[webz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freekazoo

I hope there are more rogues and members of the bat family released before the 2-4 versions Supreme Knight come out. I love that we are getting the 89 Batman, but there is some diversity missing when 17 of the releases in this line have been Batman, already.

It makes sense... two of the most marketable comics characters are Batman and Wolverine. Mezco can reissue these with subtle differences over and over and keep making $$$$ over an obscure character that might only sell a few thousand.

[Grant C]

Mez Markowitz, the president of Mezco, is a huge Batman fan.

[Grant C]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grant C

I just looked at that Batsignal on Amazon & I think it looks pretty cool. As a One:12 collector the Gordon set is tempting. I really want a Batsignal more than Jim Gordon but $125 is more than I want to spend to get one. At $22 the one on Amazon is a better deal & it's die cast. Hey I think I just talked myself into ordering one! Thanks for the info! I just finished ordering one!

I just received this today. Wow! If you are looking for a Bat-signal I highly recommend this one. All the other Bat-signals, including Mezcos, are made of plastic. This is made from die-cast & is solid. It should last forever. The signal works great. It also comes with a small hardcover book with all kinds of Bat-facts. It scales well with my 6 inch figures. It is well worth the modest price! Thanks for the heads up Black Arbor!

[Freekazoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by webz

It makes sense... two of the most marketable comics characters are Batman and Wolverine. Mezco can reissue these with subtle differences over and over and keep making $$$$ over an obscure character that might only sell a few thousand.

Never arguing that point, but I will say Spider-Man has a bigger market draw than Wolverine, and I'm happy that they can rake in dough on these and produce some of their best work with these characters.

I had also mentioned previously non-DC/Marvel are great to see in the line as it does add several unique takes on characters or just good collectibles, like with Diabolik, Gomez, Popeye, etc.

And like Grant mentioned, Mezco, the founder, and the key people involved with the product line at the beginning are HUGE Batman fans. That is starting to extend with a new version of Joker, Harley, but nothing past that.

My comments are more to do with how Mezco has handled their Batman trilogy figures. With the Ascending Knight, I was hopeful that with the Joker and Catwoman, we would get other figures for characters important to the early era of Batman, like Hugo Strange and others. Same with Sovereign Knight, we are getting a new version of The Joker that corresponds to THIS era of Batman, and we should start to see more characters, possibly a Robin, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, etc. There are several of these characters that have a bigger draw than Diabolik, Alex Delarge, and a Glow-in-the-Dark Space Ghost and it would make business sense.

Gordon is a versatile figure because he bridges between Ascending and Sovereign/Supreme with the portraits with more or less gray, but he's one that we know is present through the entire story of Batman. I love the fact we get so many Batmen and that we have the chance to see Mezco's interpretation of Batman through his career, how he improved, adapted his tech, physique, etc. as well as the the characters that promoted those changes. Villains and allies alike made him adapt to new circumstances, which Mezco is implying and doing a bit of storytelling with the releases.

Deathstroke and the first version Joker release came before AK, but we can assume they are part of the early career for Batman (with the deluxe release of joker happening after AK), along with Catwoman. Beyond exists outside the trilogy or may be an epiloque character and Gordon servers as a multi-era release. Sovereign kicks off the next round of characters that we see coming out.

That's where I'm a bit conflicted about the subline for their Batman trilogy. I will for sure continue collecting One:12 because I am a fan of the trilogy idea and the product, but I do wish they took more time between their Batman releases for more big villains and allies to provide a bit more of a holistic approach to their take on Batman and his world that would still provide Mezco with a highly desirable product to offer consumers.

As much as I want a One:12 Condiment King or King Tut, I know that is unrealistic at this stage. Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, The Riddler, The Penguin, and Bane (last two requiring potentially extensive custom tooling for bodies) with the profitable-desirable condition and I assume I'm not the only one interested to see Mezco's take on the characters.

Absolute dream: Mezco Azbat with swappable capes/blades and helmets since there are minimal accessories outside effect parts and standard open, closed and relaxed hands.

[jwyss234]

Got my Punk Joker on Saturday and finally had time to open him up. Also trying some shots with my new background and different lighting.

[Bo Ttef]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwyss234

Got my Punk Joker on Saturday and finally had time to open him up. Also trying some shots with my new background and different lighting.

Awesome! Can't wait for mine to show up!

[Bo Ttef]

For anyone that wants a MoonKnight NOT in his classic look-
Crescent Edition (which is what hasbro gave us already)

[notoriouslyhigh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bo Ttef

For anyone that wants a MoonKnight NOT in his classic look-
Crescent Edition (which is what hasbro gave us already)

Very cool that we are on track to possibly get 4 SDCC exclusive One:12's

I'll pass on this one, simply because I have no attachment to the character. But it does look pretty awesome so I'm sure Moon Knight fans are hyped.

