Post by EisCelsius on May 8, 2014 12:44:46 GMT -6
First of all, it goes without saying that this rambling is by no means scientific fact and is simply the opinion of a fan/collector/consumer; as most such writings are.
I must admit, I put off HG collecting for a long time as I was hesitant to delve into such an expansive collection. Reasons being, many of the figures have multiple paint/color scheme versions and some of the sets and individual figures can be expensive.
I acquired my first HG figure back in Feb. of this year. It was Cyborg Frieza which I won from a newer seller for just a few bucks. When it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised with the figure's sculpt/detail and the colors (especially the translucent purple plates on the chest and shoulder). I was also a big fan of the little clear/frosted support bases which are molded to fit the figure.
Still yet, I was hesitant to dive headfirst into the world of HGs. Fast forward a few months and I found myself buying my first full set; the SP Frieza's Attack Edition. Featuring Frieza, Zarbon, Dodoria, Cui, Vegeta and Super Saiyan Goku; I also bought a single figure, Transformed Zarbon. I found myself falling a little further for HGs.
After that, I received an HG Nappa as part of a trade with fellow forum member M5; and I was impressed with the figure's size and heft. It was then I really starting combing through page after page of HGs on Ebay as well as almost constantly sourcing the visual guide right here on the forum. Soon after, I bought several HGs from our very own member/mod Caps. When the HGs arrived (including characters such as all three forms of Cooler, both forms of Android 13, Android 15, Nail and Piccolo), that was it. I was fully sucked into the world of HGs.
Not too long later, I sold a few of my MOTUC figures to brianstoys.com for a respectable sum and promptly spent half of it entirely on HGs; both sets and singles. With over sixty new figures coming, I simply couldn't wait to get my hands on them, tear them free from their plastic bags, assemble them, snap on their display stands and admire their qualities; which brings me to why I'm writing this this mess in the first place. I'm still waiting on a couple of HGs to arrive and I am by no means an expert or authority on HGs, far from it, but now that I own nearly eighty of them, I figured I was adept enough to form and share my own opinion and thoughts.
All in all, I give the HG line 4.5 out of 5 stars; to put a rating on it.
The positive - diverse character selection (this can be a double-edged sword; depending on if you just want a few HGs or are a completist), fantastic detail, bright, catchy coloring, great size (they take up little room, you can typically bunch them together in not much space) and a great deal of them are inexpensive; depending on the character or version of character you're looking for.
The negative - again, character selection. Some characters are just plain missing. I love Cyborg Frieza, but where's King Cold to go with him? Gogeta looks great, but would be better with a Janemba to square off against. Mr. Popo is fine, but would have been better with Kami. Nice to have Cooler's Armored Squadron, but where's Turles's Crusher Corps? Where's Lord Slug, Bojack or any of their respective minions? Some of Frieza's and King Cold's goons would have been nice, especially the ones that received no love in the Freeza Force line such as Orlen, Frog-Face and Iru. Where's Saiyan Saga Yamcha? Where's Princess Snake, Goz and Mez? We've got a Ginyu Frog, would it have been so hard to sculpt a little Gregory to sit on King Kai's shoulder or something? The fact that we have both versions of Android 13 and an Android 15 but no Android 14 is just plain stupid. To me, that's almost just as bad as the Ginyu Force without Burter or somone. I could also mention guys like King Vegeta, Bardock's crew, Ox King, Tao Pai Pai; so on and so forth. In a line so diverse and wide, it's a little irksome that we have 20+ versions and/or poses of Goku with so many supporting characters left out. Yeah, I know, Goku's not only a major hitter but a focal point; I'm using him simply for an example, but in a line that's given us characters like Dende, the Tournament Announcer and even a couple sets worth of GT characters; I feel there's little excuse to have left out the characters I mentioned, or at least most of them. Again, this is all purely subjective to opinion.
Speaking of opinion, I'll list a couple of more gripes/negatives which do not reflect upon the HG line whatsoever and are instead subject to my own experience. First of all, the prices on some of these figures is insane. Single figures I've seen go from $23 on up to over $100 (Doore and Neiz, for examples). The line is not to blame for this but rather supply, demand and sellers. I mean, I could get Figuarts Frieza and Cell for less than I've seen HG Neiz listed for on his own. Hopefully this will change soon.
Secondly, it may just be me, but I've had a bit of difficulty getting a couple of my HGs to stand, even with their support bases. Android 16 likes nothing more than to topple over (usually sending Androids 17 and 18 flying as well), Jeice will fall at the slightest opportunity and Piccolo in the Special Beam Cannon pose will only stand if he's slightly leaning against another figure. But again, these last two complaints are based upon my own personal experience and not reflective of the HG line itself.
This writing was not meant to sway, anger or insult any one or their beliefs on HG and the collecting of it; simply a new fan sharing his insights, opinions and thoughts.
