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2018 NYCC Exclusive Mortal Kombat 1/12 Smoke Action Figure


JayC

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Smoke is able to transform into a wisp of smoke. He has no memory of his childhood, his only family is the Lin Kuei, the younger Sub-Zero who is like a brother to him. It has been Smoke m’s hope that through the Lin Kuei he will discover his past-and the origin of his power. This figure is being offered as a New York Comic Con exclusive by Storm Collectibles.

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Im going to say what I said in the Rain post, I hate that they keep making all these characters Comic Con exclusives not just because they are harder to obtain but they are like $35 more expensive for the same figure just repainted and some additional accessories! They are friggin high enough in price as it is! They surprised me in that this isnt just a scorpion repainted to grey with the same accessories as in the early games from which this is based off of, he was just that with the same moves and everything. The smoke effects are a nice touch. Aside from that, he looks great but it being an exclusive and that price pretty much guarantees me skipping it altogether. ?

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1 hour ago, LimitedEdition said:

I don't quite get the Clean Version as Comic Con Exclusive and the Bloody as the BBTS exclusive that is accessible to everyone.

 

I agree with you on this, somehow the widely distributed version is the variant that is "bloodified" and the con exclusive is the regular version.. No idea how that makes any sense.

 

30 minutes ago, Thinwheat said:

They've made so many of these ninja figures. SC is definitely getting their money's worth out of this sculpt.

 

Well they are at least accurate to the source material and they at least provide new accessories to make them feel different. But definitely agree they are getting their moneys worth out of it altho I kind of wish they would just space them out and produce other molds out with them. So like Scorpion and Sub zero and then bring out Kitana and maybe Baraka and then bring out Reptile and Rain and then like Mileena and Kano or something. At least they dont have many other ninjas to do.

 

8 minutes ago, LimitedEdition said:

I believe these are the last of the Ninjas they can repaint the mold into.

I would complain but they are releasing Goro and Shao Kahn.

You would expect them to produce the female ninjas and Raiden before tacking difficult characters like the bosses.

They could easily do Tremor and Chameleon in this form as the former was a ninja before they fleshed him out in MKX and they could do other variations but hopefully this is rounding the end of it for now. Shao Kahn is already released and he is friggin fantastic. An excellent centerpiece to the ninjas. Its surprising that they released Kahn as Goro had been worked on and reworked on since before the series officially came out and hes not coming out til this November. I hope they do Motaro and they would have to do Kintaro since they love reusing those molds and make sense to do so. Femal ninjas were shown at SDCC this year which means they are coming soon and so were the Cyber Ninjas so prepare for more reuse thanks to that old school palette swaps of the 90s MKs.. (im ok with this tho as i love those characters). 

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First Id like to future congratulate Limited on winning the TNI contest.. :D Really going hard on those postings eh? 

40 minutes ago, LimitedEdition said:

believe these are the last of the Ninjas they can repaint the mold into.

I would complain but they are releasing Goro and Shao Kahn.

You would expect them to produce the female ninjas and Raiden before tacking difficult characters like the bosses.

Incorrect, Since they did Rain who was never in this outfit based off the original games they could go and do Chameleon, Tremor and even old school rumored characters that never actually were made like Tundra for example. They have been working on Goro since Subzero and Scorpion have been prototyped. Most toy companies seem to like to release standard figures and deluxe versions for each wave. I chalk Goro and Kahn up to that even though these technically arent in waves at all. 

 

47 minutes ago, LimitedEdition said:

The Smoke effects really make the figure pop and stand out in the room of Rainbow Ninjas

do what now? that didnt pertain to anything i said in your reply.. at least not that i can tell. 

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4 minutes ago, EvilHayato said:

First Id like to future congratulate Limited on winning the TNI contest.. :D Really going hard on those postings eh? 

Incorrect, Since they did Rain who was never in this outfit based off the original games they could go and do Chameleon, Tremor and even old school rumored characters that never actually were made like Tundra for example. They have been working on Goro since Subzero and Scorpion have been prototyped. Most toy companies seem to like to release standard figures and deluxe versions for each wave. I chalk Goro and Kahn up to that even though these technically arent in waves at all. 

 

do what now? that didnt pertain to anything i said in your reply.. at least not that i can tell. 

