[3233rafael]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylactus

OK, so I'm in, I just bought the Hive Wars, Viper, cracked tusk, series 8 25th, darkhorse concrete hunter, night storn, and elder v2. I've got some questions for anyone who's been collecting the line for a while.
1. I've noticed there are very few of these loose on the secondary market, and when one comes up it costs as much as MIP, is this usual for this line?
2. what is the retail price on these? I saw people in forums mentioning under 20, but I've never seen one for less than 20 (with shipping)
3. where can I find these at retail?

Usually between 20 and 26 bucks new. I always get them from TRU.

Search for: predator

[kylactus]

Raf! I didn't know you collected predators! I've never even seen one in person yet. I just read a lot of reviews and looked at pics (plus I had a few of the kenner line in the 90's) WOOHOO buying back my youth!

[3233rafael]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylactus

Raf! I didn't know you collected predators! I've never even seen one in person yet. I just read a lot of reviews and looked at pics (plus I had a few of the kenner line in the 90's) WOOHOO buying back my youth!

Nice! Yeah, I do collect them but I don't have them all. I usually just get the ones I like the most and it's one of my few loose collections. I think Trivial will be your best bet to answer any question you have though. He has all if not most of these MOC.

[kylactus]

I'm planning to hit it the same way, I'm also going to get a couple aliens to go with. but I don't really like the humans or the more outrageous preds (except for the kenner re-doo series). I don't think i'm going completion crazy on it. I've been kicking around the idea of opening and displaying them also. how's the articulation?

[En Sabah Nerd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylactus

I'm planning to hit it the same way, I'm also going to get a couple aliens to go with. but I don't really like the humans or the more outrageous preds (except for the kenner re-doo series). I don't think i'm going completion crazy on it. I've been kicking around the idea of opening and displaying them also. how's the articulation?

The articulation is very good considering these are adult collectibles. Most of them don't feel like typical toys so always exercise a degree of caution and awareness of limitations, I am almost completely convinced that most people who claim they break easily aren't handling them properly. Series 13 (Cracked Tusk and Renegade anyway) have felt the most action figure-y but they still aren't play things and should be respected as such. My favorites so far in no particular order (obviously I can only count those I actually have): Water Emergence, Nightstorm, Lava, Viper, Elder v2, Cracked Tusk, both video game appearance figures, and Ambush. Come to think of it that's almost all of them I have except for two or three, and those ones are still freaking awesome. I love this line a lot, they look amazing and still technically have a bit of playability. I'm going to get the series 14 Celtic predator and I hate that movie but they've just made the toy look so cool, plus I've always been fond of Celtic's mask.

[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylactus

OK, so I'm in, I just bought the Hive Wars, Viper, cracked tusk, series 8 25th, darkhorse concrete hunter, night storn, and elder v2. I've got some questions for anyone who's been collecting the line for a while.
1. I've noticed there are very few of these loose on the secondary market, and when one comes up it costs as much as MIP, is this usual for this line?
2. what is the retail price on these? I saw people in forums mentioning under 20, but I've never seen one for less than 20 (with shipping)
3. where can I find these at retail?

Hey Kylactus...welcome to the thread! I might be able to answer some of your questions....

1. Yes, for some reason, Predators (at least on ebay anyway) follow the trend of other horror monster figures and seem to carry quite a bit of high resale value. This is especially true with certain variants of the classic predators (unmasked,open mouthed Jungle Hunter and City Hunter tend to go for higher prices than their masked counterparts) and certain members of the Lost Tribe that for some reason are more rare than others (Scout, Snake, and ESPECIALLY Unmasked Lost Predator.) If possible, I almost always recommend buying MIP with these when purchasing online, as due to the fragile nature of some of the accessories and the figures themselves, it would be very easy for loose figures to be damaged during shipping if your postman has a case of butterfingers.

2. When found in the wild, usually they retail at around 19.99, but I've seen a price increase on them with the last one or two waves, as they seem to be averaging now around $22 and up. If you know there is a wave coming up, I highly recommend pre-ordering when possible, as sites like BBTS will almost always offer a discount on the figures when purchasing a wave. And since these again tend to drive a high price on the secondary market, chances are you will be able to sell off any predators that you might not want, and make a buck or two in profit.

