I suppose you could read about that in every topic here about a sideshow figure: paint apps tend to suck, heads tend to be too big, bottom line the end pieces never seem to go near the quality prototypes wave at us... I'm a big fan of the statues sideshow does but even they get canceled because of production painting.

 

i agree,their price is steadily increasing and the quality just isnt there

 

I've always been most interested in their military-theme figures, but have seen quite a few of the others first-hand in others' collections. Some of their figures positively sing, while many run back down the scale in the wrong direction, for me. The sculpts vary widely in accurate appearance, but provide a lot of good bashing fodder. Size-wise, I'm not sure if I've seen any headsculpts that weren't at least a bit large, and more than a few that were between "way-large" and "massive-melon". I've pretty much accepted that their figures were all "1/SST scale". Their hands are much-admired, and I hear that a newer body is supposed to be a big improvement.

SST's weapons have usually been well done and often rare types. The unis and gear seem more than adequate, tho some stuff is just bad (the Platoon webgear for instance). I got the 'Gary Cooper'/ "Beau Geste" legionnaire, but cancelled the WW1 legionnaire after reading a review that remarked on cheaper tailoring in the latter's greatcoat. Bought the parts loose that I really wanted.

That's all fom my POV of course, the complaints I've heard or read about SW figures seem to center on inconsistencies. With their partnership with HT, things should have improved. It still comes down to the degree of difference between preview p-types and the commercial release.

Sideshow doesn't look like it's inclined to bring back some of their classic older stuff, so their best path is to improve forward. I guess we'll see how that turns out, down the road.

 

They've got licenses. And they've done licenses better than anyone else before them (notice I've said before). It is a shame that they should pay presumably high prices for these licenses only to f**k up the figs by skimping on QC and piddleing little things. Prices are high, but I would'nt mind paying that price for a good Indiana Jones. Why skimp on that shirt or the atrocious plastic molded sandbag ? And the loose hips, legs, neck, head flopping all over the place can only be characterized as a sin and a shame. They should be replacing those bodies---( I don't wan to hear that they will do better next tiime with a different fig)

my 2 c

Jim

 

I really like Sideshow's line of WW1 figures, but to be honest nobody else has done any. I also am a big fan of their headsculpts, but I always repaint them. I think they have some of the best expressions and unique heads out there. Many of their heads tend not to look like the actor they were trying to copy, but that's ok with me, as I use them for other figures anyway.

Their new stuff is very expensive and I tend to stay away from it, opting for E-bay, loose parts or (sometimes) Amazon.

 

I'm actually considering doing the same. I'm focusing on building my military collection and going away from movie figures. I can't be as liberal with my spending in this economy. So if I have to choose between collecting fictional or non-fictional heroes, the real life warriors win every time.

 

Z,
I too am a fan of their WWI line and historicals and SST have some of the most unique sculpts out there. The quality/production issues still seems to escape my grasp. For ex: they come up with a great looking Indy, wait for ever to come out with a second fig,and when they do, its the inferior Belloq. If Thot is not homerun, the line will die. They did the same thing with the Bayonett and Barbwire line. After a bunch of great figures, they re-release the red baron (why?). they have the limited RMLE French soldier, and then the hideous Rickenbacker. After this fig I knew the line was in trouble. Why not release a a popular fig like the early war German? It would be extremely popular. Although not officially dead, we all know the line is in coma. I really enjoy SST( even with the large noggins) but when you see some of their past moves it boggles the mind.

saludos
siquisiri

 

Thanks for everyone's incite. I too have been seeing the cool side of the military figure lately.

Cheers!!!

 

great points guys. i agree with most of you and that's why i've only got two items on pre order with them and only one is an actual SS figure. lately Hot Toys has been taking my money. with their Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Predator lineups i just haven't had interest in anything SS put out recently. the last item i bought was the Exclusive Anakin PF. their 1/6 figures price's keep hiking up while the quality is still mediocre. back when the Star Wars 1/6 lineup was $59 this was somewhat acceptable considering they were the best bang for the buck, but now that their figures are $80+ i'm putting my money elsewhere for better quality products.