I'm a moderate poster. Thank you for you kind words and Mortal Kombat knowledge.

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5 hours ago, LimitedEdition said:

I'm a moderate poster. Thank you for you kind words and Mortal Kombat knowledge.

over 500 posts in a weeks time is moderate?! man im way below average then hehe. At least you arent a bot... or areeee youuu? and you are welcome! 

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I know that the ‘vomit stream’ of smoke is actually one of his abilities... But, I cannot help but think it looks pretty hilarious, seeing him posed, actually spewing it forth.

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50 minutes ago, sXeblues said:

I know that the ‘vomit stream’ of smoke is actually one of his abilities... But, I cannot help but think it looks pretty hilarious, seeing him posed, actually spewing it forth.

Its definitely not one of their strongest accessories. one could have fun having him bent over and it placed behind him for extra added laughs. I feel like they couldve done so much more with him. Also a shame they didnt replicate Scorpions accessories considering that this version of him is based on his MK2 hidden character appearence where he was just a grey and smokey version of Scorpion with his moveset. 

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13 minutes ago, EvilHayato said:

one could have fun having him bent over and it placed behind him for extra added laughs.

LOL, indeed... ?

13 minutes ago, EvilHayato said:

I feel like they couldve done so much more with him. Also a shame they didnt replicate Scorpions accessories considering that this version of him is based on his MK2 hidden character appearence where he was just a grey and smokey version of Scorpion with his moveset. 

That actually would’ve been pretty cool... I guess the whole smoke aesthetic is really kinda limiting, with what you can actually do with it.

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11 hours ago, sXeblues said:

LOL, indeed... ?

That actually would’ve been pretty cool... I guess the whole smoke aesthetic is really kinda limiting, with what you can actually do with it.

Well from what I can tell they are kind of mixing it all together. Like all the games into the figures. Rain for example was never in that outfit in the games nor did he have that water burst move shooting out of his hand until MK9 where his design was more updated. Same with Smoke, he didnt have that smoke ball move until MK9 as well. I originally thought all the designs were based off MK9 in general as the logo they use as their license is that of MK9s. Alot of MK9 have call back/nostalgia costumes from previous games, however Goro AND Shao Kahn are of their original MK1 and MK2 iterations. So from that it just seems like they are melding all the established things in the universe into each figure instead of true versions of what they were at that time of those costumes. And im ok with that. 

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7 hours ago, EvilHayato said:

Well from what I can tell they are kind of mixing it all together. Like all the games into the figures. Rain for example was never in that outfit in the games nor did he have that water burst move shooting out of his hand until MK9 where his design was more updated. Same with Smoke, he didnt have that smoke ball move until MK9 as well. I originally thought all the designs were based off MK9 in general as the logo they use as their license is that of MK9s. Alot of MK9 have call back/nostalgia costumes from previous games, however Goro AND Shao Kahn are of their original MK1 and MK2 iterations. So from that it just seems like they are melding all the established things in the universe into each figure instead of true versions of what they were at that time of those costumes. And im ok with that. 

It makes a kinda sense to me... In that, they’re essentially making these beloved characters available, with options to customize them as closely to whichever version you prefer, without having to actually mass produce a bunch of very different versions that wouldn’t necessarily sell equal units, because people might want this one or that one, and that’s it. They wouldn’t buy all of ‘em. I would think that it would be cost prohibitive to do it that way.

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1 hour ago, sXeblues said:

It makes a kinda sense to me... In that, they’re essentially making these beloved characters available, with options to customize them as closely to whichever version you prefer, without having to actually mass produce a bunch of very different versions that wouldn’t necessarily sell equal units, because people might want this one or that one, and that’s it. They wouldn’t buy all of ‘em. I would think that it would be cost prohibitive to do it that way.

This is going to sound insane, but I hope they bring out their other iterations of these same characters in the same palette swap craziness. I would definitely grab their MK3 ninja looks and even their more unique variations from the later games like MK9 and MKX. I have a feeling this is very probable as the molds would be treated juuuust like these. I think for now they are just working on designs to get out there. The ninjas were the test and they have succeeded. They are producing the cyber ninjas which i cant F@#@in wait for and also the lady ninjas so theres already a large use of the same molds and possibilities for more con exclusives that they love to do so much. also $$$$$ dolla dolla bills in their pockets. 

