Acquisition Monday!

This is one of those items – a perfect example – of a good idea with the wrong price point.  We should discuss the history of these pieces before getting into how I finally ended up getting one of these.  The beginning of these run of statues starts in the 1940’s when Pillsbury Mills offered up 12 statues (usually called Syrocos) for $.25 and some proof that you were eating their cereals.  They stopped making these little figurines in the 50’s  – as you know the Hulk was created in 1962 – so there was no chance for them to create the Hulk.

Fast forward half a century and Yoe! Productions have created new pieces for Dark Horse based on comic properties to look much in the vain of the original pieces.  While this is a brilliant turn it also has made it also made an interesting problem for Dark Horse.  The retail on these beautiful, unique yet intentionally rough sculpted figures are no match for today’s amazing pieces.  Dark Horse presented these figures in these fantastic color tins complete with a small brochure and a classic pin.

The issue comes up with the prices on these.  This Dark Horse Classic Marvel Character #2 Grey Hulk (679/1000 – 2011, $49.99)  retails these pieces for $50.  That is still a lot of money to some people and most collectors – seeking the most bang for their buck – thought these were too crudely sculpted, painted and too small to purchase for that price.  Especially with 1000 made.  Personally, I liked the way these looked – but I was also in the camp where I thought they were asking WAY too much.

If you do a quick search on eBay you will see that most of the older Syroco figures go for about $50 – so that may be where Dark Horse came up with that number.  Now, do another quick search on eBay for completed sales on this figure and you will see that most go in the $25-$35 range.  I had said to myself when I first saw them that $30 was a more reasonable price – that I would easily have picked this up for that amount of money – although $20 and I might have bought 2!

So, how did I end up finally grabbing one of these?  Easy, patience.  A local LCS had quite a few of these and unloaded a bit of them early on – but then most of them just sat… and sat.  I waited – even past most eBay sales because when you factor in shipping you are paying close to $40-$50 anyways – until the LCS finally lowered the price.  Then I haggled even more.  I was able to walk out of the store with this piece for a very discounted price.  I agree on all counts on why most collectors have shied away from buying this – like I mentioned before – the sculpt and paint – but those are the reasons I also like this one.  I am aware of the SDCC green version of this – which I may end up picking up down the road – but overall, this is a nice addition to the collection.