Good day friends!
Yesterday I popped up a write up about some rare collectibles that can prove challenging for collectors to snag if one were so inclined. You can find that backstory here if interested:
Assuming you checked that out, I’ll just jump right into things…
Dynamic Forces Earth X Iron Man 2020 Mini Bust
This is one of the last pieces that Dynamic Forces released in their Earth X line of mini busts. Based on the art of Alex Ross from the popular miniseries, this line is generally considered "cool but overall worthless." All of the early pieces in the line had production numbers in the thousands, meaning there are lots of them floating around for relatively cheap—think $20 cheap. All except for the last couple of releases in the line, which included Black Bolt and Iron Man 2020.
For those final pieces, they drastically cut the edition sizes. From several thousand each to just several hundred. That's right! There are only 500 of these Iron Man 2020s on this lovely planet, and the sad part is that a large portion of them are damaged. That's because this piece was electroplated to give it a super shiny and stunning finish. The problem with that is the finish is very sensitive to light and temperature over time, leading to it cracking and flaking off throughout the years.
If you're in the market for one of these shiny beauties at present, you won't find any active sales anywhere online. It's also a piece you won't find in shops... except mine. 😉 On the off chance you do stumble upon one, and the owner knows what they have, expect to fork over several hundred bucks. To be honest, this should command a higher price based on all the points mentioned above, but this line is kind of forgotten.
Square Enix Final Fantasy XII Artifacts Judge Master Gabranth Helmet
Talk about a conversation piece!!! This 1:1 scale prop replica from Final Fantasy XII takes Master Gabranth's helmet and recreates it so it can sit atop your bookshelf. Sadly, you cannot wear it as its interior simply isn't roomy enough unless you are Bob from Beetlejuice. Complete with a stand it rests on and a plaque depicting what it is, this monster replica is a stunning addition to any collection.
Too bad you can't purchase one even if you wanted to, as once again, the market is completely bare on this. No recent sales alongside nada currently available. Upon release 16 years ago, it would have cost you a cool thousand bucks... today?!? Who the hell knows!!! I think the last one I saw pop up on eBay about 5 years back went for just over $2500. When folks at my shop inquire about the price, I usually start off at $3500. With stuff like this... ya go fishing.
Bowen Designs Collectors Club Exclusive Marvel Eternity Mini Bust
This Mini Bust isn't so mini. It's actually a gigantic piece that's a stunner to look at. It's a rather large bust based off of Marvel's Eternity, packing a tremendously low edition size at only 350 pieces. Counterparts being produced around the same time often had their runs balloon up to several thousand a pop. Add to it that you had to be a member of Bowen's fancy & elite Collector’s Club to even be in the conversation to score one, and you have a perfect storm brewing to give collectors nightmares as they attempt to hunt this sucker down.
I believe the initial price, if you were lucky enough to be qualified to buy one direct, was $250. That seems like chump change as the last one of these I saw trade hands was for around $1500, and that was probably about 2 years back. As with the previous two entries… good luck tracking one down. Zilch as far as both current and recent sales. With rare Bowen pieces performing well and holding or even raising in value as the years tick by, I'd expect this to fetch over $2000 if one were to rear its handsome face.
Sideshow Collectibles Life Size Star Wars Salacious Crumb Statue
Remember that little shitty gremlin rat dude hovering around Jabba's Palace? Well, you can own a life-sized replica sitting atop a cushion… just what every collector needs, right?!? Legendary design house Sideshow Collectibles popped this bad boy out almost 20 years ago at this point. Initial retail was under $500, which is a steal considering the size of this and looking at what this would retail for nowadays.
At only 600 pieces produced, there aren't a lot of these floating out there in the wild these days. To be honest, those looking to snag one in recent years would have turned up a big goose egg, but much to my surprise, there's actually a couple up on eBay at present, and even a recent sale to give a better idea of its worth.
Currently, you have your pick of the litter between two active sales on eBay. The unfortunate news is that both sellers are asking $4500!!! There's been two recent sales as I mentioned above. One at $4100 and another at just over a grand! Wow!!! Oh wait, that's a broken one. Yup, yup... seems there are some breaks in the tail on that, and for any statue collector... that's kinda the kiss of death. It's like water damage on a comic book. Regardless, safe to say that this is worth around $4000 at present, and those in the market at least have some options for a change.
NECA Life Size Mohawk Gremlins Statue
You may remember this creature from the Gremlins flick. This sucker is fairly massive, standing at about 2 1/2 ft. tall, and is a heavy son of a bitch as well. Limited to just 575 pieces worldwide, this rarely pops up on the open market for sale… except for literally right now.
There's a few listed on eBay currently, but do not be fooled, as NECA decided to make two versions of this. One life size, and one... well... slightly smaller but still pretty damn large & in charge. 🤷♂️
Released about 20 years ago at this point, most of these are in hardcore collectors' hands and not moving anytime soon. That's why I was once again surprised to see a few available on the ol' bay. Asking prices seem to range between $1500-$5000, but most have some sort of breaks or cracks, so ya really gotta read the description. I've been quoting folks $2000 for a bit as mine also has a hairline crack in its left shoulder. Minor... but still there.
Gentle Giant Star Wars Republic Commandos Faux Bronze Maquette
Ok... hear me out. I would NOT have included this in my post yesterday if I would have done the 2 seconds of research prior. That's because there's one of these currently up on eBay as we speak for an unbelievably low price of $440... or best offer!!! Holy crap!
There hasn't been one available for a couple of years, and all of a sudden, some dipshit pops it up for a low price at a time when SW is kinda in the toilets. 🤷♂️ Eh, what can ya do?!?
This piece was released 20 years back and was available through the now-defunct StarWarsShop.com. Two versions were made... a pretty colored version and the dookie-looking Faux Bronze. The latter being the much more rare piece at only 400 created.
I'm a bit bummed to see this one with literally no desirability at present, so I'm just going to end this writeup now and sob. Out of the over 1300 statues and busts on display at my shop... these are just 6 pieces, so there's plenty of other cool pieces to show off and share with you all. If anyone enjoyed this drivel at all, lmk in the comments, and I'll continue to churn out nonsense like this in the future.
As always, much appreciated that you took a few moments out of your day to go down some nerdy rabbit holes together. Until next time!
Blewitt
I guess there are some rich completists out there who will pay top dollar for these things. The makers must feel a bit put out that the prices can ramp up after they sell them, but then they are aiming at the collectors.
The nearest I have are the 3d printed characters from the comic by @katharsisdrill, but I'm not selling.
Yeah, definitely a double edge sword.
In the past several years we’ve seen some of these design houses raise prices massively. Sone say it’s just the cost of doing business and that costs have gone up all around which is true to some degree. But a part of me thinks exactly as you mentioned. These studios see people paying big bucks on the aftermarket and think “we want some of that”…
I noticed that Gabranth helmet in your last post, and wondered what it fetched on the market. FFXII was the swan song for Final Fantasy on PS2 hardware, and I have fond memories of playing it a lot, but I don't think it has the same nostalgia factor of Nintendo and PS1 entries in the series.
Funny, my wife & I were just talking yesterday about how much an impact Nintendo had. Like, every kid had one. People traded games like crazy. Fun times for sure.
Yeah that helmet is pretty pricy these days. We also have a 1/4 scale stature of Gabranth in the shop as well!
1300? Your shop must be massive! Can we get a pic of the shop layout?
I’ll snap some pics today!
I found it interesting art. Have a great day:)
Thanks! Me as well. Lol