Forgive the minor power level but, as someone with collectible industry experience, it is really hard to wrap my head around how an adult can drop so much money into an intellectual property and yet never step up into the adult collectibles realm at some point. EVERY adult collector I've known who bought Target/Walmart level toys only bought them as full sets to be completionist in addition to buying expensive statues and memorabilia, and they would only display them in-box because if you open one of those cheap action figures it is actually fucking worthless (save for maybe a few hardcore spergs on ebay). Expensive statues can be displayed out of box because they will retain their value as long as the statue itself is not damaged. To show what im talking about, I'm going to compare Kev-Kevs eagerly anticipated Unicron toy to a few others:
So here's the
Unicron. Retail price $850, pre order price $600ish. Unwieldly, made of plastic, probably has more points of articulation than your average toy but extremely unimpressive and VERY overpriced for what it is. Quite literally an oversized Transformer toy. I didn't do too much digging into this figure specifically because I don't want to absorb any more useless transformer knowledge than I have to, but even glancing at some listings it seems like there's a decent amount of Transformer fans who are legit pissed about how shitty it looks for the price.
And now, the grown up toys! Here we have two different style Megatrons from Sideshow Collectibles; one at at the pre-order and one at the retail price points of that Unicron.
Here is a
Deluxe Megatron figure based on one of the Transformers movies. It stands somewhat shorter than the Unicron but boasts more points of articulation as well as an extremely detailed paint job as well as interchangeable accessories, all for the low cost of $488! I don't give half a shit about Transformers, but this guy would still look pretty cool standing on a shelf even if you didn't know what it was.
For the museum types, we have a
Megatron statue based off the original transformers cartoon for $800 (and a limited run of 400). He stands at 24.5" so is almost as tall as Unicron, but is made of polystone and much more stable. The paint job is so well done even the product shots almost look 2D. Despite being a statue, this piece still comes with some interchangeable arms and head. The design of the statue base also looks rad as fuck.
Aaaaand, just for funsies, here's a brand new
Perfect Grade Gundam model kit going to $295 that stands at 23" on its own, LIGHTS UP, and has over 90 points of articulation. Sure you gotta build and ideally paint it first but damn if it doesnt pay off if you're willing to put the time in. There's a reason Kevin isnt into Gundams.
Anyway I don't know why I wrote all this. Maybe to give non-nerds some inside perspective on the madness of it all. I'll take those puzzle pieces proudly, though.
e: cleaned up a bit
