Marvel villains aren’t rats.
youre right, majority of them are much less interesting than rats
Marvel villains aren’t rats.
I think Rockstar and Peter Blomquist did a fantastic job making you hate Micah's guts and I appreciated his unapologetic villainy, entertainment has been plagued with villains with cliched tragic backstories for a while now which is just boring so having a simple but memorable villain like Micah who is out to save his own skin above all else is a breath of fresh air, we need more villains like him and Joffrey from Game of Thrones.Ya'll will hate on Micah for being an incredible villain but day one PO any of these Saturday morning cartoon MCU villains in a second
RDR2 simply doesn't have the same pull as Marvel, DC, Star Wars and the like.
Video games collectibles are niche enough as it is, add cowboys to the mix and you're even less likely to sell anything, I truly believe Arthur was a special case because of the exposure the figure got and the universal love people have for his character, aside from him and Clint cowboy figures don't sell very well.
Before anyone tries to convince me otherwise the sales numbers speak for themselves, people can say they want the whole Van Der Linde gang but when the figures are announced nobody buys them, Master Team was willing to carry the torch and wanted to make a villain for a change since there's already figures of Arthur, John and Sadie out there and we helped where we could but as I said in the beginning of the post if people have to pick between a Marvel figure, be it a hero, a villain or sidekick or a RDR2 figure they will buy the Marvel figures before they ever pick up a Micah, John or even a Sadie as it's been proven.
True my friend, reality bites. The resurgence of the western productions TV and film is unlikely to change the reality. Looking forward to your final western figure.... Dutch.RDR2 simply doesn't have the same pull as Marvel, DC, Star Wars and the like.
Video games collectibles are niche enough as it is, add cowboys to the mix and you're even less likely to sell anything, I truly believe Arthur was a special case because of the exposure the figure got and the universal love people have for his character, aside from him and Clint cowboy figures don't sell very well.
Before anyone tries to convince me otherwise the sales numbers speak for themselves, people can say they want the whole Van Der Linde gang but when the figures are announced nobody buys them, Master Team was willing to carry the torch and wanted to make a villain for a change since there's already figures of Arthur, John and Sadie out there and we helped where we could but as I said in the beginning of the post if people have to pick between a Marvel figure, be it a hero, a villain or sidekick or a RDR2 figure they will buy the Marvel figures before they ever pick up a Micah, John or even a Sadie as it's been proven.
IMHO, the best way to up the value of a set in terms of it's loose parts is to fill it with guns. Lots and lots of guns.
Would Sadie Adler sell on her own? Probably not. But if you filled the set with five rifles and four pistols and a crap ton of ammo and dynamite?
My thoughts too my friend, the market for accessory parts has much potential. Some accessories become grail pieces and can fetch funny money, everything produced is about investment and return.Years ago, in the old days, back on the OSW, I convinced a rep for ACI Toys to participate in a thread. Essentially the deal was that all members could submit product ideas in public, and ACI Toys would agree to make a list, based on the suggestions, and consider each item listed, even if only for the 15 seconds to say to themselves that they couldn't make it.
Something I said to ACI Toys in private but also in public in the thread was that I always believed in the "Loose Parts Test" If someone has a figure idea in their head, break down the set into parts in your head. Then project out how the loose parts would sell on the secondary market. If you get exponential returns on the parts, against it's MSRP, then the set is likely a winner. If you can't, odds are it will be a loser.
For example, Hot Toys Two Face from The Dark Knight. He's a standard body in a suit with two different heads, a coin and a pistol. Now Batman was huge back then, and I can see why HT would make the figure on that alone, but in retrospect, just on the merit of it's parts, it's a likely loser of a set. Contrast that with Hot Toys Commando. Arnie is popular, the gear is good, lots of unique and interesting parts, particularly the weapons. On the merits of it's parts list, I'd call that a winner. I love Terminator 1, most people do. However dirty hobo looking Kyle Reese in a grimy trenchcoat and a sawed off shotgun, that's just not a greats parts list for a figure set. However HT did the smart thing and made a Future War Kyle Reese.
I believe something like RDR has to take those same considerations. Take a figure you'd see as failing the Loose Parts Test. Now add in a wheeled gatling gun, and a couple of shotguns and a couple of unique rifles. Now it's a different ballgame. But then part of the consideration is accuracy to the actual story. Which, for better or worse, is where George Lucas was pretty smart. The Phantom Menace has flaws. But you can see Lucas infused a lot into those scenes to create as much source material for future merchandising as possible. And why blame him. The cantina scene in ANH was basically a goldmine for creating new figures.
So that's the thing, you have to hope the movie or TV series or video game infuses enough in the scene or narrative, to drive forward the Loose Parts Test win to make a potential figure viable. Or, to be honest, just make it all up.
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IMHO, the best way to up the value of a set in terms of it's loose parts is to fill it with guns. Lots and lots of guns.
Would Sadie Adler sell on her own? Probably not. But if you filled the set with five rifles and four pistols and a crap ton of ammo and dynamite?
Just some thoughts.
But that would drive up the production cost and price as well.
Five highly detailed, game accurate rifles, four unique pistols and lots of quality ammo and surely the price goes up by another 80 or 100 bucks...
I'm not sure if people would be willing to pay that kinda money just to get a figure they don't really want. You know us collectors. We'd just wait for the loose parts to go up on eBay and just buy those instead of the entire figure...