3. As far as retail, your best bet is TRU depending on how their distribution is. Certain stores like FYE and Hastings also carry them. Since I'm sort of a completionist with these, I usually pre-order them ahead of time through BBTS to save myself the hassle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylactus

I'm planning to hit it the same way, I'm also going to get a couple aliens to go with. but I don't really like the humans or the more outrageous preds (except for the kenner re-doo series). I don't think i'm going completion crazy on it. I've been kicking around the idea of opening and displaying them also. how's the articulation?

Like En Sabah Nur said earlier, the articulation on the newer Predators are pretty nice, with the only real thing you could ask for being an ab-crunch maybe. Now the older waves, not so good. They're still poseable, but they had those Y-joint style legs, which don't allow them to kick out, or kick forward unless it's at an angle. All predators made after the Masked Jungle Hunter (series 8) use the newer style ball joints on the legs...UNLESS they are the Kenner Series figures with designs incorporating the super predator molds. Those still use the classic Y-joints found in the earlier series.

Also...cause I really feel inclined to mention them, but you have to at least get the Jungle Patrol and Jungle Disguise Dutch figures. They are epic...and you can pair them with a Rambo figure to get your own Contra groove going on...lol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3233rafael

Nice! Yeah, I do collect them but I don't have them all. I usually just get the ones I like the most and it's one of my few loose collections. I think Trivial will be your best bet to answer any question you have though. He has all if not most of these MOC.

Whoo hoo...shout outs from Raf!...lol. I don't quite have all of these bad boys MOC (Remember my rant about how ridiculous some of the variants are?) but I'm still plugging away at em wherever I can find them!

I'm glad that you are enjoying your purchases so far Kylactus. With this line, I really do have to warn you, the amount of variants, which usually boil down to whether a predator is either masked or unmasked, or has an open or closed mouth, is ridiculous. For a long time, I tried collecting them all, until my wallet bowed out from the ridiculous secondary market prices. Raf is right though, I do have most of these, but I've narrowed it down to the version of each predator that I like the most. No need dropping cash on an open mouth, closed mouth, helmeted, cracked mask, battle damaged, etc, of the same predator, After a while...it gets ridiculous. =P

[kylactus]

thanks for all the info guys! I do like Dutch, (not the thermal one) I'll probably end up getting the jungle patrol version. how do the predator hound things from the Predators movie look opened?
they go with the berserker right? I was thinking of getting a couple and having them on chains with Berserker leading.

[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylactus

thanks for all the info guys! I do like Dutch, (not the thermal one) I'll probably end up getting the jungle patrol version. how do the predator hound things from the Predators movie look opened?
they go with the berserker right? I was thinking of getting a couple and having them on chains with Berserker leading.

I never picked up the Predator hound personally because I just didn't care for the design. I thought they were really ugly and busy looking, so I wouldn't be able to help you there unfortunately.

The hounds actually go with the Tracker Predator, which is a tricky one to find in that he has long tusks on the front of his mask that break off rather easily, and they are so long, that they often break off in the packaging. I've tried to pick this guy up online twice thus far in hopes of him having no broken pieces, and both times, they arrived to me with the tusk broken right off the mask base, so he is one that I HIGHLY suggest purchasing in person if possible. Tracker also racks up a pretty hefty price, being that he's one of the three super-predators. He usually averages about 50 dollars or more, and many of times, that's the price for Tracker w/broken tusks. He tends to go up even more if someone happens to have him in perfect condition.

Here's a shot of Tracker, still in the package with tusk broken.



The hounds aren't too badly priced (as I feel that a lot of people might share my sentiments about their looks) and they usually top out at around 30 dollars a piece.

[kylactus]

that sucks! I looked at him before, didn't care for the design for the price. Why do these hold there value so well! it's nuts. plus I don't think anyone on the internet is selling loose figures that aren't broken.

[En Sabah Nerd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trivial Psychic

The hounds aren't too badly priced (as I feel that a lot of people might share my sentiments about their looks) and they usually top out at around 30 dollars a piece.

I see them a lot for only like $18 mint in box at the flea market, in a LCS, or online.

[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylactus

that sucks! I looked at him before, didn't care for the design for the price. Why do these hold there value so well! it's nuts. plus I don't think anyone on the internet is selling loose figures that aren't broken.

