Why do toy companies keep making "battle damaged" figures?

[Almighty Unicron]

No, you read the topic creator right: this isn't Tigermegatron having one of his autistic manchild rants. I was typing up a book proposal late last night and for some reason I kept staring at one of the Pacific Rim figures I got for Christmas, a "battle damaged" Jipsy Danger. And I said aloud, "this looks like it's covered in shit".

Are there fans who legitimately want their toys to come shit encrusted in the package? I get that it's a cheap remold, but even a remold has to be more expensive than a repaint. If a fan really wants a battle damaged toy, can't they just barbecue it for a few seconds? They're almost always shelfwarmers, too, and the only times I've ever bought battle damaged toys was because the original, normal version wasn't available (I'm looking at you, TFA Prime).

I just... I don't get the economic logic behind it. Can someone please help me explain this?

[Shockwave]

In my experience it's usually just to recreate a specific scene the character/toy was in. For example, Playmates made a Generations "Battle Damaged" Enterprise D to look like it did when it was damaged in the movie. Personally, I prefer the regular versions myself as well.

Also, I have two copies of the Motion Picture Enterprise ornament from Hallmark. One of them got messed up a little when I was trying to figure out how to take it apart so I just went all the way with it and custom made a "Wrath of Kahn" one with a hobby drill.

[Sparky Prime]

Normally, I'm not a fan of battle damage figures. I like my action figures to look ready for battle, not having already been through one. Although I have to say I can see how they can appeal to collectors who want to recreate battle scenes, with out making a custom figure themselves. And there are some battle damaged figures I think look pretty cool. A few years ago, Bandai had a line of Gundam's that was entirely "Battle Ravaged" figures. There were a few I thought was kind of a waste because they were missing arms and legs. Who wants an action figure missing some major parts like that? But I actually did get the God/Burning Gundam from that line. I just thought it looked really cool. I have a battle damaged Jazz figure as well, although I mostly wanted that version because of the weapon it came with to use with my other Jazz figure...

[andersonh1]

It's probably like repaints, it's a cheaper way to get more mileage out of a figure.

[Tigermegatron]

No, you read the topic creator right: this isn't Tigermegatron having one of his autistic manchild rants.

I refuse to give you the reply you crave. this reply has been reported to the owner & moderator here.

[Almighty Unicron]

No, you read the topic creator right: this isn't Tigermegatron having one of his autistic manchild rants.

I refuse to give you the reply you crave. this reply has been reported to the owner & moderator here.

Buddy, I blew Jeditricks behind a dumpster last weekend. He's in my pocket. I control the forum now.

[JediTricks]

Don't be a jerk.

There, problem solved forever.

What? This just keeps happening over and over and over with no resolution in sight because nobody can be a goddamned grownup?

Oh.

Well, I was going to just delete the offending text, but since someone quoted it, I guess, just, you know, fuck it.

Thanks a bunch for acting like children, as usual.

[Dominic]

*makes fart noise on arm*

Are there fans who legitimately want their toys to come shit encrusted in the package? I get that it's a cheap remold, but even a remold has to be more expensive than a repaint. If a fan really wants a battle damaged toy, can't they just barbecue it for a few seconds? They're almost always shelfwarmers, too, and the only times I've ever bought battle damaged toys was because the original, normal version wasn't available (I'm looking at you, TFA Prime).

Shit encrusted toys?

Okay....okay.....gotta step back. Sorry. But, ya know, poop is funny.


Okay, seriously now, the reasons described above largely explain it. Battle-damaged figures are a good way to get some extra mileage out of existing tooling. And, the battle damaged figures typically evoke a specific scene from a movie or comic or whatever. Said scene is probably memorable and involves a main character. (Toys of main characters sell.)

Before I purged my "Star Wars" collection, one of my core Vader figures was the one with a removable mask and hand, referencing the end of Episode 6. Less specifically, I have a battle damaged Android Trooper because it just looks good.

Customizing battle damage is iffy.

Even putting aside the fact that some fans are lazy and untalanted, some types of customizing are simply not practical for some fans.

A few years ago, Bandai had a line of Gundam's that was entirely "Battle Ravaged" figures.

These were a good example of what I am talking about.

There is a huge difference between painting a figure to look dirtied up and remoulding a figure to look damaged. Adding "dirt" is one thing. But, duplicating various types of other damage is more difficult. The "Gundam" figures that Sparky mentioned had new moudling that most people simply could not produce. Moulding requires skill and resources. The skills can be cultivated over time...if you have the resources. Most people do not have the resources to do/learn moulding correctly.

The Battle Adroid Trooper I mentioned above is another good example. I could have made a cracked chest plate for a custom damaged trooper. But, it would not have looked as good as Hasbro's. There is simply no way I could have made the damaged head, with the clearly moulded greebles, that the Hasbro produced figure has.

[Almighty Unicron]

If battle damaged figures are meant to stretch an existing mold, then why add new molding? If a toy company had a choice between a new toy with custom molded battle damage, and a straight up repaint (I know I keep mentioning that the Unicron trilogy was my "heyday" of TF collecting, but I'm pretty sure all those toys were produced factoring the "powerlinx" style repaint into the cost of tooling), wouldn't the repaint be cheaper?

[Dominic]

Battle damage figures typically use some old moudling. Think of them as being retools of existing figures that reference specific parts of a movie or comic or game or whatever.