 

I agree with everyone here. I also canceled my snake eyes pre-order after hearing all the feedback from the OSW members. I will take a look at it live and in the flesh before I make a final decision. My experience with SideShow is with their Star Wars figures. They were really worth the money , but now with their figs up in the price range of HT; then it will make anyone pause and evaluate their investment.

 

Bring back the Bayonets and Barbed Wire series. They are not going to be able to compete with Hot Toys movie figures anyway. A US Doughboy, Sgt York, Lewis Gunner and Austrailia Light Horse figures would all sell.

 

The only Sideshow figures I'll keep are my LOTR figures and whatever Platoon figures I can muster. Beyond that, if they don't produce anything cool military-wise they won't be getting my money.

 

I used to support them and even defend them but now in good faith cannot. When bbi was releasing figures and you got a preview of one, what was shown was very close to what you recieved. I don't own any Soldier Story sets yet, but from what I've read it's the same deal. I have just started collecting Hot Toys, and they are pretty much exact. What you see is what you will get.

Sideshow on the other hand is a whole different story. Some of the QC on the LOTR line was simply pathetic. You may expect the proto-type and the actual releases to be a little different but not that much. Throw in the prices going up, versus other companies lines that have more craftsmanship involved and you start to wonder what they are trying to do.

It's a shame, but I am probably done with them.

 

i say its all right to cancel your figures. but next time you buy or pre order try to focus on if you really need it or if you really like it and your gonna stick to your guns and buy it if side show wasn't in your interest and you were going on whats hot then really thats not collecting at all. dealers lose money on canceled orders cause when you pre order the figure they buy that quantity that customers orders. so if you do cancel they are stuck with the merchandize its not wal-mart or toys r us that your buying these figures from when they buy in bulk. its a specialty store where you can only find these figures on behalf they dont sell it any where else but those stores these figures are expensive and if it isnt in your budget then i recommend you buying the hasbro line.now my apologies on this but you asked for an opinion not trying to rattle a cage its just my point of view

 

I truly understand your point of view and appreciate your opinion. I primarily collect Star Wars which I have a lot of Sideshow made figures. I was going though my figures and was just astonished by the amount or lack there of quality control on their part or where ever they out source their production (China, etc). I never stated that this was money issue upon my part but it does make you feel pretty cruddy when you get that new figure you've been waiting almost a year for and it's put together worse then one of those Hasbro figures and 4 times the price or more. For the price of gold you should get gold not a rock painted like gold. I don't want to throw my money away on a piece of sh*te, Star Wars or not.
It's hard not getting caught up in the hype of these cool looking figures that mirror that movie saga I love so dear, or what ever series you love Military, LOTR, Indy, Hellboy, etc. But in this day and age if you want customers to stick with you and not pull their orders from you, step it up and give them what they want. It's called progress and they better sh*t or get off the pot.

 

I think the first time I felt betrayed by Sideshow was with Aragorn in the LOTR line. The prototype was very impressive and justified the then very high cost. I ended up canceling my pre-order for no reason other than just plain not having the money at the time. When I saw actual product pictures I was very happy I didn't get one. It looked like a third generation bootleg copy of the prototype. Paint work, accessories, clothing, even the sculpting, was all far below the quality of the pre-order prototype pics.

The recent Clone Wars Obi briefly gave me hop that Sideshow was on the upswing as the prototype and final product where very comparable. It seems though as the releases have come since that Clone Wars Obi was a fluke, not the trend.

I too often used to support and defend Sideshow, they where the company that both got me into 1/6 to begin with and got me back into 1/6 when I had left it for many years. Now like hoodonit I have joined the ranks of Sideshow critics. The cost/benefit of buying Sideshow is just not worth it. Comparing them to any other company in the 1/6 world they fall short.

