Hot Toys Anakin Skywalker DX "Artisan Edition" 1/6 Figure Revenge of the Sith

[chrisstbh]

Since these are heavily limited there's no way it becomes their main line of figures.

 

[chrisstbh]

I think you nailed it right there, it's not like they're going to throw the Artisan treatment at Gideon...but a revisit of some of the ANH heroes? Most likely. The one I fear most is Chewie. That's ripe for an artisan hair treatment...and I couldn't live without that like I can the Anakin...

Problem with that is if these are all extremely limited you're never gonna be able to complete the line unless you're extremely lucky or extremely rich and don't mind paying silly aftermarket prices.

Imagine having to display your Artisan Leia next to their original ANH Luke... Yeesh.

 

[RavenAsh]

In my opinion, the way they handled Joker was great. Give both options, so if you miss out on the artisan (or live in a country where it’s not available), you can still get your hands on a Heath Ledger Joker with sculpted hair. I was in that Joker thread, and some members were even commenting that they thought the sculpted hair better captured Ledger’s hair at the time of shooting.

I think the concern is that they go down this Anakin route more, without giving a standard release. That creates a lot more anxiety and you’re slave to Sideshow’s line system. But hopefully they’d recognise with something like ANH, it’s worth it to release these characters with sculpted hair as well because of the amount of collectors who would buy them.

As long as they do more of the Joker style drops, I don’t mind. I personally love sculpted hair, and Hot Toys are incredibly good at it now.

 

[miles]

Problem with that is if these are all extremely limited you're never gonna be able to complete the line unless you're extremely lucky or extremely rich and don't mind paying silly aftermarket prices.

Imagine having to display your Artisan Leia next to their original ANH Luke... Yeesh.

Geesh, I had not even thought of an Artisan Leia, that would be nuts! If they pulled off an Artisan ANH Han that would break their servers, as well as Luke. Glad I mainly collect a focus group of 3 3/4”Vintage Collection which includes Anakin. Anakin and Yoda are my favorite characters so I mainly focus on them. I’m a first gen Star Wars fan and have collected for years and learned a long time ago that I couldn’t buy everything..lol
I HAD TO HAVE THIS ANAKIN THOUGH (glad I got it, but God it was nerve racking)

 

[Lordscum]

I was thinking the same thing. For me, the math is pretty simple: Over-priced + limited releases = pass.

If that's the case I would rather pay the big bucks for 1 or two Inart figures per year or check out Threezero , Asmus, and 3rd parties for their offerings .

 

[FlyAndFight]

If that's the case I would rather pay the big bucks for 1 or two Inart figures per year or check out Threezero , Asmus, and 3rd parties for their offerings .

Imagine if Hot Toys were to sell, in a regular general release, a ANH Han Solo 2.0 and then announce that a new limited to 3000 "Artisan" version of Chewbacca will go on sale via the same lottery that Artisan Anakin did. I would go nuts if I failed to pick one up.

I missed out on the Artisan Anakin and while it would have been great to get him, I'm not really too disappointed in missing out. I'm more disappointed in missing out on the Artisan Joker, to be honest.

 

[Wor-Gar]

HT doesn't announce Harrison Ford figures, and when it does, they are taken down.

 

[Hando]

I'm so sad I didn't get this ****

 

[Hando]

Also **** hot toys for the way they handled this. With joker they had a larger edition size which by itself was a lot better for collectors but they also offered the sculpted version which not only gave people a B option but it also took pressure off from the rooted version because most people could settle for the sculpted version. And we are talking about a character that is already flooding the market!!

So why did they decide with anakin to do a smaller edition size and to skip a sculpted? We are still talking about one of the most important characters of all time. Even if they decide to release a sculpted version the damage is done

There is no sense to make these popular characters super limited. A variant fine. A niche character fine. But not this. You are just screwing alot of collectors from a very important collection piece that now they will never get. And the bigger problem is with the disney licensing. You can have other companies doing a rooted hair joker. But NOBODY else can do this figure. Say Im salty but this gatekeeping is ********

 

[rayeknor]

They both sold out in 30-35 minutes so apparently pressure was higher on Joker with probably a 500 or so higher number available at Sideshow. Anakin sculpt is great too but it is a much more bare bones figure, it "almost" made sense at $410 while Joker at over $500 and sculpted alternative I expected to last the day.

I'm pretty sure the reason they make these limited is the effort making rooted hair, it fits nicely into their new exclusivity thing.

 

[Hando]

They both sold out in 30-35 minutes so apparently pressure was higher on Joker with probably a 500 or so higher number available at Sideshow. Anakin sculpt is great too but it is a much more bare bones figure, it "almost" made sense at $410 while Joker at over $500 and sculpted alternative I expected to last the day.

I'm pretty sure the reason they make these limited is the effort making rooted hair, it fits nicely into their new exclusivity thing.

