Hot Toys is a boring Company

[xipotec]

Yeah, I am kinda over them. Especailly considering all the wonderful 3rd party releases that are way cheaper and right up there in value.

Marvel, Star Wars, Batman…..over and over….with a lazy “throw them a bone” release every few years…

Not to mention skyrocketing prices.

I mean Morbious? The only reason that figure or Shang Tai exists is they are contractually obligated to make them.

 

[noheddardstark]

This is a boring post.

 

[Johnny Utah]

No one has ever called them that. This thread is like Christmas in July.

 

[Macklin]

I'm so glad I got an email alerting me of this new thread of valuable information.

 

[ironwez20]

I mean he’s not wrong.

 

[user 71794]

I concur, hot toys is boring af

 

[Khaos]

They used to have really great releases. They've got figures that are so desperately sought-after, they are considered holy grails for some people. But lately, I do notice a pattern of... Iron man, Star Wars, Spiderman, etc... alternating suits, alternating colours... lately, it has been boring, but that's just me, personally. I'm not a huge Marvel/DC/SW fan, and I'm sure these fans are loving these releases, but I preferred HT's older video game figure releases.

 

[keith99]

Totally agree they are crap and way too expensive now.

 

[Godfather1408]

I agree also! For the past few years it's been 3rd company parties keeping it alive.

Hot toys are over rated and over priced.

 

[chrisstbh]

Marvel, Star Wars, Batman…..over and over….with a lazy “throw them a bone” release every few years…

For profit company:
Releases products that make them profit.

xipotec:

 

[Bo Shrek]

Yeah, I am kinda over them. Especailly considering all the wonderful 3rd party releases that are way cheaper and right up there in value.

Marvel, Star Wars, Batman…..over and over….with a lazy “throw them a bone” release every few years…

Not to mention skyrocketing prices.

I mean Morbious? The only reason that figure or Shang Tai exists is they are contractually obligated to make them.

There is absolutely nothing that HT has displayed at SDCC that I find interesting. I have mentioned many times that Qui Gonn was my last HT purchased. Yes there prices are increasing but I feel that’s across everything in our dear world. I am not being priced out of hot toys but rather bored out. Many of their releases I feel you can just buy a 8” figure and call it a day. It doesn’t need to be a high end 1/6 figure. I call many of HT offerings lately “Craigslist” pieces. Because many are found on Craigslist years after.

 

[xipotec]

Looks like the HT media people were the first to try an post something edgy….

I am sure they will have great success with Morbo….

Playing it safe is not what got them to what they are….as far as profitability, thats no excuse to be boring as hell….they are just playing the safe card.

These Marvel variants will be ebay fodder in a few short years.

 

[Cocoboloboy]

Still lots of stuff HT is making that I’m interested in. No jaded collector syndrome for me yet.

I’m trying to think of any exciting 3rd party releases lately that aren‘t Marvel, DC or Star Wars related that if HT had made them people would have been buying them up. Only Mad Max comes to mind right now.

Anybody have any other examples?

 

[chrisstbh]

Looks like the HT media people were the first to try an post something edgy….

I am sure they will have great success with Morbo….

Playing it safe is not what got them to what they are….as far as profitability, thats no excuse to be boring as hell….they are just playing the safe card.

These Marvel variants will be ebay fodder in a few short years.

The problem is that we all expect HT to cater to us personally. For every one of us that rolls our eyes at the latest Iron Man repaint theres 1000 others putting their preorders in.

HT are in too deep with the Star Wars and Superhero licenses now to back down or slow down. There’s too much content for those properties and they struggle to keep up with those as it is.

HT still make plenty of figures that get me excited.

 

[ironwez20]

Hot toys branched out quite a bit in like 2008-2010. They released many figures from obscure movies and that’s the reason people ask them for so much now. It wasn’t until the mcu went into full swing that they dedicated all its attention to just that with some other stuff sprinkled in. Iron man was the biggest offender.

 

[Asta]

Depends what you're into. Hot Toys are obviously going to make what's current and follow what's currently hot. They'll also likely have instructions and prompts from the licence holders to do things they might not have chosen.

My interests have changed over the past year and I'm drawn more to other companies with other properties, and to historical figures that require no licencing.

I still have a mass of Hot Toys pre-orders I could easily give the cold shoulder to now, and am not particularly looking forward to receiving. Among those pre-orders my most anticipated are BTTF III wild west Doc and Marty.

 

[Asta]

Still lots of stuff HT is making that I’m interested in. No jaded collector syndrome for me yet.

I’m trying to think of any exciting 3rd party releases lately that aren‘t Marvel, DC or Star Wars related that if HT had made them people would have been buying them up. Only Mad Max comes to mind right now.

Anybody have any other examples?

Running down my list of pre-orders, Master Team has a good looking Rise of the Tomb Raider Siberia Lara upcoming. Which leads me to LiM Toys, who are one to watch after receiving their 'Cowboy', and have several interesting video game related figures in the pipeline.

VTS are continuing their Starship Troopers line.

Apart from that, my non-HT, non-DC (I pre-ordered DAF Toys' Joker mask set) and non-Star Wars (I pre-ordered Scaletta's Lando from Solo), comprise of WWII figures by DiD, Ujindou and Facepool.

 

[MGS_OldBoy57]

Definitely Lim toys is putting out some exciting stuff.

Present toys as well, although they’re on the lower end of the quality scale.

 

[Asta]

Definitely Lim toys is putting out some exciting stuff.

LiM's obsession over details, and obvious passion for their subject matter, makes them almost unique.

By contrast, a giant like HT who are also tied by the constraints of licensing, can often come over as a 'paint by numbers' company. e.g., the curse of the footprint sand base, which was taken to a hilarious extreme when it was assigned to IG-11.

 

[MyenShi]

I get it. From a practical standpoint, Hot Toys has been an empire for a while now. That’s what Howard wanted. And being an empire requires a level of consistency and familiarity; remaining formulaic while making changes that are less perceptible.

But they’ve been following their formula for so long that I can understand it’s gotten too predictable and stagnant for some long time collectors. There’s both boredom and burnout.

Feeling jaded because of the source material also puts a damper on the excitement about a figure and I’ve noticed it seems harder for some to separate the fantasy of figures and toys from other feelings these days.

It used to be easier to get excited over the figures themselves, but now getting excited is more related to the attachment to the character and media than the figures themselves because we already know what to expect.

There’s been a plateau in terms of figure quality and likeness as well. In the past, big leaps in figure tech could happen; something really new to experience. Not that they’re perfect now; far from it. But objectively they’ve reached a point where we know their strengths, weaknesses, and how the figure is going to be in hand which is usually okay to great with some misses. That’s a good problem to have, but even good consistency can get stale.

I don’t know if there’s anything that can be done. They can only continue to run their operation as a for profit business and focus on making figures from properties that are safe and profitable. I do applaud them for staying in the game for this long. We’ve all seen many collectibles companies come and go.

If it’s time for some collectors to move on, then it’s time. And that’s okay. Personal tastes and interests shift or the brand changes and it’s not a good match anymore. It happens. It’s healthy to find something else that excites you and truly makes you happy to collect.

I personally have a really narrowed down focus so I’m happy to get the figures that I do and it’s still fun because of my attachment to the characters. After hundreds of figures, it’s not necessarily the same level of excitement each time these days, but I do still find joy in it. I find it requires really slowing down and appreciating the good for what it is though.