F4F Q&A #90 Recap: Fullmetal Alchemist Alphonse Exclusive & DE!

Posted on by October 12, 2018

Fullmetal Alchemist Day may have officially been last week, but this year we may need to mark the milestone of a second Fullmetal Alchemist Day–because we’ve got another first today from First 4 Figures: the first-ever Fullmetal Alchemist Alphonse statue is now fully revealed (including the Exclusive) and up for order today! What will the exclusive extra(s) be? Do Alex and Chocks have any extra tricks up their sleeves? Could we see or hear any teasers for future FMA statues? All this and more in F4F Q&A #90!

F4F Q&A 90 Alphonse Head Close-UpAnnouncements and The Week in Review:

  • When Chocks leaves at 100K, First 4 Figures wanted to see what would happen, so they created the fake alternate account of “Peggy”–it was all just a test and Peggy’s not real [No, that’s not true…?]
  • The girl on the throne photo was just a random girl that Alex and Chock took a photo of as part of their elaborate ruse [No, not really…?!]
  • Those who have been sending “Peggy” dick pics [I don’t think this has actually happened…!?] have actually been sending them to Chocks’ alt, so that Chockles can now use that as leverage to make those people cancel their non-F4F orders
  • It was all actually an exercise in seeing how many people were active in the club–a social experiment to see how many people would join points giveaway contests if F4F did something a little different [That’s impossible?!]
  • “All we have to do to show the company is expanding is just create fake accounts.” — Alex Davis
  • 100 pieces of Spyro have been sent out and delivering in Australia/Asia, with only 2 complaints–that’s just 2% of the total pieces delivered, well within the acceptable tolerance level
  • Alphonse reveal will be around Noon EST today
  • “This is the F4F Experience because we keep things semi-professh!” — Alex Davis
  • Alex is always nervous for any product launch, but particularly for Al’s
  • Spike, Warp Star Kirby, Guts and Psycho Mantis Exclusive Editions are all still up for order on the F4F website (for now)
  • Chocks was replying as Peggy on his phone and then as himself on his computer, making it seem like they were two different people; Chock and “Peggy” were going out to lunch together and learning marketing materials and everything this week
  • You can use code “HIIMPEGGY-4Z” to get 200 Rewards Points in your F4F Account
  • Chocks made a post where you have to add Peggy as a friend, like the post and leave a comment in order to have a chance at winning more Rewards Points
  • Chocks will be leaving for MCM London on October 24th, where First4Figures will be exhibiting in a shared space with Animegami
  • Tap Chocks on the shoulder at MCM London and let him know who you are–he’s not very good with faces! You can also pass along secret messages and gifts for Alex!
  • When Chocks is using his alternate account as Peggy, Peggy doesn’t like Red Bull–she likes Monster!
  • Alex didn’t expect to reveal that “Peggy” was an alternate account so soon, but since the social experiment was such a success so quickly, it had to be revealed
  • “Here’s the biggest plot twist… I’m just the janitor here!” — Alex Davis
  • 1,303 people have redeemed Peggy’s points code so far; nice social experiment going on so far
  • In the future, First 4 Figures will be adding the ability to add payment plans to Wait Lists and defer payments for a month so that people won’t have to cancel orders
  • Amaterasu Life-Size Bust factory is super-super-slow–painfully, excruicatingly slow; not getting any other orders from F4F until they’ve caught up
  • “When we want to seem bigger, we do it the same way people try to sneak back in–create fake accounts”! — Alex Davis
  • Alex is scheduled to go to the Snake factory next week to approve production pieces to go out to Australians
  • It’s clear that people like dragons, so Alex posted a poll to see what other non-video game and anime dragons people would be interested in; seeing Toothless hit 600+ votes so quickly made Alex take notice–if F4F ever went out for that license, would probably go for a True Form PVC statue first before a resin (#F4FCommonSense); Alex will look at How to Train Your Dragon very, very carefully if Toothless hits 800+ votes
  • “Chocks is typing on his phone as Peggy right now… commitment!”
  • Gabriel Belmont teaser shown this week–something First 4 Figures has been working on since long before the OCC
  • “Sending Chock to England for MCM is pretty cool, because it’s like me sending two staff!” — Alex Davis
  • Peggy (or is it “Peggy”) is in the Q&A chat room! [Is she really real? I just don’t know anymore…!]

