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And the quality of a $170 Takara CG figure is nowhere even close to a $170 Hot Toys figure. Paint apps, construction, clothing materials, stitching - you name it and HT does it better.

I have to disagree. I'll stack my Cool Girls up against any of the HT females I have, Machiko, Elizabeth Swann, the USMC chick, and Ripley and Vasquez, any day of the week and imho the CGs easily top the lot of them as far as quality goes. Some of it may be style issues--I happen to hate molded on hair and I prefer the cosplay aspect of the CGs to the movie aspect of the HT girls. As for paint ops and construction, for me, there is no comparison. The CG headsculpts and paint ops are soft and feminine--the HT ones are harsher and less forgiving--but that's a personal preference. Nor is there any comparison when it comes to posability or articulation--imo the CG body rules. I would rate both companies equal as far as outfit material, and fit--both could use improvement. Same goes for accessories... In my experience HT has a problem with top stiching--Takara/Tomy not so much. That said if you are comparing CGs to HT males, the guys definately provide more bang for the buck...

Ah, but there's some major differences there, Cheri... HT is doing a lot of figures from big name movies with hefty licensing fees - Aliens, Predator, Terminator, Iron Man, Batman, etc. Takara is doing much smaller licenses (I don't even know what Yatterman Djorno is supposed to be...presumably some cheesy live-action anime).

As for the differences in licensing costs, I really have no idea what any of the companies pay. I would imagine some licenses may be pricier than others but, again, I am just guessing. I don't know how popular the anime/movie properties the CGs are based on is in the Asian market (or what that means as far as licensing fees go) but I suspect it is high--otherwise, I don't see why Tomy would bother producing the figures. In any case, the thing I was attempting to point out is that a lot of companies that go to the trouble of acquiring a license are most likely aiming for a particular market niche and will most likely charge whatever the niche tends to support--that's just business--warranted or not. I am in no way defending or supporting the price of the figures--just commenting on why I think the price has jumped in the last few years. Since these figures tend to sell out at the established price point and are highly sought after in their intended market, there doesn't appear to be any incentive to lower the prices--especially when you see the prices most of them fetch in the secondary market--just goes up and up. It sucks, and like I said before, I'd love to see the prices come down but wishing doesn't make it so. I don't believe western market concerns or wants come into play at all. If Takara or now Takara/Tomy was interested in the european and north american markets wouldn't they have found a new distributor to replace BBI? Sadly it seems like Takara made the decision to abandon the western market when they desolved their relationship with BBI and Tomy is following suit. As for the $40 CG, that disappeared before Tomy entered the picture. Luna for one example and all of the Japannese market CGs sold well above that price point when released. Even the alternative figures were closer to the $90-$100 price point...

Concerning the price, for Dissectionz it's a major issue. Advertising it as some basic CG and using a ton of rehashed parts, yet charging an arm and a leg for it? That's way different than the HT truetype and a boxed fig. I'd be pissed if HT decided to make some basic military soldier with just fatigues and a weapon or two, and charging 100+ for it. At least the Truetypes are 30 bucks at most.

I can see that for some people the price will be an issue and I have no problem with that. It's about the same price point as the new HT Secret Service chicks but is a very different type of figure. For me, price isn't an issue considering she appears to come with a 2.0 body and two complete outfit sets. I have no problem with the price considering the cost of purchasing the pieces seperately. A nice catsuit will run $30-40 boot feet around $12-14 a set, plus hands and gear. Seems like the prevailing price if you are into chicks in catsuits. But again, the comparison doesn't seem fair to me--this figure is going to come with two seperate outfits--that's one set more than Cat Woman came with at roughly a similar price point? The TrueType figures come nude without clothing or accessories, right?

However, the creepy eyes may keep me away from this one--reminds me too much of the BJ dolls with the movable eyes and the little blythe dolls--not my cup of tea--at any price. If I get this one, I will mix and match her clothing with the HT gals--seems like a lot of potential in both.

Just look at this thread...a board that grew out of being dedicated to the Cy Girl figures and almost no one wants to buy the upcoming releases?

That is a shame--whether it is due to the prices or just reflects changes in what people like or don't like about the figures being offered. It's also a shame that it seems like the board has less and less room for anyone who still happens to like and appreciate CGs. Maybe that's why there are so few posts from people who plan to get these or other CGs? I know I post less and less in these threads nor do I post pics of the girls when they arrive... my girls and I are very sensitive

Please nobody flush 200$ down the toilet.

I admit to feeling a bit defensive but it seems like anytime a post like this one comes up, the majority of posts are negative and anyone who disagrees or has a differing opinion either gets a little jumped on or riduiculed... In the end, the value of any figure is up to the person who is going to fork out the money, right? So maybe what needs to be flushed is some of the negativity...