[donmeca2020]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trivial Psychic

I've been collecting these guys for a while now...so hopefully I'm able to help some...

1. The Predators that you will have the hardest to come by are also the most expensive. Unmasked Lost Predator, Guardian Predator, Warrior Predator and Scout Predator are probably going to be the hardest to come by, especially Scout and Unmasked Lost Predator, who usually will only have one or two auctions available on Ebay at any given time. You can expect to pay up to 100 American dollars and up for any of these. Big Red and Albino were also mentioned, but they are more on the expensive side as opposed to being hard to find. Battle Damaged Wolf Predator from NECA's AVP:R line (a very bloodied, unmasked version of the Wolf that came with Chest Burster and Face Hugger accessories) is also a rare one, although he doesn't drive the insane prices the newer Predators do, usually topping out between 60 or 70 dollars...if you can find him.

2. As for the most expensive of the Predators to find out of the bunch, that title easily goes to City Hunter, where auctions will usually top out over the 100 dollar mark. The helmeted, series 1 version of Berserker Predator also usually goes for a ridiculous price as well. If you are able to snag him for under a hundred dollars, do it. After that, the higher prices fall down to many of the rarer ones, Scout, Warrior, unmasked Lost, Guardian, Big Red, and Snake Predator all tend to go around the 60 to 70 dollar price range and up. Anything below that price line is considered a steal and should be snapped up. Two packs are also on the expensive end, being that many of them came with skulls needed to complete the NECA trophy room diorama. If you buy a two pack, be sure that the set is unopened, as many sellers used to cut open the pack, remove the skulls and sell them separately.

3. As for QC issues, a lot of the older waves suffered from them, although thankfully they have gotten better as time has gone on. The main areas to watch out for on all the figures are on the wrists (especially the wrist gauntlet blades), ankles and heads, as sometimes they get stuck and don't move properly. Bone necklaces and sashes (such as the one Jungle Hunter wears) tend to be dainty and poorly glued, and shoulder cannons are always a worry as well, and should be treated with care. Early Predator waves also suffered from being shipped from the factory missing accessories, and although that issue has seemed to dry up, it is worth mentioning.

As for specific figures with issues, Tracker Predator was notorious for having broken tusks, Falconer predator often had issues with his wrist blade being broken off (depending on how it was packaged, a packaging revision later separated the blade from the figure in the packaging to keep them from breaking) and Shaman Predator had an issue with broken staffs inside the packaging. Other than that, most of the issues are with the line itself, and are mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Coming late into this wave like you are can be brutal, but if you are smart about it, it's not impossible to build up a nice collection of older figures with the newer stuff. Like you mentioned, knowing specifically which definitive version of a Predator you want is really helpful, since many of the variants are literally only different in that they are either masked or not, or have open or closed mouths. Unless you are a completionist, there is no reason to go nuts and pick up a masked, unmasked, open mouthed, closed mouth, and battle damaged City Hunter unless you feel like being broke for the week and falling behind on your car payment...=P

If possible, try and buy in person as this will give you a chance to check for defects and QC issues before they happen. You will also probably be able to negotiate better deals than what you will find on Ebay or other sites, as the allure of cold, hard, cash in hand is often hard to turn away as a seller. Good luck, and don't be afraid to ask more questions here if needed!

around my way i haven't seen predators out in the wild... i believe one time i saw 2 of the latest wave at a TRU near me and that was it. i've ordered all of mine via neca store on ebay or other toy sites.