A few debates here

[predator2rules]

Firstly who do you think does better stuff: NECA or HOT TOYS?

HT used to make some absolute crap but I think they are getting better. They do great facial sculptures and I like the accessories. NECA are bigger, with no real accessories but I think they are more movie accurate than Hot Toys. Isn't it amazing 15 years ago there were no Predator or Alien figures. I remember the only thing I had of Predator was some Kenner rubbish but now the stuffy they make is amazing. If I were a kid today and I stumbled across a 20" figure I think I would have a heart attack. DO You think we will see anymore companies take on Alien or Predator? cheers

[georgeromero]

I know this had been discussed before but I'll try to explain how I feel about this HT vs Neca.
I don't think Neca makes better figures than Hot Toys. I have super predators by both Neca and HT. HT surely has better paint, real leather, accessories and more intricate details. I'd say Neca wins in terms of affordability and space only. If I were rich I'd buy every predator by HT, but since I am not I try to collect every Predator by Neca. They take less space as well. If you were talking about quarter scale figures vs 1/6 I'd agree with you. They have better sculpt and accuracy than HT but Neca's paint app is no match for HT. That's just my thought.

[bobby brown]

Hot toys make amazing products, But I wonder how all that soft rubber will age.

[PRJ_since1990]

As a fan who collects but also has numerous financial responsibilities and a family to take care of, I collect NECA toys, almost exclusively. Some other stuff sneaks in that I find unique but for the most part, it's NECA because for space and money and variety, there's no other. HT looks nice but the price tag alone keeps me away.

[Vark_]

A good friend of mine who started collecting Alien stuff from the mid 80s told me never to put my money in HT figures when I started my collection : she found that they break easily and the rubber doesn't age well when displayed (= disappointment for the collector, plus great loss of value of the figure). Sure the details / paint / (clothes) are amazing on the HT, but all in all, there's no way they could be worth 10 times the value of NECA products (here in France that's the ratio... 30€ for a NECA VS 250-300€ for an HT).
Also, the likenesses of human characters are way off on the HT line (Kane is the worst of all with his stupid moustache). In the other hand, NECA offers an unbeatable quality / price / size ratio, despite quality control issues here and there. In other words, she found HT really overpriced and told me that I'd better buy Sideshow statues if I wanted something in the same range of price and size, for those will never lose value. I trusted her on this.

So as far as I am concerned, I collect NECA action figures for the variety of their Alien line (cheap, posable, customizable, reasonable size, awesome likenesses), and Sideshow (or Palisades) statues when I want somthing huge and valuable (+ Konami ships / creatures and various stuff, but that's not in debate here).
I never put my money in any HT figure so far, and when I see some for sale, the price asked always keeps me away, and makes me thing I'd better buy 10 NECA figures instead or a solid resin statue, not a huge rubber action figure.

[georgeromero]

I don't know about Alien figures by HT cause I don't own any but none of my HT figures did break while I did encounter broken parts in a lot of Neca toys. As an owner of both products I'd say Neca tends to break a lot than Hot Toys. The only thing I can agree with you would be deterioration of leather parts on HT. Other than that I have seen no noticeable issues.
Sure $200+ a figure is not cheap but the detail on HT figures makes up for it. I don't understand how you came up with the idea that Neca has better head sculpts? That's debatable. Sure, their predators and aliens are top notch but look at their Avengers, Batfleck and other human figures? Not much of a resemblance to actors portraying them. They mostly look like toys while Premium collectibles look more like, hmm... Realistic? We can go on debating until the end of time but to each their own I guess. You see I used to be a Neca fan boy until I got my first SS and HT. Another winning factor for Neca is their licenses. They get a lot more cool old school stuff than HT. See? I'm not biased, it's just Hot Toys is better than Neca in most aspects.

[PRJ_since1990]

The price of NECA is perfect for your average enthusiast. You can get them an Alien or Predator toy for their desk or bookshelf or as an annual gift giving thing, as many relatives often get in the habit of. For example, I bought my 20 yr old cousin an Alien Isolation "Stompy" Xeno a while back for under $25. No way I could drop several hundred dollars for some figure she might appreciate (until I told her the price). That's a car payment and groceries for a week and a half.

If you can afford all of your responsibilities in your life, and you have lots of disposable income, then go for the HT figures. However, NECA will always be cheaper and and their Alien and Predator lines will continue to grow and deepen. Long term, they will have more characters than HT's ever will.

BTW, just watched a video review of the Grid Alien from HT's... for being "movie accurate" I don't seem to recall Grid (or any AVP Xenos) having the 5th dorsal spine like Big Chap. Also, the tail isn't cut off but the head has the net pattern...

[georgeromero]

I wouldn't consider Hot Toys that expensive, there are companies out there who's statues cost more than $900. They are perfect alright? But in order to collect them one would have to join mexican cartel or kidney business. Seriously though, most sites like Sideshow offer a payment plan. That's a remedy for broke ass collectioners like me.

[426Buddy]

Not much of a debate here, 20-30 bucks as apposed to 200-300? HT would have to be at least 10 times better to make the price worth it.

20 bucks is a crazy good deal considering the quality.

[georgeromero]

Not much of a debate here, 20-30 bucks as apposed to 200-300? HT would have to be at least 10 times better to make the price worth it.

20 bucks is a crazy good deal considering the quality.

You miss the point. That's just like saying Ford is better than Ferrari cause Ferrari is too expensive, right?