You bring up another good point. The lower price also makes it more difficult for people to get anakin compared to joker

 

[Bravomite]

They both sold out in 30-35 minutes so apparently pressure was higher on Joker with probably a 500 or so higher number available at Sideshow. Anakin sculpt is great too but it is a much more bare bones figure, it "almost" made sense at $410 while Joker at over $500 and sculpted alternative I expected to last the day.

I'm pretty sure the reason they make these limited is the effort making rooted hair, it fits nicely into their new exclusivity thing.

Anakin was not open for sale until 15 minutes after the advertised time because of the queue pause so it sold out in 15-20 mins.

 

[miles]

Took a couple of screenshots from a YouTube video of a Hot Toys reveal in China a month ago, I hadn’t seen these before and thought I’d share…

 

[DioramaMaker]

I think these are all trial runs for HT to get their orders in affair. It's a lot of Peacocking to stare down InArt and executing a few small batches will serve that purpose. But with Gandalf, there's no question HT is going to go on the offensive now. With Joker I think there was a moment of "let's see what unfolds", because it was an imperfect release. Very good, very impressive for a first take especially. But in the end, I'd still place it at as solid B/B+ where as Gandalf is clearly A++. NOW HT needs to cook harder than before.

Obviously they have a large market who wanted these but didn't get them, that's money on the table.

I expect the endgame for these types of figures for HT will be timed PO exclusives with and appropriate NRD to match, and they will be made to order, releasing in batches corresponding to your order date.

 

[rayeknor]

Seeing Gandalf, HT's artisan line is already outdated in all areas save the headsculpt and Joker's new tailoring. Hot toys focuses on updated headsculpts with rooted hair and that's it for their biggest exclusive license, while Joker gets some more work done. Inart treats the whole figure, accessories included on the same level as the headsculpt and hair. Just two figures in, Inart has completely demolished Hot Toys in my opinion. Yes the headsculpt is the eyecatcher, but treat the whole project like Inart did Gandalf, and you get the in my opinion best 1:6 figure ever released, with Aragorn seemingly following suit.

Hot Toys need to answer and learn how to do hands and everything else on a higher level or go the way of the doodoo. No one will in time keep buying the second best brand/option if there is a clear top dog. And that's no longer hot toys. Someone get Inart the star wars license already, maybe that is what it will take to get a accurate 1:6 Vader for example.

 

[spaceghost2000]

If inart could put out more than 2-3 figures a year maybe they could get more licenses, but for the time being they’re barely covering the existing ones. Didn’t they plan to put out 16 different figures in 22-23?
They’re not demolishing anything, they’re putting out some very high quality product at a 3rd party pace.
People will always be buying Hot Toys regardless of InArt’s quality, they just can’t compete with the output and scale of production that Hot Toys has.

This is coming from someone with Gandalf, Aragorn and Battinson on preorder.

 

[Felinx]

Interested to see how they'd handle Luke or Han with real hair. Both Joker and Hayden Ani have hairstyles/types that sort of lend themselves to real hair 1/6, Joker with gelled/sweaty/scraggly hair, Ani with longer wispy blow-wavey brown hair.

Whereas Han's slightly funky ANH hairdo and Luke's hanging long surfer blondie hair would be a bit harder to nail. Though it'd be awesome if they can because so few hairsculpts really capture their hair very well, even the color.

 

[Venzhe]

I am sure I will feel a sense of pride and accomplishment after paying a scalper US$1200 for this doll next year.

 

[histrionics]

Seeing Gandalf, HT's artisan line is already outdated in all areas... Inart treats the whole figure, accessories included on the same level as the headsculpt and hair. Just two figures in, Inart has completely demolished Hot Toys in my opinion.

InArt showed us what an artisan approach to 1:6 figures could be and they proved themselves capable of delivering with their first 2 figures so far. We didn't ask for artisan figures nor did we know we needed them* - InArt simply did their thing by reaching high, perfecting the art and showing us we could desire for this new level and option in the 1:6 collectibles market. Collectors didn't hesitate to shell out the cash even through the price was double of what we're used to paying.

This isn't Hot Toys' game and it's sad to see them desperately clawing their way to meet InArt's success. Meet that success and hoping to compete with it. Hot Toys has always stolen ideas and copied the innovations of other makers and they have the means to compete and potentially bury their competition, but this isn't a sport or aggressive business ploy where we wait to see winners and losers. We're here for the art of 1:6 figures and InArt will remain innovative in their approach because that's what they're all about. In this case, with artisan figures, I don't feel like Hot Toys is poised to compete so much as to merely tread water and struggle to remain on par with InArt. Hot Toys is still playing catch-up and will continue to do as long as they're spread thin throughout the 1:6 market.

*I'll just add, it wasn't InArt alone, but Asmus that tried to reach for a new level of artisan craft with their Crown Series, but it didn't quite make the cut or have the same impact that InArt made.

 

[freeze320]

I am sure I will feel a sense of pride and accomplishment after paying a scalper US$1200 for this doll next year.