 

darth vader looks cool.. since it's using the hot toys body. i just hope that it's worth the price and that the huge head isn't a let down.

 

i'm going to wait till i receive the stormtrooper (which should be out this month or next month), then i will decide if i'm going to keep the rest of my orders (vader, blue commander, yellow clone, sandtrooper).

 

The only Sideshow I had on order was the Indy, and from the QC issues I've seen, I don't regret cancelling it in the least.

 

There are many, many problems with Sideshow.

The biggest being that they make mid-range quality figures (production-wise, the prototypes are works of art) and want to charge top-of-the-line prices.

If they don't learn from that mistake soon, I can bet that there won't be a Sideshow 1/6 dept much longer.

Statues are great. 1/4 scale and 1/1 scale are fantastic. 1/6 is just not working out. It's just not.

In the 5+ years that people have been complaining about the quality of their figures, Sideshow still can not get up to par with what should be expected from them at this point.

With the current quality of their figures, and the glaring problems that come from consistently shoddy production and QC, nothing should go over the 80 dollar mark.

I paid 150 dollars for my HT Batman and Joker figures, I am not paying 120 dollars for Stormshadow.

But they've really backed themselves into a major corner. Because collectors are ordering less and less from Sideshow-- for a multitude of reasons, many of which have been discussed here, ad nauseam-- they need to jack up the prices to make up the difference. But that's ALSO causing people to order less-- so where does it end? With Sideshow no longer making 1/6, I have to believe.

Do they not see this dilemma?

If they want to breathe life into the 1/6 dept and actually turn people's opinions around, they need to come out with some stuff that impresses people. Something that make people say "is that Sideshow or HT??"

But, at this point, Sideshow is a "cut corners" company, and it's way too obvious.

And the biggest hurdle they have yet to overcome-- which is ridiculous at this point considering that it's been a problem for them almost since the inception of their 1/6 line-- is the quality of their sculpts. Heads STILL get distorted from their original sculpts during production and the paint jobs are STILL way too off!

I saw the Laura Croft figure at their offices over two years ago and I COULD NOT WAIT for it!! It was AWESOME and I'm a HUGE Tomb Raider fan!! But, did I buy it? NO.

Why? Look at the beautiful head on the package and then look at that twistedly painted horror show on the inside. What a disappointment. I was hoping-- I ALWAYS hope-- that it would be a great figure-- but it was just another instance of Sideshow dropping the ball...

So, to bring it back on point, it's not a surprise that people are sick of having their hopes dashed by Sideshow just simply not giving a ****. Why put 80 bucks into "hope" when there are far too many "sure things" out there?

Sideshow: get your heads out of-- to be kind-- the SAND. Yes, I know you are proud of yourselves for the things you've done right, but it's time to take the blinders off and put your collective heads together and stop this madness of "pot luck" produced figures.

 

My sentiments exactly.

 

I have a slightly different perspective on this topic.

I agree that Sideshow's return on investment is very low and they do need to increase quality before they raise prices. I do not order from Sideshow because I prefer to support my local stores. Sideshow Toys is supposed to be a manufacturer/distributor, but they sell a large number of figures on their own website to the retail public. They tout the low figure runs and many people feeling a little paranoid about getting one of their favorite figures, pre-order them months in advance. Often by the time they release they release the figure it is showing up on ebay from a seller in Ohio or New York (don't ask me why they seem to get their figures first).

Than after they have reaped their profits, they expect their retailers to be able to sell the same figures. If it was just exclusives I could understand, but they are getting a much higher margin on the direct sales and squeezing out their own retailers. If the retail price is keystone, they are probably getting an extra 25%-30% on their direct sales, but they still expect retailers to maintain their purchase levels or risk losing their ability to order in the future

I myself prefer to look at the figures in the box. Check for obvious flaws and errors and make sure I get the best figure I can. But most importantly I want to support the retailers in this business that make this hobby so much fun. I never pre-order any regular run figure directly from Sideshow. Maybe if they would decide what business model best suits them,(wholesaler or retailer) they could focus on manufacturing higher end collectibles that people wouldn't mind paying a premium for.

my 2 cents, and worth just about that much

 

I have a slightly different perspective on this topic.