I wonder if, and what, the last One:12 will be. Possibly a random license? Since they've already covered a DC and Marvel exclusive. Maybe that Robin Hood figure they showed off earlier but we've heard and seen nothing from since?

Also awesome shots jwyss, I can't wait to get my Clown Prince Joker.

[webz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freekazoo

Never arguing that point, but I will say Spider-Man has a bigger market draw than Wolverine, and I'm happy that they can rake in dough on these and produce some of their best work with these characters.

Spider-Man has a huge fandom, but anything other than the traditional red/blue suit or the symbiote suit just doesn’t perform as well. Stacks of the GameStop PS4 suit Hasbro legends were at my local GameStop on clearance.

Wolverine, however, is like Ironman and Batman. His different suits and costumes sell pretty well. You rarely see wolverine as a shelf warmer.

Also, traditionally, heroes sell much better than villains. ESPECIALLY in Asia which is a huge collector’s market. Some villains, such as Joker, catwoman, Venom, and a few others manage to be popular enough characters to warrant figures of their own... but I’m almost certain characters like condiment man, grey ghost, pastepot pete, crimson dynamo, and most other villains will never see a One:12 release.

[Freekazoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by webz

Spider-Man has a huge fandom, but anything other than the traditional red/blue suit or the symbiote suit just doesn’t perform as well. Stacks of the GameStop PS4 suit Hasbro legends were at my local GameStop on clearance.

Wolverine, however, is like Ironman and Batman. His different suits and costumes sell pretty well. You rarely see wolverine as a shelf warmer.

I think you may be overestimating Wolverine's popularity outside of the Tiger Stripe suit and possibly the film iteration which hasn't had very good collectibles since The Wolverine. Lot's of places are marking down the Mezco X-Force version and there are several major vendors that have a loads of stock for the Brown suit. This released after the traditional Spidey but had around 1700 more units produced, so it's a bit of a wash. The Tiger Stripe being an Exclusive was still a shitty move on Mezco's part.

I expect it is similar for Spider-Man and Wolverine in ML, but you could be right on this, though the example of the PS4 suit is a different issue as there was a widespread lukewarm reception to the giant white spider design from the beginning.

Comic Wolverine has one "costume" to most of the planet, movie wolverine doesn't have a defined costume anymore. Spider-Man has one "costume" to most of the planet no matter what media. Superman:1. Wonder Woman:1. Etc.
Iron Man's core costume doesn't deviate for long away from the red and gold before it comes back.
Batman is the only real exception with an array of equally popular costumes color schemes, and even that has really only happened over the past 30-40 years with the films, BTAS, and games.

It's interesting you mention the Asian market position on villains. as a lot of that is derived from how integrated specific villains in defining the protagonists. There are several examples of villains having resounding popularity in Japanese media (Kiryu from Godzilla), but a lot of them suffer from just being an obstacle to the protagonists... Now I'm wanting a Mezco Green Goblin with a glider.

[Grant C]

Yes a Goblin & Dr. Doom!

[Freekazoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grant C

Yes a Goblin & Dr. Doom!

I had not considered Doom before your post. There a few customs out there that show how relatively easy is would be to just throw a tunic and cape on a body with armor to get the look. Full suit of armor or just custom body with armor sculpted in, it would be an interesting and potential more expensive piece before any other gimmicks.

I like it.

[shortysben]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freekazoo

I had not considered Doom before your post. There a few customs out there that show how relatively easy is would be to just throw a tunic and cape on a body with armor to get the look. Full suit of armor or just custom body with armor sculpted in, it would be an interesting and potential more expensive piece before any other gimmicks.

I like it.

Doom has been on my list since day one - die cast armor would be insane! Also, super Excited for the Exclusives this year.

[BagJo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shortysben

Doom has been on my list since day one - die cast armor would be insane! Also, super Excited for the Exclusives this year.

Out of curiosity, have you owned many figures with die-cast armor? I own a couple Saint Seiya figures with full die cast armor as well as an old figuarts (Kakugo No Susume), plus a few Sumper Imaginative Chogokin figures and honestly, there are a lot more Cons than Pros.

The die cast makes the figure a lot heavier, making them more difficult to pose and stand. If the armor is pegged in to the figure, it often falls off. Die cast scratches and has paint chipping a lot more than plastic. It's also a LOT harder to do custom work with die cast compared to plastic.

I've got a couple of Mazinger figures that are full die-cast and they aren't too bad because it's all the same material, but if Mezco makes a Doom figure, I personally don't think die-cast would be the way to go.

[Grant C]

I own the One:12 Armored Batman from BvS & I have had no issues with mine. It's a nice piece & based on that I think Mezco would nail Dr.Doom.

[Bo Ttef]

Same- IronMan is Amazing- A Doc Doom in that same style would be perfection!

