By Christopher Troy
Allow, for a minute, a small rant. I’m a fairly big Scott Pilgrim fan. Like read all the books, own the blu-ray and game, big fan. I was really excited to hear we were getting some merch for the series, but man, Mezco certainly dropped the ball on the license. Example: This is what we were promised for the Scott Pilgrim plushies:
Not 100% accurate, but you know what, I like them bunches. Faithful to the series art, and not the movie’s look, that Ramona looks awesome. However these were not the final product. Oh no, THIS is what we got.
Yeah. Just yeah. I’ll skip going into a capslock filled rage, and just let the picture do all the talking. I don’t think Gideon would have formed the League of Seven Evil Exes if Ramona looked like THAT.
Moving on to toys that do their source material the justice they deserve, today’s topic is the Hot Toys line. Hot Toys is a 1/6th scale collectible figure line based in Hong Kong, that (much like Figmas and Revoltechs) don’t solely stick with 1 particular franchise. Oh no, Since the early 2000s, Hoy Toys has created products based on hit movies, video games, anime/manga and actual celebrities. And much like a certain clawed-mutant, they are clearly the best at what they do.
In 2009, Hot Toys shocked the collectible 1/6 market by releasing their take on the Bank Robber Heath Ledger Joker DX (The Dark Knight, which I’m sure you already knew that), which aside from being one of their greatest releases, is probably one of the greatest and most accurate collectible toys ever released. The attention to details is just scary. Assuming you can actually find one, you’ll find yourself holding a 1/6 version of the late Heath Ledger, which comes with a plethora of accessories, and insane amount of articulation, and the ability to change the Joker from his default design to his Bank Robber disguise (hence the title). Hot Toys also created the revolutionary Parallel Eyeball Rolling System (PERS) which gives the Joker Hot Toys the ability to look at you at any given position. Spooky no? The Dark Knight line also saw the release of Harvey Dent/Two-face, a few versions of Batman, and a few of his vehicles from both films.
A notable upcoming release worth mentioning is the Tron Legacy Sam Flynn and Light-cycle figures. I’m going to be honest and admit that I don’t care much for the original movie, and I’m not that excited for the upcoming release of Legacy, but man, that is a pair of sweet figures. Like I’m willing to dish out the cash for them sweet. Which say a lot, as the average Hot Toy is MUCH more expensive than a movie ticket, 3-D or otherwise.
Price is the only downside of Hot Toys. These figures aren’t cheap, usually starting at $150 range and running up as high as $300. And that’s before the more sought-after figures hit the secondary market. If you want to get serious about collecting them, prepare to make a lot of room on your shelves and get ready to drop some serious money. But hey, you can always resell ’em if you need more $$$ to support your habit. Yay capitalism!
FPNYC has a huge selection of Hot Toys in store and online. There’s a display case upon walking into the store, showing off a dozen or so figures in stock, and you can always check out the website if you’re feeling lazy. I’ve enclosed a link to the Two-Face figure I mentioned earlier. Even if you’re not going to get into Hot Toys, it’s worth taking a look to see some awesome toys, and hell, maybe you can find something on the FPNYC site that will grab your attention!
