The world of small figurines is an amazing place to find yourself in, with some of the most detailed pieces of work being the smallest. Many people quickly enter this world when they see their favorite character standing on a shelf in a store. However, you may research online to work out which figure you want next when you see that the price for them is obscenely high.
All Hot Toys are limited editions, with some of the rarer special editions having such a low number that they become instantly collectible upon announcement. These toys are limited edition because they have high production values, and to ensure that the markets are never oversaturated, which could cause a drop in the value of the figures.
The art of collecting rare figurines requires that each figurine type and shape be limited. This is what creates the collectible value of the figures. Those who are hardcore collectors will know that their collections are almost impossible to mimic by most other people in the world. Further, this allows Hot Toys to give more attention to the finer details of the toys.
How Many are Released from Each Model?
This is a question that many people ask when they first hear of the limited-edition nature of Hot Toys figures, hoping that there may be enough to satisfy all the needs of people around the world. Something important to remember is that not all figures will have the same number of releases, with many lines having severely limited releases owing to their size and complexity.
Normal 1/6 figures can have an amount of around 2500 to 5000, however, this can change drastically and will change drastically as licensing agreements change. Many of the larger 1/4 scale figurines have significantly smaller runs that have made them impossible to get even on pre-order. Many less detailed figures will be made a lot more, while other second editions can be made even more.
It is vital to know how many of each figure has been made, with first editions of most figures usually being made in smaller batches than second editions. This is not because second edition figures are of any lower quality, but simply because second edition figure usually ship to more countries than the first editions do.
Where can you see what Edition of a Model you have?
To know how rare the figure you have is, you will need to find the SKU number, usually, this will be somewhere near the feet of the figure, printed in small letters. Using this you can do a quick google search and many websites will be able to tell you the exact edition and year of release that the figure is. Many of the enthusiast websites will have exact release information on almost all the Hot Toys released since 2000.
If you still have the box there will be official documentation that tells you exactly what the model is you have and what year it was released. Knowing this can be a huge difference in how you are treating the figure, with many collectors willing to pay thousands for rare figures, understandably, they will want to know exactly which one they are about to spend money on.
What are some of the Signs of a Small, Limited Edition?
For the untrained eye, it can be a challenge to see which figures are worth spending money on, especially if you are finding them in the most unlikely of places. Knowing what results to look for when you inevitably do a google search for the figure will help you a lot, usually with deciding whether or not to take the plunge and buy the figure.
These are the things you need to look out for when finding results on any figure while Googling. Once you have entered the world of Hot Toys properly you should be able to easily recognize rare figures, however, in the beginning, it would be safer to do a quick Google search first.
- Smaller Numbers: If you do a search for the SKU number and it says that the figure is the first or second edition, along with a low number of ‘prints’ then it is more likely to be collectible. Sometimes, earlier versions can also increase the value, with single digits being extremely desirable.
- Size of Figure: It should go without saying, but larger figures are worth a lot more than their smaller counterparts. The 1/6 scale is the most common Hot Toy out there, but larger versions are much rarer and a lot more valuable. Many of the 1/4 editions of figures are worth almost triple regular sized figures.
- Price: If you are still unsure about how rare a figure is you can take a look at the current listed prices it has on websites. The more expensive it is the rarer it may be, or in most cases the newer it is. Truly rare figures won’t always have listed pricing as they would be sold on auctions.
- Rarity: It is not common, but a figure you have found may be almost impossible to trace. In these situations, it’s important to remember that some figures that were not popular on release simply got forgotten, other times it can be because the figures were so limited that there may only be one or two left in the world.
Conclusion
All Hot Toys are limited editions, however, depending on licensing agreements and the quality of the models some can have thousands of prints. This means that they may never become as collectible as smaller, more limited-edition Hot Toy figures that they have released in the past.
If you are collecting only to find something rare you may never find something you like, while those who collect for the love of the craft are never disappointed.
