Any Steve/Tony Action Figure & Character Goods Collectors Out There?

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

Hello there everyone!

So I was kinda curious if anyone else here is a toy collector, especially of the Captain America and Iron Man variety, and would like to chat, share collection photos, discuss what online shops and ebay sellers they like to buy from, etc.  

And to get things started, here's some ice breaker questions. :D

1. What do you like to collect? (Brands, series, etc.)
2. What's your favorite item in your collection?
3. What's your 'holy grail' of Cap/IM collecting? (the one item you'd pay any amount for you, if you could just find it)
4. If money was no object, what item or two would you buy?

Here's my answers: 
1. I like to collect unusual stuff or variant figures. I'm a big fan of Minimates for this reason- I like being able to buy figures in different outfits or secondary characters that never seem to get their own action figures. I'm a huge fan of stuff from Japan and Hong Kong! Especially when it comes to the Japanese market, Marvel lets those companies make some adorable stuff. I mean, there's still a lot of the same angry-looking Kirby art, but you also get stuff like this. 

2. These are my Captain America: The First Avenger and Iron Man 2 movie cell phone straps from Japan. Cap's still easily found on  YJ and I even saw him on ebay once (although the Japanese seller was asking about $25 more than they should for him >_>). But the Iron Man one is much harder to find, because Japan loves them some RDJ and Iron Man's one of the more popular American superheroes over there, so I was really really lucky to snag him for a reasonable price.




3. This little gashapon figure has been impossible for me to find anywhere, in the US or in Japan. *cries*



4. If money was no object, I'd buy these in a heart beat. Hot Toys makes the most amazing figures ever, but they're all $150 + 

Comments

[cellia.livejournal.com]

I don't collect, I loved looking at these. I wouldn't mind having that ultra-cute little gashapon figure!

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

He's so adorable! A lot of the gashapon stuff is unbelievably cute- which makes it so not fair that it's not available here. ;u;

[rathanylakan.livejournal.com]

Those cell-phone straps are adorable! I'm not very aware of the Japanese stuff. The closest I get is collecting the Cosbaby figures, which I think are from a Hong Kong based company.

I have these guys:
(http://s749.photobucket.com/albums/xx135/rathanylakan/?action=view&current=photo-3.jpg)

Poor Steve, one Tony is enough to deal with :)

I've seen some very articulated action figures on tumblr, but am not aware of who makes them ... which is good as I might be tempted.

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

I have two of those! >< I own Cap and Prisoner!Tony. I also have Tony in the armor, with no helmet on...I've been holding off buying anymore cause I'm hoping Hot Toys makes a new set for the movie (and I really, really want them to make a Captain America with no cowl)!

[rathanylakan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been toying with the idea of getting a Thor, but I want to see what they might do for Avengers. Since I found out about them well after they came out and the prices had gone up, I lost many eBay auctions for Prisoner Tony. But, I had to have him and I finally managed to get him for a decent price.

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

I was in the same boat as you when it came to finding them. I actually had to order my Captain America from Japanese shop since I could find anyone with a decent feedback rating selling them for under $30. I was able to get my Tonys from a comic book shop that selling them on ebay...although all the various Tonys are so tempting and I have to remind myself that no, I do not need a little army of cosbaby Tonys. XD

[rathanylakan.livejournal.com]

If they ever made a happy looking Tony I'd need it terribly. But, I do like to keep my Steves and Tonies in matching sets. A single Steve with a series of Tonies would be amusing, though.

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

omg that would make for a hilarious action figure photo- one Steve seemingly being chased by a sea of Tonies. XD

[rathanylakan.livejournal.com]

Especially since the Steve looks so overwhelmed :)

[ykoriana.livejournal.com]

Hot Toys are the absolute best. I actually have / am about to have exactly those two!... I got the Mech Test Tony Stark figure about a year ago, and I have the Cap figure ordered, should get it by the end of this month (I prefer the WWII version of the uniform). I also got the Thor and Odin figures and they're both excellent (for example, Mjolnir is actually metal). Oh... And I placed an order for Loki too (otherwise how could I reenact their disfunctional family meetings) so I suspect that I may yet end up with a shelf full of Avengers, and I'm already tempted to get the next Iron Man armor variation.

Those movie cell phone straps are absolutely darling! I don't collect much, I get some action figures now and then, and I love the more cute versions like cosbabies and bobbleheads. The closest I ever got to serious collecting was gathering all the variations of the Padme Amidala figures from Star Wars - with all the costume changes, there were like fifteen of them in the smaller action figure scale, plus three on 1/6 scale.

Iron Man is big in Japan? I had no idea, but given that mecha has always been a big genre in anime/manga, that makes a lot of sense.

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't know if he was really known in Japan before the movie or not but since you basically have RDJ in a mecha suit, Iron Man's pretty popular there now. They even did an anime (although I've heard it wasn't very good).