Your guess is as good as mine there. I recently sold a large lot of broken and damaged Mcfarlane era Predators, and despite having numerous things wrong with them, I still got over a hundred dollars for them. I don't really think that the high prices are indicative of value as much as it is Ebay sellers getting a bit greedy with their buy it now prices. On a biddable auction, I highly doubt you will see final bids ending as high as the dozens of figures clogging up ebay at ridiculous buy it now prices that people are asking for.

In the end, it's your collection though, and if you hate the design of the character, don't empty your wallet trying to get it just because it is canon. If you want Berzerker Predator to lead your army of hounds...do it! (I like the half cloaked Berzerker best...) Also, I believe En Sabah Nerd mentioned a while back that one of the Kenner Super Predators is listed in his bio (Scavage Predator I believe) as having predator hounds at his disposal...so that also makes it perfect for your hound display should you go that rout.

Or better yet...get yourself a bunch of Dog Alien Xenos, and have your Predator training them. If Chris Pratt could train a bunch of Velociraptors, I'd like to think a super predator is well capable of training his worst enemy to do his bidding...

Damn...that's a good idea...lol

[En Sabah Nerd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trivial Psychic

In the end, it's your collection though, and if you hate the design of the character, don't empty your wallet trying to get it just because it is canon. If you want Berzerker Predator to lead your army of hounds...do it! (I like the half cloaked Berzerker best...) Also, I believe En Sabah Nerd mentioned a while back that one of the Kenner Super Predators is listed in his bio (Scavage Predator I believe) as having predator hounds at his disposal...so that also makes it perfect for your hound display should you go that rout.

Or better yet...get yourself a bunch of Dog Alien Xenos, and have your Predator training them. If Chris Pratt could train a bunch of Velociraptors, I'd like to think a super predator is well capable of training his worst enemy to do his bidding...

Damn...that's a good idea...lol

Yes Scavage is mentioned to use the hounds. He certainly looks cool too, though I prefer Nightstorm. There actually were a group of predators in the comics who used pheromones or something to control a hive of xenomorphs to aid them in hunts. The other predators considered this blasphemy and they went to war, in the end the traditional guys won when their elder suicide bombed the enemy's hive/base.

[Fyodor Hotpants]

Hello!

I just want to say a belated thank-you to donmeca2020, Trivial Psychic and En Sabah Nerd for the advice a couple of pages back!

I've been continuing to help my mate get his collection, and we're doing pretty well so far. We do have the obvious holes (Big Red, Lost Tribe), but considering it's only been two months, looking good!

Will post pictures soon!

[kylactus]

got my firs predator in hand... I'm hooked. has anyone got any predators in there BST? i'm pre-ordering the new set with scar, I've decided to only pick up the rarer discontinued ones when it's convenient and not actively hunt them. where would you guys recommend pre ordering from? hastings web site has some older ones, and there prices seem retail, TRU was about the same.

[donmeca2020]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylactus

got my firs predator in hand... I'm hooked. has anyone got any predators in there BST? i'm pre-ordering the new set with scar, I've decided to only pick up the rarer discontinued ones when it's convenient and not actively hunt them. where would you guys recommend pre ordering from? hastings web site has some older ones, and there prices seem retail, TRU was about the same.

i bought the NES version of Predator from BBTS. their prices aren't bad, only thing is they get their shipment in late. you can easily get a good handful of them from the Neca store on Ebay for the newer ones.

in other news for myself, i came home the other day, and notice 2 predators were missing from my shelf. i guess because i relocated them to another shelf in my room, two of them didn't stand correctly so my newest one, which was the dark horse anniversary figure fell off and so did Scavage.... go figure right? lol the Dark horse Predator's staff broke on me. oh well, what can i do?

next on my list to purchase will still be the Ambush predator and now i want that TRU exclusive 2 pack

[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylactus

got my firs predator in hand... I'm hooked. has anyone got any predators in there BST? i'm pre-ordering the new set with scar, I've decided to only pick up the rarer discontinued ones when it's convenient and not actively hunt them. where would you guys recommend pre ordering from? hastings web site has some older ones, and there prices seem retail, TRU was about the same.

