The Dark Knight Rises - 1/6th scale Batman Armory with Bruce Wayne Collectible Set

[willy156]

This is kind of hilarious. I would love an armory set up to have IN ADDITION to my DX19, but I'm not nitpicky enough to need a new Batman. HT is directly competing with themselves here. I feel like HT would be wise to offer this via tiers: Tier 1: Batman, Bruce, Armory; Tier 2: Batman and Armory; Tier 3: Bruce and Armory; Tier 4: Armory only.

they did that last time for the previous armory

 

[bat1975]

Already PO'd on SS. My only gripe here is the Bruce Wayne figure being a statue. For what they charge, i should get a fully articulated figure (along with the Batman, of course). If they don't feel comfortable doing an articulated figure in the T-shirt/shorts look, then go with the grey suit look.

 

[GreenRanger-Kush]

There's some really interesting upgrades going on with this new release, but too much is unknown. Particularly the new cowl sculpt with faceplates, etc. The remodeled empty cowl does not at all appear improved to me. Looks worse. I still think OT's custom parts are more accurate looking and better done than what HT has pictured in their product shots. These custom shoulder pads feel slimmer and lay more flush to the shoulders, and the neck flows into the cowl more naturally looking. I also think that having an upgraded dx19, I don't think it's worth the +$500 to get this new set.

View attachment 634310

What's customised on this bad boy? Shoulders and neck only?

 

[denrep-lilium]

What customised on this bad boy? Shoulders and neck only?

Hands also. They also mention new boots, but no comparison pics.

 

[Mike86]

Already PO'd on SS. My only gripe here is the Bruce Wayne figure being a statue. For what they charge, i should get a fully articulated figure (along with the Batman, of course). If they don't feel comfortable doing an articulated figure in the T-shirt/shorts look, then go with the grey suit look.

Bruce didn’t wear a suit in the Batcave with this armory. To me in this case the Bruce Wayne figure being more of a statue makes sense. People would have complained if it would have been a normal body with exposed joints, and seamless joints can have issues over time. Plus I wouldn’t see myself doing much posing with it.

 

[Wor-Gar]

The Bale pose is classic... and hilarious for anyone's shelf.

That Bale, of all Bales, is a must-have. Hell... I might even try to snag one.

Put him anywhere in your house, and its LOLs.

In the kitchen: watching you make bacon instead of green juice.

In the bathroom: well... yeah

In the living room: giving you the stink eye while you watch Star Wars cartoons.

 

[Mike86]

This is kind of hilarious. I would love an armory set up to have IN ADDITION to my DX19, but I'm not nitpicky enough to need a new Batman. HT is directly competing with themselves here. I feel like HT would be wise to offer this via tiers: Tier 1: Batman, Bruce, Armory; Tier 2: Batman and Armory; Tier 3: Bruce and Armory; Tier 4: Armory only.

I mean really if you’re doing an armory it’s going to include the Batsuit no matter what. That’s part of it. They could have offered the Bruce figure/statue separately but that may have not sold on its own. The other option would have been to just do the armory without Bruce. In my opinion the addition of the Bruce is cool.

 

[DiFabio]

In the kitchen: watching you make bacon instead of green juice.

In the bathroom: well... yeah

In the living room: giving you the stink eye while you watch Star Wars cartoons.

 

[Wor-Gar]

That's it! Exactly!

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Is the new suit more movie accurate than the previous HT figures? I can't tell anymore what's accurate or not.

 

[Frenchy]

Very accurate proportions of the body.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Puny Bale.

Statue Bale is The Man.

 

[DiFabio]

Now I can see Hot Toys releasing the Batcomputer with Bruce Wayne (non-articulated figure).

• Authentic and detailed likeness of Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne in casual look in Batman
• One (1) newly developed head sculpt with separate rolling eyeballs
• Movie-accurate facial features with detailed wrinkles and skin texture
• Approximately 15. 5 cm tall (sitting)
• Sitting posture with arms cross, fist to chin (Non-articulated figure)
• Sweater texture
• Each piece of head sculpt is specially hand-painted

Costume:

• One (1) black turtle neck
• One (1) pair of blue jeans
• One (1) pair of black shoes
• One (1) pair of glasses

Turtle Neck Brooding Bruce and Gym CrossFit Training Bruce can judge you from afar.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Someone needs to make that Bale their avatar.

 

[BigWayne]

View attachment 634361

View attachment 634362

View attachment 634363

I like the idea of this figure on the countertop in my downstairs bathroom with a sign around his neck that says, “Hey, wash those hands! It’s the germs under your fingernails that define you”

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

The pose.

 

[Gipetto0812]

I try to be objective, plus I don’t collect DC anymore (though I’m always tempted). I’m not happy about how this has made collectors feel though; it’s not right. Also sets a bad precedent that affects all of us. I’m always interested in trying to understand Hot Toys’s thought process in general and I do appreciate talking to you about these sorts of things.

