From Hot Toys to Mezco: The Evolution of a Collector Part 1

As of May 2018 I have officially joined the Mezco hype Train!

Many listeners of The Confirmed Epic Podcast are fairly familiar with my collecting history since the podcast started in 2013.  While I have always been consistent with my collecting of Mondo posters, inconsistency has plagued my action figure collecting through out the past several years.  

Once an avid collector of Hot Toys I then moved on to the more affordable, but less satisfying Marvel Legends.  I could not seem to find something to fill the 1/6 scale void left in my heart from hot toys, while not leaving another void in my wallet.  That's when our good pal Jerry 'Barbecue17' Reed introduced me Mezco to One:12.

Find out more about my personal collecting journey after the break...


First off let's get the obvious issue of why I left Hot Toys

behind out of the way: PRICE.  From when I started

collecting Hot Toys in 2013 until today the prices have skyrocketed.  For example I paid $210 for my first hot toy (The Dark Knight Two-Face), now a base figure runs anywhere for $250 to $267.  While Iron Man figures cost upwards of $350 due to their die-cast only offerings.  

Could I have afforded this? Sure, with sideshowtoy.com payment plans posing the risks of losing non-refundable deposits.  You also have to consider the monthly payment commitment for an action figure high end or not.  As you get older with a mortgage, multiple car payments, a wife, and a newborn the it becomes more about choosing wisely what you spend your disposable income on, more than it is how much you are willing to spend.

The Hot Toys Iron Man Mark 42 Die-Cast began the pricing inflation of the popular Chinese based collecting company!

After selling off my original collection of Hot Toys to pay for a trip to the 2016 NFC Championship Game (Arizona Cardinals Vs. Carolina Panthers), and a down payment on a home.  I then looked get into action figure collecting once I was a little more settled financially. This is when after receiving my first modern Marvel Legend, which was a movie version Black Panther, as a Gift from my wife: Abby for my 31st b-day a new addiction/fad was born.

To be continued in Part 2!