If they can do this detail and engineering in 1/9 why can't HT do it in 1/6?

I don't normally bother with moaning about mass market/pre built figures as I either want them or build my own but this just irked me. I saw a review on this 1/9 model kit (no glue, no paint needed, not super fragile or going to fall apart) that has everything the Hot Toys 1/6 MK50 with the separate $250 parts kit included has plus more! Loads more detail, engineering gimmicks, light up features with clever easy to access switches including magnetic ones, extra weapons and proper transparent blue areas where needed that HT did not do.
This kit with everything prepainted costs $160 in 1/9, The HT 1/6 kit with accessories kit at RRP $750!
Yes this has no diecast, so what? Diecast makes it virtually impossible to display your figures in flight poses so it's a detractor for me (and pushes the price up), no Tony hs, again, don't need one there are loads to choose from on the aftermarket. It's not 1/6, well here lies the problem... why not? HT can't have a complete monopoly on 1/6 IM figures? Yes they produce the best and the most but I have seen other 1/6 IM figures, licensed or unlicensed personally I'm not bothered especially if one company is choking the life out of the license in 1/6 by not allowing any competition.
Also, I just remembered, I own two prebuilt 1/6 figures by Eastern Models that are virtually Iron Man figures in all but name from the new Ultraman franchise which I have done reviews on, converting one into a Pepper Potts Rescue figure from the IM comics. They do have diecast (for better or worse) and their engineering, posability and durability is amazing, so is the quality!!

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t4699-better-final-display-pics-added-review-of-1-6-bemular-an-armoured-enemy-of-ultraman-big-with-lots-of-die-cast-metal?highlight=Ultraman

And

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1426-much-lighter-faster-loading-pics-now-1-6-ultraman-7-3-armoured-figure-in-hand-reveiw-w-weapons-pack-die-cast-parts?highlight=ultraman

Both brilliant reviews below (not mine lol) by the way!

1/9 review:



Found here for example (I don't care where anyone buys anything from, I am not personally invested in either of these products):
https://showzstore.com/eastern-model-1-9-iron-man-mark-50-model-kit-deluxe_p3511.html

VRS.

HT 1/6 two pack review:

These are pretty impressive. And it's a very good question.

I think HT peaked in their ingenuity and R&D about 5 years ago, and now they are just coasting on brand recognition, and the fact that there are so many sycophants who will defend them to their dying breath, that there really is no need for them to really try any longer. Look at the number of times they reuse the same head sculpts with “different” hair, or that they decided to go backwards  y reverting back to sculpted (ie, easier) rather than rooted hair. They rehash so many elements in their figures, often not even getting the details 100% accurate, because they’re banking on people either not noticing, or not caring, because they have a stranglehold on the lion’s share of the 1/6 market. Do they make probably the majority of the best figures on the market? Sure. Is it always going to be that way? No. Which is why when other companies surpass them in things (Asmus does it sometimes, LIM Toys made what to me is probably hands down the best figure of the year with The Gunfighter, and Exo-6 is showing it can be done with Star Trek), I’m always excited.

GubernatorFan wrote:These are pretty impressive. And it's a very good question.

Cheers GTF!

Stryker2011 wrote:I think HT peaked in their ingenuity and R&D about 5 years ago, and now they are just coasting on brand recognition, and the fact that there are so many sycophants who will defend them to their dying breath, that there really is no need for them to really try any longer. Look at the number of times they reuse the same head sculpts with “different” hair, or that they decided to go backwards  y reverting back to sculpted (ie, easier) rather than rooted hair. They rehash so many elements in their figures, often not even getting the details 100% accurate, because they’re banking on people either not noticing, or not caring, because they have a stranglehold on the lion’s share of the 1/6 market. Do they make probably the majority of the best figures on the market? Sure. Is it always going to be that way? No. Which is why when other companies surpass them in things (Asmus does it sometimes, LIM Toys made what to me is probably hands down the best figure of the year with The Gunfighter, and Exo-6 is showing it can be done with Star Trek), I’m always excited.

