This seems to be the biggest question of any collector world wide: "Do I keep it in the box, or do I take it out?"
After decades of this great depate ever since toy collecting has begun, I decided to think about this conundrum. What are the factors that make us decide on this question? After being a toy collector for over 10 years, Ive broken it down into two catagories: hobbyist collectors & commodity collectors. Many people that collect, not only toys, are worried about the economic value something is worth...so therefore they try their best to keep the item in prestige condition for later resale. These people are what I call commodity collectors. "Commodity" is defined as a good for which there is demand in the market, but the value rises when supply is limited. Basically an item which has value in itself. In other words, collectors collect items that they know have extreme value in itself, even if they're not worth much at the moment. Commodity collectors obtain these items knowing that they can resale the item for a higher amount when the item is no longer in production or in the market.
A hobbyist collector on the other hand, is a collector that collects for pure love of the items they are collecting. They could be fans of the themes for which the items are made from, or the items may hold sentimental value to them. Whatever the reason, the items are for their possession only and they have no intent to resale. So hobbyist collectors take their items out of the packaging and usually set them out for display for all to see.
Now niether type of collector is better than the other, its just an opinion. Its like the arguement over boxers or briefs, over or under, etc. Everyone has their opinion, or what they're comfortable with. Some are for the hobby, others are for the commodity, and some even do it for both reasons. Whatever you do, its still collecting, and you still keep the market going and ensure great collectibles for us to get our hands on in the future. Either way...happy collecting!
Over the past week my friends and I have been working tirelessly on a custom display cabinet for all of my collection. Well we've finally finished it, after fabricating and painting for a week, and here is the finished product...
Ill post a picture of it when all my pieces are inside.
If you want to read the full story or check out other pictures, read our last blog.
Are you a fan of horror? A fan of Mcfarlane or NECA toys. Well Ill do ya one better.
Recently I was skimming around on HorrorBid and found a guy by the name of Montwain Gonzales, of One's Customs. He's one of the most talented figures sculpters of our time, and definitely takes one for the U.S. His work is phenominal, and Ive never seen such great craftsmenship in a figure since the work of Yulli Hotto of Korea. He customizes his own figures, all icons of horror fame, and specializes in 7", 12" and has worked with some 3 3/4" and 18" figures. His work is the best out there right now, and I dont see NECA or McFarlane even coming close to his detail. He has no website as of now, but you can visit him on his YouTube page or write him an email at monteray223@yahoo.com
With all that being said, we have to talk about one my favorite pieces of his line. Now Im not much of a Halloween franchise fan, but I have to say this figure is amazing. To my knowledge there are a couple of companies that manufacture 12" Michael Myers but all are short in comparison to One's Customs. The figure's head sculpt is so realistic and the painting is superb. The overall aging of the figure is perfect and looks like Myers himself. I dont really know if this is availible yet or if it will be at all, but if it does I strongly urge any Halloween fan to contact Mo as soon as possible.
Tyler Mane as Michael Myers in Rob Zombie's 2009 Halloween 2
Ive been collecting since I was 9 years old, starting with Star Wars collectibles and moving on to Batman and Terminator. I took a break for most of my teen years, sadly to say because I was embaressed because "it wasnt cool." Most of my Star Wars toys were hidden away never to see the light of day. Well about 2 years ago, I finally stopped caring what others think and started displaying all my collectibles again. Now my collection has almost tripled in size, and Im starting to run out of room to display it all. So I figured its about time to get a case to fit 10 years of collecting into.
Im not a millionaire, so I couldnt just go out and buy a $1000 curio cabinet, and I couldnt spend the bucks to have one professionally made. So I had to think of a way. Well theres been a 6 foot tall oak entertainment center that has been housing my television for the last 5 years. After some measurements and blueprinting I realized I could use it for the case. For the past couple days Ive been fabricating pieces for the case and painting it with help from Drea and a friend named Sean. I turned the case on its side for more room, and added a couple of new shelves. I also fabricated some light fictures to illuminate to compartments of the cabinet. I should be done with it in the next couple days, and Ill definitely share some pictures with everyone of the finished case. Here are some pictures of the fabrication process. Click on the picture to see it in full view.
This is the entertainment center on its side, before anything was done.
A model car collector friend of mine, Sean, helping me screw in the shelves. It was tough, because we had to make sure every shelf was level so nothing would roll or fall off.
Back views of the cabinet, and my custom fabricated light fixture.
Display cabinet with fabrication completed, and on to painting.