[webz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freekazoo

I think you may be overestimating Wolverine's popularity outside of the Tiger Stripe suit and possibly the film iteration which hasn't had very good collectibles since The Wolverine. Lot's of places are marking down the Mezco X-Force version and there are several major vendors that have a loads of stock for the Brown suit. This released after the traditional Spidey but had around 1700 more units produced, so it's a bit of a wash. The Tiger Stripe being an Exclusive was still a shitty move on Mezco's part.

I only shop at smaller mom & pop type places, so I don’t know anywhere with “loads” of brown suits.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freekazoo

I expect it is similar for Spider-Man and Wolverine in ML, but you could be right on this, though the example of the PS4 suit is a different issue as there was a widespread lukewarm reception to the giant white spider design from the beginning.

lukewarm? Overall I’ve seen nothing but positivity towards the suit in the game. Toys is another matter. I’ve never known a single wave of toybiz or Hasbro where wolverine was a shelf warmer. Brown suit, yellow suit, blue suit/yellow x, grey suit, weapon x,.. always sell out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freekazoo

Comic Wolverine has one "costume" to most of the planet, movie wolverine doesn't have a defined costume anymore.

if you grew up in the 80’s, the brown suit is his main suit. Yellow with Stripes was brought back for the fox cartoon in the 1990’s. It’s like James Bond actors. The stripes is most used in marketing, but the cartoons have been very flexible with his costumes as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freekazoo

It's interesting you mention the Asian market position on villains. as a lot of that is derived from how integrated specific villains in defining the protagonists. There are several examples of villains having resounding popularity in Japanese media (Kiryu from Godzilla), but a lot of them suffer from just being an obstacle to the protagonists... Now I'm wanting a Mezco Green Goblin with a glider.

It’s a well documented fact that hero toys and collectibles outsell villain toys 10+ to one as a rule. Just look at SH Figuarts, for example. The toys are easily 80% hero characters. Very few villains. It’s that way with the mass-released toys too. I’ve had many conversations with fellow collectors who have lived overseas.

[Freekazoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by webz

I only shop at smaller mom & pop type places, so I don’t know anywhere with “loads” of brown suits.

BBTS has it for sale, still and Amazon has 15+ seller for the X-Force and Brown Suit Wolverine going for retail, plus or minus 10% (about what it would be directly from Mezco). While "loads" may be a slight hyperbole, this indicative there are a lot available from distributors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by webz

lukewarm? Overall I’ve seen nothing but positivity towards the suit in the game. Toys is another matter. I’ve never known a single wave of toybiz or Hasbro where wolverine was a shelf warmer. Brown suit, yellow suit, blue suit/yellow x, grey suit, weapon x,.. always sell out.

I admitted that you are likely the the expert on the Marvel Legends collecting, and it seems you do have a lot of experience. I appreciate you providing some background on your collecting experience with the line.
I'll let you do the digging on the PS4 suit reception, obviously some people loved it and some hated it with some articles even highlighting the lack of universal appeal(hence my choice of the word "lukewarm"), and the kind of mixed reception does translate to the desirability of merchandise. Is it possible that the GameStop 2-pack it came with sold better than expect and saturated the need for the single figure? Did they produce too many outright? We not enough people interested in a non-classic Spider-Man look and didn't want to buy it from GameStop? There are definitely a few things from your example that can be speculated, but ultimately it's a case of supply well exceeding demand, at least at the GameStop you mentioned.

Quote:

Originally Posted by webz

if you grew up in the 80’s, the brown suit is his main suit. Yellow with Stripes was brought back for the fox cartoon in the 1990’s. It’s like James Bond actors. The stripes is most used in marketing, but the cartoons have been very flexible with his costumes as well.

I personally love the brown suit, as well, but globally and for the majority of collectors, their exposure is just to what is in the marketing: Tiger Stripe. There is an understanding from Disney/Marvel and the manufacturer that THIS look will sell and appeal to the majority of people. Brown is still popular and companies that want a license for a Wolverine figure knows what sells the best by a wide margin (See Kaiyodo and Medicom). Mezco should have swapped the Tiger Stripe as a standard release and had the Brown as the exclusive (I suspect this was done intentionally). A bit more prohibitive in your being the figure you would prefer, but that aligns better to the market demand.

Luckily, there are some groups willing to go the opposite direction and do the Brown without the Tiger Stripe like Sideshow in 1/6th scale, though I do not know how well that figure sold or if there are plans to release a different version as they have done with other figures like Ghost Rider and Batman.

Quote:

Originally Posted by webz

It’s a well documented fact that hero toys and collectibles outsell villain toys 10+ to one as a rule. Just look at SH Figuarts, for example. The toys are easily 80% hero characters. Very few villains. It’s that way with the mass-released toys too. I’ve had many conversations with fellow collectors who have lived overseas.