And I am SO jealous! You own the Mech Test figure! He goes for like $400+ on ebay right now. ;o; I'm with you when it comes to the WWII version of the uniform...the only reason I didn't sacrifice all of my holiday money on orderingg him is there's a rumor that HT is supposed to put out a Rescue version that comes with the USO outfit and the outfit he wears when he rescues Bucky- plus a helmet-less Chris Evans head sculpt. Hopefully they'll come out with a new head for him even if they don't release a whole new figure...

(funny enough, I discovered Hot Toys by accident. I kept seeing these creepy RDJ heads for sale on Japanese auctions when I was trying to find Iron Man stuff. It was very 'WTF' D: until I figured out they were for the HT figures!)

[ykoriana.livejournal.com]

Funny enough, I heard about the anime through the Heroes comms, because Adrian Pasdar voices Tony in the anime, and there's another Wolverine anime with Milo Ventimiglia as Logan's voice. Reviews for both were... not stellar.

I discovered Hot Toys because I used to follow Sideshow Collectibles' new launches for a while when I was almost collecting Star Wars stuff; then through the internet and other collectors I found out Hot Toys and realized their stuff is so much better when it comes to detail and likeness. I have an Obi-Wan Kenobi figure that was made as a collaboration between SS and HT, and the likeness to Ewan McGregor is perfect down to a mole he used to have over his brow.

I had not idea the Mech Tech figure was going so high already, but I'm nor surprised... If you don't get them when the limited run comes out, you might as well forget it. HT made a Wolverine figure when the first Wolvie movie came out, and when I tried to get it about a year later, it was impossible to find and absurdly expensive. So I'm waiting for the next movie to come out...

[fictionalfaerie.livejournal.com]

All I have are the Pez dispensers- because I have a mini collection anyway, so in my stocking I got Thor, and immediately had to get him Cap and Tony as besties ;D- and the Fan Pop Funko Bobbleheads, whatever those are actually called. I have the classic style ones, not the movie style ones, though.
I'd rather like to get the Funko plushes that look like them, too, since I have a plush problem.
XD

Love those cell phone straps you have!
Super cute!

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

The Funko Pop toy line is hands down my favorite American line. I want them to make more Marvel characters. And I'm pretty sure the movie bobbleheads and plushies aren't coming out until March- that Nick Fury bobblehead is one of my movie toy must haves! :D

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

Ooh- if you're going to Japan this summer you should be able to snag what ever they put out for the Avengers...they put out one of the straps for Thor too, so I feel safe in guessing there will be something for the Avengers. :D But yeah there's lots of different Marvel gashapon, and USJ has a ton of stuff (even though that's mostly Spider-man).

And out of curiosity, when you were talking about European brands make their own manga figs- where you talking about Marvel or Japanese manga companies?

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

Oh, no it's all officially licensed merchandise by companies like Tomy and Asunarosya. (And it only when stuff is coming out of Hong Kong or China you have to worry about fakes and bootlegs- for both superhero and anime goods). You have to separate the Japanese manga publishers from the toy companies- toy companies like Tomy have to buy the licenses to make the merchandise whether it's Iron Man, One Piece or Harry Potter. The problem is sometimes the toy companies will only have rights (due to the deal they signed with the publisher) to sell their products in only certain countries.

So for example, Tomy makes several products for Hetalia. The only way to buy them in the States is through an anime shop that imports it or on ebay. That's because Gentosha sold all the North American merchandising rights to Great Eastern, so we get completely different merchandise for sale here than they do in Japan. But you can also get a situation like with the Marvel Bishojo statues by Kotobukiya...Kotobukiya gets to sell those in both the US and in Japan.

It is interesting that there's no equivalent to companies like Great Eastern in Europe...I mean, from the Japanese publishers POV it makes sense to sell the rights to a North American company because the combined market for both the US and Canada would be much greater than just France or just Britain. But you'd think there would be something similar for the EU market... I'm not that familiar with copyright and licensing laws in Europe. I wonder if there's some quirk the law where the Japanese publishers would have to deal with different companies in each country as opposed to just one company for my entire continent? That may explain why they don't let the Europeans make their own merchandise.

Oh god- this got really long. ^///^

[kikainausagi.livejournal.com]

I'm not really a collector, per se, but I do have a slowly growing crowd of the Marvel Mini-Mates (they're like scaled-up Lego dudes?) arranged along the top of my computer monitors. They keep my 1/144 scale tanks company. This is 100% the result of my housemate (an inveterate toy collector) coming home one day and dropping the Frontline Cap/Red Skull set on my desk. Then I had to get Bucky, of course, and sulk because they haven't released all the Howling Commandos.

I keep on hoping for good Marvel action figures, and then every time I see photos for the new toy lines it's all D: because I have been spoiled forever by Japanese toys. My housemate has the Mark VI Iron Man Figma, which I covet vaguely. If they ever released a Captain America Figma, I would probably scream loud enough to terrify my dog and buy it instantly.

