Is this how Hot Toys routinely operates?

[xploited]

It happens with them a lot. I remember back when they did the Batman Begins and Dark Knight Batmans they had version numbers with minor differences but enough to piss off many collectors including myself.

Never again.

[Luminous]

If people are going to go around claiming this specific thing (releasing the same figure within a short period of time with minor differences) happens "often" or "a lot" then could we get some examples? Remember, releasing the same character for a sequel that is released years later is not the issue here. Hot Toys can and has recycled sculpts and accessories for some characters that have been a part of sequels. That isn't surprising and is the norm at this point. The issue brought up by COI is the release of a character that has already seen a release recently and offers the same accessories AND a marked improvement to the figure. The Iron Man and Dark Knight examples brought up thus far are simply not the same issue.

[COI]

Originally Posted by Luminous

If people are going to go around claiming this specific thing (releasing the same figure within a short period of time with minor differences) happens "often" or "a lot" then could we get some examples? Remember, releasing the same character for a sequel that is released years later is not the issue here. Hot Toys can and has recycled sculpts and accessories for some characters that have been a part of sequels. That isn't surprising and is the norm at this point. The issue brought up by COI is the release of a character that has already seen a release recently and offers the same accessories AND a marked improvement to the figure. The Iron Man and Dark Knight examples brought up thus far are simply not the same issue.

Yeah, exactly.

Again, I have no issue with repeating characters, but at least make each load-out a little different.

Oh well. I just hope this won't be a regular occurrence going forward. I don't care about resale value, I just don't like paying the same and getting less.

[jedi_don]

Hot Toys should at least made some of the accessories unique to the BvS Batman.

[Marvelito]

Personally I don't ever pre-order Hot Toys, and I have never had a problem getting one. In the old days it was a different story, but nowadays even if they sell out, many times you'll see a second batch being released. My example of this is with the Star Wars figures, those are the ones I collect and I know Han, Chewie and Obi-Wan and Vader sold out and were up for order again not too long after. So I'd probably back off the pre-orders if you're worried about a better version being released too soon. By the time the first figure is released you'll know about the second version if there is one and can decide.

As far as I know though, your exact situation doesn't happen that often. HT releases tons of variants but they are usually different enough that it doesn't matter. If it does happen, you can avoid it by not pre-ordering.

Lastly, collecting HT is a very different ball game than statues. Re-releaes and variants are the name of the game and are always expected. Characters from movie franchises will have versions from each film made available and even then sometimes multiples of each version. If you miss out on one you just have to wait a bit and an improved one will be available in the not too distant future. And if by some chance you absolutely miss out on something and prefer that version to the newer version the figures don't appreciate too much in value like they used to so if you shop around on eBay or forums you can still get it for a reasonable price if you're patient.

Anyway, hope this helps!

[COI]

Originally Posted by Marvelito

Personally I don't ever pre-order Hot Toys, and I have never had a problem getting one. In the old days it was a different story, but nowadays even if they sell out, many times you'll see a second batch being released. My example of this is with the Star Wars figures, those are the ones I collect and I know Han, Chewie and Obi-Wan and Vader sold out and were up for order again not too long after. So I'd probably back off the pre-orders if you're worried about a better version being released too soon. By the time the first figure is released you'll know about the second version if there is one and can decide.

As far as I know though, your exact situation doesn't happen that often. HT releases tons of variants but they are usually different enough that it doesn't matter. If it does happen, you can avoid it by not pre-ordering.

Lastly, collecting HT is a very different ball game than statues. Re-releaes and variants are the name of the game and are always expected. Characters from movie franchises will have versions from each film made available and even then sometimes multiples of each version. If you miss out on one you just have to wait a bit and an improved one will be available in the not too distant future. And if by some chance you absolutely miss out on something and prefer that version to the newer version the figures don't appreciate too much in value like they used to so if you shop around on eBay or forums you can still get it for a reasonable price if you're patient.

Anyway, hope this helps!

It does help, thanks.

The more I think about it, the more I realize I might have overreacted a bit by applying the statue collector mentality to figures. They clearly are two distinct markets, which is fine. I do know that Hot Toys is a much larger market, so there's probably room and demand for these multiple releases.

And what you're saying about the secondary market is actually a plus in my mind. I prefer a situation where I don't have to pre-order and can get stuff at my leisure later without having to worry about paying a premium. I'm not going to rush to pre-order, and I'm not paying more than retail for anything.

Thanks for you input everyone. I got the info I was looking for.

[Marvelito]

Originally Posted by COI

It does help, thanks.

Cool.

If someone else has anything to add I'm sure they will, but this has been my personal experience with HT.

Good luck! It's a slippery slope walking the HT road.

[COI]

Originally Posted by Marvelito

Good luck! It's a slippery slope walking the HT road.

I could see how someone could blink and go from one figure to 30 figures quickly. Fortunately for me, I have no plans to go back and try to hunt down older figures. It's really the figures that have come out in the last year or so that have gotten my attention. Not that previous ones weren't nice, but I perceive a sharp uptick in quality in the last 1-2 years. Even if they are over-producing, it really seems like they're constantly improving the quality of their figures, which is more important to me than how limited they are.

[joy_division]

Originally Posted by COI

Yeah, the Iron Man stuff is insane. I will eventually pick up an Iron Man, but since they seem to be repeating armors now, I'm in no rush. I'll pick my favorite later.

It's because IM is MASSIVE in Japan

[markecho]

From my experience, what you mentioned is not "normal" for HT.
ie they don't routinely release a figure that is almost exactly the same AND so close to a previous release.

Some examples of when they did something similar could be Terminator 2 and Dark Knight. They did re-release "updated" versions (DX I believe) of those but I think there were more differences.

When I saw the SS Batman I was quite surprised and only quickly glanced at it since I already own the first version...but interesting that it is so similar.

I've been collecting HT since the first release of Robocop (plastic version) so not as long as some ie not the military stuff, but been around a while.

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