I think the loose parts is a really good point. The Micah figure is a perfect opportunity to bundle him with a range of unique handguns available in the game, that could easily be used with Arthur and Johns figures.
My thoughts too my friend, the market for accessory parts has much potential. Some accessories become grail pieces and can fetch funny money, everything produced is about investment and return.
I do get your point, I truly do. I will also say there is high correlation to a great selling figure and the number of cool/unique accessories in it, especially the weapons. Scott Crawford of DML back in the old days called it a boxed set "anchor" That you needed an "anchor" pieces or accessory that was new to the hobby to drive the appeal of a set.
Back in the old days it was a lot easier. When soldier figures only cost $ 60 or $ 80 bucks you'd just go for it to get all the cool extras for your collection and build your army. But nowadays with regular figure prices between $180 - $280... you start to really think hard if a couple of cool extras are really enough reason to spend that kinda money on a figure you wouldn't actually buy on its own...
And also back in the days the loose parts market wasn't what it is today. Back then it was really hard to find the good stuff loose. Nowadays sellers immediately start ripping figures apart as soon as they are released to sell all the parts loose. The market has changed.
No offense but releasing a figure like what you suggest would be met with trolling, laughter, shock and more trolling.I want to be fair, I was out of the hobby entirely for a decade. Maybe too many current elements of it has passed me by and I'm now on the fringes. I also understand there are lots of mitigating factors here ( rising cost to ship, rising cost of diesel, inflation, increased cost of skilled labor in production, etc, etc)
The only other thought I had is to go in the other direction.
Set a hard cap of 80-100 dollars MSRP. So that would mean ditching all the elaborate packaging. Just a plain white mailer box with maybe a sticker on the front. Remove a figure stand/dio stand. Then ditch the body type. Just a head and maybe one set of hands. Boots go back to molded with ankle peg inserts. (I'm guessing the best compromise would be to accommodate the HT True Type wrist and ankle pegs for the male/female connection ends) Set quality back a couple of generations. Less detail/less funcionality in the weapons. Far less detail in anything that needs to be stitched. Maybe use molded items instead of cloth items for some things. More "lifting" from other brand molds/tooling whenever possible. ( If it's unlicensed stuff, it's not like there aren't already ethical question in place , I'm not judging, just making an objective point about it)
What's possible in the world of "pretty good"?
What's possible at an 80 dollar MSRP? Obviously it's not a "traditional" boxed set any longer. And I'm going to acknowledge that carded sets have never had great profit margins or sales potential in our hobby across the aggregate. At least to my memory of it. Something cheaper to ship, smaller in packaging, an area where expectations go down ( which goes hand in hand with a lowered price point) and there's a silent understanding that the end collector will have to do a little more futzing on their own to improve the set a little bit.
Pump out a set with a somewhat decent headsculpt but way more weapons. Not Dam Toys kind of weapons quality. But maybe more of the Battle Gear Toys kind of weapons quality ( not knocking them, they've been a fantastic resource for our hobby for decades now, but they are mostly inexpensive for many items compared to more high speed brands)
Yes, I also understand our hobby may no longer be able to support the size of edition runs to make a 80 dollar MSRP set profitable, that too many collectors have been shed and lost over the years.
What I am saying in this - A drop in quality to "mostly pretty good" will not be the end of the world to a lot of collectors. Not if every other HT figure is 280 and most other figures ride 200 and you are pumping out sets that are 80 bucks, albeit at a production level that is rocking quality control / quality output that is several generations back.
So I am spitballing here. Obviously Master Team is doing the best they can in their situation and this is not meant to criticize or hijack against any specific brand or any specific license, just sharing some thoughts on how to get more arcane kind of product out to the market place for the average collector.
Just some thoughts here.
No offense but releasing a figure like what you suggest would be met with trolling, laughter, shock and more trolling.The industry has advanced to the point where authenticity is the name of the game, collectors want the best tailoring, best sculpts, best paint, best accessories and best quality for the figured they buy and they aren't just buying a toy but a collectible of usually a Marvel, DC, Star Wars character they likely love or think is necessary to their collection......or we can just look at the reality of the situation and accept almost nobody buys these figures and that making them is literally burning money ......
Now don't take this the wrong way or anything, but anyone that assumes Micah would sell just as much as Sadie is, simply put, delusional. Theres no way man! Sadie deserves better than to be compared to that lunatic. lolNo offense but releasing a figure like what you suggest would be met with trolling, laughter, shock and more trolling.
The industry has advanced to the point where authenticity is the name of the game, collectors want the best tailoring, best sculpts, best paint, best accessories and best quality for the figured they buy and they aren't just buying a toy but a collectible of usually a Marvel, DC, Star Wars character they likely love or think is necessary to their collection.
Micah and other RDR characters simply aren't important to the vast majority of collectors out there which means they won't buy a Micah, a Sadie or even a John Marston, no matter if they are $230, $160 or $80 mediocre figures that come in a shoe box that more closely resemble Ken and Barbie dolls.
So we can spitball all day about possible solutions for RDR figures and how to get them sell or we can just look at the reality of the situation and accept almost nobody buys these figures and that making them is literally burning money but at least I got to work on John, Arthur and Dutch which will be the last RDR figure from Lim and we'll see what happens with Master Team's Micah I hope a small batch can be produced so I can add him to the collection and have a nice 4 figure display of the 2 protagonists and the 2 villains.
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