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6 hours ago, EvilHayato said:

$$$$$ dolla dolla bills in their pockets. 

That seems to be the bottom line, with most of this stuff; Whether the profits warrant expansion... I think it would be really cool to see them branching out in all of the ways you describe. It would incredible, if they did. I’ve just gotten so used to seeing the lines and figures I’m personally interested in, either never coming to fruition at all, or, when they do, they’re not quite up to expectations and hopes. This is not the case with all companies these days, of course. But, between that and the uber exclusivity, crazy high price points, and after market scalping, it’s hard not the view the whole scenario through a pessimistic and skeptical lense.

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7 hours ago, sXeblues said:

That seems to be the bottom line, with most of this stuff; Whether the profits warrant expansion... I think it would be really cool to see them branching out in all of the ways you describe. It would incredible, if they did. I’ve just gotten so used to seeing the lines and figures I’m personally interested in, either never coming to fruition at all, or, when they do, they’re not quite up to expectations and hopes. This is not the case with all companies these days, of course. But, between that and the uber exclusivity, crazy high price points, and after market scalping, it’s hard not the view the whole scenario through a pessimistic and skeptical lense.

Im at a point with money where I have to really be choosy with what I can obtain and what I cant. Thankfully I dont collect for alot of lines so it becomes somewhat easier. Ive also had to purge some of my collection to not only make room for new, raise some funds but also to help eventually go mobile. With higher prices comes higher quality so in a way im purging more to get less but quality level rises. Also Ive learned that the toy industry doesnt wait for you. Like Ive said in a previous post, you got to get it while the gettings good. Its just all about being smart at how you tackle the things you like and accept the things that may be out of your power to obtain however unfortunate that is. 

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9 hours ago, EvilHayato said:

Im at a point with money where I have to really be choosy with what I can obtain and what I cant. Thankfully I dont collect for alot of lines so it becomes somewhat easier. Ive also had to purge some of my collection to not only make room for new, raise some funds but also to help eventually go mobile. With higher prices comes higher quality so in a way im purging more to get less but quality level rises. Also Ive learned that the toy industry doesnt wait for you. Like Ive said in a previous post, you got to get it while the gettings good. Its just all about being smart at how you tackle the things you like and accept the things that may be out of your power to obtain however unfortunate that is. 

That’s pretty much my collecting, in a nutshell... Sans the attaining fewer, higher quality products.

I can only ever really afford to pick up one or two figures a month, if I’m lucky. And that is only ever strictly based on what’s available, and how much I want, or have an attachment to, a particular figure.

On occasion, like the holidays, if it’s been fairly prosperous, I can look a bit beyond my normal monthly budget of $20-$40. But, even then, I tend to be very choosy and judicious with what I’ll spend. I’d rather get four figures for $80 say, than spend that much on a single, high end piece.

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11 minutes ago, sXeblues said:

That’s pretty much my collecting, in a nutshell... Sans the attaining fewer, higher quality products.

I can only ever really afford to pick up one or two figures a month, if I’m lucky. And that is only ever strictly based on what’s available, and how much I want, or have an attachment to, a particular figure.

On occasion, like the holidays, if it’s been fairly prosperous, I can look a bit beyond my normal monthly budget of $20-$40. But, even then, I tend to be very choosy and judicious with what I’ll spend. I’d rather get four figures for $80 say, than spend that much on a single, high end piece.

The fewer higher quality products thing is somewhat new for me since Storms announcements and pricings. I dont typically pay more than $20-40 on a figure hardly ever.. let alone $50.. until Storm came along. And then I felt crazy for paying 90 for Shao Kahn... I had that bad boy preordered since day one and felt like i was crazy spending that kind of money on a figure.. I dont regret it as he is an amazing MK centerpiece to the collection. But Ive been purging alot of my collection in general because for a while there, I was buying too much and really in a way was buying to have something to look forward to. It was something that initially spawned when 17 years ago when my dad got sick and eventually passed. I had to have some small thing to try to get me to feel better and I would just buy random stuff. At some point im going to be moving out of where I am and with the amount of crap I have, would be alot harder to deal with. That and there comes a point where you just have too much #$## and you just have to part with it all. So from time to time I go through my collection and decide what is worth selling, what I wouldnt mind parting with and what should just be bundled together to get rid of and then post it on eBay. 

