It was my fault....I had lost the pricing information that was sent with the piece. Before the opening I sent an email to clarify, but marked them what I *thought* the price was....late Saturday night I got a response and it turns out I was way off. Had I been just a little off we would have just eaten the mistake, but it was too much to swallow...luckily Chad was cool about just getting a refund.
I used to work in a lab and whenever we processed a stone we would always take bets on if it was passed or removed before checking the REQ. Good luck man. Anyways I think the paint job is achieved by using either a ton of paint masks OR just being incredibly patient and using tape masks over one or a few metal masks. It is conceivable that Sakaguchi is just re-using the mask set he used for the initial run of toys and doing multiple trips from spray booth to to dry booth and back again. Considering how much of a perfectionist he is with the packaging and how small his runs are I can definitely see this happening. Anyways if I had the cash I would go for either of these; I think they're fucking awesome.
He clearly must be aware of what some of this board is willing to pay for customs/bemons/nags haha, I can't begin to imagine any other reason for a $700 price tag on a toy that size, even with a fantastic paint job.
roto gets a cut of that money too, btw... i have no idea of their rate but none of these artists got to take home the entire price that was charged for their work. based on some of the pricing of the show, i'd guess that many artists took less than their average rate for one off in the spirit of 'toy karma'. this is not a slight at roto, btw... this is just the way an art gallery operates, most of which do it at a 40-50% cut.
It wasn't my intention to cause a ruckus, cause rotofugi rules! But I'd rather put the 700 in my own figures. I do have the regular neo gorilla and i love it.
i don't know for certain, but i don't think roto makes THAT much money off custom pieces. their big money makers are the exclusives, and the shows really just serve to get people in the doors. early on in the opening, there were at least 3 non-show related transactions (basically anything not kaiju that roto sells) for every 1 ticketed show purchase. and i can't speak to all the pieces, but looking at the bwana randalls, that's about what you expect to pay directly for a sars release. i know that it's the "gallery model" to have those kind of markups... i just don't think that roto goes that far.
I don't see a "ruckus". Where is that? I see a fact, and stating it's rough doing exclusives at a 50% cut when you have figs to produce.
Well they're 1 offs and I've seen gallery pieces I've thought were just as or more overpriced BUT it's up to the artist. These aren't a "run" of figures, the guy thinks this is what his art's worth so whatever. It's up to him, I can't complain or judge the dude or gallery. I see no ruckus either.
No ruckus at all, Roto rules, Chad rules, IluIlu rules, Paul rules, there's a lot of ruling in this thread. I was just taken aback by the price, but I thought the same thing as someone else, maybe he didn't want to sell it or to make what he thought it was worth ($3-400 range) he didn't have a choice since the gal takes 50% which I was not aware. Either way, they look incredible.
I get all this. I understand the business side and the gallery side. I don't hate the people or the gallery for their prices. It's just a discussion. We can disagree (on movies, music etc) but still show an appreciation of the art form. (not directed at you) Yes it's all subjective and maybe I'm biased but I love seeing Paul Kaiju hand paint one offs for extremely reasonable prices. I think pk could charge way more for his toys but they are economical, extremely amazing and inexpensive. I'm still blown away at a Boss retail. Whether or not it's a small run, one off or big run...I still hold PK's toys to a very high standard. It does not lesson any value. That being said.. i still don't get paying 700 dollars for a toy. It seems a stretch to me.
I don't get it either, I thought he didn't reeeeally want them sold either (which alone I don't get that logic either, why even send it off?) I was just saying it's the guys call and I guess I'm not shocked but it does suck. I was gonna go back the next day and grab one, I felt $200 was OK for it, but then found out the hike and passed. PK's prices are always amazing I feel like for what he does. I'm not comparing one artist to another, just saying. I totally agree, both on 1-offs and regular releases, you really get the most bang for your buck.
I know you are talking about modern JP vinyl but don't forget prototypes of the first G.I. Joes go for 200,000. We are in the kiddie pond of pricing when it comes to toy collecting and my wallet is glad. I would have to agree that PK's micro runs and one off's are a steal. If you subtract the Gallery fees on the Neo it puts it at $350 which really doesn't strike me as unreasonable (especially considering current exchange rate) for a 1 off of such detail on a popular base toy. He probably wants his asking price regardless of what the gallery does with it. I wouldn't pay $700 either but I can see how it ended up there. It certainly does make me appreciate the artists who bring down there own cut to bring us reasonable priced pieces in gallery shows though.
Did anyone score on the Project 1/6 colors? The scalpers are already out in full force but...Somehow they have the toys in hand? Were these released retail somewhere? I thought they were just available via the website. Also it looks like the newest release has some bubble wrap placed inside the box between the window and the face. Hopefully that will stop some of the scuffing that was in the first run. edit: Yep. Thanks for the great photos and write-up, andy!
Awesome score. Whenever I see the Tokio/Altered Man I can't help but La Planete Sauvage and I love it for that. Hey may have been overshadowed just a touch by the Neo Gorilla release but he is a pretty amazing toy in his own right. Congrats! Damn I thought 1/6 was just some kind of indie shop before this. My Fresh Meat ass had no idea it was a Medicom owned shop. Thanks for the heads up!
