REMINDERS

• Crash Bandicoot™ (Resin) is still open for pre-orders until 6 April 2018 and will return for its Last Chance Weekend from 20-23 April 2018.
• Last Chance Weekend for Alucard is now open from 30 March – 2 April 2018. Please note that ALL VARIANTS are available for pre-order during this time.
• CONFIRMED – If everything goes smoothly, Berserk's GUTS will go live for pre-orders next Friday, 6 April 2018!
• First 4 Figures’ office will be closed for the holidays from 30 March – 2 April 2018 HKT. Customer Service will reply back to your e-mails and concerns on 3 April 2018 HKT.

WEEK IN REVIEW

• The Official Collectors Club has reached 41,000 members; one step closer to the 50k Reveal! Thank you so much for all your support!
• Mini Chocks went on an adventure inside the F4F office doing all sorts of weird things while Alex was away.

• Shoutout to the folks over at Activision for supporting F4F's recent Crash Bandicoot™ product launch by posting this news on their social media pages. Thank you for the support!
• Because winning the awards during the Golden Collector Awards 2017 was a group effort, First 4 Figures has decided to give away one of the three gold coins to a lucky winner, and the winner will get to choose whether or not he or she would like Alex and Chockles to sign their award. (One Gold Doubloon Could Be Yours)

PRODUCTION VIDEO EXCLUSIVES

(NOTE: You need to be a member of the Official Collectors Club to view these videos.)

• SOLAIRE OF ASTORA – base brushing
• Alex should have some Varia Suit videos by next week.

FIRST 4 FIGURES' TEMPTATION THURSDAYS (TT) POLL

• Last week’s VF-1 Valkyrie (Fighter Mode) from the Robotech series TT Poll #94 Results: 42 YES votes / 164 NO votes.
• This week’s Isaac from the Golden Sun series TT Poll #95 Results: 110 YES votes / 116 NO votes.

• Next TT polls will be (in this order): SPLATOON ➔ STEINS;GATE ➔ SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI
• The four winners of last week’s #F4FCRASHING are MATTHEW NAGEL, CHRISTINA MAGUIRE, MARTIN HERNIK, and GEORGIA MARTIN.
• This week's hashtag is #F4FINK.
• The official TT poll for Attack on Titan will be on 26 April 2018.
• F4F could potentially post a TT poll of a license that isn't a game or an anime if they think it will do well.
• Alex is actually pretty impressed with the results of the Dead Space TT.
• A Samurai Champloo TT poll is possible once Mugen is out on the market.

VARIOUS CHARACTER & PRODUCT LINE UPDATES

• MARIO ON YOSHI UPDATE: They surpassed their own expectations on the design and quality; Alex is excited for it. The statue won't have the yellow cape; they tried but weren't allowed.
• Alex just finished filming his behind-the-scenes production video for Jin (Tekken).
• JIN (TEKKEN) UPDATE: A bit of backlog but is now in its packaging stage
• MUGEN UPDATE: After Alex's inspection of the initial twenty pieces, some revisions need to be made.
  
• GUTS UPDATE: Hand wraps, teeth, and neck to be reworked in 3-D rendering for better accuracy; possible color variants in the future but no guarantees
• BERSERKER ARMOR UPDATE: Deep in 3-D development stage and design is next level
• Alex has specific plans for the Shadow Fighter Kirby variant.
• RIDER LINK UPDATE: 3-D printing stage next week
• It may seem like Alex hinted that one of his "TEE HEE" posts is a Banjo & Kazooie sneak.

