Your preferences in exclusives

I've been thinking for some time about what I like in exclusive ARAH figures (both retail and convention).

I'm kind of curious what others think on the topic:

- For unique characters, do you prefer established characters (who have existing figures) or do you prefer new characters?

- Do you prefer an existing mold with a new paint scheme or do you prefer a combination of multiple molds to create a figure?

- Do you prefer individuals or do you prefer army builders?


The more that I think about it, personally I like new unique characters. It's always fun to add a new speciality to the mix. It reminds me a little bit of when I was a kid and they would release a new wave of figures. It was always exciting to see what codenames were used and what specialties they represented.

I am much more for mixing molds to create something new. I've always felt that a basic repaint is something that I can do on my own.

I kind of like a mix of individuals and army builders. With that said, I definately buy more of the army builders that I like. Even if I love an individual, I'm only going to buy one figure.

I think that this is why I love the exclusives that the Canadian Joe Meet puts out each year. They are new characters, with a fresh combination of parts. While they are individuals, I think that it works based on the number produced. Bravo to the Canadian Joe Club for putting together these awesome figures each year.

So what does everyone here prefer?

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Unique, but using/Frankensteining existing molds is fine.

TF frostbite and skystriker are good examples.

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I'm pretty much of the same opinion as Sidewinder. Frankenseining existing tooling is a great way to create new characters, and those are often my favorite of the exclusives. Of course, I will not say no to any well done army builders either, but I am not lacking them either, so I still prefer new characters to keep things fresh

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Yeah, exclusives are pretty cool. I am starting to get more into them. I have the last two con sets and I am working on the MARS set.

I dunno what my preference is though. I just like what I like. Sometimes cost has to do with it. I didnt get ALL the Con exclusives last year for both reasons. I had already spent too much money and I didnt really like or feel a need for what I was passing up.

I havnt gotten around to going after any of the old school Sears exclusives either. They arent a priority. The cost is a little high as well. Maybe one day.

To me when I was a kid, half the fun was wondering what figures would be availible next year. I think however I would like to see a mix of about half new and half old.

I can live with franken figures as long as the designer puts a little effort in the creative process. However if they don't mind the expense of a new mold I won't be upset.

For me, it's a real love-hate relationship with the concept of exclusives.

I like what Master Collector creates, almost always. For those of us that like RAH figures, they're the only game in town. They generally do a good job of mixing up the parts and throwing in new parts to make the figures feel fresh. The Target figures are also a pretty good example of mixing up existing parts, but creating a new animal.

On the flipside, I find something inherently unfair with the concept. Master Collector's prices are insane. For exclusives linked to physical locations, the unfairness is even more blatant. Target and Wal-Mart are pretty much everywhere, but other stores are not. The exclusive set (with red Firefly and red Storm Shadow) came from a store that's not everywhere. Yes, I don't even remember the store name anymore. Hello, eBay, time to overpay from an item.

A good figure is a good figure, but I'd like to think that all figures should have equal availability to collectors and kids alike at reasonable prices.

I prefer a mixture of both. There are enough parts that can be re-used successfully for new characters, yet some can be re-done to improve on previous ones that were lacking (I look at LIVEVIL's og13 stuff as inspiration).



A) When it comes to anything neon, a new paint scheme works wonders and improves the mold. On the other hand, seeing stuff that is well liked in different colors works too.

B) I have seen a lot of customs that have been put together using multiple molds that really stand out. I'm not sure who did it, but someone took a Red Star and swapped out the legs with Taurus. I have a few WIPs using that recipe.



When I was younger I would get a new figure and check out the card back to see all the new characters coming out. That still gets to me and that's the fun part. Seeing unique individuals is always cool because it keeps it fresh and introduces new possibilities. With customizing we can identify specialities that need filled and create a character to fill it. In doing so we are making what is just a toyline into something personal and satisfying.

I army build because there are specific parts/figures I want more of. Whether it be og13, Dreadnoks, or Oktober Guard-there are certain figures I try to acquire. It might be something as simple as putting a new head on a Red Star body or swapping/interchanging parts on legs (Monkeywrench, Buzzer, Ripper, and Torch) so I can get different styles of jeans without asking myself why does everyone dress the same...


My real preference in exclusives is kinda ironic.

Being hard to get or only is available in limited amounts makes something exclusive, but wanting something to be more readily available so I can have more specific parts kinda nullifies the exclusitivity aspect.

Also, having cut back considerably on my Star Wars purchases, I kinda feel as a completist that the stress levels go up when you can't actually complete something because it gets sold out or isn't available anymore. One of the guys I met while doing the Star Wars movie toy releases used to get two of everything. With so much stuff coming out it's difficult to keep track and maintain.

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If it is a single exclusive like a redemption or SDCC exclusive I want it to be something truly special. Something that only a fan of the product would really enjoy. It doens't matter if it is anew character or uses Frankensteined parts. I just want it to live up to the high expectations of the trouble we go through to get it and the time we spend waiting for it. Both the Doc figure and the PDD figures are perfect examples of this.

For the Club and the Canadian convention exclusives I feel a little bit differently. I don't mind repaints as much here because both have been really good at turning forgotten figures and parts into true gems. I don't mind new figures but I'm not getting them just for the new figure aspect. The new character figure has to stnad on its own merits. The dreadheads come to mind as new characters, and army builders at that, done wrong. While I liked them, other people, and more importantly the secondary market, don't like them at all. Meanwhile people paid upwards of $200 last year for the Grandslam/Starduster 2 pack which were frankensteined remakes of established characters. Of, course we all know about Black Ice and his popularity. A good figure is a good figure no matter who or how.

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The only exclusives I could see being *necessary* now is to give all them neon-90s figs proper paintjobs. No Frankening of them, plz; just straight re-issues of how they should have looked the first time around. Everything else is just gravy on top of that glaring necessity.

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I like ARAH, but honestly it's getting a little old to see straight repaints of vintage figures all the time.

If we HAVE to get ARAH exclusives from Master Collector or TRU (Somewhere down the road) I'd much rather they frankenstein them to create new characters. Even better if they can throw in a new part or two.

There are a LOT of great NEW figures that can be made by mixing and matching parts a little. I don't understand why we continuously get full on repaints.

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