F4F King of the Ring LogoTemptation Thursdays and The King of the Ring:

  • King of the Ring 2 Brackets Announced!
  • Match 1: Sif vs. Sonic 25th
  • Match 2: 20th Anniversary Sonic vs. Amaterasu (Resin)
  • Match 3: Sword Kirby vs. Jin Kazuma
  • Match 4: BOTW Link (PVC) vs. Zero Suit Samus
  • Match 5: Ganondorf vs. “Optimus Prime vs. Megatron”
  • Match 6: Simon Belmont vs. Nightmare
  • Match 7: Viewtiful Joe vs. “Dredd vs. Death”
  • Match 8: Spyro (Resin) vs. Tanooki Mario
  • Guild Wars TT: 116 ‘No’ Votes, 47 ‘Yes’ Votes — Peggy’s First TT!
  • Owl Boy TT Next Week!
  • Blood Plus TT in 2 Weeks!
  • This week’s hashtag for a chance to win Rewards Points next week: #F4FPEGGY

F4F QA Chock and Alex with Onion Bro PlushThe Q&A!:

  • This section will be filled in as the Question and Answer segment with Fun Daddy Alex and “Peggy” Tsoek Cheung Occurs. Stay tuned!
  • Warp Star Kirby sales are about 300 now–really need support
  • Varia Suit is way harder to produce than Light Suit Samus
  • Nightmare Wait List being fulfilled at the Amaterasu LSB statue, so it’s going to be a while
  • Spyro fans will have to rally for non-Spyro himself characters in the Spyro PVC lines
  • Jake Meyer’s mental health is more than excellent–it’s Plus Ultra!
  • Solid Snake may be approved for packing next week if all goes well, with Australia receiving theirs about two weeks later if so!
  • All the Dark Souls SD PVCs are about the same size–Ornstein won’t be much bigger than Solaire
  • F4F just got their Phoenix Wright prototype back from customs, so they can start fixing the color on him now
  • Sega and F4F will talk more about Kickstarter-styled POs; will be handled on a case-by-case basis
  • Alex is of two minds about the Lords of Shadow line now
  • F4F would never sell raffle tickets online for a statue prize, but maybe at a convention; offer free statue contests online anyway for each launch
  • Alex finally sent the E-Mail necessary regarding changes to Banjo-Kazooie
  • Shrianui PVC is absolutely 100% a possibility in the future
  • Will probably start production on True Form Midna in about a month
  • Dark Souls 2 and 3 are in-development; taking a bit of time; that’s why F4F is happy to be able to punctuate the resin pieces with the SD PVCs
  • Very likely that Spyro regular PVC will hit shops before the Exclusive arrives–easier to produce, and have obligated dates to deliver to stores like Best Buy with penalties if the deadlines are not met
  • The Exclusive PVCs are also coming later than the regular PVCs because of inefficiencies in the development and planning of things
  • First 4 Figures is absolutely surprised by the massive popularity of the Spyro PVC–definitely exceeding expectations
  • Can’t predict when the Amaterasu LSB will ship
  • Dracula PO will have to be pushed back–he didn’t make it on-time to be the October 26th pre-order
  • Laser-focused on plushies for 2019; looking to get designers in-house and getting laser-cutting and embroidery machines
  • Alex worked on Faye this week–she’s coming along
  • “Peggy” Chocks really likes Black Clover and romance novels! [I think Alex means Black Butler…]
  • Can talk about other forms/weapons of Amaterasu once the pre-order opens
  • Shovel Knight has started production; if people support the Green and Black variants of Shovel Knight, F4F will feel more comfortable going ahead with Plague Knight and Spector Knight and considering them justifiable
  • What’s a Persona 5?
  • Alex is much happier with the redesign of the Dante statue: “onwards and upwards”
  • Alex on Potential Aika Pre-Order: “Are you sure you really want to do it?”
  • Chockles’ throne is at his house. How else could he take so many different photos? [It’s actually at the “City of Dreams”?]
  • No comment on how much Edward will cost
  • Alex will post a Fullmetal Alchemist Character poll; will include Ed and Mustang even though they’re already in development
  • Have to work on Reignited Spyro resin before looking at Legend of Spyro statues
  • Bloodborne is being serviced very well outside of F4F right now
  • Fullmetal Alchemist PVC potential may depend upon the success of the resin–need to see that there is an audience for those PVCs
  • There is either a Definitive Edition Gray Fox or Psycho Mantis [And it’s clearly not Psycho Mantis]
  • Crystal Cloak Alucard: How do we do this? Partially translucent? LEDs inside?
  • Absolutely true that Chock goes back and take more photos on his throne (in his house–“the City of Dreams”) to make us think he has unlimited photos
  • Crystal Dragon Sales: “Around 500-600… don’t quote me on that. Need to work that out.”
  • Will be working on the minifigures for sure–just taking time
  • “To The Moon” made Alex cry
  • Jet Black pre-order towards the end of the year
  • Bowser is in development–factory needs a bit of a sharp whip
  • Rally the fans for Jingo Packs–but not on random posts
  • Guts is best-selling anime piece monetary-wise
  • Sonic and Tails diorama physical should be done 3-D printing in the next few days