• ALPHONSE UPDATE: Alex has one final revision to do, and then the prototype will be sent to Japan for the licensor's approval. The statue's size in terms of number of cans is yet to be determined, but he's big. Pre-orders could possibly go live earlier than the estimated 5-6 months.
• GENOS UPDATE: Will be sent to the licensor in two weeks' time for approval
• TRUE FORM MIDNA UPDATE: If everything goes smoothly, F4F can launch this piece in two to three months' time.
• They are trying to work on another life-size prop statue after the Sheikah Slate.
• Still no progress on the F4F merchandise
• KAMINA UPDATE: Pre-order is still far into the future.
• No plans of changing anything from the Crash (Resin) statue apart from making the acrylic crates thinner.
• Someone with a big Crash Bandicoot™ collection would most likely appreciate the acrylic crates more as an enhancement to their entire collection, as opposed to someone who just has the Crash (Resin) statue.
• In the future, Alex will probably make these crates again but out of resin and will be sold as stand-alone pieces, and these won't likely be limited.
• Alex wants to go further down the Dark Souls line first before announcing anything from the Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III line. The progress is a bit slower than he had hoped.
• Taki's production video coming soon
• BANJO & KAZOOIE UPDATE: There have been revisions, and you will see something in due time. The statue will be bigger and more complicated than F4F's Crash (Resin) statue.
• Alex still needs to discuss with Nintendo what the next Legend of Zelda piece will be after Rider Link.
• So far, Alex is happy with how Crash (Resin) is doing.
• F4F is currently working on acquiring new licenses, and it's exciting for them.
• META RIDLEY UPDATE: Will be bigger than F4F's Link on Loftwing statue
• ZERO UPDATE: If everything goes smoothly, F4F can launch this piece in two to three months' time.
• SOLAIRE OF ASTORA UPDATE: Deep in production
• YAKUZA UPDATE: Alex hasn't revisited this yet. Alex lost the files to the revised 3-D head sculpt but still has references for him to use.
• AIKA UPDATE: Alex still needs to think about what he's going to do about her.
• SOLAIRE OF ASTORA SD UPDATE: Pre-order possibly around the time Dark Souls: Remastered launches, which is on 25 May 2018
• SHEIKAH SLATE UPDATE: About to submit some changes to Nintendo for approval
• The Guts statue forms the perfect Y-shape.
• AMATERASU PVC UPDATE: Just wrapping up in 3-D
• Alex already has a solution for the bending issue in the second batch of Fighter Kirby statues.
• If you didn't know, there already is a 3-D mock-up available on F4F's website of the revised collar for Alucard (Twilight Edition).

• The Great Grey Wolf, Sif shipping issue has been addressed by packing the statue tighter and has been tested by F4F's Transit Test.
• DANTE UPDATE: Currently tweaking the eyes
• PHOENIX WRIGHT UPDATE: "Mr. Wright is all right." – ALEX DAVIS
• F4F has some stuff coming up this year from Capcom.
• Nothing guaranteed, but the next Crash (Resin) statue could potentially be of Crash wearing a Jet Pack.
• BERSERK UPDATE: F4F will do everything from the Berserk license for as long as there's enough support for it. Apart from Guts, Berserker Armor, and Skull Knight, there is one more statue that F4F is working on, but they are not talking about it. It's looking like the first three will possibly have a dynamic base and pose; the fourth one won't but will have a powerful pose.
• There aren't any concrete plans just yet for the Legend of Zelda PVC line. Alex still needs to have a conversation with Nintendo.
• A Royal White Steed Rider Link variant is possible in the future.

OTHER TOPICS

• Alex and Chocks have filmed 27 "Making of" documentaries to date.
• Apart from their usual "Making of" documentaries, hype videos, unboxing videos, etc., what other kinds of videos would you like to see from F4F? Let them know in the comments section below.
• F4F's website will eventually have a designated section for products with in-stock items.
• There's no such thing as a 5-star treatment in Hong Kong restaurants.
• Alex hasn't had a sip of alcohol since 199x.
• Alex and Chocks used to stream their product launches on multiple streaming platforms simultaneously but was ultimately too tedious to do.
• Alex likes his pancakes thin with a little bit of lemon and sugar. He cannot comprehend how some people partner their pancakes with bacon.
• Chocks loves bacon, crumpets, and scones.
• CONFIRMED – The next website feature will be BIRTHDAY F4F REWARD POINTS! It is still yet to be determined when it will go live and how many points will be given out.
• No, birthday sneaks are not possible.
• Chocks has rooms full of boxes from his statue collection. He's quite selective with his pieces but, when he does pursue a line, he tries his best to see it through to the end. This becomes difficult for him to do when multiple variants release.
• Chocks has a hat collection of about 30-40 caps on estimate, and he also collects vinyl records.
• No news on a Spyro PVC line because F4F has already allocated their resources to their current PVC projects. Tooling costs for PVC statues can easily reach USD 50,000.
• It's still complicated with the My Hero Academia license.
• Alex's favorite Legend of Zelda game is Twilight Princess, while Chockles' favorite is A Link to the Past.
• Would you guys be interested in a Phantom Ganondorf on a Horse statue from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? Let Alex know in the comments section below.
• How much are you willing to pay for a Mini Chocks figure? Let Chocks know in the comments section below.
• The Regular version of F4F's statues are always open for pre-order up until production time. Only then will it go into waitlist.
• Chocks got bitten by a monkey once when he was around 18 years old, and he didn't get an injection shot for it because "we're all monkeys deep down anyway," according to Chockles.
• Alex actually hit up a lawyer from Interplay Entertainment regarding the Earthworm Jim license but didn't receive any reply.
  
