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Post by Bleighdzes on Aug 20, 2007 13:12:37 GMT -5
Okay, those of you who have picked these up, can you attest to them being really good? I can't tell that they would exhibit a lot of articulation, but I've read that they do.
The detail on these characters looks impressive, I'd compare them or even rank them higher than SOTA's Street Fighter Series. Can anyone make comparisons?
I'm boarder-line to start collecting even though there are some I know I'll never get because they don't make them anymore, unless they re-produce some as another version release or something. Help me make a decision by posting your thoughts on this line. Thanks!
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Post by eMummy on Aug 20, 2007 14:06:01 GMT -5
Ah the Four Horsemen... They have excellent sculpts. I believe they handled the Mattel He-man revamp. Their articulation is like the Mezco hellboy line. You can see the breakdowns here: fantasticexclusive.com/minotaur/minotaur.asp |
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Post by fatshadowmaster on Aug 22, 2007 12:23:36 GMT -5
I gotta say yes they are cool, but price point is rough. $30 and up for each figure plus shipping? Ouch.
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Post by eMummy on Aug 22, 2007 13:11:06 GMT -5
toys as art. You gotta think in terms of the Vinyl toy market where prices for limited runs are insane
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Post by JeremyMarcGirard on Aug 22, 2007 13:15:31 GMT -5
They are, quite simply put, some of the most amazing figures you can get. The 4 Horsemen do the best sculpts in the business IMO and this line is no exception. They are super articulated, and the best part is that the articulation is VERY well hidden. Awesome figures, and as cool as they look in pictures, when you get one and see how huge it is and how cool it looks in person, you will be blown away. The downside is that they are REALLY pricey because they are so limited and not sold mass market. There are basically 2 main figures in the line, with a ton of variants for each. The first figure was released last year. It is the blue minotaur Xetheus. They also did 6 repaints of the figure, all of which featured a new head (all the variants had the same head). Good luck finding these now! You can probably get the standard figure of Xetheus for around $30-$40 now (he retailed for $20), but the variants have been selling in the $100+ range. The second figure is the elephant swordsman, Ramathorr. He was just released at SDCC this year. He is much bigger than the previous figure and he retails normally for $25. There are 8 variants of this figure. 3 of them are still elephants, but with a different head (all 3 variants are the same head), then there are other 'animals'. Same body, but a new head which gives the figure a totally new look! There is a Rhino, a Warthog, and a Hippo. The last two variants are the 'mutants'. Again, same basic body, but new colors and crazy new heads. All of the variants are store or website exclusives and they run around $30 each, plus shipping. Since these are HUGE packages, you're looking at around $42 or so for EACH figure dlvd. A very steep price for the set, but amazingly, I think they are worth it. You have to realize that you are paying for the fact that these are really limited figures. Most of the variants are limited to like 300 or 400 pieces or so, which is insane for a toy these days! Here's some details on this years crop and where each exclusive is available: www.toymania.com/news/messages/9406.shtmlAs for last years, your only chance is eBay at this point. |
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Post by Adefesio on Aug 22, 2007 13:28:58 GMT -5
On their site i saw "art" of other "possible" toylines...
like those "symbiotechs" (or whatever they are called)...
Does anyone know if those are just art...or actual toyline proyects?
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Post by Squishee Slinger on Aug 22, 2007 19:45:19 GMT -5
I have the minotaur. It's pretty cool but not worth $30-40 on ebay IMO. I'd like the elephant swordsman but I'm not paying $40-45 shipped and all those variants/exclusives is just a turn off.
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Post by Squishee Slinger on Aug 22, 2007 19:48:13 GMT -5
I have the minotaur. It's pretty cool but not worth $30-40 on ebay IMO. I'd like the elephant swordsman but I'm not paying $40-45 shipped and all those variants/exclusives is just a turn off.
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Post by Randy13 on Aug 23, 2007 0:42:00 GMT -5
The Minotaur is really good, and still available for 20 bucks on the 4H website. I don't mind the price point--just ask yourself if you'd rather own this toy, or 3 marvel legends figs...
The quality is excellent--close to SOTA's, and the detail is better than the street fighters, mainly because the SFs are stylized minimalist sort of designs anyway.
I'm waiting on my new cyclops, which has been delayed for apparent QC issues (which I'm only too happy for them to correct).
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Post by JeremyMarcGirard on Aug 23, 2007 7:22:27 GMT -5
Minotar is actually sold out on the 4H site now, so the secondary market is your only hope now. The elephant is still available on the 4H site, and most of the variants are still available from the vendors carrying them. BigBadToyStore.com actually has a few available (the Warthog, the grey elephant variant, and the Rhino).
