The price is absurd, but I will pay it because these are among the very few figures I would genuinely consider dream figures. I’ve wanted this line ever since I was an ocd 5 years old preoccupied with the absence of pink trim on my Kenner Egon’s costume.
ill probably buy a second Egon to keep packaged, but one each of every other set. And I would also say that the price does mean I won’t ever even consider variants and secondary human characters. I would’ve definitely purchased some of the other characters from the series at 50 bucks-ish, but at this price this line ends when the ghostbusters team is complete.
Mezco figures are also extremely expensive but at least their figures have soft goods, tons of accessories and lots more paint. These have pretty much none of these things.
Don't soft goods actually make production cheaper? Isn't that why NECA has moved to using it more on Ultimates (for example, and to my dismay, Gremlins) instead of new tooling? For me, the soft goods are THE drawback (besides the price) of Mezco's stuff. I think it uniformly ugly on their figures. Accessories I'll give you, though!
Soft goods do not entirely equate with added cost. It's added cost only if you were adding them in lieu of just making it part of the same tools used for the sculpt (i.e. - just cutting into the tools you were already making). There's obviously different degrees of soft goods and a jumpsuit for some Power Rangers costs more than a basic cape, but soft goods also allows for the reuse of sculpts under them. Essentially, the Barbie pricing model where you're just reselling the same basic body over and over, but with a different outfit.
Needless to say, it's all perception. Mezco has managed to convince its consumer base that they are indeed offering something close to the price they charge, be it true or not. I think Mezco, like Mondo, wants to operate at a certain price level like a boutique action figure creator and it's their brand. They start at their price, and add to the release until they feel it's achieved their set price. That said, these Mondo figures likely will not skimp on paint. They said their approach is the same as their sixth scale stuff and basically every inch of those figures is painted, accessories included. I am of the mind that it's really hard to make a 1:12 figure feel like it's worth $100, which is why I own so few in that price range. I'll splurge for something that I really like and that's likely to be a one and done affair for me. I have the Mezco Green Ranger because I'll likely never buy another Green Ranger again. I'll probably suck it up and do the same for this line because I'll never buy another set of Real Ghostbusters. I may have talked myself into Samhain as well so there is at least one, ghostly, centerpiece of sorts even though I think that figure is a lesser value than Boogie Man (I'm assuming Samhain isn't articulated past that torso cut), but Samhain's episode was a favorite of mine so there's more pull for me. I can't recall another ghost from the show I'd feel the same about. The motorcycle-riding headless horseman was cool, but that won't cost 100 bucks. A soft vinyl Stay Puft would be cool, but those prices can get out of hand real fast too. And like others, I'm definitely out on variants unless there is a significant price break.
Pixel Dan followed up on his coverage of the MOTU 200X line being cheaper than the RGB figures due to a different licensor, so Sony likely has SOME part in why these are going to cost what they are.
These look great, and I really do want them, but the price is making me take a pause. I do have the Diamond Select versions, and I really kind of hate those figures. They're impossible to pose or even just stand up in a lot of positions. I hate that they all have the same bodies, so Ray's not fatter, Egon isn't taller.. And I really do like the Mondo aesthetic.
But a hundred dollars a figure? I don't know if swapping mine for these is worth $400. I guess I could sell the Select versions, but those probably aren't selling for as much as they used to go for now that the Mondo one are announced. I should have sold them like a year or two ago.
Yeah, the only reason I bring up the MEZCO TMNT set is because 1.) they got a lot of flack for being too expensive and 2.) at the same time, in my opinion, they are considerably more complicated figures w/more kit. They have soft goods, but as a bonus on top of fully painted bodies, and really good articulation. $100 for a figure that can't go past 90 at the elbow us a bit of a drag. Mainly because if I pay $100 I'm expecting a 1:12 figure to be as near perfect as it could be, and I shouldn't easily daydream "this would be better if only..."
Glad they do come with an extra head, though. And I suppose, all things considered, you're getting a comparable value to a single 1:6th Mondo figure, for a bit less.
As for pricing conspiracies... if there is one, it may very likely be "these need to be above $100" because another manufacturer is going to put out cheaper versions. Perhaps Hasbro. I may be off here, but I think I remember SHFiguarts not being able to sell their Marvel figures in the US because of license restrictions, though they were able to get beyond them by adding diorama pieces to their standard releases and upping the price to something like $100 each. And so Doctor Strange wound up in Barnes and Noble. I don't think that was succesful for them, though, and they stopped.
I’m in the camp that thinks soft goods often look pretty bad and would much rather pay for an impeccably sculpted and painted figure like these than most of what Mezco produces.