[Vark_]

Hardly, we're talking collectible toys here, idle pieces of plastic for collectors, there is not much engineering techniques / reliability / performance that enters into consideration, contrary to cars . It's way easier to judge here with a few points : details, materials, displayability, size, price.

Sure HT figures are better than NECA's in many ways (details / accessories / clothing), still I think personnaly that NECA does better for the headsculpts considering the size of their figures. But we're also talking price here for the final cut.
So my opinion stands, overall HT can't beat NECA on the quality / size / price ratio. But that's just my opinion

[georgeromero]

Believe me, there are cars pricier than others and it has nothing to do with engineering or performance. GT-R performs better and is much cheaper than 458. Tell me why people pay more and buy a Ferrari when they can get a Nissan for half the price?

I own a Challenger, I know there are faster and cheaper cars with better interior and cheaper maintenance. So why did I buy it instead?

Idle or not there will always be premium stuff. Sometimes it has nothing to do with quality. Quality and sculpt-wise there are inferior companies out there whose products are much more expensive compared to Neca.

I do agree with you on Neca being better at price. About their head sculpts, I am naming a few examples like Batfleck, Superman, Iron-man and etc. You telling me they have better head sculpts than HT?

Also Neca figures break a lot. That's what you get - fragile figures. I support more than one company maybe that's why I am not biased like others.

[Vark_]

I get your point, but as hard as I try I still can't figure out how toys can be compared to useful things like cars (maybe a cultural difference since I'm french and absolutely not keen on cars, hence it can be an endless debate ).


However, I may not have expressed myself entirely accurately in my previous posts, so I will rephrase : my point on HT former Alien / Aliens figures (I only know these ones so I won't be judging anything else here from HT) is that I can't consider them as "premium" figures.
Considering the fact that a friend of mine (one of the biggest Alien collectors in France) had broken limbs issues on every HT xenomorph she owned (I have a better ratio on my NECA stuff), cracks on the ageing rubber of her HT Big Chap and Dog Alien, and that some of the likenesses (USCM Marines, former Ripleys, Kane) were off, it' undeniable that these HT were / are not worth the price compared to NECA stuff, yet these old figures are still sold as "highly collectible" in used or mint condition between 200 and 500$ on the market today !
My previous statementt applied on NECA too : I was only talking about their 7" Alien(s) line here (those I own).


That being said, as of today, no doubt HT will make better and worthier figures (I've seen a few pics of their next Ripley to come and some Marvel / SW characters, and they do look gorgeous). Still I don't consider rubber as a durable choice for action figures.
All in all, Burkewhimp's question was a bit biaised in the first place, for I think it's hard to compare expensive / huge figures like HT's and cheap / smaller ones like NECA's, they're not in the same class, so it can lead to another endless debate !
But in the end, when it comes to the price, which is somehow the most important factor for at least 90% of the collectors around, I find NECA a better deal (even if the QC control is poor from time to time, I have to agree).

[PRJ_since1990]

Out of the 100 or so NECA figures I own, I have only 3 that have been defective out of box and one the broke when it fell off the shelf. That one was the power loader. A heavy figure, the arm snapped at the joint. A little super glue and it's back in business. Perhaps I just have better luck with purchasing figures but it's a crap shoot anyways.

I really don't understand the whole "QC" issue NECA has. Are we talking about the Series 1 Predators from 2010? Are we speaking of the older figures or the newer figures? It seems like every time someone brings up a case of QC, bad paint application or a broken limb, 19 other people come out of the woodwork and share their similar story. Yes the earlier ones were really hit or miss, but as they have changed molds and added more articulation, there have improved their products. 

Honestly, I am a NECA collector for 2 good reasons: Cost and Variety. McFarlane is crap compared to NECA and HT & Sideshow are ridiculously expensive. If you are well off, then maybe dropping hundreds of dollars on a toy is a drop in the bucket to you. That's fine. But don't belittle the rest of us who enjoy the hobby and don't find the same value in your items as we do in ours. That's all.

Far as I'm concerned, this thread is too polarized to continue posting in. NECA vs HT...Whoever wins, we lose.

[windebieste]

I own about 2 dozen NECA figures.  I don't own a single Hot Toys item.  I really like what NECA are doing, serving a mass market with affordable product that's reasonably accurately sculpted and finished to a satisfactory degree.  I understand they aren't perfect.  I've only had quality issues on a single item.  The reason I'm not fussed about it as I treat these action figures for what they are - glorified toys. 

Once you start getting into the Hot Toys price range, you're looking a much different market entirely.  People purchasing those are going to want to keep their trophies clean, unblemished and in their packaging.   What's more, I am not the only person who likes to purchase multiple copies of items so I can keep one opened and another in its original packaging. 

I do this simply because both display well together and NECA are ideal to be able to achieve this within reasonable price range (even in Australia) with their long running 7" range of figures.    Hot Toys by nature of its pricing precludes any option for me to do this at all and when the NECA stuff looks great (for the most part) I'm happy sticking with what they have to offer.

I totally understand they both serve collectible markets in their own and very different ways but I can't afford to buy everything, let alone have multiple samples of them all...  lol.   Just some of them.

I love you Stompy.  One loose and one in its package displays real well together. 
NECA are ideal for this kind of arrangement.

In the end, both NECA and Hot Toys are servicing different ends of the Collector spectrum.  NECA's affordability and decent quality is at one end while Hot Toys superior quality at higher cost sits at the other.  They both have their place and it's entirely up to individuals and their means to decide what's appropriate for them.

-Windebieste.