Than after they have reaped their profits, they expect their retailers to be able to sell the same figures. If it was just exclusives I could understand, but they are getting a much higher margin on the direct sales and squeezing out their own retailers. If the retail price is keystone, they are probably getting an extra 25%-30% on their direct sales, but they still expect retailers to maintain their purchase levels or risk losing their ability to order in the future

my 2 cents, and worth just about that much

** It was years ago, but as part of a former Sideshow Retailer, we only got a 30% discount, sometimes more (very rare)
on something they were having issues selling. Most independant retailers can't afford to work the kind of deal they pitch,
with having to buy 10 to 25 min of each figure to get discount. So the less you bought, the less of a discount.

I don't know how the ebayers were selling well below cost. I think a lot of Asian & European retailers with bigger bank rolls
were buying up 100's of each figure and using ebay to undercut the small retailers. That with the added quality issues
pushed all of us true blue retailers away. But I think as long as Sideshow was making money, they didn't care.

Long gone are the days of Sideshow being that kool "look they've made it" U.S. company.

As with most people, I now only order Hot Toys figures through them. :bag

Ironically, they sell a lot more other brands now than they do sideshow.
The 30% they make on the other brands may be the only thing that will
keep them alive in the 1/6 market unless they up they're standards.
I want them to survive, but it will take a lot more effort than we've
seen over the last few years. Sideshowoke this is your wakeup call.

 

Smart move. But dont give up on SS totally. I think Vader and the Sandtrooper wont disappoint, and im sure Snake Eyes will be much better than some pics make him look. I never buy my 1/6 figures directly from SS but save some $$ and buy from a Sideshow retailer like Cornerstorecomics.com

 

After opening and stripping my Indy and seeing what the new body is like there is no way Snake Eyes would do anything BUT disappoint. Even if it wasn't floppy the new body has several issues.

I have a lot I could say about Sideshow and their less than consistent quality but I'll wait for later when I have more time to think and type.

 

Still, Sideshow has the best versions of many characters, like Star Wars. They may no longer compare to Hot Toys quality, but I would still say they are the best at most of the stuff they do.

I'd love to see it, but God forbid Hot Toys starts doing Star Wars. My wallet would surely become dishonored by lack of funds and commit seppuku (look it up).

I have cancelled many pre-orders from various lines, but kept the main interests like SW. And some statues of course. Those are still unbeaten, though a few could be better.

I read on the Freaks board how one guy got his Species maquette, opened it, and found it was snapped in half at the waist. Damn!

 

Still, Sideshow has the best versions of many characters, like Star Wars. They may no longer compare to Hot Toys quality, but I would still say they are the best at most of the stuff they do.

This thought bugs me in that it's basically saying "At least it's better than SOME stuff out there." Sideshow's Star Wars figures ARE better than what we got from Hasbro, but are they markedly better to the point where they're worth that much of a price difference? Just because we haven't seen better does not mean they should not strive to be better than they are. We know they're capable of better they just need to get their sh*t straight and have a little consistency. Especially with the price points that they're hitting.

 

Sideshow is... well, sideshow. their quality is alot like tossing a handfull of darts at a board blindfolded. some aere gonna hit, some are very, very miss, and some are inbetween. I've got the majority of the star wars line, All but Faramir of the LOTR line, and most of the Dead series ( Great line, look into it if you've not) I tend not to cancel something once i order, even if i see bad reviews, mainly becuase of their phenominal return policy. A figure arrives, I open it, look it over. If I like it, it stays. If I hate it, i return it, and get a full refund, no questions asked.
If nothing else, their customer service is second to none.