I did also think it was sort of similar to Mando. That doesn’t feel quite as bad because most people were expecting a new figure for the second season. His armor changed and there were bound to be new accessories. So people that didn’t want multiple Dins knew to wait. Only the chrome came as a surprise.

The upgrades for this figure seem to have come out of nowhere. Based on them having teased the set a while ago, I think most expected the DX19 again if it was still going to happen at all.

View attachment 634323

As you know, getting licensor approvals and products through red tape takes a long time. So I think there was definitely overlap between DX19 production and this figure. I still can’t help but feel they could’ve just put the same figure in both sets. Makes the DX19 feel like it was just a quick buck.

Not discounting the possibility but I’m not sure they would’ve made the upgrades just solely based on custom work. They don’t typically react to money being made out of their control by individuals, be it customs or high figures prices on the secondary. Usually just to third party companies (barely) and licensed rivals.

If I had to guess, it probably came down to wanting to get a leg up on InArt with as good a Bale Batman figure they could make since that motivates so much of what they do now. And maybe give collectors a reason to upgrade as well I guess? Hoping enough DC and Batman fans are passionate enough to go out and buy this on top of the DX19 still fresh out of the box.

It’s all just… weird. It’s actually a pretty cool set; just saddled with unnecessary controversy of their own creation. Which feels especially ill advised during a time where collectors have more options, limited shelf space, tend to be more selective, and are fed up with being treated like piggy banks.

I agree that most probably expected what they saw at SDCC to be the suit that would be included with this set. Given the time frame of the release, maybe that would've been seen as more acceptable. However, before that, when the TDKR armory was initially previewed, it had the previous TDK armory batman suit in it. There was no guarantee that it was going to be the DX19 just like the first viewing didn't guarantee it would be the other previously released batman figure either. But I suspect there would've be the same amount of ppl who are upset about this release finding another reason to be upset about the armory using the DX19.

"Lazy DX19 re-release but with a higher price tag. HT couldn't even be bothered to update the Bale sculpt to TDKR instead of the reuse we've seen twice now? Look at the other recent amazing headsculpts they've killed it on with moving eyes. They couldn't even fix something as simple as the shoulder pads at the very least? Still has the pencil neck too. Did they not see OT's stuff? If he can do it, why can't they? Third Party companies like Pop and Topo tailor better looking suits than this gray suit HT is trying to sell us."

I mean it could really go either way. It's really just the timing more than anything, that hurts both the collector and HT, at least from what I'm reading. Many have already mentioned that if it had been a longer window between the releases, it wouldn't be so bad. So, timing seems to the be the issue here more than anything. The other sting is they put soooo much effort into this, yet their Begins batman is pretty much the same figure they released time and time again with even less updates from over a decade ago.

I do agree that there might've been some overlap seeing how quickly HT has shifted gears in terms of proto quality and the addition of most figures including moving eyes. If I remember correctly, InArt came on the scene around the time the DX19 figure was in production. From a business standpoint though, it was probably better for HT to release the figure as is and make their money on what was basically already promised that ppl were fairly happy with at the time. I mean, the DX19 sold out at retailers that still had it fairly quickly once reviews and blogger photos were out. I, myself, scrambled to get one thanks to a member here letting me know Alter Ego had one in stock. For the US, I believe Sideshow is the only place that still has this in-stock. Maybe some smaller places still have stock left, but as far as the bigger US retailers go, Alter Ego, BBTS and Timewalker Toys have been sold out for awhile. Sure, a delay would've been welcome had they included these upgrades, but it's Nolan Batman and the collector base outside of this forum shows how much ppl can't get enough of it and will gladly continue to spend their money to get that much more accuracy with each new release. Some complain about pricing (rightfully so), but that pretty much went out the window when the InArt Joker actually released with many ppl coming into the thread asking where they could still get one. All of sudden, it didn't matter that the rooted set was $1000 b/c they had to have it, even though it was a sticking point for those same ppl at the time of PO.

And I agree, I'm sure it wasn't just OT's custom parts that brought this updated version out, but also competition with InArt's future release as you mentioned. However, it wouldn't be the first time a custom piece influenced a new figure release. This forum really rallied to commission Kato to make a run of the best TDK Joker outfit (at the time). Then, maybe a month after that run was complete, HT announced the DX11 2.0 with specific notes about the proto being done by Kato (which looked pretty much identical to the custom one) as well as a small interview with him. Of course, the final product didn't stand up to the Kato proto or custom run, but it was pretty clear that the custom run heavily influenced the DX11 2.0.

I guess at this point, regardless of the bad taste it leaves, I tend to expect upgrades from HT, especially with TDK. Anyone who thinks InArt won't revisit the TDK Joker well is kidding themselves. It won't be within a year release like this, but I have no doubt, given all that they've learned just from this one release, that they haven't even considered it. They just have other things in the pipeline and they don't have the reputation or man power yet to just release a quick turnaround 2.0 like HT does and still get the orders they intend to. Not to mention the price of InArt items has already limited it's audience to a specific group of ppl, so they really need to let each piece simmer for awhile.