I was at a point where I didnt have a very choosy or judicious thought process when buying stuff. If I liked it, it was mine.. not so much anymore. Im much more in that group of choosiness. But there comes some opportunities where you may only see that fig once. Sometimes the trigger is pulled. Storm is literally the only company where Im freaking out and giddy because they primarily have fighting game properties so my focus has been all over them. So in selling off a bunch of my figs to make room and get a little chunk of money, I can get their stuff to fill the gaps however large. 

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32 minutes ago, EvilHayato said:

The fewer higher quality products thing is somewhat new for me since Storms announcements and pricings. I dont typically pay more than $20-40 on a figure hardly ever.. let alone $50.. until Storm came along. And then I felt crazy for paying 90 for Shao Kahn... I had that bad boy preordered since day one and felt like i was crazy spending that kind of money on a figure.. I dont regret it as he is an amazing MK centerpiece to the collection. But Ive been purging alot of my collection in general because for a while there, I was buying too much and really in a way was buying to have something to look forward to. It was something that initially spawned when 17 years ago when my dad got sick and eventually passed. I had to have some small thing to try to get me to feel better and I would just buy random stuff. At some point im going to be moving out of where I am and with the amount of crap I have, would be alot harder to deal with. That and there comes a point where you just have too much #$## and you just have to part with it all. So from time to time I go through my collection and decide what is worth selling, what I wouldnt mind parting with and what should just be bundled together to get rid of and then post it on eBay. 

I was at a point where I didnt have a very choosy or judicious thought process when buying stuff. If I liked it, it was mine.. not so much anymore. Im much more in that group of choosiness. But there comes some opportunities where you may only see that fig once. Sometimes the trigger is pulled. Storm is literally the only company where Im freaking out and giddy because they primarily have fighting game properties so my focus has been all over them. So in selling off a bunch of my figs to make room and get a little chunk of money, I can get their stuff to fill the gaps however large. 

I’m sure I’ve had a couple of periods like that, especially in my youth, where I would buy up a lot of different stuff that I liked, as an extension of filling that need of perking myself up, which was also after losing my dad, as it were. My mom died five years later, and then a whole crapstorm followed where I had to fight to remain my sister’s guardian, and — it was hellacious.

So, you’d actually have seen me, at one point, laying down $90-$100 for an import figure of one of my all-time favorite characters from an anime, for example. This being before all of the massively high end product that we see today, like Storm and Hot Toys produces. It was just a highly articulated, 8” or 9”, pvc figure.

I’ve bought a few figures that have gotten close to that price point. But, those were mostly through the aforementioned prosperous holidays. And this is still going back several years ago, before that started to become the norm. But, the production of these higher end figures make some of even those that I bought, in quality and detail, pale in comparison, these days. I sit in awe, when I’m not borderlining envy, just looking at a lot of what’s coming out, this day and age.

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13 hours ago, sXeblues said:

I’m sure I’ve had a couple of periods like that, especially in my youth, where I would buy up a lot of different stuff that I liked, as an extension of filling that need of perking myself up, which was also after losing my dad, as it were. My mom died five years later, and then a whole crapstorm followed where I had to fight to remain my sister’s guardian, and — it was hellacious.

So, you’d actually have seen me, at one point, laying down $90-$100 for an import figure of one of my all-time favorite characters from an anime, for example. This being before all of the massively high end product that we see today, like Storm and Hot Toys produces. It was just a highly articulated, 8” or 9”, pvc figure.

I’ve bought a few figures that have gotten close to that price point. But, those were mostly through the aforementioned prosperous holidays. And this is still going back several years ago, before that started to become the norm. But, the production of these higher end figures make some of even those that I bought, in quality and detail, pale in comparison, these days. I sit in awe, when I’m not borderlining envy, just looking at a lot of what’s coming out, this day and age.

Oh man that sounds awful. My dad died when I was 20 and I have never been right since. My mom thankfully is still alive but I feel like my fathers death is one thing that has kept me from growing ever since. I could only imagine losing my mom not soon after. She is everything that keeps me together in my life which is a good and bad thing that im trying to fix. I have my brothers too but they are all older and have been out of the house well before my dad died so they re not as much around but they are there when and if I need them so thats nice. 