For Predator orders, 90 to 95 percent of my pre-orders come through BBTS. I always pre-order and never risk trying to to find these in person, as I used to do that and with the spotty and very limited distribution NECA tends to have in my area, I no longer bother. BBTS may take a little longer to get orders in, but it's never a worry for me as I tend to order several things over the course of a few months and use their pile of loot to save on shipping. They always arrive well packed, and I have never had any broken or damaged figures shipped to me. They used to sell them in waves at prices lower than retail, but the prices of Predators has gone up over the last year or so, and as a result, so have the wave prices. They still come out to a dollar or two less than retail though, so it hasn't affected things too much.

[Barefootabe]

wow i had no idea the trackers were going for that much..maybe i should put him on my tradelist lol

[En Sabah Nerd]

I use BBTS always for pre-orders, I tried EE once and that was a horrible experience. Yes BBTS is slower than a place like TRU but only ever by like a week for NECA stuff and they handle them a lot better than my experience with TRU or Hastings. Gamestop's website is also a very solid option to get predators, I've never pre-ordered with them yet but in-stock orders work very well. My experience with NECA's ebay store is conflicted, they get the stuff first (duh) but when I ordered my series 12 preds from them the cardbacks were each sorta damaged.

[kylactus]

the only thing I've ever ordered from Hastings was the ultimate hulk from marvel select, the box was trashed they had it packed in a box that was too small with no padding. I planed to open him anyway so it wasn't a big issue, but it's made me leery about ordering anything fragile, or MOC from them.

En Sabah, I totally see what you mean about these no being toys, I love the weight and feel of them but I dropped the Klingon sword thing that comes with the renegade pred and it shattered like glass! not to mention all the spikes and hard plastic! definitely not for kids. my only real complaint (keep in mind I only have three in hand so far, Dark horse, renegade, and cracked tusk) is the kenner homage figures would look a lot better with there netting painted, that said I'm loving this line. has anyone seen any in the wild lately? I'm just wondering what's out there right now.

[kylactus]

I don't think I'm going to open the dark horse peditor, the box is too cool. Plus I'm not sure how the stylized pain would look next to the others.

[kylactus]

I experimented with trying to paint the netting and I altered his weapon after the shattering.

[En Sabah Nerd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylactus

En Sabah, I totally see what you mean about these no being toys, I love the weight and feel of them but I dropped the Klingon sword thing that comes with the renegade pred and it shattered like glass! not to mention all the spikes and hard plastic! definitely not for kids. my only real complaint (keep in mind I only have three in hand so far, Dark horse, renegade, and cracked tusk) is the kenner homage figures would look a lot better with there netting painted, that said I'm loving this line. has anyone seen any in the wild lately? I'm just wondering what's out there right now.

Well Renegade's blade thing is actually almost the exception. Most of the other accessories shouldn't break just from a drop or fall but because his thing switches from a thin stick to a bulkier blade there is a much easier break point.

[Phantomcrow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donmeca2020

in other news for myself, i came home the other day, and notice 2 predators were missing from my shelf. i guess because i relocated them to another shelf in my room, two of them didn't stand correctly so my newest one, which was the dark horse anniversary figure fell off and so did Scavage.... go figure right? lol the Dark horse Predator's staff broke on me. oh well, what can i do?

I believe if it is still a figure that NECA considers available ( which I think means still available from their online store) I think they can send you a replacement part if they have it . Just contact their customer support. I have done this 2 times. Once a few years ago when I bought an Ash figure from Army of Darkness. He was missing the Necronomicon in the package and they sent me one. And another time when a gun from something (a Terminator Figure I think) broke when I tried to put it in a figures hand. Does not loose anything
to try.

[Fyodor Hotpants]

Good Times!

[donmeca2020]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phantomcrow

I believe if it is still a figure that NECA considers available ( which I think means still available from their online store) I think they can send you a replacement part if they have it . Just contact their customer support. I have done this 2 times. Once a few years ago when I bought an Ash figure from Army of Darkness. He was missing the Necronomicon in the package and they sent me one. And another time when a gun from something (a Terminator Figure I think) broke when I tried to put it in a figures hand. Does not loose anything
to try.

thanks for the info you mean by email or phone? i need to try that out.