For months Ive had spare head sculpts from my numerous Hot Toys 1:6 TDK figures and have been wondering what to do with them. Ive seen so many custom Bruce Wayne figures and Ive wanted to do it for so long. So right now, being in between purchases, I figured I'd spend a little spare money on a custom figure. Now its no secret that Im a Hot Toys collector. Most figures set me back around $150 with the exception of some deals here and there. The cool thing about custom figures is that as long as you have the head sculpt, a custom figure will usually only cost about half of that. The first thing that is needed is a truetype body, and second is an outfit of your choosing.
First I had to figure out what I wanted. I wondered around Ebay awhile till I found a Hot Toys Truetype figure for a reasonable price. I was unsure what to get because there are several different types availible. I thought I was sure what to get so I ordered a Slim version figure. The reasoning behind this was I had ordered a suit for the figure and wanted the narrow shoulders to make the suit look slimmer rather than being bulky. Upon arrival of the figure, I attempted to put the Bruce Wayne headsculpt and neck joint from the Hot Toys 1:6 Batman(TDK Version) onto the truetype figure. In doing so I realized that the neck joint was not going to fit because the Slim version truetype is too compact. So this poses a problem. What to do? Well I tried switching out the Bruce Wayne neck joint with the truetype but the skin tone did not match. My only solution, other than buying a completely new truetype or neck joint, is to just grind down the corners at the bottom of the neck joint to help it fit into the whole of the neck. Ill post pictures when I finish it. I guess the lesson to be learned here is to research what Im buying, and make sure I know what to use. Ill have pictures up of my new custom 1:6 Bruce Wayne as soon as I recieve the suit. My next custom might just have two faces. ;]
This is the opening and socket where the neck joint goes.
On the left is the neck joint for the Bruce Wayne headsulpt, and on the right is the neck joint that came with the Slim Version Truetype. As you can see the truetype neck joint has ground out edges to help fit the compact space in the truetype body. To help the Bruce Wayne headsculpt fit, Im going to have to do the same to its neck joint.
Well I think this post is long overdue. Ever since the announcement of Hot Toys 1:6 DX Batman, the toy community has been ecstatic. Its been widely accepted by critics world-wide, and has recieved many positive reviews. Well that all seemed to happen before the actual release of the figure. The DX released January 2010 worldwide and since has seemed to have nothing but problems. Reports of defective DX Batman's have surfaced all over the web and seem to keep coming. The problems that seem to be the most prominent are issues like warped or uneven cowl hornes, pealing or greasy-like rubber, and parts actually disassembling with ease.
I cant believe this is actually happening to figures done by such a great company like Hot Toys, but it's difficult to ignore all these problems. To be honest, I wish Hot Toys would have just gotten it right the first time instead of making us dip into our wallets for a second Batman of the same type. I actually liked the first MMS Batman. Other than a few imperfections, it wasnt a bad figure. With Hot Toys going back to the drawing board, it makes one think why they didnt pay more attention to the problems that were created with the DX. One can only hope that they're Hot Toys DX Batman will arrive problem free.
To take a closer look the Hot Toys 1:6 DX Batman defects, check out our friend Eddie's blog...www.eddiewong.net
Hot Toys have been busy with their 2010 figures, and some of the most anticipated collectibles are coming from the Terminator 2 line. After the announcement of the T-800 we werent quite sure what was next in the new line. Well here comes the amazingly detailed and movie acurate 1:6 scaled Sarah Connor. No word yet on the release quarter or figure details, but when there're availible we will definitely keep you updated!
UPDATE: 2/20/10
During the week Hot Toys showed us a preview of their new release, a 1:6 scale Sarah Connor from the blockbuster hit Terminator 2: Judgement Day. I was actually pretty interested in this release, and excited to see another addition to the Terminator 2 line. The preview looked pretty crazy. Well with the new pictures out on Hot Toys website, its sad to say Im not that interested anymore. Dont get me wrong, master sculpter Yulli did an amazing job on the detail of the head sculpt. But the movie accuracy just falls short of perfect. Sure its a great figure for any Terminator fan's collection, I just wish they would have paid a little more attention to details. A couple things that bother me would be the color of the hair does not match that of the actress that portrayed Sarah Connor, Linda Hamilton. For some reason the face looks a bit off to me, and unfortunately the head sculpt is just a deal breaker in my book. I dont know, maybe this figure will grow on me. Its just my opinion.
Obviously Hot Toys is miles ahead of Sideshow Collectibles in their figures, and even with my opinions on the HT Sarah Connor figure, it miles in comparison to Sideshow's. I dont think I even need stress which one to buy.