Never argued this point and I'm well aware of the merchandise disparity between heroes and villains in Japan, especially. With the Figuarts example, villains will be low-volume exclusives more often than not. I was just diving into why that is and some exceptions to the rule.

Thinking of it now, Char from Mobile Suit Gundam (multiple series, cross promotion with Toyota, "massagers") may be the biggest exception to this rule and it is a result of how the narratives of each series he has been in treat the character and his interactions with the protagonists. Mobile suits, especially model kits, fly in the face on the popularity paradigm in the modern era, but that's a completely different market regionally and globally with significantly different motivations and product expectations.

[Freekazoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grant C

I own the One:12 Armored Batman from BvS & I have had no issues with mine. It's a nice piece & based on that I think Mezco would nail Dr.Doom.

The ankles on mine a are bit weak, but it's certainly better than the Saint Seiya figures BagJo mentioned and WAY better my A-Label Demonbane. The closest Mezco has come to providing an unbalanced figure has probably been Darkseid, but even the joints on that hold relatively well with the weight.

More than likely it's going to be something like Bo Ttef said if they ever get to The Fantastic Four

[jwyss234]

Tossing in a couple of things to consider for the PS4 "Advanced" Spiderman suit and the sales on the One:12 Wolverines:

1. I don't think anyone was initially happy with the advanced suit when it was shown in the trailers. However after playing the game, I now really like the suit and will typically play the most of the game in it rather than changing to one of the comic costumes. I've also seen a few people here on Toyark who've played the game and really liked it after they started playing. And I think that's the real take away for the Marvel Legends figure. Most people need to play the game before they'll like the advanced suit. And since the game is a PS4 exclusive, not every Marvel Legends fan had the opportunity to play the game and fall in love with that suit. Personally, I'd really like it if Mezco made the advanced and Scarlet Spider costumes from the game.

2. Part of the lower sales for the brown costume and X-Force Wolverines maybe the overall costume designs. The overall look of the X-Force figure is spot on but Mezco covered the entire figure in vinyl which greatly restricts the ROM. If you look some of the recent Mezco figures like SK Batman and Moon Knight, they're covered in the vinyl but it's broken up all over the costume. It still makes deep stances difficult but most of the ROM in the other joints is still there. As for the brown costume Wolverine, Mezco made a couple of design decisions that I think soured a lot of people on the figure. When it was first revealed, the trunks on the costume looked like shorts which many fans hated. Mezco said they would change them but they didn't show the updated trunks until the figure was close to its release date. Also, Mezco used a bright yellow for the costume when they should've used tan or a very dark yellow to better compliment the brown portions of the costume.

[shortysben]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BagJo

Out of curiosity, have you owned many figures with die-cast armor? I own a couple Saint Seiya figures with full die cast armor as well as an old figuarts (Kakugo No Susume), plus a few Sumper Imaginative Chogokin figures and honestly, there are a lot more Cons than Pros.

The die cast makes the figure a lot heavier, making them more difficult to pose and stand. If the armor is pegged in to the figure, it often falls off. Die cast scratches and has paint chipping a lot more than plastic. It's also a LOT harder to do custom work with die cast compared to plastic.

I've got a couple of Mazinger figures that are full die-cast and they aren't too bad because it's all the same material, but if Mezco makes a Doom figure, I personally don't think die-cast would be the way to go.

Basing this solely off of Mezco's offering of Iron Man - I have all three and they are all great, the "heft" is a plesant surprise, and they have not hindered artic too much, so a Doom in this same styling would be amaze.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bo Ttef

Same- IronMan is Amazing- A Doc Doom in that same style would be perfection!

This! And seconded!

[BagJo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shortysben

Basing this solely off of Mezco's offering of Iron Man - I have all three and they are all great, the "heft" is a plesant surprise, and they have not hindered artic too much, so a Doom in this same styling would be amaze.

My takeaway from all this is that Mezco knows how to use die cast better than a lot of other companies, which is great to hear. I haven't had the best luck with it myself, but it's nice to know there's a company that utilizes it well.

Thanks for the responses guys.

[notoriouslyhigh]

Just got my Clown Prince Joker in and immediately slapped the MDX overcoat on him and also popped off one of the knife holsters and replaced it with Harley Quinn's holster and revolver which I think works for him.

My only real complaint about this one is that the belt has no way to come off easily and they put it on weirdly with the suspenders but after readjusting the suspenders I'm satisfied with it.

[Bo Ttef]

I saw someone on FB give him Jubilee glasses. I kind dig it.
MezJoker by lowanbing, on Flickr

[Vamp]

Just got a email from Mezco for the Gomez figure. They moved me to the pre order queue from the wait-list And will charge me soon. (Stands up and starts doing the running man)

FYI: the only difference with the first version is the "goodie bag" which really is just acouple of lanyards and pins. this version comes with a comic book but its the same figure.