What I don't get is: Is it a licensing/legal issue with 1/6 IM figures or a sales issue? Licenses can be quite cheap as I understand it and very rarely will a company be given an exclusive license for a brand, it's just not in the brand's interest to do that, they want more brand awareness, licenses sold, royalties collected etc.. I briefly covered product law in my degree but it was more to do with patents than copyrights and my personal experience with patents afterwards put me off for life! . So perhaps it's just sales, everyone who wants a high-end collectible 1/6 Iron Man has already bought a Hot Toys one? No matter the suit version Hot Toys has probably already made it or will do shortly and collectors want continuity.
Although I think if Eastern Models are worried financially about taking Hot Toys on head to head with 1/6 figures they should instead play to their strengths and produce affordable deluxe 1/6 Iron Man kits, perhaps do some of the suits Hot Toys have neglected from the House Party Protocol like the MK28 'Jack' suit.

Yeah, it’s hard to say what’s going on concerning copyrights, since we don’t know the inside scoop. It’s always just “speculation” on our part. One can look at how NO ONE else, legally, has touched other 1/6 versions of licensed franchises that Hot Toys seems to hold in perpetuity (though not sure how that can be), like Alien(s), Predator, Terminator. My guess, is that 1/6 is such a small niche (and expensive for the consumer) market, that compared to the “real” moneymakers (ie, the stuff found in stores everywhere) that the license holders just don’t give a crap (yet?) about 1/6 since comparatively they’re take is marginal, so they just don’t feel the need to “share” the license for that scale with others. I’m assuming the cut that Disney receives for each “1/6th High End Collectible” may be higher, compared to their smaller cut for some cheap Hasbro/Mattel store shelf item, but when Hot Toys only makes about 20,000 of each (if that), and a store shelf item is made in the hundreds of thousands, the relative market share in 1/6th is a pittance of what the license holder makes. Or, maybe other companies don’t see 1/6th HE Collectibles as profitable enough to waste their time…?

And you are correct the initial cost for a “license to manufacture” is relatively cheap; though if you listen to some of the idiots on the internet, you’d think a company like Hot Toys is forking over millions up front to obtain each license, when that just simply isn’t how that works. If it was, virtually no one would have the capital to actually manufacture anything. Now, does that mean, that the cost to purchase said license hasn’t “gone up” for Hot Toys (or others) over the years? No. But it can’t be so high as to make it impossible for them to afford to “take the risk”. We’ve seen items get made for franchises that literally bombed (even Hot Toys has done it: The Lone Ranger), so that investment, while a loss for them financially, clearly wasn’t so high that it forced them under. There’s just no way to know the “real reason”. Perhaps there’s a non-compete clause in the contract with Hot Toys? Who knows. Nanjin, the founder of Exo-6, was at one of the Cons when he was still working with QMX, and Howard Chan was there listening to, and interested to see, what products QMX was pushing for potential upcoming projects. One of said projects was “the clown” from the latest version of “It”, and then suddenly Hot Toys is making a version (which has already released), and QMX dropped theirs — so clearly Hot Toys either got the exclusive license, or QMX just didn’t see the point in pursuing it further.

Stryker wrote:

One of said projects was “the clown” from the latest version of “It”, and then suddenly Hot Toys is making a version (which has already released), and QMX dropped theirs — so clearly Hot Toys either got the exclusive license, or QMX just didn’t see the point in pursuing it further. wrote:

That about sums up the enigma right there!

Interesting information, Mark. Sounds like you know quite a bit about it actually, even if, as you say, some of it might be speculation. Perhaps Nanjin is the sort of person that can shed more light on what's going on behind the scenes?

If i am honest i do not understand some of the hate Hot Toys receives, sometimes atleast.
Hot Toys offer what they offer, the best mass produced 1/6 scale figures on the market.
Time and time again, others have attempted to equal Hot Toys, sometimes showing great prototypes, only to deliver an inferior product.