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

Minimates are great! I wasn't that surprised that they were the only ones to make a Peggy or a Howard figure (cause they did the same thing with Pepper and Happy for the Iron Man movies) but I still can not believe they were the only ones to make a Bucky figure. Stupid Hasbro

Unfortunately Marvel's gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to action figures. The Marvel Select line is ok, but the Hasbro ones are terrible even if I broke down and bought the one with Steve in his Top Cop/Commander uniform. But they pale in comparison to the Japanese figures or DC Direct (who have the best looking figures of any American toy line imho).

[anruiukimi.livejournal.com]

I have all 3 of the Kewpie Marvel straps. :D I got Iron Man and Thor myself from ticket preorders while I was there (lived there for 3 years,) and since I moved back to the US before CA, I asked a friend to pick Cap up for me too. Cap is actually still in Japan, I'm just waiting on my box o' YJ purchases from her. ::laughs:: I wasn't about to let myself miss Cap.

The cosbabies are adorable, but I resisted. I just don't have the room for a lot of figures. ^^;

I think my fav Cap and Tony merchandise is the MLP pony set I made for myself (http://anruiukimi.livejournal.com/147241.html), but now I'm thinking of selling them because I'm currently unemployed and they just sit around collecting dust. ::facepalm::

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

Ah ha! I was thinking you got them when you preordered your tickets, but I wasn't 100% sure. I picked up a Thor strap when I got these two, but that one was a present for my mother (she used to read all the Thor comics back in the 60s). :D

Your pony set is amazing, tbw. I especially love the machine embroidery you did on it. I sew myself (mainly cross stitch) and the quality of your work is really amazing. That, and I find it kinda hilarious you made Tony the magical creature of the two. XD And I can relate to you when it comes to selling them- I'm also unemployed and I done cross stitch commissions before to earn some cash...but it's hard to sell something you originally made for yourself even if it is just sitting around collecting dust.

[anruiukimi.livejournal.com]

Tony has to be a magical creature, he needs to be able to work with his tools, after all. ^_~

Thanks! I really appreciate your comments, they help cheer me up. xD;

Cross stitching, eh? Well, come on, examples! <3

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

True- he needs something to make up for that whole no opposable thumbs thing, even if Tony hates magic. XD

Ah well I've posted a couple of pieces to the comm, but only the blatantly Steve/Tony stuff. I have more Avengers stuff, as well as some individual Captain America and Iron Man pieces over on my dA page: http://chujo-hime.deviantart.com

[nathcoelho.livejournal.com]

those are awesome! if i had such money, i would buy the "tony" one. i cant seem to like steve.. but i like him with tony! =P yeah.. i know.. pretty confusing! =D and those straps are cuteeeeeeeeeeeee! <3 lovely

[oneshadedarker.livejournal.com]

I adore those cellphone straps, they're so cute!

I like all kinds of nifty little toys and trinkets but the only pieces of Marvel memorabilia I have are these:





I wish I could get the other pieces in Kotobukiya's Avengers Reborn line so that my Iron Man and Silver Age Thor won't be so lonely, but there aren't enough goats in the world I can sacrifice to a higher power for one so I will have to make due :(

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

I actually had to go google the line because I've only ever seen the Iron Man statue you have and wow! Is it weird for me to say I love Cap's boots? Because I really, really love what they did with them- it's like the best parts of his Top Cop boots and his 'pirate' boots all in one. (I know his regular boots aren't pirate boots...but they look like them)

Kotobukiya's stuff is just so good...I have this pipe dream that one day Marvel will let them do a line of One Coin figures. :D

[oneshadedarker.livejournal.com]

No, it's not weird at all. In fact, we are in complete agreement. The moment I saw the statue I automatically zoned in on his boots and drooled. Yeah...that's it. That's pretty much my only motivation for trying to get that statue. If not I'd just buy Bucky's since I love his Captain America costume twenty times better.

I agree, Kotobukiya makes some seriously beautiful statues. Nearly my entire collection stems from them. I'm just a big fan of their quality. Oh! That's an excellent idea! I remember falling in love with their Hetalia One Coin figures, imagine how adorable the Avengers would be in chibi form!

This would be a cute concept for Tony's:



Though, maybe they should replace the alcohol with hamburgers. If Iron Man the movie taught us anything, it was his love of hamburgers.

[arachnes-web.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have all of the Hetalia One Coin figures and they are probably the nicest figures I have seen at that size (in terms of the detail and construction). Actually a artist on Pixiv posted what they thought the Captain America One Coin should look like:



Definitely think both Steve and Tony would need to come with an extra head so we could have them with or without the cowl/helmet.

[oneshadedarker.livejournal.com]

That is glorious. Steve looks so adorable with his little shield...oh God, I need to stop, I'm going to make cooing noises and lose my nearly non existent dignity on a public forum.

Anyway, I've seen pictures of the Hetalia One Coin figures and they have an endless amount of character and charm for so small a design. I honestly believe that, if any company can make a respectable transition from comic to cute, it's Kotobukiya.

A girl can dream :/