As for the 'other' toy properties, like Symbiotech, those were part of this whole 'Fantastic Exclusive' thing. Basically, the 4Horsemen created a bunch of properties, like Seventh Kingdo, Symbiotech, etc. and fans voted on which one they wanted. Seventh Kingdom has won both years. Then fans vote on which character from that line gets made. Both years now, the 'beast kingdom' from Seventh Kingdom has won. And it goes on and on. Fans vote on the property, the character, the weapons, the articulation, the size, etc. until the final verdict is in an the figure gets made.
Now, the 4H have already announced that Seventh Kingdom will NOT be in the voting next year, and will instead become its own line (the female queen will be the next figure made, they showed the proto at SDCC). So next year it will be among the other properties most likely, so who knows, if Symbiotech gets enough votes, it could get made, but from what I have heard the next most popular property was the 'Gothtropolis' line.
Like I said before, these are really pricey figures if you compare them to mass market stuff, but they aren't mass market stuff at all, so it's kind of an unfair comparison. Sure, a McFarlane figure or a Hasbro toy wouldn't cost anywhere near what these do, but those figures would also be produced in WAY bigger numbers and sold at WalMarts across the country, etc....these figures are way better quality than you will see from mass market toys and the runs are way, WAY less, which definately affects the price you pay for them.
I have the Minotaur, one of the Minotaur variants and the Rhino so far. I have the Elephant Swordsman or order, along with the grey elephant, the Warthog and the Hippo. I love the few I have so far and can't wait to get the rest!
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Post by fatshadowmaster on Aug 23, 2007 12:09:18 GMT -5
I understand all this. But if there weren't so many variants it wouldn't be as bad. I thought they left McFarlane for a reason.  |
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Post by JeremyMarcGirard on Aug 24, 2007 10:14:18 GMT -5
The variants are the only way these are able to get made I bet. With such a small production run, to even keep the cost where it is means that they have to produce alot of figures total - more figures than they could likely reasonably sell if it was just that one character. By signing up sponsors who will pay for the exclusives (which use most of the same mold pieces to keep costs down), they can ensure themselves a certain amount of sales right away since those sponsors buy all of the exclusives up front, allowing them to actually produce the line.
From everything I have heard about the 4Horsemen, these are very cool guys who are big toy fans. They do what they have to do to get these things made, which means they have to do variants.
Honestly, I love the idea of the variants, especially this year where they mixed it up a bit and gave us minor changes (new heads, weapons, and colors) that made for essentially new characters! Last years repaints were cool, but nowhere near as nice as this years where they really went all out with the new animal and mutant heads.
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Post by Randy13 on Aug 28, 2007 11:59:28 GMT -5
Minotar is actually sold out on the 4H site now, so the secondary market is your only hope now. The elephant is still available on the 4H site, and most of the variants are still available from the vendors carrying them. BigBadToyStore.com actually has a few available (the Warthog, the grey elephant variant, and the Rhino). ... Now, the 4H have already announced that Seventh Kingdom will NOT be in the voting next year, and will instead become its own line (the female queen will be the next figure made, they showed the proto at SDCC). So next year it will be among the other properties most likely, so who knows, if Symbiotech gets enough votes, it could get made, but from what I have heard the next most popular property was the 'Gothtropolis' line. Like I said before, these are really pricey figures if you compare them to mass market stuff, but they aren't mass market stuff at all, so it's kind of an unfair comparison. Sure, a McFarlane figure or a Hasbro toy wouldn't cost anywhere near what these do, but those figures would also be produced in WAY bigger numbers and sold at WalMarts across the country, etc....these figures are way better quality than you will see from mass market toys and the runs are way, WAY less, which definately affects the price you pay for them. I have the Minotaur, one of the Minotaur variants and the Rhino so far. I have the Elephant Swordsman or order, along with the grey elephant, the Warthog and the Hippo. I love the few I have so far and can't wait to get the rest! Really? I just got mine a little while ago--I must have got the last one! I love it when that happens...very perversely satisfying... ;D Say--how did you get your warthog? Mine's been delayed for qc issues (I assume)...? |
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Post by JeremyMarcGirard on Aug 29, 2007 15:30:39 GMT -5
I don't have the Warthog yet. What I meant was that I have the Elephant on order, as well as the Hog and the Hippo on order as well.
Everything but the first run of the green mutant, Ramathorr, the Rhino and the orange elephant have been held up by QC. Last I heard, they were due sometime in Sept?
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Post by Randy13 on Aug 30, 2007 14:55:38 GMT -5
I don't have the Warthog yet. What I meant was that I have the Elephant on order, as well as the Hog and the Hippo on order as well. Everything but the first run of the green mutant, Ramathorr, the Rhino and the orange elephant have been held up by QC. Last I heard, they were due sometime in Sept? Oh, good--I ordered the red cyclops, and I'd rather get a quality controlled one a couple months late than a fresh broken one... |
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