Its kind of funny. I remember buying Marvel Legends for $7 back in the day and now they are $20. I loved them back then but as I look back on them, I find myself seeing the worth of the extra buckage to have the newest ones over the old ones even if they have less paint applications and in some regards articulation. The overall aesthetics and plastic are so much higher quality than toybiz ever did. I even find myself selling off my toybiz versions of the same character I bought from hasbro. There are always going to be some favorites and some that just cant be matched but for the most part todays marvel legends have finally come to a state where they succeed in just about every way from marvel legends of the past. 3d technology helps that happen with hasbro. Toybiz relied solely on traditional sculpting which takes alot longer to do. Its funny, I remember going into my favorite collector toy store years ago and seeing the first toybiz marvel figures and laughing like look how archaic those are compared to legends. I never thought Id see toybiz legends get to that point and well here we are. Always improving and prices ever inflating. 

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11 hours ago, EvilHayato said:

Oh man that sounds awful. My dad died when I was 20 and I have never been right since. My mom thankfully is still alive but I feel like my fathers death is one thing that has kept me from growing ever since. I could only imagine losing my mom not soon after. She is everything that keeps me together in my life which is a good and bad thing that im trying to fix. I have my brothers too but they are all older and have been out of the house well before my dad died so they re not as much around but they are there when and if I need them so thats nice. 

Its kind of funny. I remember buying Marvel Legends for $7 back in the day and now they are $20. I loved them back then but as I look back on them, I find myself seeing the worth of the extra buckage to have the newest ones over the old ones even if they have less paint applications and in some regards articulation. The overall aesthetics and plastic are so much higher quality than toybiz ever did. I even find myself selling off my toybiz versions of the same character I bought from hasbro. There are always going to be some favorites and some that just cant be matched but for the most part todays marvel legends have finally come to a state where they succeed in just about every way from marvel legends of the past. 3d technology helps that happen with hasbro. Toybiz relied solely on traditional sculpting which takes alot longer to do. Its funny, I remember going into my favorite collector toy store years ago and seeing the first toybiz marvel figures and laughing like look how archaic those are compared to legends. I never thought Id see toybiz legends get to that point and well here we are. Always improving and prices ever inflating. 

I’m glad to learn that you’re tight with your mom like that, especially after suffering that kind of a loss... A similar thing happened between my mom, sis and I, after losing our dad. We all got a lot closer, because of it. I remember that it used to irk me sometimes, whether it was a friend of mine, or friends of my sis, when I would hear them griping and moaning about ‘how bad’ their parents were. Or that their parents didn’t understand or ‘care’ about them, and such. I just wanted to belt ‘em, hearing that stuff, especially as someone who suddenly didn’t have that in his life anymore. So, anytime I hear someone being appreciative of their mom or dad, it really touches me.

It’s kind of crazy to me, looking back on some of the old Toy Biz figures I had, and eventually got rid of, as well as the few that I still have, compared to the MLs of the day. Especially when you kind of go through a sort of ‘rude awakening’, seeing what a toy you once prided yourself over as being the best there was ever going to be of that particular character, and you suddenly realize how crappy it actually was, lol. Whenever I see comparisons, like, there was this one showcasing the more recent ML Cable — it might have been Jay C’s video review, actually — and he pulled out the old Toy Biz one. Same with the Apocalypse BAF, as compared to the older one. And you’re suddenly critically aware of just how horrid and aweful they actually looked, sometimes.

Not in all cases, of course. But man, Hasbro really has come a long way, by leaps and bounds, since then. Even being uber nostalgic for those toy prices of old, there’s something to be said for the upgrade in quality, since then. And yet, on the same token, when you compare that to the rest of the toy manufacturering market, all of the different, competitive companies and such, and Hasbro’s own penchant for reusing molds, and sometimes skipping out on accessories, or just reusing those too; I think there’s always going to be some level of blowback for those prices inching up and up and up.

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45 minutes ago, sXeblues said:

I’m glad to learn that you’re tight with your mom like that, especially after suffering that kind of a loss... A similar thing happened between my mom, sis and I, after losing our dad. We all got a lot closer, because of it. I remember that it used to irk me sometimes, whether it was a friend of mine, or friends of my sis, when I would hear them griping and moaning about ‘how bad’ their parents were. Or that their parents didn’t understand or ‘care’ about them, and such. I just wanted to belt ‘em, hearing that stuff, especially as someone who suddenly didn’t have that in his life anymore. So, anytime I hear someone being appreciative of their mom or dad, it really touches me.