• Alex will likely have a Mini Alex wearing an F4F shirt made.
• Donkey Kong is still to be confirmed with Nintendo.
• It's been over a year since the last F4F Legend of Zelda statue.
• If your waitlist status for an Exclusive version did not convert, you will not be transferred over to the Regular version waitlist even if there is stock available. You will have to jump on the Regular version waitlist separately, and your Exclusive version deposit will be refunded.
• Ups and downs in First 4 Figures land, but overall working towards a future that Alex is super excited about
• Alex started First 4 Figures back in 2003.
• Alex does not get discouraged when hearing feedback. He does look into people's suggestions, but ultimately, it is still his decision whether or not a change should be made, which will depend on a number of factors.
• Alex envies the freedom of companies that create unlicensed products because they can just make what they want, but not paying the licensors and not going through the official side of things is not good.
• Optimus Prime was the very first SD PVC piece that Alex worked on.
• Alex posted a question in the Club during the live stream regarding referral links. Also, referral links are immediately active during launches.
• The making of other Legend of Zelda masks is just speculation at this point.
• If an F4F product launch or shipment had a related video game release within the same year, Alex would rather launch or ship their product after the game is released to make sure that people love the character.
• For now, there is no limit to how many questions Alex and Chockles are willing to answer during the Friday Q&A live streams; the only limit there is the duration of the stream, which is around three hours.
• If F4F were to create Witcher III merchandise in the very far future, they would maybe start with PVC figures first since this area isn't as well-serviced compared to resin statues.
• Alex's favorite Crash Bandicoot™ stage is the High Road in N. Sanity Beach.
• The Legend of Zelda rallies compete with one another because F4F can't just ask for all these all at once. One has to rise to the top.
• Alex is still on the edge with regards to the Darksiders license. He has had initial conversations with the licensors, but that was a while back.
• Alex thinks that Sea of Thieves will have a lot of things to rally around later on.
• Alex's favorite Berserk character is the one that hits 1,000 pieces.
• Alex isn't a huge fan of shows like South Park, Rick and Morty, etc.
• If you'd like F4F's Banjo & Kazooie statue to make a sound, rally the fans!
• Alex would rather pursue a life-size Varia Suit Helmet instead of a life-size Varia Suit Bust mainly because of the shoulders. The bust would easily go over USD 1,000.
• F4F's Monkey King statue cannot be authenticated. It was a project from one of their very first partnerships, which was with a sculptor that Alex knew for many years. Alex was helping him enter the business.
• Samael from Darksiders would be too big to be in scale with 1/4th scale Horsemen; Samael to be in scale with 1/6th scale Horsemen on a horse is more possible.
• F4F only produced the 4th Doctor for someone else; it isn't F4F's sculpt work.
• F4F can look into adding the gold card for their other statues like what they did for Monkey King, but probably not as part of the Day One Edition package.
• It is not possible to create statues without spending money on the molds.
• A resin Master Sword Replica could be a thing.
• Alex is concerned about all the anime lines.
• F4F started out as an anime importation business into the United Kingdom.
• The first four figures from F4F were from the WWE license, which was the very first license they ever acquired.
• All of F4F's statues are all Alex's favorites, with Majora's Mask right at the top.
• No one can cosplay as Alex as well as Alex can.
• Alex thinks Square Enix likes peanuts, in case you do decide to send Square Enix some nuts to help F4F get that Final Fantasy VII license.
• The statues that Chocks and Alex are most excited about to go up for pre-order this year are statues they've never revealed yet.
• F4F will be more conservative with the cancellation rate in the future.
• Chocks created a First 4 Figures Collectors Club group for the PlayStation Network ages ago.
• Chocks hasn't opened his Nintendo Switch yet, and he bought it during the day it was first released.
• Chocks has a personal account for Stream; Alex isn't sure if his Steam account is a personal one or if it's under First 4 Figures.
• WHO DAT WHO DAT: The answer was Felix the Cat. The winners were JR GUZMAN (lost) and CHRIS MEDEIROS (lost).

To view everyone's questions from the Q&A portion of this episode, please click HERE.

If you want to have your questions answered by our very own Chocks and Alex, simply search "Chocks and A" in the F4F Official Collectors Club Facebook group and leave your questions in the comments section of the most recent thread prior the upcoming live stream. This thread is posted every Thursday of the week.

If you wish to watch the entire video: