Why Godzilla Figures Are So Expensive

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[@kaijucanuck4492]

For folks thinking "What about Movie Monster Series or Playmates?" the answer is simple. They make tens of thousands of those figures, and if you look at how we manipulate the numbers in the video, you see EXACTLY how those price points come down. The assembly cost also comes down on figures with basic articulation.

[@Goatix1954]

They have less than basic articulation most of the time Some even have none

[@GojiWars]

As a member of the Godzilla 1955 fanclub, I would happily buy every single figure. He needs more love man.

[@kaijucanuck4492]

If I could heart this comment more than once, I would

[@raptros]

Lol reminds me of the fact that i got a Godzilla 1954 figure, the SHMA with no second thoughts, and i've yet to get an RX-78-2 for my Gundam collection 😂 i'd buy a 55 no brainer for me

[@GojiWars]

@@raptros I don't buy figures over 60$ anymore but a 55 SHMA or Ultimates? Not a second thought, consideration, nothing it's BOUGHT

[@Godzillafanfreaks]

Excellent breakdown!

[@johnxina5633]

One thing i dont understand is comparing the prices to anime figures and statues. A $60 godzilla figure isnt gonna get you even a monster arts figure. Meanwhile in the anime world $60 is gonna get you the most elaborate statue known to man. I just don't get how those prices add up considering they are both imports

[@oneyedthing]

I remember Mcfarlane toys set the standards of quality of figures but at reasonable prices 2 decades ago Scalping became so common that companies made it a strategic way of increasing prices. If they see a scalper having 50bids chances are collectors will still buy it. At the age figures should be lower since the manual sculpting is being replaced by 3d printing which is done faster, easier and with more accuracy

[@MikesMonsters]

I love an educated video that’s not ranting or rambling about information they think they know about because they’ve spoken to folks who work in the industry a few times. I appreciate your time and research you put into the messages you are sharing in your videos, dude. So glad you’ve stepped into the ring.

[@GojiFan1985yt]

You make a lot of great points! This begs a question for me though, why is the SHMA Minus One so pricey? Is there some other issue as to why? It’s not like Minus One is an unknown movie.

[@kaijucanuck4492]

Yes! Minus One suffers from having a lot of parts that require assembling at the factory by a human being because the design does not lend well to being injection molded in large segments. It is expensive from a labour perspective (more parts assembled = more wages).

[@GojiFan1985yt]

@@kaijucanuck4492 ahh that makes sense, thanks!

[@G55544]

@@kaijucanuck4492than sh just needs to get the whiplash and mappa work conditions

[@danieldickerson4838]

So, my personal SHMA Minus One figure is about as flawless as you can get with it, and it’s genuinely so impressive to see the amount of detail on a 6 inch scale piece, and the engineering behind it is off the charts. Awesome figure. That said, the $150 I paid for it *was* rather steep, especially when it came with nothing (that’ll be saved for the inevitable spitfire version, I’m sure). On one hand I get it; making a highly detailed figure out of such a radical and intricate design is challenging, so the engineering and sculpting costs were likely pretty high. On the other hand, $150 is $150 lol. I love the figure, but damn am I treating it with kid gloves, especially those dorsal fins.

[@kaijucanuck4492]

Totally get it, at the end of the day customers are being asked to pay a price, regardless of what goes into that price, and they will have to decide if the price is worth it.

[@danieldickerson4838]

@@kaijucanuck4492 Absolutely, and I think that’s where Bandai may bump into a wall as prices increase more for their products. Their engineering and sculpting are both top tier, but if the prices continually rise, then they may have to provide more for what they’re asking people to pay.

[@duncandonuts5268]

This does make you have to wonder why MonsterArts have gotten as expensive as they are. In the case of Minus Goji, it doesn't add up why it would be so expensive, given the reasoning you provided (which was great btw). Minus One was incredibly popular. There are theories like Yuki Sakai being more and more expensive to get to sculpt figures and what not, but without just resorting to the cooperate greed reasoning, you do gotta wonder.

[@kaijucanuck4492]

With Minus One Godzilla specifically, there are aspects of the design that make it difficult to reproduce in a factory. When I talked to Kyle Wlodyga about it, he said something to the effect of "whoever designed those spines clearly didn't know how factory molds work." With SHMA specifically, there are a few things in play. One is that US prices are currently ~30% higher than Japan, as Tamashii is trying to overcome the current weakness of the yen by not doing a straight conversion. You'll notice the Godzilla SHMA are relatively close to $100 while other characters tend to cost significantly more. This is likely due to them making fewer units of those other characters, while Godzilla is always a relatively strong seller.

[@duncandonuts5268]

@@kaijucanuck4492 Would these be a similar reasons for the 1972 Gigan release? Would make sense since the materials are not strong without mass. And why were releases like Super MechaGodzilla and Mogera cheaper back in the early days (not accounting for inflation).

[@kaijucanuck4492]

@duncandonuts5268 exactly. Showa releases are not particularly popular, and are still readily available (at least up here in Canada). Fewer units means higher price point, which you might be able to drive down by skimping on the quality of materials.

[@ShinRobjira]

A SUPER7 Cybersix, Data-7 (together or separate IDC) and an Adrian Seidelman would have my money so asurdly quick and without question it would actually be a crime how quick my money would evaporate. Instant. Out the gate. I will beg. Insightful and eye opening vid, fam! Pricing and Quality always seem to be the peak of conversation when it comes to higher priced pieces. And while sometimes, It's hard to believe WHY things are the way they are, a video like this really breaks it down into a digestable way to combat even my own idiocy about "WHY IT SO PRICEY" lol Theres always more to it than basic answers, I just wish some of the pricing and work would reflect in the final products a bit more than seemingly 50/50. Expectations vs. a Realistic thought process on mass produced items. It's rough lol But with that being said. In my craziest dream of dreams, Super7 Ultimates Van-Pires & Street Sharks would hit something crazy. 👀

[@SFforlife]

Interesting topic and video. I would’ve thought there _are_ enough kaiju fans willing to buy those higher end figures to keep them at prices comparable to say, Marvel. But I guess maybe not. I guess overall we’re not as big of a fanbase as I would’ve figured. That being said, it only makes it really cool to see articulated, nicely sculpted GxK toys for $10 and easily available at Target.

[@ghidorahhasrisen7178]

Good Video, I learned sumn new

[@Ratzilla_91]

I 100% agree with this video and the points made are solid… but, I’m still not paying $100+ for a SHMA figure that’s gonna fall apart right out of the box, no accessories, and is under 7 inches

[@kaijucanuck4492]

At the end of the day a product still has to be worth buying, which the customer gets to decide

[@Ratzilla_91]

@@kaijucanuck4492 very true

[@MonsterKidCory]

What niche toys I would want where I'd have to pay $50,000 a figure because I'm the only one buying them? Well, I certainly have a wish list of Universal Monsters figures I'd like NECA to do now that they've finished the "Magnificent Seven" (and therefore finished the entire line). And I said last night that I'd love a King Kong 1933 line that had frickin' dinosaurs. At least NECA got some good mileage out of that Kong mold!

[@crunchy_toast2786]

I would like an S.H. Monsterarts Pokémon line because a highly articulated Pokémon figure is something I’ve wanted since I was little. There’s too many Pokémon for them to do all of them but starters, legendaries, mythicals, and pseudo-legendaries would be cool

[@Psychronize]

Figuarts already made Pokémon. If Tamashii made more Pokémon they’d be in the figuarts line

[@bakl3467]

It's called D-arts. However there haven't been any new releases for awhile.

[@zcreates6988]

Honestly i thought it was because of just the sheer amount of articulation on them like for instance sh monsterarts 1991 shinjuku decisive battle godzilla having in 24 segments in the tail alone P.s. i haven't finished the vid yet

[@cfighter95]

Great video! Something else to keep in mind is import costs - I know that with the SHMA line specifically every figure gets upwards of a 40% upcharge internationally by the companies that import and sell them (such as your BBTS or Awesome Collector). That is to say, the actual MSRP in Japan can be significantly lower than the prices you might be seeing elsewhere. Obviously this won't be the case with a company like Super7 or NECA who make their own figures rather than import Bandai Japan stuff, but it can also be a factor in prices for niche properties like Godzilla.

[@kaijucanuck4492]

Yes! Bandai is trying to overcome the weakness of the yen by upcharging by quite a bit

[@Dragonk116]

I always wanted my own Godzilla figurine, but yea they are expensive and there is just so many different versions I would want.

[@brendonnorton5322]

Such a helpful explanation, thank you!

[@g1rldraco7]

I appreciate you doing the math on this, this cleared up a lot of questions I had

[@worldj7336]

A series that I love that I would love to see get modern figures of is Generator Rex and Soul Eater.

[@Scorpion00816]

Someday I want th godzillasaurus from minus one as a articulated figure

[@KaijuKitty]

YOOOOO 10:31 RETROBLASTING SHOUT OUT!!! I friggin LOVE Retroblasting.

[@kaijucanuck4492]

Hell yeah - they do great work

[@The_Based_Batman]

I jumped when I heard you mention Cybersix xD

[@gojifan7976]

There are cheaper Godzilla figures that are extremely affordable like Bandai movie monster series and hiya toys. Heck I’ll even say playmates.

[@kaijucanuck4492]

The assembly cost on MMS is very low and they make a butt ton of them. Same with PlayMates

[@bakl3467]

Wouldn't consider toho movie monster line to be action figure like neca, super 7, Monster art. They're more like vinyl figure Playmates are more literal toys for kids while the other 3 brands are more delicate.

[@MasonDoesSomeStuff]

I really want better five nights at freddy's figures and not the crappy stuff that is already made. I believe neca said they wanted to but funko is gate keeping the license to make there terrible figures which sucks.

[@kaijucanuck4492]

I've seen Funko's action figures on shelves where the joints are already popped out/broken. Horrible stuff

[@spaecii]

tell me about it man, I've been wanting some premium figures of Bonnie and Springtrap for years

[@panduallen6712]

So this is the vid you teased in the stream, huh. I know you've mentioned Hiya's business model, so this may be rather redundant to ask. Is business model of selling every figures in a line at the same exact price is a way to accomondate nicher figure without being too expensive? Hiya for example, selling Mothra and Ramarak for $51, just like the rest. A lot of ppl had pointed out how absurd it is given how small and lacking mass those two are. Do they cover the cost of making Goji priced at $51 by increasing the price of the supposedly cheaper figure? They could probably cover the cost by simply selling more, like Neca, but those excess money from raising Mothra and Ramarak could be allocated for nicher kaiju. The reason why we got an expensive Mothra and Ramarak, as well as abundant reuse, is probably the same reason why we even get Ramarak and Muto, and cheap Godzilla figure in the first place. I do wonder if Marvel Legends using a similar business model, given that their mainline and BAF usually priced the same, despite it being a mixed bag of popular and niche character. ML is notorious for reusing body mold, and someone even make a list of it. Do you think making (almost) all of the figure in a line the same price and reusing mold as much as they can is sort of a compromise between making profit and making niche character? If so, what are the limit that you would set for those compromise? I see many hated how ML used the same body mold for at least +10 figures, and would want unique sculpts all the time. I've also seen ppl who were burned out by Hiya reusing and repainting existing mold, and would want new kaiju more often. I personally would prefer a ratio I've typed in older comment, that is for every (x) amount of reuse we must get (>0,

[@kaijucanuck4492]

Yes, you are exactly right. Making larger margins on repaints or smaller figures like Mothra is what makes niche characters economically viable, because you aren't going to sell NEARLY as many Female Mutos or Skullcrawlers. To your point, Marvel Legends does very similar things and that's how they get into some deep cut characters, the ones that are likely to stay on store shelves and get clearanced out.

[@danthaman7777]

Another banger!

[@plagueslayer]

More pacific rim!