I have the Mezco Batman 89 and really like it, but that’s mostly because the head is incredible. I think I’d like it even more if that head were just plucked on a fully sculpted, Mafex quality figure. I also have the dick Tracy/flat top two pack on the way and think they’ll be great, though even there id probably prefer if everything but the trenches were sculpted. Some of their stuff that I was considering buying when it was announced ended up looking actively bad, imo. I think the Tiger Stripe Wolverine, for instance, looks way worse than the new Legends X-Men 97 version.
It is going to sting bad to pay these prices, but having paid similarly for certain Mafex figures and more for the Sentinel Ronin Warriors line, I know I can feel very happy with my purchase if I end up with a definitive version of a favorite character on my shelf. Like others have said, these will be the last Real Ghostbusters figures I ever need to buy and in that sense, the core team justifies the very hefty price tag.
I think I'm going to get these. I'm just gonna be more prepared ahead of time financially than I generally am for this hobby. Meticulously responsible. Yup. That's how I'm gonna do it...
Same here. I'll likely end up getting them as it seems unlikely any other company will ever do RGB figures in my lifetime, so it feels like it's either this or nothing.
But yeah, it'll have to be JUST the four Ghostbusters. I can put aside $100 each quarter for that.
100 apiece means I’m out.
I don't know why, but I really, really, want that little blue ghost. Maybe someone will buy multiple sets and only want 1 of him... maybe.
Like others have said, these will be the last Real Ghostbusters figures I ever need to buy and in that sense, the core team justifies the very hefty price tag.
That is a good point. If I know I'm good on RGB and will never need another version, that's a motivating factor toward biting the bullet short term to cross a beloved property to collect off the list forever. Heaven help me if Mezco ever pivots from comic Dick Tracy to the movie version, as then I will be in major trouble.
Latest edition of Toy Anxiety from the Yes Have Some crew which spends a lot of time on Mondo:
A good watch if you want to hear from diehard RGB fans. Maybe some of the price justification goes a little too far (and it doesn't help that the host admits the Mondo sculptor bought him a $200 Logan figure), but I think it does capture the segment of the fanbase that has been waiting for these for a long time and will probably pay whatever the cost is as long as the product looks good (and I think everyone agrees that these look good).
But will these be definitive? Is there any figure out there that's actually definitive to anyone? There's always improvements to make. Maybe the articulation isn't enough with these, and someone else does them with double joints everywhere. Will those be definitive? What if other version someone makes comes with more accessories? What if neca or someone else does more detailed versions?
Imo there's no definitive figure of anything, because no figure is perfect and something is always missing. There's only, "this is the best there is so far", but there'll always be another figure in a few years that's better in some shape or form. That is both an awesome thing about collecting, and something bad too, since you usually can't just buy something and not want the new version.
So to me, that these look really good, does not make them the last versions I would buy of these, since some other company might release other, maybe better versions later down the line. So these being really good versions does not make them worth $100. I don't perceive enough value there.
Of course these are coming soon, and we don't know if and when other companies might make RGBs.
One can never know and obviously never say never. I have figures in my collection that are close enough to "definitive" that I likely won't buy the character again and I have plenty where the flaws are more apparent. For me, I could not care less about double joints and such. These look to have enough articulation that they can wield their neutrona wands and they're not all cut up. Obviously, we've only seen Egon and Peter so Ray or Winston could look like crap. It was confirmed that Egon and Peter are not on the exact same body which lends me to believe that Ray will have the correct proportions. And, obviously, a lot can change between the prototype stage and final production but Mondo's been pretty good with that in their 1/6 line so there's reason to believe the same will be true here.
There's risk in every decision. These may sell out and shoot up in value on the after market like the DST ones and become even more out of reach in a few years. They may be the only RGB figures we see for another decade or more, or they may do so well that other lines follow. Would anyone be shocked if Hasbro turned around and tried to do their own now if the response to this line warrants it? I sure would not, unless Sony stepped in to deny them I'm not sure there is anything standing in their way other than a desire to not do RGB. They probably won't be as good, but the gap in price might make up for it. I also don't begrudge anyone who doesn't think these are worth the price. The editor of the Toy Collector mag is also circulating that the price is not Mondo's idea so he seems to at least believe them when they cite the licensor. I buy things that I consider overpriced often in my day-to-day life so it's not an automatic dealbreaker. I am apprehensive about what this line could do to the market if they are a resounding success. Will other toymakers see that as an opening to raise their prices further? It's not enough to stop me though so I plan to hold my nose and click the "Purchase" button when these go up and hope for the best.
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