F4F Alphonse Elric Trailer Reservations AnnouncedFullmetal Alchemist Alphonse Statue Reveal!:

Alphonse Base First 4 Figures Fullmetal AlchemistAlphonse’s Base

  • Al’s base is humongous; covered with roots, pebbles, grooves, dirt and other extra details
  • Blood seal on front of base; Transmutation circle going all the way around the base with glow-in-the-dark paint
  • “I don’t have the biggest of hands… but I make it up in other ways.” –Alex Davis
  • “You can get the head with the hair, one arm, and the base for 500. But if you want the rest, you’re gonna have to pay a little more.”

Blood Rune in Fullmetal Alchemist Alphonse Statue F4F QA 90 Chocks and AlphonseMore Photos of Alphonse

  • As advertised, Big Al is… big!!!
  • As he must, Alphonse has a blood seal rune on the inside of his armor
  • Loincloth may be made whiter; blood seal could be made a bit bigger–F4F will look into all these things

Alex Davis Hugging Fullmetal Alchemist Alphonse Statue BaseAlphonse Fully Assembled!

  • Alphonse has a big base, but there’s good space utilization here–no wasted space
  • Alphonse is 5 cans tall
  • Regular version of Alphonse comes with heads, arms, body and glow-in-the-dark base

Alternate Head for F4F Alphonse Elric StatueSwapout Head for Alphonse Statue

Alphonse Elric F4F Statue EX with Light-Up EyesF4F Alphonse Exclusive Statue

  • First 4 Figures really wanted to incorporate the comedy of Fullmetal Alchemist into this statue, as Al is actually just a kid and does get nervous sometimes
  • In addition to the comical head, the Exclusive Alphonse comes with the normal head with light-up eyes function!

Alphonse Elric F4F Statue Definitive Edition RevealF4F Fullmetal Alchemist Alphonse Elric Definitive Edition & Variant!

  • PLOT TWIST!! There’s actually a Silver variant for both the regular, exclusive and Definitive Editions of Alphonse!
  • And oh yeah… there’s a Definitive Edition!
  • If you want something more modern and up-to-date, you may want the Silver variant of Alphonse
  • If you love the anime, you might prefer the gray variant of Alphonse Elric
  • The Definitive Edition of Al adds the Homunculus Pride to the base in the form of effects pieces, as well as swap-out arms for Alphonse! Based on the fight in episode 52 of the anime.
  • Pride’s eyes are looking directly upwards towards the target (Al)
  • Alphonse DE comes with both the gray and silver variants–or both with a Definitive Edition Combo Pack!
  • Base will contain removable, rechargeable battery

