite do enough to foster good customer relations. basics like providing adequate proto/production pics and keeping your paying customers updated are important.

but honestly, at the end of the day, all i care about are two things:
one, i get my bust soon.
two, the quality is as good as the pics / as good as fred's been promising. everything else is irrelevant to me.

 

[Darknight]

As this is being produced by Fred and he has assured all who ordered one that he himself will be doing the QC. I'm sure it will turn out spectacular.

We'll know soon. The first busts are starting to ship to those who have ordered from Fred directly.

 

[JEDSTER]

Funny that all of a sudden this thread is so active after SSC offer this on pre-order
Awhile ago no one really talk about this bust when it was just offered by Fred himself.
Like the only people talking about it are mostly people who ordered one.
I'm really hoping that Fred will give me the OK to pick mine up on this coming Monday.

 

[Reinhardt]

Funny that all of a sudden this thread is so active after SSC offer this on pre-order
Awhile ago no one really talk about this bust when it was just offered by Fred himself.
Like the only people talking about it are mostly people who ordered one.
I'm really hoping that Fred will give me the OK to pick mine up on this coming Monday.

There is no question that the exposure has increased exponentially since Sideshow has got involved. I wonder if the traffic has increased now because more people know about Sideshow, or more people trust Sideshow. I bet both.

If you get your on Monday, we need PICS ASAP!!!!