What do you other HG collectors think and feel?
I must admit, I put off HG collecting for a long time as I was hesitant to delve into such an expansive collection. Reasons being, many of the figures have multiple paint/color scheme versions and some of the sets and individual figures can be expensive.
I acquired my first HG figure back in Feb. of this year. It was Cyborg Frieza which I won from a newer seller for just a few bucks. When it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised with the figure's sculpt/detail and the colors (especially the translucent purple plates on the chest and shoulder). I was also a big fan of the little clear/frosted support bases which are molded to fit the figure.
Still yet, I was hesitant to dive headfirst into the world of HGs. Fast forward a few months and I found myself buying my first full set; the SP Frieza's Attack Edition. Featuring Frieza, Zarbon, Dodoria, Cui, Vegeta and Super Saiyan Goku; I also bought a single figure, Transformed Zarbon. I found myself falling a little further for HGs.
After that, I received an HG Nappa as part of a trade with fellow forum member M5; and I was impressed with the figure's size and heft. It was then I really starting combing through page after page of HGs on Ebay as well as almost constantly sourcing the visual guide right here on the forum. Soon after, I bought several HGs from our very own member/mod Caps. When the HGs arrived (including characters such as all three forms of Cooler, both forms of Android 13, Android 15, Nail and Piccolo), that was it. I was fully sucked into the world of HGs.
Not too long later, I sold a few of my MOTUC figures to brianstoys.com for a respectable sum and promptly spent half of it entirely on HGs; both sets and singles. With over sixty new figures coming, I simply couldn't wait to get my hands on them, tear them free from their plastic bags, assemble them, snap on their display stands and admire their qualities; which brings me to why I'm writing this this mess in the first place. I'm still waiting on a couple of HGs to arrive and I am by no means an expert or authority on HGs, far from it, but now that I own nearly eighty of them, I figured I was adept enough to form and share my own opinion and thoughts.
All in all, I give the HG line 4.5 out of 5 stars; to put a rating on it.
The positive - diverse character selection (this can be a double-edged sword; depending on if you just want a few HGs or are a completist), fantastic detail, bright, catchy coloring, great size (they take up little room, you can typically bunch them together in not much space) and a great deal of them are inexpensive; depending on the character or version of character you're looking for.
The negative - again, character selection. Some characters are just plain missing. I love Cyborg Frieza, but where's King Cold to go with him? Gogeta looks great, but would be better with a Janemba to square off against. Mr. Popo is fine, but would have been better with Kami. Nice to have Cooler's Armored Squadron, but where's Turles's Crusher Corps? Where's Lord Slug, Bojack or any of their respective minions? Some of Frieza's and King Cold's goons would have been nice, especially the ones that received no love in the Freeza Force line such as Orlen, Frog-Face and Iru. Where's Saiyan Saga Yamcha? Where's Princess Snake, Goz and Mez? We've got a Ginyu Frog, would it have been so hard to sculpt a little Gregory to sit on King Kai's shoulder or something? The fact that we have both versions of Android 13 and an Android 15 but no Android 14 is just plain stupid. To me, that's almost just as bad as the Ginyu Force without Burter or somone. I could also mention guys like King Vegeta, Bardock's crew, Ox King, Tao Pai Pai; so on and so forth. In a line so diverse and wide, it's a little irksome that we have 20+ versions and/or poses of Goku with so many supporting characters left out. Yeah, I know, Goku's not only a major hitter but a focal point; I'm using him simply for an example, but in a line that's given us characters like Dende, the Tournament Announcer and even a couple sets worth of GT characters; I feel there's little excuse to have left out the characters I mentioned, or at least most of them. Again, this is all purely subjective to opinion.
Speaking of opinion, I'll list a couple of more gripes/negatives which do not reflect upon the HG line whatsoever and are instead subject to my own experience. First of all, the prices on some of these figures is insane. Single figures I've seen go from $23 on up to over $100 (Doore and Neiz, for examples). The line is not to blame for this but rather supply, demand and sellers. I mean, I could get Figuarts Frieza and Cell for less than I've seen HG Neiz listed for on his own. Hopefully this will change soon.
Secondly, it may just be me, but I've had a bit of difficulty getting a couple of my HGs to stand, even with their support bases. Android 16 likes nothing more than to topple over (usually sending Androids 17 and 18 flying as well), Jeice will fall at the slightest opportunity and Piccolo in the Special Beam Cannon pose will only stand if he's slightly leaning against another figure. But again, these last two complaints are based upon my own personal experience and not reflective of the HG line itself.
This writing was not meant to sway, anger or insult any one or their beliefs on HG and the collecting of it; simply a new fan sharing his insights, opinions and thoughts.
What do you other HG collectors think and feel?