Alphonse Elric Definitive Edition VariantsOn Al Pricing:

  • “PED: The higher the price, the lower the amount. The lower the price, the higher the amount.”
  • One of the first questions answered on the documentary– “Equivalent Exchange: When we got this license, Chock was a lot thinner and I had a lot more hair.” — Alex Davis
  • Alex has gone back and forth on this for many, many months. He wants everyone understand the reason behind the price and the thought process that’s behind it.
  • “If I have a target goal and I wish to sell the equivalent of, let’s just say 10 golds bars worth of Alphonse statues, it would be very easy to say that the price of 1 Alphonse is 10 gold bars… Now, I could reduce the price to 5 gold bars, and then I would need to sell 2 Alphonses to get the 10 gold bars. If I’m going to lower the price, I need to sell more Alphonses. We need to sell 500-600 of any products that we make, representing 10 gold bars. Do I think that there is enough demand in the club and out there to set the price at 10 gold bars, or do I gamble and say that I’m going to lower the price and sell more Alphonses to hit the 10 gold bars? … We can’t change the price once we’ve announced it. Do I bank that actually we don’t sell that money and therefore raise the price? Or do we hope and gamble that there is a demand out there and hence we lower the price and need to sell that many more pieces? That is the dilemma I’ve had over the past several months.”
  • “I’m nervous for anime. I want this to succeed like you don’t understand. I was really happy with the strategy for Spike, who sold over 700 pieces. But Alphonse–I don’t know. FMA? It’s a new license. I really don’t know. I hope you can understand where we’re coming from and the reasoning behind the prices that we do, and that it’s no easy task, but we have come up with the pricing, and I’ve got it for you here now.”
  • “When we push the price lower compared to the rest of the industry, and then don’t sell as much, that really hurts. It’s an absolute gamble every time we come up with the pricing.” [I love this stuff! I wish Alex would ramble about gold bars like this all day long!]
  • Alex has been very pleased about the amount of hype, buzz and talk about the Alphonse statue, which is allowing F4F to lower the price because he believes in the club and the demand for this statue. So First 4 Figures is lowering the price on Alphonse and hoping for more sales!
  • Regular and Exclusive Versions of Alphonse Will Have the Same Price: $549.99!
  • This price is not sustainable–please don’t think the next piece in the line will be subsidized as much as this!
  • Alphonse Definitive Edition Price: $699.99! This price SHOULD BE the most expensive piece that we’ve ever made, but for reasons of trying to get this anime line established, this piece is being priced incredibly low!
  • “I feel quite sick to my stomach. I’m really hoping that this gamble works.” — Alex Davis
  • Combo Packs: EXCLUSIVE Combo with One Gray and One Silver Version — $999.99 ($100 Savings!)
  • DEFINITIVE EDITION Combo Pack — $1249.99 ($150 Savings!)
  • Shipping Costs: Regular and EX Should Come in 1 Box — $55 USD to the United States; AUS $155 USD; Other Prices on the Website
  • Definitive Edition Shipping Costs (2 Boxes): $105 USD to the US and EU; $135 to Canada; $225 to AUS; Other Prices on the Website
  • Double the Prices for the Combo Packs since you get double the boxes
  • Target date for release is Q4 2019; will keep collectors informed in the club if there are any changes to the schedule; 12-month Flexipay plans will be available
  • If this doesn’t sell well, the next price will be much higher to reflect the lower than expected demand
  • Pre-Orders will be open for 4 weeks; if F4F doesn’t reach 1000 orders, Alphonse will remain open until he either sells 1000 total pieces or production begins
  • This is a “Thank you” to everyone who supported Spike–this pricing would not be happening for Alphonse if Spike hadn’t been successful at the subsidized price

First 4 Figures Alphonse VariantAlex and Chocks Praying for Alphonse F4F StatueThe F4F Alphonse Elric EXCLUSIVE & Definitive Editions will go up for order on the website shortly. Stay tuned!! Now that First 4 Figures have played their full hand, which version(s) of Al are you aiming to add to your collection, Fullmetal Alchemist fans?

Comments are closed.