I would like to note, I'm not necessarily happy about this release nor am I trying to defend if. I 100% agree the timing is weird and it does hurt some part of the collector fanbase as well as their distributors/retailers like Sideshow who is obviously tired of holding onto so much left over HT stock that newer figures are getting on WL quicker and quicker these days, almost like the old days really. Or how I see AEC heavily discounting their left over stock on Mercari just to get rid of it. That said, I do like what I see and at least appreciate that there are a decent amount of updates to the suit and headsculpt. My only complaint with a lot of releases lately is my own problem in that I don't have the space for all these diorama pieces that are getting more and more popular

Bruce didn’t wear a suit in the Batcave with this armory. To me in this case the Bruce Wayne figure being more of a statue makes sense. People would have complained if it would have been a normal body with exposed joints, and seamless joints can have issues over time. Plus I wouldn’t see myself doing much posing with it.

Agreed. Ppl were going to complain no matter what. It happens with nearly each release.

 

[Nine Inch Nails]

I agree that most probably expected what they saw at SDCC to be the suit that would be included with this set. Given the time frame of the release, maybe that would've been seen as more acceptable. However, before that, when the TDKR armory was initially previewed, it had the previous TDK armory batman suit in it. There was no guarantee that it was going to be the DX19 just like the first viewing didn't guarantee it would be the other previously released batman figure either. But I suspect the same ppl who are upset by this release, would've found another reason to complain about the armory using the DX19.

"Lazy DX19 re-release but with a higher price tag. HT couldn't even be bothered to update the Bale sculpt to TDKR instead of the reuse we've seen twice now? Look at the other recent amazing headsculpts they've killed it on with moving eyes. They couldn't even fix something as simple as the shoulder pads at the very least? Still has the pencil neck too. Did they not see OT's stuff? If he can do it, why can't they?"

I mean it works both ways. It's really just the timing more than anything, that hurts both the collector and HT, at least in my eyes. Many have already mentioned that if it had been a longer window between the releases, it wouldn't be so bad. So, timing seems to the be the issue here more than anything.

I do agree that there might've been some overlap seeing how quickly HT has shifted gears in terms of proto quality and the addition of most figures including moving eyes. If I remember correctly, InArt came on the scene around the time the DX19 figure was in production. From a business standpoint though, it was probably better for HT to release the figure as is and make their money on what was basically already promised that ppl were fairly happy with at the time. I mean, the DX19 sold out at retailers that still had it fairly quickly once reviews and blogger photos were out. I, myself, scrambled to get one thanks to a member here letting me know Alter Ego had one in stock. For the US, I believe Sideshow is the only place that still has this in-stock. Maybe some smaller places still have stock left, but as far as the bigger US retailers go, Alter Ego, BBTS and Timewalker Toys have been sold out for awhile. Sure, a delay would've been welcome had they included these upgrades, but it's Nolan Batman and the collector base outside of this forum shows how much ppl can't get enough of it and will gladly continue to spend their money to get that much more accuracy with each new release. Some complain about pricing (rightfully so), but that pretty much went out the window when the InArt Joker actually released with many ppl coming into the thread asking where they could still get one. All of sudden, it didn't matter that the rooted set was $1000 b/c they had to have it, even though it was a sticking point for those same ppl at the time of PO.

And I agree, I'm sure it wasn't just OT's custom parts that brought this updated version out, but also competition with InArt's future release as you mentioned. However, it wouldn't be the first time a custom piece influenced a new figure release. This forum really rallied to commission Kato to make a run of the best TDK Joker outfit (at the time). Then, maybe a month after that run was complete, HT announced the DX11 2.0 with specific notes about the proto being done by Kato (which looked pretty much identical to the custom one) as well as a small interview with him. Of course, the final product didn't stand up to the Kato proto or custom run, but it was pretty clear that the custom run heavily influenced the DX11 2.0.

I guess at this point, regardless of the bad taste it leaves, I tend to expect upgrades from HT, especially with TDK. Anyone who thinks InArt won't revisit the TDK Joker well is kidding themselves. It won't be within a year release like this, but I have no doubt, given all that they've learned just from this one release, that they haven't even considered it. They just have other things in the pipeline and they don't have the reputation or man power yet to just release a quick turnaround 2.0 like HT does and still get the orders they intend to. Not to mention the price of InArt items has already limited it's audience to a specific group of ppl, so they really need to let each piece simmer for awhile.

I would like to note, I'm not necessarily happy about this release nor am I trying to defend if. I 100% agree the timing is weird and it does hurt some part of the collector fanbase as well as their distributors/retailers like Sideshow who is obviously tired of holding onto so much left over HT stock that newer figures are getting on WL quicker and quicker these days, almost like the old days really. Or how I see AEC heavily discounting their left over stock on Mercari just to get rid of it. That said, I do like what I see and at least appreciate that there are a decent amount of updates to the suit and headsculpt


Agreed. Ppl were going to complain no matter what. It happens with nearly each release.

Whats AEC?

 

[evenflow]

Looks pretty awesome.

 

[TheBatman]

This looks awesome! May need to budget for this one..