Yeah my mom is getting up there in the years but we are very tight. Kind of had to to keep each other strong during his illness and after he passed. My brothers dealt with it very differently and would only stay on short visits so it was mostly me and my mom taking care of him. Even now I feel like its my duty to take care of her even tho she does so much more for me than I could ever give back. 

47 minutes ago, sXeblues said:

It’s kind of crazy to me, looking back on some of the old Toy Biz figures I had, and eventually got rid of, as well as the few that I still have, compared to the MLs of the day. Especially when you kind of go through a sort of ‘rude awakening’, seeing what a toy you once prided yourself over as being the best there was ever going to be of that particular character, and you suddenly realize how crappy it actually was, lol. Whenever I see comparisons, like, there was this one showcasing the more recent ML Cable — it might have been Jay C’s video review, actually — and he pulled out the old Toy Biz one. Same with the Apocalypse BAF, as compared to the older one. And you’re suddenly critically aware of just how horrid and aweful they actually looked, sometimes.

I mean at the time the toybiz legends came out there was nothing in comparison to overall quality and likeness to that character. Even after Toybiz fell and Hasbro took over, Hasbro had some serious growing pains that just about killed the line altogether. I know I stopped collecting and my wallet was nice and fresh for a good 5-6 years or so after. Once they started improving I took notice and I think I m probably more addicted to them now than I was during Toybiz reign. That old Toybiz Apoc BAF is still quite impressive, especially when he was the BONUS character for a wave of figures. The new apoc baf is great too but they have areas where both succeed more than the other. Both are gems I would not part with. 

51 minutes ago, sXeblues said:

Not in all cases, of course. But man, Hasbro really has come a long way, by leaps and bounds, since then. Even being uber nostalgic for those toy prices of old, there’s something to be said for the upgrade in quality, since then. And yet, on the same token, when you compare that to the rest of the toy manufacturering market, all of the different, competitive companies and such, and Hasbro’s own penchant for reusing molds, and sometimes skipping out on accessories, or just reusing those too; I think there’s always going to be some level of blowback for those prices inching up and up and up.

We are definitely getting our moneys worth despite my friend who got me into toybiz legends dismay. He things $20 for legends is a rip because hes used to the lower price point with toybiz but nowadays he doesnt collect like he used to and he has more money than he ever did back then so idk. I do really like that hasbro gives different hands and heads in alot of their figures which gives it alot of customization compared to toybiz hinged hands. The other thing is Toybiz rarely ever reused molds. They were almost always brand new molds. Im kind of torn with how toybiz did that and how hasbro does it. I kind of like the uniformity but at the same time hate that its like you bought the same figure with different paint apps and head sculpt. Like it cheapens it. But if they ever raise the price on legends overall I may be out of the game after that. I know they really really want to. With how they reuse sculpts and dont paint the backs of their figures half the time to cut costs, raising it will seriously piss me off. 

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5 minutes ago, EvilHayato said:

That old Toybiz Apoc BAF is still quite impressive, especially when he was the BONUS character for a wave of figures. The new apoc baf is great too but they have areas where both succeed more than the other. Both are gems I would not part with.

There is definitely an ebb and flow, there... I tend to agree that some of the figures between the two eras have their better and worse qualities. Sometimes Toy Biz managed to do something that Hasbro just hasn’t quite been able to pull off. And I think, probably a bit more often, Hasbro has managed to outdo, or do something way better, than Toy Biz ever did.

I also think that the world is so much different now. So, I can appreciate how Hasbro has mostly continued to change with the times, all the while trying to perfect what it is they’ve been doing, as well as come to understand the importance of communing with their fans, and listening to what the complaints and the positives are, as an extension of how important social media has become.

I don’t think that was something as readily available to Toy Biz, back in the day. And, unfortunately, even in spite of which, because the market keeps demanding higher, competitive price points, that too is going to be a part of their ever-changing directive.