As for the product mentioned in the OP's post. I would not be too quick to judge, not unless you had both figures in front of you in person

ukshaun wrote:If i am honest i do not understand some of the hate Hot Toys receives, sometimes atleast.
Hot Toys offer what they offer, the best mass produced 1/6 scale figures on the market.
Time and time again, others have attempted to equal Hot Toys, sometimes showing great prototypes, only to deliver an inferior product.

As for the product mentioned in the OP's post. I would not be too quick to judge, not unless you had both figures in front of you in person

LOL! I don't 'hate' Hot Toys by any means, in fact I own a couple of hundred figures by them!! (I've been collecting and building for a long time ). I just think they need a kick up the arse now and again to remind them there are other companies out there so they shouldn't rest on their laurels too long! And quite frankly the accessory kit for the MK50 was not well received at all because of the price and HT's slap-dash execution of it.

shovelchop81 wrote:

ukshaun wrote:If i am honest i do not understand some of the hate Hot Toys receives, sometimes atleast.
Hot Toys offer what they offer, the best mass produced 1/6 scale figures on the market.
Time and time again, others have attempted to equal Hot Toys, sometimes showing great prototypes, only to deliver an inferior product.

As for the product mentioned in the OP's post. I would not be too quick to judge, not unless you had both figures in front of you in person

LOL! I don't 'hate' Hot Toys by any means, in fact I own a couple of hundred figures by them!! (I've been collecting and building for a long time ). I just think they need a kick up the arse now and again to remind them there are other companies out there so they shouldn't rest on their laurels too long! And quite frankly the accessory kit for the MK50 was not well received at all because of the price and HT's slap-dash execution of it.

The high price of Hot Toys does represent a downside. Sure, they don't always get it right. I still sense they are pushing to improve with each new release. It cannot be easy improving on products that are close to perfection. They deserve much credit for offering die-cast Iron Man. Maybe some day Hot Toys will offer a die-cast Terminator

ukshaun wrote:

shovelchop81 wrote:

ukshaun wrote:If i am honest i do not understand some of the hate Hot Toys receives, sometimes atleast.
Hot Toys offer what they offer, the best mass produced 1/6 scale figures on the market.
Time and time again, others have attempted to equal Hot Toys, sometimes showing great prototypes, only to deliver an inferior product.

As for the product mentioned in the OP's post. I would not be too quick to judge, not unless you had both figures in front of you in person

LOL! I don't 'hate' Hot Toys by any means, in fact I own a couple of hundred figures by them!! (I've been collecting and building for a long time ). I just think they need a kick up the arse now and again to remind them there are other companies out there so they shouldn't rest on their laurels too long! And quite frankly the accessory kit for the MK50 was not well received at all because of the price and HT's slap-dash execution of it.

The high price of Hot Toys does represent a downside. Sure, they don't always get it right. I still sense they are pushing to improve with each new release. It cannot be easy improving on products that are close to perfection. They deserve much credit for offering die-cast Iron Man. Maybe some day Hot Toys will offer a die-cast Terminator

I can't really say I have the most experience with HotToys (I own two) but I will say that they seem to put a little more oomph into some projects over others, and as far as engineering goes it's possible that they're on a time budget to develop these models and they might also be taking shortcuts to make production easier. When everything's being produced to be sold at around the same price point, I'm guessing sometimes you have a situation where you have detail, materials, and functionality...pick any two. Sometimes artists gotta work with the deadline and the budget they're given!

And what I mean by 'more oomph' is I notice that the variety of materials and the number of accessories that comes with, say, Deadpool from the second movie's release is way higher than the variety of materials used and the amount of accessories that come with the Flash figure (which I still adore.) I suspect that's a combo of the presumed interest in each of these figures, and the enthusiasm that the creators themselves have for Deadpool.

What I really love about having those two figures side by side is noticing things like how Barry's a bit shorter than Wade and his body is more slim, I was kind of anticipating them being more or less identical since these figures are advertised as twelve inch dolls...no more, no less.