25 minutes ago, EvilHayato said:

We are definitely getting our moneys worth despite my friend who got me into toybiz legends dismay. He things $20 for legends is a rip because hes used to the lower price point with toybiz but nowadays he doesnt collect like he used to and he has more money than he ever did back then so idk.

I feel like, even on my budget, $20 is a roundabout, decent price point, for what we tend to get for it. Whether it’s Marvel Legends, Star Wars Black Series, or the better examples of the DC Multiverse line. Anything more, and it starts to become counterintuitive, I think. But, I can also see their reasoning, looking at similarly scaled, higher end imports like SHF and Mafex. Which they may think of as something they’re actually competing with. And, to hear most toy reviewers tell it, they are all kind of lumped into the same, comparative category, that way. But yea, I really hope these figures stay within that $20 price point. Because, if they don’t, even those will start to be less and less available to me.

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9 hours ago, sXeblues said:

I don’t think that was something as readily available to Toy Biz, back in the day. And, unfortunately, even in spite of which, because the market keeps demanding higher, competitive price points, that too is going to be a part of their ever-changing directive.

If you are referring to 3D technology and printing, that wasnt a thing at all during their run. Its relatively new technology thats been used in production in companies since I want to say 2012 or so but with huge results. I dont think Hasbro even integrated it until probably 2015 or so. The other thing that was harder for Toybiz is their plastic quality started to really deteriorate during their last few waves due to higher cost of oil to produce the plastic due to the war going on at the time. Hasbro I believe does not have this concern and they definitely have a much higher quality of plastics since they dont rely on much paint applications and more so on the actual plastics themselves. 

9 hours ago, sXeblues said:

I feel like, even on my budget, $20 is a roundabout, decent price point, for what we tend to get for it. Whether it’s Marvel Legends, Star Wars Black Series, or the better examples of the DC Multiverse line. Anything more, and it starts to become counterintuitive, I think. But, I can also see their reasoning, looking at similarly scaled, higher end imports like SHF and Mafex. Which they may think of as something they’re actually competing with. And, to hear most toy reviewers tell it, they are all kind of lumped into the same, comparative category, that way. But yea, I really hope these figures stay within that $20 price point. Because, if they don’t, even those will start to be less and less available to me.

$20 for a figure nowadays is essentially the main price point. Go lower and its a kids toy, go higher and its a high grade adult toy. That price point fits marvel legends as its geared towards adults but also great for kids. The only reason they have upped the MCU based figures is one they are all unique molds, two they used scanning technology to get likenesses down and three the current stuff is all focused as their own series outside of marvel legends. It will be really interesting to see if they up the pricing on the half wave of MCU in a wave with comic based figs. Also that DC multiverse line is atrocious. I loved DCUC figs until i took them out of storage and saw their plastics are the worst crap ever with white residue all over them. Its like their plastics sweat or something.. really cheap. They couldnt compete with SHF or Mafex. Those arent widely distributed figures. Thats like saying Hasbro is competing with Storm collectibles. Totally different ballgames and areas. Hasbros stuff is in just about every crack where toys are sold. I dont think ive ever seen an SHF or Storm figure outside of a webpage. 

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15 hours ago, EvilHayato said:

If you are referring to 3D technology and printing, that wasnt a thing at all during their run. Its relatively new technology thats been used in production in companies since I want to say 2012 or so but with huge results. I dont think Hasbro even integrated it until probably 2015 or so. The other thing that was harder for Toybiz is their plastic quality started to really deteriorate during their last few waves due to higher cost of oil to produce the plastic due to the war going on at the time. Hasbro I believe does not have this concern and they definitely have a much higher quality of plastics since they dont rely on much paint applications and more so on the actual plastics themselves.

I more so meant the communication via social media that Hasbro and other such companies have, with their consumers. They, as well as other companies, have made much more efforts to speak directly to the consumers to gauge interest in certain products and the overall directions they might take their lines. Back during Toy Biz’s reign, I don’t think that was something nearly as readily available, if it was at all. Is basically what I meant to say.

15 hours ago, EvilHayato said:

$20 for a figure nowadays is essentially the main price point. Go lower and its a kids toy, go higher and its a high grade adult toy. That price point fits marvel legends as its geared towards adults but also great for kids. The only reason they have upped the MCU based figures is one they are all unique molds, two they used scanning technology to get likenesses down and three the current stuff is all focused as their own series outside of marvel legends. It will be really interesting to see if they up the pricing on the half wave of MCU in a wave with comic based figs. Also that DC multiverse line is atrocious. I loved DCUC figs until i took them out of storage and saw their plastics are the worst crap ever with white residue all over them. Its like their plastics sweat or something.. really cheap. They couldnt compete with SHF or Mafex. Those arent widely distributed figures. Thats like saying Hasbro is competing with Storm collectibles. Totally different ballgames and areas. Hasbros stuff is in just about every crack where toys are sold. I dont think ive ever seen an SHF or Storm figure outside of a webpage. 

The interesting thing is, I’ve been seeing those First Ten Years Marvel Legends sets, with that slightly higher price point, suffering a lot in the way of QC and overall cheap plastic issues, with the articulation and joints. I think, before they go upping that price point, even on such exclusive sets, they might first want to make sure they’re keeping the production of such products at a roundabout status quo. For people like myself, who saw those preview images of some of those sets, to now see that they might not actually be worth it, is kind of a downer.

I agree, regarding the DCUC figures — my old Hal Jordan Green Lantern has that same white residue on him, every time I bring him out of storage — but, I’m hopeful that, based on what Mattel showcased at SDCC, the Multiverse line is finally going to have improved to the point that their product can stand toe to tow, if not with Hasbro, at least DC Collectibles, in scale and approximate quality.

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9 hours ago, sXeblues said:

I more so meant the communication via social media that Hasbro and other such companies have, with their consumers. They, as well as other companies, have made much more efforts to speak directly to the consumers to gauge interest in certain products and the overall directions they might take their lines. Back during Toy Biz’s reign, I don’t think that was something nearly as readily available, if it was at all. Is basically what I meant to say.

The interesting thing is, I’ve been seeing those First Ten Years Marvel Legends sets, with that slightly higher price point, suffering a lot in the way of QC and overall cheap plastic issues, with the articulation and joints. I think, before they go upping that price point, even on such exclusive sets, they might first want to make sure they’re keeping the production of such products at a roundabout status quo. For people like myself, who saw those preview images of some of those sets, to now see that they might not actually be worth it, is kind of a downer.

I agree, regarding the DCUC figures — my old Hal Jordan Green Lantern has that same white residue on him, every time I bring him out of storage — but, I’m hopeful that, based on what Mattel showcased at SDCC, the Multiverse line is finally going to have improved to the point that their product can stand toe to tow, if not with Hasbro, at least DC Collectibles, in scale and approximate quality.

Ive never followed anything that Hasbros said on social media so I have no idea how they are on it. I have followed their convention appearances and announcements tho. Like JayC and Shart talking to Dwight about upcoming announcements and the like. Those are great and I think back in toybiz day we didnt have as integrated of an internet as we do now. We didnt get recorded interviews at cons like it is now. When Toybiz was around the only way I found out about new toys was ToyFare magazine and maybe some rumors on the net. 

Whenever anything is mass produced, youre going to get QC issues. Thats why imports and things like that arent as crazy with QC imports. They are very limited in releases most of the time. I dont buy any of the MCU stuff so I havent noticed anything. The plastic and for the most part the QC stuff on my comic hasbro stuff is just fine. Ive had a few off things but nothing too crazy. From what Ive seen tho most people are good with the MCU sets. I havent seen anything crazy on the fb ml group im in with reports of qc issues. Its actually more so talked about with the comic figs more than anything. 

I ll tell you a great way to get rid of it is to buy a standard tooth brush and brush it off. It gets rid of it. However I dont know if its permanently or temporary as I do it to clean off the figures im going to sell on ebay. I dont have any of my DCUC stuff out on display so I dont ever notice it until its time to sell stuff. Everything ive seen with the multiverse like is just ugly to me. Sure some of the CnCs are neat like turd Clayface and the Doomsday but everything thats in the waves just looks awful. Also too much mixture of DCU stuff. If marvel did that Id never buy as many BAFs as I do. Its going to need alooooot to be able to compete with Legends. At least to me. I love DC but most of their characters they put out in multiverse dont work for big sellers. Also alot of the figures seem like they are from different lines when they are supposed to be from the same one. Too many art styles, too many different articulation sculpts. Ive not been impressed with that line. Its been kind of a joke IMO. 

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